Sunday Morning

Foxton-born author Meg Mason would be forgiven for feeling like the last 12 or so months have passed in a blur. Although it was her second novel (and third book overall), the release of Sorrow and Bliss in September 2020 launched Mason into the international literary stratosphere.

Wellingtonian Patrick Rosevear has certainly led a varied life in China since he moved there nearly a decade ago. Having fully immersed himself in local culture from day one in Shanghai, including living with Chinese flatmates and taking Mandarin lessons for two hours a day, seven days a week.

Keeping calm as Covid comes to Christchurch - and not; a new bid to boost diversity in our news; Australian media straying into fake news about NZ.

Joining us on the Weekend Panel this morning are Anna Fifield, editor of the Dominion Post, and former National minister Chris Finlayson. Among other topics, they'll be discussing where to from here for Covid-19, the new changes to the MIQ system, COP26 and the Three Waters Reform.

New Zealander Dr Gary McLean is a Professor in molecular immunology at London Metropolitan University and a researcher with Imperial College. He's an international authority on coronaviruses.

If eco-warrior Jacques-Yves Cousteau was still alive today, he'd be alarmed by the state of the planet's oceans and the wild creatures in them, says Becoming Cousteau co-writer Pax Wasserman. And he'd be even more concerned about the lack of action by world leaders. Drawing on a treasure trove of previously undocumented archival material, Becoming Cousteau takes an affectionate look at the 20th century's greatest undersea explorer and environmentalist. It also reminds us that Cousteau was warning world leaders about how dire things would become if they failed to back up their words with action, more than 50 years before the same message was being trotted out ahead of the upcoming UN climate summit in Glasgow. Pax Wasserman is co-writer and editor of Becoming Cousteau, which opened this week and is up for five gongs at the Critics' Choice Documentary Awards in Brooklyn. Pax Wasserman is co-writer and editor of Becoming Cousteau, which opened this week and is up for five gongs at the Critics' Choice Documentary Awards in Brooklyn. The doco reminds us that eco-warrior Jacques-Yves Cousteau was warning world leaders about how dire things would become if they failed to back up their words with action, more than 50 years before the same message was being trotted out ahead of the upcoming UN climate summit in Glasgow. If was still alive today, he'd be alarmed by the state of the planet's oceans and the wild creatures in them, says Becoming Cousteau co-writer Pax Wasserman. And he'd be even more concerned about the lack of action by world leaders. Drawing on a treasure trove of previously undocumented archival material, Becoming Cousteau takes an affectionate look at the 20th century's greatest undersea explorer and environmentalist.

To say Nelsonian Rosie Manins' introduction to life in Atlanta has been something of a baptism of fire would be an understatement. A former ODT journalist who is married to a Grammy Award-nominated Georgia native (Jamaica Smith), Rosie now works as a courts reporter, and has seen Confederate monuments taken from public view, experienced the race riots after George Floyd's death, met Martin Luther King Jr.'s sister, and interviewed a black man who was attacked by the KKK as a boy -- not to mention living through the horror of Covid-19 as the state recorded over one million cases and 20,000 deaths. She's Calling Home this morning. Nelsonian Rosie Manins is Calling Home from Atlanta. The former ODT journalist who is married to a Grammy Award-nominated Georgia native, Jamaica Smith, and works as a court reporter, and has seen Confederate monuments taken from public view, experienced the race riots after George Floyd's death, met Martin Luther King Jr.'s sister, and interviewed a black man who was attacked by the KKK as a boy -- not to mention living through the horror of Covid-19 as the state recorded over one million cases and 20,000 deaths.

Fifty years ago this week, The Rumour started their four-week run at the top of the NZ charts with their most memorable song, L'amour Est L'enfant de la Liberté (Love is the Child of Freedom). Its composer Shade (John) Smith joins the show to look back on the song that rocketed The Rumour to stardom 50 years ago, and reflect on his life today.

Named one of the world's top thinkers by both Prospect and Foreign Policy magazines, American social psychologist Professor Jonathan Haidt will feature as the keynote speaker at next month's APEC CEO Summit in Auckland. Haidt, who will be delivering his speech remotely because of Covid-19, will be asking if business can become a force for good in the future in his address at the fully digital summit. He joins the show to discuss his appearance at APEC, why social media is to blame for messing up the internal dynamics of most of our social institutions, and how a Donald Trump re-election in 2024 could kill American democracy. American social psychologist @JonHaidt will feature as the keynote speaker at next month's APEC CEO Summit in Auckland. Named one of the world's top thinkers by both Prospect and Foreign Policy magazines, he joins the show to discuss his upcoming appearance at APEC, why social media is to blame for messing up the internal dynamics of most of our social institutions, and how a Donald Trump re-election in 2024 could kill American democracy.

We've all wanted to scream down the phone at scammers before. Some people even keep whistles next to the phone so they can go one better. But few out there would have tried to scam the scammers themselves. Well, there are people who do just that. Three to four times a week, for up to two hours at a time, LA-based voice actor Rosie Okumura telephones thieves and messes with their minds. It's known as 'scambaiting.' The 35-year-old has been scamming the scammers for the past two years, and has no intention of stopping anytime soon. (You can see her in action on her YouTube page https://www.youtube.com/c/rosieeeyuh) Rosie discusses what got her interested in scambaiting in the first place, and reflects on some of her greatest conquests.