Sunday Morning

When Covid struck and put a halt on touring, rockers Jane and Jimmy Barnes (as the Jane Barnes Band) launched a series of online performances, which attracted millions of views from around the world. Along with plenty of memorable musical performances (and the odd cameo from friends like Neil Finn), the Barnes' offered viewers an insight into their home life and the role food plays in the family dynamic. As with their music, the couple enjoy creating together in the kitchen, and love nothing more than bringing people together with good food. Jane and Jimmy have just released their first cookbook together -- Where the River Bends: Recipes and stories from the table of Jane and Jimmy Barnes. They join the show to discuss the new book and what they've learned from being home for the last 18 months.

New Zealand recorded its second Covid-19 death of the current Delta outbreak on Friday when a second man who had been isolating at home in Auckland died. The total number of cases in the current outbreak has now passed 4000, with triple digit new case number days being a constant theme over the last week, including a new daily record of 163 on the same day as the second death. University of Otago epidemiology professor Michael Baker is back to offer his thoughts on our Covid prospects, the gene that puts people more at risk for respiratory complications, vaccines for children, and where are the booster shots?

Former North Shore resident Mia Ayoub spent her formative years in Egypt before moving to New Zealand with her family when she was eight. But she always thought she'd return to the country of her birth one day. Having moved back to Egypt nearly a decade ago, Mia now runs a kitesurfing school along with her fellow half Egyptian/half Kiwi sister, Sophie, in the resort town of El Gouna on Egypt's Red Sea Coast. The sisters have been running Kite Tribe since 2017, while Mia also oversees an arm of the family business (started by her grandfather in Cairo 50 years ago) in El Gouna, selling ceramics and other handmade products from Egypt and Turkey. She's Calling Home this morning.

The owners of Facebook - now known as 'Meta' - announced a plan to boost news publishers here this week. Mediawatch looks at the media's response to that. Also: how media angst about upcoming alert level changes is not levelling off just yet -- and are our media getting it right when reporting on transgender peoples' rights?

Joining us on the panel this morning are commentators Josie Pagani and Richard Harman. Among other topics, they'll be discussing how we're coping with Covid-19 and whether New Zealand needs a Royal Commission into how we've responded, climate change and COP26, whether the 'Great Resignation' is actually happening, and their thoughts on a bat being named Bird of the Year.

Halloween is fast approaching, and for many people that means it's time for an annual dose of cinematic spookiness. Horror entertainment, says horror expert Professor Mathias Clasen, aims to evoke fear, anxiety, disgust, and dread in its audience. But there are also wholesome benefits -- for example, horror movie fans reported less psychological distress in response to Covid-19 lockdowns than those who are not fans of the genre. (Which is arguably the most disrespected genre.) Danish academic Clasen, who is the director of the Recreational Fear Lab at Aarhus University, joins the show to discuss horror movies, deriving pleasure from scary situations, and what watching horror can do for us.

New Zealand Al Jazeera journalist Charlotte Bellis is back in Taliban-controlled Afghanistan. The intrepid Christchurch-born reporter feels safe on her return to the Afghan capital, despite the fact the hotel that she is staying at has been the subject of threats by ISIS-K, who she says are now the biggest problem in the war-torn nation.

Intermittent fasting has recently become a major health trend, with devotees claiming it can cause impressive weight loss with quick turnarounds. But there might be more to the fasting diet than being able to tighten the belt a few notches. Researchers out of the University of Wisconsin looking at mice on different diets have found that those who were fed fewer calories in a single daily feeding lived longer than mice eating the same number of calories distributed throughout the day. Study author Dudley Lamming has long studied the effect of restricted diets on metabolism. He's with us to look at the study, published in Nature Metabolism, how eating less helped improve the health and lifespan of rodents, and whether it's likely to be the same for people.

Yourego were formed in August of this year by veteran musician Paulego - otherwise known as Paul Marshall. The group consists of artists based in different parts of the world who combine their talents to blend pop, electronic and hysteria - with seemingly chaotic results. Singer, Janeego is a well known artist, rumoured to be from the hit show American Idol but her identity is yet to be revealed. Paulego introduces us to their new song, 'If Your Not Here.'

Author and historian Hampton Sides' latest book, The Exotic: Intrigue and Cultural Ruin in the Age of Imperialism, tells the remarkable story of Mai, a central figure in the story of Captain James Cook but one who is rarely mentioned in other books on the famous explorer.