Nine To Noon
Smart, in-depth and relentlessly curious, host Kathryn Ryan dives into the stories shaping New Zealand and its people. Interviews and expert analysis from around the world and at home. It’s where big ideas are unpacked and everyday life explored.
Episodes
Science with Stuart Parsons
Stuart is University of Canterbury's Executive Dean of Science, and a Professor in the School of Biological Sciences.
Lloyd Jones releases autobiographical memoir
The Beaded Curtain was released last week and is part memoir, part reportage.
Around the motu: James Pocock, Editor of the Gisborne Herald
James discusses the closure of a local kindergarten, a Ngati Porou lawyer appointed King's Counsel, and the local plumber named apprentice of the year.
Book review: Lynn Freeman's picks
Lynn reviews The Passing of the Forest by Richard Wolfe, Sorry Rock by Thalia Henry and Parrot Heaven by Jessica Howland Kany.
Have dating apps and the manosphere distorted romance?
Psychology professor Paul Eastwick discusses his latest book, Bonded by Evolution: The New Science of Love and Connection.
Australia: Parliament's tribute to Helen Haines
Australia correspondent Bernard Keane joins Kathryn to talk about Parliament resuming and the tributes made to MP Helen Haines who was attacked last week.
The school trades academy building houses for families in need
The academy at Hastings Boys High School trains students under the guidance of building tutors, while building homes for Kāinga Ora.
Big discounts possible for overdue student loan borrowers
Lawyer Dave Ananth joins Kathryn to talk about the process of getting deals with the IRD for overdue student loans.
Long Covid sufferers being denied insurance pay outs
Insurance lawyer Tim Gunn says people are being declined income protection claims when they're unable to work.
Sports correspondent Ben Strang
Ben talks NPC, Silver Ferns, Black Caps and Liam Lawson. Ben Strang is New Zealand and Pacific Islands Correspondent for the AFP.
How humans are adapting to technology rather than vice versa
Are we as humans increasingly adapting our behaviour to accommodate technology?
Political commentators Andrew Ketels and Phil Goff
Kathryn is joined by Andrew Ketels, former Act Party chief of staff and advisor to the National Party, and Phil Goff, former Cabinet Minister, Leader of the Labour Party and mayor of Auckland.
Around the motu: Torika Tokalau in Tamaki Makaurau
Torika has the details of animal control workers facing more threats from dog owners, Rugby League supporters warned over late night celebrating around World Cup and the Piha campground given a reprieve against council recomendations.
Gardening: Design expert Xanthe White
Labour weekend has just passed, so it is traditionally the time to think about getting going with tomatoes.
Brad Pitt's stunt pilot double and local aviation stalwart
When a Blenheim pilot got a call from someone looking for a floatplane, he couldn't have imagined he would have ended up doubling for Hollywood superstar Brad Pitt.
USA correspondent Danielle Kurtzleben
It is now one week from the midterms in the US, and Republicans look like they might struggle in districts redrawn under pressure from the President to favour votes for his party.
The student who built an app to help his uncle communicate
Inspired by his uncle who has cerebral palsy, Jack Harker, a Year 11 student at ACG Parnell College has developed a communication tool that may help more people participate in everyday conversations.
Should empty buildings be made available for shared use?
A visiting academic from Naples says he was able to create a legal 'hack' to open unused buildings for civic use.
Construction maybe on the up, but are the skilled workers?
There are new indications of an upturn in the construction industry, but prices are on the rise and there are questions about the availability of skilled staff.
Sports commentator Sam Ackerman
Christchurch is the centre of the NZ sporting universe this week.
Friday funnies
Justine Smith and Donna Brookbanks with a lighter take on some recent stories.
Around the motu: Kaitlyn Morrell
Kaitlyn has the latest on what is happening with the Cathedral Cove track, a dispute over the proposed felling of a protected tree, the new freight and logistics hub opened at the Port of Tauranga, meth testing increases after law changes and success for Tauranga's Men's Volleyball.
Book review: Chris Tse reviews poetry collections
Chris Tse reviews two poetry collections: Salt Quilt by Airini Beautrais (Te Herenga Waka University Press), and I Do Know Some Things by Richard Siken (Penguin Random House).
Labour candidate Kerrin Leoni resigns over gang campaigning
Kerrin Leoni, has resigned as a Labour candidate for Tamaki Makaurau. This comes after a video merged showing her campaigning with gang members. RNZ political editor Jo Moir.
Sociologist Maryam Aslany on why the world depends on peasants
Sociologist Maryam Aslany says there are still roughly two billion people out there living as peasants in her new book Peasants: Makers of the Modern World she argues that these small-scale farmers are essential to the global economy.
Asia correspondent Rachel Clayton
The US Secretary of State Marco Rubio is in India, while Japan carries out a first mission to Mars' moons to collect samples.
Inside the world of international competitive e-gaming
Gaming is set to take centre stage this Labour Weekend with an international e-sports test match between New Zealand and India. E Blacks team leader Jonathan Jansen and player Sam Johnson
Drew James on reviving the wonder of WOMAD's world music
WOMAD is returning to Taranaki in next March, following a year off this year amid rising costs, Drew James is the newly-appointed executive director.
US psychotherapist on how she gets people to leave cults
US psychotherapist Rachel Bernstein has spent more than 30 years helping people recover from cults and is visiting New Zealand for the first time to speak at this weekend's DeCult 2026 conference.
Screentime: Tenzing, British and Irish Film Festival
Film and TV reviewer James Croot looks at new biographical film Tenzing, which was filmed in New Zealand. He also shares his picks of the British and Irish Film Festival, including: Everybody to Kenmure St, 500 Miles, Hill, The Incomer, Kenny Dalglish, Parky, Virginia Woolf's Night & Day and The Three Urns. James Croot is a TV Guide and The Press film and television reviewer
Parenting: Supporting kids through frustration
How we can support kids through frustration, without rushing to rescue them from it?
Tech: Hacking into supermarket fridges? Tony Grasso explains
Cybersecurity expert Tony Grasso looks at the major attack against nearly 700 French supermarkets, where hackers were able to access commercial fridges and freezers and drive up temperatures to 50 degrees for hours. Not only did it cost millions in wasted food, the high temperatures triggered hardware and electrical fires - and sparked warnings about leaving industrial control systems exposed
Inflation eases but cost-of-living warnings remain
Statistics New Zealand says annual inflation has eased to 3.7 percent in the September quarter. That's down from an annual rate of 4.1 percent in the previous quarter and is slightly lower than market expectations. RNZ economics correspondent Gyles Beckford unpacks the latest data.
Around the motu: Kelly Makiha in Rotorua
Kelly has more on a bottle store worker injured in what police say was the start of a crime spree, the young Rotorua women who has gone from from opera singing to the Black Fern's Sevens squad, the saga of a trapped kitten and attempted car invasions.
Pacific: Out-of-season storms, wildfires in Papua New Guinea
RNZ's Pacific correspondent Christina Persico looks at the storms that have already hit the Pacific outside of the normal cyclone season, including Cyclone Wati which passed the Cooks without too much damage. Meanwhile fire has hit an island in Papua New Guinea on a scale not seen before. The US is pushing ahead with its plan to lease 31 million acres of seabed around American Samoa and how a
Testing a world of AI agents
From a startup staffed by AI agents to sending his digital clone to online therapy, US journalist and author Evan Ratliff loves testing the boundaries of new technologies.
UK: Controversial gasfield approved, debt hits £3tn
UK correspondent Natasha Clare looks at why it was given the greenlight and the reaction to it. The UK government's debt has hit £3tn for the first time, as John Healey gets ready to present his first budget next week.
Burger Burger's comeback - backed by suppliers
Less than three months after entering liquidation, gourmet burger chain Burger Burger has started re-opening.
Survey finds few young people are considering career as carers
Almost two-thirds of young people thought home care was meaningful work, however few associate it with fair pay or a clear career pathway.
A sunny long weekend for many, but drought threat grows
Drought Indicator Maps provided by Earth Sciences NZ show a large part of the country is drier than usual, with only Christchurch and its surrounds wetter than normal.
Science: Tiny, shiny Kiwi start ups
Cushla McGoverin is a senior research fellow within the Department of Physics at the University of Auckland, and Principal Investigator in Te Whai Ao - Dodd-Walls Centre for Photonic and Quantum Technologies.
How dog registration nearly led to an all-out colonial conflict
A new play is taking on a little-known chapter of Aotearoa's history: The dog tax that led to an armed standoff between Māori in Hokianga and government forces.
Around the motu: Logan Savory of the South Tribune
Logan discusses the upcoming anniversary of the windstorm that left 50,000 customers without power while a 95-year-old sets a world record on his birthday.
Book review: VOLUME Books' picks
Stella Chrysostomou from VOLUME Books reviews two books: U.X.O. by Brannavan Gnanalingam (Lawrence & Gibson), and A Passage North by Anuk Arudpragasam (Granta).
The only person to have completed the entire Trans Canada solo
At 50 she set out alone to travel the full 24,000km route by foot, bike, canoe, snowshoe and ski, through mountains, boreal forest, prairie, and Arctic tundra.
Australia: Motive still unclear in attack on MP Helen Haines
Australia correspondent Karen Middleton has the latest in the shocking attack on MP Helen Haines in which she was rammed with a car and has had to have her leg amputated. Pauline Hanson's delivered a rare apology for a cartoon that ran as part of her 'Please Explain' series that mocked the vaginal prolapse suffered by Jacqui Lambie due to injuries sustained when she served in the Defence Forc
River of the Year finalists named
Three rivers have been selected as finalists in the inaugural River of the Year award.
Which representative positions are US voters selecting?
In the United States, voters will soon be making choices in the mid-terms. But what positions are voters being asked to choose candidates for?
New research details national scale of abuse of older people
Nearly one in six Kiwis over the age of 55 have experienced abuse in the last year, according to new national research.
Sports correspondent Sam Ackerman
Sports correspondent Sam Ackerman has the latest from the world of sport.
How artist and jeweller Jess Dare says it with flowers
Jess Dare's latest exhibition, I will Meet You in the Garden, is currently on at Toi Tauranga Art Gallery.
Business commentator Cécile Meier
There's a call for a 'Truth in Politics Act' - from a leading lawyer, could it actually work?
Around the motu: Jimmy Ellingham in the Manawatu
Jimmy has more on the Otaki to north of Levin highway, campaigning in Manawatu and the Polish orphans who came to Pahiatua.
How to handle family estrangements
Estrangement between family members can be painful for both the parties involved, and the wider family who must navigate the situation.
Designing Christchurch's new Catholic Cathedral
The new Catholic cathedral in Christchurch will be the first one built in New Zealand in 120 years.
USA correspondent David Smith
President Trump is looking for a new press secretary after questions were raised about the former incumbent Katie Zacharia's qualifications.
Member of UN Protection Force returns to Bosnia
30 years after being part of the UN Protection Force in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Captain Ben Green has returned and met some of the students he helped protect.
Basic bank accounts soon to be easier to open
The country's major banks have signed an agreement to make it easier to open a bank account, which usually requires proof of ID and address.
Technical group opposes any development in risky areas
New planning laws replacing the RMA are too vague to prevent development in flood-prone areas, according to planning experts.
Off the beaten track with Roger Parsons
Roger Parsons is a life long tramper and at 82 years old has become a master of adjustment to enable his love of tramping to continue.
What does it take to set up a restaurant?
Chef Olly Le Maitre and hospitality professional Santiago Burgos are taking that leap with their new restaurant Marlowe, based in Christchurch's CBD.
Political commentators Dale Husband and Liam Hehir
Dale Husband is a long time broadcaster and Radio Waatea presenter hosting a Maori focused current affairs programme. Liam Hehir is a Palmerston North lawyer, political commentator and a National Party member.
Around the motu: Newsroom's David Williams in Otautahi
David discusses access to information about health services, a local City Mission reviews after the death of Braydon Hepworth, new schools but no libraries and the new exhibition on Antartic Connections.
Book review: Jenna Todd's picks
Jenna Todd from Time Out Bookstore reviews Partita by Barbara Kingsolver and American Hagwon by Min Jin Lee.
Tenzing and the Kiwi who kept the cast and crew safe
The new film telling the story of Tenzing Norgay, the Sherpa mountaineer who achieved the world-first summit alongside Sir Edmund Hillary.
Europe correspondent Seamus Kearney
Europe correspondent Seamus Kearney reports from Lyon.
Blind Invercargill man with a love of restoring Morris Marinas
Despite not having driven himself for several decades, his love for the vehicle which started when his dad worked at the local Morris dealership, has not diminished.
Far North Council's plan to tackle region's lack of housing
Councillor Arohanui Allen says the region would need 22,000 more homes to bring it up to the national average for home ownership.
Concerns over increase in trains going through red lights
The alert is in the Commission's Watch List for this year, which also highlights fears about the safety of level crossings and the risk of collisions.
Sports commentator Sam Ackerman
Sports commentator Sam Ackerman
Friday funnies
Michele A'Court and Irene Pink with a lighter take on some recent stories.
Around the motu: RNZ's Dunedin reporter, Tess Brunton
Tess discusses the search for unmarked graves of mental asylum patients, hopes for an end to the entertainment drought at Dunedin's Forsyth Barr stadium, Central Otago District Council drops plan to dump human effluent on a local farm and a Dunedin surfer will captain New Zealand's youngest longboarding squad at the world championship in El Salvador.
Reimagining Daphne du Maurier's Rebecca
Jack McConnell from Unity Books Auckland reviews Rose Tremain's The Housekeeper, a reimagining of Daphne du Maurier's Rebecca, and discusses film adaptations of the classic novel.
Former Lego designer on the power of creativity and innovation
Bo Stjerne Thomsen is a former Head of Educational Impact at LEGO Education and an Honorary Professor of Entrepreneurship Education based in Billund, Denmark.
Asia correspondent Elizabeth Beattie
A Japanese reporter has been detained in the Russian territory of Sakhalin, a bridge that links China and North Korea has officially opened, dangerous levels of pollution in Singapore, and Vietnam buries war dead. Elizabeth Beattie is a journalist for The Japan Times based in Tokyo
Former Afghan judge and her family on their new life in NZ
Raihana Attaee was a judge and Maqsood Rezayee a university lecturer when the Taliban returned to power in Afghanistan. The family - members of the Hazara minority ethnic group - now live in Auckland where Maqsood has just graduated with a PhD in urban planning and Raihana is preparing for admission to the High Court.
The story behind young Southland entrepreneur's budgeting app
KiwiBudget is an app designed to specifically help manage the finances of New Zealanders, and especially working families.
Warnings over solar power deals
Consumers considering subscription solar power plans are being warned to be clear about the terms and conditions they're locking themselves into.
Screentime: Tamar Munch's picks
Film and TV reviewer Tamar Munch joins Kathryn to talk what she's been watching.
Parenting: How to help teenagers navigate loneliness
Loneliness might sound more of an older person's problem, but research suggests it's young people who feel it most acutely.
