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12 February 2012 - 3:09 pm NZ time

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RNZ Home » National » Programmes » This Way Up » Saturday 12 December 2009

This Way Up

with Simon Morton

Saturday, Midday - 2pm

Audio from Saturday 12 December 2009

Not all audio is available due to copyright restrictions.

12:15 Smell: How does our sense of smell work? Smell psychologist Professor Rachel Herz knows. Plus how smell's being used to sell us stuff and why Christmas trees don't smell like they used to! (45′21″); Download: Ogg Vorbis MP3 | Embed
13:15 Dirty laundry: The Dhobi Ghat in Mumbai in India's a world famous outdoor laundry that handles three-quarters of a million items every day. Meena Kadri reports. (10′58″); Download: Ogg Vorbis MP3 | Embed
13:25 iPlot: more planting: The salad and rocket's going off but when will we have a bit more variety on the menu? Plus Colin Walker supervises more planting - this week, beans, tomatoes, cucumbers, lettuce and basil. (13′54″); Download: Ogg Vorbis MP3 | Embed
13:40 Roller derby: Sonia Yee gets her skates on and meets some of the lasses in the Smash Malice and Brutal Pageant teams in Wellington's Richter City Roller Derby League. (13′05″); Download: Ogg Vorbis MP3 | Embed
13:55 Odourless longdrops: American inventor Don Sifers reckons he's solved the problem of stinky longdrop toilets. His 'latrine deodorizer' mangles methane molecules! (6′04″); Download: Ogg Vorbis MP3 | Embed

Quick hits

12:15 Smell: Rachel Herz
12:40 Hard smell tactics
12:45 Oh Christmas tree!
13:15 Dirty laundry
13:25 iPlot
13:40 Rollerderby
13:55 Odourless long-drops

The Fine Print
First up this week we're looking at smell. It's one of our most powerful senses so how does it work and why is it so closely linked to our emotions? We'll look at how smell is used to sell us stuff and ask why Christmas trees don't smell as piney as they used to!

We talk to Professor Rachel Herz, a smell psychologist. Then at around 12:40pm we speak to a chap using 'hard smell' tactics to open our wallets: he's infusing packaging with flavours and smells to fool us into thinking baby food's fresh and plain water is flavoured!

Then keeping it smelly, the scent of a real Christmas tree is part of the festive season for many people. Well our yuletide correspondent Penny MacKay reckons Christmas trees are changing - the scent of pine's got weaker since she was a little girl and she wants to find out why.

After the news at one we're off to Mumbai in India to the Dhobi Ghat - it's a world famous outdoor laundry that handles three quarters of a million items every day. If you tend to lose the odd sock in the wash try doing the washing for a city of 22 million people!

At 1:25pm we're back in the iPlot - the salad greens and rocket's going off but when will we have a few more options on the menu? Another planting cycle this week - beans, tomatoes, cucumbers, lettuces and basil.

Then at around 1:40pm get your skates on as Sonia Yee heads to a rollerderby.

And before we go we're speaking to an American inventor who reckons he's solved the problem of stinky outdoor toilets, that's right the good old long-drop. Don Sifers' 'latrine deodorizer' mangles methane molecules using heat, but no naked flames as that would be dangerous!

TRACKS PLAYED

Track: Double Barrel
Artist: Dave & Ansell Collins
Album: Best Of Ska
Label: Disky
Catalogue #: 648052
Broadcast at: 12:35

Track: When I Grow Up (D. Lissvik Remix)
Artist: Fever Ray
Album: Original on 'Fever Ray' (MUTE 969408)
Digital download at
Broadcast at: 13:10

Track: Melo Dos Dois Bicudos
Artist: Azymuth
Album: Brazilika: Gilles Peterson
Label: FAR OUT
Catalogue #: 142
Broadcast at: 13:50