Nine To Noon

Stella Chrysostomou of VOLUME Books reviews Worn: A People's History of Clothing by Sofi Thanhauser, published by Allen Lane - Penguin Random House NZ

Tech entrpreneur David Shein has has extraordinary business success in Australia. He migrated there from South Africa in 1986, where he founded and built up Comtec Communications into Australia's largest network integration company with 1400 staff. 14 years later, he sold the business for just over $1 billion - becoming the first Australian so-called "unicorn" - a privately owned start up valued by shareholders at over $1 billion. Since then he's become a start-up mentor and venture capitalist, helping other entrepreneurs get started. David Shein has just published a book - called The Dumbest Guy at the Table - all proceeds go to the mental health organisation Black Dog Institute. He talks with Kathryn about what he's learned through his career.

China has embarked on a new round of military manoeuvres around Taiwan this week, reacting to the visit of another US congressional delegation, a move that ratchets up Beijing's efforts to isolate the island. And prosecutors in Tokyo have made a series of arrests after a summer of raids on organisations and individuals suspected of giving and receiving bribes during the preparations for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. Ed White is a correspondent with the Financial Times.

The rain has eased in Nelson but the flooding emergency is far from over and another round of heavy rain is set to come in later today. 411 homes have now been evacuated with some residents forced to leave their homes overnight. People are being asked to conserve water due to damage to the main pipe, roads are closed and thousands are without power. Rain-soaked hillsides have given way with slips continuing to threaten many properties. Nelson MP Rachel Boyack was with Emergency Management Minister Kieran McAnulty yesterday as they toured flooded areas to survey the damage. She talks to Kathryn about the situation facing residents today and the recovery ahead.

Wellington's regional council has unanimously backed a proposal to set a binding emissions target and, if passed, will become the first regional council to do so. It's new Regional Policy Statement was voted on yesterday and is out for consultation now. On Monday, Auckland Council released an ambitious proposal to reduce the city's transport emissions by two thirds over the next eight years. If the Wellington region plan is passed, it will see more so-called 15 minute suburbs, where everything you need is a 15 minute walk away, with more dedicated space for walking and biking. Developers seeking to build large greenfield subdivisions will have to show no increase to emissions, and councils in the region will need to align their district plans with the new RPS. Thomas Nash is the chair of the Greater Wellington Regional Council Climate Committee.

Film and TV correspondent James Croot looks at Emma Thompson's new film Good Luck to You Leo Grande, which is out in cinemas today. You can listen to Nine to Noon's interview about the movie here. And Apple TV has two new offerings: Bad Sisters and a haunting look at the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina: Five Days at Memorial.

Parenting educators Julie King and Joanna Faber take on whining, fighting and meltdowns in the new book How To Talk When Kids Won't Listen.

Technology correspondent Mahsa Mohaghegh looks at artificial intelligence use in natural language processing and how close it is to being sentient. She'll also look at how safe pedestrians are from self-driving cars after a campaign group claimed the software was potentially lethal to children. Cameras are being used to detect errant mobile users while driving and the first female-led hackathon is due to be held next month.

Ralph McAllister reviews Bolla by Pajtim Statovci, published by Allen and Unwin.

[picture id="4LN5Z9Z_Bolla_cover_jpg" crop="16x10" layout="full"]

Journalist Linda Kinstler grew up not knowing much about her Latvian grandfather, other than he'd disappeared after World War Two. It was only later, as an adult, that she learned her paternal grandfather, Boris Kinstler, had been a Nazi collaborator and member of the SS in Latvia. After the war, he became a KGB agent, and then vanished. In search of answers about her grandfather, Linda Kinstler uncovers his links to a man called Herbert Cukurs, known as the "Butcher of Riga", implicated in the murder of 30,000 Jews in Latvia. In researching her book, Come to This Court and Cry: How the Holocaust Ends, she unravels a tale of revisionism, ultra-nationalism and denialism - issues that are just as timely as ever.