Afternoons for Monday 26 April 2010
1:10 Best Song Ever Written
Song for Guy by Elton John, chosen by John Raymond Strong from Dunedin.
1:15 8 Months To Mars - what would well-known people do on an trip to Mars?
Alison Mau joins us on a journey to Mars.
2:10 Feature stories
Surging rivers and torrential rain is forcing the evacuation of 120 trampers from the Milford Track. Helicopters are picking up the trampers stranded in huts.
Allison Roe's Women's Marathon record, held for nearly 29 years, has been broken by Kimberley Smith at the London marathon Sunday with a time of 2 hours, 25 minutes 21 seconds, shaving 85 seconds off of Roe's time.
Weta Workshop has teamed up with Wellington start-up Intergrid and Cyberport out of Hong Kong to run a 3D global design competition for aspiring digital artists. The first challenge is to create "ray gun" models and characters based on Weta's sci-fi comic Dr Grordbort.
2:30 Reading
Today on our New Zealand Reading, we meet Brent Rosser, a petty thief, as Stuart Devenie (de-vinn-nee) begins a 15 part reading of Maurice Gee's novel Crime Story.
2:45 He Rourou
A young Maori lawyer says she's hoping Maori will make submissions on the draft legislation on the Foreshore and Seabed.
Ana Tapiata talks with Horiana Irwin after the hui.
2:50 Feature Album
Our Feature Album today is All the Fun of the Fair by by singer/songwriter David Essex - a big release for him in 1974.
3:12 Author Slot
Why do men turn mean when they hit middle age? An unfair assertion, or a question for the ages?
For Dr. Jed Diamond mid-life meanness in males is a fact of life. In fact, he's made it his life's work.
As a marraige and family counsellor, he's spent the last 45 years helping men with their relationships.
In doing so, he's seen the phenomenon of the male mid-life personality change so often, he's even come up with a name for it.
Irritable Man Syndrome (IMS) is the name Jed Diamond gives to the process that turns your darling Dr. Jeckyll into vile-tempered Doctor Hyde, and his new book is all about how to safeguard your relationship from such a monster.
3:33 This Way Up
Simon Morton's back with his "nut series finale" - today the nut that's not really a nut at all, but a pea.
3:47 Science story
Here's a sad thought to ponder over in this, the International Year of Biodiversity. One in 13 of New Zealand's native plants is now threatened with extinction.
Six plant species are already extinct, and even the popular garden plant the kakabeak is in serious trouble, with just one plant left in the wild.
Its authors are hoping a new book featuring 189 different New Zealand threatened plants will stir New Zealanders to action, and inspire them to not only save rare plants in the wild, but grow them in their gardens. Alison Ballance joins botanists Peter de Lange (pron LAING) and Jeremy Rolfe to hear more.
4:06 The Panel
Michelle A'Court and Jock Anderson.