Sunday Morning for Sunday 4 July 2021

8:12 Professor Gary McLean: 'Annual Covid-19 boosters likely' 

Joining us again on Sunday morning is New Zealander Dr Gary McLean, Professor in Molecular Immunology at London Metropolitan University and an international authority on coronaviruses. He'll discuss the Delta variant, what type of masks we should be wearing, and why annual Covid-19 booster shots are going to be likely. 

8:20 It's in your eyes: pupil size a marker of intelligence 

We're told that the eyes are the window to the soul, but new research out of the Georgia Institute of Technology suggests that they may be the window to the brain as well. Work conducted in the laboratory suggests that baseline pupil size is closely related to individual differences in intelligence. The larger the pupils, the higher the intelligence. Study co-author and PhD student Jason Tsukahara is with us to discuss. 

8:37 The Weekend Panel with Mike Williams and Lavina Good 

Among other topics today, our panellists will be looking at the new Princess Diana memorial statue, why the war on drugs never mentions cigarettes, the Oranga Tamariki Te Oranga child care home closing in Christchurch, and whether New Zealand can really afford to keep its borders closed until 80% of us have had the jab.  

8:41 UEFA European Championship 2020 update with Andrew Clay 

Kiwi funny man Andrew Clay has long been regarded as one of New Zealand's best stand-up comedians, having first graced the stage more than 30 years ago. But his experience in football - aka 'the beautiful game' - stretches back even further. He joins the show for an update on the big Euro 2020 England v Ukraine quarter-final in Rome, which is currently drawing toward a close.

9:06 Mediawatch

This week Mediawatch looks at how the media have turned up the heat on the hot topic of hate speech. Also: we hear from a reporter about responsibly reporting victims of harassment and violence - and how reporters braved ‘monster waves’ and ‘polar blasts’ this past week.

9:37 Calling Home: Rebecca Kennedy in Macau 

Dunedinite Rebecca Kennedy owns a company with her husband Jon Sellers and splits her time between their Hong Kong base and Macau, but over the past 12 months they've been more or less stuck in the latter due to the restrictions imposed because of Covid-19. She's Calling Home from Hong Kong this morning but will be heading back to Macau soon. 

10:04 The Kiwi TV boss who believed in The Repair Shop 

New Zealander Carla-Maria Lawson is a multi-award-winning channel manager and commissioner who is currently the BBC Head of Daytime and Early Peek. She has overseen large productions such as Masterchef and The Graham Norton Show but her most recent hit is The Repair Shop, which she refers to as her "television baby". She joins the show to discuss her incredible career in TV and the overwhelming success of The Repair Shop after initially struggling to get the green light on the show.   

10:28 The special harmony behind The Lady Killers

The Lady Killers are celebrating their sweet sixteenth in style, with a birthday bash taking place this Saturday night. Consisting of three of New Zealand's finest songbirds, Jackie Clarke, Tina Cross and Suzanne Lynch, the Auckland-based trio are also releasing a new single to coincide with their birthday bash, Just One Look. They join Jim in studio discuss the new single and what makes this musical dream team tick. 

10:40 What makes a great football anthem? 

Football anthems are back in our consciousness thanks to the dramatic and largely enthralling UEFA Euro 2020 competition currently being held across the continent, especially due to that fact that England - whose anthem tradition dates back to 1966 - remains alive in the tournament. Paul Carr is a Professor in Popular Music Analysis at the University of South Wales and the author of Sting: From Northern Skies to Fields of Gold. He joins the show to discuss what makes a great football anthem.  

11:05 'Because we eat animals, we underestimate their mental abilities' 

No generation has loved animals more than us. Indeed, in the UK alone a total of 3.2 million households have acquired pets since the start of the pandemic. However, no other generation has kept more animals in factory farms, or pushed more of them towards extinction, writes author Henry Mance in his new book, How to Love Animals in a Human-Shaped World. He's with us to discuss the new book and why we need to make dramatic changes to our lifestyle before it's too late. 

11:37 Early Māori astronomers predicted year ahead by stars of Matariki 

By this time next year we would have already celebrated our very first Matariki holiday in New Zealand. Stardome Astronomy Educator and Astro-photographer Josh Kirkley joins the show to discuss the significance of Matariki, how to find the impressive star cluster in the night sky, and what Māori astronomers, or tohunga, used to take from the brightness of the stars during Matariki. 

11:45 How quitting maths can affect teens' brains 

For some teenagers, dumping maths from their school schedule is something that can't happen quickly enough. However, new research out of the University of Oxford shows that quitting maths at age 16 may have an adverse effect on brain development, while teens who stick with maths at A-level (Year 12) have higher levels of brain chemical. Professor Roi Cohen Kadosh is the senior author of the study.