Nine To Noon

It's the school holidays, but you know you're really winning with the kids when they take an active interest in a subject outside the classroom. Morgan McKeen is a science technology engineering and mathematics specialist teacher at Milford School in Auckland. Our topic today is taking science on holiday with you.

While Spotify has revolutionised the way we listen to music, online shopping has done the same for retail, not to mention books. More and more people are buying online, so what's it like running a bookstore in a tiny community? Leigh Hickey runs The Good Story bookstore in Akaroa, on Banks Peninsula, which opened in April 2023. She gives Bryan her top book recommendations including The Place of Tides by James Rebanks, Raising Hare by Chloe Dalton, Ingrained by Callum Robinson, The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny by Kiran Desai, and Greta and Valdin by Rebecca K Reilly.

We reckon it's a good idea to recognise some of those who'll keep working through the summer break, so that the rest of us can enjoy a holiday. People like Kerry Stanley, who runs the Waka Kai, making deliveries from New World Whitianga around the east coast of the Coromandel Peninsula. If you know the region, you'll know Cooks Beach is five minutes by boat from Whitianga, it's 45 minutes by car - and that's on a good day. And you can't count on a good day at this time of year. This is the sixth year Kerry's been running the Waka Kai, and he's joins Bryan to tell us more.

When Stevin Creegan gets on his Harley Davison to go on a ride, his best mate Loki is always along for the journey.

Nota Bene sing Christmas songs live in studio, and Kathryn looks back on 2025 with panelists te Radar, Irene Pink, Sam Ackerman and Kirsten Zemke.

He's been considered one for years - but last month Sir Sam Neill was officially designated a Screen Legend. The honour marking his stellar fifty year career was handed out at the New Zealand Screen Awards and followed his Logie for 'Best Lead Actor' in the series The Twelve at the Australian TV awards in August. From Sleeping Dogs and Reilly, Ace of Spies.... to Jurassic Park, Hunt for the Wilderpeople, The Tudors....his CV is a veritable chocolate box of roles from which fans can pick their favourites. When he's not filming, the Central Otago resident can be found on his Two Paddocks farm and vineyard surrounded by his celebrity-named animals. Most recently Sir Sam has been outspoken in his opposition to plans to fast-track a goldmine in the local Bendigo area. Kathryn speaks to him about his concerns about that project, his latest screen honours and what he can detail about his upcoming projects.

South East Asia's biggest sporting event winds up tomorrow, and playing for the Thai women's side has been Wellington's Natalie Olson.

It took him more than a decade - but earlier this year Simon Olliver achieved the incredible feat of becoming the oldest person to complete the gruelling Oceans Seven swim.

Kathryn and commentators look back on the year in politics, business, the economy and science.

Tom Augustine is a Tamaki based filmmaker and critic.