Nine To Noon

Gail Pittaway reviews Snow Country by Sebastian Faulks, published by Penguin Random House NZ.

Peter Garden (ONZM) started out as an agricultural pilot in Southland and then formed his own helicopter company. His flying skills and knowledge of pest eradication has seen him work closely with the Department of Conservation, but also engaged in many global predator eradication contracts including in South Georgia, the Aleutian Islands, Puerto Rico and the Seychelles. Growing up in Southland, his memoir Southern Wanderer is an account of 75 years of his life, and business, conservation efforts and flying endeavours.

The 2021 German federal election was held over the weekend to elect the members of the 20th Bundestag. The main political parties in Germany are virtually neck and neck and will need to put together a coalition to form the next government. Exit polls are predicting a tie for first place, as Angela Merkel retires after 16 years leading the country. The centre-left leader of the social democrats, Olaf Scholz, believes he will be the next German chancellor. Olaf Scholz's main rival is Armin Laschet, the leader of Ms Merkel's centre right Christian Democrats.

Our health system is in a losing battle trying to manage rather than prevent disease, says Dr David Beaumont, a former GP and specialist in occupational medicine. The answer is a radical shift towards empowering people to take more responsibility for their own health and wellbeing, he tells Kathryn Ryan.

Local councils around the country have until Friday to have their say on the government's controversial Three Waters Reform proposal. The plan would see the country's 67 councils' drinking, waste and storm water assets taken over by four large regional entities. The government has sweetened the deal with $2.5 billion to be divvied up between the councils to ensure none is worse off as a result of the reforms. Local Government New Zealand, which represents councils, has copped some flak for entering into a Heads of Agreement with the government over the proposal, with some calling for councils to quit their membership. Other councils have called for a pause on the process, and the Minister for Local Government, Nanaia Mahuta, has not ruled out ultimately making the scheme compulsory. Kathryn discusses the state of play with President of Local Government New Zealand, Stuart Crosby, and former Watercare Chief Executive Garry Law.

Comedians Te Radar and James Elliott have a funny focus on fast food this morning, fried chicken, pies and more are on the menu.

Sam previews this weekend's All Blacks v Springboks, more on the America's Cup palava, the ramifications from the Black Caps abandoning their Pakistan tour, and tonight is the series decider for the Silver Ferns and England. He and Kathryn also remember rugby great Waka Nathan who has passed away at the age of 81. 

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French psych-rock duo Liminanas have just made an "imaginary road movie" album with techno DJ/ producer Laurent Garnier. Grant says it's good, but not as good as past work, so we hear a couple of their classic earlier tracks today, alongside a stone-cold roots reggae classic from The Royals and a mighty Africa-meets-Brooklyn collaboration between Fela Kuti and Roy Ayers.

Adrian Hardingham from Unity Books Wellington reviews reviews The Passenger by Ulrich Alexander Boschwitz (translated by Philip Boehm). Published by Pushkin Press

Adam Alexander is on a mission to save rare vegetables and put them back on menus all over the world. Adam is a seed guardian at the UK's Organic Garden Heritage Seed Library, which has over 500 rare, endangered, local and heirloom vegetable varieties. He has saved over twenty endangered varieties himself, grows around seventy different vegetable varieties every year for collectors, and those keen to conserve genetic food plant diversity. A rare Catalonian pea is just one variety which might otherwise be no more had Adam not intervened. A seed detective, Adam joins the dots on mysteries like why a South American broad bean is meaningful in Myanmar. When he's not in the seed beds Adam is a filmmaker, traveling the world cultivating relationships with growers and vegetables along the way. Adam tells Kathryn he's a pea nut.