John Campbell, bless his heart, is a fellow with plenty of fine thoughts.
He used to talk about them on TV, and he is about to talk about them more on radio, probably along with talking to other people, recording what they say, and broadcasting it.
These are good things.
John Campbell also has fine thoughts, and talks about them, on the Prime Presents New Zealand series' latest episode, Radio Punks: The Student Radio Story.
On that show, on Prime tonight at 8.30pm, John Campbell says this: ''If you turned on 2ZM, which was the commercial radio of my childhood, you'd have the Eagles, or you'd have Hall and Oates, you'd have this unforgivably awful, asinine, puerile music.
''You know, 'They stab it with their steely knives but they just can't kill the beast' - what does that mean?''What is that song even about?''
Good question, John Campbell (who used to be on former Victoria University student station Radio Active from 1988 to 1994).
Student radio did, and does, do some excellent things, aside from playing neither the Eagles nor Hall and Oates.
Punk Radio tells the story of the medium from its beginnings with a group of law students in 1969 starting Radio Bosom from a boat in Auckland.
Presented by former student radio type Jeremy Wells, the show features other former student radio types, from Radio New Zealand National's Sunday guy Wallace Chapman (who used to be on the Otago University Students' Association station, Radio One), Andy Flyboy (ditto), Marcus Lush, Mikey Havoc and Hugh Sundae.
Wells notes in his voiceover that student radio was where New Zealanders first got to hear punk, hip-hop, house and dubstep, music ignored by mainstream stations.
It's true - it is not long since radio did not have anything to offer anyone but the complete dweebs who liked the Eagles and Hall and Oates.
Oh, the suffering the cool people endured!
People had to endure 4XO.
Hard times.
Radio Punks features some Dunedin content, including Radio One manager Sean Norling's memories of the fight to save the station from being sold in 2011.
University of Otago music lecturer Dr Graeme Downes, of the Verlaines, remembers how student radio supported Dunedin bands that struggled to get air time.
Meanwhile, the United States version of the usually very enjoyable Who Do You Think You Are? begins on Sky's BBC Knowledge on August 28.
The first episode features Ramon Antonio Gerardo Estevez, aka Martin Sheen of Apocalypse Now.
Sheen searches for his ancestors in Ireland and Spain.
The series also climbs the family trees of Rob Lowe and Rashida Jones, who amused us recently in Parks and Recreation.
• Charles Loughrey
