Nine To Noon
6,372 episodes - English - Latest episode: about 18 hours ago - ★★★★★ - 8 ratingsFrom nine to noon every weekday, Kathryn Ryan talks to the people driving the news - in New Zealand and around the world. Delve beneath the headlines to find out the real story, listen to Nine to Noon's expert commentators and reviewers and catch up with the latest lifestyle trends on this award-winning programme.
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Episodes
Do track and trace apps work, top Amazon engineer 'rage quits'
May 20, 2020 23:05 - 14 minutes - 13.7 MBTechnology commentator Mark Pesce joins Kathryn to look at whether contact tracing apps are delivering as promised, even as privacy is threatened. Tim Bray, a legend in technology circles, quit as Amazon's VP and one of its top engineers over concerns about labour policies. He'll also talk about a big Taiwanese computer chip manufacturer moving production to the US. Mark Pesce is a futurist, writer, educator and broadcaster.
Book Review - Square Haunting by Francesca Wade
May 20, 2020 22:35 - 6 minutes - 6.21 MBJenna Todd of Time Out Bookstore reviews Square Haunting: Five Women, Freedom and London Between the Wars by Francesca Wade. This book is published by Faber.
High Wire, an artist and writer's collaboration
May 20, 2020 22:05 - 26 minutes - 24.1 MBHigh Wire is the work of writer, Lloyd Jones and artist, Euan Macleod. It is the first in a series of picture books written for and made for adults. High Wire is told by a narrator who walks to Australia.
Tracing app woes and rotting cabbages: report from the UK
May 20, 2020 21:45 - 9 minutes - 8.4 MBUK plans to introduce a world class tracing app are already going awry, UK correspondent Matthew Parris says.
Wooing the domestic tourist dollar
May 20, 2020 21:20 - 19 minutes - 17.9 MBWith international tourism at a standstill, competition is fierce as the regions all vie for the domestic tourist dollar.Tourism operators from regions which normally have international visitors in droves are now eyeing up New Zealanders who are wanting to take a break and regional marketing campaigns are being drawn up. To discuss what's at stake : Buller District Mayor Jamie Cleine, from Marlborough's Chamber of Commerce, Hans Neilson and Tauranga Chamber of Commerce CEO Matt Cowley.
Does the new NZ COVID app pass muster?
May 20, 2020 21:20 - 17 minutes - 16 MBAs contact tracing apps become a feature of life during the Covid pandemic - just how many are we going to have to put up with? The government's NZ COVID Tracer hit Apple's App Store and Google Play stores on Tuesday night, and by the time the Director General of Health Ashley Bloomfield did his media appearance at 1pm yesterday 92,000 people had downloaded it. It's an app of two halves: your personal information will be registered with the Ministry of Health, while your phone will store...
Misleading Covid videos, disobedient dogs and dazzling squid
May 19, 2020 23:45 - 11 minutes - 10.4 MBScience commentator Siouxsie Wiles highlights a Canadian study which analysed the reliability of Covid-19 videos on YouTube, a study from the UK that found dogs become less obedient to their owner when they hit puberty at around 8 months, and she'll also tell Kathryn about a new study that's found squid and lantern fish can dazzle their elephant seal foes with a bioluminescent flash - buying time for their escape. Associate Professor Dr Siouxsie Wiles is the head of Bioluminescent Superb...
Concern fewer jobs for disabled people
May 19, 2020 23:20 - 15 minutes - 14.5 MBWith the effect of the Covid-19 pandemic impacting the profitability of many business and the unemployment line set to grow, there's concern disabled people will struggle to find work. In March, prior to the level 3 and 4 lockdowns, the unemployment rate was 4 percent, but since then several economists have been predicting a jump to between 10 and 15 percent - or even a blowout to 30 percent. Workbridge Chief Executive Jonathan Mosen says the job market is now even tougher than usual for...
Book review - The Ratline by Philippe Sands
May 19, 2020 22:35 - 4 minutes - 4.58 MBQuentin Johnson reviews The Ratline by Philippe Sands, published by Hachette New Zealand.
Face value. An A - Z of selfies, mugshots & the contemporary
May 19, 2020 22:05 - 29 minutes - 26.7 MBJessica Helfand is a designer, artist, and author of "Face: A Visual Odyssey", an elaborately illustrated A to Z showing how our faces have been perceived, represented and judged over time from anthropometry and eugenics to surveillance. Educated at Yale University, where she has taught for more than twenty years, she is a co-founder of Design Observer and the author of numerous books on visual and cultural criticism. Kathryn Ryan talks to her about her sprawling history of the cultural ...
Fletcher Building to slash jobs
May 19, 2020 21:50 - 6 minutes - 5.94 MBFletcher Building says it will have to cut around 10 percent of its workforce, around 1000 jobs, as it struggles with the fallout from Covid-19. Chief executive Ross Taylor says the impact of the Covid-19 restrictions on the business has been "significant." The company is currently holding a media conference call which RNZ's Business editor Gyles Beckford has been listening to.
Calls for recycling plant in Covid-19 investment to plug huge gap
May 19, 2020 21:25 - 16 minutes - 14.9 MBA just revealed $1.5 billion dollar shortfall in waste infrastructure, cheap oil prices, and stresses caused by Covid-19 are being blamed for an increase in our waste going to the landfill. The black hole's got industry leaders pushing for new recycling plants to be chosen as part of the government's shovel ready funding wave. WasteMINZ chief executive Janine Brinsdon , Todd McLeay, CEO of Smart Environmental, New Zealand's largest privately owned waste company and David Stephenson, Wast...
Budget doesn't go far enough: Climate Commission
May 19, 2020 21:05 - 24 minutes - 22.5 MBThe Climate Change Commission says last week's budget does not take the country far enough towards a low emission economy. The Commission has written to the Climate Change Minister James Shaw with feedback on the budget and the degree to which it will impact the country's climate goals. Chair, Dr Rod Carr says there are some good initiatives such as the boost in funding for home insulation, thousands of nature based jobs and more funding for rail. But he tells Kathryn Ryan that to really...
Little book helps firefighters' kids deal with big feelings
May 18, 2020 23:33 - 13 minutes - 12.8 MBFor some children, the nature of what mum and dad does can be very scary. Kris Kennett is a Dunedin-based firefighter, who had an idea to put together a book that aims to reassure children about what their parent is doing, if they run out the door at a moment's notice. He's a member of the New Zealand Firefighters Welfare Society, and he approached children's author Avril McDonald about the idea for a book - and the resulting product is The Wolf was Not Sleeping, which will be distribute...
Book review - Yes to Life in Spite of Everything
May 18, 2020 22:40 - 7 minutes - 7.27 MBSonja de Friez reviews Yes to Life in Spite of Everything by Viktor E. Frankl, published by Penguin Random House.
True crime, family secrets and hidden trauma
May 18, 2020 22:07 - 25 minutes - 23.4 MBJournalist and best selling author Bob Kolker is a skilled practitioner at unearthing murky real-life dramas and transforming them into compelling reading. His first book, "Lost Girls", the story of a serial killer targeting prostitutes in Long Island, was acclaimed for its sympathetic take on the disappearance of America's discarded women. It is now a film on Netflix. Also on Netflix, the HBO film Bad Education, about a dashing, but embezzling school boss, was part inspired by a story h...
Seven reasons why Kiwis can cope with Covid
May 18, 2020 21:42 - 9 minutes - 8.32 MBThe Covid-19 pandemic has been an unprecedented and stressful time for many people around the world, but a new paper suggests Kiwis are pretty well-placed to get through it. The Social Welfare Agency report looks at why anxiety and fear have been a natural response to Covid-19, and cites seven reasons why New Zealanders might in a better position than they think to get through. Kathryn talks to the paper's co-author, Professor Richie Poulton, who is the Agency's chief science advisor and...
Political poll results with Hooton and Jones
May 18, 2020 21:29 - 11 minutes - 10.7 MBPolitics commentators Matthew Hooton and Neale Jones talk to Kathryn about the results of the latest Newshub Reid-Research, which show that Labour leader Jacinda Ardern could comfortably lead alone. The poll has Labour on 56.5 percentage points - up 14 - while National slumps down 12.7 percentage points to 30.6. The Greens sneak in just above the 5 percent threshold while New Zealand First falls to 2.7 percent.
Transmission Gully. Forgotten highway?
May 18, 2020 21:08 - 20 minutes - 18.9 MBBig questions remain over the future of New Zealand's biggest Public Private Partnership Project, Transmission Gully, as discussions take place between the major stakeholders. Slated to open in November, the construction of the 27km stretch of motorway, north of the capital, has now been delayed into mid next year. The bill has already grown by nearly 200 million from an original estimate of 850 million dollars. Road Transport Forum New Zealand Chief Executive Nick Leggett and Porirua Ci...
The divorce lawyer who broke up with bad food
May 17, 2020 23:30 - 14 minutes - 13.5 MBKiwi-born Caralee Fontanele quit processed foods after a trip to Thailand where she ate like a local, and for the first time in ages - felt fantastic. She switched to whole foods on her return home to Queensland, where she heads up a successful law firm. She's just finished her third recipe book called 'Nourishing You', full of sugar-free, gluten-free and dairy-free recipes.
Political commentators Hooton & Jones
May 17, 2020 23:05 - 23 minutes - 21.9 MBMatthew Hooton and Neale Jones dissect the Budget with Kathryn, looking at the wider implications and the impact on an election year turned on its head by the pandemic.
HRT: Husband Replacement Therapy by Kathy Lette
May 17, 2020 22:35 - 4 minutes - 4.44 MBPhil Vine reviews HRT: Husband Replacement Therapy by Kathy Lette, published by Penguin Random House.
Jenny Lynch's memoir of magazine journalism
May 17, 2020 22:05 - 29 minutes - 26.6 MBWorking for more than 30 years in magazines, Jenny Lynch spent 18 years at the NZ Woman's Weekly, including seven as the editor. She is the author of three non-fiction books and now her memoir Under the Covers - secrets of a magazine editor. It includes tales from the golden years of magazine journalism, also stories from her time modelling, acting, and working at a Melbourne club called the Playboy.
The big dry: Hawke's Bay farmers face tough decisions
May 17, 2020 21:32 - 18 minutes - 17.2 MBAs the drought in Hawke's Bay becomes particularly acute, farmers are being faced with crucial decisions about what to do with their stock. As Covid-19 was cutting a swathe across the world, large parts of New Zealand were being officially declared in drought. Hawke's Bay has had it really tough, with below-average rainfall for the past seven months. What's the real toll on farmers of having to feed out everyday, while grass stays stubbornly brown? Kathryn is joined by Jim Galloway, pres...
Calls for open university entrance - lockdown highlights inequities in education
May 17, 2020 21:05 - 24 minutes - 22.2 MBSchool is back today for one million students after nearly eight weeks at home, and new research shines reveals the impact of the lockdown particularly on Maori and Pasifika students. From Evaluation Associates, education researcher Dr Melanie Riwai-Couch surveyed Maori and Pasifika families about their experiences with online learning during levels three and four. Respondents spoke of lockdown magnifying their experience of feeling overwhelmed and left behind. We also hear from Greymout...
Book review - Unfinished Business
May 14, 2020 22:38 - 6 minutes - 5.86 MBTilly Lloyd from Unity Books reviews Unfinished Business: Notes of a Chronic Re-reader by Vivian Gornick. This book is published by Black Inc.
Could dogs detect coronavirus?
May 14, 2020 22:06 - 28 minutes - 25.7 MBKathryn talks with Professor James Logan, from London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine about the potential for dogs to be trained to detect Covid 19. His team is working in partnership with the UK charity Medical Detection Dogs, which trains dogs in sensing diseases - including certain types of cancer, malaria and even predicting epilepsy.
Budget 2020. Boost to nature jobs but is transformative?
May 14, 2020 21:33 - 14 minutes - 13.7 MBMore than 1 billion dollars of Budget 2020 has been flagged for 11,000 nature based jobs, but already there are questions about whether the investment is transformative enough. Many environmentalists say it's a missed opportunity when it comes to decarbonisation and low emission housing, with very little detail on specific climate investment. Russel Norman the executive director of Greenpeace NZ and a former co-leader of the NZ Green Party and The Environmental Defence Society's chief ex...
Budget 2020 : Grant Robertson
May 14, 2020 21:07 - 25 minutes - 23.6 MBFinance Minister Grant Robertson joins Kathryn to discuss his third budget and the pathway towards economic recovery.
The Last Dance, Normal People, Unbreakable
May 13, 2020 23:46 - 11 minutes - 10.9 MBFilm and TV reviewer Tamar Munch looks at the popular documentary about basketball star Michael Jordan that's currently on Netflix, the adaptation of Sally Rooney's best-selling novel Normal People about Irish teens who embark on an on-again, off-again romance and Unbreakable, a heart-warming Kiwi series about a group of remarkable New Zealanders pursing their life goals.
Alert levels down but anxiety persists
May 13, 2020 23:23 - 20 minutes - 27.9 MBPsychologist Sarb Johal discusses anxiety that may persist as we go down the Covid alert levels. He says this may show itself in parents and children, and has tips for how to transition.
Is tech too dependent on Taiwan_ Facebook gets oversight board
May 13, 2020 23:06 - 12 minutes - 11.4 MBTechnology commentator Sarah Putt looks at how Covid-19 has thrown up a lot of issues regarding the supply chain - and its dependence on Taiwan for computer chips. Facebook has an oversight board - but will it be effective or mainly cosmetic? And RIP Paul Vasquez, aka the "Double Rainbow" guy.
Book review - Bill Birch: Minister of Everything
May 13, 2020 22:34 - 10 minutes - 9.18 MBColin James reviews Bill Birch - Minister of Everything by Brad Tattersfield. This book is published by Mary Egan Publishing. Drawing on Birch's personal papers, this authorised biography was written by one of his press secretaries. Birch was in Parliament from 1972 to 1999 - his 37-year stint is one of the longer political careers.
Snakes and Dragons. Modern conflict's dangerous evolution
May 13, 2020 22:07 - 27 minutes - 25.2 MBIn his latest book, 'The Dragons and the Snakes: How the Rest Learned to Fight the West', modern warfare expert, David Kilcullen has put forward a theory of how state threats, (like Russia and China) and non-state threats (like terrorist organisations) now overlap and intersect. What's more, they've learnt from each other, enabling them to out manoeuvre conventional military tactics, with new methods like political manipulation and cyber militias. David Kilcullen, was a senior counterins...
UK warned to brace for recession - Premier League is back
May 13, 2020 21:53 - 6 minutes - 5.95 MBUK correspondent Matt Dathan joins Kathryn to talk about official statistics that showed the British economy collapsed by 5.8 per cent in March alone and the Chancellor has warned a "significant recession" is on the horizon. Step one of the government's roadmap to lifting restrictions has come into force, but there are large regional variations. Some good news though - the Premier League and other major sports are just around the corner.
Sustainable energy: more skills needed
May 13, 2020 21:36 - 16 minutes - 15.2 MBThere have been many calls for the government to "think green" in any big projects to stimulate the economy post-Covid. That's backed by Dr Susan Krumieck, a professor of Mechanical Engineering based at the University of Canterbury. Dr Krumdieck joins Kathryn to discuss what the government could invest in to help kick-start renewable energy solutions, including more skills-training to propel capability for designing and building sustainable solutions. Dr Krumdieck is convening and teachi...
Bus operators says covid could put them out of business
May 13, 2020 21:28 - 8 minutes - 8.05 MBLong distance and tourism bus operators say onerous Level 2 restrictions could put them out of business. Domestic travel is now allowed under Level 2, but the only national bus network - Intercity Group, which services 600 destinations around the country, says social distancing requirements mean its buses would be restricted to 50 per cent capacity which is financially unviable. It is cancelling bookings til the end of the month and refunding passengers and says this leaves thousands of ...
Banks told get ready for negative interest rates
May 13, 2020 21:09 - 19 minutes - 17.5 MBFor the first time ever the prospect of negative interest rates is drawing nearer with retail banks given til the end of the year to prepare. Yesterday the central bank held its cash rate at a record low of 0.25 percent but doubled its bond buying programme to $60 billion to keep money pumping through the economy and interest rates low, and signalled that banks need to prepare for negative interest rates. Kathryn talks with David McLeish Head of fixed income at Fisher Funds.
Art gets new lease of life at level 2
May 12, 2020 23:49 - 8 minutes - 7.82 MBThis week Mark Amery focuses on the reopening of our galleries and museums at level 2 and how they have fared closed - in particular a project that has seen five artists commissioned to create new video works from the bubbles about social distance by Christchurch Art Gallery, Spheres. It includes a pretty hilarious solo rework in isolation of iconic 80s teen flick The Breakfast Club by the artist behind the notorious giant hand sculpture 'Quasi', Ronnie van Hout.
Fāgogo on display at Auckland Festival of Photography
May 12, 2020 23:25 - 21 minutes - 19.3 MBThe Auckland Festival of Photography is one that hasn't been cancelled due to Covid-19. One of those taking part is Raymond Sagapolutele, who hopes his images can complement the oral storytelling traditions - or or Fāgogo - of Samoa. Raymond been commissioned to mount an exhibition for this month's Auckland Festival of Photography at Pah Homestead for after Queens Birthday weekend.
Book review - My Dark Vanessa by Kate Elizabeth Russell
May 12, 2020 22:41 - 3 minutes - 3.63 MBLouise O'Brien reviews My Dark Vanessa by Kate Elizabeth Russell, published by HarperCollins.
Birds of the Auckland Islands - Colin Miskelly: Lost Gold
May 12, 2020 22:11 - 29 minutes - 27.2 MBSnipeologist, Te Papa ornithologist, founder of bird identification website nzbirdsonline and identifier of Happy Feet Colin Miskelly tells Kathryn Ryan why birds have been taking his fancy for over four decades. Along with Craig Symes, Colin Miskelly has edited a beautiful new collection of science papers Lost Gold - Ornithology of the subantarctic Auckland Islands. 465 kms south of Bluff, some of this island group are among the least changed places in the world. Colin looked after the ...
Debate on urgent legislation for alert level 2
May 12, 2020 21:40 - 10 minutes - 9.98 MBUrgent debate will resume at Parliament this morning over legislation that would give authorities sweeping powers under alert level 2. National is not supporting the Covid-19 Public Health Response Bill, which is says endows unchecked powers and demonstrates a lack of trust in New Zealanders. The government says the law is necessary to enforce alert level 2 until a state of emergency is lifted. Political editor Jane Patterson joins Kathryn to pick through the politics in play.
Our national airline - up in the air?
May 12, 2020 21:09 - 30 minutes - 28.3 MBAs domestic travel takes off in alert level two, as of tomorrow, what confidence can customers have in our national airline? And what is the likely cascade effect on the wider tourism industry of uncertainty with air travel? Air New Zealand has refused to refund flights cancelled due to lockdown, instead offering credits for unfulfilled bookings. There will be 20 per cent fewer domestic flights, with fewer seats available but at higher prices - so where do Air NZ passengers stand? Chief ...
Citizen scientists enlisted to help monarch butterflies
May 11, 2020 23:23 - 15 minutes - 14.5 MBVictoria University entomologist Phil Lester is investigating the prevalence of a disease affecting monarch butterflies - and he's enlisting the help of citizen scientists.The disease, caused by a protozoan parasite Ophryocystis elektroscirrha or OE, is causing deformed wings in Monarchs. To help find out how widespread the disease is around New Zealand, he's asking people to send him samples of spores - collected by pressing a bit of sellotape against the butterfly's abdomen.
Citizen scientists enlisted to help Monarch butterflies
May 11, 2020 23:23 - 15 minutes - 14.5 MBVictoria University entomologist Phil Lester is investigating the prevalence of a disease affecting Monarch butterflies - and he's enlisting the help of citizen scientists.The disease, caused by a protozoan parasite Ophryocystis elektroscirrha or OE, is causing deformed wings in Monarchs. To help find out how widespread the disease is around New Zealand, he's asking people to send him samples of spores - collected by pressing a bit of sellotape against the butterfly's abdomen.
Business commentator Rebecca Stevenson - more liquidations
May 11, 2020 23:07 - 12 minutes - 11.6 MBStuff Business Editor, Rebecca Stevenson talks to Kathryn about the rising flow of liquidations and job losses. About 100 New Zealand companies went into liquidation in the six weeks after New Zealand first entered alert level 3 on March 24. But amid the gloom, Rebecca also looks at the innovative pivots by some companies to keep afloat.
Book review - High Wire by Lloyd Jones and Euan Macleod
May 11, 2020 22:40 - 4 minutes - 4.11 MBDavid Hill reviews High Wire by Lloyd Jones and Euan Macleod, published by Massey University Press.
Instagram - Unfiltered
May 11, 2020 22:07 - 30 minutes - 28.2 MBFrom its creation in 2010, to being sold to Facebook, to becoming a $100-billion company complete with digital influencers and personal brands. Until now the Instagram story has never been told in so much detail. With unique access to key players, "No Filter: The Inside Story of Instagram", by Bloomberg tech journalist Sarah Frier tells the story of how over ten years Instagram's simple photo sharing concept became one of the most culturally defining apps of the decade. A journey that ha...
Coronavirus in the White House: What happens now?
May 11, 2020 21:54 - 5 minutes - 5.26 MBUS correspondent Ron Elving looks at the Covid-cases in the White House, and whether it's changed the behaviour of the US President and his Veep. Nearly every state has now relaxed restrictions - even has new modelling predicts some grim forecasts in death tolls. Ron Elving is Senior Editor and Correspondent on the Washington Desk for NPR News.