Sunday Morning for Sunday 11 June 2023

8:10 Lucien Johnson: A creative life

Internationally renowned composer and saxophonist Lucien Johnson joins us ahead of his co-created show with Hannah Tasker-Poland, The Most Naked, A Cabaret of Skin and Bone opening at Q Theatre in Auckland.

The show is described as “a powerfully potent and visceral live arts experience that strips ideas of nakedness right down to the bone.” Although inspired by cabaret and burlesque art-forms, The Most Naked will not be the show you were expecting.

Lucien talks about what drew him to the project and life as a musician and creative in Aotearoa.

8:30 Michael Hurst talks with Jim Mora

Michael Hurst is one of our finest and most versatile actors, with a haul of awards for television and film both locally and internationally. He's directed more than 90 professional stage productions, and TV shows including Spartacus, West Side, My Life is Murder, 800 Words, The Brokenwood Mysteries and Power Rangers.

Michael joins Jim Mora ahead of a spectacular Auckland Theatre Company production of King Lear, to mark its 30th anniversary. Playing the King, Michael is joined on stage by his wife Jennifer Ward-Lealand

Jim Mora talked to Michael ahead of the final rehearsals for the play, which opens this coming week.

9:10 Mediawatch

Surveys say public concern about crime is peaking - alongside media reports of crime on the rise. Mediawatch talks to two reporters who have run the numbers to try and separate fact from political fiction.

Also: the news media hit back at the Auckland’s mayor's arms-length media policy  - an award-winning independent radio station is changing hands after 50 years on-air.

9:35 Calling Home: Lucy Balfour in Doha

One of New Zealand’s most accomplished dancers is calling home from Qatar.

Lucy Balfour was born and raised in Canterbury.  She danced for 10 years with the Royal New Zealand Ballet before moving to London and joining the renowned dance company, Rambert in 2013.

Since then, Lucy has worked with top international choreographers as well as teaching at the London Contemporary Dance School and mentoring young students at the Royal Ballet School. 

10:10 Chanelle Moriah: This is ADHD

It's said that 15-20% of people, perhaps up to a quarter of the population, are in some category of neurodivergence: being autistic, having ADHD or dyslexia or OCD  or unusual anxiety. There's a longer list as well, which encompasses conditions such as Tourette's and dyspraxia.

Often people who are wired differently from the majority have above-average intelligence and are gifted, but they also pay a price. Perhaps 5% of the population have ADHD, and 1-2% a diagnosis of autism. Chanelle Moriah has both conditions. The autism diagnosis came at age 21, and Chanelle's book 'I Am Autistic' was a top-seller, and it won the New Zealand Society of Authors First Book Award in the NZ Book Awards last year.

Now Chanelle has written a follow-up: This is ADHD - An Interactive & Informative Guide.

10:30 Jacinta Parsons: How to love solitude

Writer and broadcaster Jacinta Parsons hosts and afternoon show on the ABC in Melbourne.

Jacinta's also the author of the book UNSEEN, which is about living with Crohn's disease and chronic illness.

After recently separating from her partner, she discovered a new loneliness.  Jacinta has been writing about discovering how to turn loneliness into a love of solitude.

11:00 Susannah Stevens: What are the best times to exercise?

Most of us know about the official guidelines for exercise in our lives, to keep us in good shape mentally as well as physically. Not everyone does the recommended 150 minutes of vigorous activity every week, and new research suggests short bursts of exertion are important, along with the running, walking, cycling, and swimming that people do.

There have been various studies, which we’ve discussed before, about whether it’s best to exercise early or late in the day. Now there’s new research, some of it based around studying a large cohort of 85,000 people in the UK.

To talk about it with us is Dr Susannah Stevens from the University of Canterbury’s Faculty of Education and Faculty of Health.

Georgina Griffiths: What to expect from El Nino

The Little Girl is going away, and the Little Boy has arrived. It's been confirmed that we've seen the last of that very wet La Nina weather pattern, and El Nino has now begun in the Pacific Ocean. The El Niño Southern Oscillation, or ENSO, has three different phases: Hot, cold or neutral. El Nino is the hot one. It's the most powerful climate fluctuation anywhere on Planet Earth. 

Out of the frying pan and into the fire is the old saying. Should we welcome El Nino or not?

We talk to Metservice Rural Meteorologist, Georgina Griffiths