Saturday Morning for Saturday 24 April 2021

8:10 Rachel Morris: We are all museum-makers

Rachel Morris makes actual museums but she says that, in a way, we are all museum-makers as we try to make sense of the chaos of the past.

Unpacking boxes of old family stuff from under her bed inspired her to start writing her book The Museum Makers.
 
"Woven through the book is a family story of love, loss, incest and the Victorian cult of free love, not to mention my aunt's story, she being the New Zealand-bred novelist Fay Weldon."

Rachel Morris is a founding director of the museum-making company, Metaphor,  and runs a popular website called The Museum of Marco Polo.

8:40 Virologist Dr Chris Smith: Covid science news

Our regular commentator Cambridge University consultant clinical virologist Dr Chris Smith joins us with the latest Covid-19 science, and to answer your questions.

This week, the latest on India's deadly second wave - yesterday the country recorded the highest one-day tally of new Covid-19 cases anywhere in the world (314,835).

He'll discuss a coronavirus variant officially known as B1617 - identified in India and being investigated by scientists across the world, as well as the latest on vaccines and whether a third dose of the Pfizer vaccine will be required.

9:05 Morris Pearl: The Patriotic Millionaires Movement

Morris Pearl is chair of the Patriotic Millionaires, a group of hundreds of high-net-worth people who want millionaires, billionaires, and corporations to pay their fair share of taxes.

Patriotic Millionaires calls for a living wage for US workers and believes that inequality is bad for society and bad for business.  

Morris Pearl was a managing director at BlackRock, one of the largest investment firms in the world.

Patriotic Millionaires this month opened a chapter in the UK and Europe and claims The Warehouse founder Stephen Tindall as a member.

 

9:30 Toa Fraser: Life with Young Onset Parkinson's disease

New Zealand film director Toa Fraser, 46, recently revealed on Twitter that he has Young Onset Parkinson’s Disease.

“People used to say I look cool. These days, people ask me why I look so serious. Mine is one of the many faces of Young Onset Parkinson’s, an (as yet) incurable brain disease. I was diagnosed five years ago. I've kept it quiet until today. #ParkinsonsAwarenessMonth”. 

Toa Fraser’s first feature film, No. 2, won the Audience Award at the 2006 Sundance Film Festival and lately he has been working on the series Sweet Tooth, which screens on Netflix later this year.

10:05 Human rights lawyer Jennifer Robinson: fighting for Julian Assange, West Papua and public education

Australian human rights lawyer Jennifer Robinson has been described as the go-to barrister for London's rich and famous.

Standing by her clients Julian Assange and Amber Heard in the full glare of international media, she is based at a top London law firm Doughty Street Chambers.

Originally from the small town of Berry, NSW, Jennifer Robinson also has a long-term commitment to independence for West Papua and works with human rights activist Benny Wenda.

Her latest mission is to improve educational opportunities for public school children. She recently founded the Acacia Awards, in association with the Public Education Foundation in Australia, in which prominent people who were educated in the public system will sponsor a student from their former school or area, providing mentorship and a small scholarship.

11:05 Bill Edgar: Coffin confessor

Since 2017 Australian private investigator Bill Edgar has been offering an unique service, acting as a  "coffin confessor".

He gatecrashes funerals to speak on behalf of the dead, passing on messages they couldn't reveal while they were alive.

He'll also remove dodgy items from your house before your family finds them, and upon request will slip your phone or some whisky into your coffin.

He has a memoir due out later this year.

 

11:30 Michael Baker - Western Australian under 3 day Covid lockdown

All travel between New Zealand and Western Australia has been paused after a three-day lockdown was announced in Perth and the Peel region.

We'll ask epidemiologist Professor Michael about the significance of the Western Australian outbreak and the likely impact on the travel bubble.

11:40 Kate's Klassics: Sydney Bridge Upside Down

Poet and writer Kate Camp returns to discuss another classic work of literature. This week, Sydney Bridge Upside Down.

Written by David Ballantyne and published in 1968, it's been described as the great unread New Zealand novel, a gothic thriller, a coming-of-age story and a sinister family tragedy.

Books mentioned in this show:

The Museum Makers: A Journey Backwards - from Old Boxes of Dark Family Secrets to a Golden Era of Museums
By Rachel Morris
ISBN 1912836149
Published by September Publishing

Sydney Bridge Upside Down
By David Ballantyne
ISBN 9781921922374
Published by Text Publishing

 

Music played in this show

Song: Mobile
Artist: The Mountain Goats
Played at 9.30

Song: The World Is Walking Over Us
Artist: Terrible Sons
Played at 10.55

Song: Light of a Clear Blue Morning
Artist: Waxahatchee
Played at 11:35