Nine To Noon for Wednesday 12 June 2019

 

09:05 Could new legislation save Foulden Maar?

Dunedin's Mayor Dave Cull is calling for the government to consider using legislation to protect the "globally significant"  Foulden Maar. The move to further support the Maar's preservation and its fossil record, follows a council decision last month to set aside its original letter of support for commercial exploitation of the site. The council will also appoint independent commissioners to oversee the ongoing consent process. Also joining Kathryn is Dr Jennifer Eccles, president of Geoscience Society of New Zealand, with her reaction to Dunedin City Council's move.

09:30 The cost of covering up: Bees prevented from doing their job

Around three quarters of the world's food crops rely on pollinators like bees  - but what happens if they can't actually get to the crop? That's been the subject of a recent study carried out by Plant & Food Research, which examined the effects of the use of protective covers over kiwifruit crops in the Bay of Plenty. Research leader Dr Lisa Evans joins Kathryn to explain the findings.

09:45 Debate rages over media freedom

Australia correspondent Bernard Keane has the latest on the fallout over police raids on journalists and the resulting press freedom debate.

10.05 Is race science making a come back? Angela Saini: Superior

Kathryn speaks with award-winning British journalist Angela Saini, whose latest book exposes and challenges race science, which she says is making a subtle come-back.  Angela Saini has been described as one of the world's best science writers, regularly presenting science programmes for the BBC.  She writes for the Guardian, and the New Scientist.  Holding a Masters in Engineering from Oxford University, where she was also an anti racism campaigner, Superior: The Return of Race Science looks at racial biases in science history.  Exposing the lie at racism's rotten core: that inequality is a result of genetics rather than political power, that race is a biological characteristic instead of a social construct.

10:35 NZ Book review - The Years by Annie Ernaux 

Kiran Dass of Time Out Bookstore reviews The Years by Annie Ernaux, which is published by Fitzcarraldo.

10:45 The Reading

The Ice Shelf written and adapted by Anne Kennedy told by Amy Tarleton (Part 3 of 10, RNZ)

11:05 Bon Voyage: Dr John, Bon Iver, Cate Le Bon

Music reviewer Charlotte Ryan looks at the music of American singer-songwriter Dr John who died of a heart attack last Thursday. She'll also talk about the return of Bon Iver after a three-year hiatus and Cate Le Bon's 6th album release.

11:20  Wāhine Connect. Helping women in heath to crush it

Of the most senior medical positions in our District Health Boards and government, only 15% are filled by women. That's despite women making up more than half of the country's medical students and 80% of the health workforce. Dr Juliet Rumball-Smith, has been working hard to change those statistics with her peer network and mentoring programme, Wāhine Connect. Its aim is to connect female health professionals with knowledgeable mentors. Thanks to funding from the charitable arm of Southern Cross it is set to expand.

11:45 Exhibitions honour well-known modernist Guy Ngan

Arts commentator Courtney Johnston has a special focus on two exhibitions honouring the life work of Guy Ngan in Auckland and Wellington.