Nine To Noon

Psilocybin, or magic mushrooms, has been proven to help those suffering depression, now new research is focused on whether it would work for anorexia.

Three years and $1.9b later, the government says an external oversight group is needed to keep the country’s mental health plan on track. Kathryn speaks with Mental Health Foundation Chief Executive Shaun Robinson who says the risk of further 'drift' is enormous.

Siouxsie joins Kathryn to answer listeners' questions about Covid 19. Associate Professor Dr Siouxsie Wiles is the head of Bioluminescent Superbugs Lab at the University of Auckland.

The horror of the September 11 attacks unfolded as Elias Kanaris was flying halfway across the Atlantic Ocean on his way from London to Chicago. Air space across the US was hurriedly shutdown - and his plane ended up being one of 38 that was diverted to Gander Airport, Newfoundland - in Canada. The tiny town suddenly found more than 6,600 passengers and crew dumped on their doorstep overnight - and their pitstop was to last over a week. Elias has taken his experience, and used it to write about resilience in the face of adversity.

Police with specialist arms training will be rostered around the clock under a new 45 million dollar model designed to improve safety and capability of the frontline. The Police Minister Poto Williams, made the announcement at the Police College in Porirua a short time ago. RNZ journalist Emma Hatton has been covering it.

Michelle Rahurahu reviews Butcherbird by Cassie Hart, published by Huia Publishers.

Robin Sharma's Everyday Hero Manifesto reveals the habits that have helped successful people excel. His work in leadership and personal development has attracted clients including NASA, Microsoft, NIKE, Unilever, Oracle and Yale University.

Australia correspondent Annika Smethurst joins Kathryn to talk about Prime Minister Scott Morrison's trip to Washington following the announcement of the AUKUS security alliance, how New South Wales and Victoria have a road map out lockdowns by Xmas, but with thousands likely to be hospitalised. Meanwhile the lockdowns are taking their toll, with riots and protests in Melbourne after government announced mandatory vaccines for construction workers.

Magic Beans was set up five years ago by Anneliese Hough as a way people in the Hawkes Bay region could trade the food from their gardens, with no money involved. At the moment it's run via a very popular Facebook page, but Anneliese wants to make it bigger. So she and business partner Sarah Grant have sought to develop it as an app - which would allow it to operate all over New Zealand - and possibly even further afield. They'll talk to Kathryn about how it works.

A leading engineering firm says New Zealand needs to get moving on creating a digital twin - and government should be considering it as part of a national digital strategy. A digital twin is a virtual model of something - say a building or a bridge - and takes real-world data to run simulations to see how it might perform. So what about a model of the whole country? It's already been done in Singapore, and being worked on in Britain. Thomas Hyde is the chief digital officer for engineering firm Beca, and says investing in a digital twin would have big economic and social benefits - especially in light of the $23.4 billion announced earlier this month to be spent on transport and infrastructure over the next three years.