Saturday Morning

7:10 Latest from the Middle East

Senior Hamas official, Mohammed Nazzal has confirmed Hamas intends to maintain security control of Gaza, adding that the group could not commit to disarming. The comments point to the gaps in the ceasefire which came into force this week. 

It's a ceasefire in which all Israeli hostages captured on 7th of October by Hamas should have been returned. Yet the remains of some have not been.

All major aid crossings should also have been opened by Israel to allow desperately needed supplies into the stricken residents and yet the UN says the critical Rafah crossing remains closed.

The BBC's Middle East Editor Sebastian Usher joins Susie Ferguson live.

7:21 Kaipara council at odds

Final results are in in the local body elections and several of the races have been really tight. 

Westland District Council's incumbent mayor Helen Lash won by just 8 votes. While in Kaipara, there were only 21 votes in it.

There were also tense scenes in the Northland town after outgoing mayor Craig Jepson called an unprecedented emergency council meeting on Thursday which spilled into Friday and resulted in a complaint being laid over alleged irregularities.

Reporter Peter de Graaf joins Mihingarangi Forbes with the latest. 

7:26 Chris Finlayson remembers former PM Jim Bolger

The passing of former Prime Minister Jim Bolger this week has been an opportunity to reflect on his life and legacy. 

Known as a straight talker who spent his early childhood on a farm, he became our 35th Prime Minister at a time of great change in 1990.

During his tenure he oversaw everything from his Finance Minister Ruth Richardson's "the mother of all budgets" to the first ever Treaty of Waitangi settlement with Waikato Tainui. 

Former National Party Treaty Negotiations Minister Chris Finlayson joins Susie to share his memories of the man that he knew.

7:37 Prince Andrew to give up Royal titles

Prince Andrew is to give up his Royal titles - including that of Duke York - as the fallout from his relationship with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein continues.  

It means his ex-wife Sarah Ferguson will also lose her title of Duchess. 

United Kingdom correspondent Lucy Thomson speaks to Susie live.

7:42 Sister of missing man speaks out

The sister of missing Ōmaio man Jason Butler is speaking out after news there has been an arrest in his disappearance. 

Jason was seriously unwell when he was taken into the bush almost four years ago by a pest control contractor on unsanctioned work experience. 

He wasn't reported missing until days later and despite a search and rescue mission, he was never found. 

For his Australia based sister, Huia Mackley it has been a relentless push to fight for justice for her brother.

Huia joins Mihingarangi from Albury in New South Wales.

7:49 Spider Olympics

A group of Kiwi researchers have held a spider olympics to get to the bottom of exactly how much of a competitive advantage introduced False katipō have over our native katipō.

The False katipō are actually Black cobweb spiders, originally from South Africa

Lead researcher, James Roberts speaks to Susie from Sydney about which arachnid topped the podium.  

8:11 Tāme Iti - MANA

What is mana? Are you born with it, can you earn it and can you have it taken away?

Iconic indigenous rights activist Tāme Iti explores what mana really means in his memoir Mana. He shares stories of his early years growing up on the doorstep of Te Urewera in Ruatoki, his connection to whenua, people, power and politics.  

For more than half a century, Iti's voice has challenged the status quo. Once branded as a dangerous and extreme activist, Tāme has lived the contradictions and realities of standing with mana motuhake in a modern world.

He talks to Mihingarangi about his legacy as an activist, artist, kaumatua and grandfather.  

8:44 Simon Mills: Herbal remedies in mainstream healthcare 

Simon Mills is a world leading expert in herbal medicine with nearly five decades of clinical and academic experience behind him. He's advised governments, trained doctors and led the movement to bring herbal remedies into mainstream healthcare. 

Simon doesn't see herbal medicine as a replacement for conventional medicine, rather to fill in the gaps.  

He speaks with Susie Ferguson about how herbal medicine is already being used effectively in hospitals and what plants work just as well, or better, than some prescription drugs. 

9:07 IMDb founder Col Needham: A life in movies

There are movie buffs - and then there is Col Needham.

As founder of Internet Movie Database IMDb, Col says he has watched more than 16,000 films and that doesn't include the ones he's watched more than once. Alien is an early favourite - he once watched it 14 days in a row!

A teenager in the 1980s, Col's hobby coincided with the birth of the internet and what began as a way of recording movie trivia grew into a pioneering online platform that eventually became part of global giant Amazon.
 
Col Needham joins Mihingarangi on the 35th anniversary of IMDb - one of the most visited websites in the world - to talk about his lifelong love of movies and the life lessons that they hold for all of us. 

9:35 Rebecca Macfie: Unpacking poverty in Aotearoa 

Charities around the country have been reporting increasing levels of families in poverty with no signs of it slowing down. Award-winning journalist Rebecca Macfie has undergone extensive research in this area in her latest two books Hardship & Hope published through Bridget Williams Books and Pakukore which she co-edited.

Both books explore the everyday struggles whanau across the country are facing and analyses the systems, institutions and policies that perpetuate cycles of poverty.

Rebecca won the Bruce Jesson Journalism Prize in support of her book Tragedy at Pike River Mine, which provided extensive research and insights into the causes of the tragedy, putting a human face on the people who suffered - and suffer still.

She speaks to Susie about how we can achieve meaningful change. 

10:06 Sean Szeps: Instagram Dad

Many people curate their Instagram feed to present a picture-perfect life but Sean Szeps, an American father of two, living in Australia, uses his platform to show, as he says, 'the raw realities of parenthood with a wink.'

His honesty about how hard parenting can be, delivered with more than a flicked spoonful of childhood humour, has earned him well over half a million followers on Instagram and millions of views. 

A writer and award-winning podcaster, Sean wrote about his experience as a gay dad in the memoir Not Like Other Dads but his advice is for every parent or caregiver who has ever felt tired, overwhelmed or alone.

Sean speaks to Mihingarangi about the importance of sharing the lows as well as the highs. He also explains the inspiration behind his latest project, a song called "It's Poo Time", which he co-wrote to help families bond over a less than pleasant topic!

10:30 Debut darling: Patrick Ryan's Buckeye

New York based writer Patrick Ryan has recently published his debut novel Buckeye to high praise, including from beloved literary prize-winner Anne Patchett.

Ryan's previously written three books for young adults and a collection of short stories. He's the editor of the American literary magazine One Story.

His novel Buckeye is a family saga about two couples in the fictional town of Bonhomie, Ohio whose lives become intertwined after a secret born from a moment of celebration in 1945. 

He speaks with Susie Ferguson about the multi-generational saga that's been described as a dazzling portrait of the human spirit.

11:06 Neil Ieremia: 30 years of Black Grace 

This year Neil Ieremia is celebrating 30 years since he founded the dance company Black Grace which has gone on to become one of New Zealand's most recognisable cultural brands and has been credited with changing New Zealand dance forever.

Neil joins Saturday Morning to talk about a special double bill set to celebrate the 30th anniversary and to play some of his favourite tunes.