Labour Day for Monday 28 October 2013
8:10 Union boss Helen Kelly - does she take Labour Day off?
She wanted to be the country's first female prime minister, but while that didn't quite happen, she did become the first woman to lead the Combined Trade Unions. So what does the person who champions for workers' right do in her downtime? and is she even taking Labour Day off?
8:40 Bryce Campbell - from archeologist to award-winning comedian
Bryce was recently named the best actor at the LA Comedy Film festival for his star performance in the tongue-in-cheek film "Edwin: My Life as a Koont", which even had a cameo from Wellington Mayor Celia Wade-Brown. So what makes this archeologist, turned cable car driver, turned comedian tick? And can he make us laugh without a script?
9:10 Iain O'Brien - cricket, writing and the black dog
At the peak of his career former Test cricketer Iain O'Brien was a formidable force with the ball for New Zealand. But while it all seemed good on the outside, he was battling depression on the inside. Iain talks opening about his battle with mental illness and offers an insight into the road to recovery, which for him involved writing children's books. An inspirational listen for the one in six of us who has a mental illness.
9:40 Jennie McCormick - the super stargazer
Auckland Astronomer Jennie McCormick is fascinated by space. She has co-discovered 20 planets, solar systems and an asteroid, which she'll get to name. She's even built her own observatory and spends hours each night, when the weather is clear, gazing into the vast space above. She was recently nominated for a Next Woman of the Year award. Jennie tells us about why she collects meteorites and explains what a galactic bulge is.
Left: NZ Microfun team: The NZ team of astronomers who work together to discover new things in space. Right: the Auckland Meteorite. Photographs courtesy of Jennie McCormick.
10:10 James Bamford - spying on the people who spy on us
Investigative journalist James Bamford started researching the little know US government department known as the National Security Agency in 1982. since then he's written three books on the organisation which is now known for its mass surveillance of people around the globe. James tells us about how hard it was to gain information on the NSA back in the 80s, and whether NAS whistleblower Edward Snowdon is a hero or a villain.
10:40 Ben Uffindel - political satire in 2013
Political satire online newspaper "The Civilian" is only 7 months old, but it has quickly gained a reputation as being the place to go for the big news stories. Headlines like "We didn't want the stupid cup anyway" After the America's Cup loss and "Feeling inadequate, nation hopes no young people achieve anything this week", referring to Eleanor Catton's Booker Prize, have been capturing the nation's attention. So how does the team behind The Civilian come up with their satirical commentary, and what happens when a politician takes comments on the site seriously?
11:10 Richard Murphy - reflections, stories and memories of the late Seamus Heaney
Eighty-six-year-old Irish poet Richard Murphy joins us from Sri Lanka, to reminisce about his time with friend, and fellow poet Seamus Heaney who recently passed away. We celebrate Heaney's contributions to the poetic sphere and hear tales of how the duo met, how they were inspired and how Heaney's last act was that of kindness.
11.30 Graeme Downes
Musician and academic Graeme Downes on the legacy and influence of Lou Reed.