Short Story Club

This week we discuss the poem Speaking with my grandmothers  by Fiona Kidman
Email us before 3pm Thursday about the poem, and the writer of the best email will win a copy of Big Weather: Poems of Wellington, edited by Greg O'Brien and Louise St John,

1:10 First song

1:15 How do you fix a cricket match?

The world of cricket's been rocked yet again by a match-fixing scandal, this time involving the Sri Lankan team

Undercover journalists from Al Jazeera filmed secret meetings where purported match-fixers boasted of paying groundsmen to affect the outcome of two Test matches in 2016.

We wanted to know why match fixing comes up so often in cricket, and what exactly it involves. 

Wellington lawyer Andrew Scott-Howman has worked with cricket players and has investigated sports corruption.

Galle International Stadium

Galle International Stadium Photo: Photosport

1:25 Can better hearing aids help reduce cognitive decline?

It has been shown that untreated hearing loss speeds up age-related decline in our ability to process & understand information.  Hearing aids can slow or halt this decline, but not all hearing aids are created equal.

The Universities of Auckland and Canterbury are undertaking research into whether optimized hearing aids can reduce that decline, and they are seeking participants aged over 65

We speak to Associate Professor Grant Searchfield of Auckland University's Hearing and Tinnitus clinic.

If you are interested in finding out more about this research please contact:

Auckland: Grant Searchfield  g.searchfield@auckland.ac.nz

or Christine Fok, Phone:  09 923 1354 c.fok@auckland.ac.nz

Christchurch Megan McAuliffe  megan.mcauliffe@canterbury.ac.nz

or Eric Williams eric.williams@pg.canterbury.ac.nz

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Photo: Wiki Commons

1:35 Irish New Zealanders celebrate abortion referendum result

On Saturday night the Republic of Ireland voted overwhelmingly to overturn its long standing abortion ban by 66.4 percent to 33.6 percent.

A group of Irish wellingtonians and others, gathered at a bar in the city to watch the outcome live.

It was organised by the group Together for Yes and one of the members, Collette Harvey joins us to talk about the historic result and what it means.

Together for Yes gathering in Wellington to watch the results of the Irish Abortion Referendum

Together for Yes gathering in Wellington to watch the results of the Irish Abortion Referendum Photo: Together For Yes (facebook)

1:40 Great album: Black and Blue by The Rolling Stones

2:10 Television Critic Alex Casey

Alex Casey reviews:

Alice Snedden's bad news (TVNZ On Demand)
- comedian Alice Snedden drills down into one gnarly social issue each episode, covering everything from abortion to child poverty to tax evasion

Evil Genius (Netflix)
- the true story of america's most diabolical bank heist, aka 'the pizza bomber' of 2003

Survivor NZ (TVNZ 2)
- the second season of survivor is very good and has surpassed dancing with the stars in my books, even if rog diiid fall over last night...

The Handmaid's Tale season 2 (Lightbox)

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Photo: TVNZ

2:20 Magic Water: Cure or Con?

Some people are paying 4 thousand dollars or more for a water ioniser that claims to have "therapeutic health benefits for more than 150 diseases including cancer, diabetes and cardio-vascular disease"

The Kangen brand water filters claim to produce ionized alkaline and acidic waters through electrolysis.

Dr Alison Campbell from Waikato University explains why claims like this have no scientific basis and are no better for us than tap water.

2:30 The science of sleep

Our Monday expert is Dr Lora Wu who's a senior researcher at Massey University's sleep wake reserach centre in Wellington. We talk about what sleep does to our bodies, the impact of a lack of sleep, why it's best to sleep at night and why so many of us have problems sleeping!

Five hundred of Australasia's "finest sleep specialists" are in Auckland.

Five hundred of Australasia's "finest sleep specialists" are in Auckland. Photo: 123rf

3:10 Inflammation and the link to depression    

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Photo: Pixabay

Depression rates in New Zealand are rising. Chances are someone you know is affected by this often debilitating disorder. Rates around the world are growing but treatment options are not. We still don't know a lot about what causes depression either.   University of Cambridge Professor Edward Bullmore says his research may provide a breakthrough. He says there is new evidence of a link between inflammation and depression. His book offers a new way of looking at how the mind, brain and body contribute to depression. It's called The Inflamed Mind: A Radical New Approach to Depression.

3:35 Voices

3:45 The Pre-Panel Story of the Day and One Quick Question

4:05 The Panel with Sally Wenley and Mike Rehu