Sunday Morning for Sunday 26 January 2020

7.10 Wuhan coronavirus continues to weave path of destruction 

A coronavirus outbreak that originated in Wuhan, China, has now killed more than 40 people and infected more than 1,100, with the virus also spreading to at least nine other countries. The Globe and Mail's Beijing correspondent Nathan VanderKlippe joins the show with all the latest on the deadly virus.

7:23 Can wireless earbuds damage your brain?

A group of 250 scientists is challenging the safety of wireless earbuds. Joel Moskowitz, a researcher at the University of California, says the close proximity of AirPods to the brain and inner ear may raise cancer risks and there's not enough research nor sufficient regulation in place to keep users safe. Dr Moskowitz, says the World Health Organisation is relying on research paid for by the manufacturers of the earbuds, to back claims they are safe to use. But Professor Ken Karapidis is one of those researchers. He explains why he believes earbuds are safe to use.

7.45 Calling Home: Dr. Janine Krippner in Washington D.C. 

Waikato native Janine Krippner can't remember a time in her life when she hasn't been completely besotted by volcanoes, and with a lead role at the Smithsonian Global Volcanism Program in Washington D.C., she is very much living the dream. The volcanologist is Calling Home from the US capital. 

8:10 Insight How schools will try to work around the donation ban

The government's school donation scheme gets underway this year, but already schools have been looking for ways to push its rules to the limit. John Gerritsen investigates how far they will go to give students the best education they can. Produced by Philippa Tolley.

8:41 Burnout linked to potentially deadly irregular heartbeat 

A new study published in the European Journal of Preventative Cardiology suggests that you could be at a higher risk of a potentially fatal heart flutter if you are suffering from vital exhaustion or burnout. Study author Dr. Parveen Garg is an associate professor of clinical medicine at the University of Southern California's Keck School of Medicine. He joins the show to discuss the study.    

8:53 Research shows online advertising is behind illegal collection and use of personal data 

New research from the Norwegian Consumer Council shows the online advertising industry is behind comprehensive illegal collection and indiscriminate use of personal data. Netsafe chief executive Martin Cocker is with us to look at the collection of personal data online and the privacy issues we are facing.

9:06 Mediawatch  How news of the royals doing a runner sent the media into a frenzy

Also - other stuff that filled up the media during the holiday news drought - and the Herald taking on the trolls on Facebook.  Produced and presented by Colin Peacock and Hayden Donnell.  

9:37 'Harry and Meghan were safer from the press in England' 

They left the UK seeking a more private life, but Prince Harry and Meghan have only upped the ante in their relationship with the media -- especially the paparazzi -- by heading to North America. Veteran celebrity snapper Giles Harrison has just returned to LA after spending two weeks trying to photograph the couple and nine-month-old son Archie on Vancouver Island. He looks at the quest to get the perfect Harry and Meghan picture, what it could be worth, and where the line is drawn in the pursuit of that shot. 

9:51 Tennis correspondent David Luddy at the Australian Open 

After bush-fires, polluted air, strong winds and rain, much of the talk around the 2020 Australian Open has been about what has been happening off the court this week. However, there has been plenty of quality on-court action, too. Tennis correspondent David Luddy joins the show live from the 108th edition of the Open at Melbourne Park with all the latest.  

10:04 Dr. Neil deGrasse Tyson: Letters from an Astrophysicist 

Astrophysicist and host of National Geographic's "StarTalk," Dr. Neil deGrasse Tyson's has attracted one of the world's largest online followings with his fascinating, widely accessible insights into science and our universe. He joins Jim to discuss his new book, Letters from an Astrophysicist and why people need to get over the fact that Pluto was downgraded to dwarf planet status 14 years ago.  

10.35 Our Current Song: Soaked Oats, Coming Up

Dunedin-based band Soaked Oats are continuing their tradition of making every post a winner with a prized slot at tomorrow's Laneway festival in Auckland. Lyricist and singer Oscar Mein joins the show to look at the band's meteoric rise and what it means to be playing Laneway. 

10:46 The beginning and the end of Trumpism

Rutgers University's professor James Goodman was one of 23 top US historians recently invited by Politico to write a paragraph on how they believe the 2010s will be remembered. He explains why Donald Trump is the only person who could have done what he has done, and got away with it, as US president. 

11:05 Middle-age misery hits at age 47.2 

Dartmouth College Professor David Blanchflower is known as the 'Walking Economist'. A former Bank of England policy maker, Blanchflower has studied data across 132 countries to measure the relationship between wellbeing and age and come up with a U-shaped happiness curve, which reaches its lowest point at age 47.2.

11.35 Apartners: Living Happily Ever Apart 

Montreal filmmaker Sharon Hyman has lived just down the road from the love of her life, David, for the past 20 years. The arrangement means Sharon, an extrovert, doesn't keep David, an introvert, awake late at night, and he doesn't wake her early in the morning as he heads to work. Sharon's second film, Apartners: Living Happily Ever Apart is due for release later this year, and documents a rise in the number of Canadians choosing to stay in relationships by living apart.