Saturday Morning for Saturday 31 October 2020

8:10 Legal scholar Kim Wehle: the path to a US election result

Author and constitutional scholar Kim Wehle is a professor at the University of Baltimore School of Law and a former assistant attorney.

She was associate independent counsel in the Whitewater investigation into the Clintons' business affairs (where she worked alongside Supreme Court Judge Brett Kavanaugh).

She is also the author of What You Need to Know About Voting and Why

With Tuesday's vote in the US still in the balance, she's been considering the prospect of legal challenges to the results. So where to from here? And when can we expect to see a clear election outcome?

8:35 Dr Fran Priddy: helping lead NZ's COVID-19 vaccine effort

How is New Zealand contributing to the urgent global quest for a safe and effective COVID-19 vaccine?

American vaccine expert Dr Fran Priddy recently joined The Malaghan Institute as Clinical Director of the Vaccine Alliance Aotearoa NZ (VAANZ).

VAANZ is a multidisciplinary team of local and international collaborators specialising in vaccine research, development, and manufacturing.

Dr Priddy has spent much of her career researching and developing clinical vaccines for infectious diseases including HIV.

We'll ask her about the current vaccine contenders, and the tricky process of getting a vaccine out of the lab, into trials, and then production.

9:05 Bill Bailey's secrets to happiness

Popular UK standup comedian and actor Bill Bailey's a bit of a renaissance man - with interests ranging from music to bird watching.

After appearing on TV shows including QI, Black Books, Never Mind the Buzzcocks and Spaced, his latest foray onto the screen is as a competitor in the wildly popular BBC dance contest Strictly Come Dancing

No surprise then that ballroom dancing is listed as one of 30-odd things that bring him joy in his new book Bill Bailey's Remarkable Guide To Happiness: alongside scuba diving, laughing, wild swimming, sky diving...and of course crazy golf!

10:05 Unjoo Moon: director of Helen Reddy biopic

Unjoo Moon is the Australian director of I Am Woman, a biopic about the singer Helen Reddy.

Reddy emerged as a feminist icon in the early Seventies when her song 'I Am Woman' became an anthem of the women's liberation movement.

It also became a number one hit for Reddy and co-creator Ray Burton, selling over one million copies.

Troubled by health problems in her later years, Reddy died in Los Angeles last month (aged 78), with the song reaching number 2 in the Australian digital sales chart shortly afterwards.

I Am Woman screens nationwide from November 5.

 

10:30 Neil Finn: Crowded House to tour NZ and release new album

It's exciting times for fans of iconic band Crowded House.

There's a new single out and an album on the horizon (their first new music in a decade), and they've just announced a 10 date NZ tour in March 2021.

The band's line-up features founding members Neil Finn and Nick Seymour along with producer and keyboardist Mitchell Froom, guitarist and singer Liam Finn and drummer Elroy Finn.

Neil's only 2 weeks out of quarantine, having returned with his family from LA, where he been based while touring as a member of Fleetwood Mac.

11:05 Emmy winning cinematographer Baz Idoine

From the TVNZ photocopier room to winning an Emmy last month - New Zealand born cinematographer Barry "Baz" Idoine has come a long way.
 
His CV is extensive and impressive, including credits on Rogue One,  American Sniper, The Master, There Will Be Blood, Erin Brockovich and even Waterworld.

His Emmy was for his work on season one the mega hit Star Wars spinoff The Mandalorian  - which introduced the character of The Child (aka Baby Yoda).

The production pioneered the use of StageCraft tech which generated digital backdrops and sets in real-time using a game engine.

Season 2 of The Mandalorian screens on Disney+ from Oct 30.

11:30 Max Quinn: The life and times of a polar film maker

Renowned polar photographer, director and cameraman Max Quinn covers a 50-year career spent working in the world's coldest places in his book A Life of Extremes.

Quinn learned his trade as an NZBC cameraman then as a Director of Photography on homegrown TV dramas, before he joined TVNZ's Natural History Unit in Dunedin in 1987.

Over the years he's filmed for many of the world's top broadcasters including National Geographic and Discovery Channel.

In 1991 he wintered over in Antarctica for 11 months to film documentaries on the Emperor Penguin and about winter life at Scott Base.

More recently he's been working on nature documentaries across the globe, and last year completed filming on a 3-part wildlife series set in Brazil.

 

Books mentioned in this show:

What You Need to Know About Voting--and Why
By Kim Wehle
ISBN: 9780062974785
Published by Harper Paperbacks

Bill Bailey's Remarkable Guide To Happiness
By Bill Bailey
ISBN:9781529412451
Published by Quercus

 A Life of Extremes The Life and Times of a Polar Filmmaker
By Max Quinn
ISBN 9781775594321
Published by Exisle

 

Music played in this show

Song: I am Woman
Artist: Helen Reddy
Played at: 9:55

Song: Whatever You Want
Artist: Crowded House
Played at: 9:55

Song: US Mail
Artist: Kevin Morby
Played at 11:30