Nine To Noon

Another leadership contest is set to take place within Britain's Conservative Party, after leader and Prime Minister Boris Johnson finally took the hint and resigned. Mr Johnson caved in to pressure after a mass exodus of more than 50 government ministers and aides who quit following a string of scandals: lockdown parties, expensive renovations and the final straw; appointing a minister accused of sexual misconduct. In a bullish speech, Mr Johnson said he would step down as leader, but remain in a caretaking role until his successor is chosen. So how long could that take? Kathryn speaks with UK correspondent Matt Dathan, from outside Number 10 Downing Street. Matt Dathan is the Home Affairs Editor at The Times.

Film and TV correspondent Chris Schulz joins Kathryn to talk about the latest installment of the Thor franchise in cinemas from today, directed by Kiwi film director Taika Waititi. He'll also preview The Old Man (Disney+) starring Jeff Bridges and Jon Lithgow, and Rowan Atkinson's return to the screen in Man vs Bee (Netflix).

Clinical Psychologist Karen Nimmo says teenagers and young adults have had a hard time through the pandemic, disruption at school and university, having to do a lot of learning online. She discusses how best to help teenagers through this stage and how to recognise when they are struggling.

Tech commentator Paul Matthews joins Kathryn to discuss how China is facing down what could be the largest data breach in history, as government records of over a billion Chinese citizens are found for sale online. A new report shows that New Zealand's agritech industry is booming, even in the face of labour shortages and other issues. What's driving the growth? And Big Tech companies such as Amazon, Tesla, Google and Apple have been hit harder than most in the current sharemarket weakening. Why have tech stocks lost the confidence of investors?

Ralph McAllister reviews Back in the Day by Melvyn Bragg, published by Hachette NZ.

Bestselling Crime novelist Tess Gerritsen has sold millions of books around the world. Her popular duo of homicide detective Jane Rizzoli and medical examiner Maura Isles are back after a five-year hiatus in her latest book Listen to Me. It's the 13th installment in the popular series, which was also made into the TV series "Rizzoli & Isles", which ran for seven seasons. Tess Gerritsen started out as a doctor before becoming a crime writer and her knowledge of the scientific world is drawn on heavily in her writing. But her interests stray further into music, anthropology, ancient worlds and natural phenomena.

UK correspondent Hugo Gye joins Kathryn to talk about where Boris Johnson stands this morning, as some of his Cabinet have gone to Downing Street to convince him to stand down. 44 ministers and aides to have quit since yesterday.

The pandemic has impacted the way people work, trade and patronise the central city. The once vibrant centre is missing international tourists, and thousands of workers who are now working from home. This coupled with a proliferation of empty shops for let, the ongoing, disruptive noisy City Rail Link construction project and an increase in crime have affected the face of the city. To discuss how to rise above the multiple challenges - Interim CE of Heart of the City Steve Armitage and Police Inspector Grae Anderson who is the acting Area Commander for Auckland Central.

New research out this morning has found counselling can have long-lasting benefits as a treatment for gambling disorders. It's based on a randomised clinical trial with 227 people who were taking part in the Salvation Army's Oasis treatment programme. The research was led by AUT's Gambling and Addictions Research Centre with help from researchers at Flinders University in Australia and Canada's University of Calgary. It looked at the effectiveness of two gambling interventions within a service setting: Cognitive Behavioural Therapy and Motivational Interviewing. AUT Associate Professor Maria Bellringer is the principal researcher and joins Kathryn to talk about what it means for current gambling treatments on offer - and why problem gamblers should seek help now. If you, or someone you know, are experiencing harm from gambling the Ministry of Health has a list of services available nationwide on its website. You can find it here.

UK correspondent Matt Dathan joins Kathryn to look at the latest developments with Boris Johnson's government - including the extraordinary sacking of Cabinet Minister Michael Gove this morning. He's resisting calls to go, despite the best efforts of members of his Cabinet.