Sunday Morning for Sunday 22 August 2021

8:10 Women journalists fear for their lives as Taliban takes over

*Aadila is a 20-something journalist who runs a newsroom in Afghanistan's capital of Kabul called Rukshana. It has become her personal battle to give women a voice. However, Afghanistan's female journalists, in particular, have had much to fear from the Taliban's surge, and she says it is becoming hard to even write. She joins the show from Kabul, where she is doing all she can to continue operating under the Taliban's radar.  
*Alias used to protect subject's identity  

8:26 Some types of obesity may increase dementia, stroke risk

Worldwide obesity has nearly tripled since 1975, with two in every five adults affected. And while harmful fat accumulation continues to impair our physical health, researchers at the University of South Australia are now also warning that abnormal or excessive fat accumulation can increase the risk of dementia and stroke. Researcher Elina Hypponen explains.

8:41 The Weekend Panel with Lavina Good and Louis Houlbrooke

Among other topics this morning, our Weekend Panellists will be discussing the current lockdown, how successful our vaccine rollout has been, the All Blacks decision to back out of the Bledisloe Cup and the evacuation of Afghanistan.

9:37 Covid-19 update with Professor Michael Baker

The moment we'd been expecting to happen finally took place earlier this week when New Zealand recorded its first community case of Covid-19 -- this time the aggressive Delta variant -- in six months. And there have been big developments in the ensuing days. Professor Michael Baker returns to the show to answer your questions and ours. Text 2101 or email sunday@rnz.co.nz with your questions.

10:06 How Elon Musk's 'bet of the century' is paying off

Wall Street Journal reporter Tim Higgins' new book, Power Play: Tesla, Elon Musk and the Bet of the Century, examines the history of the world's most famous electric car company, what drives the self-anointed "TechnoKing" to constantly try and prove people wrong, and how the company's 'bet of the century' has changed the automotive world forever.

10:36 From escaping the Taliban to Kiwi academic excellence

After the Tampa: From Afghanistan to New Zealand is the story of a seven-year-old Tampa refugee who grew up in Aotearoa and is now a Fulbright scholar, highlighting the plight and potential of refugees everywhere. The book tells Abbas Nazari's story of escaping the Taliban as a young child, being adrift at sea with 426 other asylum seekers on a small fishing boat that started to sink, and finding a new home in New Zealand. He joins the show from his home town of Christchurch to discuss the book and the current situation in Afghanistan.

11:06 Calling Home: Leone Patterson in Alameda, California  

Former Tall Ferns captain Leone Patterson's love affair with California began in the early 1980s when she was offered a scholarship at Chapman University in Orange. Leone returned home after her scholarship ended, but The Golden State kept calling her back. These days, she is based in Alemada, in the San Francisco Bay Area, where she has lived for almost 20 years. Leone works in a high-pressure environment as an executive officer of a public company and member of different boards, but she's still turning heads in the sporting world -- though these days it's on the tennis court. Leone's Calling Home this morning.

11:24 Ultimate scam lures elderly West Coast beekeeper

From Greymouth to São Paulo's slums, Roy Arbon's adventure ends in kidnap and imprisonment on foreign soil, leaving him facing life behind bars. Spurred on by the chance of making a quick buck, the West Coast beekeeper set out on a rags-to-riches ride that saw him lured around the world in a wild true crime tale. Arbon's story is told in a new documentary, The Scam, which is released today as part of the 2021 Loading Docs initiative. Director Ollie Dawe joins the show to look at this perplexing story.
*The Scam will launch as part of the 2021 Loading Docs collection and will be available to stream via www.loadingdocs.net

11:39 How to grow an online audience and make real money

The former Apprentice Aotearoa contestant and social media guru Kennedy Anderson gives us an inside look into the world of influencers and content creators and how they make real money from social media. Here's a hint; you don't have to be young and beautiful to be successful.