The Shape of Dialogue – Details, episodes & analysis

Dr Melissa Derby is a Senior Lecturer teaching early literacy and human development at the University of Waikato's Tauranga campus and online. Melissa completed her PhD at the University of Canterbury, and her study was part of A Better Start National Science Challenge. Her primary area of research is early literacy, and in particular, in exploring the role of whānau in fostering foundational preliteracy skills. More generally, she has an interest in Māori education and success. Melissa's scholarship has been recognised through a range of awards, including a Fulbright-Ngā Pae o te Māramatanga Graduate Award, a SAGE Young Writer's Award, a University of Waikato Early Career Research Award, and two research awards from the Royal Society of New Zealand. She is the Director of the Early Years Research Centre at the University of Waikato, and co-Editor of the New Zealand Association for Research in Education's blog, Ipu Kererū. Melissa is on the Editorial Board for the journal of the International Literacy Association, The Reading Teacher. In New Zealand, she sits on a number of advisory groups for education and literacy, including the cabinet-appointed Ministerial Advisory Group advising the Minister of Education. Melissa is on the Board of Trustees at Matua School in Tauranga, New Zealand and the Board of Directors for Inspired Kindergartens in Tauranga, New Zealand.

https://profiles.waikato.ac.nz/melissa.derby

Helen Joyce is a journalist and was a staff writer for The Economist between 2005 and 2022. Helen held various leading positions at The Economist, including education editor, Brazil correspondent, International editor, Finance editor and Britain editor.

Helen's first book, "Trans: When Ideology Meets Reality," was published by OneWorld in July 2021. It was reissued in 2023 under the new title "Trans: Gender Identity and the New Battle for Women's Rights."

"Trans" was an immediate bestseller and was named by the Times, Spectator and Observer as one of their books of 2021.

Helen now campaigns for women's rights and works with the start-up human-rights organisation Sex Matters, which campaigns for clarity about the two sexes, male and female, in law and in life.

https://www.thehelenjoyce.com/

https://www.thehelenjoyce.com/trans-news-and-reviews/

https://www.amazon.com.au/TRANS-When-Ideology-Meets-Reality/dp/0861540492

https://sex-matters.org/

Music - Bach Mass in B Minor conducted by John Eliot Gardiner

https://open.spotify.com/album/3HdmIB3Wzcd7bFDdsgaIbp?si=dRMNyRieTLCTHMJfSBZ7mA

Richard Dawkins - https://richarddawkins.com/

In February 2023, Richard Dawkins asked me to host his New Zealand speaking tour. Today's podcast is the Auckland event, in which Richard discusses the scientific method, his recent book Flights of Fancy, and the debate surrounding the inclusion of non-scientific Māori mythological concepts in the New Zealand school science curriculum.

Richard needs no introduction, but if anyone has been hiding under a rock for the last 50 years, here's a brief description of his contribution to the world.

Richard Dawkins is a world-famous Oxford University evolutionary biologist. He has led an illustrious career as an influential scientist, author, public intellectual and, importantly, an ardent advocate for science. It's no exaggeration to say Richard is one of the greatest minds of our time, and through his many books and public engagement, has positively changed millions of lives.

Richard is a prolific and highly influential author and one of the greatest writers of his generation. He has written 20 books, including The Selfish Gene, The Extended Phenotype, and the magic of reality.

Throughout his career, Richard has been a strong critic of religion and views the existence of God as a falsifiable hypothesis. In The Blind Watchmaker, he debunks creationist claims that life is far too complicated not to have had an omniscient designer.

About Nick Matzke - https://profiles.auckland.ac.nz/n-matzke

Background

In July 2021, seven University of Auckland professors published a letter to the editor in the New Zealand Listener, titled In Defence of Science.

The professors' were responding to a Government education report (see link below), recommending parity for Mātauranga Māori in the secondary school curriculum, and in particular, in the science classroom.

The report states:

”Our goal is to ensure parity for mātauranga Māori with the other bodies of knowledge credentialed by NCEA (particularly Western/Pākehā epistemologies)."

The report also states:

"Philosophy and History of Science is a unique strand in Pūtaiao [Māori word for Science], with no equivalent in the New Zealand Curriculum. It promotes discussion and analysis of the ways in which science has been used to support the dominance of Eurocentric views (among which, its use as a rationale for colonisation of Māori and the suppression of Māori knowledge); and the notion that science is a Western European invention and itself evidence of European dominance over Māori and other indigenous peoples. Pūtaiao allows opportunities to incorporate Māori perspectives and knowledge about the natural world into the classroom. In this regard, it decentres Western epistemologies and methodologies."

The professors' letter arose from their concern for "the disturbing misunderstandings of science emerging at all levels of education and in science funding", which they state is encourages a mistrust of science. Their concern is in the context of the decline in maths and science achievements in New Zealand schools, particularly by Māori and Pacific Island students.

Their letter stated that:

"Indigenous knowledge is critical for the preservation and perpetuation of culture and local practices, and plays key roles in management and policy. However, in the discovery of empirical, universal truths, it falls far short of what we can define as science itself. To accept it as the equivalent of science is to patronise and fail indigenous populations; better to ensure that everyone participates in the world's scientific enterprises. Indigenous knowledge may indeed help advance scientific knowledge in some ways, but it is not science".

The reaction to the "In Defence of Science" by the University of Auckland, the Royal Society of New Zealand Te Apārangi, the Tertiary Education Union, and the New Zealand Association of Scientists was not positive and can be viewed in the following articles…

NZ Herald - Scientists rubbish Auckland University professors' letter claiming Māori knowledge is not science

https://tinyurl.com/2p8v2h9s

RNZ - University academics' claim mātauranga Māori 'not science' sparks controversy

https://tinyurl.com/2ybvk3ja

Research Professional News - Public letter from academics sparks Māori science row

https://tinyurl.com/3juc66yc

An open letter in response to the professors' letter by professors Hendy and Wiles, "An open response to In defence of science" was co-signed by 2000 people.

https://tinyurl.com/2p8m65xn

Links…

NCEA Education - What is Science about?

https://ncea.education.govt.nz/science/science?view=learning

The Government education report

https://tinyurl.com/3yfry76h

https://medium.com/@shapeofdialogue ..... for.....

“In Defence of Science” - Letter to the editor published in the New Zealand Listener, July 2021

“More In Defence of Science” - Supplementary Note to In Defence of Science letter to the editor published in the New Zealand Listener, July...

Save Our Schools Report

https://www.nzinitiative.org.nz/reports-and-media/reports/save-our-schools-solutions-for-new-zealands-education-crisis/document/797

Dr Michael Johnston is a Senior Fellow at the New Zealand Initiative. He leads the workstream on education.

Prior to his time at the Initiative, Dr Johnston held academic positions at Victoria University of Wellington from 2011-2022. From 2020 until 2022 he was the Associate Dean (Academic) in the University’s Faculty of Education.

Prior to his time at Victoria, Dr Johnston was the Senior Statistician at the New Zealand Qualifications Authority, a position he held for 6 years. Before that, he was a lecturer in psychology at the University Melbourne and a Research Fellow at Latrobe University.

Dr Johnston holds a PhD in Cognitive Psychology from the University of Melbourne.

https://www.nzinitiative.org.nz/about-us/our-people/dr-michael-johnston/

Jewher Ilham

https://www.allstaticandnoise.com/

Twitter https://twitter.com/jewherilham

Jewher Ilham: A Uyghur's Fight to Free Her Father (Broken Silence)

https://www.amazon.com/Jewher-Ilham-Uyghurs-Father-Silence/dp/1608011054

Ilham Tohti : http://www.ilhamtohti.com/

Uyghur Forced Labor Checker

https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/uyghur-forced-labor-check/ejodaepockllkcloibcchpjnfoopincp

Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act

https://www.cbp.gov/trade/forced-labor/UFLPA

China: UN experts deeply concerned by alleged detention, forced labour of Uyghurs

https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2021/03/china-un-experts-deeply-concerned-alleged-detention-forced-labour-uyghurs

China: 83 major brands implicated in report on forced labour 

https://www.business-humanrights.org/en/latest-news/china-83-major-brands-implicated-in-report-on-forced-labour-of-ethnic-minorities-from-xinjiang-assigned-to-factories-across-provinces-includes-company-responses/

Director David Novack talks about All Static & Noise, his documentary on the Uyghur genocide in western China.

www.allstaticandnoise.com

www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100088787521406

https://www.instagram.com/allstaticandnoise/

https://twitter.com/allstatic_noise

https://www.odessafilms.com/our-films.html

https://www.odessafilms.com/david-novack.html

https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2021/03/china-un-experts-deeply-concerned-alleged-detention-forced-labour-uyghurs

https://www.cbp.gov/trade/forced-labor/UFLPA

https://www.workersrights.org/

https://www.business-humanrights.org/en/latest-news/china-83-major-brands-implicated-in-report-on-forced-labour-of-ethnic-minorities-from-xinjiang-assigned-to-factories-across-provinces-includes-company-responses/

Connect with Lawrence at https://lawrencemkrauss.com/ 

Get Lawrence's book at: https://www.amazon.com/Edge-Knowledge... 

Get exclusive bonus content at https://lawrencekrauss.substack.com/

Twitter: https: //twitter.com/LKrauss1?s=20

Lawrence Krauss explores the unanswered questions at the forefront of science today and likely for the coming century and beyond.

Internationally known theoretical physicist and bestselling author Lawrence Krauss explores science's greatest unanswered questions.

Three of the most important words in science are "I don't know." Not knowing implies a Universe of opportunities—the possibility of discovery and surprise. Our understanding of science has advanced immeasurably over the last five hundred years, yet many fundamental mysteries still persist. How did our Universe begin? How big is the Universe? Is time travel possible? What's at the centre of a black hole? How did life on Earth arise? Are we alone? What is consciousness, and can we create it?

These mysteries define the edge of science - the threshold of the unknown. Exploring these known unknowns is to gain a deeper understanding of just how far science has progressed. Covering time, space, matter, life, and consciousness, Krauss introduces readers to topics that will shape the state of science for the next century, providing us all a passport for our own journeys of discovery and exploration.

Alex Lee, co-founder and director of the Doc Edge International Documentary Film Festival, talks about the worldwide banning of Meg Smaker's feature-length documentary, "The Unredacted (Jihad Rehab)". The film follows a group of men trained by al-Qaeda who are transferred from Guantanamo and sent to the world's first rehabilitation centre for "terrorists" in Saudi Arabia. Alex talks about why New Zealand's Doc Edge was the only film festival in the world to show The Unredacted after Sundance Film Festival removed the film from its lineup and apologised for showing it because a small group of activists campaigned against the film.

Tickets for Auckland screening - 26 April 2023, 6.30 PM, Sky City Theatre

https://docedge.nz/festival/films/the-unredacted-2023/

Please help Meg to get her film shown by donating here..........

gofundme.com/f/the-unredacted-jihad-rehab

https://jihadrehab.com/

Sam Harris Podcast - A Tale of Cancellation: A Conversation with Meg Smaker - https://youtu.be/rec9wVWa1IA

Twitter: @Meighon

Professor Mike Berridge completed a doctoral degree in cell biology at the University of Auckland in 1971 exploring the mechanism of action of plant growth hormones. Following postdoctoral research in developmental molecular biology at Purdue University, USA, and experience as a staff scientist at National Institute for Medical Research, Mill Hill, UK, he returned to Wellington in 1976 as the second Malaghan Research Fellow where he established the Cancer Cell & Molecular Biology Research Group and was a founding scientist of the Wellington Cancer & Medical Research Institute, later renamed the Malaghan Institute of Medical Research in recognition of major personal support by Len and Anne Malaghan.

Prof Berridge received a James Cook Fellowship in the health sciences in 2003 and was awarded the Health Research Council Liley Medal for outstanding research on cellular metabolism in 2016. In the same year he was a semi-finalist in the KiwiBank New Zealander of the Year Awards.

Prof Berridge’s current research interests include cancer cell energy metabolism and mitochondrial gene transfer between cells in human disease. As a science communicator, he recently published “The Edge of Life” (2015), and “Sugar, Rum and Tobacco: Taxes and Public Health in New Zealand” with Lisa Marriott in 2017.

In 2023 Mike received a Doctor of Science from Victoria University of Wellington for his lifetime achievements in science.

https://www.wgtn.ac.nz/news/2022/09/professor-michael-berridge

https://www.malaghan.org.nz/our-expertise/our-people/science-leadership/professor-mike-berridge/

https://www.malaghan.org.nz/news-and-reports/news/professor-mike-berridge-a-journey-through-the-frontiers-of-the-biological-sciences/