Saturday Morning for Saturday 29 January 2022

8.10 Prof Vernon Bogdanor: Boris Johnson and the 'partygate' report

The delay of a highly-anticipated report into parties held in Downing Street during lockdown has prompted calls for UK prime minister Boris Johnson to stop suppressing “crucial details” and tell the truth. 

Conducted by senior civil servant Sue Gray, the ‘partygate’ report was expected to be published this week but was delayed when Scotland Yard opened its own investigation into the matter. According to the BBC, government lawyers are studying the document due to concerns that releasing certain information could prejudice the new investigation. Johnson claims he has not been involved in the hold-up, and says he will publish it “in full” once it is available. 

Professor Vernon Bogdanor is a professor of government, King’s College London. His books include Beyond Brexit: Towards a British Constitution. 

 

8.35 Roy Billing: back treading the boards for Grand Horizons

Ruawai-raised actor Roy Billing has been gracing New Zealand screens since the 1970s, his credits include Underbelly, The Chronicles of Narnia, Rabbit-Proof Fence and more recently The Panthers, in which he portrays former Prime Minister Robert Muldoon.

Having returned to our shores after being based in Sydney for many years, Billing will soon be treading the boards in Auckland Theatre Company’s production of Bess Wohl’s Tony-nominated comedy Grand Horizons, co-starring Annie Whittle and directed by Jennifer Ward-Lealand.

Grand Horizons is going ahead under red light restrictions, with an audience capacity of 100 and social distancing measures in place. The show runs from 8 February to 5 March at ASB Waterfront Theatre in Auckland. Head over here for more information.

 

9.05 Bill Hayes: Sweat and our ongoing obsession with exercise

In his new book Sweat, best-selling author Bill Hayes turns his attention to our long-standing obsession with exercise. Part history book, part memoir, Sweat sees Hayes dive into the ancient Greek’s devotion to the gymnasium, examine how exercise has evolved over time, and look at the wellbeing fads that have surfaced over the centuries. 

Hayes’ previous books include Sleep Demons, Five Quarts, and Insomniac City, the latter of which recounts his life in New York City and his romantic relationship with the late neurologist and writer Oliver Sacks.

Hayes is the Creative Director of the Oliver Sacks Foundation, and co-edited Sacks' posthumous works Gratitude and The River of Consciousness.

 

9.40 Trish Johansen: tending to Cambodia's landmine-sniffing rats

New Zealand veterinarian Trish Johansen has been running a clinic in Siem Reap since 2015, and among her clients have been Cambodia’s remarkable landmine-clearing rats. The death of one such rat, Magawa, made world headlines earlier this month. In his five-year career working with APOPO, Magawa sniffed out over 100 landmines and other explosives, making more than 141,000 square metres of land safe for use - the equivalent of 20 football fields.

Clearing landmines continues to be essential and dangerous work - just before Magawa's death, three Cambodian demining experts were killed by anti-tank landmines that exploded as they tried to remove them.

Currently based in New Zealand, Johansen is also the founder of the charity Eradicating Rabies One Village at a Time.
 

 

10.05 Dr Rebecca Johnson: the legacy of the Greenham Women

Directed by New Zealander Briar March, new documentary Mothers of the Revolution tells the story of one of the longest protests in history. Between 1981 and 2000, thousands of women came together at Greenham Common in Berkshire to stand against the decision of the British government to allow cruise missiles to be stored there.

UK-based activist Rebecca Johnson is one of the most-recognised Greenham Common women, having lived at the camp for five years. By the time she left she had a conviction list “as long as your arm”.

Johnson went on to become the founding president of the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN), which was fundamental in implementing the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons that entered into force on 22 January 2021. 

Mothers of the Revolution is screening at cinemas around the country now.

 

11.05 Playing Favourites with composer Karl Steven

Audio aficionado Karl Steven is poised to release his debut solo album All of Human Emotion on Microfiche next week, a record described as “collage of organic and electronic sources, synthesised down into an ambitious and enigmatic sound”.

Steven started his music career with popular 1990s genre-bending group Supergroove, and went on to perform with the Drab Doo-Riffs, Heart Attack Alley and Queen Neptune.

Currently based in Thames, Steven is an award-winning composer who spends most of his time writing music for film and television, having created soundtracks for Black Hands, Come To Daddy, The Justice of Bunny King and more.

All of Human Emotion on Microfiche is out 4 February via Sunreturn. Watch the clip for single ‘Utterance and Inscription’ below: 

 

Books mentioned in this episode:

Sweat: A History of Exercise
By Bill Hayes
Publisher: Bloomsbury
ISBN: 9781620402283

 

Music featured in this episode:

Simulation Swarm
Big Thief
Played at 8.32am

You Can't Kill The Spirit
Cairen Wijnen
Played at 10.53am

Utterance and Inscription
Karl Steven
Played at 11.05am

West Side Story: Overture
Leonard Bernstein
Played at 11.15am

Byssan Lull
Evert Taube
Played at 11.25am

She's Fresh
Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five
Played at 11.34am

The Third Man Theme
Anton Karas
Played at 11.47am

Muutuja
Maarja Nuut
Played at 11.57am