Sunday Morning for Sunday 13 March 2022

8:11 The journalist reporting from Ukraine in six different languages 

You mightn't instantly recognise the name Philip Crowther, but there's a good chance you've seen the incredible clip of the multilingual Washington DC-based journalist, who is the International Affiliate Reporter for the Associated Press, reporting from Ukraine in six different languages (English, French, Spanish, German, Portuguese and Luxembourgish). 
Crowther covers US diplomacy, foreign policy, politics, and current affairs, and reports from around the world on breaking news stories. He's currently reporting out of Lviv, where we find him this morning. He joins the show to discuss the current situation in Ukraine and how he came to craft his remarkable linguistic skills.  

8:25 How even mild cases of Covid-19 can cause brain damage 

A new study published in Nature has provided the clearest evidence yet that Covid-19 can cause regions of the brain to shrink - and lead to cognitive decline - even in people who aren't seriously ill. 
It's an Oxford University study using data from the UK's biobank, and comparing MRI scans of people before and after catching mild versions of earlier Covid variants. 
The brain areas most affected are those that are related to smell. 
Joining us again is Dr Maxime Taquet from Oxford, whom we've chatted with previously. Dr Taquet is an academic clinical fellow in psychiatry at the University of Oxford. 

8:39 The Weekend Panel with Bernard Hickey and Ruth Money  

Joining us on the Weekend Panel this morning are economic commentator Bernard Hickey and survivor advocate Ruth Money. Among other issues, they'll be discussing Russian people in New Zealand being bullied, National moving ahead of Labour in the polls, the rising price of food and petrol, dipping house prices, and Three Waters. 

9:06 Mediawatch

Mediawatch looks at the biggest shake-up for broadcasting in years - the creation of a new public media outfit by the middle of next year.  The plan has been put together behind closed doors key and details are still unknown. Mediawatch asks the minister in charge, his opposition counterpart and the boss at RNZ how this will pan out. 

9:37 'Russia has greatly underestimated the Ukrainian people' 

Former US national security adviser H.R. McMaster believes that Ukraine can still win the war with Russia, arguing that President Vladimir Putin had already lost the conflict in a sense by sitting back and bombing from afar. 
Oxana Shevel is an associate professor of political science at Tufts University who specialises in the study of former Soviet states. She was born and raised in Ukraine. 
Professor Shevel concurs with McMaster's sentiments, adding that the Russian army has proven not to be the mighty force that they have been made out to be. She says the only leverage Russia has left is the carpet bombing of Ukranian cities, "essentially committing war crimes". 
She's with us to look at the situation in Ukraine and why she believes Russia has made a grave mistake by underestimating the Ukrainian people and the Ukrainian army. 

10:04 Calling Home: Glen Craig in Port Vila 

Sixteen years ago, New Zealand businessman Glen Craig took a one-year sabbatical from his work here to pick up a 12-month contract in Vanuatu. Little did he know that he would still be there in 2022, operating a successful advisory business - having previously run a resort and a real estate company - and now working on the private sector response to Covid-19 as the Chairman of the Vanuatu Business Resilience Council. 
When they're not busy with work, Glen and partner Stephanie Mahuk, a lawyer, activist and gun surfer, enjoy the lush natural surroundings of Efate Island, including the surf breaks that sit near their Pango Village home. 
Glen's Calling Home this morning. 

10:31 Colin Hay: No 1 in New Zealand again after 40 years 

In February 1982 frontman Colin Hay and Men at Work were at the top of the New Zealand music charts with their smash hit 'Down Under.' 
Now, almost exactly 40 years later, Hay is back on top of the Kiwi charts after collaborating with fellow Australian artist Luude on his drum-and-bass track remix of the track that went to No 1 in seven other countries, including Australia, the US and the UK, around the world. 
Scottish-born Hay heard Luude's remix and liked it so much that he offered a new vocal take for the track. 
He joins the show to discuss being back on top of the New Zealand music charts, the release of his new album, Now and the Evermore, and why he continues to accentuate the positives, despite all that is going on in the world currently. 

11:05 What if everything you knew about posture was wrong?

We've always been led to believe that slouching in our chairs will lead to back pain, but new research suggests many of our common assumptions about posture are flat out wrong. 
Indeed, the latest research shows that a lot of what we thought about correct posture had more to do with what is deemed elegant and attractive.
New studies show there is little evidence that our regular posture can predict whether we're going to get chronic pain, while some experts are going even further - arguing there is no evidence whatsoever. 
However, the way we sit and stand remains extremely important, not least because it can change your mood. 
Leon Straker is a professor of physiotherapy at Curtin University. He is internationally known for his research on adult ergonomics and sedentary behaviour. 
Professor Straker joins the show to look at posture and how we might be doing it all wrong. 

11:19 The tour that changed the face of NZ theatre 

Much of prolific Auckland author Graeme Lay's writing is inspired by the history and cultures of the South Pacific islands, through which he has travelled extensively. 
However, his new historical fiction novel, Larry & Viv, is different to anything else he's ever written. The book tells the story of two of the 20th Century's most glamorous stars of stage and screen, Laurence Olivier and Vivien Leigh, and their 1948 tour Down Under. 
Evoking post-war life in New Zealand with great authenticity, Larry & Viv highlights Lay's "marriage to huge research" (as the late Max Cryer, whom the book is dedicated to, put it) and perpetual desire to get into the soul of his characters.  
Lay joins the show to discuss Larry & Viv and why the arrival of Olivier and Leigh here in 1948 was, up to that point, arguably the most glamorous visit New Zealand had ever experienced. 

11:40 When 'shoe salesman' Vladimir Putin visited New Zealand 

When former Waitakere City Mayor Sir Bob Harvey was 17, he joined the pro-Soviet Socialist Unity Party. 
Sir Bob's interest in Mother Russia eventually drifted away, but it was rekindled in 2000 - while working as the Labour Party president - when he was handed an envelope containing 10 pages of gallery proofs of a yet-to-be-published book about future Russian president Vladimir Putin's visit to New Zealand in the 1980s. 
The visit occurred while Putin, who was on his way to rising through the KGB ranks, was based in Germany and Singapore and part of his brief was to report on New Zealand, Australia and Fiji. 
Sir Bob later found out that Putin had actually travelled to New Zealand at least two times, visiting under aliases - one of those being as a Bata shoe salesman.   
He's with us to look back on what he was able to learn about Putin's visits to Aotearoa.