1Sally Round travels to Vanuatu to report on a United States led aid mission that is part of re-engagement with the Pacific. This so-called 'charm offensive' is a response to the 2004 earthquake and tsunami which devastated parts of the southern pacific and it has led to a significant mingling of the New Zealand and United States forces working together in Vanuatu on both military exercises and aid projects. New Zealand has provided $270-thousand for aid to Vanuatu.

2After last week's guest, Dr Rajiva Wijesinha, gave a Sri Lankan government point of view on the closing two years of that country's civil conflict, Wellington Tamil community spokesman Mani Maniparathy reposts after the UN gave a scathing report on the government's conduct during these final years. He talkis about what happened to the Tamil community in 2009 and afterwards.

1Media commentary, including: the contrasting coverage of two women whose online relationships went badly wrong in Mihinarangi Forbes (Campbell Live) soft and sympathetic reporting of Sharon Armstrong's (ex Deputy Chief Executive Officer, Maori Language Commission) arrest in Argentina for smuggling drugs which is contrasted with reporting on Sharon Armstrong (accused, Facebook preditor); how real is reality TV when politicians are stars, as in TV1's programme "Make the politician Work"?; and a surprising suggestion from government with the proposal to streamline the agencies controlling the media; and is making a mountain out of a molehill on the selection of 'Wellywood' as Wellington Airport's sign.

1Professor Lauri Bauer discusses the quirks, curiosities, nooks and crannies of language, particularly phonetics He is interested in morphology, in particular in word-formation and international varieties of English, with particular reference to the English spoken in New Zealand.

2Biographer and historian Mary S Lovell, famous for her account of the Mitford sisters, chronicles the life and times of a British political dynasty in her new book The Churchill's.

1The Ideas team examines the predicted commodity food price increase of 100% over the next twenty years in view of the Oxfam report on food comodities and the world's ability to feed it's people.