Nine To Noon

Watching Kiwi chefs get creative with their award-winning fresh cheeses is one of the perks of the job for Flavia Spena and Flavio Donati from ViaVio. Originally from Rome, the couple now produces a range of handmade Italian cheeses in Nelson.

Brigitte, Shane and Kathryn discuss the results of the Newshub-Reid poll, the Government's latest Covid measures with movement on boosters and borders, Grant Robertson's social insurance scheme and National's caucus retreat.

Carole Beu of the Women's Bookshop in Auckland reviews Love Marriage by Monica Ali, published by Hachette. From the Booker shortlisted author of Brick Lane, a fascinating, and sometimes amusing, psychological exploration of marriage and parent- adult child relationships. Two junior doctors in a London hospital are engaged -Yasmin, the daughter of Indian Muslim immigrants, and Joe, the son of a high-flying, fiercely feminist social star. Race, class and cultural misunderstandings complicate the already complex family dynamics going on between these engaging characters. Intelligent & thought-provoking.

Kathryn speaks with the producer of a documentary series on the evolution of dogs, narrated by dog-lover and Downton Abbey's own Hugh Bonneville. An estimated billion dogs live with and alongside us and there are foour hundred breeds in all shapes and sizes. The Untold Story of Dogs travels the world to show how canines have enhanced many aspects of our lives: from detecting cancer and fighting beside us in battle to defending threatened species against extinction. The show blends traditional documentary and storytelling and uncovers scientific research being carried out on both domesticated and wild dogs. Matt Brandon is the UK based series producer of Dogs: The Untold Story, at Plimsoll Productions group, who made it for Discovery Channel.

Amid warnings that a Russian invasion of Ukraine may now only be a matter of time, newly deployed U.S troops are arriving in Europe as Russia bolsters its own forces. Ron also talks to Kathryn about the US economy. Although jobs are plentiful and wages rising, Ron says the looming headache is a combination of inflation and higher rates. Ron Elving is Senior Editor and Correspondent on the Washington Desk for NPR News.

Innovation should be taught as a subject at school, according to research from Wellington's Creative HQ. It surveyed 150 young people aged 12 to 24 across 20 countries, and found that 96 per cent want innovation to be part of the school curriculum. 89 per cent of the Gen Z respondents said they believe innovation to be crucial to improving the world around them, and just over three quarters considered themselves as innovative. Kathryn speaks with Dr Colin Kennedy, Head of the School of Innovation at Creative HQ.

A new study raises significant questions about how young neurodiverse people are treated by the criminal justice system. Otago University researchers studied 150,000 17 to 25 year olds with autism and found that they were much less likely to be charged with crimes than non-autistic people. However among those charged with an offence, people with autism were more likely to be charged with a serious offence, punishable by two or more years in prison. Kathryn speaks with two of the report's authors, Otago University Research Fellow Nick Bowden and co-researcher Joanne Dacombe.

Comedians Te Radar and Donna Brookbanks with the brawl that erupted in a Philadelphia eatery over a steak.

The Winter Olympics officially get underway tonight, with controversy over the IOC selecting China as host being criticised as being tacit endorsement of the country's human rights abuses. Will we see any political demonstrations from athletes? And on the action front, NZ goes into the Games in the rare position of being medal favourites in certain events, with 2018 heroes Zoi Sadowski-Synnott and Nico Porteous chasing history once more. NZ has never won a gold medal at the Winter Olympics - will this be the Games?

The glacial melancholy of Floating Points with Pharoah Sanders, Elvis Costello's rocking 32nd album, offbeat instrumentals from David Long, and a demo set from PJ Harvey.