Sunday Morning for Sunday 29 October 2023

8:10 Al Gillespie: Middle East update and China’s economic headwinds 

We speak to Al Gillespie about the latest from the conflict in the Middle East and China’s ‘fantastical’ economic statistics. Al Gillespie is a professor of law, specialising in international law related to war, the environment and civil liberties, at the University of Waikato.     

8:25 Duncan Paterson: Parisian publican  

Duncan Paterson is in the eye of the Rugby World Cup storm. He speaks to us from his packed Parisian pub – The Black Sheep Society – a slice of Kiwi paradise on Rue Daval.  

8:30 Calling home: Giles Cooper in Hanoi 

Cantabrian Giles Cooper has many strings to his bow – lawyer by day, bar owner by night. Arriving in the Vietnamese metropolis of Hanoi in 1999, he opened a New Zealand style café, Puku, and hasn’t looked back since.  

8:55 Christina Persico: Halftime at Stade de France 

Christina Persico – RNZ’s Pacific Bulletin Editor – is match-side at the Rugby World Cup Final. She joins us at halftime from the Stade France. 

9:10 Mediawatch 

In a time when major media organisations are cutting back in the regions, reporters are thin on the ground and there's not so much money to be made in local media.  

Mediawatch's Hayden Donnell  visits Whanganui to find local media there surviving - and some even thriving.   

9:40 Zazie Todd: Are we pathologising normal pooch behaviour?  

In the space of a few short years, discussions around ‘anxiety’ and ‘feeling anxious’ have entered the mainstream. While the rise in anxiety among humans is a well-documented phenomenon, the similarly rapid rise in our companion animals has flown under the radar. Yet, our pets, particularly pooches, are increasingly prescribed anti-anxiety medication. So, are our animals really more anxious? Or are we pathologising normal pet behaviour? The jury is out. Dr Zazie Todd is an animal behaviour expert who founded Companion Animal Psychology in 2012 to explore ways in which science can help us to have happier pets. 

9:50 Christina Persico: Stade de France fulltime 

Will it be jubilation or devastation for Kiwi All Blacks’ fans? We soak in the atmosphere – whatever it may be – from Stade de France with Christina Persico. Christina is RNZ’s Pacific Bulletin Editor.  

10:10 Sir Bryan Williams: Rugby World Cup Final reaction  

Sir Bryan Williams – former All Black and coach of the Samoan national rugby team – gives us his unbridled take post-Rugby World Cup showdown between the All Blacks and Springboks.  

10:20 Fiona Hugues: Wishing you a hairy Halloween  

Don’t ask Fiona Hugues what she does, because it’s impossible to answer briefly. It appears, however, that the skilled art director and cook – who doesn’t mind a creative cuss word – can turn her hand to anything and has been recognised for her foodstyling prowess (in particular) both here and overseas. For Halloween this year, she is treating her social media followers to a 'dastardly treat’ you’ll have to see to believe.  

10:35 Melissa Hogenboom: The brain that changes itself 

The first 1000 days are the most important of our lives – why? Because in those first three years of life our brain is rapidly changing and developing, our neuroplasticity is at its peak. It was once thought that this remarkable capacity to remodel ended with youth, but the brain’s plasticity is a constant force in shaping who we are. Change can come about unconsciously and, interestingly, through conscious effort.  Science journalist and BBC Future reporter Melissa Hogenboom, recently decided to test the theory of mindfulness and its power to physically alter the brain – book ending the experiment with MRI scans. At the end of six weeks, she had the results of her effort to rewire her brain. 

11:10 Mark Reason: Rugby World Cup Final reaction  

Mark Reason, Stuff’s senior sports columnist, gives us his post-match analysis of the Rugby World Cup Final between the All Blacks and Springboks.  

11:15 Clare Wilson: How ‘free’ is free will?  

Are your choices ever really yours to make? It’s an age-old philosophical question, but one that regularly rears its head with advances in our understanding of genetics and neuroscience. Recent publications from two leading neuroscientists have lent wight to the argument that free will is an illusion and that our choices are pre-determined by the make-up of our brain. The theory has thorny implications for moral dilemmas and ideas about crime and punishment. If our choices are not our own, should we agonise over them? And do we have the right to punish people for their so-called decisions? We speak to Clare Wilson - a New Scientist journalist focused on medicine, health policy, and neuroscience – who has taken a deep dive into this philosophical and scientific conundrum.  

11:45 Jeffrey Halley: An economic temperature check post-election 

Jeffrey Halley is Sunday Morning's man on the money.  Jeffrey's a kiwi in Jakarta and Singapore who until recently was the Senior Market Analyst for Asia Pacific for the OANDA corporation, with his analysis is regularly sought by Bloomberg, the BBC, Reuters, CNBC, MSN and the New York Times.