Saturday Morning

7.11 Sea trawling exacerbating climate change

Just released research from the University of Otago shows bottom trawling on the sea floor can exacerbate climate change.

Scientists say their modelling shows that when heavy chains and nets are dragged on the sea floor, its natural alkalinity production is reduced at an amount equivalent to losing two to eight milliion tonnes of CO2 storage per year.

About a third of all the carbon dioxide we've emitted has been sequestered by the moana.

Lead author Dr Sebastiaan van de Velde is based at the University of Otago's Department of Marine Science and speaks to Susie.

 

7.20 Australian volunteer medic in Gaza details humanitarian need

This week Doctors without Borders condemned Israel's strike on Nasser Hospital in southern Gaza.

It says two people were killed in the hospital's inpatient surgical department and several injured.

The BBC reported that they were a senior Hamas leader and his aide.

That hospital is where our next guest, Australian emergency nurse Jaafar Yusof was heading.

Jaafar, who normally works for Mercy hospitals in Melbourne is currently volunteering for PANZMA - the Palestinian Australian New Zealand Medical Association.

A non-profit organisation who's sole focus is providing medical aid to Palestinians in need.

 

7.33 Ngāti Hāua signs settlement with Crown

Today the Ngāti Hāua Deed of Settlement will be signed with the Crown at Ngāpūwai-waha Marae in Taumarunui.

Significantly - today the Crown will pardon two ancestors, Maatene Ruta te Whareaitu and Te Rangiatea, who were wrongly convicted in 1846 for rebeling against the Crown. 

Te Whareaitu was executed by hanging while Te Rangiatea was sentenced to life in prison, where he later died.

Over 60 sites will be returned to Ngāti Hāua along with financial redress and a cultural fund of $26.5 million dollars.

Chair of the Ngāti Hāua Iwi Trust, Graham Bell, speaks to Mihi.

 

7.38 Myanmar quake: BBC's Lindle Markwell reports

More than 144 people have died after a 7.7 magnitude quake in Myanmar.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs in New Zealand says seven New Zealanders are registered in Myanmar and 161 in Thailand.

All of its staff from embassies in Yangon and Bangkok have been accounted for.

The BBC's Lindle Markwell who reports from Bangkok speaks to Susie.

 

7.49 Post-natal care bill 'very odd', midwives say

A new bill extending post-natal care at hospital, from two days to three, is being labelled as "very odd" by the professional body of midwives.

Meanwhile, an organisation supporting families with anxiety and depression due to pregnancy, says it's "a drop in the ocean".

The Pae Ora - 3 Day Postnatal Stay Amendment Bill, by National's Catherine Wedd is going to select committee next Wednesday.

Alison Eddy is the chief executive of - the College of Midwives and Amy Castle is the General Manager of Perinatal Anxiety and Depression Aotearoa.

 

8.11 Sue Black: saving Bletchley & promoting women in tech

In the late '90s, the tech scene in the UK, and around the world, was largely a male dominated field. In a counter move Professor Sue Black started the UK’s first online network for women in tech, BSC Women in 1998.

Prof Black led the social media campaign that saved World War Two codebreaking centre Bletchley Park, was awarded an OBE for services to technology in the 2016 Queen's New Year's Honours list and also started TechUP Women, a course that retrains women from underserved groups into tech careers.

Prof Black joins Mihi to share her path to success, which hasn't always been easy.

 

8.29 Former All White on football's moment in NZ

Football is having a bit of a moment in New Zealand with the emergence this year of Auckland FC into the Australia League and - in the last few days our national team, the All Whites qualifying for the men's world cup. 

Our next guest Duncan Oughtan has a unique insight into the sport - he's been involved in it his whole life.

The former All White played College soccer in the U.S and then went on to play for Columbus Crew before moving into coaching and now - he works as a scout and player agent for Sports Invest USA.

 

8.35 Itchy research - the chemicals in your home triggering eczema

Atopic eczema is the most common form of the disease among New Zealanders.  The skin condition causes dry, itchy, inflamed skin, affecting approximately one in three people at some point in their lives. 

New findings by a team of scientists from the United States NIH National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Laboratory of Clinical Immunology and Microbiology indicate two particular chemicals are responsible for triggering eczema in many cases - and these chemicals are likely hidden in our own homes. 

Ian A Myles is a principal investigator at the NIH, specializing in allergy and immunology. 

Susie asks him why people seem to be more allergic than they used to be.

9.06 No Words For This: Ali Mau

Award-winning journalist, writer and leader for inclusion and equity in Aotearoa, Ali Mau's 20-year career cemented her as one of the country's most recognised faces.

In 2018 Ali was the force behind the #MeTooNZ journalism project, publishing major investigations over five years, and changing the way sexual harassment is reported by media, using a trauma-informed and survivor-focused kaupapa. In 2021, Alison was awarded Reporter of the Year for her leadership of the project. Ali went on to become the co-founder of Tika, a tech-based charity created to bring free legal help to survivors of sexual harm.

But it's her new memoir No Words for This, that might be her bravest piece of writing yet.

9.35 Debut success - The Ministry of Time 

In the world of literature, one of the biggest hits of the last year came in the form of a debut novel. Kaliane Bradley's The Ministry of Time started as a fan fiction project to entertain herself and her friends during covid lockdowns and became an instant hit.  It's since been long-listed for the Women's Prize for Fiction 2025 and set to be adapted for the big screen.

Set in a near future, the novel imagines civil servants who are paired with figures from the past to act as their "bridge" into modern life. Part time-travel rom-com, part-spy thriller, it's a genre-bending mix of science fiction that also tackles big themes including colonisation, climate change and migration. And a TV show is already in the works with A24 and the BBC. 

Kaliane is heading to Aotearoa for the first time as part of the upcoming Auckland Writers Festival. 

10.06 Being an adult with ADHD

Jo Randerson has worn many hats in their career, often at the same time. A writer, performer, award-winning theatre maker and champion of up and coming artists, Jo's brain is an endless stream of creativity, though one that's never able to turn off.  

A diagnosis of ADHD in their 40s came shortly after their son's, and Jo's new theatre show Speed is Emotional, explores just that. 

Through a mix of karaoke, clown, performance poetry, and stand-up, Jo expresses the chaos, joy and exhaustion that comes with neurodiversity and navigating a diagnosis as an adult and a parent. 

10.30 After The Party's BAFTA nomination 

New Zealand hit drama After The Party has been nominated for a Best International TV Series  BAFTA

Frustrated by the lack of decent roles for middle-aged women, screenwriter Dianne Taylor and Robyn Malcolm teamed up to create Penny, the lead role in the six-part drama series set in Wellington, which premiered in 2023 and is still showing on TVNZ plus.

Mihi congratulates Dianne.

10.45 Earthquake resilience with Graham Leonard 

Volcanologist and GNS principal scientist Graham Leonard on what a Wellington Fault earthquake could look like, plus how to stay resilient during the wider impacts like subsidence, tsunami and landslide?

11.06 Toitū Te Whenua: Places and People of the New Zealand Wars

In several places in Aotearoa the land tells the story of conflicts which have shaped NZ on a cultural and political level. These are the sites of the New Zealand Wars, which took place from the mid to late 1800s.

Historian and author Lauren Keenan's acclaimed debut novel, The Space Between, was published in 2024.  It took a unique look at the early days of the first Taranaki War from the perspective of a Pākehā and Māori wahine.

Lauren's latest work Toitū Te Whenua: Places and People of the New Zealand Wars.  It's a kind-of guide book highlighting key sites and individuals involved in the Wars, as well as maps and practical information on how to get there. It also includes family-friendly sites and information for children, to help pass the knowledge onto the younger generations and keep the history alive.

11.30 The Stolen Children of Aotearoa

A new documentary tells of a chilling chapter in New Zealand's history - one of systemic abuse in state care. Between 1950 and 2019, an estimated 250,000 children, many of whom were Māori, suffered at the hands of the state.

Susie speaks with filmmaker and journalist Aaron Smale, whose The Stolen Children of Aotearoa premiered at the Māoriland Film Festival and on Māori +.

11.45 Polyfest pioneer - 50 years on

Mama Tupou Manapori is one of the founders of Polyfest, now in its 50th year. Since its humble beginnings the four day festival is now the largest of its kind in Australasia, with more than 75,000 visitors flocking to cultural stages featuring performances from the Cook Islands, Māori, Niue, Samoa and Tonga.

Tupou was appointed a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit in 1999 and received the Queen's Service Medal in 2009. Now 80 years old, Tupou Manapori has been to every Polyfest since it began and this year she'll be running the Cook Islands stage.