Afternoons for Tuesday 7 November 2023

 

1:15 NZ curling team qualifies for world championships

The New Zealand curling team adopted by a Canadian retirement home has managed to qualify for the the world championships.

Team Hood the New Zealand men's curling team is currently based in Calgary to practice and achieve their goal of qualifying for the 2024 Curling World Championships. 

They also have their hopes on qualifying for the 2026 Winter Olympics.

Jesse speaks to team skipper Anton Hood about their success to date and their unorthodox living arrangements in Canada.

1:25 From truck driving to world ploughing championships, Bob Mehrtens' story

Bob Mehrtens is our twelve-time national ploughing champion - and he isn't even a farmer.

He's a truck driver with a love of ploughing, and has also been competing in the Ploughing World Championships since 1990.

Bob is back in the country after this years world championships in Latvia last month where he achieved 4th place.

He speaks to Jesse about getting into competitive ploughing and the heights he's reached.

1:35 A spotlight on a scrabble playing great in Aotearoa

For a small country, New Zealand punches above its weight in many things - including Scrabble.

You might remember the New Zealander Nigel Richards who made the news in 2015 for winning the French-language Scrabble world champs by memorising the French Scrabble dictionary, without actually being able to speak French!

But for many of us, the world of competitive Scrabble is a total mystery.

New documentary Every Word Counts sheds a light on the intensity of competitive Scrabble, and is out today on The Spinoff.

Director and competitive Scrabble player Alexander Gander speaks to Jesse.

1:45 Tech Tuesday with Daniel Watson

Today Dan Watson, owner and managing director of Vertech IT Services, talks to Jesse about the work from home trend prompting some businesses to use software which can monitor employees productivity when they're not in the office.

2:10 Book Critic: Catherine Ross

Mt Roskill Grammar Library Manager Catherine Ross is our book critic this week with a great list of potential Christmas gifts for younger readers.

The books she's talking about are as follows:

For ages 10-12, The Polar Bear Explorer's Club by Alex Bell and The Brave by James Bird

For ages 11/12+ years, Tins by Alex Shearer and A Kind of Spark by Elle McNicoll

For ages 13+ years, The Dead Queen's Club by Hannah Capin and the Art of Taxidermy by Sharon Kernot.

2:20 Update on Oz with Brad Foster

Brad Foster provides an update on the Victorian woman charged with three counts of murder and five of attempted murder relating to the death of three people who ate mushrooms at her house in July this year, gives some tips for the Melbourne Cup on later today, and explains changes to what punters can wear to the "race that stops the nation". He also talks interest rates and rugby league following New Zealand's big win in the Pacific Cup.

2:30 Music feature: Fat Freddy's Drop with Scott Kara

It's not quite summer, but if there's one band that gets you feeling like you're settling into a long summer evening, it's Fat Freddy's Drop.

Coming together on the brink of the new millennium, their mix of dub, reggae, soul and jazz makes them a festival favourite.

Their first album Based on a True Story stayed in NZ's top charts for more than two years, making the band a fixture in Aotearoa.

To share the music of Fat Freddy's Drop music writer Scott Kara joins Jesse in the studio.

3:10 From selling vodka to farming in the high country

For 30 years,  the closest Justine and Geoff Ross had come to cows was two cowhide chairs in their Auckland living room.

But that didn't stop the couple behind the successful 42 Below vodka business from buying a high country station at Lake Hawea and embarking on a new way of farming.

The station isn't just carbon neutral, it's  carbon positive.

They detail the struggles, even out right hostility as well as the triumphs and deep satisfaction from having a dream, and the courage to chase it in their book, Meet You At The Main Divide: A Family's Story Of Life On Lake Hāwea Station.

3:30 Spoken Feature: BBC Witness History

In 2012, Zahra Lari from the UAE, made history by becoming the first figure skater to compete in a hijab. Her routine went well, but the judges deducted points for her headscarf.

3:45 The Panel with Jennie Moreton and Allan Blackman