Sunday Morning

Dr Yaniv Hanoch is a Professor in Decision Science at Southampton Business School. He has spent his career looking at decision making and risk-taking across the lifespan and across domains. His latest research looks at the thousands of decisions we make every day, like choosing what to wear or whether to have cereal or toast for breakfast. Dr Hanoch says contrary to belief, having fewer choices is better than having more. And even with less choice there is often emotion attached to the process. he tells Sunday Morning about strategies to help us make better decisions that are more maximising and satisfying.

Heritage Hiking Tour Guide Tony Everitt talks about life in Atami, Japan where he has been living with his wife for eight years. The region has stunning natural and cultural heritage, is a UNESCO Geopark which means it has active volcanoes and hot springs (including one in his bathroom) and beautiful flora & fauna. 70% of Japan's land area has been planted in indigenous forest as they furiously suck carbon out of the air. Atami is on Japan's 60-year-old main trunk bullet train line, Tokaido, which can get Tony to Tokyo station in 45 minutes travelling at 285 kph. Tony is Calling Home from Atami and shares his life with Sunday Morning.

Stuff takes the paywall plunge; fear of brain drain drowns out victory for Kiwis' rights across the ditch; economic predictions wide of the mark.

American Singer-songwriter Natalie Merchant thought she would never sing again after spinal surgery three years ago. The operation involved surgeons having to make an incision in her throat and move her vocal chords. But the 59-year-old did recover and has just recorded her new album Keep Your Courage. Many of Merchant's songs explore personal and very emotional themes, and often address complex social and political issues. Her latest album is inspired by poet Robin Robertson whose work she read during her recovery, and the coronavirus pandemic.

Health officials are warning this year's flu season could be one of our worst, and the push is on to get vaccinated. There has been a sharp rise in Influenza B strains which haven't been widely circulating since 2019 and reports that flu cases have more than doubled in recent weeks. Influenza can be deadly, especially for some of our most vulnerable, and there are real concerns our immunity is low after Covid. Hospitals are getting prepared for the winter period with Te Whatu Ora Health New Zealand announcing their winter plan in the next week. Te Whatu Ora's interim national medical director Dr Pete Watson, joins Sunday Morning to discuss the current strain of influenza, how it is different to Covid, and how we can better prepare.

Nicholas Humphrey is a theoretical psychologist, based in Cambridge, who is known for his work on the evolution of human intelligence and consciousness. He studied mountain gorillas with Dian Fossey in Rwanda, he was the first to demonstrate the existence of "blindsight" after brain damage in monkeys, he proposed the celebrated theory of the "social function of intellect, and he is the only scientist ever to edit the literary journal Granta. He has been the recipient of several honours, including the Martin Luther King Memorial Prize, the British Psychological Society's book award, the Pufendorff Medal and the Mind and Brain Prize. He has been Lecturer in Psychology at Oxford, Assistant Director of the Subdepartment of Animal Behaviour at Cambridge, Senior Research Fellow in Parapsychology at Cambridge, Professor of Psychology at the New School for Social Research, New York, and School Professor at the London School of Economics. He's written many books, his latest, Sentience: The Invention of Consciousness is available now.

Anne Perry the famous New Zealand crime novelist - formally Juliet Hulme the infamous Christchurch teenager convicted of murder - died last week at aged 84. The murder of Honorah Parker by her daughter Pauline and friend Juliet Hulme rocked New Zealand in 1954, and has stayed in our public memory. The crime was later dramatised in Peter Jackson's film 'Heavenly Creatures'. Yet Anne Perry managed an extraodinary reinvention; leaving behind a country gripped by the Parker-Hulme case and forging a new life as a bestselling crime writer in a remote part of England. But can one ever leave a past like that behind? Will the public allow it? Anne Perry's biographer, Dr Joanne Drayton joins us.

Regarding movement just as a "fix" for weight problems doesn't do justice to its health benefits, says physical education specialist Dr Susannah Stevens.

Louisa Lim is no stranger to controversy - her first book The People's Republic of Amnesia - Tiananmen Revisited resulted in her being unable to visit mainland China for years. When the Hong Kong protests began over concerns about an extradition treaty, and escalated to a crackdown on freedom of expression, award-winning journalist Louisa Lim found herself uniquely placed to capture the city's untold history in her most recent, Stella Prize shortlisted Indelible City: Dispossession and Defiance in Hong Kong. A former correspondent for the BBC and NPR, and now a Senior Lecturer at University of Melbourne, Louisa is coming to Auckland next month for an event at the Auckland Writers Festival.

What's the government plan for public media now?; regional news start-up seeking reporters and backing; airline snack swap secures sparks media appetite.