Sunday Morning for Sunday 9 June 2024

8:10 Screen time before bed isn't as bad as we thought 

According to a new worldwide review of evidence, “blue light” before bed doesn't seem to have a significant impact on sleep. 

Sleep scientist and body clock expert, Dr Kat Lederle joins us. 

8:15 The Sunday Morning Quiz with Jack Waley-Cohen  

Our quiz master Jack Waley-Cohen is back for another Sunday Morning quiz.  

Jack is the mind behind the questions on BBC quiz show ‘Only Connect’ which is known for being both difficult to crack and totally obvious.    

It’s Sunday morning, so wake up your brain and have a go!      

8:20 Marc Wilson: The psychology of buying lotto tickets  

Would you be more likely to buy a Lotto ticket for a $50 million draw or a ticket where you had ten chances to win $5 million – or even 25 chances to win $2 million? 

Dr Marc Wilson, our resident psychologist, joins Jim to discuss.  

8: 35 Barbara Wallraff: Aisle blockers  

What would you call somebody blocking a supermarket aisle with their trolley while you go about your business? Perhaps they got in your way while you did your weekly shopping or picked up some last-minute bits?  

Barbara Wallraff, editor and columnist at The Boston Globe, pondered this recently in her May I have A Word column. 

9:10 Mediawatch  

9:40 Tattoos linked to increased lymphoma risk  

Christel Nielsen’s research focuses on how chemicals in our environment affect our health – including the chemicals which make up tattoos.  

She led a team at Sweden’s Lund University who conducted a study which linked cases of malignant lymphoma diagnosed and people with tattoos over a ten-year period.  

Christel joins Jim to tell us all about the study and how society can ensure tattoos, which she says are a legitimate form of self-expression, can become safer.  

10:10 Rebecca Sharrock: The woman who cannot forget  

Imagine being able to remember every single day of your life from the present day to a decade, two decades ago or even further.  

Rebecca Sharrock us is one of only 60 people in the world with a highly superior autobiographical memory (HSAM), also known as hyperthymesia, which she was diagnosed with at the age of 21.  

This explained why she could remember every day back to her early childhood. 

10:30 Georgia Lines: My latest track  

Georgia Lines won Breakthrough Artist of the Year at the 2022 Aotearoa Music Awards, while her EP Human – released the following year – has been streamed millions of times.  

Her debut album, The Rose of Jericho, was released on Friday along with lead single Grand Illusion. 

Georgia joins Jim to discuss the creative process behind her new music which was written over a two-year period and recorded in two weeks.  

10:45 The headlines we didn’t read  

Mary Argue is back guiding us through the latest weird and wonderful headlines from the world of science.  

11:10 Dr Lee Alan Dugatkin: The wonderful complexity of animal societies 

Dr Lee Alan Dugatkin is a distinguished professor of biology at the University of Louisville, and the author of various books.

His interests are in the areas of animal behaviour and evolution and he has published a well-recieved book include How to Tame a Fox and Build a Dog and the much-praised 'Visionary Scientists and a Siberian Tale of Jump-Started Evolution'

Lee's newest book is The Well-Connected Animal: Social Networks and the Wondrous Complexity of Animal Societies. 

11:40 Dr Peter Sudmant: Do genetics matter less as we age? 

Genetics matter less the older you get, says a study out of the University of California. What are the implications of that for us? How should we use that information? Dr Peter Sudmant is an integrative biology professor who runs the Sudmant Lab at UC Berkeley.