Saturday Morning

7.10 Caleb Fortheringham: Cook Islands

Prime Minister Mark Brown is expected back in the Cook Islands on Monday (New Zealand time) after a trip to China this week where it was anticipated he may sign a deal with Beijing causing concern with New Zealand's Deputy Prime Minister.

Winston Peters says New Zealand's constitutional arrangement with the Cook Islands means he should have been fully informed of the details.

Meanwhile protests are being planned in the Cook Islands while a vote of no confidence in the Prime Minister took place on Thursday.   

Mihi spoke to RNZ Pacific's reporter Caleb Fortheringham who is in Avarua and began by asking him what we know about the deal.

7.20 David Smith: Gaza and Israel

Both Hamas and Israel now say they will continue to release hostages as part of the ceasefire agreement.

Mediators scrambled this week to shore up the deal - after Hamas accused Israel of breaching it, and Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned that fighting would resume this weekend.

Meanwhile, Jordan's King Abdullah has rejected Donald Trump's plan to resettle Palestinians in the kingdom.

Earlier this week, Mr Trump suggested he could withhold aid to Jordan and Egypt unless they agreed to take in Palestinians from Gaza.

And, the US president also turned his eye to Ukraine this week.

The Guardian's Washington DC bureau chief David Smith spoke to Susie.

7.30 Nándor Tánczos: Whakatāne Hospital Protest

At midday on Saturday there's a protest in Whakatāne to demand action over the closure of the hospital's obstetrics unit.

Now - if you have a high risk pregnancy or need an emergency caesarian you'd have to go to Tauranga hospital which is over an hour away.

Demonstrators say they've uncovered a raft of other issues at the hospital they say are symptomatic of an underfunded system. 

Whakatāne District Councillor Nándor Tánczos, who is organising the protest, told Susie.... 

7.40 Sean Simpson: Gene Technology

On Monday, at midnight - submissions will close on the government's Gene Technology Bill.

It was pitched by the government as a vehicle for economic growth for scientists - with much of the focus on how gene modification could create high yielding crops and be used to seek solutions to agricultural emissions. 

But opponents of the bill are warning against it. 

Groups like Greenpeace and GE Free NZ say there are serious environmental and health risks, that there won't be enough controls and that our GE free reputation will be ruined.

Sean Simpson is a founder of LanzaTech - a company which moved offshore to use genetic modification to turn pollution into ethanol and raw chemicals. 

He spoke to Susie.

7.50 Paula O'Kane: Ageing in Place

New Zealand has an ageing population that will require both health and social support.

Stats NZ predicts there will be a million people who are aged 65 or older living in Aotearoa by 20-28.

So what do we need to live well and stay in our own homes during retirement?

Otago University Associate Professor Paula O'Kane hopes to answer that question in a new funded study.

Paula first explained to Mihi what ageing in place actually means. 

8.10 Ben Elton: Authentic Stupidity

Ben Elton burst onto the British alternative comedy scene in the '80s. He went on to co-write The Young Ones and Blackadder, with Richard Curtis. 

He has appeared on television, radio, written numerous novels, and collaborated on musicals The Beautiful Game and We Will Rock You with Andrew Lloyd Webber. 

Elton is known for his tendancy for a moan and his forthright opinions, which he says all come from a place of passion. He's coming back to NZ with new show, Authentic Stupidity appearing in Wellington at the Michael Fowler Centre on April 26, followed by Auckland at the Kiri Te Kanawa Theatre on April 28, and concluding on May 2 at Christchurch Town Hall.

8.40 Built to fail? The right to repair

The Consumer Guarantees (Right to Repair) Amendment Bill is set to have its first reading next Wednesday (19 Feb)

This is the first time there could potentially be legislation that looks at the consumer's right to repair in New Zealand.

Paul Smith was previously Head of Testing at ConsumerNZ, now running his own consultancy business FixedFirstNZ

8.52 The thousand year old instrument closing out the new lunar year

The Lantern Festival is a four day event that marks the first-full moon of the new lunar year, and welcomes the Year of the Snake.

Just over 230 thousand people have claimed a free ticket for the event, at the Manukau Sports Bowl in Auckland, which will feature hundreds of lanterns along with traditional and contemporary performances.

Among those, taking to the stage will be my next guest Nancy Summerhays with her traditional Chinese instrument, the er hu.

9.05 Silencing your inner-critic

Many of us have a nagging inner critic, yet most people wouldn't consider themselves perfectionists - the unforgiving mindset demanding excellence and nothing less.

But small shifts in mindset can help us discover a kinder, gentler regard for ourselves without abandoning all that our hard work and high standards have achieved.

Dr. Ellen Hendriksen is a clinical psychologist who helps millions of people around the world calm their anxiety.

She's the creator of award-winning podcast Savvy Psychologist, and is Clinical Assistant Professor at Boston University's Center for Anxiety and Related Disorders.

Her new book How to be Enough: Seven Life-changing Steps For Self-critics, Overthinkers & Perfectionists acts as a supportive, practical and science-based guide to overcome perfectionism.
 

9:35 Tackling cancer: Kjesten Wiig

The new director of one of NZ's foremost centres pioneering a cure for cancer has a personal and tragic connection to the role.

The Malaghan Institute of Medical Research, which specialises in immune system research has been running ground-breaking trails of CAR T-cell therapy, which uses a patient's own immune system to target and destroy blood cancer.

In-coming director at Malaghan, Professor Kjesten Wiig has taken over the reins held for 30 years by Professor Graham Le Gros.

A neuroscientist by training, Prof Wiig's career has always had a focus on advancing science and innovation to improve people's health and ultimately save lives.  Kjesten's nineteen year old son Karl died from a rare form of cancer almost four years ago. Kjesten tells Susie how a conversation with Graham Le Gros at the time lead to a job offer.

10.06 Condiment Claire gets saucy

Condiments - they're always there, standing by ready to enhance any meal at a moment's notice, but how much do we really know about them?

Condiment Claire, aka Claire Dinhut is a historian with a focus on food history, and a TikTok sensation with her videos breaking down everything from the history of wine to sharing recipes for candied jalapenos. She's just published The Condiment Book which covers everything from fail-safe recipes, flavour pairings, and the history of condiments from around the globe from tomato sauce originally being made with fish, to chillis being used as Aztec torture devices.

Mihi gets the inside scoop.

10.35 An accidental activist: Panti Bliss

Irish drag queen Rory O'Neill aka Panti Bliss was pivotal in Ireland becoming the first country in the world to legalise same-sex marriage by referendum in 2015.

Panti's impassioned speech on homophobia catapulted them into the international spotlight and inspired the critically acclaimed documentary The Queen of Ireland.

Rory's memoir Woman in the Making was a bestseller, and Panti was one half of Ireland's first same-sex couples on Dancing with the Stars in 2023.

Panti's bringing her heels to Auckland with her latest show If These Wigs Could Talk.

11.05 Jacinta Ruru: Books of Mana

A beautiful new coffee-table book brings together some of Aotearoa's most renowned Māori thinkers in a wide-ranging kōrero about the influence and empowerment of Māori writing.

Books of Mana is a collection of 180 Māori-authored books, showcasing how Māori have engaged in intellectual traditions of researching, writing and publishing since the very earliest arrival of the written word in Aotearoa.

Deputy Vice Chancellor Māori and  Distinguished Professor of Law at the University of Otago, Jacinta Ruru (Raukawa, Ngāti Ranginui) has co-edited this important new book.

11.30 The White Lotus blooms again: Morgana O'Reilly

Eagerly awaited by devoted fans, The White Lotus is back with a third season on Monday, this time set in Thailand.

Kiwi actor Morgana O'Reilly has been cast as one of the resort hosts, joining Natasha Rothwell, Jason Issacs, Carrie Coon and Walton Goggins.  

11.40 Kate De Goldi: Reading for pleasure

One of New Zealand's most celebrated authors and voracious readers, Kate De Goldi shares some of her favourite recent reading: The Tidal Zone and My Good Bright Wolf by Sarah Moss, and The Garden Against Time by Olivia Laing.

 

Books featured on this show:

How to be Enough
By Ellen Hendriksen
Published by: Allen & Unwin
ISBN: 9781785120756

The Condiment Book
By Claire Dinhut
Published by Bloomsbury
ISBN: 9781526669780

Books of Mana
Edited by Jacinta Ruru, Angela Wanhalla and Jeanette Wikaira
Published by OUP
ISBN: 9781990048852

Kate De Goldi's books:

The Tidal Zone by Sarah Moss, Granta, UK
My Good Bright Wolf by Sarah Moss, Picador UK
The Garden Against Time by Olivia Laing, Picador, UK (nonfiction)