Saturday Morning

8:10 COPA 71: The forgotten women's football world cup

The shameful treatment of pioneer women footballers 50 years ago is the subject of a new documentary Copa 71, which is screening now.

Rapturous crowds of over 100,000 fans cheered 18 year old Carol Wilson as she captained England at the 1971 women's football World Cup in Mexico. 

The experience was a stark contrast to the reception she and other women players received at home.

The UK Football Association, which had banned women from playing for 50 years, refused to endorse the tournament and tried to shut it down. 

To this day the team Carol represented is not recognised by the FA as an official England team, which has earned them the moniker of 'The Lost Lionesses'.

8:40 Julia Whaipooti: Budget 2024 does not fulfil te Tiriti obligations 

Thousands of people rallied across the country on Thursday to protest the coalition government's policies - including axing the Māori Health Authority, removing local councils' right to set up Māori wards, removing reference to Te Tiriti o Waitangi in legislation, and the Act Party's bid to redefine the Treaty principles.

Julia Whaipooti is a leader at Te Kāhui Tika Tangata, the Human Rights Commission.

Her opinion piece argues Budget 24 disadvantages Māori financially and falls short of the Crown's te Tiriti obligations.

9:05 Prof Anna Wirz-Justice: Why winter makes us S.A.D.

If you find yourself feeling sluggish and sad as the days get shorter you're not alone. About half of us report feeling less happy in winter. And for 5% of the population winter brings a serious depression.

Seasonal Affective Disorder S.A.D. is the name for this spectrum of winter related mood disorder.

It's thought to be largely due to the effect of reduced daylight hours on our internal biological rhythms.

So how does it all work? And what can we do to prevent or treat the effects of S.A.D? 

Prof Anna Wirz-Justice is a world leading researcher in circadian rhythms, or chronobiology. Much of what we understand about the importance of sleep and light can be attributed to the research Anna carried out with her team at the Centre for Chronobiology, in Basel, Switzerland, where she is now Emeritus Professor of Psychiatric Neurobiology.

9:30 Dr Christos Christou: the state of humanitarianism

Some of the world's humanitarian crisis are well known - Gaza and Ukraine for example - but many more are less likely to make international news: Chad and Sudan.

One of the organisations operating wherever there is conflict is Médecins Sans Frontières or Doctors Without Borders.

It's working in a world emerging from the covid pandemic, with inflation rampant and people increasingly disconnecting from bad news.

MSF's International President, Dr Christos Christou is a trauma surgeon with extensive experience working in war zones. 

10:05 Matt Heath: We need to stop punishing ourselves

Broadcaster and writer Matt Heath thinks we make our short time on the planet more punishing than it needs to be.

Frustrated by his own penchant for worry and self judgement, he set out to try to enjoy his life as it is. 

He has investigated why we feel the way we do and how to change it, interviewing leading international thinkers in neuroscience, philosophy, biology and psychology on the reasons behind our unwelcome emotions: anger, worry, stress, loneliness and many more. The result is his new book A Life Less Punishing.

10:35 Historic numbers of cicadas disrupting the peace, and the food chain

A phenomenon that hasn't occurred since 1803 is in full swing. Trillions of periodical cicadas are emerging in a rare double event. Brood XIX and XIII are either above ground, or emerging in 17 states, from Chicago through the Midwest.  It's the first time in 221 years that these two broods have come above ground in the same place at the same time.

Professor of biology at George Washington University, John Lill and his research team are in Chicago observing birds and other species feasting on a cicada banquet, which is changing their diet and causing much disruption to the food chain.

Also joining Susie for a look into the curious and wonderful world of cicadas, is Professor Martha Weiss, from the Department of Biology at Georgetown University in Washington DC.

John and Martha have written about this phenomenon and the consequences of it to a shift in avian foraging in Science.

 

 

 

11:05 Trump the felon: what's next for the Republican party?

Donald Trump is a convicted criminal. A New York jury found him guilty on all 34 counts of falsifying business records to cover up hush money paid to porn star Stormy Daniels.

He intends to appeal, and major Republican donors say they're willing to back him still, despite his criminal record, but what does Trump's guilty verdict do for the Republican Party's hopes for re-election?

American political commentator and 2016 Republican candidate Lenny McAllister joins Susie from Pennsylvannia.

11.15 Max Miller: Tasting history one recipe at a time

Since launching his YouTube channel four years ago, Max Miller has amassed more than two million of subscribers - all tuning in for his videos that fuse history lessons with a cooking show.

Neither a trained chef or historian, Los Angeles-based Miller fell into the world of being a YouTuber when he was furloughed from his job at Disney due to the Covid pandemic.

His videos, which are thoroughly researched and well-produced, span thousands of years and all four corners of the globe - and even delve into the outer space culinary experience.

Some of his most popular videos include "Making Medieval Mead like a Viking", "Dining First Class on the RMS Titanic", and "Macaroni Cheese from 1845". Some of his recipes have even been collated into a cookbook, Tasting History: Explore the Past through 4,000 Years of Recipes, which was released last year.

11:40 Gore's Gold Guitars 

We're heading to Gore, where the Gold Guitar Awards are in full swing as part of the Tussock country festival.

It's one of New Zealand's most prestigious country music events, drawing contestants from around the world to converge on the Southland town to celebrate country music and compete for a chance at the top prize.

We'll talk to RNZ's Samuel Robinson who's in town, soaking up the music, learning how to line dance and make cheese rolls.  Plus we'll catch up with Kiwi country singing legend Jodi Vaughan who is being inducted into the hands of fame.  

Books featured on this programme:

A Life Less Punishing
By Matt Heath
Published by Allen & Unwin NZ
ISBN: 9781991006479