Saturday Morning

8.10 That Biden-Trump US presidential debate

Joe Biden is remaining defiant in the face of mounting pressure for him to step aside from the US presidential race.

The presumptive Democratic candidate faced off against the likely Republican nominee Donald Trump yesterday in what many are seeing as a dire performance.

While President Biden is acknowledging his shaky display, panicking Democrats are speculating about whether he should withdraw from the race and be replaced.

Our US correspondent Caroline Malone, from Feature Story News, shares the latest.

8.15 Rob Watson: UK general election update

Millions of UK voters will be heading to the polls in the coming week to cast their votes in the July 4th general election.

There are 650 seats in the House of Commons up for grabs after UK Prime Minister and Conservative party leader Rishi Sunak announced snap elections back in May.

Sunak's main opponent is Labor party leader Sir Keir Starmer - with the pair exchanging verbal blows over borders, tax and gender in the fiery final election debate earlier this week.

BBC World Service UK Political Correspondent Rob Watson joins the show to give us the lay of the land ahead of polling day.

8.25 Easter Island 'ecocide' theory challenged 

Rapa Nui (Easter Island) is often used as an example of how overexploitation of limited resources can result in a catastrophic societal collapse. But new research from the Columbia Center for Archaeology is challenging the long-held idea that islanders chopped down palm trees at an unsustainable rate leading to an 'ecocide'.

Dr Dylan S. Davis is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at Columbia Center for Archaeology; he shares his research findings with Susie.

8.40 Massey's fake animals win big

Massey University's School of Veterinary Science have taken home an international prize for their work replacing live animals with models in the classroom.

There are laws around animal testing in Aotearoa, however animals used for science and teaching purposes are exempt from the Animal Welfare Act. The desire of teachers and staff to practice their skills with minimal impact on live animals has led to the development of high-tech models replacing live animals.

The Lush Prize is the largest prize recognising initiatives to end or replace animal testing. Fifty-five projects from around the world were shortlisted across seven categories, with Massey's entry the only from Aotearoa New Zealand.

Professor Jon Huxley is the Head of Massey's School of Veterinary Science.

09.05 Amor Towles: Table for Two 

Amor Towles is the best-selling author of A Gentleman in Moscow, (recently adapted into a TV series featuring Ewan McGregor), The Lincoln Highway and Rules of Civility.

His new book Table for Two features six short stories based in New York City and a novella set in the golden age of Hollywood. The New York stories, most of which take place around the year 2000, consider the consequences that can spring from brief encounters and the delicate mechanics of compromise that operate at the heart of modern marriages.

09.30 Lisa Blair: Sailing solo around Antarctica

On 25th May 2022, Australian sailor Lisa Blair became the fastest person in the world to sail solo, non-stop, and unassisted around Antarctica.

Blair is the third person to ever complete the treacherous journey - her time of 92 days, 18 hours, 21 minutes, and 22 seconds beating the previous record by almost 10 days.

During those three months in the Southern Ocean on her yacht Climate Action Now, she battled life-threatening snow storms, cyclonic winds, and gigantic 5-storey waves.

Part of her journey towards this achievement is captured in a documentary Ice Maiden, which is currently screening in cinemas as part of the Doc Edge festival.

 

10.05 The Forgotten Queens of Egypt

The story of Cleopatra has been immortalised in popular culture. Less talked about, is the fact that she was one of seven Cleopatras, all of whom were the powerhouses of the Ptolemaic Dynasty - the Macedonian family who ruled Egypt after Alexander the Great.

These extraordinary women dominated politics and warfare in the wealthiest country of the ancient world, with no shortage of betrayal, violence, and murder.

Lloyd Llewellyn-Jones is Professor of Ancient History at Cardiff University, his latest book is The Cleopatras: The Forgotten Queens of Egypt.

10.45 Lyndy McIntyre: The living wage movement 

Lyndy McIntyre has been active in the New Zealand trade union movement for more than 40 years. She was a key member of the Living Wage Movement Aotearoa NZ from its inception in 2011 until 2020, when she left her role as a community organiser and began to write a book documenting the story of the movement. 

Power to Win is out now and tells the story of the Living Wage Movement through the voices of workers, activists, leaders and allies.

11.05 David Nicholls: new novel from 'One Day' author

Author David Nicholls has been described as "the man who made a nation cry" - though he should really be called the man who made the world cry - after the Netflix adaptation of his best selling book One Day became an international phenomenon.

The critically acclaimed British novelist and  BAFTA-winning screenwriter has written six books in total - the newest of which, entitled You Are Here, was released last month.

The story revolves around two lonely people, Marnie and Michael, who, bruised by break-ups, meet on a coast-to-coast walk across the north of England.

Nicholls joins the show to discuss his new work, the smash success of One Day ,his brief stint as an actor, and his own love of walking.

11: 40 Kath Irvine: how to prune raspberries

For hearty crops of big berries you need to prune your raspberries. An annual prune makes a huge difference to harvest and health, and as long as your patch isn't too wild, it's a quick job on a sunny winter's day.

Organic gardener Kath Irvine joins the show to talk us through how to get the job done.

Irvine is the author of The Edible Backyard, a practical guide to growing organic fruit and vegetables all year round.

 

Books featured on this programme:

Table for Two 
by Amor Towles
Published by Penguin Putnam Inc | Viking
ISBN 9781529154115

The Cleopatras: The Forgotten Queens of Egypt
by Lloyd Llewellyn-Jones
Published by Headline Publishing Group   
ISBN 9781472295163                 

Power to Win: The Living Wage Movement in Aotearoa New Zealand
by Lyndy McIntyre
Published by Otago University Press
ISBN 9781990048753

You Are Here
by David Nicholls
Published by Sceptre
ISBN 9781444715453