Afternoons for Tuesday 17 August 2021

1:17 Fly expert on his discovery of a new indigenous fly species

Otago Museum's Honorary Curator of Entomology, Associate Professor Steve Kerr spends his days in nature around Otago looking for flies. He says New Zealand has species that you can't see anywhere else. In fact he discovered a new species recently which he has called Empidadelpha pokekeao which means 'dark cloud' in te reo Māori.

Steve Kerr tells us all about this new fly and why he loves the winged insect.

1:35 From oil diver to exotic timber craftsman

Kiwi, John Webster was a commercial oil and gas diver in the Northern Hemisphere - but a near death experience while diving lead him to make to a major career change.

He trained to be a timber craftsman specialising in the Yakisugi concept - an ancient method of charring cedar/timber which produces a hard-wearing, long-lasting, and low maintenance charred timber finish.

1:45 The man bringing free wifi to the people of Sanson

A Manawatu man is doing what he can to provide free wireless internet to his community.

Thanks to Brynn Neilson - Sanson residents can get on the free wifi from home, at a local park, and even waiting for the school bus.

 

1:50 How to Write A Memoir

Author Pip Adam shares some tips on writing a memoir.

 

2:10 Book Critic: Claire Mabey

Claire discusses 3 books she's enjoyed recently, Skinny Dip - a poetry collection for young readers, Butcherbird by Cassie Hart and The Island of Missing Trees by Elif Shafak

2:20 Avocado's predicted to be most traded tropical fruit by 2030

 

The world produces nearly 6 million tonnes of avocados each year - but the OECD's latest agricultural outlook predicts that will double by 2030, reaching 12 million tonnes - beating out mango, pineapple and papaya.

While Avocados are mostly grown in Central and South America - New Zealand's industry is also thriving. We speak with Jen Scoular the CEO of New Zealand Avocado

 

2:20 The Soundtrack to Panthers

A six-part drama series based around the rising of the Polynesian Panthers in NZ in the 1970s, titled Panthers, has just been released this week.

It's accompanied by a soundtrack featuring Polynesian musical talents like Che Fu, King Kapisi, and Melodownz. 

Two of the album producers Diggy Dupe and Choicevaughan are in the studio with Jesse to play some of the songs they created for the TV series, and talk about how it was all put together.

 

3:10 The dark side of Facebook and its bid for domination 

There's a dark side to connecting people online with almost no regulations; data is mishandled, fake news is amplified and hate speech is out of control.

It's the price of being Facebook and the consequences are actually design choices according to New York Times writers Cecilia Kang and Sheera Frenkel.

They go deep inside the social media giant to show how  it enables the worst is us in their book, An Ugly Truth: Inside Facebook's Battle For Domination.
 

3:30 Spoken Feature: BBC Witness

3:45 The Panel with Nuwanthie Samara and Chris Gallivan