Zahra Lari is a competitive figure skater from the United Arab Emirates who has represented her country in numerous international competitions. The 21-year-old from Abu Dhabi now has her heart set on a bigger dream - the 2018 Winter Olympics in South Korea. Niamh Peren, a Kiwi film maker has just been granted permission to make a film on Lari. bFM reporter Pearl Little spoke to Niamh about her upcoming documentary.
Support Niamh here: https://givealittle.co.nz/project/niamhperen-documentary
Check out the full show from Thursday 18th January, where Pearl & Mack take a look at surveillance, figure skating in the UAE, conversations about refugees in an election year and more.
It’s estimated that more than half of New Zealand’s 41 thousand homeless are aged under 25. Tonight a documentary about why this is a problem & how it urgently needs to be addressed will be screening for free at AUT, with a panel of academics & people on the frontline tackling the issue to discuss the issue afterwards. Ahead of this event tonight, Ximena speaks to panel member and housing spokesperson for the Child Poverty Action Group, Alan Johnson, about the controversial issue.
Yesterday Golriz Ghahraman announced that she is joining the Green Party and hopes to become NZ’s first refugee MP. Ghahraman currently works as a human rights lawyer in the High Court, where she represents family members caring for their disabled relatives. Olivia Mortimer-Eade speaks with Golriz about her future in politics.
Spinal cord injuries are common in New Zealand, and 40% are a result motor vehicle accidents. They often have a major impact over the lives of those injured, which is why effective treatment is being sought by the international science community. A budding researcher at the forefront of this field from the University of Auckland, Jarred Griffin, is doing some interesting research into how gene therapy might treat such injuries. Ximena speaks to him about his findings.
Recently, there's been a prevelent rhetoric about the government's lack of support for the arts and creative industries. Producer Olivia Mortimer-Eade explored this topic and reports on the issue.
Check out the full show from Wednesday 18th January, where Ximena & Olivia take a look at youth homelessness, eco-friendly bullets, arts funding and more.
Why do people still collect vinyl records? Associate Professor Karen Fernandez from the University of Auckland has undertaken research into this to find out what drives people to continue to collect records in an age where streaming is the norm. Reporter Sam Smith spoke to Fernandez about her research.
Today in Glen Innes a protest will take place in support of Niki Rauti. She is a Tamaki Housing Association tenant who is facing eviction from her home which has been sold to developers. Tamaki Redevelopment Company are removing state housing in the area and building a mixture of social, affordable and private housing in their place. Her supporters say that evicting tenants and redeveloping the land is about making money. Reporter Sam Smith spoke to one of the protest organisers Lisa.
2016 was a big year for celebrity deaths. The amount of famous people passing was seemingly bigger than normal, while the scale of public mourning online was more extensive than ever. But what drives people to mourn celebrities on social media? And has social media changed how we respond to the deaths of famous people? Rebecca Kern is a lecturer and researcher in media studies at Manhattan College in New York and has studied the phenomenon that is the collective mourning of celebrities. Reporter Sam Smith spoke to her about social media, death and celebrities.