The Wire with Castor

Another locked-down show, with Jemima in studio and Noah and Ilena at home.

Noah spoke to Christopher Luxon about the National Party, Professor Lynette Sadlier about CBD gels for kids with epilepsy, and Professor Nikki Turner about booster vaccines for Covid-19.

Ilena then chatted about kākāpō with Professor Bruce Robertson, and caught up with Councillor Shane Henderson about the recent flooding in West Auckland.

Adieu.

A new study has found cannabidiol gels may help children with a severe form of epilepsy. Noah Ferguson-Dudding spoke to one of the authors of the study, Professor Lynette Sadlier from the University of Otago, about the findings.

Ilena spoke to Professor Bruce Robertson, from the Zoology department at the University of Otago, about the first ever study to genomically sequence kākāpō. The study was conducted with researchers from Sweden and New Zealand. Researchers looked at how the inbreeding of kākāpō on the small Stewart Island has, over a long time, been surprisingly positive in reducing harmful mutations. Bruce talks about what these findings mean for continuing efforts to sustain the population of the severely endangered kākāpō. 

In this final piece investigating Climate Change in New Zealand, Conor looks beyond Earth into space - to New Zealand's MethaneSAT space mission. He speaks to two familar voices, NIWA's Dr. Sara Mikaloff-Fletcher and the University of Auckland's Professor David Noone about the topic, going into detail about what the mission is and it's overall goals. They also speak about international connections and putting New Zealand on the world stage, scientifically.

For the first piece with Dr. Mikaloff-Fletcher, click here.

For the second piece with Professor David Noone, click here.