The Sunday Session with Francesca Rudkin

As New Zealand heads towards what could be a drier-than-usual summer, here's an unusual way we might save water - stop flushing the toilet quite so often. 
 
The old water-saving advice goes: “If it’s yellow, let it mellow.” 
 
The problem is that many of us find an unflushed toilet really unpleasant. 
 
Now researchers at the University of Surrey have investigated a surprisingly simple solution - a pellet that dissolves in the toilet, turns the water blue and masks the smell after you wee. 
 
Their results found that the biggest barrier to flushing less might not actually be habit, it might be worrying about what other people think.

In the study the researchers recruited 20 adults and gave each a dispenser containing 70 Wizso pellets. 
 
For one week, participants used the pellets at home as part of their normal bathroom routines. 

Drop one into the toilet and it dissolves, colouring the water blue and releasing a fragrance designed to mask odour. The idea is that after urinating, you leave the toilet unflushed without the usual yellow appearance or smell.

At the end of the week, researchers interviewed each person for 40 minutes, asking when they flushed, when they didn't, and how they felt about leaving the toilet unflushed.

Overall, participants found the pellets easy to use.

The blue colour was surprisingly important. People associated it with bleach and toilet cleaning products, making an unflushed toilet appear cleaner.

People living alone were generally comfortable not flushing. Many were also happy doing it around partners and family.

However, when guests arrived, the flushing returned.

People worried that visitors might see an unflushed toilet and think they were unhygienic.

Female participants identified that seeing menstrual blood often prompted an automatic flush regardless of their intention to save water.

The researchers suggest that social expectations may actually be a bigger barrier to flushing less than the habit of flushing itself.

New Zealand is currently experiencing a strong El Niño, which is expected to influence our weather through the coming summer, bringing unusually dry weather.

That doesn't mean we're definitely heading into a drought, but it does make the humble toilet an interesting place to look for savings. 
 
A toilet flush uses betwee 4–13 litres of drinking-quality water, so at several flushes a day, that's a surprisingly large amount of treated water being used simply to carry away urine. 
 
The study highlights something fascinating about environmental behaviour.  Sometimes getting people to conserve resources isn't about convincing them to care more. 
 
It's about understanding, what actually stops them from changing their behaviour and designing around it.

In this case, apparently one of those barriers is not wanting your dinner guests to think you forgot to flush. 

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The show is set to go on - as Ed Sheeran looks to take the stage without any opening acts as his tour continues.

He's set to play at Philadelphia's Lincoln Financial Field later today, in his first show since Macklemore was dropped over his pro-Palestinian remarks onstage, and his other openers quit in protest.

Entertainment correspondent Steve Newall says ticket prices have fallen significantly since this development, with tonight's tickets dropping as low as $32 USD.

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The supermarket competition debate continues on, with National indicating they'll make changes if re-elected.

The party's proposing to increase competition by splitting Pak'nSave from New World and Four Square - as long as the Commerce Commission agrees.

Kai Co founder and operations director Ethan Vickery says it's hard to tell how this proposed change will impact Kiwi consumers.

"It's really complicated, but I think you have to look at it and be like - why is New World's everyday prices more expensive than Pak'nSave's? Why is Four Square's everyday prices more expensive than New World's? And yet, they all buy from the same DC and they're all part of the same co-op." 

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Parliament unanimously passed a new law reforming building rules, with thousands of buildings no longer considered earthquake-prone under this change.

Building and Construction Minister Simon Watts said this change would save building owners and the New Zealand economy $8.2 billion.

 Newstalk ZB political reporter unpacked the changes further - and revealed why we could be in for some interesting weeks in Parliament.

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The US and Denmark have announced a deal, which President Donald Trump says will grant the US permanent control over Greenland’s security.

The leaders of Denmark and Greenland have welcomed the deal, but say it won't compromise the region's sovereignty.

It follows months of tension over Trump’s threats to take control of the Danish territory.

US political analyst Dan Schnur says this is a face-saving measure for the President. 

"It allows him to campaign in our mid-term elections in a few weeks, on the basis that he's achieved that promise."

The agreement is expected to be signed next week, but its details have not been released.

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It's do or die for the Warriors this evening, as the team gears up for their elimination round against the Knights.

The must-win clash will take place at a sold-out Eden Park at 6:05 PM, and excitement is brewing among Kiwi fans.

Former Warrior Monty Betham says he's feeling nervous, and he knows all eyes will be on the Kiwi side as they look to move past their last loss against the Dolphins.

"I think everyone felt that sense of letdown, because the Warriors promised so much, there was so much within that match and the Dolphins came and they played really, really well... you just need to do the right things." 

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Ed Sheeran found himself between a rock and a hard place this week, with a rather uncomfortable question hanging over his US tour - can you be the nice guy who keeps politics out of your concerts while allowing someone else on your stage to talk about politics?

The answer for Sheeran, after a week of intense global media pressure, having his songs removed from playing on Ireland’s biggest commercial radio station, and making a $US 2 million pledge to Palestinian causes, is a clear no.  

You probably know the story - Sheeran’s support act rapper Macklemore was dropped from the remaining US dates of Sheeran’s Loop Tour after making pro-Palestinian comments during performances. According to Sheeran, several venues told the tour promoter they would pull their venues for shows if Macklemore remained on the bill. Sheeran says the promoter made the final decision, not him, despite his attempts to find a compromise.

All four remaining support acts - Finneas, Lukas Graham, Aaron Rowe and Sheeran’s own backing band, Beoga pulled out in solidarity with Macklemore. Their reasoning was pretty straightforward: they didn't want to continue if a fellow artist had effectively been silenced for speaking out about Palestine. 

And once again, we find ourselves having a conversation about when and how a celebrity or artist should or shouldn’t use their platform.  

Sheeran has explained why he generally avoids politics. 

He says his audiences include young people and children from all backgrounds, and people come to his shows for unity, joy, escapism and somewhere everyone feels welcome. He says he prefers to use his platform as a “place of safety and sanctuary”, keeping conversations open rather than turning concerts into political forums.

Fair enough. And it feels very Ed Sheeran. His brand is essentially the musical equivalent of a warm cup of tea. He's familiar, friendly, inoffensive, and hugely successful. The bloke with the guitar who can bring 60,000 people together without asking them to agree on anything except that Shape of You is a lovely song. There is a big commercial value in being that guy.

And that's a perfectly legitimate position to take. Artists don't have a moral obligation to turn every concert into a political rally. Celebrity doesn't automatically equal wisdom. Having 20 million Instagram followers doesn't give you a degree in Middle Eastern history. If your level of influence is disproportionate to your knowledge of the issues, then it’s best to say nothing. Sometimes a celebrity talking about a complicated issue can reduce something desperately complicated to a slogan.

But nor do artists have to be politically neutral. Macklemore clearly doesn't think he should be. Neither do the artists who've now walked away from Sheeran’s tour.

Famous faces should not be chastised for using their platforms to inform or  encourage awareness of the issues facing those who are less fortunate. If they want to be a political commentator beyond their day job, they should use their platform responsibly, whether that's speaking, listening, raising money, supporting a cause, or simply encouraging people to learn more.  

Ultimately it’s up to the audience to determine the power of celebrity endorsement. You’d like to think their contribution would play a role in an ongoing wider conversation.

Unfortunately for Ed Sheeran, some issues seem too polarised for conversations. He got the worse of both worlds. He didn’t want to be part of this but couldn’t avoid it, and once he was involved anything he did was going to be interpreted as picking a side, and for many it was going to be the wrong side.  

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The Ruins by Becky Docton. This is a generational story across three decades, which begins in 1937 when a mother abandons her young girl on a Devon railway station, leaving her in the care of strangers and from which point the child is forced to navigate the rest of her life. It’s a very compelling and moving story set in a period of enormous change throughout the world.

Never Say War by Asne Seierstad. The author met a young mercenary from the Wagner Group who sought asylum in Norway and through him, and after subsequent travels around Russia, was able to write the very human story of the Special Military Operation in Ukraine which may not be referred to as a war but has transformed the lives of millions. From Siberia, to villages, to the cities and in homes and workplaces, this is journalism at its finest. Insightful, humane and riveting.

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Sisters Margo Flanagan and Rosa Power are the team behind Two Raw Sisters, and they've got a new recipe book out this week.

They published their first book seven years ago and they've written five earlier cookbooks - but this one promises to be different, with over 100 recipes you're gauranteed to turn into household staples.  

The pair have built the brand out of utilising healthy food that makes you feel good and that fits in with your life, but How We Cook is being pitched as the 'Two Raw Sisters bible'. 

"We wanted it to be the one that's always on your bench because you use it too much too much to put it away on your shelves...it's everything you need in one place."  

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