Nine To Noon

Martene McCaffrey of Unity Books Auckland reviews Cursed Bread by Sophie Mackintosh, published by Hamish Hamilton.

Awe – the humbling and inspiring emotion we feel in response to mystery – is a tool we can use for individual and collective well-being, says psychologist Dacher Keltner. The UC Berkeley professor outlines eight everyday sources of wonder in his new book AWE: The New Science of Everyday Wonder and How It Can Transform Your Life.

Former Fijian prime minister Frank Bainimarama is due to appear for a special hearing in a Suva court this morning after spending the night in a police cell alongside the suspended police chief Sitiveni Qiliho.The pair were charged with one count each of abuse of office following the sanctioning of charges by the Public Prosecutions director (DPP) Christopher Pryde yesterday. The two are alleged to have interfered in an active investigation into a financial mismanagement case involving former staff of the University of the South Pacific almost four years ago. Also, the initial estimate of the recovery cost following Vanuatu's twin cyclone disaster is estimated at six billion vatu, or just under $US50 million. And after four years of disruption, Polyfest has kicked off, with live audiences, in Tamaki Makaurau.

The unprecedented rainfall that hit Auckland on January 27 was, for many, a shock introduction to the city's old streams and waterways. Before urbanisation Auckland was a complex system of streams, rivers and wetlands - and the January flooding brought some to the surface with a vengeance. With climate change likely to bring more severe rain events, is now the time to think seriously about building up rather than spreading out into more green space, and daylighting more of the city's streams? Matthew Bradbury is a landscape architect, an associate professor at Unitec and author of Water City: Practical Strategies for Climate Change.

A group of health professionals and educators is calling for New Zealand to follow Australia's lead and make vapes prescription only. According to a study by the anti smoking group ASH, over 250,000 New Zealanders vape daily. Another survey of 19 thousand secondary school students, by the Asthma and Respiratory Foundation, found that more than a quarter of them had vaped in the last week - nearly 20 per cent vaping daily or several times daily - and the majority with high nicotine doses. In Australia vapes are prescription only - for people trying to quit cigarettes. However experts there say the system has many loopholes and further regulation is urgently needed. Kathryn speaks with Curtin University Professor of Public Health Jonine Jancey, whose latest research looks at the slick marketing tactics and claims by online vape retailers; and University of Sydney School of Public Health associate professor Becky Freeman who leads the Generation Vape research project. The interview discusses this article in The Lancet.

Film and TV reviewer Tamar Munch joins Kathryn to look at unconventional love story Rain Dogs (Neon), Elements of Truth: Behind the Scenes of Jami-Lee Ross' 2020 Election Campaign (Spinoff) and which movies have made the list for this year's 'Best Picture' Oscar.

Upside Youth Mentoring has been operating for 16 years predominantly in the Auckland region. It runs programmes for at risk children aged 9 to 13 and matches them up with volunteer mentors. Jenny Horst is the CEO of Upside Youth Mentoring Aotearoa and she says the mentors help young people to navigate life's difficulties.

Technology correspondent Paul Matthews joins Kathryn to talk about how Artificial Intelligence software that detects breast cancer missed by doctors is being rolled out into production now, leaving some doctors wondering what the future of their field looks like. The tech is saving lives - will we still need radiographers? The latest InternetNZ Internet Insights Report found that close to all New Zealanders can access the Internet at home now, but there are still discrepencies. So who is missing out and why do some groups still have big concerns? Some of the predictions of doom and gloom seemed to come true for Twitter last week, for a couple of hours at least. Turns out, a single engineer accidentally took the whole platform down. Paul Matthews is Chief Executive of CIO Studio.

How Wellington's new convention centre Takina is taking shape. Also, Wellingtonians are facing a rates increase of 12.9 per cent, with mayor Tory Whanau facing faces challenge to rates hike plan. And the cost of a new shared path and seawalls around Eastbourne's exposed coastline has skyrocketed from $30m to $79m. Georgina Campbell is the NZ Herald's Wellington issues reporter.

David Hill reviews Histories of Hate: The Radical Right in Aotearoa New Zealand by Matthew Cunningham, Marinus La Rooij and Paul Spoonley (eds), published by Otago University Press.