Nine To Noon

Emma Hisiop reviews The Hitchhiker by Gerwin van der Werf (translated from the original Dutch by David Colmer), published by Text Publishing

A Chatham Islands seafood business has been named Supreme winner of this year's Outstanding Food Awards. The Chatham Islands Food Co took gold medals for its blue cod, pure paua mince and paua pies. It's the first time a seafood business has taken the top spot in the competition. As the company's founders Delwyn and Gigi Tuanui says the Chathams produce some of the world's best seafood.

Elizabeth talks to Kathryn about a major security breach in China, where an online police database with personal details of an estimated one billion Chinese citizens was left publicly accessible for more than a year. The public was only alerted when a hacker recently plundered the data and attempted to sell it online. And Japan is off to the polls this weekend. Amid concerns that young voters won't turn out to vote, one large Japanese ramen chain is offering free noodles as a sweetener.

Men over 50 are forced to wait too long for prostate cancer to be picked up and then treated - according advocacy and support group, Prostate Cancer Foundation. About 650 New Zealand men die of prostate cancer every year. The Foundation says due to Covid there has been a decline in GP visits, and therefore detection of early signs. Its Chief Executive, Peter Dickens, tells Kathryn Ryan, once prostate cancer has been detected, it can take months for a referral to a urologist, further months for a biopsy and more waiting for any curative treatment such as a prostatectomy. Kathryn also speaks with prostate cancer survivor Conor English, who says men ought to treat their bodies like their cars, and get an annual WOF.

It's been a busy couple of weeks for Air New Zealand, as the airline got more international routes off the ground and unveiled its new Skynest sleep cabins. Flights from Auckland to Houston and Hobart restarted yesterday, joining a suite of others missing from the company's schedule for more than two years thanks to the pandemic. The aviation industry has been cranking back into gear, as borders reopen and travellers look to reconnect with family, friends or take long-delayed holidays. But it's also been hit by staff shortages, and an increase in fuel costs. Kathryn is joined by Air New Zealand's CEO Greg Foran.

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.