Sunday Morning for Sunday 13 February 2022

8:11 Poll: New Zealand's caution around Covid-19 remains high 

As New Zealand waits and watches the potential spread of the contagious Omicron variant, Research New Zealand polled Kiwis on whether they are taking a more cautious approach and avoiding activities due to concerns about catching Omicron. 
The key findings showed that New Zealanders are still very concerned about catching Covid, with over 50% of people having either stopped, or significantly scaled back, attending events where there are large numbers of people, eating out, and using public facilities like libraries or swimming pools. 
Research New Zealand Managing Partner Emanuel Kalafatelis joins the show to cover off the results of the survey. 

8:22 The Kiwi doctor who played a part in Neil Young's Spotify exit 

New Zealander Andrew Read is a professor of biology and entomology at Penn State whose research focuses on the ecology and evolutionary genetics of infectious disease. 
Recently, he may have played a part (through no fault of his own) in Neil Young, Joni Mitchell and other leading artists leaving Spotify after American podcaster Joe Rogan misrepresented  an old study of his into vaccinated chickens. 
Rogan's misunderstanding of the 2015 research led to him wrongly concluding that vaccinating people against Covid-19 will increase the chances of some hyper-virulent mutation. 
Dr Read is with us to discuss where Rogan got things so badly wrong and what the future of Covid-19 is likely to look like. 

8:41 The Weekend Panel with Josie Pagani and Chris Wikaira 

Joining us on the Weekend Panel this morning are commentator Josie Pagani and PR consultant Chris Wikaira. Among other topics, they'll be discussing the protests at Parliament grounds, people avoiding contact tracing, Joe Rogan and free speech, and the nurses with no firm future in New Zealand.  

9:06 Mediawatch

Mediawatch looks at how the media covered the aggressive antics of the convoy of Covid skeptics who descended on the capital this week. Also: How bad our Omicron outbreak could get is a big question right now. Mediawatch looks at how experts trying to answer it are getting a rough ride in the media. 

9:39 Calling Home: Sam Coley in Birmingham 

Christchurch native Sam Coley lives in the popular suburb of Kings Heath in Birmingham, with his French wife, Emilie Grinan-Coley, and son Tom Coley. 
Kings Heath, which is one of Birmingham's real up-and-coming areas (sometimes described as Birmingham's version of a trendy London borough) is four or so miles from the city centre, and the family have been living there since 2005 and own their own home. 
Sam is a radio man and is known to people in the New Zealand industry. It was a love of UK radio that took him to the UK in the first place. Now, he works as a lecturer and researcher for Birmingham City University. He's Calling Home this morning. 

10:04 Frances Cook: How to find financial freedom

Author Frances Cook's new book on financial independence, Your Money, Your Future, has been billed as a "real-life handbook to finding freedom on any income". 
Cook, a financial podcaster, journalist and reformed "money mess," shares her insights on how people can change their money so they can live their ideal lives, and how normal Kiwis can get financial freedom, regardless of what they earn. 
Along with offering techniques to boost earning power in any industry, property investment tips, and ways to retire early, Cook outlines how people can save more and invest that extra income (not to mention uncovering side-hustles that work). 
She joins the show to discuss the new book and take questions from listeners. 

10:45 Sam Neill: The Best Song Ever Written

Beloved New Zealand actor and winemaker Sam Neill is in Sydney filming Australian courtroom drama 'The Twelve' at the moment. 
The 74-year-old Jurassic Park star is enjoying his time back across the ditch, especially the interactions he's had with the local birds that flock to the balcony of his Surry Hills hotel room. The visit has also given him time to think about Australia and why it uses January 26 ("the date the English dumped a bunch of convicts on the shore in Sydney") as the day to signify the birth of its nation.  
Sam is with us to discuss the filming of The Twelve, why New Zealand needs to open its arms to more refugees, and why 'Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band' is, if not the best song ever written, the most important song of all time. 

11:05 Is this the secret to maintaining healthy weight loss? 

A new study out of the University of Copenhagen claims to have demonstrated for the first time how it is possible for people with obesity to maintain long-term weight loss.
The study, which has been published in The New England Journal of Medicine, demonstrated that combining moderate to vigorous exercise with an analog to the appetite-inhibiting hormone GLP-1 was a highly effective treatment after a diet-induced weight loss.
The University of Otago's Dr Ali Hill joins the show to discuss the study out of Copenhagen, the importance of restoring natural sugars to our diets, and using melatonin as a sleep aid.  

11:17 World press given little freedom at Winter Olympics 

International sports broadcaster Lavina Good is currently at the Winter Olympics in Beijing, where she has been working as part of the Olympic Broadcast Services team. 
Lavina was lucky enough to catch Kiwi snowboarder Zoi Sadowski-Synnott's epic final run in the women's snowboard slopestyle event, and later went on to call her gold medal ceremony. 
There have been issues for the assembled international media, though. Tight restrictions mean they are only allowed to leave their accommodation to go to venues and broadcast centres, while Wi-Fi is also very restricted. Search for 'Peng Shuai' and you get blocked.  
On the plus side, there are hardly any Covid cases. 
Lavina joins the show for an update on the Games and her experiences in Beijing thus far. 

11:30 Frontal Fatigue: how technology is overstressing our brain 

In his trailblazing new book, Frontal Fatigue: The Impact of Modern Life and Technology on Mental Illness, Dr Mark Rego examines why mental illness and stress are skyrocketing alongside technology. 
Rego says people are overstressing a key part of their brain that wasn't designed for modern life and technology, and the flow-on effects are troubling. 
The assistant clinical professor of psychiatry at the Yale School of Medicine presents his hypothesis of Frontal Fatigue - which is what happens when the unique pressures of modern life overwhelm the prefrontal cortex, the part of our brain that can make us susceptible to mental illness. And a part of the brain that doesn't really work under stress.  
Dr Rego joins the show to discuss Frontal Fatigue and the crucial roles the prefrontal cortex plays in the brain.