Sunday Morning for Sunday 8 August 2021

8:10 Lavina Good on New Zealand's golden Olympics campaign   

The 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympics have been one of the strangest ever, but they have also been the most successful in our history, with Lisa Carrington's incredible feats on the water leading New Zealand to its biggest medal haul of all time. Sports commentator Lavina Good joins us from Tokyo to cover off the big Kiwi highlights from the Games. 

8:23 Professor Gary McLean: 'Things unlikely to be 'normal' until 2023 

New Zealander Dr Gary McLean is an international authority on coronaviruses. He joins the show to discuss the threat of the new lambda variant, the Cape Cod outbreak, concerns about what's happening in Wuhan, and -- while he remains ever-hopeful -- why it's likely that Covid will continue to impact heavily on our lives until at least 2023. 

8:41 The Panel with Anna Fifield and Chris Finlayson 

Joining us on the Weekend panel this morning are Anna Fifield, the Wellington editor at Stuff and editor of the Dominion Post, and lawyer and former National Party member Chris Finlayson. Among other topics, they'll be looking at New Zealand's Olympic Games campaign, arming the police, problems in MIQ, and the National Party Conference.

9:06 Mediawatch

This week Mediawatch talks to the maker of a timely TV series all about the future of farming. Also: broadcasters held to account over Covid misinformation  - and how two Kiwi competitors in Tokyo made history and headlines for very different reasons.

9:37 Struggling to hear in noisy settings? It could be dementia 

Do you struggle to hear people or keep up with conversations when there's noise around? A new study of 80,000 adults over the age of 60 from Oxford University links this to dementia risk. But there's an upside, too: the study adds to evidence suggesting hearing problems may actually be a risk factor of dementia that could alert people to its onset before any deterioration begins. Epidemiologist and study author Thomas Littlejohns explains. 

9:50 Trampoline medal brings long-held dream to fruition  

Auckland's Angie Dougal boarded a flight home from Tokyo a week ago after coaching Dylan Schmidt to New Zealand's first-ever Olympic trampolining medal. She'd been talking to Dylan about his Olympic dream since he was a 10-year-old. Along with her success with Schmidt, Dougal also revelled in the Black Ferns' Sevens gold medal rush, as she works with the Blacks Ferns as their player development manager at the New Zealand Rugby Players' Association. Dougal, who is a former world champion trampolinist in her own right, is now midway through her mandatory two week period in MIQ. She joins the show to reflect on her experiences in Tokyo and her plans for the next Olympics in Paris in 2024. 

10:04 Lisa Carrington live from the Tokyo Olympics 

Kayak Sprint champion Lisa Carrington has just become the most successful and decorated Olympian in New Zealand's history. Tokyo 2020 has seen her win three gold medals, bringing her total to six; five gold, one bronze. She joins us from Tokyo to discuss how she feels about her new title and what it has taken to reach this point.

10:17  My Current Song: KITA, 'Every Day'

Wellington band KITA have released their single 'Every Day' alongside their debut self-titled album. The group is made up of the lead singer and guitarist Nikita Tu-Bryant, keyboardist Ed Zuccollo and drummer Rick Cranson. Nikita joins us to discuss the track, the overall theme of the new album, and how many takes it took to film their impressive one-shot music video.

10:30 Calling Home: Cathy Macleay in Punta Arenas

Emigrating from Christchurch to Patagonia like Cathy Macleay did in the late 1960s would have been a rare occurrence for anyone in those days, but it had been done before by Cathy's own mother in law, Anne Ensor, in the 1930s. Cathy started out her life in Chile on the family farm of her late husband, Hugh, but now lives on her own in Punta Arenas (which is a gateway to Antarctica), though she has four children and 10 grandchildren all living in Chile to keep her company.  

11:05 Are today's Olympic athletes really bigger, stronger and faster? 

We like to think that we have evolved as a species to become more athletic over the centuries, and while it seems like humans have gotten faster, better and stronger, it might surprise people to learn that Jesse Owens, who won the 100m dash at the 1936 Olympics, would have finished within one stride of Usain Bolt if he'd been running today with Bolt's advantages of surface, equipment and initial propulsion. David Epstein is the author of The Sports Gene and has worked as a senior writer for Sports Illustrated. He joins the show to look at whether today's athletes are really all that much better. 

11:30 New Zealand-developed machine could revolutionise cancer treatment  

Auckland-based company Buckley Systems has developed and manufactured a machine which could help treat the most difficult cancers. Boron Neutron Capture Therapy (BNCT) delivers targeted radiation to cancer cells while minimising damage to surrounding healthy tissue and is capable of treating one patient per hour. Founder and developer Bill Buckley -- the 2020 New Zealand Innovator of the year -- discusses the potentially game-changing machine and the possibilities it holds for cancer treatment in years to come. 

11:45 Dr Dave Gerrard completes a 57-year Tokyo Olympics loop  

Representing New Zealand at the Tokyo Olympics in 1964 was Dr Dave Gerrard's first major overseas outing, so it has been something of an emotional return to the city -- where he has been acting as a medical comissioner for Fina at this year's Games -- for 'Doctor Dave.' Gerrard is with us on the eve of his return to New Zealand to explain why these have been the most remarkable Olympic Games from a Kiwi perspective and what it has meant for him to complete the 'Tokyo loop.'