Summer Times for Wednesday 8 January 2025

9:10 Julie Woods: Connecting the world by dots

Dunedin resident Julie Woods is completely blind, but it seems nothing can hold her back.

While Kiwis are well known for having itchy feet and wanting to travel the world. Julie, who is known affectionately as 'That Blind Woman', is no exception. She set herself the goal of visiting 50 countries by the time she was 50.

Julie is using the experience to, in her words, connect the world by dots, with a goal of writing one million names in Braille on her journey.

9:20 Kiwi alcohol-free drink gets the Kardashian treatment

Kiwi entrepreneur Lisa King is the founder of non-alcoholic beverage company AF Drinks. 

The product has skyrocketed into the public eye with an endorsement by The Kardashians. 

Lisa joins Anna Thomas to talk about the alcohol-free drinks market, what makes AF Drinks unique, and mixing with celebrities in the US.

 

 

 

 

 

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9:30 Getting adventurous with the classic Kiwi pie

If you've wondered what pies have to offer beyond the humble mince and cheese, Salut Pies in Wellington may have answers.

Bakers Joe and Carey Player shifted south from Otaki a few months ago to appeal to pie lovers in the captial.

They create new flavours almost daily, ranging from red thai curry to eggs benedict.

Joe pops into the studio to chat all things pie.

9:45 US correspondent Todd Zwillich

Journalist Todd Zwillich joins Anna to share news about the late US president Jimmy Carter's state funeral, the bird flu epidemic claiming its first human death, and a ski season strike by resort workers.

9:55 Geo Jumble

Tune in to see if you can untangle three European city names from three given words. Text 2101 with the correct answers.

dramatised - mainstreamed - awkwardness

10:08 Road Trip: Melanie Bracewell

Award-winning Kiwi comedian Melanie Bracewell joins Anna on the road today for a summer roadie, sharing her favourite summer holiday spots, tunes, books and ice cream among other things. She's also thinking a lot about turning 30 as she prepares for an upcoming standup tour.

Melanie's playlist:

• Big Yellow Taxi - Joni Mitchell
• Lydia - Fur Patrol
• Denial is a River - Doechii

10:45 Museum stop: Elvis Presley Museum

Today would have been the 90th birthday of the King of Rock n' Roll and we're celebrating by stopping stop at New Zealand's very own Elvis Presley Museum.  

Avid fan KD Wasley has been collecting Elvis memorabilia since 1959, creating a veritable shrine to his hero in the garage of his Hawera home. He tells Anna about why the King gets him all shook up.

11:08 Starting your genealogy journey of discovery

Knowing where we come from is an innate human need so it's no wonder that genealogy has become a global industry, spawning millions of online amateur detectives. 

But while it might be easier than it used to be to trace your tree or find a missing family member, you still need to understand the basics of good research if you're to navigate the various pitfalls. 

Dr Fran Tyler and Deb Morris run Genealogy Investigations and they come into the RNZ studio to give some tips on how to get started.

11:25 Summer podcast review with Tessa Guest

Producer Tessa Guest joins Anna with some summer listening recommendations.

Tessa's recs:

• Song Exploder
• Switched On Pop
• 20,000 Hertz

11:40 Music review with DJ Sticky Fingers

RNZ's resident DJ aka Brad Warrington joins Anna to spin some tracks.