RNZ: Saturday Morning

‘Bionic leaf’ inventor and Harvard professor Daniel Nocera is driven to make cheap and plentiful energy, using sunlight, water and air.

Wellington-based scientist Richard Hall describes himself as a hunter, fisher, diver and writer. In his book, Dark Forest Deep Sea: Reflections of a hunter, Hall shares his insights into what he calls the secret and enchanting world of hunting. He talks to Kim about his need to head to the hills, and how the wilderness gives him what he needs to live in the world.

Michael Mann, the distinguished professor of atmospheric science at Pennsylvania State University, is famous for his hockey stick curve showing sharply increasing global temperatures since 1900.

Watching students flee from a gunman at their school in Florida last week brought back painful memories for Austin Eubanks. Eubanks hid under a table in the school library in 1999 as two students opened fire on their classmates at Columbine High School. He survived with gunshot wounds in his hand and knees - but his greatest pain was on the inside and took years to heal. Eubanks' story is one of addiction and recovery, and the impact of emotional pain on individuals and in society following traumatic events.

Kim Hill reads emails and text messages from listeners to the Saturday Morning programme.

Luke Willis Thompson's 35mm film autoportrait is a silent portrait of Diamond Reynolds. In July 2016, Reynolds used Facebook Live to broadcast the moments immediately after the fatal shooting of her partner Philando Castile by a police officer after a traffic-stop in Minnesota, US. Later that year Thompson invited her to work with him on the production of an artwork. The result, autoportrait, is one of three silent films shown in near-total darkness in a new exhibition at Wellington's Adam Art Gallery Te Pataka Toi. Since winning the prestigious Walters Prize in 2014, Thompson's works have been exhibited around the world. autoportrait has been selected for the 2018 Deutsche Börse Photography Foundation Prize. Thompson's exhibition at the Adam Art Gallery Te Pataka Toi, runs from February 21 to April 15, as part of the New Zealand Festival 2018.

Peter Hitchens is a British journalist and author and has written extensively on politics and social conservatism. Starting as a journalist with The Daily Express, he graduated to foreign correspondent and reported events such as the US military intervention in Somalia, the final months of the Soviet Union and last few days of racial segregation in South Africa in the early 90s, to name a few. From being a member of the Trotskyist International Socialists in the 1960s and 70s, Hitchens, brother of the famous late writer Christopher Hitchens, has become an arch-conservative and columnist for the Mail on Sunday. He has written several books on social issues including The War We Never Fought: The British Establishment's Surrender to Drugs and Rage Against God: How Atheism led me to Faith.

Patricia Lockwood's memoir, Priestdaddy, was named one of the 10 best books of 2017 by The New York Times. Lockwood's father, married with five children, had a religious conversion that saw him get a special dispensation from the Pope to become a priest. Priestdaddy is described by The Guardian as a "dazzling comic memoir". Lockwood has published two collections of poetry - Balloon Pop Outlaw Black, and Motherland Fatherland Homelandsexuals, and has a huge following for her poetry and comedy on Twitter. She is in Aotearoa in March for Writers and Readers at the NZ Festival.

Spanish ballet dancer Tamara Rojo is artistic director and a principal dancer at the English National Ballet which is bringing a new production of the classical ballet, Giselle, to Aotearoa. Rojo is credited with transforming the English company and vows that she is on a mission to make ballet loved by as many people as possible. Giselle is choreographed by Akram Khan who leads the Akram Khan Company - one of the world's most innovative dance groups. Giselle will be performed in March as part of the Auckland Arts Festival 2018.

Hamish Spencer is professor in the Department of Zoology at the University of Otago. A geneticist interested in the history of eugenics, he has published more than 150 scientific articles, many involving mathematical modeling of genetic changes that occur in human, animal and plant populations. He and Diane Paul have also co-authored essays on the history of laws and attitudes surrounding first-cousin marriage, and now the pair, along with Professor John Stenhouse, have teamed up to edit Eugenics at the Edge of Empire, exploring the history of eugenics in four Dominions of the British Empire: New Zealand, Australia, Canada, and South Africa.

Johann Hari is a Scottish-born, London-raised journalist, columnist and author. He has written for numerous outlets including The New York Times, Le Monde, and The Guardian. He was a columnist for the British newspaper The Independent for nine years before leaving amidst claims of plagiarism. He subsequently wrote a best-selling book Chasing The Scream, The First and Last Days of the War on Drugs, and has now followed that work with a new book, Lost Connections, which aims to reveal the real causes of anxiety and depression.

Kim Hill reads emails and text messages from listeners to the Saturday Morning programme.

Warren Maxwell (Ngai Tuhoe) has written the score for Kupe, the NZ Festival opening night extravaganza on Wellington's waterfront. Performers, a mass choir and a thousand-strong haka will kick off the festival as a fleet of waka hourua sail into the harbour.

Max Patte is a British-born artist who has lived in Wellington for the past decade, and is about to return to the UK. One of his best known works is the Solace In The Wind sculpture on the capital city's waterfront, the 10th anniversary of which is being celebrated with limited edition sculptures. Patte sculpts primarily in clay, then casts in iron, plaster and bronze, using both traditional and contemporary techniques, although his newer works have led him in a different direction, using life-size titanium sculpture, infinity mirror, Swarovski crystal work and lightworks. Max Patte was elected an associate of the Royal Society of British Sculptors in 2008. Max Patte will have an open day at his studio before leaving, details: https://www.facebook.com/maxpatteartist/

When Richard and Helen Dorresteyn started out in 2006 to establish a buffalo dairy farm it was an unprecedented venture.