Summer Noelle for Wednesday 30 December 2015

9.07 Author Larissa McFarquhar on her book Strangers Drowning: Voyages to the Brink of Moral Extremity

Sinners are supposed to be much more interesting than saints. Not to longtime writer for New Yorker Magazine, Larissa MacFarquhar.

She finds the kind of people who adopt 20 children or turn their backs on family wealth to set up a leper colony in India or open their doors to the homeless endlessly fascinating. Some of us are skeptical and  uncomfortable with acts of extreme generosity. 

Strangers Drowning: Voyages to the Brink of Moral Extremity is a new book by MacFarquar that asks, In a world of strangers drowning in need, how much should we help, and how much can we help? We spoke to Larissa McFarqhar in New York and asked her what it was that drew her to the stories of people who’ve pushed themselves to moral extremes.

9:43 Movie Reviewer Dom Corry

Dom Corry is on the line from LA talking about the latest releases. Today he’s giving us his thoughts on French dramedy The Bélier Family, the latest Jennifer Lawrence film, Joy and the Point Break remake.

10:10 - 'Lecretia's Choice' blogger Matt Vickers

Tell you What 2016 is a new collection of NZ Non-Fiction, featuring writing by some of our best journalists, essayists, and bloggers.

Among the entries is a piece by Matt Vickers, the husband of  Lecretia Seales who was diagnosed with brain cancer in 2011, and who went to the High Court in 2015 to fight for the right not to be subjected to the unnecessary suffering of a long and painful death.

She died on the 5th of June this year, on the same day the High Court ruled that even though her wishes were rational and reasonable, only Parliament could change the law around assisted death.

Matt Vickers talks to Noelle about his blog and how it all started for him.

10:25 Road of the Day with Sir John Trimmer 

Today one of our great ballet dancers shares his favourite road with Noelle.

10:43 Poets reading Poems

Today Vincent O’Sullivan reads Robert Graves and tells us why “Counting the Beats” is such a fantastic piece.

10:50 Evolving Cities

Editor of Home magazine Jeremy Hansen has been in Houston, Texas and shares his thoughts on the rapid growth the city is experiencing.

11:07 AUT Student Documentary

Today we have a piece by Mikayla Hall who’s done some investigating into the virtues of adopting a dog rather than buying one.

11:17 Songs of My Life

Today well-known Grey District Mayor Tony Kokshoorn is telling us about the songs which mark occasions in his lifetime.

11:50 Classic Film Club

Journalist and writer Steve Braunias joins Noelle to talk about his all-time favourite movie.

 

PLAYLIST

ARTIST: Beck
TITLE: Heart is a drum
COMP: Hansen
ALBUM: Morning Phase
LABEL: Capitol

ARTIST: Ozzy Osbourne
TITLE: Mama I'm Comin' Home
COMP: Kilmister, Osbourne, Wylde
ALBUM: Ozzy Osbourne: The Ozzman Cometh (Compilation)
LABEL: Epic

ARTIST: The National
TITLE: Fireproof
COMP: Dessner, Devendorf, Dessner, Devendorf
ALBUM: Trouble Will Find Me
LABEL: 4AD

ARTIST: Left Banke
TITLE: Just walk away Renee
COMP: Left Banke
ALBUM: Hard To Find 45's On CD: Volume 6 More Sixties Classics
LABEL: ERIC

ARTIST: Lobo
TITLE: Me and you and a dog named boo
COMP: LaVoie
ALBUM: Lobo: The Best Of (Compilation)
LABEL: Rhino

ARTIST: Passenger
TITLE: Let Her Go
COMP: Rosenberg
ALBUM: All The Little Lights
LABEL: Inertia

ARTIST: The La's
TITLE: There She Goes
COMP: Mavers
ALBUM: The La's
LABEL: Go!