Sunday Morning for Sunday 17 April 2022

8:10 Tom Mutch: Midnight in Kyiv 

The war in Ukraine is well into its second month and is entering new phases in the south and east. Russian offensives in the first month of the war had a strong focus on Kyiv, but the battered capital is out of the line of fire for now. New Zealand journalist and war journalism author Tom Mutch has been in Kyiv since the war began. he joins Jim from the Ukrainian capital. 

8:37 Making the most of your retirement savings 

In his new book, 'Cracking Open the Nest Egg,' financial planning expert Martin Hawes examines how New Zealanders can make their retirement savings last the distance.  With Baby Boomers retiring en masse, he has seen a lot of change in the way people approach this time of their life. 

There's a lot of information out there to help people plan for their retirement, but Hawes believes there's very little out there on decumulation - or figuring out how to make your money work once you get there. He says it's the hardest (and scariest) part of the retirement process. Hawes joins the show to talk about his new book and how Kiwis can achieve a regular retirement income when it's arguably harder than it's ever been. 

8:50 Canine carnage for vets over Easter holidays 

One of the pet insurance companies has revealed how much it paid out last year for veterinary treatment for dogs over Easter, nearly all of the cases were dogs, not for all ailments and accidents, but just for dogs consuming food they should not have. It was $75,000 for just one provider, Southern Cross.

Charlotte Castle is the Head Vet Nurse at the Manukau After Hours Veterinary Clinic and says Easter is a real problem time for chocolate, wrappers and raisins. 

9:06 Mediawatch

Mediawatch looks at problems in the paper and printing business spells trouble for our publishers of newspapers and magazines. Also: how the media reacted to the exit of MP Louisa Wall - and the move to the Orange traffic light setting for Covid.

9:37 How to regain control of your possessions 

Stuff. Most people have far too much of it. But what draws us to having things we don't need? 

Professor Melissa Norberg is the deputy director for the Centre for Emotional Health and associate professor at Macquarie University. She researches, develops and provides treatment for compulsive buying-shopping disorder. And she has the answer to the question of why our possessions have so much control over us, and how we can regain control of our lust for material things. 

Professor Norberg is with us to look at how material possessions can be so alluring - whether it's buying new stuff or holding onto old stuff for too long - and how breaking those bad old habits can not only be good for us personally, but the planet as well. 

10:06 Jane Seymour: Lifting the lid on Alzheimer's  

Two-time Golden Globe Winner and iconic Hollywood starlet Jane Seymour is known throughout the world for playing a Bond girl, Maria Callas and Dr Quinn Medicine Woman. But her latest role as Ruby in 'Ruby's Choice' could be her most poignant yet. 

Having been around a lot of people who have had Alzheimer's throughout her life, not to mention producing the movie about musician Glen Campbell's struggle with the disease, the 71-year-old actress felt instantly drawn to the role.
Seymour, who is a global ambassador for the Dementia Foundation for Spark of Life, joins the show to discuss 'Ruby's Choice,' how she got inside the head of the character, and why she continues to keep looking forward and living her life in the present moment. 

10.35 Calling Home: Gordon McMaster in Port Moresby 

Auckland-born businessman Gordon McMaster lives in the Papua New Guinea capital of Port Moresby with his wife Vagi (who is a PNG citizen) and four children, Ernest, Maureen, Ludwina and Jack.

Gordon works as the Group GM for a family-owned business in Port Moresby, having started in January this year after spending his entire time prior to that working for a large company called Steamships Trading Company (where he had five roles over 14 years). His current role involves him overseeing three companies in the security, property development and management and civil works industries.

When they're not busy with school and work, the family loves to hit the water and explore all that PNG has to offer. Gordon's Calling Home this morning. 

11:05  Victoria Bruce: Walking the length of Aotearoa 

Victoria and Emilie Bruce have certainly entered nature, and let nature enter them. They've just completed an epic hike down New Zealand, through wind, rain, hail and snow, but also, thankfully, sunshine, because it has been such a summer for so many even if the weather's turning now. 

Emilie is seven years old, Victoria is her mother, they've walked the best part of 3000km down the Te Araroa track from Cape Reinga to Bluff. Trail organisers say as far as we know Victoria and Emilie are the first mother/daughter combination to have walked the track by themselves, it's taken them 138 days. They began in October last year. Victoria was hoping for mental healing on the journey, and they have certainly raised a decent amount of money for good causes along the way. 

11:34 Raw & Free with Sophie Steevens 

It was widely reported a while back that a third of New Zealanders were/are reducing their meat consumption, becoming more flexitarian. Correct statistics about the number of actual vegetarians and vegans among us are hard to come by, but one recent estimate was 10% vegetarian, 3% vegan. Sophie Steevens from Mahia writes about raw food, Raw & Free was a previous book of hers, and her new one is SIMPLE WHOLEFOODS.