Saturday Morning

7:08 Marching for pay equity

Across the country today from Whangārei to Invercargill, thousands of people are expected to take part in a Day of Action for Pay Equity.

There are a raft of events on, including a march in Tāmaki Makaurau, community gatherings in Whanganui and even a BBQ in Ōtepoti Dunedin.

In May, laws were passed under urgency which cancelled 33 pay equity claims and made it harder for new claims to succeed.

Ally Kingi is a teacher aide at Te Uru Karaka - Newton Central School in Auckland. She talks to Mihingarangi Forbes about her decision to take part. 

7:15 Latest on Gaza

On Tuesday Foreign Minister Winston Peters will attend a critical UN General Assembly meeting in the US. While there he will outline the government's position on whether New Zealand will recognise a Palestinian state.

This week UN investigators accused Israel of committing "genocide" in Gaza. 

Israel denies that - calling the UN report fake and based on Hamas lies.

BBC Middle East editor Sebastian Usher joins Susie Ferguson live from London.

7:24 Concerns over review of sexual violence services

Te Ohaaki A Hine - the National Network Ending Sexual Violence Together is raising the alarm over a current review of the sector it says will lead to funding cuts. 

The organisation represents 40 specialist agencies providing sexual violence services all over Aotearoa.

It says proposed funding cuts which would come into effect in December, will undermine decades of progress, leaving thousands of survivors without care.

Kyla Rayner speaks to Mihingarangi from Wellington.

7:35 Continued delays in children’s dental care 

The New Zealand Dental Association says that while there is a decrease in the number of children who are overdue for their annual check-up, the numbers are still far higher than before covid and more needs to be done.

There are now 267,000 children aged up to 12 who are yet to be seen - that's more than double the number before covid. Some tamariki are waiting up to three years for an appointment and it's a problem throughout the country. 

Dr Robin Whyman of the NZDA talks to Susie about why prevention needs to be prioritised along with a renewed focus on boosting workforce numbers. 

7:42 Te Wiki o Te Reo Māori

E tō haere nei te rā ki tēnei wiki motuhake mō tō tātou reo.  It's the last day of Te Wiki o Te Reo Māori. 

Last week we spoke to an academic and advocate for Te Reo - someone with deep knowledge of the intergenerational transition of the language. 

Creative and podcaster, Chey Milne is attempting to keep the transition of reo intergenerational in his own whare - and beyond.

He talks to Mihingarangi about some cool kaupapa!

7:51 Black Ferns lose semi-final at the Women’s Rugby World Cup

This week we've had a great run at the Athletics World Champs in Tokyo with more Kiwi athletes competing today - including Connor Bell who'll be trying to qualify in the discus. 

But the big one on this morning was the Black Ferns semi-final against Canada in Bristol which, at the final whistle a short time ago, the defending World Champs Black Ferns lost to Canada 34 - 19 

Our correspondent Lucy Thomson joins Susie live just as the final whistle blew.

8:11 Adam Kay: A Particularly Nasty Case 

Adam Kay is a British TV writer, author, comedian, and former doctor. His memoir This Is Going to Hurt documents the harsh realities of the medical world and was adapted into a BAFTA award-winning mini-series.

Adams has also written for popular British comedies like Crims and Mrs. Brown's Boys.

His latest work A Particularly Nasty Case is his first novel, a darkly comic mystery about a doctor.

8:35 Tony Lambert: The two extremes of facial recognition

Are you one of those people who can always remember where you've seen someone before? Maybe you can reel off all the previous roles an actor has had in a movie, or you're always the first to pick someone out of an old school photo.

For others, however, identifying familiar faces can be a struggle. At the extreme end, this is known as prosopagnosia, or face blindness.

These people may not recognise those closest to them - or even themselves - while those at the other end of the spectrum, known as 'super recognisers', may find themselves employed for their special skill.

Tony Lambert is a Professor of Psychology and Cognitive Neuroscience at Auckland University. He explains to Mihingarangi what scientists have learnt about recognition, memory and the brain.

9:07 Walking with tuatara 

What sets the tuatara apart from other reptiles in the wild? American student Cam Hoffbeck can tell you - she's the first person ever to study the tuatara's gut biome. A challenge in many ways, as Cam says she's also a germaphobe.

Having recently graduated with a PhD in Microbiology from the University of Auckland, Cam is now a Research Fellow at the Auckland University of Technology.

She speaks to Mihingarangi about what her findings tell us about how the tuatara interacts with the world - and the challenges of retrieving a stool sample from one!

9:30 Patricia Lockwood: Descent into insanity

Patricia Lockwood is an American poet, novelist, and essayist (AKA the poet laureate of X, previously known as Twitter).

Her debut novel No One Is Talking About This was a Booker Prize finalist.

Her follow-up, Will There Ever Be Another You, has been described as a descent into insanity. It captures the pandemic's devastating effects on Patricia's real life, which led her into a state of brain-fog-induced mania. It investigates what keeps us alive in times of unprecedented disorientation and loss.

Patricia talks to Susie about the art of merging reality and fiction.

10:06 Lolo Heimuli: Coach of champions

The head coach of Auckland's Balmoral Lee Gar Gym, Lolo Heimuli, is a legend in the boxing world. Lolo has trained over 100 national champions - and 10 world champions.

The subject of a new documentary, Lolo the Champion Maker, Lolo talks to Mihingarangi about how he got his start and his own hero in the world of martial arts.  

10:26 Jen Campbell on owning it

Jen Campbell is an award-winning poet and bestselling author of fourteen books. As a booktuber, she talks about books on YouTube, deep diving into the history of fairytales. Jen is also a disability rights advocate.

Her latest work is an anthology called Owning It: Tales from Our Disabled Childhoods, which she co-edited.

10:47 Teaching AI to read the stars

Amidst growing concerns about artificial intelligence and its implications for how we engage with the world, AI is also being put to use in remarkable ways.

Here in Aotearoa New Zealand, Dr Preeti Cowan is using it to identify asteroids in vast astronomical photographs that would otherwise take years to decipher. She says the amount of astronomical data we have to sift through is overwhelming but AI makes it possible.

Preeti, a Research Fellow in the Department of Physics at Auckland University, joins Mihingarangi to talk about the use of AI in astronomical fields and how this will develop our understanding of space.

11:06 Burlesque is as popular as ever

What does the word 'burlesque' make you think of? Feathers - sequins - a sultry striptease? Christina Aguilera in the eponymous 2010 film? Or perhaps Taylor Swift, who worked with America's Dita Von Teese and is set to release an album titled The Life of a Showgirl. 

Whatever your take on it - whether you see it as performance art or soft pornography - burlesque is riding another pop culture wave.

Evana De Lune is one of Australia's most well-known burlesque performers. She talks to Mihingarangi about the contemporary appeal of burlesque - particularly to women. 

11:35 The 2025 WOW Supreme Winner

The 2025 World of Wearable Art competition has kicked off with the awards ceremony last night in Wellington.

The sought after Supreme Award was presented to American design duo Dawn Mostow and Ben Gould for their latex creation 'Tsukomogami'. The garment was inspired by ancient Japanese mythology and ceramics.

Dawn is a latex artist, founder of Dawnamatrix, a latex fashion house whose work has appeared in Guardians of the Galaxy, on pop icons like Katy Perry and Beyoncé, and in the pages of Vogue.

She shares the backstory of her winning garment. 

11:45 Victoria Kelly: Requiem for a symphony

Victoria Kelly is an award-winning composer who has collaborated with artists like Neil Finn, Tami Neilson, and Shapeshifter, and composed scores for films including The Lovely Bones and Black Sheep. 

Victoria also directed the music for the 2011 Rugby World Cup Opening Ceremony, and her works have been performed by top New Zealand ensembles. 

Her latest work is a requiem set to delight ears this October in Tāmaki Makaurau and Pōneke. Commissioned by the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra, it's a response to Rossini's Stabat Mater and explores themes of motherhood, religion and women's roles. 

She speaks with Mihi Forbes about interpreting thirteenth-century liturgy in a modern context.