Nine To Noon

An American mathematician is using maths and computer science to end the decades-old political tactic of gerrymandering. It's a practice used by both Republicans and Democrats in the US to manipulate electoral boundaries to influence elections and stay in power. It's sparked lengthy court challenges in districts where election outcomes have been unfairly skewed. Professor Moon Duchin from Tufts University heads up a research group which aims to make the voting system fairer by using geometry to redraw district boundaries. The civil rights advocate regularly appears as an expert in high profile legal cases involving gerrymandering and last year featured in the Netflix documentary A Trip to Infinity. She's in New Zealand to deliver a lecture at Auckland University, and joins Kathryn to explain how data science can be used to ensure a fairer system and bring about democratic reform.

UK correspondent Dan Bloom joins Kathryn to talk about how Rishi Sunak is banking his election recovery on a pledge to "stop the boats", as the number of people arriving on dinghies across the Channel has exploded. A new law would prevent migrants arriving this way from ever claiming asylum or settling in the UK, but it's outraged human rights charities and could be incompatible with the European Convention on Human Rights. Meanwhile former health secretary Matt Hancock has been burned by the leak of 100,000 WhatsApp messages, released by the anti-lockdown journalist who was the ghost-writer of his memoir.

The massive toll Cyclone Gabrielle has taken on Northland residents, roading, rail, businesses and infrastructure is now unfolding as most communication and power has been restored. Te Tai Tokerau Economic Development Agency, Northland Inc says the focus is on recovery, but in many parts of the region the damage and suffering is ongoing and intense. Northland Inc Chief Executive Paul Linton predicts the Government money already allocated to the Far North and Northland will be massively oversubscribed and they'll soon have to ask for more. Kathryn will also speak to Nancy Kareroa-Yorke, who is the Area council chair for NZ Red Cross in Northland about what communities are needing most and to Pera Paniora who is the Maori Ward councillor in Kaipara.

Ruapehu skiers will be able take to the slopes this winter - but many questions remain about how Whakapapa and Turoa ski fields will operate. Ruapehu Alpine Lifts remains in voluntary administration but administrator John Fisk has announced it will "soon" sell winter season passes for 2023. No precise date or cost has been outlined, nor has the status of life pass holders been clarified. RAL had received $10 million from the government, but administrator John Fisk says more is needed. A group of life pass holders and the Save Mt Ruapehu Skifields Group are soon to form an incorporated society, as part of a proposal for the ski fields to be community owned and not for profit. Kathryn speaks with PWC partner and RAL co-administrator Richard Nacey and Robert Krebs, from the Life Pass Holders Association, and member of the creditors committee.

Science commentator Allan Blackman joins Kathryn on International Women's Day to look at scientists who didn't receive recognition for their work because they were women - highlighting the case of astrophysicist Dame Jocelyn Bell Burnell. He'll also talk about a recent decision in Scotland to stop its hospitals using the anaesthetic desflurane because of the threat it poses to the environment.

Welsh born, Matt Morgan is an intensive care doctor, researcher and author, currently working in Western Australia. Dr Morgan says we can look to nature to provide valuable lessons and solutions to solve some 21st century medical problems. During the early days of the Covid pandemic, while while working in intensive care, Dr Morgan wrote "A letter from the ICU" which has become one of the most read articles published in the British Medical Journal. His first book, Critical, has been translated into four languages, and his latest book One Medicine delves into how understanding animals can save human lives.

Kirsten joins Kathryn to look at the songs that have been turned into a rallying cry for people, or are more well-known than the official national anthems of a particular country. She shares some goodies from the US, Australia, Scotland, Korea - and the unofficial national anthem of New Zealand!

Hundreds of people have had their say in a survey on Marlborough's roading big fix, after extensive flood damage in weather events over the last two years. Stargazers are looking forward to the Omaka Observatory reopening after being closed over summer and a locally made gin has gone global, picking up a huge award and subsequently plenty of orders

Louise O'Brien reviews Old Babes in the Wood by Margaret Atwood, published by Penguin Random House.

Group singing is not only good for our health – it's also a powerful and peaceful way to raise a collective voice, says English singing therapist Julia Hollander. "The singing voice can reach out towards other people … and towards a kind of better world,'' she tells Kathryn Ryan.