A 24-hour recording of RNZ National. The following rundown is sourced from the broadcaster’s website. Note some overseas/copyright restricted items may not appear in the supplied rundown:
02 August 2016
===12:04 AM. | All Night Programme===
=DESCRIPTION=
Including: 12:05 Music after Midnight; 12:30 The National Film Unit (1 of 2, RNZ); 1:15 From the World (BBC); 2:05 Hidden Treasures (RNZ) 3:05 Tall Half Backs by Graham Hutchins (1 of 15, RNZ); 3:30 An Author's View (RNZ); 5:10 Witness (BBC)
===6:00 AM. | Morning Report===
=DESCRIPTION=
RNZ's three-hour breakfast news show with news and interviews, bulletins on the hour and half-hour, including: 6:16 and 6:50 Business News; 6:18 Pacific News; 6:26 Rural News; 6:48 and 7:45 New Zealand Newspapers
=AUDIO=
06:00
Top Stories for Tuesday 2 August 2016
BODY:
New Zealand says the European Union should look to its own tax rules before criticising New Zealand New Zealanders held on Christmas Island double, conditions worse - detainee Upston defends reliability of latest foreign buyer numbers Labour calls land information data 'shonky' Donald Trump continues on defensive despite rising criticism Labour Maori MPs back Helen Clark's bid for UN job
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Duration: 35'37"
06:06
Sports News for 2/8/2016
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An update from the team at RNZ Sport.
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Duration: 2'16"
06:10
New Zealand detainee numbers growing on Christmas Island
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A New Zealand detainee on Christmas Island says the number of New Zealanders being held there has doubled since riots last November. It's the first time we've spoken to anyone on the island since those riots last year.
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Duration: 4'17"
06:13
Police still hunting Christchurch gunman after man shot in leg
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Police in Christchurch are still searching for a suspected gunman after two schools were briefly placed in lockdown yesterday.
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Duration: 2'27"
06:21
Early Business News for 2/8/2016
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A brief update of movements in the financial sector.
Topics: business, economy
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Duration: 2'33"
06:25
Morning Rural News for 2/8/2016
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News from the rural and farming sectors.
Topics: rural, farming
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Duration: 4'15"
06:37
Peters says property data 'more holes than Swiss cheese'
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New foreign buyers data shows the total number of homes by overseas taxpayers hasn't changed in six months, despite Government moves to tighten up on foreign buyers.
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Duration: 2'59"
06:49
Shareholders push for change at Rakon
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The Shareholders' Association is pressing for change at the top of technology company Rakon and says it's time the Robinson family loosened its grip on the underperforming chip maker.
Topics: business
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Duration: 1'20"
06:49
Shareholders push for change at Rakon
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The Shareholders' Association is pressing for change at the top of technology company Rakon and says it's time the Robinson family loosened its grip on the underperforming chip maker.
Topics: business
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Duration: 1'20"
06:53
Rangatira hoping for another strong year
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The investment firm, Rangatira, is expecting another strong year as it keeps alert for investment opportunities.
Topics: business
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Duration: 1'16"
06:57
Fonterra business changes starting to deliver - ANZ
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Dairy giant Fonterra is starting to show some of the benefits of its restructuring and cost cutting programme of the past couple of years, according to a rural economist.
Topics: business
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Duration: 1'35"
06:58
New Zealand Refining says new pricing may cost it $3-4 mln
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The operator of the country's oil refinery says its power bill could go up as much as four million dollars a year if proposed changes in the charging for power transmission go ahead.
Topics: business
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Duration: 1'56"
06:59
MYOB buys Greentree for $28.5 million, extends market reach
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The accounting software company, MYOB Group, is buying a New Zealand competitor, Greentree, for 28-and-a-half million dollars.
Topics: business
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Duration: 1'22"
06:59
Markets
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An update on the markets.
Topics: business
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Duration: 57"
07:06
Sports News for 2/8/2016
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An update from the team at RNZ Sport.
Topics: sport
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Duration: 2'20"
07:10
New Zealand: the European Union should look to its own tax rules before criticising New Zealand.
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"If the EU wants to look at some of the jurisdictions, perhaps they should look at little closer to home." That's how the Revenue Minister Michael Woodhouse has hit back at the European MPs who say New Zealand's tax rules should be investigated.
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Duration: 6'19"
07:16
New Zealanders held on Christmas Island double, conditions worse - detainee
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Morning Report hears from a New Zealander detained on Christmas Island - the first time we've heard from a detainee since guards and police stormed in last November. He says conditions are getting worse and the number of New Zealanders being held there has doubled.
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Duration: 3'51"
07:22
Upston defends reliability of latest foreign buyer numbers
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The Land Information Minister Louise Upston rejects criticisms that land information data is incorrect.
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Duration: 7'41"
07:29
Labour calls land information data 'shonky'
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Labour housing spokesman Phil Twyford reposnds to Louise Upston.
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Duration: 4'08"
07:38
Donald Trump continues on defensive despite rising criticism
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Donald Trump has used Twitter to criticize the Khan family while the suddenly famous parents of a Muslim U.S. soldier killed in Iraq were talking about him on CNN.
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Duration: 6'02"
07:40
Labour Maori MPs back Helen Clark's bid for UN job
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Maori are divided over whether to back Helen Clark's bid to be the Secretary General of the United Nations.
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Duration: 6'54"
07:50
Christchurch Council holding on to City Care
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Christchurch City Council abandons plan to sell its City Care maintenance bid as part of its plan to raise $600 million to repair infrastructure damaged by earthquakes.
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Duration: 3'44"
07:55
New Zealand's experience will help bring home medals
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New Zealanders will defend four Olympic titles in Rio and all four of them have a good chance of succeeding. Barry Guy takes a look at New Zealand's main medal chances.
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Duration: 3'56"
08:08
Sports News for 2/8/2016
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An update from the team at RNZ Sport.
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Duration: 2'46"
08:10
European parliament MP confirms New Zealand under investigation
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The the European Union is currently compiling a list of countries it considers tax havens and which may face sanctions. We talk to tax specialist John Shewan.
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Duration: 5'37"
08:16
Lack of Presidential nominee support may scupper TPP
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The TPP - not quite a dead duck but definitely on life support. That's the take of the Financial Times's trade editor now that the two Presidential nominees have indicated they don't support the trans-Pacific trade deal.
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Duration: 4'05"
08:21
10 new cases of Zika in Miami
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There are now 14 confirmed cases of the Zika in Miami leading to fears the virus is gaining a foothold in the United States.
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Duration: 3'06"
08:24
Parents upset hospital not to be prosecuted over son's death
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Parents upset police won't prosecute the Waikato District Health Board over the death of their son. Nicky Stevens drowned after being let out of a mental health unit without supervision to have a smoke.
Topics: health
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Duration: 4'58"
08:32
Markets Update for 2/8/2016
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A brief update of movements in the financial sector.
Topics: business, economy
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Duration: 49"
08:38
New York Post publishes naked photos of Melania Trump
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Melania Trump's making headlines for all the wrong reasons. Naked pictures of Donald Trump's wife have been published in the New York Post, with headlines "menage a trump" and "the ogle office".
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Duration: 3'17"
08:38
Public in Rio not feeling the Olympic spirit
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Our sports team Stephen Hewson and Barry Guy have just arrived in Rio amid the chaos.
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Duration: 2'31"
08:42
Julian Savea retains spot in latest All Blacks squad
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Is this latest Rugby Championship Julian Savea's last chance to show selectors he belongs in the team? Former All Blacks coach John Hart says so.
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Duration: 3'00"
08:49
Primary teachers union raises privacy concerns
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The Ministry of Education has a multi-million dollar plan to collect and share information about every school child in the country; but one education union is raising concerns around children's privacy.
Topics: education
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Duration: 2'34"
08:51
250th anniversary of Cook's arrival to celebrate dual heritage
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Planning for the 250th anniversary of James Cook's arrival in New Zealand will focus on the meeting of Pakeha and Maori and the shared future of two peoples says the Gisborne Trust behind the event.
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Duration: 3'25"
=SHOW NOTES=
===9:06 AM. | Nine To Noon===
=DESCRIPTION=
Current affairs and topics of interest, including:
10:45 The Reading: Soon, by Charlotte Grimshaw (Part-2), read by Michael Hurst. A satirical novel following the fortunes of National Party Prime Minister David Hallwright and his Auckland set (Part 2 of 12, RNZ)
=AUDIO=
09:08
Financial watchdog responds to criticism
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The Financial Markets Authority says its "good conduct" guidelines for financial service providers are adequate. An independent financial advisor says proposed new rules let banks off too lightly and allow in-house advisors to sell only their own financial products. FMA director Rob Everett responds.
Topics: law, business
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Tags: Financial Markets Authority, FMA
Duration: 19'54"
09:25
No benefit to locked mental health wards - study
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A study co-authored by Oxford University Professor of Psychiatry Tom Burns and Otago University Professor of Law John Dawson, concludes locking doors in mental health care centers may not lead to best outcomes.
EXTENDED BODY:
A 15-year study has concluded that there is no benefit in locking up many mentally ill patients.
According to the study of 145,000 patients, published in The Lancet Psychiatry, an open-door policy does not increase the risk of suicide or of patients leaving without permission.
The study compared patients with the same severity of symptoms in four hospitals in Germany which had locked doors, and 16 which did not.
There was no difference in the rates of patients leaving without permission or hurting themselves, it found.
Oxford University psychiatry professor Tom Burns, whose commentary on the study was also published in The Lancet, told Nine To Noon an open-door policy could be preferable for those with depression, anxiety or psychosis, as it promoted a better therapeutic atmosphere and more positive health outcomes.
His work with Otago law professor John Dawson had also shown that patients being discharged with community treatment orders were just as likely to be re-admitted as those without, Mr Burns said.
Good psychiatry relied on staff engaging with patients, but locking hospital doors altered the atmosphere and experience for staff, patients and visitors.
Care had become over-formalised in a risk-averse system, Mr Burns said.
"Nurses now spend a third of their time filling out documents to prove they've done things, rather than sitting out in the ward with patients.
"The key to successful care - whether it's in the ward or out in the community - is how much time and energy and skill you bring to engaging with the patient."
Topics: health, life and society
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Tags: mental health, mental health hospitals
Duration: 18'31"
09:45
US correspondent Susan Milligan
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The latest on the US presidential election.
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Tags: USA, USA politics
Duration: 12'38"
10:08
Writer and performer Ivan Coyote
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Raised in Canada's Yukon territory, Ivan's books and storytelling detail the isolation and freedom of the journey in coming to terms with who you are and how society reacts. Ivan Coyote is appearing at Word - Christchurch's Writer's and Reader's festival later this month (24-28 August).
EXTENDED BODY:
“I’m a storyteller and an artist. My job is to move people and the best way to do that is to come right out of the guts with it” – Ivan Coyote
Canadian writer and performer Ivan Coyote talks with Kathryn Ryan about making pronouns and public bathrooms gender-free and the power of storytelling.
Ivan Coyote appears at the WORD Christchurch festival in August.
Interview highlights
Ivan Coyote: ‘Public’ means by all the people for all the people. It doesn’t really mean ‘by some of the people for most of the people’. So when you call it a ‘public school then don’t provide very basic facilities or change rooms for gym class, you’re putting up a pretty hard-core barrier to accessing those facilities, for people.
We’re not just talking about trans people that would benefit from more gender-neutral washrooms… Anxiety disorders, anxiety in general, is a huge, huge issue for youth. Starting right in kindergarten now, starting right in preschool, kids are anxious. I think it would help those kids out.
My approach to community is community includes the person you want there the least and trying to have compassion for everyone and their differences and try and understand that we’re all just struggling somehow.
I went to trade school and became an electrician so I could concentrate fully on being an artist.
I still refer to myself as ‘myself’ and I still would refer to you as ‘you’. I wouldn’t call you ‘she’ to you. It would sound like I was talking to someone else, not you. ['They'] is a third-person pronoun and it’s actually not grammatically incorrect. It’s been used since the 15th or 16th century by writers such as Chaucer and Shakespeare. We use it all the time without really thinking about it. “Someone left their laptop in the cafeteria. Could they please so we can give it back to them?” Simple.
I really believe in the power of personal narrative, I always have. I think it’s the greatest tool we have at our personal disposal in terms of not just social justice and social activism and changing the world, but really empowering people and letting people be their full selves and learning to be proud of themselves and learning how to work out their demons. It’s just one of those things… its potential is infinite for good in the world.
I’m not sure why I love old ladies so much, but I really do. They’re just a fountain of stories and wisdom and recipes and knowledge.
I’m a storyteller and an artist. My job is to move people and the best way to do that is to come right out of the guts with it.
Topics: arts, life and society, author interview
Regions:
Tags: gender, Ivan Coyote
Duration: 31'05"
10:35
Book review - Can You Tolerate This? by Ashleigh Young
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Reviewed by Holly Walker, published by Victoria University Press.
Topics: books
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Duration: 5'08"
11:08
Business commentator Rod Oram
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Rod Oram is looking at a new KiwiSaver fund challenging the sector over the fees it charges, and Kevin Roberts being required to take leave from chairing Saatchi & Saatchi for his comments about women in advertising.
Topics: business, economy
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Tags: Saatchi & Saatchi, KiwiSaver, Kevin Roberts
Duration: 14'25"
11:22
David Bain denied compo, but gets $925k ex gratia
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Kathryn Ryan talks to RNZ's political editor Jane Paterson on the announcement that David Bain will not receive compensation for wrongful imprisonment. Rather, he has been given an ex-gratia payment of $925 thousand.
Topics: law
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Tags: David Bain
Duration: 5'10"
11:28
The rise and demise of New Zealand's provinces
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How and why were the country's provinces created, and what are the lasting effects on their identities? Kathryn Ryan speaks with historian Andre Brett about his new book Acknowledge No Frontier, which explores the rise, fall, and to some extent, the survival of the provinces.
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The rise, the fall and to some extent - the survival - of New Zealand's provinces are explored in a new book by historian Andre Brett.
From breaking in land, establishing roads, rail and infrastructure against a backdrop of the Māori Land Wars, Acknowledge No Frontier, covers the period from 1853 to 1876.
It was a short-lived period of self governance for six key provincial areas.
So what were they dealing with? And what have been the lasting impacts?
Dr Brett, who teaches history at Melbourne University, talks to Kathryn Ryan, and answers these questions.
Topics: author interview, history
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Tags: New Zealand provinces, Provinces, Maori land wars
Duration: 12'43"
11:45
Media commentator Gavin Ellis
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Should the media identify mass shooters, when the purpose of their carnage is fame and death.
Topics: media
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Duration: 15'16"
=SHOW NOTES=
09:05 Financial watchdog responds to criticism
[image:18473:full]
The Financial Markets Authority says its “good conduct” guidelines for financial advisors are adequate. An independent financial advisor says proposed new rules let banks off too lightly and allow in-house advisors to sell only their own financial products, which may not be anywhere near the best deal for the investor.FMA director Rob Everett responds.
09:25 Mental health patients no better off living behind locked doors: study
According to the study, published in The Lancet Psychiatry, locking the doors of mental health hospitals does not reduce the risk of suicide or of patients leaving without permission. The 15-year study of around 145,000 patients has lead authors to believe that an open door policy may be preferable, as it can promote a better therapeutic atmosphere and more positive health outcomes. Kathryn Ryan speaks with Oxford University Emeritus Professor of Psychiatry Tom Burns whose accompanying commentary has also just been published in the Lancet.
09:45 US Correspondent
Susan Milligan from the US, with the latest from the political scene there, Trump versus Clinton.
10:05 Canadian writer and performer Ivan Coyote on being neither 'he' nor 'she'
[image:76338:third]
Canadian author and performer Ivan Coyote knows a lot about what is to be on the 'outside' of the mainstream. Fitting neither a 'he' or 'she' gender role, Ivan Coyote goes by 'their' or 'they' for a pronoun. Raised in Canada's Yukon territory, Ivan's books and storytelling detail the isolation and freedom of the journey in coming to terms with who you are and how society reacts. Their Ted talk on the dilemma of male/female bathrooms - toilets - is highlighted in its title "We All Need a Safe Place to Pee". Ivan Coyote is appearing at Word - Christchurch's Writer's and Reader's festival later this month (24-28 August).
10:35 Book review - Can You Tolerate This? by Ashleigh Young
Reviewed by Holly Walker, published by Victoria University Press.
10:45 The Reading
Soon, by Charlotte Grimshaw read by Michael Hurst (Part-2 of 12).
A satirical novel following the fortunes of National Party Prime Minister David Hallwright and his Auckland set (Part 2 of 12)
11:05 Business commentator Rod Oram
Rod Oram is looking at a new KiwiSaver fund challenging the sector over the fees it charges, and Kevin Roberts being required to take leave from chairing Saatchi & Saatchi for his comments about women in advertising.
11:30 The rise and demise of New Zealand's provinces
How and why were the country's provinces created, and what are the lasting effects on their identities? Kathryn Ryan speaks with historian Andre Brett about his new book Acknowledge No Frontier, which explores the rise, fall, and to some extent, the survival of the provinces. The book covers the period from 1853 to 1876 and includes the breaking in of land, and the establishing of roads, rail and infrastructure against a backdrop of the Māori Land Wars.
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11:45 Media commentator Gavin Ellis
Should the media identify mass shooters, when the purpose of their carnage is fame and death.
=PLAYLIST=
Artist: John Lee Hooker
Song: Boom Boom Boom
Composer: Hooker
Album: Boom Boom
Label: Mojo
Time: 10.07
Artist: Liam Finn
Song: Chase the Season
Composer: Finn
Album: Fomo
Label: Liberation
Time: 11.40
===Noon | Midday Report===
=DESCRIPTION=
RNZ news, followed by updates and reports until 1.00pm, including: 12:16 Business News 12:26 Sport 12:34 Rural News 12:43 Worldwatch
=AUDIO=
12:00
Midday News for 2 August 2016
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David Bain is denied compensation but will still get nearly a million dollars, up to 300 Christchurch homeowners have just found out their area may be flood prone.
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Duration: 15'57"
12:17
QV House prices
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QV's national spokesperson Andrea Rush says the planned restrictions on lending to property investors is having some effect but the overall measures to help cool the market will take a while to have an effect.
Topics: business, economy, housing
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Tags: house prices
Duration: 1'54"
12:19
Australia's Vinta launches New Zealand property fund offering 7.6% yield
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An Australian-based property investor, Vinta Group, is launching a New Zealand fund, seeded with three Wellington office buildings.
Topics: business, economy
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Tags: Vinta
Duration: 1'42"
12:21
Rangatira looking for new investments
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Investment firm, Rangatira, says it's always on the lookout for new local investment opportunities but finds them hard to identify.
Topics: business, economy
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Tags: Rangatira
Duration: 1'33"
12:24
Midday Markets for 2 August 2016
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For the latest from the markets we're joined by Brad Gordon at Macquarie Private Wealth.
Topics: business, economy
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Tags: markets
Duration: 2'14"
12:26
Midday Sports News for 2 August 2016
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The Melbourne Storm have signed New Zealand netball coach Noeline Taurua to lead their inaugural team in Australia's new domestic competition next year. The former All Blacks coach John Hart says Julian Savea must perform well in the Rugby Championship or he'll lose his spot.
Topics: sport
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Duration: 2'21"
12:35
Midday Rural News for 2 August 2016
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News from the rural and farming sectors.
Topics: rural, farming
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Duration: 7'45"
=SHOW NOTES=
===1:06 PM. | Jesse Mulligan, 1–4pm===
=DESCRIPTION=
An upbeat mix of the curious and the compelling, ranging from the stories of the day to the great questions of our time (RNZ)
=AUDIO=
13:10
Bain pay out "pragmatism over principle" - Nigel Hampton QC
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The government will not give David Bain any compensation for wrongful conviction, but is giving him what it calls an ex-gratia payment of 925 thousand dollars to avoid further legal proceedings & further costs the Crown. Joining the show is Christchurch barrister, Nigel Hampton QC.
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The government will not give David Bain any compensation for wrongful conviction - but is giving him what it calls an ex-gratia payment of 925 thousand dollars to avoid further legal proceedings & further costs the Crown.
At a media conference late this morning, the Justice Minister Amy Adams said a report by retired Australian High Court Judge Ian Callinan concluded Mr Bain should not be compensated because he has not established his innocence on the balance of probabilities.
However she said Mr Bain would receive $925,000 to reflect the time and cost involved in his compensation claim, and also to avoid further legal proceedings and costs to the Crown.
Christchurch barrister, Nigel Hampton says the government made a pragmatic decision to give David Bain a payment.
Topics: law, politics
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Tags: David Bain
Duration: 6'52"
13:25
Fight to save the Okura Estuary from development
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A group of Hibiscus Coast locals is urging the council to overturn a decision by the Unitary Plan panel to allow development around the Okura estuary. Chris Bettany is the convener of the Okura Great Park Society.
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A group of Hibiscus Coast locals is urging the council to overturn a decision by the Unitary Plan panel to allow development around the Okura estuary.
The panel has recommended the rural urban boundary be extended, which will mean the southern side of the estuary can be urbanised.
The estuary is part of the Long Bay Okura Marine Reserve and environmental groups say the development will pollute the tidal estuary and threaten the wildlife, including the endangered New Zealand dotterel, which nests on the sand spits.
Topics: environment
Regions: Auckland Region
Tags: Long Bay Okura Marine Reserve, Auckland Unitary Plan
Duration: 13'18"
13:35
Dan Slevin on movies about the Olympics
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RNZ Widescreen's Dan Slevin on the how Olympic games have been presented on film.
Topics: sport
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Tags: Olympics
Duration: 10'15"
13:45
Favourite Album - Inside Out
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Inside Out by Graham Brazier, from 1981.
Topics: music
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Tags: Graham Brazier
Duration: 12'41"
14:10
Charlotte Graham reviews the new Harry Potter book
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Charlotte Graham, a lifelong Harry Potter fan, reviews the the eighth story in series and the first official Harry Potter stage play, "Harry Potter and The Cursed Child".
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Charlotte Graham, a lifelong Harry Potter fan, reviews the the eighth story in series and the first official Harry Potter stage play. "Harry Potter and The Cursed Child" premiered in London's West End at the weekend and the publish script was released as a book last Sunday.
Topics: books
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Duration: 8'46"
14:20
Great New Zealand Album - South by Shona Laing
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Shona Laing looks back on her top selling album, South.
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In 1972 a 17 year old from Eastbourne near Wellington surprised the nation with her entry into the TV talent showcase New Faces. Her song '1905', climbed to number four on the New Zealand pop charts and she won several music awards including Best New Artist, before moving to London and working with Manfred Mann's Earth Band.
A decade later she returned home and released what was to be her most successful album South. Three years ago she was inducted into the New Zealand Music Hall of Fame. She is Shona Laing.
Related stories
Topics: music
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Tags: Shona Laing
Duration: 40'29"
15:10
Beyond adorable, Slothlove
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Cute doesn't even begin to describe the orphaned sloths wildlife conservationist and photographer Sam Trull has dedicated her life to saving.
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Cute doesn't even begin to describe the orphaned sloths wildlife conservationist and photographer Sam Trull has dedicated her life to saving.
Trull, also known as The Mother of Sloths, is the co-founder and Sloth Director of Sloth Institute Costa Rica located in Manuel Antonio, Costa Rica.
Her new book, Slothlove, is full of images of orphaned sloths she has saved at the institute.
All images courtesy of Sam Trull
She talks to Jesse Mulligan about these misunderstood creatures and busts some myths about the mysterious animals.
Read and edited excerpt from their conversation
True of false, are sloths lazy?
Sloths are not lazy. They are efficient so that means they want to save energy. They don’t want to waste their time doing motions they don’t want to do. They’re not lazy they’re very smart about their business.
Why are they so slow?
Most of the strange things about sloths can be explained by the fact that they need to conserve energy. And they need to go undetected in the forest in order to avoid predators. Because if they move slowly they are less likely to attract the attention of a predator and they conserve energy by moving slowly.
Is it true they risk their lives to poop?
Yeah kind of. A lot of their predators can go up into the trees and catch them in the trees, but it’s not like most predators only get them on the ground, however the ground is a much more dangerous place than up in the trees. But there are a lot of different theories on why sloths come down to the ground to poop and actually one of them is that it could be safer, because it’s actually a lot more quiet way to poop. If you can imagine sloths, like monkeys – when you hear them it’s like crashing sounds – but when sloths come down to the ground you almost see and hear nothing.
How often do they come down?
Usually on average it’s about once a week. It really depends on how much they’ve been eating and what they’ve been eating.
What do they eat?
In the wild they’re pretty much totally herbivorous, so they eat leaves and some wild fruits… A lot of the things they eat aren’t high in calories which is another reason they’re so slow.
What about the fact they they’re always smiling. Does that mean they’re incredibly happy or is just an illusion?
It’s just an illusion…. Because that’s one of the qualities of sloths, they have that permanent smile people think that they’re always happy. Therefore if people go up to a wild sloth and try to touch them or hold it, or get a picture with them, or take a selfie with it, everybody thinks “oh the sloth is so happy”. But it’s actually in a defensive posture. People think “oh they’re so happy all the time” because they’re smiling. But the smile is permanent, it’s the way the muscles form in their face and nothing to do with the emotions they’re feeling at that moment.
If you want to help out the Sloth Institute, click here.
Topics: environment
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Tags: conservation, photography, sloths
Duration: 18'57"
15:44
One Quick Question for 2 August 2016
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We find the answers to any queries you can think up.
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Duration: 3'53"
15:46
The Panel pre-show for 2 August 2016
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Your feedback, and a preview of the guests and topics on The Panel.
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Duration: 14'16"
21:06
Climate Kit - when technology meets climate action
BODY:
Sara Dean and Beth Ferguson are American designers whose projects include using Twitter to help Jakarta residents know about floods, and creating accessible solar charging stations.
EXTENDED BODY:
American designers Sara Dean and Beth Ferguson’s work involves everything from mobile phones and solar technology, to climate change and civil emergencies.
Their vision is to use design and technology to develop resilient communities and encourage a debate about climate change.
The pair has been in residence at the Otago Museum for the past month as part of Climate Kit, a project commissioned by ZERO1 American Arts Incubator.
SolarPump electric charging stations
Solar energy is a recurring theme in Beth’s work. Through Sol Design she has created public solar electric charging stations that she hopes will help people re-imagine the future of transportation and help the move to carbon-free cities.
The SolarPump Electric Charging Station combines a 1950s Citgo gas pump, which has been modified with a LED display that shows the power output of solar panels mounted on the roof.
Beth says anyone can walk up and charge a cellphone, laptop, or even an electric bike or scooter – for free.
The SolarPump has been installed on campus at Stanford University, and appears at events such as music festivals.
Beth says the SolarPump would also be an ideal community resource following a civil emergency such as an earthquake.
Beth works at Sol Design Lab and the University of California Davis.
Peta Jakarta
Sara’s work also involves emergency response. She is part of the team that developed Peta Jakarta, which uses tweets from Jakarta residents to identify city areas affected by floods. She says when people tweet the word ‘peta’ – flood – they are asked to give more information about what is happening in their neighbourhood.
Jakarta has more Twitter users than anywhere else in the world.
The Jakarta Government now uses the information from Peta Jakarta to gather, sort, and display information about flooding for Jakarta residents in real time. It also works at a neighbourhood level, with locals able to find out from each other where, for example, they might be able to cross a flooded street.
Sara works at the California College of Art and at Stamen Design in San Francisco.
Emergency emojis
Sara has developed an idea for emergency emojis, which she has dubbed ‘emerjis’. Emojis are symbols such as smiley faces used in social media.
Sara and Beth think a universal language of emergency symbols, such as earthquake, would help eliminate language barriers between local residents and international disaster relief teams that often communicate in English.
Climate Kit in Dunedin
The four Climate Kit community projects that Sara and Beth have been involved with in Dunedin are:
Bones and Stones: a “field guide” for New Zealand geology, including two enlarged “core samples” showing the geologic long-view of the environment.
Shedding Some Light: a project that examines the proposed lighting solutions for high-efficiency street lighting and “dark skies” proposals for the town to be able to enjoy the Aurora Australis by limiting light pollution.
Youth Community Map: focusing on climate change resiliency and vulnerable sites near the Tahuna School in South Dunedin.
Living Map: a data-enabled relief map of the Dunedin area for community conversation about the past, present, and future geography of this vulnerable coastal city.
The Climate Kit exhibition is on at Otago Museum from 6-16 August 2016.
Topics: technology, transport, climate, science
Regions:
Tags: social media, solar energy, floods, natural disasters, Twitter, urban design
Duration: 10'41"
=SHOW NOTES=
1:10 First song
1:15 David Bain to get $925 thousand, but govt says its NOT compensation
The government will not give David Bain any compensation for wrongful conviction, but is giving him what it calls an ex-gratia payment of 925 thousand dollars to avoid further legal proceedings & further costs the Crown.
At a media conference late this morning, the Justice Minister Amy Adams said a report by retired Australian High Court Judge Ian Callinan concluded Mr Bain should not be compensated because he has not established his innocence on the balance of probabilities.
However she said Mr Bain would receive $925,000 to reflect the time and cost involved in his compensation claim, and also to avoid further legal proceedings and costs to the Crown.
With me now is defence lawyer Jonathan Eaton, who represented Rex Haig, who had his murder conviction was quashed by the Court of Appeal in 2008 after serving 10 years in prison. Like David Bain his request for compensation for wrongful conviction and imprisonment was rejected.
1:25 Fight to save the Okura Estuary from development
A group of Hibiscus Coast locals is urging the council to overturn a decision by the Unitary Plan panel to allow development around the Okura estuary.
The panel has recommended the rural urban boundary be extended, which will mean the southern side of the estuary can be urbanised.
The estuary is part of the Long Bay Okura Marine Reserve and environmental groups say the development will pollute the tidal estuary and threaten the wildlife, including the endangered New Zealand dotterel, which nests on the sand spits.
[image:76439:full]
1:35 Dan Slevin on movies about the Olympics
1:40 Favourite album: Colin Hogg talks about Inside Out by Graham Brazier
2:10 We review Harry Potter and the Cursed Child
Charlotte Graham, a lifelong Harry Potter fan, reviews the the eighth story in series and the first official Harry Potter stage play. "Harry Potter and The Cursed Child" premiered in London's West End at the weekend and the publish script was released as a book last Sunday.
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2:20 The Great New Zealand Album: "South" - Shona Laing
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In 1972 a 17 year old from Eastbourne near Wellington surprised the nation with her entry into the TV talent showcase "New Faces." Her song "1905", climbed to number four on the New Zealand pop charts and she won several music awards including Best New Artist, before moving to London and working with Manfred Mann's Earth Band.
A decade later she returned home and released what was to be her most successful album "South." Three years ago she was inducted into the New Zealand Music Hall of Fame. She is Shona Laing
3:10 Beyond adorable, Slothlove
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Cute doesn't even begin to describe the orphaned sloths wildlife conservationist and photographer Sam Trull has dedicated her life to saving. Her new book, Slothlove, is full of images of orphaned sloths she has saved at the Sloth Institute she co-founded in Costa Rica, and busts some myths about the mysterious creatures.
All images courtesy of Sam Trull.
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3:30 Science and environment stories
Stories from Our Changing World.
3:45 The Panel Pre-Show
=PLAYLIST=
JESSE MULLIGAN : AFTERNOONS 1 - 4pm
Tuesday 2nd August 2016
JESSE'S SONG:
ARTIST: Viola Beach
TITLE: Swings and Waterslides
COMP: Kris Leonard, River Reeves, Tomas Lowe, Jack Dakin
ALBUM: Viola Beach
LABEL: Fuller Beans
FEATURE: Dan Slevin on Rio
ARTIST: Vangelis
TITLE: Chariots of Fire
COMP: Vangelis Papathanassiou
ALBUM: Chariots of Fire
LABEL: Polydor
FAVOURITE ALBUM:
ARTIST: Graham Brazier
TITLE: No Mysteries
COMP: Graham Brazier
ALBUM: Inside Out
LABEL: Ripper
ARTIST: Graham Brazier
TITLE: Juan Pacenta
COMP: Graham Brazier
ALBUM: Inside Out
LABEL: Ripper
ARTIST: Graham Brazier
TITLE: Billy Bold
COMP: Graham Brazier
ALBUM: Inside Out
LABEL: Ripper
THE GREAT NEW ZEALAND ALBUM:
ARTIST: Shona Laing
TITLE: (Glad I'm) Not A Kennedy
COMP: Shona Laing
ALBUM: South
LABEL: Pagan
ARTIST: Shona Laing
TITLE: Highway Warriors
COMP: Shona Laing
ALBUM: South
LABEL: Pagan
ARTIST: Shona Laing
TITLE: Soviet Snow (American Remix) EDIT
COMP: Shona Laing
ALBUM: South
LABEL: Pagan
ARTIST: Shona Laing
TITLE: South
COMP: Shona Laing
ALBUM: South
LABEL: Pagan
ADDITIONAL MUSIC TRACKS
ARTIST: Kora
TITLE: See Me
COMP: Francis Kora, Dan McGruer
ALBUM: Volume (Ep)
LABEL: Private
ARTIST: Shona Laing
TITLE: God Defend New Zealand
COMP: Thomas Bracken, John Joseph Woods,
ALBUM: Music of New Zealand
LABEL: Digital Download
THE PANEL (HALF TIME SONG)
ARTIST: Van Morrison
TITLE: Cleaning Windows
COMP: Van Morrison
ALBUM: Beautiful Vision
LABEL: Mercury
===4:06 PM. | The Panel===
=DESCRIPTION=
An hour of discussion featuring a range of panellists from right along the opinion spectrum (RNZ)
=AUDIO=
15:44
One Quick Question for 2 August 2016
BODY:
We find the answers to any queries you can think up.
Topics:
Regions:
Tags:
Duration: 3'53"
15:46
The Panel pre-show for 2 August 2016
BODY:
Your feedback, and a preview of the guests and topics on The Panel.
Topics:
Regions:
Tags:
Duration: 14'16"
16:05
The Panel with Barry Corbett and Wendyl Nissen (Part 1)
BODY:
Topics - Instead of compensation David Bain has been awarded $925,000 as an ex gratia payment. Barrister and law lecturer Anne Stevens explains what this means. A downturn in the number of people looking at a major property website could mean waning interest in Auckland housing. The New York Post has published pictures of the wife of the US Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump.
Topics:
Regions:
Tags:
Duration: 23'42"
16:06
The Panel with Barry Corbett and Wendyl Nissen (Part 2)
BODY:
Topics - Jaqueline Rowarth of the University of Waikato talks about the uptake of tertiary study and if it's realy necessary. The Auckland Council is reviewing its investments after revelations that one of its funds holds shares in sugary drink and tobacco companies.
Topics:
Regions:
Tags:
Duration: 26'19"
16:10
Panel Intro
BODY:
What the Panelists Barry Corbett and Wendyl Nissen have been up to.
Topics:
Regions:
Tags:
Duration: 3'18"
16:11
David Bain awarded $925k
BODY:
Instead of compensation David Bain has been awarded $925,000 as an ex gratia payment. Barrister and law lecturer Anne Stevens explains what this means.
Topics: law
Regions:
Tags: David Bain
Duration: 8'10"
16:14
Melania Trump nudes
BODY:
The New York Post has published pictures of the wife of the US Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump.
Topics:
Regions:
Tags: Donald Trump, USA, Melania Trump
Duration: 2'21"
16:21
Maori Party won't support Helen Clark
BODY:
The Maori Party won't get behind former Prime Minister Helen Clark's bid for UN Secretary General.
Topics: politics
Regions:
Tags: Maori Party, Helen Clark
Duration: 2'29"
16:25
Sky reporter compared to Alan Partridge
BODY:
A faux-dramatic report on church security in the UK has resulted in derision for reporter Martin Brunt.
Topics:
Regions:
Tags: Martin Brunt, Sky News
Duration: 3'33"
16:28
Is the Auckland housing market cooling?
BODY:
A downturn in the number of people looking at a major property website could mean waning interest in Auckland housing
Topics: housing
Regions: Auckland Region
Tags: Auckland housing market
Duration: 3'35"
16:34
Uni or work?
BODY:
Jaqueline Rowarth of the University of Waikato talks about the uptake of tertiary study and if it's realy necessary.
Topics: life and society, education
Regions:
Tags: tertiary study, employment
Duration: 10'09"
16:44
Panel Says
BODY:
What the Panelists Barry Corbett and Wendyl Nissen have been up to.
Topics:
Regions:
Tags:
Duration: 6'15"
16:52
Auckland Council's unethical investments
BODY:
The Auckland Council is reviewing its investments after revelations that one of its funds holds shares in sugary drink and tobacco companies.
Topics:
Regions: Auckland Region
Tags: Auckland Council
Duration: 4'03"
16:54
The end of gender issues according to ad man
BODY:
Collaboration is claimed to mean more to millenials than individual ambition.
Topics:
Regions:
Tags: Kevin Roberts, gender
Duration: 5'35"
=SHOW NOTES=
===5:00 PM. | Checkpoint===
=DESCRIPTION=
RNZ's weekday drive-time news and current affairs programme
=AUDIO=
17:00
Checkpoint with John Campbell, Tuesday 2nd August 2016
BODY:
Watch Tuesday's full show here.
Topics:
Regions:
Tags:
Duration: 00"
17:09
Government rejects David Bain's compensation bid
BODY:
The government has offered David Bain a settlement of $925,000 but no offer of compensation, which Bain and his supporters say is wrong.
Topics: crime
Regions:
Tags: settlement
Duration: 5'25"
17:15
Government criticised for handling of Bain compo claim
BODY:
The way the government has handled David Bain's compensation claim has come in for heavy criticism from opposition parties, with Labour saying the whole process has been botched.
Topics: politics
Regions:
Tags: settlement
Duration: 2'24"
17:17
Bain couldn't prove innocence because of police - Binnie
BODY:
David Bain couldn't prove his innocence because police messed with evidence, says Justice Ian Binnie, whose report on compensation was rejected by the government.
Topics: law
Regions:
Tags: settlement, police, Innocence
Duration: 5'44"
17:23
Chiefs player shouts homophobic abuse at man
BODY:
A Chiefs rugby player who shouted homophobic abuse at a man should be sent to counselling, the team's naming rights sponsor says.
Topics: sport, inequality
Regions:
Tags: Chiefs, homophobia, Gallagher
Duration: 3'09"
17:26
Tariana Turia supports Helen Clark's UN bid
BODY:
The Maori Party might not support Helen Clark's bid for the UN's top job, but it's former leader Tariana Turia says she would "do a great job".
Topics: politics
Regions:
Tags: The Maori Party, UN
Duration: 3'08"
17:32
Evening business for 2 August 2016
BODY:
News from the business sector, including a market report.
Topics: business, economy
Regions:
Tags: markets
Duration: 2'57"
17:35
Chiefs CEO responds to claims of homophobic comments
BODY:
Chiefs CEO Andrew Flexman responds to claims one of the Chiefs players shouted homophobic comments at a Waikato man last night.
Topics: sport, inequality
Regions: Waikato
Tags: Chiefs, homophobia
Duration: 4'22"
17:38
New Zealand's tax laws may be investigated by the European Union
BODY:
The European Union may investigate New Zealand's tax laws as it tries to crack down on countries that are operating as tax havens.
Topics: law
Regions:
Tags: European Union, tax havens, Panama Papers
Duration: 3'07"
17:42
Govt's plans to legalise all e-cigarettes gets backing
BODY:
The government plans to legalise the sale and supply of all electronic and e-cigarettes, saying the current laws are confusing and ineffective.
Topics: law, health
Regions:
Tags: e-cigarettes
Duration: 3'09"
17:46
Woman left mum in own waste for days - Crown
BODY:
A woman accused of letting her mother starve to death in her own waste left her for up to 10 days, the Crown says.
Topics: crime
Regions:
Tags: manslaughter, trial
Duration: 3'18"
17:50
200 New Zealand athletes to compete in Olympics
BODY:
One of New Zealand's most accomplished Olympians - Sir Mark Todd - is competing in his eighth games, while several teenagers are competing for the first time.
Topics: sport
Regions:
Tags: Olympics
Duration: 4'29"
17:53
Cold snap arrives one month late
BODY:
If you thought you'd managed to escape winter, it's finally arrived. Blizzard-like conditions with heavy snowfall and cold winds are on the way.
Topics: weather
Regions:
Tags: winter
Duration: 4'37"
18:08
David Bain maintains his innocence, says govt is wrong
BODY:
David Bain says he's innocent and the government is wrong in offering him an ex gratia payment, but rejecting his bid for compensation.
Topics: law
Regions:
Tags: settlement
Duration: 2'57"
18:11
David Bain's compensation claim 'politicised'
BODY:
Cabinet guidelines should be revised so they cannot be politicised, as was the case in David Bain's compensation claim, former New Zealand Criminal Bar Association president Gary Gotlieb says.
Topics: law, politics
Regions:
Tags: Cabinet Guidelines
Duration: 4'35"
18:15
Tuhoe backs Maori Party's sentiment on Helen Clark
BODY:
Tuhoe leader Tamati Kruger backs Maori Party co-leader Marama Fox in her party's stance against former Prime Minister Helen Clark's bid to be the head of the UN.
Topics: politics, te ao Maori
Regions:
Tags: UN
Duration: 5'20"
18:20
Up to 300 new Christchurch homes may be flood prone
BODY:
Up to 300 homeowners in a new sub-division north of Christchurch have just found out their area may be flood prone. Conan Young reports.
Topics: housing
Regions: Canterbury
Tags: Christchurch, flooding
Duration: 3'14"
18:24
Southern Steel coach heads across the ditch
BODY:
New Zealand has lost its most accomplished trans-Tasman netball coach as Noeline Taurua announces she's leaving the Southern Steel to coach the new Sunshine Coast franchise.
Topics: sport
Regions:
Tags: netball, Southern Steel
Duration: 2'09"
18:26
Virgin Galactic aims to launch by 2017
BODY:
Richard Branson is one step closer to lift-off after Virgin Galactic secured an operating licence today for space tourism.
Topics: science, business
Regions:
Tags: Virgin Galactic
Duration: 1'35"
=SHOW NOTES=
===6:30 PM. | None (National)===
=DESCRIPTION=
Highlighting the RNZ stories you're sharing on-line
David Galler: stories of life and death
===7:06 PM. | Nights===
=DESCRIPTION=
RNZ's weeknight programme of entertainment and information
=AUDIO=
19:12
Our Own Odysseys - Solar Challenge
BODY:
Mike Brown shares his motorcycle adventures photographing solar challenge competitors racing down the Stuart Highway from Darwin to Adelaide.
Topics: life and society
Regions:
Tags: travel
Duration: 19'07"
20:12
Nights' Pundit - Religion
BODY:
Religious studies Prof. Douglas Pratt from University of Waikato on one's faith in God or gods...
Topics: spiritual practices, life and society
Regions:
Tags: religion
Duration: 19'23"
=SHOW NOTES=
[image_crop:14006:full]
7:12 Our Own Odysseys - Solar Challenge
Mike Brown shares his motorcycle adventures photographing solar challenge competitors racing down the Stuart Highway from Darwin to Adelaide.
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7:30 The Sampler
Nick Bollinger discusses a soulful sophomore set from Michael Kiwanuka, Kirsten Johnstone reviews the first new music in seven years from local singer, songwriter and social activitst Steve Abel; while Sam Wicks lends an ear to Atlanta rapper Gucci Mane's first post-prison release.
8:12 Nights' Pundit - Religion
Religious studies Prof. Douglas Pratt from the University of Waikato discusses Islamophobia.
8:30 Window on the World
Graffiti's modern role is evolving rapidly. From Europe to Brazil, street artists are displaying their anger about inequality, invisibility, corruption and control. Powerful images and words on walls are creating international headlines. But can breaking one law help to change another? Where should the line be drawn between democracy and vandalism, vandalism and art? Steve Urquhart talks to some famous graffiti artists.
9:07 Tuesday Feature
A Flickering Flame - It's well over a century since the founder of the modern Olympics voiced his ideal that "The important thing is not to win but to take part". But, as athletes prepare for the 31st Olympiad, How does that noble ideal fit with the modern phenomena of professionalism, doping, individual financial gain, nationalistic pride and huge corporate sponsorship? In our Tuesday feature the BBC's Owen Bennet-Jones asks: 'Is the Olympic Ideal Dead?'
10:17 Late Edition
A roundup of today's RNZ News and feature interviews as well as Date Line Pacific from RNZ International.
11:07 World Music
Tonight in Episode 5 of WOMAD Taranaki - The World's Festival 2016 features a live performance from Hazmat Modine, a band formed by virtuso harmonica player Wade Schuman. The 8 piece band perform an eclectic mix of music informed by the spirit of 1920's New Orleans jazz, blues, swing, Klezmer and Jamaican Rocksteady. Originating from New York City Hazmat Modine have gone on to grow a global audience playing on the Festival and Jazz circuits as far afield as Russia, and for their first time, Womad New Zealand.
===7:35 PM. | The Sampler===
=DESCRIPTION=
A weekly review and analysis of new CD releases
=AUDIO=
19:30
Everybody Looking by Gucci Mane
BODY:
Sam Wicks lends an ear to Atlanta rapper Gucci Mane’s first post-prison release.
EXTENDED BODY:
Sam Wicks lends an ear to Atlanta rapper Gucci Mane’s first post-prison release.
For much of hip hop’s history, New York and Los Angeles have served as its twin poles of influence. At times this has been at the expense of other scenes, the volume generated on the East and West coasts masking noise made elsewhere. Rap’s regional influences have since been triangulated with the addition of Atlanta, Georgia as a hip hop epicentre, a city that’s given rise to a generation of lyricists unafraid to let their freak flag fly. There’s even been a name coined for these artists and their southern celebration of individuality: ATLiens.
Gucci Mane is one of Atlanta’s most influential and idiosyncratic voices, his prodigious catalogue of some 70 mixtapes and LPs, and his dexterous, sing-song guest verses positioning him as a preeminent ATL tastemaker.
Gucci’s colourful personal life has also made him the city’s most unpredictable talent, with a rap sheet of arrests and jail stints interrupting his transition to the pop charts.
On May 26th, Gucci was released from a federal penitentiary to much fanfare. He’d remained prolific during his a two-and-a-half year stretch, drip feeding nearly two dozen mixtapes to build anticipation for his return. Newly sober and equipped with reams of new verses, Gucci recorded his first new song within an hour of his release, a track serviced to radio the very next morning.
Rather than celebrating his newfound freedom, ‘1st Day Out Tha Feds’ sees inmate 65556-019 reflect on the pitfalls of prison life, his jaded rhymes set to a sinister Mike Will Made It production.
Streamed over a million times in 24 hours, ‘1st Day Out Tha Feds’ offered the first glimpse at Everybody Looking, an album that Gucci knocked out in the six days that followed his release. On house arrest, he converted his suburban McMansion into a studio, drawing collaborators like Mike Wil l Made-It, Zaytoven and Drumma Boy together to execute a project years in the making.
Carried by the gargled melodies of Young Thug, a Gucci protégée and leader of Atlanta’s new school, ‘Guwop Home’ signals the triumphant return of ATL’s prodigal son. Gucci Mane has long been one of the city’s most reliable A&R men and influencers, co-opting talent like Migos, Waka Flaka Flame and in-demand producer Mike Will. It’s an influence Gucci acknowledges on ‘All My Children’, as he declares his love for his heirs over a snapping Drumma Boy beat.
It’s not just southern artists who have pledged fealty to Gucci and his claim to Atlanta’s rap throne. His most recent stint behind bars has only served to cement his legend, with big tent names vying to work with him. Kanye West and Drake both lend their voices to the project, with a rumoured EP from Drake and Gucci also in the works.
Gucci returned home prison-yard fit, his sentence forcing him to quit lean, a concoction of prescription-strength cough syrup. Stepping out of a syrup-induced haze, Gucci has turned in some of his most tightly focused songs in years, while sticking with the deliriously abstract punchlines that make his woozy wordplay so addictive.
This is not the first time that Gucci has been positioned as a pop contender, but Everybody Looking is perhaps his best chance yet of lording over the charts as well as the streets. To strike that balance, he’ll need to stay ahead of a system that has stymied his best efforts to date, while losing none of the stylistic eccentricities that made him a king of the south. With all eyes on him, Gucci Mane might finally be ready to serve up his street rap as pop.
Songs featured: 1st Day Out Tha Feds, Guwop Home, All My Children, Back On Road, Pop Music.
Everybody Looking is available on Atlantic Records.
Topics: music
Regions:
Tags: music, music review, Gucci Mane
Duration: 7'26"
19:30
Luck/Hope by Steve Abel
BODY:
Kirsten Johnstone reviews Steve Abel's third album Luck/Hope.
EXTENDED BODY:
Kirsten Johnstone reviews Steve Abel's third album Luck/Hope.
It was as the hero of Film-maker Florian Habicht’s black and white gothic fairytale Woodenhead, back in 2003 that I first heard the voice of Auckland singer-songwriter Steve Abel.
Like the baritones of The National’s Matt Berninger and Bill Callahan - and at the rougher end, Tom Waits and Delaney Davidson - it’s a voice that feels lived in, beaten, heart-broken and slumped against a wall drunk, bottle of whiskey still in hand. Abel has been playing this part a long time.
In Woodenhead his deep range and depressing songs were perfectly cast as the voice of dump-hand Gert, who guides the mute Princess Plum on a perilous journey. That film wasn’t the end of collaborations between Abel and Habicht, they’ve done several music videos together, and Abel’s song ‘Sidewalk Doves’, released late last year, was inspired by footage from Habicht’s Love Story. And last week came Habicht’s video for Abel’s song ‘Best Thing’. It depicts a couple of lovers coming together, maybe in a hotel room, and getting - literally - dirty. It’s a gorgeous matching of sound and vision, slow, dreamy, and intimate.
It’s no wonder that he took out The Saddest Song in the World Competition in Berlin in 2009. Could you imagine him singing a happy song? ‘Best Thing’ was written 20 years ago, and I’m assuming a few other songs on Luck/Hope have had a long gestation period. Abel doesn’t seem one to hurry - most of these recordings were made seven years ago. He’s blamed ‘birth, death, debt, despondency’ on the lag between records, and I’m guessing his day job as a Greenpeace crusader has kept him busy too. But it’s not like he needs to be worried about catching changing trends in music - these sounds are timeless.
His voice is at its best backed up by a woman’s; on a few of the songs on this album, it’s his friend Jolie Holland. Abel met the Texan Americana singer and fiddler when she was touring New Zealand - he invited her to his own gig, and she was inspired enough to jump up for some improv fiddle that night, sparking great collaborations over the years since.
He’s economical with his lyrics; ‘First Part’ has only ten words in it, but doesn’t need any more. It’s a perfect picture of a broken heart, wallowing, hopeless… and possibly drunk.
The title track tackles that feeling of being trapped, perhaps being tied down with a family, mortgage and responsibilities that I’m sure many men in their 40s feel - and the feeling that there could have been more to this life:
Boy, what force in thee
made you to set the gull free
that you can’t even free
your own man-self now?
oh that a young boy could
cut this trap from in me
the invisible string
that makes despondence
and the hopeless choker
For the most part Luck/Hope ambles on at a slow tempo, with delicate, sparse accompaniment, and only occasionally gets a little rowdier. The instrumental section of ‘Good Arm’ is the crest of the wave, where guitars, fiddle and electronics get turned up to .. at least 7.
For a collection of songs recorded and mixed in eight different studios, over seven years, with many different engineers and musicians, it’s surprisingly coherent. Well done Olli Harmer for pulling it all together in the mastering.
It’s a beautiful album, suited to lonely late night listening, and gloomy introspection.
Songs featured: Hospice For Destitute Lovers, Sidewalk Doves, Best Thing, Not going anywhere, First Part, Luck/Hope, Good Arm.
Luck/Hope is available on Kin’sland Records/Arcade Records
Topics: music
Regions:
Tags: music, music review, Steve Abel, Jolie Holland, singer-songwriter
Duration: 9'10"
19:30
Love & Hate by Michael Kiwanuka
BODY:
Nick Bollinger discusses a soulful sophomore set from Michael Kiwanuka.
EXTENDED BODY:
Nick Bollinger discusses a soulful sophomore set from Michael Kiwanuka.
It’s four years now since the debut album of Michael Kiwanuka - though in a way that record felt old as soon as it arrived. With its emphasis on live and often acoustic sounds, the production had the flavour of early 70s soul, which seemed the natural setting for a young singer who evidently was an old soul.
So I was surprised to find his new album opening not with a typical gentle soul song, but rather an overture of almost Pink Floyd proportions. In fact we’re five minutes into the album before we hear Kiwanuka’s voice, which as it turns out, is one thing that hasn’t changed: it’s still gently intense, a bit like a young Bill Withers.
I can appreciate Kiwanuka not wanting to be pigeonholed as some retro-soul act, or make the same album twice, and he’s certainly avoided that in his decision to open Love & Hate with an arena fanfare. But it seems to run counter to the mood of the songs which - even more than those on Home Again - are almost the opposite of rock anthems. These are songs of soul-searching introspection.
Alienation and aloneness are themes that run right through this album, and the ache in Kiwanuka’s voice seems to come from the core of his being, even as he offsets it with another rock guitar solo. The soul grooves haven’t disappeared entirely, which becomes more apparent as the album unfolds. They have grown more epic, though. And the early 70s touchstones are now less the down-home minimalism of Bill Withers, and more the sweeping orchestrations of Marvin Gaye.
The tempos are mostly downbeat, which seems to reflect Kiwanuka’s frame of mind. He probes questions of identity and belonging, in phrases that he’ll often repeat, over and over, like a nagging doubt or fear.
On the odd track where the tempo lifts, Kiwanuka’s existential worries remain. In fact, there is nowhere he articulates them more clearly than in the brisk and urgent song this British son of Ugandan immigrants calls ‘Black Man In A White World’. ‘I’m not angry, I’m not mad’ he insists, and I believe him, though what he does express might be something close to despair. In other, quieter moments he just seems to be singing from a place of profound sorrow.
While I understand Kiwanuka’s urge to expand and explore, I wonder at times if he’s blown these songs up bigger than they need to be, perhaps to make them more marketable. He’s even supplemented his production team with Brian Burton, the hit-making producer better known as Danger Mouse, which only means that things occasionally sound unnecessarily like Gnarls Barkley or the Black Keys.
Yet ultimately the soulful honestly of Kiwanukas’s voice triumphs, whatever the setting, and however sad the song.
Songs featured: Cold Little Heart, Falling, Love and Hate, Place I Belong, Black Man In A White World, I’ll Never Love, Rule The World, The Final Frame.
Love and Hate is available on Polydor Records.
Topics: music
Regions:
Tags: music, music review, Michael Kiwanuka
Duration: 11'46"
19:30
The Sampler for 2 August
BODY:
In The Sampler this week Nick Bollinger discusses a soulful sophomore set from Michael Kiwanuka, Kirsten Johnstone reviews the first new music in seven years from local singer, songwriter and social activitst Steve Abel; while Sam Wicks lends an ear to Atlanta rapper Gucci Mane's first post-prison release.
EXTENDED BODY:
In The Sampler this week Nick Bollinger discusses a soulful sophomore set from Michael Kiwanuka, Kirsten Johnstone reviews the first new music in seven years from local singer, songwriter and social activitst Steve Abel; while Sam Wicks lends an ear to Atlanta rapper Gucci Mane's first post-prison release.
Topics: music
Regions:
Tags: music, music review, Steve Abel, Michael Kiwanuka, Gucci Mane
Duration: 29'48"
=SHOW NOTES=
===8:30 PM. | Windows On The World===
=DESCRIPTION=
International public radio features and documentaries
===9:06 PM. | None (National)===
=DESCRIPTION=
A Flickering Flame: is the Olympic Ideal Dead?
“The important thing in life is not to win but to take part, the essential thing is not to have conquered but to have fought well”. So said the founder of the modern Olympic movement, Baron Pierre de Coubertin, at the end of the 19th Century. How does his noble ideal fit with the modern phenomena of professionalism, doping, individual financial gain, nationalistic pride, huge corporate sponsorship? Is the Olympic ideal still alive? As the Rio Games approach, Owen Bennett Jones chairs a BBC World Service Newshour Extra discussion on the present and future of the Olympics. (BBCWS)
===10:00 PM. | Late Edition===
=AUDIO=
When compensation isn't compensation, the search for non-sexist pronouns and in dateline pacific re-newed mining and logging operations in Papua New Guinea
=DESCRIPTION=
RNZ news, including Dateline Pacific and the day's best interviews from RNZ National
===11:06 PM. | None (National)===
=DESCRIPTION=
Coverage from the world music festival - Hazmat Modine (RNZ)