Afternoons for Thursday 31 August 2017

SHORT STORY CLUB

Today's story is The Kiss by Pip Adam, and we have a copy of Pip's new novel The New Animals to give away to one of our emailers. Jesse@radionz.co.nz

1:10 First song

Washington DC based Emma G has our first song today.   She is back home to play 17 concerts in 23 days throughout the country starting at Auckland's Ding Dong Lounge on September 9th.

In a former live, Emma was lead singer for Auckland rockers "Static Era" but left to rediscover herself in the United States two years ago.

1:15 The risk of a Yellowstone Supervolcano eruption

Forget an asteroid hitting the planet and wiping out life on earth, there's a more urgent and imminent danger which has seen Nasa get involved with - Yellowstone Caldera - a super volacno in the U.S.

Its one of 20 known so-called supervolcanoes around the world which, if it erupted,  could produce so much fiery magma that the ensuing ash cloud might starve the Earth of sunlight in a choking, years-long volcanic winter.

It's also thought the Yellow one  erupts once every 600,000 years or so, and it's been about that long since its last supereruption.

Don't worry though, Brian Wilcox is with NASA's  Jet Propulsion Laboratory  and has been part of the team coming up with a strategy to counter the threat.

1:25 Hat ban protest

A Masterton retiree is making headlines around the country after she refused to remove her hat while she was at her local library.

Fay Lambert who is 78 was asked to remove her pink cap earlier this week and refused to comply with the request from library staff.

She is vowing to return with her hat on in protest over the way the library treated her, claiming there was a young man with a hoodie on when she was singled out.

Fay Lambert speaks to Jesse about her protest.

1:35 Encouraging girls into engineering careers

Christchurch Engineer Helen Trappitt is on a mission to encourage more young young women to consider engineering as a career.

It's still a very male dominated industry - only 10 percent of members of the professional engineers organisation, IPENZ , are female.. and almost a third of women leave the industry within the first decade.

Helen Trappitt is the director of Lewis Bradford Consulting Engineers - has been talking to school students around Christchurch - some as young as 5, about the profession.

1:40 Great album: The Verve, Urban Hymns

Urban Hymns is the third studio album by UK band, The Verve. It came out in 1997

2:10 Tech talk with Paul Brislen

Technology and Democracy

2:20 Shamubeel Eaqub on Economics

Economist Shamubeel Eaqub joins us for our monthly chat on economics - today we're looking at tourist taxes - which has become an election issue - does it happen in other countries, and how could it work here?

2:30 'Ladies and Gentlemen' in New Zealand's history

The phrase 'ladies and gentlemen' is still common in NZ whether introducing a function or putting up signs on restrooms.  But where did the phrase come from and what does it mean now, if anything? 

The phrase has a long and varied history in New Zealand and can only be understood in historical context - which our regular historian Grant Morris provides for us.

3:10 Short Story Club

This week's story is The Kiss by Pip Adam, and we have a copy of Pip's new novel The New Animals to give away to one of our emailers. Jesse@radionz.co.nz

3:25 Tell me about your thesis: Celebrity Identity and One Direction

Millie Lovelock tells us about her thesis mapping the processes of fan and celebrity identity co-construction in the boy band One Direction.

3:30 BBC Witness

3:45 The Pre-Panel Story of the Day and One Quick Question

4:05 The Panel with Ali Jones and Nevil Gibson