The Big Screen with Michelle Langstone

Fifty years in the making: Michael Gould debuts his poetry collection

Michael Gould has spent 50 years working up to his first poetry collection. The Canadian-born Wellington writer turned down an academic career in the 70s, published a book on surrealism in cinema, traveled for decades, and arrived in New Zealand at 40. Perverse Verse is what he calls light verse with a black edge, satirical and reflective in equal measure. He joins Culture 101 to explain what perverse means in this context, and reads his poem Fame.

The Big Screen with Michelle Langstone

Michelle Langstone reviews three new releases: Moana, the live-action Disney remake starring Catherine Laga'aia with The Rock reprising his role as Maui, Rena Owen as the grandmother and Frankie Adams as the mother; The Richest Woman in the World, an Isabelle Huppert comedy-drama based on the L'Oréal Bettencourt scandal; and Primavera, an Italian biographical drama following a young violinist in an 18th-century Venice orphanage who comes under the mentorship of Vivaldi.

South Carolina pitmaster Rodney Scott is coming to Wellington on a Plate

Rodney Scott has been cooking whole hog since he was 11, taught by his father at the family BBQ shop in Hemingway, South Carolina. A life-changing moment came during a wood-cutting session when his phone rang with little credit left on it: the New York Times was calling. Since then he's appeared on Chef's Table and Parts Unknown with Anthony Bourdain. He joins Culture 101 ahead of his visit to Wellington on a Plate in August, bringing with him his rib rub, his hog rub and the ingredients for a vinegar pepper sauce.

Ness Patea: How 48 Hours influences the kiwi film industry

The 48 Hours Film Competition turns 23 this year, with more than 10,000 short films made since it launched. Last year's national champion, an animated short about a ladybird and a spider navigating anxiety, got into Tribeca and another A-list festival, the first time that's happened in the competition's history. National Operations Manager Ness Patea joins Culture 101 to talk about what 48 hours under pressure does for filmmakers and how the competition is approaching AI declarations this year.

Karl Puschmann's July TV picks

Karl Puschmann joins Culture 101 with his monthly picks. He calls Life, Larry and the Pursuit of Happiness, the new Larry David sketch series on HBO Max, a disappointing misfire despite a cast that includes Samuel L. Jackson, Bill Hader and Barack Obama in an intro sequence. He recommends Elle, the Legally Blonde prequel on Amazon Prime, for fans of the original. And he gives a strong early endorsement to Westies on Neon, an 80s mob thriller with J.K. Simmons as an Irish-American gang leader holding territory against the Italian mob in Hell's Kitchen, describing it as confident, brutal and very good.