Nine To Noon

Stella Chrysostomou of Volume Books in Nelson reviews Best of Friends by Kamila Shamsie, published by Penguin Random House.

Journalist-turned-author Jane Harper's first novel The Dry was published in 2016 and quickly snapped up and turned into a movie starring Eric Bana. Her second novel Force of Nature, a sequel to The Dry, is also set to get the big screen treatment with filming recently completed in regional Victoria. Jane followed up with two more novels, The Lost Man and The Survivors. Her fifth novel, Exiles, has just been released... this time her detective Aaron Falk is in South Australian wine country investigating the disappearance of a mother whose 6-week-old baby is left behind at a pram at a festival. She joins Kathryn to talk about how her signature settings have helped to kickstart a whole genre of Australian back-country crime. If you're keen to hear more from Jane - and you live in Auckland - she'll be doing an event at the Takapuna Library tonight.

US correspondent Danielle Kurtzleben joins Kathryn to talk about Republicans' focus on rising crime levels - as a way to counter Democrats' strengths on the issue of abortion. President Biden announced thousands of marijuana offenders will be pardoned, as the drug becomes more legal and widely used. And billions of dollars is flowing following the passing of the CHIPS Act in August as a way to shore up the US semiconductor industry.

California's most senior food and agriculture official is in New Zealand at the moment with a delegation of growers, talking about the potential for New Zealand's agri-food sector in the Golden State. New Zealand recently signed a cooperation deal on climate change with California, to promote sharing of information, experiences and research in reducing emissions as well as working together on projects that are good for the climate. New Zealand exports to California last year earned $2.3b, while imports from California cost nearly $1b. Karen Ross is the Secretary of the California Department of Food and Agriculture. She's here speaking at the 2035 Oceania Summit in Auckland - along with delegations from Australia and the Pacific, discussing food threats and opportunities in the region.

The Government is proposing bringing in agriculture emission levies from 2025. It has announced its response to submissions from the Climate Change Commission and the farming partnership He Waka Eke Noa. It supports farm-level pricing but says that will be challenging to achieve by 2025. The rate of the levy will be set by the Government. It's an alternative to including farmers in the Emissions Trading Scheme and it will make New Zealand is the first country in the world to seek to put a price on agricultural emissions. Kathryn speaks with Kelly Forster He Waka Eke Noa Programme Director.

A deadly wave of Russian missile strikes across Ukraine has killed at least 11 people and injured 64. Russia's attacks are the most widespread since the early weeks of the war - hitting major Ukrainian cities from Lviv near the Polish border, to Kharkiv in the north east. The barrage of attacks was in retaliation for Saturday's explosion on the only bridge to Russian-occupied Crimea. Russian president Vladimir Putin has said the strikes targeted energy, military and communications facilities. But the cruise missiles hit busy intersections, parks, children's playgrounds and tourist sites. Sofia Koczmar-Tymoshenko is a journalist based in Lviv, who has just returned from Kyiv.

In the aftermath of the local elections Bill reminds successful candidates what Councils are for - and why business models and business people aren't necessarily good at it. Bill McKay is a Senior Lecturer in the School of Architecture and Planning at the University of Auckland.

Nelson based food writer Nicola Galloway has taught cooking for 20 years. She says she often gets asked the same questions which she's tried to answer in her new book "The Homemade Table". She shares tips on making home-made staples such as breads, preserves, dairy products and ferments.

Brigitte and Gareth look at how the local body elections shook down - particularly in our biggest cities. The Government's books are better than expected - will that heat up the tax cut debate? And former Minister Kris Faafoi is copping some flak for his new job. Brigitte Morten is a director with public and commercial law firm Franks & Ogilvie and a former senior ministerial advisor for the previous National-led government. Gareth Hughes is a former Green MP and now works for the Wellbeing Economy Alliance Aotearoa. He is no longer a member of any political party.

Laura Caygill reviews Lucy by the Sea by Elizabeth Strout, published by Penguin Random House