Nine To Noon

Podcasts about unsolved murders, scandals and con artists dominate the charts these days, but a constant favourite since it started in 2015 involves deep dives into linguistics. 'The Allusionist' is hosted by British writer and broadcaster Helen Zaltzman who is appearing at the Auckland Writers Festival. She's produced almost 160 episodes, with some of the most recent ranging from 1920s crime noir slang to Objectivity in Journalism and Rainbow Washing. There are several episodes featuring Te Reo Maori in the back catalogue too.

UK correspondent Matt Dathan joins Kathryn to look at who's out following the first round of voting in the race to be the new leader of the Conservative Party - and why Penny Mourdant could be the dark horse to take over as Prime Minister. A BBC investigation has made explosive claims into SAS actions in Afghanistan, and he'll also talk about Sir Mo Farah's surprising admission.

The head of a property funds management group is calling out his own industry as one that needs to lift its green game and do more to reduce its carbon footprint. Scott McKenzie is the chief executive of PMG, which has just released its first Sustainability Report looking at the green credentials of properties in its own portfolio. The commercial property sector contributes significantly to the country's carbon emissions, and while bigger property firms have obligations to report what they're doing to combat that - the majority, which are privately held or unlisted - do not. Scott joins Kathryn to talk about why it makes sense for more private buildings to go green.

New Zealanders continue to remain upbeat about their overall happiness, but the Covid pandemic is testing our mental strength. Latest Wellbeing Statistics from Stats NZ show a marked decline in mental health and an increase in loneliness. Kathryn speaks to Dr Claire Bretherton from Stats NZ.

The Police Association says the government's new 'get tough' package on gangs is a good first step but more needs to be done to remove incentives for people to join gangs. The range of new tools, include tougher penalties for drive-by shootings, more search and seizure powers and a crackdown on money laundering. So is this a knee-jerk reaction to the rise in gun-related crime and shootings, or will the new measures that have some bite. Police Association President Chris Cahill on what police officers are saying about the Government crackdown on gangs.

Science correspondent Allan Blackman turns his eyes to the skies, with the new photos of space coming from the James Webb telescope, the hunt for dark matter - what is it, does it exist and how long can we spend trying to find it? And lastly, why do smelly medicine tablets last longer in space? Allan Blackman is a Professor of Chemistry, School of Science, Auckland University of Technology

Wetlands are quite possibly the most unloved and misunderstood ecosystems in the country. About 90 percent of New Zealand's wetlands have been destroyed, and yet they're an essential force in the fight against climate change, sequestering more carbon than our forests. Someone who knows all too well how precious wetlands are, is Karen Denyer. She's worked as an ecological consultant for over 20 years, much of it in wetland ecology, and is the New Zealand representative for the World Wetland Network and the executive officer at the National Wetland Trust. Together with conservationist Monica Peters, she's written Life in the Shadows: The Wetlands of New Zealand.

Nicky Walker reviews The Last Wild Horses by Maja Lunde, published by Simon & Schuster.

NASA's https://www.nasa.gov/ James Webb Space Telescope has released its first images, ushering in a new era of astronomy. The most powerful and complex telescope ever made, the telescope will allow physicists and astronomers to peer further into the universe's past than ever before. It's hoped it will help unravel some of the largest mysteries of the cosmos; from how the first stars and galaxies formed and how fast the universe is expanding, to the prospects for extraterrestrial life. Kathryn speaks with Richard Easther, a Professor of Physics at the University of Auckland.

Originally used by soldiers between1600 BC and 600 AD, Bronze-age swordsmith Neil Burridge ecreates the quality and what he describes as the elegance of ancient swords. Neil https://bronze-age-swords.com/index.htm has been bringing Bronze Age swords, spears and tools alive for twenty years, making modern repicas of museum pieces and mudlarkers' finds. Neil has cast about five hundred sword blades and has a series on YouTube called Sword Corner.