The characters of 2020
The best RNZ interviews with some of the most interesting and unusual characters from 2020.
Playlist
I'm trying to learn a few things, but other than that I feel the same as I did when I was, maybe, five.
American artist and musician Laurie Anderson is one of the curators of this year's New Zealand Festival of the Arts.
She tells Kim Hill she feels unchanged by the decades that've passed since she performed at the 1986 NZ Festival of the Arts.
I was like 'come on, darling, I'll do all the gory stuff and you just be the beautiful face at the front.
Francis and Kaiora Tipene – stars of the hugely popular reality TV show The Casketeers – are hard-working, humble and kind.
The Tipenes have just realised the book Life as a Casketeer: What the Business of Death Can Teach the Living.
They talk to Kim Hill.
Peter Warner: Lord of The Flies' rescuer
Peter Warner is part of an extraordinary story that made global headlines in 2020, despite it being decades old.
It's the tale of a real life Lord of the Flies scenario, six Tongan boys who were marooned on a desert island and rescued 15 months later. Warner describes his role in the story in his book Ocean of Light.
Eddie McGuire - filming Millionaire Hot Seat in lockdown
After more than 20 years as the host of Australia's longest running quiz show, Eddie McGuire thought he had seen it all.
Then came the coronavirus. Jesse speaks to the TV and Radio host about the popularity of quiz shows during the pandemic and how Millionaire Hot Seat, filmed in Australia's Covid-19 hot spot, has had to adapt.
How do you figure out who you are while trying to put on this personae on social media.
The band formerly known as The Dixie Chicks have a new name and a new album, the first in 14 years.
The Chick's Emily Strayer says their return to the spotlight with Gaslighter was inspired by a tour back in 2016.
And then anyway, long story short, he ended up testicle free at the end of the day.
Margie Bale is one of Australia's leading camel vets.
She is based out of Brisbane but travels all over the country doing everything from pregnancy testing and ultrasounds of pregnant camels, to castrating bulls, and performing post-mortems on camels using the array of power tools in the back of her car.
Bookmarks with Patrick Gower
Patrick Gower is Newshub's national correspondent and formerly the Newshub political editor.
He joined Jesse Mulligan to talk about his recent documentary projects, his career and some of his favourite things.
The racism was hard to put up with, I promised my mother I wouldn't fight on the field, that kept me going.
Trailblazer Olsen Filipaina was one of the first talented Pasifika-Māori athletes to be involved with the Sydney rugby league professional competition, long before there was adequate pastoral care for young players. His speaks of his success on the field, while dealing with racism, cultural dislocation and depression.
A tale of redemption and the Kiwi Graham Norton
Nicola "Nix" Adams' life spiralled out of control when she lost a child and turned to drugs to mask the pain.
Her Facebook videos were an attempt to connect with her family - but they also made her an online hit.
She's teamed up with comedian Pio Terei for his new talkshow, pitched as the Kiwi version of Graham Norton.
Flash Crash: hi-tech industrial scale market manipulation and the tracksuit-wearing culprit behind it all
Investigative journalist Liam Vaughan paints a detailed portrait of solo trader Navinder Sarao who triggered the fastest stock market crash in history from his childhood bedroom.