Afternoons for Tuesday 23 April 2024

 

1:15 Bangers to Bluff fundraiser for MS raises 100 thousand dollars

The annual Bangers to Bluff rally concluded this week raising around $100k for the Multiple Sclerosis society. A huge jump on previous years totals.

The rally sees participants buy an old banger for under $2000 in Auckland. Drive it all the way to bluff, avoiding the state highways, and then auction it off for charity.

One of this years drivers Rosemary Hedge talks to Jesse about the 2024 event.

1:25 How AI is affecting research, Dr Ally Gibson's experience

In 2021 Dr Ally Gibson launched a research project which required participants to submit short stories in response to a prompt about dating.

2021 & 2022 saw a myriad of quirky, unique, human stories. But in 2023 something changed.

The stories Ally was receiving now felt stilted, had weird tones, maybe used overly formal language.

She quickly realised it was yet another sign we've entered the post AI world.

To find out more about how AI ruined her research Dr Ally Gibson joins us now.

1:35 From lock down sour dough to a scholarship, Brit MacDonald's story

Like many Invercargill woman Brit MacDonald tried her hand at sour dough making during COVID lockdowns.

What sets her apart is that has turned into her owning her own bakery as well as receiving a scholarship to travel to the US and Europe to immerse herself in international sour dough cutlures.

She talks to Jesse about how her hobby's turned into a such a huge success.

1:45 Tech Tuesday with Dan Watson

Today owner and managing director of Vertech IT Services Dan Watson talks to Jesse about quishing scams targeting millennials and the case of a man recently who lost 30 years of family tree research while trying to download data from his xtra mail account.

2:10 Book Critic: Claire Mabey

Today Claire talks to Jesse about The Unsettled by Richard Shaw, Otherhood, a forthcoming anthology and Ash by Louise Wallace.

2:20 Update on Oz with Brad Foster

Brad Foster reports on general concerns over safety among many Sydneysiders following the two knife attacks in the past week, and the divided opinion on a comedian asking a mother and daughter to leave his show in over the weekend.

He also provides an update on Molly the Magpie, the mushroom murders, and Australia's plans for Anzac Day this Thursday.

2:30 Music feature: Dallas Tamaira on Bill Withers

It's 1971, turn on the radio and you might catch Ain't No Sunshine by the venerable Bill Withers.

Known for his iconic vocals, the Grammy winning artist wrote some of the most covered songs to come out of the 70s.

Dallas Tamaira is with us to share his musical insights, the Fat Freddy's Drop artist also performs in the Bill Withers Social Club.

3:10 Addressing climate change needs more effort

Being less bad is not good enough. It's not going to get us closer to putting the brakes on climate change.  

Håkan Nordqvist is the former Head of Sustainability and Innovation at Ikea who believes companies need to do more than tick environmentally friendly boxes. 

He says  sustainability, not just responsibility, needs to drive innovation that's good for the planet and the bottom line. Nordqvist is a guest speaker at the Future State  technology summit in Auckland.   

3:30 Spoken Feature: BBC Witness

The Mount Vesuvius eruption that buried Pompeii in 79AD is well known, but far fewer people know about the last time the volcano erupted in 1944.

It was World War Two, and families in southern Italy had already lived through a German invasion, air bombardment, and surrender to the Allies.

And then at 16:30 on 18 March, Vesuvius erupted. The sky filled with violent explosions of rock and ash, and burning lava flowed down the slopes, devastating villages.

By the time it was over, 11 days later, 26 people had died and about 12,000 people were forced to leave their homes.

Angelina Formisano, who was nine, was among those evacuated from the village of San Sebastiano. She's been speaking to Jane Wilkinson about being in the path of an erupting volcano.

3:45 The pre-Panel