Christchurch City Councillors have this morning agreed to contribute an extra 15 million dollars to the rebuild of the Christ Church cathedral. The rebuild of the earthquake-damaged cathedral has been on hold since 2024 because of a funding shortfall of around 45 million dollars. The fate of the cathedral has divided opinion across the city and beyond for a long time, some believe it should be restored, saying it's an important part of the city's history, while others say it's a waste of money and resources. Joining Jesse with the latest is Mark Stewart, Director of the Christ Church Cathedral Reinstatement.
Scorpio Books in Christchurch turns 50 this year. Founded by David Cameron, who started with a tiny specialist shop and built it into a store with more than 30 staff and over 26,000 titles, it has survived the internet, Amazon and the Canterbury earthquakes. Head buyer Bel Monypenny joins Culture 101 to talk about what keeps an independent bookshop alive, the authors who have walked through the doors unannounced, and the book she most recently pressed into customers' hands.
Watching his father lead the rebuild of his hometown in Macedonia (now called the Republic of North Macedonia), after it was destroyed by an earthquake, inspired Misko Cubrinovski's 40-year career as an engineer. Professor Misko Cubrinovski is retiring after 20 of those years with the University of Canterbury.
