Short Story Club

This week we discuss the poem Speaking with my grandmothers  by Fiona Kidman
Email us before 3pm Thursday about the poem, and the writer of the best email will win a copy of Big Weather: Poems of Wellington, edited by Greg O'Brien and Louise St John,

1:10 First song

1:15 Dr Philip Elmer: where science and business meet

July 5 marks this year's Research Commercialisation Awards, which recognises publicly-funded research that's been successfully applied to new products and services.

One of the nominees, Dr Philip Elmer, develops biological control tools to help protect plants against disease.

Dr Elmer joins us to talk wine grapes, kiwifruit vines, and using science to help business.

Dr Philip Elmer, holding a sample of the latest bio-bactericide for control of Psa in kiwifruit, and an experimental potted ‘Hayward’ kiwifruit plant that will be used in experiments

Dr Philip Elmer, holding a sample of the latest bio-bactericide for control of Psa in kiwifruit, and an experimental potted ‘Hayward’ kiwifruit plant that will be used in experiments Photo: Supplied

1:25 Down with the pastriarchy

Pain au chocolat, or chocolatier? A decades-old debate over the proper name of the (delicious) pastry reached France's parliament earlier this week.

In France's equivalent of the trans-Tasman pavlova stoush, the south and north of the country are at loggerheads as to which should be the treat's official name.

French expat Thierry Didierjean, who works at the Village Bakehouse in Christchurch, joins us to talk a bit about this baker's brouhaha, and weighs in with a couple of tips for ambitious home pâtissiers

Pain au Chocolat

Pain au Chocolat Photo: Pxhere free image

1:35 Sound Archives: Samoan Language Week

Talofa lava - it is Samoan Language Week and in today’s visit to the sound archives of Ngā Taonga Sound & Vision we will hear recordings reflecting on the influence of Samoan culture on New Zealand society.

Samoan pre-school administrator Fereni Ete, reading a story in Samoan, Wellington, 1988 Evening Post newspaper

Samoan pre-school administrator Fereni Ete, reading a story in Samoan, Wellington, 1988 Evening Post newspaper Photo: Alexander Turnbull Library

1:40 Great album

2:20 Bookmarks with Dame Patsy Reddy

The Governor General Dame Patsy Reddy is our Bookmarks guest. She shares her favourite books, tv shows and music. Dame Patsy is a fan of New Zealand singer/songwriter Nadia Reid, author Philip Roth and filmmaker Taika Waititi.

She’ll also tell us how her tenure as the Governor General has gone so far and what’s on the agenda for the rest of the year, which will have a particular focus on the 125th anniversary of New Zealand women getting the vote.

And is she related to singer Helen Reddy?

Dame Patsy Reddy at the 125th sufferage ceremony.

Dame Patsy Reddy at the 125th sufferage ceremony. Photo: RNZ / Richard Tindiller

Dame Patsy's picks:

Books:
Philip Roth especially American Pastoral and The Human Stain.
Sapiens - A Brief History of Humankind by Yuval Noah Harari
The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood
Any Human Heart by William Boyd

Movies (NZ):
Hunt for the Wilderpeople (Taika Waititi)
Utu redux (Geoff Murphy)
The Orator (Tusi Tamasese)
Illustrious Energy. (Leon Narbey)
Heavenly Creatures (Peter Jackson)
World's Fastest Indian (Roger Donaldson)

Other movies:
Isle of Dogs
The Death of Stalin
The Shape of Water
The Lives of Others - German
A Separation- Iran
Brooklyn - Irish, Canadian, UK co-proMovies by Danish Director Susanne Bier.

Recent TV Docos and Miniseries she's enjoyed:
The Night Manager
37 Days
The Looming Tower
An Honourable Woman
The Long Shadow
The Handmaids Tale

No caption

Photo: supplied

3:10 "Being a mother is a gift - where’s my receipt?"

Kimberly Harrington has seen life from both sides of the "Mummy Wars", the judgement directed towards Mums who stay and home and the ones who go work.

As a copywriter and co-founder and editor of the parenting site Razed, she has experienced the tortures of working from home, and the guilt of going to the office.

Her essays on parenting are darkly funny and sometimes sad and moving - such as this one on school shootings.

She writes about the challenges of motherhood, marriage, ambition, and raising kids in her book, Amateur Hour: Motherhood in Essays and Swear Words.

Kimberley Harrington

Kimberley Harrington Photo: Harper Collins / Isaac Wasuck

3:35 Science and environment stories

Stories from Our Changing World.

3:45 The Pre-Panel Story of the Day and One Quick Question

4:05 The Panel with Jo McCarroll and Chris Wikaira

 

 

We've been playing all New Zealand first songs this past month, and have turned them into a spotify playlist.