Nine To Noon

Ralph McAllister reviews Philip Roth:The Biography by Blake Bailey, published by Penguin Random House.

Astronomer John Hearnshaw is determined to protect and maintain dark skies from light pollution and believes there should be a nationwide law for it.

Kelsey covers off the criticism directed at President Joe Biden over the US withdrawal from Afghanistan as evacuations continue, and a resurgence in Covid as America's school year begins. Kelsey Snell is a congressional correspondent for NPR, based in Washington DC.

Thousands of Wellington walkers, runners and mountain bikers have signed up to a new app, supporting the volunteer network that advocates for and builds tracks in the city's town belt. Trails Wellington is a collective of locals passionate about maintaining and expanding the network of trails around the city. In June the membership app was launched and now has more than 2000 members. Chair of Trails Wellington, Anthony Edmonds, talks with Kathryn about the group's big plans.

The Nurses Organisation says nurses who live with close contacts are being asked to turn up for work at Auckland's DHBs. The union says they're deeply concerned by a Ministry of Health exemption issued last week for essential health workers from the need to fully self-isolate as long as certain conditions are met. The NZNO also says in a survey of some of its members, 60 per cent reported still experiencing issues getting either enough PPE or the right fitting masks. Kerri Nuku, Nurses' Organisation Kaiwhakahaere, tells Kathryn Ryan, nurses are being diverted to delivering vaccines and doing testing, meaning workloads are ever increasing. Kathryn also speaks with Dr Bryan Betty, Medical Director of the College of GPs.

Bill talks to Kathryn about empty commercial buildings and whether they could provide affordable apartments to help reduce the housing crisis.

Jennifer Rodrigue and her husband David own a boutique cheese making operation, Belle Chèvre Creamery based in Waipu. What started out as a hobby has ended up in a Northland goat farm producing some award winning cheeses.

Stephen, Ben and Kathryn talk about whether the health system is anywhere near prepared to cope with the Delta strain, 18 months since pandemic surfaced here, and the scramble to get more New Zealanders vaccinated and tested. They also discuss Sir Michael Cullen's legacy.

David Hill reviews Second Innings: On men, mental health and cricket by Barry Nicholls, published by Freemantle Press.

It was a case that gripped Japan. Shimoyama Sadanori, head of Japan National Railways, was found dead on the tracks of a commuter rail line one July morning in 1949. The day before he disappeared he'd released a list of 30-thousand rail employees who were about to lose their jobs. Was it suicide - or murder? Kathryn speaks with David Peace, who has written three books set in the post-war period of occupation in Japan. He started with Tokyo Year Zero, then Occupied City and he rounds his trilogy off with Tokyo Redux - a gritty look at what may have happened to President Shimoyama through the eyes of three investigators over a 40 year period.