Saturday Morning

Since launching his YouTube channel four years ago, Max Miller has amassed more than two million of subscribers - all tuning in for his videos that fuse history lessons with a cooking show. Neither a trained chef or historian, Los Angeles-based Miller fell into the world of being a YouTuber when he was furloughed from his job at Disney due to the Covid pandemic. His videos, which are thoroughly researched and well-produced, span thousands of years and all four corners of the globe - and even delve into the outer space culinary experience. Some of his most popular videos include "Making Medieval Mead like a Viking", "Dining First Class on the RMS Titanic", and "Macaroni Cheese from 1845". Some of his recipes have even been collated into a cookbook, Tasting History: Explore the Past through 4,000 Years of Recipes, which was released last year.

Donald Trump is a convicted felon. A New York jury found him guilty on all 34 counts of falsifying business records to cover up hush money paid to porn star Stormy Daniels. He intends to appeal, and major Republican donors say they're willing to back him still, despite his criminal record, but what does Trump's guilty verdict do for the Republican Party's hopes for re-election? American political commentator and 2016 Republican candidate Lenny McAllister joins Susie from Pensylvannia.

A phenomenon that hasn't occurred since 1803 is in full swing. Trillions of periodical cicadas are emerging in a rare double event. Brood XIX and XIII are either above ground, or emerging in 17 states, from Chicago through the Midwest. It's the first time in 221 years that these two broods have come above ground in the same place at the same time. Professor of biology at George Washington University, John Lill and his research team are in Chicago observing birds and other species feasting on a cicada banquet, which is changing their diet and causing much disruption to the food chain. John Lill has written about the consequences of this shift in avian foraging in Science.

A "miserable" moment on the banks of Lake Wakatipu was the initial inspiration for Matt Heath's new book A Life Less Punishing: 13 Ways To Love the Life You've Got. The radio host and writer tells Susie Ferguson we all have the power to change our own mindset for the better.

Some of the world's humanitarian crises are well known - Gaza and Ukraine for example - but many more are less likely to make international news: Chad and Sudan. One of the organisations operating wherever there is conflict is Médecins Sans Frontières or Doctors Without Borders. It's working in a world emerging from the covid pandemic, with inflation rampant and people increasingly disconnecting from bad news. MSF's International President, Dr Christos Christou is a trauma surgeon with extensive experience working in warzones.

If you're feeling sadder as the days get shorter, you're not alone. Around half the population report feeling less happy in winter and 5 percent fall into serious depression. Apart from nutrition and exercise, getting more light in your eyes is the best treatment we know for seasonal mood challenges, says NZ-born neurobiology researcher Anna Wirz-Justice.

Thousands of people rallied across the country on Thursday to protest the coalition government's policies - including axing the Maori Health Authority, removing local councils' right to set up Maori wards, removing reference to Te Tiriti o Waitangi in legislation, and the Act Party's bid to redefine the Treaty principles. Julia Whaipooti is a leader at Te Kahui Tika Tangata, the Human Rights Commission. Her opinion piece argues Budget 24 disadvantages Maori financially and falls short of the Crown's te Tiriti obligations.

The shameful treatment of pioneer women footballers 50 years ago is the subject of a new documentary Copa 71, which is screening now. Rapturous crowds of over 100,000 fans cheered 18 year old Carol Wilson as she captained England at the 1971 women's football World Cup in Mexico. The experience was a stark contrast to the reception she and other women players received at home. The UK Football Association, which had banned women from playing for 50 years, refused to endorse the tournament and tried to shut it down. To this day the team Carol represented is not recognised by the FA as an official England team, which has earned them the moniker of 'The Lost Lionesses'.

Kate De Goldi is one of New Zealand's most celebrated authors, an Arts Foundation Laureate, and a voracious reader. She joins Susie to share three books she's loved; Ironopolis by Glen James Brown, James by Percival Everett, and The Trip by Paul Beavis.

Recruiters are reporting an unprecedented jump in job applications in the wake of thousands of layoffs across the public and private sectors. But for those seeking new work, a key question often remains shrouded in mystery, 'What's the salary?' Fortunately there is a tool that can shed some light. Driven by a desire to promote salary transparency, Auckland-based web analytics consultant Tony Lu developed What's The Salary in 2019. Since then, there have been over a million searches, with demand up a reported 25 percent compared to a year ago.

Having grown up in Missouri, Jake Adelstein moved to Japan at age 19 to study Japanese literature. A few years later, he became the first non-Japanese staff writer at Yomiuri Shimbun, one of the country's largest newspapers, where as a rookie reporter he was put on the police beat. Before long he was immersed in the underbelly of Japan, reporting on organised crime and the shady dealings of yakuza bosses. Adelstein's first book, a dramatic memoir entitled Tokyo Vice was published in 2009, and eventually turned into a popular television series by HBO Max. Now he is poised to release the follow-up, Tokyo Noir, which has been billed as equal parts history lesson and true crime exposé.

In 2020, childhood friends Alex Towler and Jackson Harvey won the Australian reality show Lego Masters. Four years on, their elaborate retrofuturistic Lego exhibition RELICS: A New World Rises is coming to Auckland.

Creating food from 'thin air' sounds like a futuristic dream. But it's a future that's already arrived in the form of Solar Foods - Europe's first factory dedicated to making human food from electricity and air. What started with hydrogen oxidising microbes has resulted in Solein - a non-farmed yellowish protein product. After several years of lab experiments, production is underway in Vantaa, near the Finnish capital of Helsinki. The goal? To produce 160 tonnes of food a year. Solar Foods co-founder and chief executive Pasi Vainikka says Solein is a crucial next step in the food revolution.

The 1828 comic opera 'Le comte Ory' has been given a facelift by internationally acclaimed director Simon Phillips ('North by Northwest', 'Priscilla Queen of the Desert', 'The Elixir of Love'). Instead of being set in medieval France, this reworked production takes place in present-day Aotearoa, but sung in French with English subtitles. Written by Italian composer Gioachino Rossini, 'Le comte Ory' tells the story of a young count who is a cunning swindler, dedicated to seducing women. The NZ Opera production features the singing talents of lyric tenor Manase Latu, soprano Emma Pearson, mezzo-soprano Hanna Hipp, and baritone Moses Mackay. 'Le comte Ory' will be playing at Auckland's Kiri Te Kanawa Theatre on 30th of May and 1st of June, followed by performances in Wellington and Christchurch. Tickets and info are here.

American film director and script writer Matt Brown's new movie, just about to be released in cinemas here, is 'Freud's Last Session'. It stars Anthony Hopkins and Matthew Goode as two of the greatest minds of the 20th century - father of psychoanalysis Sigmund Freud and Chronicles of Narnia author C.S. Lewis. The film follows the story of the pair doing battle over the existence of God, the future of mankind, and the complex relationships that made them who they are.

Gardeners flock to the 'Chelsea Flower Show' for ideas about cutting-edge garden design and to see fabulous floral displays. Floral designer Toby de Lacey - a regular behind the scenes - is also instrumental in the simultaneous free flower show 'Chelsea in Bloom' held on Kings Road. Toby came to floristry following a career in engineering, making carbon fibre parts for the Formula 1 and Aerospace. He has only recently returned to the UK after a summer in New Zealand, where he spent time foraging for wild flowers and creating displays.

More than 150 experts have signed an open letter calling on the NZ Government to legalise and regulate all psychoactive substances. The letter marks the launch of the Harm Reduction Coalition Aotearoa, which aims to reduce the negative consequences of drug use in a way that upholds people's dignity and rights. It's an idea already in practice in different corners of the world - including Portugal where possession of illicit substances for personal use was decriminalised in 2001. Canada followed in January 2023, with the province of British Columbia, kicking off a three-year trial that allows adults to possess up to 2.5 grams of heroin, fentanyl, cocaine or meth without being arrested, charged, or having their drugs seized - except around schools and airports. However, just over a year into the project it has come under increasing pressure from opponents who have called it a 'harmful experiment'. Recently some of the measures have been rolled back. Public drug use is now re-criminalised, while drug possession in private homes is still legal. Joining us to discuss are Dr Nuno Capaz, of Lisbon's Dissuasion Commission of Drug Addiction, Dr Lindsey Richardson from the BC Centre on Substance Use, and Dr Fiona Hutton, a member of the Harm Reduction Coalition Aotearoa.

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At just fifteen years old Joy Womack left her family home in Texas and travelled to Moscow to follow her dream of becoming a Prima Ballerina at the world-renowned Bolshoi Ballet Company. In the face of incredible challenges, she became the first American to graduate from the Bolshoi Ballet Academy's punishing training program with a red diploma, and the second American woman to sign a contract with the Bolshoi Ballet. Womack's captivating story has been made into a movie by the New Zealand filmmaking team of James Napier Robertson and Tom Hern. The biopic Joika, which is currently screening in NZ cinemas, stars actress and classically trained dancer Talia Ryder, and the real Womack served as choreographer and consultant.

When recovering from burnout it's essential to prioritise rest. says clinical fatigue specialist Vincent Deary.

Award-winning Canadian investigative journalist Connie Walker had been telling stories about missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls for years, and wondering why they received so little attention. All this changed with her true-crime podcasts. Missing & Murdered and Stolen have been wildly popular, the latter winning a Pulitzer Prize and a Peabody Award. But despite the prizes and the millions of followers, in a climate where profitability is prioritised over important journalism Stolen is being axed by Spotify beyond the current third series.

American author Jonathan Rauch argues free speech and robust criticism should be encouraged and defended, even when it's racist, sexist or causes hurt. A gay, Jewish writer and thinker Rauch admits free speech can do harm, but argues minorities are better off in a society where free speech is embraced. Rauch has been visiting NZ at the invitation of the Free Speech Union discussing the necessity of academic freedom. He's a senior fellow in the Governance Studies programme at the Brookings Institute, the author of eight books and many articles on public policy, culture, government, and LGBT rights.

Police have used tear gas and stun grenades on rioters at an airport near Nouméa as the unrest and rioting in New Caledonia goes into its sixth day. Five people, including two police officers, have died and hundreds of people are injured amid clashes between authorities and pro-independence protesters. They were sparked by anger at a proposed new law that would allow French residents who have lived in New Caledonia for more than 10 years to vote - which some say will weaken the indigenous Kanak vote. Correspondent for Islands Business Magazine, Nic Maclennan, who has been covering this story for decades, explains the back-story.

Over almost sixty years, Dutch-Kiwi photographer Ans Westra took hundreds of thousands of pictures of life in New Zealand. A new illustrated biography Ans Westra - A life in photography interrogates her at times controversial practice. Ans' daughter Lisa van Hulst and author Dr Paul Moon join Susie.

Following a two-year hiatus, comedian Nazeem Hussain is back on the tour circuit with his new stand-up show Totally Normal. Having cut his teeth in the Melbourne scene in the 1990s, Hussain is one of Australia's biggest comedy stars, with his 2022 YouTube special Hussain in the Membrane racking up millions of views. Having performed sold-out shows around the globe - including opening for controversial comedian Dave Chappelle in New York City - Hussein is back for two shows in NZ .

In the race to colonize Mars, millions - if not billions - of dollars have been poured into research by people like Elon Musk to see what would make the planet's environment less hostile for humans. But why not spend the money improving conditions on Earth instead? What is driving this obsession? Writer Danyl McLauchlan joins Susie to tackle life's big questions, ideas and thinkers.

In a crucial year for India, millions of voters are going to the polls in the mammoth six-week election in the most populous country on earth. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is hoping to secure a rare third term as the poll hits the mid point. Internationally acclaimed author of twenty-five books, Dr Shashi Tharoor is a third-term Member of Parliament for the Congress and former Under Secretary-General of the United Nations. Dr Tharoor is appearing in conversation with Linda Clark in 'The Year the World Votes' at the Auckland Writers Festival.

Housing solution advocate Jordan van den Berg received a wave of fury from landlords and real estate agents recently after posting a video suggesting people squat in houses left empty by their owners. The Melbourne-based lawyer, who posts online under the name Purple Pingers, has been dubbed the 'Robin Hood of renters' for his unorthodox solution to the country's housing crisis. Van den Berg also runs the website Shit Rentals, where tenants can rate undesirable properties and rental agents. And he has even taken aim at Aotearoa's terrible rental offerings on his social media page, pointing to a Riccarton rental that was effectively a shed, priced at $260 a week.

Promising a new kind of environmental journalism, Cape Town-based conservation writer Adam Welz's book The End of Eden: Wild Nature in the Age of Climate Breakdown explores climate change from the perspective of wild species and natural ecosystems. Prefering climate breakdown to climate change, Welz argues its most powerful impacts are felt by the natural world, including that of the northern Maine moose, parrots in Puerto Rico, cheetahs in Namibia, and rare fish in Australia - all struggling to survive.

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You might remember women "getting their colours done" in the 1980s. Thanks to social media, the art of analysing which shades complement a person's natural colouring is again having a moment. Rachel Bilu of Colour Lab Stylist tells Susie Ferguson about the benefits.

A collection of letters written to and from iconic New Zealand painter Colin McCahon sheds light on a special relationship spanning four decades. McCahon met penpal Ron O'Reilly in 1938, when the pair were just 19 and 24 respectively. They wrote to each other regularly, amassing hundreds of letters covering McCahon's art practice, the contemporary art scene, ideas, philosophy, and spiritual life. A selection of the letters chosen by McCahon scholar Peter Simpson has been published in a new book Dear Colin, Dear Ron - with an afterword by McCahon's grandson Finn.

Thirty years ago, nurse Maybelle Ngapere McLeod realised a genetic link to the stomach cancer which killed many of her whanau was much more likely that the effect of a curse. She took her suspicions to Otago university, and the rest is history. Maybelle is part of the team awarded the top Prime Minister's Science Prize for transformative impact. The Hereditary Diffuse Gastric Cancer Team is led by Professor Parry Guilford, Director of the Centre for Translational Cancer Research at the University of Otago, in conjunction with members of the McLeod whanau and their community in Mount Maunganui. The research has resulted in a genetic test which gives the ability to understand their risk of cancer and take life-saving action. Professor Guilford joins Susie, along with Mabelle Ngapere McLeod and fellow team member, and whanau University of Otago Associate Professor Karyn Paringatai.

For those with asparagus patches: what to do to prep for a boomer crop in spring. Or, if you are planning an asparagus patch: how to kick start it.

Grace Blakeley takes aim at capitalism in her latest book Vulture Capitalism: Corporate Crimes, Backdoor Bailouts and the Death of Freedom. In the book, Blakeley asserts that rather than failing, capitalism is working exactly as intended - allowing corporate and political elites to advance their own interests at the expense of the rest of us. Susie is joined by Grace to discuss how instead of feeling powerless, there is a new path we can take to democratise the economy for a better future for all.

From the A303 in Wiltshire, motorists can catch sight of the megalithic structure of Stonehenge. But as a primary route for both commuters and holiday makers the road is notoriously traffic-clogged, and plans to upgrade the road have been decades in the making. However, the plans face strong opposition. They include building a road tunnel under the World Heritage Site in Wiltshire and costs have surged as high as £2.5 billion ($5.3 billion). John Adams is the chairman of the Stonehenge Alliance, a group dedicated to fighting the project that they consider too vast and intrusive to the prehistoric site.

It's thirty years since the 1994 genocide against the Tutsis in Rwanda, perpetrated by the Hutu-led government. British journalist Michela Wrong's book Do Not Disturb, The Story of a Political Murder and an African Regime Gone Bad explores the legacy of the genocide, exposing a murderous in-coming regime that operates on a "grand scale deceit", exercising a destabilising influence on the wider region. Michela has reported from and written about Africa for almost three decades, working for Reuters and the Financial Times. Michela is visiting NZ this week, giving a series of talks at the invitation of the New Zealand Institute of International Affairs.