Nine To Noon

Roads are being reimagined so people can party and children can play. Red tape has been cut, thanks to New Zealand's Transport Agency, so cars can be restricted on streets for a while. Kathryn King manages the Urban Mobility Programme at Waka Kotahi, where work is underway to make our transport system safer, healthier and more environmentally friendly. Kathryn King tells Kathryn Ryan Play Streets is good for communities who want to gather, and good for children who enjoy getting out in the fresh air.

A Covid modeller says the virus booster programme should be rolled out as soon as possible saying without it, we could see tens of thousands of cases a day of the new omicron variant. Cabinet ministers meet today to consider whether the Pfizer booster programme should be urgently brought forward. A number of countries around the world have done so and there are calls for New Zealand to follow suit. Kathryn speaks with Professor Michael Plank from the University of Canterbury, who has carried out initial modelling on what the omicron variant might mean. Also, Dr Fran Priddy is from the research group Vaccine Alliance Aotearoa.

Film and TV reviewer Laumata Lauano joins Kathryn to talk about a new creation from Mindy Kaling, Sex Lives of College Girls (Neon), a new gay Christmas comedy Single All the Way (Netflix) and star-studded thief comedy Red Notice (Netflix).

Happiness and a sense of belonging at school is key for children's progress and good health. Kathryn is joined by Mohamed Alansari, senior researcher at the New Zealand Council for Educational Research, where they have recently looked into the key influences on student well-being, particularly that of MÄori students.

Technology correspondent Peter Griffin joins Kathryn to unpack the Log4Shell or Log4j security exploit and the issues it's raised around the insecurity of legacy software systems that millions of organisations still rely on. And as Wellington becomes the first place in the southern hemisphere to get an electric ferry, what will it take to get more of them onto our harbours?

David Hill reviews The Essential Fairy by Anna Kenna, published by The CopyPress.

After 31 years in politics - 16 of them as Germany's leader - Angela Merkel's successor finally took over the country last week. It ended quite a swan song for Merkel, who announced back in 2018 that she would stand down this year. Kati joins Kathryn to talk about her new biography: The Chancellor: The Remarkable Odyssey of Angela Merkel.

UK correspondent Matt Dathan joins Kathryn to talk about the trouble plaguing Boris Johnson over a number of Christmas parties held last year in contravention of Covid rules and how that's helped fuel a rebellion in his own ranks over new 'Plan B' restrictions.

New research is investigating similarities between long-haul Covid and ME/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. University of Otago's Emeritus Professor Warren Tate and his team are examining the molecular patterns of long-haul Covid patients, who have persistant fatigue long after an expected time of recovery.

Hundreds of millions of dollars is to be spent on upgrading 24 hospitals around the country to improve care for both Covid patients and those who don't have the virus.Health Minister Andrew Little says 355 beds are to be upgraded and 30 intensive care or high dependency beds will be added in hospitals from Kaitaia to Invercargill.