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James Taylor returns to NZ for two shows

17 Mar 2024

Six-time grammy award winner, James Taylor, speaks with Jim Mora about his life and career ahead of his one-off New Zealand show 'An Evening with James Taylor and His All-Star Band' set for April. Audio

Sunday 17 March 2024

Available Audio (12)

8:10 Rich Preston: The latest from the UK

BBC senior reporter, Rich Preston, joins Jim to discuss the Royal families' photo doctoring blunder and the latest on Andrew Tate’s extradition to the UK.  

A picture shows stories in Britain's national newspapers, about the altered mother's day photo released by Kensington Palace on March 10, of Britain's Catherine, Princess of Wales and her children, in London on March 12, 2024. The Princess of Wales on Monday apologised and admitted to editing an official portrait of her released by the palace that prompted AFP and other agencies to withdraw the altered image. Kensington Palace, however, said it would not republish the original, unedited photo. (Photo by Paul ELLIS / AFP)

Photo: PAUL ELLIS

8: 25 Jack Whaley-Cohen: The Sunday Quiz    

Quiz master Jack Waley-Cohen joins us once again as our Sunday Morning question master.      

Jack is the mind behind the questions on BBC quiz show Only Connect which is known for being both difficult to crack and totally obvious.   

It’s Sunday morning, so wake up your brain and have a go!   

Sunday Morning Quiz image

Photo: RNZ

8:30 Eliezer Yudkowsky: The AI academic warning of an AI apocalypse 

Eliezer Yudkowsky, artificial intelligence researcher, decision theorist and co-founder of Machine Intelligence Research Institute, has a stark warning that we’re moving too fast in the field of AI. 

Artificial intelligence controlling the world, conceptual image. (Photo by TIM VERNON / SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRA / TVE / Science Photo Library via AFP)

Photo: TIM VERNON / SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRA

9:10 Mediawatch 

TV news and current affairs are still in the balance at two big broadcasters. Mediawatch looks at how the government has responded  - and what it might be planning.  

Also: how artificial intelligence is creating news at a media company which has warned the technology could ruin the business of journalism. 

Newshub's Melissa Chan-Green grills media minister Melissa Lee on the AM show on her plans to respond to the crisis prompting the closure of Newshub and cuts to news at TVNZ.

Newshub's Melissa Chan-Green grills media minister Melissa Lee on the AM show on her plans to respond to the crisis prompting the closure of Newshub and cuts to news at TVNZ. Photo: AM show

9:35 James Taylor returns to NZ for a one-off show. 

Six-time grammy award winner, James Taylor, is one of the best-selling music artists of all time, having sold more than 100 million records worldwide with hits including ‘Fire and Rain, Country Road, Sweet Baby James, and Carolina In My Mind’. 

He speaks with Jim Mora about his life and career ahead of his one-off New Zealand show ‘An Evening with James Taylor and His All-Star Band’ set for April. 

James Taylor

Photo: James Taylor

10:06 Add three years to your life by walking just 15,000 steps a week 

There has been such a lot of talk about steps in the last decade…. How many should we take for health. 

Dr Joan Costa-i-Font is a Professor in Health Economics, the team leader at the Ageing and Health Incentives Lab at the London School of Economics.  

People crossing a street. 
Paris, France 

VOISIN/PHANIE (Photo by VOISIN / Phanie / Phanie via AFP)

Photo: VOISIN

10:15 The real-life cousins of Dune’s magnificent sandworms 

With the second part of Denis Villeneuve’s film franchise of Frank Herbert’s fantasy novel, Dune currently in cinemas, we ask if the fictional worms in the movie share anything in common with real worms. 

Joining us is Dr. Luke Parry, an Associate Professor of Palaeobiology at the Department of Earth Sciences at Oxford University. 

DUNE: DEUXIEME PARTIE
DUNE : PART TWO
2023
de Denis Villeneuve
d'apres le roman de Frank Herbert
based on a novel by Frank Herbert
COLLECTION CHRISTOPHEL © Warner Bros. - Legendary Entertainment - Warner Bros. Entertainment - Villeneuve Films
science fiction; sci-fi
visuel d'affiche (Photo by Warner Bros. - Legendary Enterta / Collection ChristopheL via AFP)

Photo: WARNER BROS. - LEGENDARY ENTERTA

10:20 Calling Home: Zara DuCrôs in New York City 

Aucklander, Zara DuCrôs, has been living and studying acting in New York for the last three years.  

When she’s not busy auditioning, she works as a children's birthday party entertainer. From gorgeous penthouses on the Upper East Side, to secret Naval bases, she’s entertained kids around New York as everything from a Disney princess to a clown. 

Zara DuCrôs acting in a scene from 'All This Intimacy'.

Zara DuCrôs acting in a scene from 'All This Intimacy'. Photo: All This Intimacy

10:40 Skindred's new reggae album

The band Skindred have just won Best Alternative Act at the 2024 MOBO Awards - MOBO standing for Music Of Black Origin. Originating from Newport in Wales, they've topped the US reggae charts and have been busy playing at Glastonbury and touring with the band KISS.

Their new album 'SMILE' has a unique blend of reggae, electronica and heavy metal.

The frontman of the band, Benji Webbe spoke with Jim ahead of their New Zealand shows in Whangaparāoa on the 28th and 29th of March.

Skindred is a Welsh band that fuses heavy metal with other genres, most notably reggae.

Skindred is a Welsh band that fuses heavy metal with other genres, most notably reggae. Photo: Skindred

11:05 Is television news dead? 

Research NZ have been asking New Zealanders about the importance of having a choice of television channels for news and current affairs and how important it was to have news on television compared with online and other digital platforms. 

Joining us is Research NZ managing partner Emanuel Kalafatelis. 

[Homestead, Georgia, United States] Old TV set on front porch of an abandoned homestead. (Photo by Mint Images / Mint Images / Mint Images via AFP)

Photo: MINT IMAGES

11:15 Ali Hill: The Nutrition Edition 

Dr Ali Hill from Otago University's Department of Human Nutrition is back. She looks at the different types of salt available and assesses their nutritional benefits. 

Salt shakers 
Fine salt under various transparent glass salt shakers aligned in the foreground. (Photo by CHASSENET / BSIP / BSIP via AFP)

Photo: CHASSENET

11:25 David McAlpine: Your noise and hearing questions answered 

Following Professor David McAlpine’s chat with Jim last week, so many of you got in touch with questions we’ve asked him back. 

Close-up of the ear of a woman, with graphics representing sound waves 
 

GARO/PHANIE (Photo by GARO / Phanie / Phanie via AFP)

Photo: GARO

Photo: Supplied

For those of you curious about the Sunday Morning show theme tune, it was written by Jim’s daughter, Rebecca Mora when she was 18 and studying music composition at Auckland University. 

‘Hatstand’ is the title and it was mastered by RNZ engineer Andre Upston.