Nine To Noon

Kim Pittar from Muir's Independent Bookshop Gisborne reviews The Secret World of Connie Starr by Robbi Neal, published by Harper Collins

Photographer and food writer Sophie Merkens has travelled the length of the country to meet New Zealand women with a special connection with food; women who grow, gather, hunt and forage from the land. Food has always played a big role in Sophie Merkens' own life, and she's developed a career around it, working as a recipe developer, food stylist and photographer. Drawn to the stories of how food can be a central force of people's lives, work and travels, she decided to set out an epic trip - from Cape Reinga to Bluff, she met 35 inspiring women. Kathryn speaks with Sophie Merkens about the result; her book Grow - Wahine Finding Connection Through Food.

Australia correspondent Karen Middleton joins Kathryn to talk about the new ministry unveiled by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, which will be sworn in this morning. It has a record number of women, and the powerful role of Home Affairs Minister has gone to Victorian MP Clare O'Neil. Peter Dutton is the new leader of the Liberal Party, and he's dismissed a sledge from a Labor MP that he looks like 'Voldemort' - saying it's water off a duck's back. Covid and flu are combining to create a concerning time for the country's health sector as the temperatures across Australia plummet.

A spate of ram raids by teenagers is fuelling concern about youth offending rates, but a youth worker in South Auckland says it's a very small group causing a lot of havoc. A crime prevention package was announced last week, including support for businesses to have bollards, security alarms or fog cannons installed, but Stephen Boxer says that doesn't address the real issue. He advocates for early intervention and prevention, and says targeting children displaying early warning signs of troubled behaviour will help avert them from a path towards youth offending. Stephen Boxer runs two youth programmes through the Graeme Dingle Foundation; MYND works as an intervention for teenagers aged 14 to 18 who are already offending, and Kiwi Tahi, for 8 to 12 year olds, workers with younger kids who haven't offended, but are considered at risk due to risk factors at home or in their community. Kathryn speaks to Stephen Boxer, managing director of MYND and Kiwi Tahi about the importance of reaching kids while they're young.

Kathryn speaks with RNZ political editor Jane Patterson from Washington DC, where Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has met with US president Joe Biden earlier today. The pair have acknowledged more work needs to be done in the Pacific, as China's foreign minister continues a whirlwind tour of Pacific nations. Kathryn will also talk with international relations expert Professor Robert Patman about the shifting politics in the region and how individual states are reacting to China's move.

Many people are reliant on KiwiSaver as their principal means of retirement saving, yet so often they make mistakes with their KiwiSaver funds. Liz will talk to Kathryn about the most common mistakes to avoid, which is particularly timely as people are questioning their funds with the current sharemarket volatility.

Last week employment law expert Charles McGuinness joined Nine to Noon to talk about the top things workers need to know about employment contracts. Today he talks to Kathryn about what employers need to consider when drawing up a contract....and answers a few of your questions.

Rebecca looks at a win for the so-called meme-stock apes. Last year GameStop, a retailer selling games, became the subject of a ferocious battle between retail investors and against professional investors/fund managers. While we haven't heard as much about gamestop and memestocks this year, the fallout continues, with one of the hedge funds most impacted by GameStop's surge in value telling investors it's shutting down. Rebecca also talks to Kathryn about New Zealand's crowdfunding platform Pledgeme.

Phil Vine reviews The Candy House by Jennifer Egan, published by Hachette NZ.

Dave Burt left school early and got an apprenticeship as an electrician. He now runs an electrical contracting business employing 130 staff throughout New Zealand. About eight years ago, Dave realised he was living with depression, and wrote a book about it called Lengthening the Shadow. It was the first his friends and workmates knew about it. Since then he has been actively involved in improving mental health support and outcomes within the construction sector, which has a very high rate of suicide. But he also has a love of fiction writing, and after many years gestation, Dave has published his first crime thriller novel, called Embedded. He shares his story with Kathryn Ryan.