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:
19 April 2016
===12:04 AM. | All Night Programme===
=DESCRIPTION=
Including: 12:05 Music after Midnight; 12:30 Spectrum (RNZ); 1:05 From the World (RNZ); 2:05 New Jazz Archive (4 of 12, PRX) 3:05 The Dream of Nikau Jam by Peter Hawes (9 of 10, 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 NZ Newspapers
=AUDIO=
06:00
Top Stories for Tuesday 19 April 2016
BODY:
Wellington hospital discovers the water pipes in its new main building are riddled with leaks. China's richest man offers to help New Zealand businesses boost sales and Nuie's Scenic Hotel says its 7 and a half million dollar government grant had nothing to do with its big donation to the National Party.
Topics:
Regions:
Tags:
Duration: 31'47"
06:06
Sports News for 19 April 2016
BODY:
An update from the team at RNZ Sport.
Topics: sport
Regions:
Tags:
Duration: 1'49"
06:09
Auckland mayor wants stop to further super city reform
BODY:
Auckland's mayor says it's pointless to re-open debate on the best way to run the city.
Topics: politics
Regions: Auckland Region
Tags: supercity
Duration: 2'12"
06:12
Brazil's president loses impeachment vote
BODY:
Brazil's political crisis has deepened after the lower house of Congress authorised the impeachment of President Dilma Rousseff yesterday.
Topics:
Regions:
Tags: Brazil, Dilma Rousseff
Duration: 2'20"
06:20
Early Business News for 19 April 2016
BODY:
A brief update of movements in the financial sector.
Topics: business, economy
Regions:
Tags: markets
Duration: 2'28"
06:26
Morning Rural News for 19 April 2016
BODY:
News from the rural and farming sectors.
Topics: rural, farming
Regions:
Tags:
Duration: 4'16"
06:39
China's richest man wants more New Zealand products
BODY:
China's richest man says more New Zealand products should be available online in his country.
Topics:
Regions:
Tags: China, Jack Ma
Duration: 2'42"
06:47
Calls for construction industry to encourage more women
BODY:
There are calls for the construction industry to encourage more women as a way of solving a big labour shortage.
Topics: housing
Regions:
Tags: builders, women
Duration: 1'31"
06:50
RB expected to sit on its hands over rates
BODY:
The Reserve Bank is expected to sit on its hands and keep the official cash rate unchanged next week after latest figures showing a slight rise in consumer prices.
Topics: business, economy
Regions:
Tags: Reserve Bank
Duration: 1'54"
06:52
Meridian Energy bringing programme in house to cut costs
BODY:
Meridian Energy is bringing a big chunk of its windfarm maintenance programme in house to cut costs.
Topics: business
Regions:
Tags: Meridian Energy
Duration: 1'28"
06:57
Morning markets for 19 April 2016
BODY:
American stocks are higher - helped by a lift in Walt Disney shares - after its Jungle Book film dominated at the box office.
Topics: business, economy
Regions:
Tags: markets
Duration: 58"
06:58
Tegel Chicken shares sold
BODY:
The signs are that the Tegel sharefloat has been completely snapped up but the final price is not expected to reach the top end of the indicative price range.
Topics: business
Regions:
Tags: Tegel
Duration: 48"
06:59
Business briefs
BODY:
Shares in Australia's national carrier Qantas fell 11 percent yesterday after the airline reported that travel demand has softened and its domestic and international yields fell in March.
Topics: business
Regions:
Tags: Qantas
Duration: 18"
07:07
Sports News for 19 April 2016
BODY:
An update from the team at RNZ Sport.
Topics: sport
Regions:
Tags:
Duration: 1'57"
07:10
Wgtn Hospital's water pipes leaking, will need to be replaced
BODY:
Water pipes in Wellington's seven-year-old main hospital building are riddled with holes and will have to be ripped out.
Topics:
Regions:
Tags: Welllington Hospital, water pipes
Duration: 2'50"
07:13
China's richest man to help New Zealand small businesses
BODY:
China's richest man wants to help more New Zealand farmers and small businesses sell their products there.
Topics:
Regions:
Tags: Jack Ma, China
Duration: 3'26"
07:16
Tariana Turia says CYF's racist and iwi should get rights
BODY:
Tariana Turia says Child Youth and Family is a racist institution and is calling for Iwi to be handed the statutory right to care for children in state care.
Topics:
Regions:
Tags: Child Youth and Family
Duration: 3'26"
07:20
Laureus International Sports Awards
BODY:
The All Blacks have won the Team of the Year at the Laureus International Sports Awards in Berlin.
Topics: sport
Regions:
Tags: All Blacks
Duration: 2'00"
07:22
Link between Niue hotel and National party donation denied
BODY:
Scenic Hotel Group says its millionaire owner Earl Hagaman was probably unaware his company was seeking a Government contract when he made a big donation to the National party.
Topics: business
Regions:
Tags: Earl Hagaman
Duration: 3'35"
07:26
Police may be called in over greyhound doping
BODY:
The police may be asked to investigate after a Greyhound New Zealand board member admitted to corruption and supplying a prohibited substance.
Topics: sport
Regions:
Tags: David Scott, Racing Integrity Unit
Duration: 4'58"
07:34
Andrew Little calls on Auditor General to investigate
BODY:
First Let's go back now to Niue and the Scenic Hotel Group winning a government contract a month after its owner made a big donation to the National party.
Topics: politics
Regions:
Tags: Earl Hagaman, Niue
Duration: 5'26"
07:44
Refugees and their families suffer
BODY:
Refugees who've been living in New Zealand for years are now struggling to send money to their families back home, after banks cut ties with some money transfer operators.
Topics: refugees and migrants
Regions:
Tags: money transfer operators, banks
Duration: 3'25"
07:49
Ecuador quake death toll rises to 350
BODY:
The death toll from Ecuador's earthquake has climbed to 350 people overnight as the grim work of searching for survivors continues into a third day.
Topics:
Regions:
Tags: Ecuador
Duration: 4'02"
07:53
Manufacturing 'thriving' in Auckland but dollar a concern
BODY:
An Auckland manufacturer in business for 40 years says his business has doubled in size in three years, but it could topple overnight if the New Zealand dollar moves sharply.
Topics: business
Regions:
Tags: Glidepath
Duration: 4'06"
07:57
Nasa gets ready for balloon lift-off
BODY:
Nasa is getting ready to launch its super balloon from Wanaka Airport.
Topics: science, technology
Regions:
Tags: NASA
Duration: 2'48"
08:07
Sports News for 19 April 2016
BODY:
An update from the team at RNZ Sport.
Topics: sport
Regions:
Tags:
Duration: 2'27"
08:10
Turnbull now has trigger for early Australian election
BODY:
Australia is set to have an election in July after a government labour reform bill was blocked by the Senate for a second time.
Topics: politics
Regions:
Tags: Australia
Duration: 3'10"
08:14
All Blacks have won the Team of the Year
BODY:
As we have been reporting this morning the All Blacks have won the Team of the Year at the Laureus International Sports Awards in Berlin.
Topics: sport
Regions:
Tags: Laureus International Sports Awards, All Blacks
Duration: 4'53"
08:19
Government weights in on 'loophole' reopening super city debate
BODY:
The Government is moving to prevent small community groups from objecting to local government amalgamations after they've taken place.
Topics: politics
Regions: Auckland Region
Tags: supercity
Duration: 3'50"
08:23
Sea levels could rise 1.1m by end of the century- Royal Society
BODY:
A new report by leading New Zealand scientists is warning two thirds of New Zealanders are living in flood-prone areas, leaving them at the mercy of climate change.
Topics: science
Regions:
Tags: climate change
Duration: 4'06"
08:27
Building industry looks to women to solve big labour shortage
BODY:
The construction industry wants to get more women into building as a way of solving a big labour shortage.
Topics: business
Regions:
Tags: builders, woman
Duration: 2'52"
08:29
Markets Update for 19 April 2016
BODY:
A brief update of movements in the financial sector.
Topics: business, economy
Regions:
Tags: markets
Duration: 49"
08:34
Firm behind Christchurch build under scrutiny
BODY:
The Ministry of Health is defending its decision to award one of the company's at the centre of an Australian Senate inquiry into corruption the contract to rebuild Christchurch Hospital's Acute Services building.
Topics:
Regions:
Tags: Australia, corruption
Duration: 4'44"
08:39
Questions over long-term future of Christchurch's red zone
BODY:
The long-term future of Christchurch's red zone is a grey area.
Topics:
Regions: Canterbury
Tags: red zone
Duration: 5'34"
08:50
Temporary visas often mean low wages, debt for migrants
BODY:
A new survey shows temporary migrants to New Zealand are likely to be on low wages, live in rented accommodation, and are in debt.
Topics: refugees and migrants
Regions:
Tags: wages
Duration: 3'00"
08:56
Salt harvest in full swing
BODY:
It's the season of salt in Marlborough.
Topics:
Regions: Marlborough
Tags: salt harvest
Duration: 3'02"
=SHOW NOTES=
===9:06 AM. | Nine To Noon===
=DESCRIPTION=
Current affairs and topics of interest, including:
10:45 The Reading: Shackleton's Boat Journey by Captain Frank W. Worsley, read by Peter Elliot
An epic story of survival in Antarctic waters early in the 20th century told by the Akaroa-born master of Shackleton's ill-fated expedition ship, Endurance (3 of 10, RNZ)
(Unfortunately the audio for this Reading is not available online)
=AUDIO=
09:07
Exporters welcome Alibaba deal
BODY:
China's biggest online retailer, Alibaba has agreed to support New Zealand companies entering the Chinese consumer market through its various e-commerce channels. Alibaba is the world's biggest retailer, in 2014 it accounted for 80 percent of China's online sales and 60 percent of all parcel deliveries.
We discuss the potential advantages and fish hooks of the deal with Peri Drysdale, the founder and CEO of Snowy Peak and Untouched World and Tom Thompson, the President of the New Zealand Manufacturers and Exporters Association.
Topics: business, economy
Regions:
Tags:
Duration: 19'01"
09:32
A first-hand account of egg donation in New Zealand
BODY:
Around 100 women donate their eggs each year, but there remains a big waiting list of infertile couples wanting donated eggs. The country's largest IVF provider, Fertility Associates constantly advertises for egg donors as the demand is so high - and many couples also advertise themselves. Siouxsie Wiles, who is Nine to Noon's regular Science commentator, donated eggs to a close friend last year. She explains what is involved, and why she chose to donate
EXTENDED BODY:
Nine to Noon's science commentator Siouxsie Wiles talks about infertility, IVF and her decision to donate her eggs to a close friend.
Around 100 New Zealand women donate their eggs each year to infertile couples, and the demand is so high that many couples also advertise themselves. The experience of donating an egg is much harder than sperm donation as donors themselves undergo an IVF cycle to stimulate their ovaries to create enough eggs for the process.
Read an edited snapshot of their conversation.
On her decision to donate her eggs
When I was in my early 20s I was diagnosed with polycystic ovaries. So this means that my menstrual cycle was really irregular. They said to me that if I want to have children it was likely that I’d need assistance. And as it was when Steven and I were trying to have a baby we tried for several years and then we were just in the process of starting to go for help when I had a miscarriage. And that miscarriage seemed to completely jumpstart my entire cycle. Then I was pregnant a few months later with my daughter.
So knowing that that could have been me, that really I may well have been a lady who needed a donor... And I would have wanted somebody to step up and do that for me, or I would have been grateful if somebody had stepped up and done that for me. So I think in the back of my head I always had that 'If you’d expect somebody to do that for you, you should be willing to do that for somebody else even if you don’t need it'. And so I thought, yep. At that stage I had my family, I was done. My eggs were of no more use to me. So it seemed like a small thing for something that could just change somebody’s life and something they really, really wanted. Being a biologist, it was just ‘Well, it’s just a bit of DNA, really. I’m donating this small part of me.’ Really it felt like quite an insignificant thing. And we were all very open about the process.
On meeting the baby
What I was worried about was how I was going to feel when I first met the baby and whether there would be any maternal pull at all. What was just fabulous when I met the baby was that there was nothing. Just seeing my friend with her baby I was like ‘Oh, my god. It is totally her baby’. And, yes, OK. She may have some of my traits. It was kind of funny actually, all the grandparents going ‘Who does she look like?’ She looks like a baby, frankly, and it’s going to very hard to tell until much later who she looks like. I just immediately felt when I met her that she was an amazing addition to our family, but she wasn’t my baby. And that was wonderful.
On infertility treatment
I think it’s really important to recognise why people go for assisted reproductive technologies – ART. We have couples who have difficulty conceiving, and this could be for genetic reasons but could also be for sexually transmitted diseases reasons, but also for chemotherapy reasons. There’s women who are going through early menopause so often they might require a donor egg... same-sex couples obviously need the other ingredient that’s required and single women often have put off having children or finding a partner for their careers. So it’s kind of complicated. There’s lots of those things going on. It’s this ticking time bomb, infertility, where we’re going to need more people going through assisted reproductive technologies because of this thing.
Topics: health
Regions:
Tags: egg donation
Duration: 21'03"
09:52
US correspondent, Steve Almond
BODY:
Trans-gender bathrooms. Culture wars. The presidential race.
Topics: politics
Regions:
Tags: US
Duration: 6'45"
10:09
Altina, a woman ahead of her time
BODY:
New York tobacco heiress, Altina Schinassi was a renaissance woman. A sculptor, painter, film-maker and entrepreneur. Married four times, she lived her life boldly. She befriended Martin Luther King Jr. and supported his struggle. During the McCarthyism period she hid the black-listed film director, John Berry in her Beverly Hills home. Her revolutionary style was reflected in her sexually liberated artwork and inspired invention, of Harlequin glasses in the 1930s. A fashion item which endures to this day. Directed and produced by her grandson and granddaughter, Peter and Victoria Sanders, Altina is a rich and provocative documentary about a woman ahead of her time. Kathryn Ryan speaks to Victoria Sanders about her eccentric grandmother.
EXTENDED BODY:
New York tobacco heiress, Altina Schinassi was a renaissance woman. A sculptor, painter, film-maker and entrepreneur.
Married four times, she lived her life boldly. She befriended Martin Luther King Jr. and supported his struggle.
During the McCarthyism period she hid black-listed film director John Berry in her Beverly Hills home.
Her revolutionary style was reflected in her sexually liberated artwork and inspired invention of Harlequin glasses in the 1930s - a fashion item which endures to this day.
Directed and produced by her grandson and granddaughter, Peter and Victoria Sanders, Altina is an upcoming film that chronicles her remarkable life.
It is a rich and provocative documentary about a woman who was ahead of her time.
Altina will be screened as part of the Resene Architecture & Design Film Festival 2016 opening in Auckland on May 5th in Auckland, before heading down to Wellington, Dunedin and Christchurch between May and July. The full programme is available @ Rialto.co.nz
Topics: arts, history
Regions:
Tags: fiim, Altina Schinassi
Duration: 26'27"
10:38
Book review - At The Edge of the Orchard by Tracy Chevalier
BODY:
Reviewed by Carole Beu.
Topics: books
Regions:
Tags:
Duration: 6'03"
11:06
Business commentator Rod Oram
BODY:
Rod discusses Air New Zealand's increasingly messy exit from Virgin Australia as well as farm prices and consumer price inflation in New Zealand.
Topics: business, economy
Regions:
Tags:
Duration: 14'05"
11:24
Vinyl revival keeps Ashburton record press busy
BODY:
Peter King has been pressing records for 25 years for local and international acts. His Ashburton based business, King Worldwide is busier than ever with the revival of interest in vinyl records. Mr King specialises in lathe cut polycarbonate records, which are different to the traditionally presses vinyl records.
EXTENDED BODY:
Cassettes are gone, CDs have had their day, and music downloads and streaming are of course on the increase, but so too are vinyl records.
The vinyl revival has resulted in a small Ashburton business King Worldwide being busier than ever. Peter King has been pressing records for 25 years.
There have been ebbs and flows over the years, but his Ashburton factory has been in hot demand recently from local and international acts. King Worldwide specialises in lathe cut polycarbonate records, which are different to the traditionally pressed vinyl records.
LISTEN to Kathryn Ryan's interview with Peter King.
Read an edited snapshot of their conversation below:
So you just thought this [vinyl press machine] was something to play with initially, did you?
Oh no, the idea was to try and make a record on them. I wanted to have a go at it. EMI were closing down around about that time so we couldn’t get records made any more. I thought, well, If they’re going to close down, we have got to make them somehow.
The mystery to me though, is how whatever is carved onto that disk comes out sounding like a song.
There’s a wee vibrating needle there and it cuts a little hole… it’s at 45 degrees, believe it or not. Unless that tip is absolutely brilliant, you lose the high qualities. That’s the high end, the treble-y end, where the s’s are in speech. So they need to be really perfect to get a beautiful tone right through. Right down to the deep end. The deep end is more or less at the high part of the 45 degree-angled needle.
So this is precision stuff. Were you an engineer? You said you were a musician but were you also an engineer yourself by trade?
Yes as soon as I left high school, I went to learn general engineering, so it has become part of this thing and it probably would be very hard to build up a plant like this without that sort of side to things, you do have to have that sound background. And that engineering background too. You have to put the two together.
It’s a pretty rare set of skills, and how rare? How many vinyl presses are there in New Zealand?
I believe there are a couple of other ones out there. I have heard of one or two guys out there with very very modern ones doing stuff. Here, there and everywhere. But no one’s cranking them out, there’s just one or two guys doing them one at a time, this sort of thing.
Who are some of the names who got you known, back in the ‘80s?
The biggest one was Beastie Boys, that sort of rap stuff straight out of LA, and that put us on the map. Because once that was all around the US and Australia, then the orders came from the smaller labels for different sorts of stuff. We've also done the Chinese music awards last year, which was really interesting music.
Topics: music
Regions:
Tags: Peter King, music, vinyl, record pressing
Duration: 18'03"
11:43
Media commentator Gavin Ellis
BODY:
Gavin Ellis looks at the Reserve Bank's decision to end embargoed lockups following a breach by MediaWorks. He says it's an unwarranted over-reaction that punishes the innocent. Gavin Ellis is a media commentator and former editor of the New Zealand Herald. He can be contacted on gavin.ellis@xtra.co.nz
Topics: media
Regions:
Tags:
Duration: 14'48"
=SHOW NOTES=
09:05 Exporters welcome Alibaba deal
[image:14335:half] no metadata
China's biggest online retailer, Alibaba has agreed to support New Zealand companies entering the Chinese consumer market through its various e-commerce channels. Alibaba is the world's biggest retailer, in 2014 it accounted for 80 percent of China's online sales and 60 percent of all parcel deliveries.
We discuss the potential advantages and fish hooks of the deal with Peri Drysdale, the founder and CEO of Snowy Peak and Untouched World and Tom Thompson, the President of the New Zealand Manufacturers and Exporters Association.
09:20 A first hand account of egg donation in New Zealand
Around 100 women donate their eggs each year, but there remains a big waiting list of infertile couples wanting donated eggs. The country's largest IVF provider, Fertility Associates constantly advertises for egg donors as the demand is so high - and many couples also advertise themselves.
Siouxsie Wiles, who is Nine to Noon's regular Science commentator, donated eggs to a close friend last year. She explains what is involved, and why she chose to donate
09:45 US correspondent, Steve Almond
10:05 Altina, a woman ahead of her time
New York tobacco heiress, Altina Schinassi was a renaissance woman. A sculpture, painter, film-maker and entrepreneur. Married four times, she lived her life boldly. She befriended Martin Luther King Jr. and supported his struggle. During the McCarthyism period she hid the black-listed film director, John Berry in her Beverly Hills home. Her revolutionary style was reflected in her sexually liberated artwork and inspired invention, of Harlequin glasses in the 1930's. A fashion item which endures to this day.
[gallery:1936]
Directed and produced by her grandson and granddaughter, Peter and Victoria Sanders, Altina is an rich and provocative documentary about a woman ahead of her time.
Kathryn Ryan speaks to Victoria Sanders about her eccentric grandmother.
[embed] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MaqwJQht4Us
Altina will be screened as part of the Resene Architecture & Design Film Festival 2016 opening in Auckland on May 5th in Auckland, before heading down to Wellington, Dunedin and Christchurch between May and July. The full programme is available @ Rialto.co.nz
10:35 Book review
At The Edge of the Orchard by Tracy Chevalier, reviewed by Carole Beu.
10:45 The Reading
11:05 Business commentator Rod Oram
Rod discusses Air New Zealand's increasingly messy exit from Virgin Australia as well as farm prices and consumer price inflation in New Zealand.
11:20 Vinyl revival keeps Ashburton record press busy
Peter King has been pressing records for 25 years for local and international acts. His Ashburton based business, King Worldwide is busier than ever with the revival of interest in vinyl records. Mr King specialises in lathe cut polycarbonate records, which are different to the traditionally presses vinyl records.
11:45 Media commentator Gavin Ellis
Gavin Ellis looks at the Reserve Bank's decision to end embargoed lockups following a breach by MediaWorks. He says it's an unwarranted over-reaction that punishes the innocent.
Gavin Ellis is a media commentator and former editor of the New Zealand Herald. He can be contacted on gavin.ellis@xtra.co.nz
=PLAYLIST=
Artist: The Be Good Tanyas
Song: The Littlest Birds
Composer: Holland/Parton
Album: Blue Horse
Label: Putumayo
Time: 9:29
Artist: Kat Edmonson
Song: Just one of those things
Composer: Porter
Album: Take to the Sky
Label: Convivium
Time: 10:05
Artist: Alabama Shakes
Song: Don't Wanna Fight
Album: Sound & Color
Label: Rough Trade
Time: 10:35
===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 19 April 2016
BODY:
Security worries prompt the cancellation of an online voting trial and the Government says a data supermarket will improve information sharing between departments.
Topics:
Regions:
Tags:
Duration: 15'27"
12:17
Activity in services sector eases
BODY:
Activity in the services sector has hit its lowest level in 16 months.
Topics: business
Regions:
Tags:
Duration: 1'52"
12:19
Share allocation for Tegel due this afternoon
BODY:
Investors keen for a slice of Tegel Foods will find out this afternoon how many shares they have been allocated after the offer formally closes.
Topics: business
Regions:
Tags: Shares, Tegel
Duration: 1'00"
12:20
Stride selling Auckland office building
BODY:
Stride Property is selling an office building in Penrose, Auckland for 32 million dollars ($31.8) as part of its strategy to sell non-core assets and fund new developments and acquisitions.
Topics: business
Regions:
Tags: property
Duration: 58"
12:22
Midday Markets for 19 April 2016
BODY:
For the latest from the markets we're joined by James Malden at Macquarie Private Wealth.
Topics: business
Regions:
Tags: markets
Duration: 2'56"
12:26
Midday Sports News for 19 April 2016
BODY:
The former All Blacks captain Richie McCaw admits he felt intimidated as he got up to receive the Team of the Year award for the All Blacks at the Laureus international sports awards in Berlin.
Topics: sport
Regions:
Tags:
Duration: 2'20"
12:35
Midday Rural News for 19 April 2016
BODY:
News from the rural and farming sectors.
Topics: rural, farming
Regions:
Tags:
Duration: 9'06"
=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=
13:15
The straight dope on medical cannabis
BODY:
For months now, access to medical cannabis products, such as Sativex and Epidolex, has made headlines. Terminally ill former trade unionist Helen Kelly has been at the campaign forefront for legal access for patients. And recently New Zealand's first medical cannabis charity, Medical Cannabis Awareness New Zealand, was started. The debate could be called a political hot potato. But what do we know about these products? And how do they work? The Science Media Centre has just delivered a briefing, titled 'The straight dope on medical cannabis'. Dr John Ashton, a senior lecturer in pharmacology and toxicology, from the University of Otago was one of the speakers.
EXTENDED BODY:
The debate over access to medical cannabis products such as Sativex, Epidolex and Elixinol has been making headlines for months. But what do we know about these products and how they work?
Terminally ill former trade unionist Helen Kelly has been at the forefront of the campaign for legal access for patients.
And, recently, New Zealand's first medical cannabis charity Medical Cannabis Awareness New Zealand started up.
The Science Media Centre has just delivered a briefing, titled 'The straight dope on medical cannabis'. Jesse Mulligan spoke today with one of its speakers, University of Otago pharmacology and toxicology senior lecturer Dr John Ashton.
Read an edited snapshot from the interview:
Dr John Ashton: The term ‘medical’ or ‘medicinal’ cannabis is used very loosely. It can mean anything from the usual smoked cannabis to some oils that people take orally. And it can be hemp oils, as well as cannabis plant oils - which is related to cannabis but has a very low psychoactivity, or doesn’t cause a high.
In the cannabis plant, there are a whole range of chemicals we call cannabinoids and two of them are the ones at issue. THC is the one which causes the high. It’s also the one which has been very well studied and works on a particular receptor protein in the brain. It’s responsible for nearly all of the familiar effects of cannabis and the pain-relieving effects, anti-nausea effects, appetite stimulating effects.
The other one, which is much less well known and much less well studied, is cannabidiol (CBD), which is the one which is the centre of attention for treating epilepsy.
Now, cannabidiol - the evidence there for treating epilepsy is a lot more shaky than THC for pain, for example, and it’s not understood very well at all about how it works in the brain.
So two very different compounds, both found in the same plant and in different mixtures in different products.
Jesse Mulligan: So what is the challenge then? Is it to do more tests with each of these?
Dr John Ashton: We know pretty well that [THC] can relieve pain. It’s not a huge effect. A normal dose is around about the same as codeine. Except in some people – maybe one in six might get a much stronger effect than that.
Where it is useful to some people is that some of the opiates like morphine and codeine cause nausea in some people, whereas THC has anti-nausea effects so they can find it more tolerable.
So the evidence around THC’s pain relieving effects is pretty good. Exactly how strong that is and if it’s superior to conventional drugs in any given situation is a little harder to say.
For CBD, cannabidiol, things like Epidolex and so forth, the evidence there in epilepsy is much more difficult. In adult patients, even some of the top reviewers in the world - the Cochrane Collaboration have really sat on the fence on it... There is a company, GWPharma, producing Epidolex, which is highly purified cannabidiol and they're testing it in very high quality clinical trials, specifically in childhood epilepsy.
There is just recently some evidence coming up for a particular type of childhood epilepsy called Dravet syndrome that adding cannabidiol to the mix of their current conventional treatments can cause a moderate reduction in seizure frequency and severity in some of these children. Not dramatic but a statistically significant effect compared to the placebo.
Jesse Mulligan: In terms of pain relief, are there other legal options - or do we need cannabis?
Dr John Ashton: For the mean effect - the average effect - [THC's level of pain relief is] pretty modest. But certain people, maybe about one in six people in these trials, will get substantial pain relief, will get 30 percent, 50 percent more pain relief, which is actually pretty good in terms of analgesia.
The nausea aspects have been discounted, really, because whenever someone is taking a pharmaceutical product, it’s a cost-benefit ratio calculation going on with the patient and the doctor. Is the benefit outweighing the side effects?
Some people get brilliant pain relief from morphine, but the morphine makes them feel lousy so they may prefer another option. We’ve got to remember that morphine is a natural product, too. It’s basically the active ingredient of opium poppies, so it’s probably one of the most effective pain relievers we still have. And that’s a natural product.
Topics: health, science
Regions:
Tags: medical cannabis
Duration: 11'37"
13:25
Flashdance The Musical - Tom Hedley
BODY:
First when there's nothing but a slow, glowing dream. So begins the song What a Feeling, theme to the movie Flashdance about an 18 year old girl who works in a steel mill but dreams of joining the ballet. The critics didn't love it, but it was a huge hit, and the 1980s wouldn't have been the same without it. More than thirty years later, the story is back, with Flashdance the Musical, opening in Auckland this week. Tom Hedley is a British journalist, editor and screenwriter who wrote the movie Flashdance and The Musical.
Topics: arts
Regions:
Tags: film, theatre, Flashdance
Duration: 12'01"
13:40
The Hot Hot Property Market - Fiona Camberun
BODY:
You can't go a day without reading a headline about property prices in Auckland, or the regions. And Fiona Camberun can speak about both. Fiona made a life-change a few years ago, becoming a full-time property investor and trader. She's talks about what's up in the market.
Topics: housing, business
Regions:
Tags: property
Duration: 8'26"
13:45
Favourite Album - Midge Marsden Connection
BODY:
Midge Marsden - Midge Marsden Connection
Topics: music
Regions:
Tags:
Duration: 14'06"
14:20
Classic New Zealand Album - Salty by The Muttonbirds
BODY:
Salty - The Muttonbirds
Topics: music
Regions:
Tags:
Duration: 41'35"
15:08
Feature Interview - Glen Weldon
BODY:
There are very few things that kids in 2016 like that kids in 1939 enjoyed too. Batman, the superhero who has no super powers but a wicked batmobile and more gadgets than 007, has appeal across the generations. Why the longevity and what does that say about us? Holy pocket protector, Batman is a nerd according to author and pop culture commentator Glen Weldon. That and his very human reasons for fighting crime inspire passionate fandom. Weldon traces the evolution of the superhero in his new book The Caped Crusade: Batman and the Rise of Nerd Culture.
Topics: arts
Regions:
Tags: comics, Batman
Duration: 21'16"
15:45
The Panel pre-show for 19 April 2016
BODY:
Your feedback, and a preview of the guests and topics on The Panel.
Topics:
Regions:
Tags:
Duration: 14'48"
21:46
Points, lines and polygons - the art of making maps
BODY:
The 451 topographic maps that cover the length and breadth of New Zealand are a testament to the skills of a team of map makers at LINZ.
EXTENDED BODY:
Maps tell the story of our ever-changing Earth.
The length and breadth of New Zealand is charted, at a scale of 1:50,000, across 451 topographic maps produced with technical skill, art and patience by a team of map makers at Land Information New Zealand.
The map makers are witness to several stories unfolding in the country.
The most dramatic is the impact of Christchurch earthquakes. The strong black block that was the city’s CBD has been shattered into a mosaic, while the red zone is a ghostly snake of deserted roads that echo the shape of the Avon River.
Meanwhile, in the countryside humans are changing the landscape as farming evolves with market demands and new practices.
Mapping the land begins in the sky
Chris Kinzett, technical advisor at LINZ, has been involved in map making for almost 50 years. In that time he has seen a radical change in map production as digital tools have replaced manual tools. But, he says, the fundamental basis of any topographic map – an aerial image – hasn’t changed at all.
“Aerial photography has always been a key component in map production,” says Chris. “It’s the medium you use to extract the information that ultimately finds its way to a map.”
Aerial photography began in 1936 and, since 2000, satellite images have become increasingly important as well. Chris says their advantage is that they can be captured at any time of the year, whereas aerial photography flights only happen in summer.
Chris says he started his career as a photogrammetist, and “it’s the photogrammetist that actually captures the data.”
“The data is then passed on to a cartographer, and it is the cartographer ... that takes the data, symbolises it, adds the colours and ‘makes it pretty’.”
The basic scale of a topographic map is 1:50,000, although Chris says they capture data accurate to 2-3 metres. These days they make the basic data, as well as the maps, freely available to other users.
Chris says that compared to the early days of map-making, the use of digital tools has allowed maps to be more accurate and more current.
One of the biggest changes Chris has seen recently has been the appearance of large green circles, in places like the Mackenzie basin (one is visible in the centre of the right-hand computer screen above). These are created by centre-pivot irrigators, and Chris says they will be added to maps if they are significant features in a landscape.
“That’s half the skill,” he says. “How can you build up the map and give a good representation of what the land looks like without cluttering or under-doing it?”
Chris used to tramp and is a keen map user, and he says this experience has been invaluable.
“If you have an understanding of why people use a map it makes it a lot easier to hopefully give them the right information on that map.”
From points to polygons
“A topographic map is a graphical representation of a given place at a given point in time,” says Richard Freeman, LINZ cartographer. “And we use lines, points and polygons to simplify those objects on the aerial photograph.
A point represents something small and discrete, such as a building.
A line indicates a linear feature such as a road or track, while a polygon – a variable shape filled with different symbols or textures – delineates different areas of vegetation, for example.
As the topo maps already exist, the modern cartographer’s job is to keep them up-to-date.
Richard says this involves working directly onto an aerial photo, with the existing data alongside so he can see any features that need updating. The graphics software he uses allows him to uplift and realign anything that has moved or changed.
Richard says that what maps do is “tell the story of the changing earth.”
One of the things that changes most frequently is vegetation, for example as pine plantations are felled and shelter belts removed.
Richard says that the intensification of dairying over the last 5-10 yeas has significantly changed the agricultural landscape in areas such as Southland.
“You do get an appreciation for how diverse New Zealand is – and how quickly it changes.”
A changed city
When the Canterbury earthquakes changed the face of Christchurch forever it created an unprecedented challenge for New Zealand cartographers – how to capture those changes with the limited palette of colours and symbols they have for urban areas.
“It was the first time that a natural disaster impacted one map,” says cartographer Graeme Jupp, “to the point where we had to carefully evaluate how we were to represent the changes wrought on the Christchurch CBD and the urban areas that had been affected by liquefaction.”
The central business district (CBD) went from a large core of city centre blocks that were marked in sold black to a scatter of black squares that represent the few remaining buildings.
In red-zoned residential areas such as Dallington, Burwood, and Bexley, where almost all the houses have been demolished, the grey shading that represents blocks of houses has turned to a scatter of black dots representing the few remaining dwellings.
On a 1:50,000 topo map major urban roads are marked in orange; in the red-zone the closed-off roads are still visible but on the map they have been reduced to a ghostly white.
Changing names
Maps are a key record of changing names, as well as a changing land.
“There are 51,000 geographic place names in New Zealand, and when we initially made the 1:50,000 topo map series all of those had to be placed by hand, by a team of five to six of us,” says Graeme.
“Every time we make a new map sheet we have to go back and re-evaluate the position of the geographic names.”
“Geographic names can be quite challenging. Any names that come out of, for example, treaty claim settlements – there might be new names or dual names – they are put into the database. And sometimes the length of the name can be a challenge to the cartographers, in terms of positioning it relative to the feature to which it refers.”
Push ‘print’
The culmination of the map-making team’s work is the creation of a paper or digital map. And technical lead Fran McNamara says that digital technology and a pre-press computer have made this part of the job much simpler and faster.
“All this used to take between two to three months work by a cartographer,” she says. “It happens now in about 10 minutes.”
While the work flow of making a map has changed as much as the land itself over the past 50 years, Fran says the resulting maps are still as practical and as beautiful as ever.
“Our main goal was that people wouldn’t be able to tell the difference as to whether this had been drawn by a cartographer using their skills, or whether it was done entirely digitally.”
Maps for free
Digital versions of all 451 of New Zealand’s 1:50,000 topographic maps can be downloaded for free from LINZ. You can still buy paper topo maps as well.
‘Unfolding the map’
If you are interested in maps, you might like to check out a major exhibition on at the National Library, Wellington. ‘Unfolding the Map’ explores the history and the future of cartography in New Zealand.
Also in Wellington, Victoria University of Wellington and the National Library are partnering in a series of map-related talks, on how mapping can be applied to the study of people, geography, the weather, and even literary works.
5 May 2016: ‘The Changing Face of Aotearoa’ with Kevin Norton, Senior lecturer physical geography
11 May: ‘The Future of Maps’ with Aaron Jordan, Topography Group Manager at Land Information New Zealand (LINZ)
17 May: ‘How to Find a Storm: Maps of the Weather’ with Professor James Renwick and Erick Brenstrum.
26 May: ‘Telling new stories with old maps’ with Dr Sydney Shep, Wai-te-Ata Press
All talks are at the National Library and you can find more information on their website.
Topics: environment
Regions:
Tags: maps, cartography, Land Information New Zealand, landscapes
Duration: 17'38"
=SHOW NOTES=
1:10 First Song
Broods - 'Free'.
1:15 The Straight Dope On Medical Cannabis - Dr John Ashton
For months now, access to medical cannabis products, such as Sativex and Epidolex, has made headlines. Terminally ill former trade unionist, Helen Kelly, has been at the campaign forefront for legal access for patients. And recently New Zealand's first medical cannabis charity, Medical Cannabis Awareness New Zealand, was started. The debate could be called a political hot potato. But what do we know about these products? And how do they work? The Science Media Centre has just delivered a briefing, titled The straight dope on medical cannabis. Dr John Ashton, a senior lecturer in Pharmacology and Toxicology, from the University of Otago was one of the speakers.
1:25 Flashdance The Musical - Tom Hedley
First when there's nothing but a slow, glowing dream. So begins the song What a Feeling, theme to the movie Flashdance about an 18 year old girl who works in a steel mill but dreams of joining the ballet. The critics didn't love it, but it was a huge hit, and the 1980s wouldn't have been the same without it. More than thirty years later, the story is back, with Flashdance the Musical, opening in Auckland this week. Tom Hedley is a British journalist, editor and screenwriter who wrote the movie Flashdance and The Musical.
1:35 The Hot Hot Property Market - Fiona Camberun
You can't go a day without reading a headline about property prices in Auckland, or the regions. And Fiona Camberun can speak about both. Fiona made a life-change a few years ago, becoming a full-time property investor and trader. She talks about what's up in the market.
1:40 Favourite Album
Midge Marsden - Midge Marsden Connection.
2:10 BBC Witness - George Mallory
On 1 May 1999 the body of the legendary British mountaineer, George Mallory, was found on Mount Everest. Mallory disappeared on the mountain in 1924 after making a final push for the summit with his fellow climber Andrew Irvine. They were never seen again. Witness has been speaking to Jochen Hemmleb one of the original members of the team that discovered George Mallory's remains.
2:20 Great New Zealand Album
Salty - The Muttonbirds.
3:10 Feature Interview - Glen Weldon
There are very few things that kids in 2016 like that kids in 1939 enjoyed too. Batman, the superhero who has no super powers but a wicked batmobile and more gadgets than 007, has appeal across the generations. Why the longevity and what does that say about us? Holy pocket protector, Batman is a nerd according to author and pop culture commentator Glen Weldon. That and his very human reasons for fighting crime inspire passionate fandom. Weldon traces the evolution of the superhero in his new book The Caped Crusade: Batman and the Rise of Nerd Culture.
3:30 Our Changing World.
The 451 topographic maps that cover the length and breadth of New Zealand are a testament to the skill - and patience - of a team of map makers at Land Information New Zealand (LINZ). Alison Ballance is taken on a map-making tour to find out how aerial and satellite images are used, and how maps tell the story of our changing world.
3:45 The Panel Pre-Show
What the world is talking about with Jesse Mulligan, Jim Mora and Zara Potts.
=PLAYLIST=
JESSE'S SONG:
ARTIST: Broods
TITLE: Free
COMP: Georgia Nott, Caleb Nott, Joel Little
ALBUM: Conscious (Unreleased)
LABEL: Universal
FEATURE ALBUM:
ARTIST: Midge Marsden Connection
TITLE: Never In A Million Years
COMP: Wayne Mason
ALBUM: Midge Marsden Connection
LABEL: Mandrill
ARTIST: Midge Marsden Connection
TITLE: Slow Walk, Jive Talk
COMP: Ta Rutherford, Midge Marsden
ALBUM: Midge Marsden Connection
LABEL: Mandrill
ARTIST: Midge Marsden Connection
TITLE: Texas Blues
COMP: Bob Wills
ALBUM: Midge Marsden Connection
LABEL: Mandrill
GREAT NEW ZEALAND ALBUM:
ARTIST: The Mutton Birds
TITLE: Anchor Me
COMP: Don McGlashan
ALBUM: Salty
LABEL: EMI
ARTIST: The Mutton Birds
TITLE: The Heater
COMP: Don McGlashan
ALBUM: Salty
LABEL: EMI
ARTIST: The Mutton Birds
TITLE: Ngaire
COMP: Don McGlashan
ALBUM: Salty
LABEL: EMI
ADDITIONAL SONG:
ARTIST: Neal Hefti
TITLE: Batman Theme
COMP: Neal Hefti
ALBUM: Favourite TV Theme Songs
LABEL: Rhino
ARTIST: The Tropical Downbeat Orchestra
TITLE: Witness
COMP: The Tropical Downbeat Orchestra
ALBUM: The Tropical Downbeat Orchestra
LABEL: Muna
THE PANEL: HALFTIME SONG
ARTIST: Steely Dan
TITLE: Dirty Work
COMP: Walter Becker, Donald Fagen
ALBUM: Can't Buy A Thrill
LABEL: Probe
===4:06 PM. | The Panel===
=DESCRIPTION=
An hour of discussion featuring a range of panellists from right along the opinion spectrum (RNZ)
=AUDIO=
15:45
The Panel pre-show for 19 April 2016
BODY:
Your feedback, and a preview of the guests and topics on The Panel.
Topics:
Regions:
Tags:
Duration: 14'48"
16:06
The Panel with Dita De Boni and Simon Pound (Part 1)
BODY:
Intro. Community Policing. Housing bubble. Lebanon.
Topics:
Regions:
Tags:
Duration: 26'14"
16:07
The Panel with Dita de Boni and Simon Pound (Part 2)
BODY:
How often should you clean the house? Panel Says. Older workers need shorter work weeks. Labour questions National Party donation.
Topics:
Regions:
Tags:
Duration: 25'10"
16:08
Intro
BODY:
What the Panelists Dita de Boni and Simon Pound have been up to.
Topics:
Regions:
Tags:
Duration: 2'45"
16:11
Community Policing
BODY:
New Zealand is facing more closures of community police stations.
Topics: law
Regions:
Tags: police
Duration: 2'44"
16:14
Housing bubble
BODY:
Westpac chief economist Dominick Stephens discusses what can be done to stop Auckland's housing bubble bursting - if anything.
Topics: housing
Regions:
Tags: property, housing market
Duration: 13'14"
16:24
Lebanon
BODY:
Dr Ron Hoenig of the University of South Australia talks about the botched Australian 60 Minutes child recovery story.
Topics: media
Regions:
Tags: Lebanon
Duration: 7'22"
16:34
How often should you clean the house?
BODY:
Do you clean your microwave once a week? How about spraying your mattress with anti-bacterial spray?
Topics: health
Regions:
Tags: cleaning
Duration: 3'26"
16:38
Panel Says
BODY:
What the Panelists Dita de Boni and Simon Pound have been up to.
Topics:
Regions:
Tags:
Duration: 8'12"
16:50
Older workers need shorter work weeks
BODY:
Professor Colin McKenzie of Tokyo's Keio University discusses a study which shows workers over 40 need shorter working weeks.
Topics: life and society
Regions:
Tags: aging, Labour
Duration: 9'04"
16:55
Labour questions National Party donation
BODY:
Labour is asking for an inquiry into a donation made by the owner of the Scenic Hotel Group to the National Party.
Topics: politics
Regions:
Tags:
Duration: 4'00"
=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 19th April 2016
BODY:
Watch Tuesday's full programme here.
Topics:
Regions:
Tags:
Duration: 00"
17:10
Chair of new Otakaro Limited promises progress in Christchurch
BODY:
We begin tonight in Christchurch, with the announcement of the man who's now in charge of ensuring the city's anchor projects are built.
Topics:
Regions: Canterbury
Tags: Christchurch Rebuild, Canterbury earthquakes
Duration: 6'41"
17:15
NZ considering setting up extradition treaty with China
BODY:
The Government is now considering setting up a formal extradition treaty with China after years of refusing to budge on the matter. Demelza Leslie is in Beijing travelling with the Prime Minister.
Topics: politics, law
Regions:
Tags: China
Duration: 5'18"
17:21
Councils disappointed at rejection of e voting
BODY:
Councils that signed up to be the first in the country to use online voting this year are bitterly disappointed the government has rejected the idea. Conan Young reports.
Topics: politics
Regions:
Tags: voting, elections
Duration: 2'35"
17:23
Richie McCaw accepts Team of the Year Laureus
BODY:
The All Blacks have been named Team of the Year at the prestigious Laureus World Sports Awards. The side's first five eighth, Dan Carter, also won the Comeback of the Year award.
Topics: sport
Regions:
Tags: All Blacks, rugby
Duration: 3'08"
17:27
Ashburton lotto winners want to remain anonymous
BODY:
The Ashburton winner - or winners - of Lotto's 22-million-dollar jackpot on Saturday night have spent the afternoon in Auckland, confirming their win and celebrating at the organisation's head office. Lotto's Kirsten Robinson tells Checkpoint more.
Topics:
Regions: Canterbury
Tags: Lotto, lotteries
Duration: 1'57"
17:29
Waiheke Countdown bans plastic bags
BODY:
The Countdown supermarket on Waiheke Island is banning plastic bags. The Waiheke Local Board Chair, Paul Walden, explains why.
Topics: environment
Regions: Auckland Region
Tags: plastic bags
Duration: 3'40"
17:35
Evening Business for 19 April 2016
BODY:
News from the business sector, including a market report.
Topics: business
Regions:
Tags: markets
Duration: 4'01"
17:40
The OECD's Monica Bhatia on the fight for tax transparency
BODY:
The Panama Papers revealed New Zealand as a tax haven earlier this month, and the OECD has plans to crack down on the world of hiding money offshore. The OECD's Monica Bhatia explains how transparency in global tax is becoming a possibility.
Topics: law
Regions:
Tags: tax, Panama Papers, tax havens
Duration: 8'39"
17:49
Man pulled from quake rubble in Ecuador
BODY:
Rescuers in Ecuador's quake ravaged Manabi province have pulled a survivor from the rubble three days after the deadly 7.8 magnitude quake killed more than 413 and injured 2500 others. Alex Ashton reports.
Topics:
Regions:
Tags: Ecuador, earthquakes
Duration: 3'23"
17:52
NZ puppeteer travelling Fiji to meet children after cyclone
BODY:
More than 120,000 Fijian children were directly impacted when Cyclone Winston struck in February. A New Zealand puppeteer is now travelling with the Red Cross to meet children traumatized by the cyclone.
Topics:
Regions:
Tags: Fiji, Cyclone Winston
Duration: 6'07"
18:11
GPs & Maori healers should unite - researcher
BODY:
Maori want mainstream doctors to collaborate more with traditional rongoa Maori healers to give patients the best possible healthcare. Laura Bootham reports.
Topics: te ao Maori, health
Regions:
Tags:
Duration: 3'02"
18:14
Ditching plastic bags cheaper for the company, it says
BODY:
Countdown has announced it's banning plastic bags from its new Waiheke supermarket - making it the first in the chain to do so. Alex Ashton asked Countdown, and the Auckland public, their thoughts.
Topics: environment
Regions: Auckland Region
Tags: plastic bags
Duration: 2'50"
18:20
Trump expected to win in New York tomorrow
BODY:
The US presidential candidates have just completed their final day of campaigning in New York, ahead of the state's crucial primary vote tomorrow. And as Lorna Shaddick reports, Donald Trump is expected to easily sweep the Republican vote.
Topics: politics
Regions:
Tags: USA, Donald Trump, elections
Duration: 3'34"
18:24
McCaw says he felt intimidated receiving Laureus
BODY:
Even the former All Blacks captain Richie McCaw admits he felt intimidated as he received the Team of the Year award for the All Blacks at the Laureus international sports awards in Berlin.
Topics: sport
Regions:
Tags: All Blacks, rugby
Duration: 6'00"
=SHOW NOTES=
===6:30 PM. | Worldwatch===
=DESCRIPTION=
The stories behind the international headlines
===7:06 PM. | Nights===
=DESCRIPTION=
RNZ's weeknight programme of entertainment and information
=AUDIO=
19:15
Our Own Odysseys - Cruising the Silk Road
BODY:
In 2011, after collecting their vehicles at Hong Kong, Jeanette Knudsen and her husband Martin plus another couple drove more or less along the Silk Road route right through to Europe, and took the opportunity to view China before it is truly modernised...
Topics: life and society
Regions:
Tags: travel, silk road
Duration: 13'14"
20:12
Nights' Pundit - Military History
BODY:
Easter Rising - historian and author of 'New Zealand and the First World War 1914-1919', Dr. Damien Fenton on the wherewithal of war...
Topics: history, politics
Regions:
Tags: military history[
Duration: 21'02"
=SHOW NOTES=
7:12 Our Own Odysseys - Cruising the Silk Road
In 2011, after collecting their vehicles at Hong Kong, Jeanette Knudsen and her husband Martin drove more or less along the Silk Road route right through to Europe, and took the opportunity to view China before it is truly modernised.
[gallery:1944] Supplied / Jeanette Knudsen
7:30 The Sampler
=SHOW NOTES=
=AUDIO=
19:30
The Sampler for 19 April 2016
BODY:
In The Sampler this week Nick Bollinger reviews the homegrown soul of Hollie Smith and a debut that encompasses folk and feedback from American quartet Heron Oblivion, plus a historic set from Senegalese superstar Youssou N'Dour.
EXTENDED BODY:
In The Sampler this week Nick Bollinger reviews the homegrown soul of Hollie Smith and a debut that encompasses folk and feedback from American quartet Heron Oblivion, plus a historic set from Senegalese superstar Youssou N'Dour.
Topics: music
Regions:
Tags: Hollie Smith, Heron Oblivion, Youssou N’Dour
Duration: 28'38"
19:30
Water Or Gold by Hollie Smith
BODY:
Nick Bollinger delves into the homegrown soul of Hollie Smith.
EXTENDED BODY:
Nick Bollinger delves into the homegrown soul of Hollie Smith.
It begins with the simmering chords of a Hammond organ, a rhythm section straining at the leash, and a voice that could be straight out of some black southern church, warming up with a wordless, soulful moan.
Water Or Gold is the third full-length record Hollie Smith has released in a recording career that is now well into its second decade, and comes on with the kind of assuredness that says you are in the hands of someone who knows what they like, what they want to hear, and are going to do it their way.
Hollie Smith wrote and produced all the songs on Water Or Gold, and it seems very much the product of her particular tastes. She cut her teeth singing along to classic Aretha Franklin and James Brown records, picking up licks and phrases along the way from artists as diverse and individual as Chaka Khan and Prince – all of which I can hear traces of in the opener, from which the album takes its title. Not that it comes off as pastiche. Perhaps the biggest lesson she’s learned from her heroes is that, however much you admire the tradition, the real task of the soul singer is to find one’s own voice. And for most of this album you know you could only be listening to Hollie.
But if Smith has long since absorbed the lessons of her singing heroes into a style that’s identifiably her own, as a songwriter she still sometimes wears her influences on the outside. And in the case of a ballad like ‘In Love Again’, it is as though she has built her song on top of the foundations of an existing classic - in this case James Brown’s ‘It’s A Man’s World.’
Hollie Smith’s trials in the music industry have been well-documented. Enough to say that her career was held up for several years when what was supposed to be her big international break turned to corporate custard. And the residual bitterness from that experience seeped through the songs on her last album Humour and the Misfortune of Others. The title was a strange misnomer; there was little humour and the only misfortune under discussion seemed to be Hollie’s own. You won’t exactly find humour on Water Or Gold either. But there’s a sense that singing about life’s hardships and losses is the surest path to that intangible thing called soul.
Water Or Gold doesn’t fundamentally change Hollie Smith’s formula. As a singer she’s always known who she is and what she wants to do. But as a collection it offers more for the listener to latch onto, as it delves deeper into Hollie’s increasingly personal brand of soul. It’s a record that reaches out by reaching in.
Songs featured: Water or Gold, Anymore, Helena, In Love Again, Holding On, Poor on Poor, Older Younger.
Water Or Gold is available on Warner Music.
Topics: music
Regions:
Tags: Hollie Smith, music, music review
Duration: 11'26"
19:30
Fatteliku, Live in Athens 1987 by Youssou N’Dour et le Super Etoile de Dakar
BODY:
Nick Bollinger surveys a historic live set from Senegalese superstar Youssou N'Dour.
EXTENDED BODY:
Nick Bollinger surveys a historic live set from Senegalese superstar Youssou N'Dour.
Here’s a recording that’s almost thirty years old, but was only recently released as an album. It’s Youssou N’Dour and his band Le Super Etoile De Dakar, live in Athens in 1987. It’s a record that would have been worth hearing at any time, but now – all these years after it was made – one can ponder its historical significance as well.
The set finds Youssou in soaringly good voice and his eight-piece band laying down a bed of flawless West African funk. And from what one can hear of the crowd, they were enjoying it too, though I imagine for most of them it would be the first time they had ever seen the Senegalese superstar. They may well have heard him before, though. Just a year earlier, his distinctive voice had been featured on ‘In Your Eyes’, a song from Peter Gabriel’s So album, which had gone on to become Gabriel’s biggest-selling album, turning the English art-rocker into an international star. A long-time fan of African music, Gabriel had already launched the Womad festival four years earlier, and seemed to have a personal mission to bring the popular music of that continent to the West. The concert captured on this album is, in fact, a Peter Gabriel show; the Greek leg of a twelve-month world tour, for which Youssou N’Dour and his band were the opening act. And, to his credit, Gabriel didn’t give himself an easy act to follow.
You can hear Youssou working the crowd in the huge amphitheatre where Gabriel’s show took place, and you can hear them responding. As anyone will know who saw Youssou last year when he performed at Womad in Taranaki, he’s a joyous, uplifting performer. But there has always been a serious political side to his work as well, even as he compels you to dance. And he does both in the song he dedicates to Nelson Mandela; a year away from his 70th birthday and at this point still held in Cape Town’s Pollsmoor Prison.
The album closes with a tune from Gabriel’s set – a ten-minute ‘In Your Eyes’, on which Youssou guests – added to pad things out. As this, along with most of Youssou’s performance, has already been available as part of Gabriel’s Live In Athens DVD, which came out a couple of years ago, Youssou N’Dour’s Live In Athens is in many ways nothing new. And yet it seems important that it exists - partly just because it’s so good, partly for the moment it represents. Less than a year before this concert, Paul Simon’s Graceland had landed, turning Soweto’s street beats into a sound familiar across the world. The Womad festival was four years old. The term ‘world music’ was just starting to become familiar. And a whole continent of rhythm was opening up to fresh ears.
Songs featured: Kocc Barma, Immigres, Nelson Mandela, Sama Dom.
Fatteliku: Youssou N’Dour et le Super Etoile de Dakar Live is available on Real World Records.
Topics: music
Regions:
Tags: Youssou N'Dour, music, music review
Duration: 6'17"
19:30
Heron Oblivion
BODY:
Nick Bollinger assesses a debut that encompasses folk and feedback from American quartet Heron Oblivion.
EXTENDED BODY:
Nick Bollinger assesses a debut that encompasses folk and feedback from American quartet Heron Oblivion.
The old two guitars, bass and drums band. How long has it been since anyone thought of anything new to do with that classic configuration? Well here’s the debut of a group from the American west coast with precisely that line-up. But though the territory may be familiar, the way they explore it is so curious and thorough, their discoveries so particular, that listening to them can make me wonder whether I’ve been here before at all.
While Heron Oblivion is a relatively new band, the four members all have long and intertwined histories. Guitarist Noel Harmonson and bass player Ethan Miller both played for a decade in explosive Santa Cruz band Comets On Fire; second guitarist Charlie Saufley had been with San Francisco psych rockers Assemble Head In Sunburst Sound. But the new group comes together around vocalist Meg Baird, who has released a couple of solo albums but is probably best known for her role in dark-folk big band Espers. Baird is also the drummer in Heron Oblivion; a pounding primitive in the Maureen Tucker mode. And that’s not where the Velvet Underground comparisons end. The Velvets are an obvious reference point for Heron Oblivion’s modal guitar sound as well. But the Velvets never had anyone who can sing like Meg Baird. And the high pure clarity of her singing in a song like ‘Oriar’, combined with its old English-style melody, makes me think of some previously unimagined fusion of the Velvet Underground and Fairport Convention. And if it’s Fairport and Velvets in a track like that one, they might be channelling Neil Young and Crazy Horse in a slow smouldering track like ‘Your Hollows’.
So if it’s all been done before, what is it that makes Heron Oblivion special? For one thing, there’s that contrast between the turbulent textures of the twin guitars and that exquisite voice, that seems to float impossibly high above it all, somewhere in the ether. But there is also the way this quartet approaches their material. For Heron Oblivion, a song is more than just a neat stack of verses and choruses. It’s a space to roam in, exploring the corners and angles. And they make that into an adventure. The guitars circle around Baird’s voice there snapping off bits of the melody and spitting them out in distorted squally bursts.
Heron Oblivion’s album isn’t perfect. The songs are good rather than great and the rhythms sometimes cross the line from sombre to sluggish. But there’s a lot I like about it too; the way the guitars aren’t locked down but are free to range around the song, Meg Baird’s extraordinary ethereal voice, and the sheer joy of a bunch of musicians who are making it interesting for themselves, and for us as well.
Songs Featured: Beneath Fields, Oriar, Sudden Lament, Rama, Seventeen Landscapes, Your Hollows.
Heron Oblivion is available on Sub Pop Records.
Topics: music
Regions:
Tags: Heron Oblivion, music, music review
Duration: 11'03"
7:30 The Sampler
Nick Bollinger reviews the homegrown soul of Hollie Smith and a debut that encompasses folk and feedback from American quartet Heron Oblivion, plus a historic live set from Senegalese superstar Youssou N'Dour.
8:12 Nights' Pundit - Military History
Historian and author of 'New Zealand and the First World War 1914-1919', Dr. Damien Fenton talks about the Irish Easter Rising and why commemoration of the First World War is a lot more difficult and complicated for some countries than others.
8:30 Window on the World
"Trading Hair" - Justine Lang embarks on a journey to find out why women in India sacrifice their natural hair and why an increasing number of South African women want to buy it.
9:07 Tuesday Feature
"Salon" - Whether we view getting a haircut as a luxury or a necessity, your hairstylist is at the front line of how we think about all aspects of modern female identity - race, sexuality, beauty, class, and wealth. Because from Auckland to Invercargill, Beirut to London, everything is up for discussion in the hairdressing salon.
10:17 Late Edition
A round up of today's RNZ News and feature interviews as well as Date Line Pacific from RNZ International
11:07 At the Eleventh Hour
World music - African artists take center stage this week in the Global Village, with music from Sierra Leone's Refugee All Stars, Congolese rhumba master Papa Noel Papa Noel (with French accordionist Viviane A.), Ethiojazz creator Mulatu Astatke (Official Artist Page), and Nigerian reggae star Majek Fashek. Plus some Afrobeat inspired sounds from Australia's The Liberators, and Malian music from guitarist Leni Stern.
===7:35 PM. | The Sampler===
=DESCRIPTION=
A weekly review and analysis of new CD releases
=AUDIO=
19:30
The Sampler for 19 April 2016
BODY:
In The Sampler this week Nick Bollinger reviews the homegrown soul of Hollie Smith and a debut that encompasses folk and feedback from American quartet Heron Oblivion, plus a historic set from Senegalese superstar Youssou N'Dour.
EXTENDED BODY:
In The Sampler this week Nick Bollinger reviews the homegrown soul of Hollie Smith and a debut that encompasses folk and feedback from American quartet Heron Oblivion, plus a historic set from Senegalese superstar Youssou N'Dour.
Topics: music
Regions:
Tags: Hollie Smith, Heron Oblivion, Youssou N’Dour
Duration: 28'38"
19:30
Water Or Gold by Hollie Smith
BODY:
Nick Bollinger delves into the homegrown soul of Hollie Smith.
EXTENDED BODY:
Nick Bollinger delves into the homegrown soul of Hollie Smith.
It begins with the simmering chords of a Hammond organ, a rhythm section straining at the leash, and a voice that could be straight out of some black southern church, warming up with a wordless, soulful moan.
Water Or Gold is the third full-length record Hollie Smith has released in a recording career that is now well into its second decade, and comes on with the kind of assuredness that says you are in the hands of someone who knows what they like, what they want to hear, and are going to do it their way.
Hollie Smith wrote and produced all the songs on Water Or Gold, and it seems very much the product of her particular tastes. She cut her teeth singing along to classic Aretha Franklin and James Brown records, picking up licks and phrases along the way from artists as diverse and individual as Chaka Khan and Prince – all of which I can hear traces of in the opener, from which the album takes its title. Not that it comes off as pastiche. Perhaps the biggest lesson she’s learned from her heroes is that, however much you admire the tradition, the real task of the soul singer is to find one’s own voice. And for most of this album you know you could only be listening to Hollie.
But if Smith has long since absorbed the lessons of her singing heroes into a style that’s identifiably her own, as a songwriter she still sometimes wears her influences on the outside. And in the case of a ballad like ‘In Love Again’, it is as though she has built her song on top of the foundations of an existing classic - in this case James Brown’s ‘It’s A Man’s World.’
Hollie Smith’s trials in the music industry have been well-documented. Enough to say that her career was held up for several years when what was supposed to be her big international break turned to corporate custard. And the residual bitterness from that experience seeped through the songs on her last album Humour and the Misfortune of Others. The title was a strange misnomer; there was little humour and the only misfortune under discussion seemed to be Hollie’s own. You won’t exactly find humour on Water Or Gold either. But there’s a sense that singing about life’s hardships and losses is the surest path to that intangible thing called soul.
Water Or Gold doesn’t fundamentally change Hollie Smith’s formula. As a singer she’s always known who she is and what she wants to do. But as a collection it offers more for the listener to latch onto, as it delves deeper into Hollie’s increasingly personal brand of soul. It’s a record that reaches out by reaching in.
Songs featured: Water or Gold, Anymore, Helena, In Love Again, Holding On, Poor on Poor, Older Younger.
Water Or Gold is available on Warner Music.
Topics: music
Regions:
Tags: Hollie Smith, music, music review
Duration: 11'26"
19:30
Fatteliku, Live in Athens 1987 by Youssou N’Dour et le Super Etoile de Dakar
BODY:
Nick Bollinger surveys a historic live set from Senegalese superstar Youssou N'Dour.
EXTENDED BODY:
Nick Bollinger surveys a historic live set from Senegalese superstar Youssou N'Dour.
Here’s a recording that’s almost thirty years old, but was only recently released as an album. It’s Youssou N’Dour and his band Le Super Etoile De Dakar, live in Athens in 1987. It’s a record that would have been worth hearing at any time, but now – all these years after it was made – one can ponder its historical significance as well.
The set finds Youssou in soaringly good voice and his eight-piece band laying down a bed of flawless West African funk. And from what one can hear of the crowd, they were enjoying it too, though I imagine for most of them it would be the first time they had ever seen the Senegalese superstar. They may well have heard him before, though. Just a year earlier, his distinctive voice had been featured on ‘In Your Eyes’, a song from Peter Gabriel’s So album, which had gone on to become Gabriel’s biggest-selling album, turning the English art-rocker into an international star. A long-time fan of African music, Gabriel had already launched the Womad festival four years earlier, and seemed to have a personal mission to bring the popular music of that continent to the West. The concert captured on this album is, in fact, a Peter Gabriel show; the Greek leg of a twelve-month world tour, for which Youssou N’Dour and his band were the opening act. And, to his credit, Gabriel didn’t give himself an easy act to follow.
You can hear Youssou working the crowd in the huge amphitheatre where Gabriel’s show took place, and you can hear them responding. As anyone will know who saw Youssou last year when he performed at Womad in Taranaki, he’s a joyous, uplifting performer. But there has always been a serious political side to his work as well, even as he compels you to dance. And he does both in the song he dedicates to Nelson Mandela; a year away from his 70th birthday and at this point still held in Cape Town’s Pollsmoor Prison.
The album closes with a tune from Gabriel’s set – a ten-minute ‘In Your Eyes’, on which Youssou guests – added to pad things out. As this, along with most of Youssou’s performance, has already been available as part of Gabriel’s Live In Athens DVD, which came out a couple of years ago, Youssou N’Dour’s Live In Athens is in many ways nothing new. And yet it seems important that it exists - partly just because it’s so good, partly for the moment it represents. Less than a year before this concert, Paul Simon’s Graceland had landed, turning Soweto’s street beats into a sound familiar across the world. The Womad festival was four years old. The term ‘world music’ was just starting to become familiar. And a whole continent of rhythm was opening up to fresh ears.
Songs featured: Kocc Barma, Immigres, Nelson Mandela, Sama Dom.
Fatteliku: Youssou N’Dour et le Super Etoile de Dakar Live is available on Real World Records.
Topics: music
Regions:
Tags: Youssou N'Dour, music, music review
Duration: 6'17"
19:30
Heron Oblivion
BODY:
Nick Bollinger assesses a debut that encompasses folk and feedback from American quartet Heron Oblivion.
EXTENDED BODY:
Nick Bollinger assesses a debut that encompasses folk and feedback from American quartet Heron Oblivion.
The old two guitars, bass and drums band. How long has it been since anyone thought of anything new to do with that classic configuration? Well here’s the debut of a group from the American west coast with precisely that line-up. But though the territory may be familiar, the way they explore it is so curious and thorough, their discoveries so particular, that listening to them can make me wonder whether I’ve been here before at all.
While Heron Oblivion is a relatively new band, the four members all have long and intertwined histories. Guitarist Noel Harmonson and bass player Ethan Miller both played for a decade in explosive Santa Cruz band Comets On Fire; second guitarist Charlie Saufley had been with San Francisco psych rockers Assemble Head In Sunburst Sound. But the new group comes together around vocalist Meg Baird, who has released a couple of solo albums but is probably best known for her role in dark-folk big band Espers. Baird is also the drummer in Heron Oblivion; a pounding primitive in the Maureen Tucker mode. And that’s not where the Velvet Underground comparisons end. The Velvets are an obvious reference point for Heron Oblivion’s modal guitar sound as well. But the Velvets never had anyone who can sing like Meg Baird. And the high pure clarity of her singing in a song like ‘Oriar’, combined with its old English-style melody, makes me think of some previously unimagined fusion of the Velvet Underground and Fairport Convention. And if it’s Fairport and Velvets in a track like that one, they might be channelling Neil Young and Crazy Horse in a slow smouldering track like ‘Your Hollows’.
So if it’s all been done before, what is it that makes Heron Oblivion special? For one thing, there’s that contrast between the turbulent textures of the twin guitars and that exquisite voice, that seems to float impossibly high above it all, somewhere in the ether. But there is also the way this quartet approaches their material. For Heron Oblivion, a song is more than just a neat stack of verses and choruses. It’s a space to roam in, exploring the corners and angles. And they make that into an adventure. The guitars circle around Baird’s voice there snapping off bits of the melody and spitting them out in distorted squally bursts.
Heron Oblivion’s album isn’t perfect. The songs are good rather than great and the rhythms sometimes cross the line from sombre to sluggish. But there’s a lot I like about it too; the way the guitars aren’t locked down but are free to range around the song, Meg Baird’s extraordinary ethereal voice, and the sheer joy of a bunch of musicians who are making it interesting for themselves, and for us as well.
Songs Featured: Beneath Fields, Oriar, Sudden Lament, Rama, Seventeen Landscapes, Your Hollows.
Heron Oblivion is available on Sub Pop Records.
Topics: music
Regions:
Tags: Heron Oblivion, music, music review
Duration: 11'03"
=SHOW NOTES=
===8:30 PM. | Windows On The World===
=DESCRIPTION=
International public radio features and documentaries
===9:06 PM. | None (National)===
=DESCRIPTION=
===10:00 PM. | Late Edition===
=DESCRIPTION=
RNZ news, including Dateline Pacific and the day's best interviews from RNZ National
===11:06 PM. | None (National)===
=DESCRIPTION=
A selection world music, along with jazz, rock, folk and other styles, artists and songs with world and roots influences chosen and presented by Wichita radio host Chris Heim (5 of 12, KMUW)