Nights for Wednesday 7 December 2022
7:12 At The Movies
Simon Morris checks out two titles from the British Film Festival - Joyride, with Olivia Colman, and Rogue Agent, starring Gemma Arterton. He also ponders why certain American critics are so up in arms about Disney's animated Strange World.
7:30 Digital Planet
Due to climate change cyclones are increasing in frequency and intensity. Data available to study these weather phenomena though is quite scarce, so a new project at Imperial College in London hopes to harness the computing power of people's mobile phones to create a virtual supercomputer and create a massive public database of simulated cyclone models to help predict future events.
Tropical cyclone Fili Photo: Fiji Meteorological Service
8:15 Pacific Waves
Koroi Hawkins presents a daily current affairs programme that delves deeper into the major stories of the week, through a Pacific lens, and shines a light on issues affecting Pacific people wherever they are in the world.
Photo: RNZ
8:30 Window on The World: CrowdScience
What are the clouds like where you are? When you look upwards can you see great tufts of cotton wool, or do they stretch off into the distance, flat like sheets. Are they dark greys and purples, bringing the promise of rain or maybe there aren't any at all. For one Crowd Science listener, looking up at the clouds is a favourite pastime and he wants to know why they look the way they do and why they are so different from one day to the next.
Photo: icon0.com CC0
9:07 The enchanting world of carnivorous plants
When 10-year-old Ross Taylor laid eyes on a North American sarracenia, it was love at first sight. Fast forward to today, and Ross has a sprawling collection of sarracenia - aka pitcher plant - at his property in Geraldine, which also doubles as a carnivorous plant nursery.
He joins the show to share the ins and outs of caring for these curious flora.
Lizard in venus fly trap Photo: Flickr user Hugo A. Quintero G. / CC BY 2.0
9:30 Kiwi couple go sapphire hunting every winter
It might not be everyone's cup of tea, but every winter Lynette Bailey and her husband Gregg Smith leave New Zealand and head to Queenland where they go 12 meters underground.
The pair purchased a mining claim in 2013 and hunt for precious gemstones such as sapphires. Lynette joins the show to tell us about life down a mine shaft.
Aerial view over sapphire mine diggings in central Queensland, Australia Photo: 123RF
10.18 Midweek Mediawatch: 7 December 2022
Hayden Donnell joins Karyn Hay for the latest analysis of New Zealand's media landscape.
10:45 Scientific standup
It's not often you hear the words "academic" and "comedian" in the same breath. Jonathan Falconer is that rare combination. He joins Karyn on the programme.
11:07 Inside Out
Nick Tipping brings you classic recordings and modern masterpieces from the world of jazz.
This week Nick goes for range with tracks from Geri Allen, Snarky Puppy, Barney Kessell, and Maceo Parker.