Sunday Morning with Chris Laidlaw

Cora Fox discusses how Shakespeare's plays depict happiness, and whether that view is still relevant today.

A recent study found all living things, including humans, emit a ghostly glow that vanishes as soon as we die.

Do we need to be worried about arsenic in rice? And bananas; how many is too many?

German life coach Karin Kuschik explains why sometimes speaking bluntly could make us all happier.

Thomas Moynihan discusses the possibility that we're unintentionally building an artificial world brain.

Kiwi driver Liam Lawson has finally got into the Top 10 in the qualifying sessions ahead of the Monaco Formula 1 Grand Prix.

Our vagus nerves help us rest, digest and restore, but is there really a way to reset them to feel better?

Quiz master Jack Waley-Cohen is back with his Sunday Morning quiz.

We cross to the UK for the latest political news with journalist and lawyer Christian Smith.

Frances Cook is back with some advice on how to have that awkward, but often fruitful, conversation with your bank.

Peptides are skincare's ingredient du jour, but what do they do?

Wellingtonian Sophie McColl joins us from the Swiss city of Basel to talk about this year's Eurovision.

In his latest book I Dream of Joni, author and journalist Henry Alford traverses Mitchell's life in 53 essays.

Michael Beel swapped working in his regular Lower Hutt salon for a stint with the creative team behind the scenes of the Eurovision Song Contest in Basel, Switzerland. J

In 2021, Andrew Hamilton spent four months in prison for the supply of psychedelic drugs. Because of it, he's now a stand-up comic.

A study has linked emoji usage to key personality traits, including those in the so-called Dark Triad.

Quiz master Jack Waley-Cohen is back with his Sunday Morning quiz.

Waikato University's International Law professor Alexander Gillespie joins Jim to assess the prospect of another global conflict.

In the past 15 years, more than 150 papers have been written on the 'science of magic'.

To coincide with Mother's Day, New Zealand's largest herd improvement organisation LIC has inducted a super-cow into its ‘Hall of Fame’.

Award-winning writer, journalist, and avid amateur climber Will Cockrell joins Jim to discuss his book Everest, Inc. The Renegades and Rogues Who Built an Industry at the Top of the World.

In her latest book Autocracy, Inc, Pulitzer-prize winning historian Anne Applebaum examines the power structures currently running the world.

The Bulwer-Lytton Fiction Contest invited entrants "to compose the opening sentence to the worst of all possible novels" - that is, one which was deliberately bad.

American tech journalist Kurt Knutsson discusses the regulations he believes should be put around humanoid robots for the safety of the human race.

The founder of a luxury mental health clinic in Switzerland says he's seeing a rise in 'opulomania'- an addiction to buying high-end goods.

Quiz master Jack Waley-Cohen is back with his Sunday Morning quiz.

More than 50 years after being launched, Soviet satellite Komos-482 has crash-landed back to Earth.

Is it legal to post photos or footage of another person, especially when claiming they may be scoping your property?

Loud music, whooshing coffee machines, clanging cutlery and raised voices fill the air in many restaurants. Professor Carl Hopkins discusses why noise can be so uncomfortable.

The papal conclave forms to start the selection process for a new pope on Wednesday and Cardinals from around the globe have been gathering at the Vatican.

Australia's incumbent PM Anthony Albanese re-won his seat in the 2025 Federal Election last night, ending a heated election which saw opposition leader Peter Dutton run a very "Trumpian" campaign.

During the Cold War the CIA managed to smuggle ten million books across the Iron Curtain. The banned titles included Hannah Arendt, Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, George Orwell, and Agatha Christie.

Black Ferns legend Portia Woodman-Wickliffe joins Jim to talk about what lured her out of retirement, and she also chooses her Best Song Eva.

Award-winning contemporary landscape artist Jude Fleming lives a six-hour drive from Sydney in Warren, population 1365.

Quiz master Jack Waley-Cohen is back with his Sunday Morning quiz.

How important were the UK local elections? Not very, you might suppose at first glance, but global media have covered them assiduously.

With less than one week to go before their election day, Canadians are voting early in record numbers - but what does this mean for pollsters and predictions?

Although Kiwi agency ReliefAid has been delivering aid to Syrian families since 2015, founder Mike Seawright had been prevented from entering the country under the dictatorial regime.

The ability to count your own heartbeat could be the answer to lowering anxiety and managing other conditions like PTSD, psychosis and even some aspects of autism. This skill is called interoception.

In his early years as editor of Vanity Fair, Graydon Carter's budget had no ceiling. It was a time of lavish parties, unchecked expense accounts, hugely expensive photographers - and it was the last golden age of magazines.

Colm Tóibín's latest book Long Island returns to the world of his novel Brooklyn, a book that was so popular in Ireland that one every 150 people bought a copy.

Prince Edward Island is a place where the winters are cold, the beaches are long, lobster is affordable, and there's an abundance of potatoes.

Quiz master Jack Waley-Cohen is back with his Sunday Morning quiz.

Argentinian writer and Journalist Marcela Mora Y Araujo joins Jim to discuss the Pope's legacy in his homeland, his huge passion for football, and whether or not his family were able to make it to Rome for his funeral.

The Reverend Dr Lauren Artress first realised the power labyrinths at the height of the AIDS crisis, when she was Canon at San Francisco's Grace Cathedral.

Should websites help protect users safety and privacy by having safety ratings, as we do for cars, appliances and even restaurants. Netsafe's Sean Lyons joins Jim to discuss.

From the Roman Empire to Russian Tsars and the Scottish Highlands, Richard McLauchlan's new book The Bagpipes: A Cultural History explores the instrument's huge impact across the centuries.

When he bought his new iPhone, BBC technology correspondent Thomas Germain was keen to join what he calls the "case-free cult".

Music is well-known to lift the spirits, but a pilot programme led by the Welsh National Opera suggests it can help people suffering with chronic pain.

Wake up your brain and have a go!

During his 32 years as a sales executive at Ford in Detroit, Mike O'Brien collated an incredible spreadsheet of mixed metaphors and malaprops uttered in company meetings.

In her book, Rebecca Hayter candidly tells of her adaptation to a new way of life - where she struggled but ultimately developed new skills and gained confidence.

Bruce Maunsell is currently sailing his 40ft yacht Bob around the Pacific. He left New Zealand in 2023 and has sailed to Japan, Micronesia and Saipan, up to British Columbia and down to Mexico. He's now in the Marquesas Islands.

New Zealand financial writer Martin Hawes has been planning for his own retirement. He didn't get it all right. In his new book Retirement Ready he writes about what he should have done.

Victoria University Psychology Professor Dr Marc Wilson joins Jim to share his views on happiness and whether being in a live-in relationship has any impact on cognitive decline.

Dr Dan Baumgardt is both a GP and a lecturer in neuroscience and physiology at the University of Bristol. He joins Jim to discuss the science of pain.

Regarded as one of the hardest working comedians in the biz, British comedian Jimmy Carr is making his way to New Zealand next year for a string of dates with his live show Laughs Funny. He joins Jim to discuss his unique philosophies on life and comedy.

Dr Juliane Kaminski says we are bad at reading dogs' emotions. She joins Jim to discuss what we can do about it.

RNZ's Serena Solomon was at the screening Polk: The Trial of Philip Polkinghorne and joins Jim to discuss the hype surrounding the three-part documentary series launching tonight on TV3.

With our regular quizmaster Jack Waley-Cohen taking a break this week, your Sunday morning brain teaser is brought to you by former Whanganui mayor Hamish McDouall.

Dr Ali Hill from Otago University's Department of Human Nutrition is back to talk protein - how much do we actually need?

With the Trump tariffs now on pause - with the exception of China - will the markets soon settle down? Financial commentator Jeffrey Halley joins Jim to discuss.