Nine To Noon for Tuesday 14 May 2019

 

 

09:05  Vodafone NZ sold

Vodafone New Zealand has been sold by its British parent company to a consortium comprising local infrastructure investment company Infratil and Canadian firm Brookfield Asset Management for 3 point 4 billion dollars. Vodafone's New Zealand business has been on the sales block for some time after the Commerce Commission refused to let it merge with Sky TV in 2017. Kathryn discusses the significance of the sale with Chief Executive of the Telecommunications Users Association, Craig Young.

09:20 US college admissions scandal revelations

Joel Rubin from the LA Times has been delving into the college admissions scandal, and tells Kathryn about how the lid was blown on the scam. At least 50 people, including two high profile actresses, Lori Loughlin and Felicity Huffman,face charges in the cheating scam, which involves parents accused of resorting to bribery to get their children coveted admission to elite universities.

09:40 Kiwi link to Mariana Trench dive which finds plastic bag

American explorer Victor Vescovo has set a new record for human exploration at the foot of the Mariana Trench, in the Pacific Ocean. Inside his specially designed submersible, he found sea creatures, but also found a plastic bag and sweet wrappers. The first dive to the bottom of the Mariana Trench took place in 1960 by US Navy lieutenant Don Walsh and Swiss engineer Jacques Piccard in a vessel called the bathyscaphe Trieste. The New Zealander whose deep submersibles made the journey possible is Rob McCallum Expedition Leader of The Five Deeps Expedition.

09:45 Alabama and Georgia race to curb abortion

From the US, Washington bureau chief of The Guardian, David Smith talks to Kathryn about the race to outlaw abortion in Alabama, with Georgia and five other states signing bills to dramatically curb abortion. Also, President Donald Trump says the US is "right where we want to be with China".  

10:05 For the thrill of live comedy. Josh Wolf

Over the past twenty years, US stand-up comedian, actor, and writer Josh Wolf has been honing his skills as a funny man and as a father. In the early days of perfecting his live comedy he wrote a bestselling book about his adventures as a struggling stand-up comedian, while being a single parent in LA. Now he's married and his children are grown up but they still provide plenty of material for his act. Josh first made a name for himself on the live late-night talk show, 'Chelsea Lately' and then went on to present his own gig, The Josh Wolf Show.

Josh Wolf is appearing in Wellington and Auckland in weeks two and three of this years International Comedy Festival with Best Foods Mayo which runs from May 2nd - 26th.

10:35 A world of stories: Storytime.rnz.co.nz

Kathryn talks with Wellington teacher Shelly Wilson about storytime.rnz.co.nz - RNZ's newly revamped home for children's stories.

10:45 The Reading

Lisa’s Story (from the book, All this by Chance) by Vincent O’Sullivan read by Peter Hambleton. Episode 2 of 10

11:05 Vodafone is sold, Fonterra sells Tip Top

Business commentator Rod Oram discusses the sale of Vodafone NZ to a consortium which includes Infratil and Canadian firm Brookfield Asset Management, and Fonterra sells Tip Top - what next for the iconic formerly-Kiwi company?

11:30  YOLO farmer Wayne Langford

Golden Bay farmer Wayne Langford's philosophy on life is "you only live once" - or YOLO. The sixth-generation dairy farmer, who is also Federated Farmers' national dairy vice-chairman, was in his early thirties and struggling with depression. On his 34th birthday, with wife Tyler, they decided that for the coming year they would do one thing each day to remind themselves why they were were glad to be alive. To keep themselves accountable they decided to post each day on social media. So began the YOLO project - which is now more than two years old. Wayne has a blog, almost 20,000 followers on Facebook, while @YOLOFarmerGlobal, for farmers from around the world, has 100,000 followers. He's also on Twitter and Instagram

11:45 Emailed news digests and paywalls

In a time poor world, media commentator Gavin Ellis gives thanks for emailed news digests. Also an update on paywalls, including a new Reuters Institute report that shows they are gaining ground.

Gavin Ellis is a media commentator and former editor of the New Zealand Herald.  He can be contacted on gavin.ellis@xtra.co.nz

Music played in this show

Artist: Karen O and Danger Mouse
Song: Turn the light
Time: 10.34

Artist: Day Glow Fire
Song: Future Islands
Time: 11:40