Nine To Noon for Wednesday 8 April 2020

 

09:05 Chief Science advisor. How and when we exit alert level four

On the half way point of the four week long level four Covid-19 restrictions Chief Science advisor Professor Juliet Gerrard, talks to Kathryn Ryan about how and when we exit the strictest level. It comes amid warnings that current manual-based contact tracing system won't be enough to help prevent the chances of entering another lockdown, if cases take off again.

09:20 Lockdown load: How's our internet holding up?

In this Covid-19 crisis, the internet has emerged as a vital tool for continuing life with some semblance of normality. There's virtual work meetings, online school and university lessons, and -  when the lockdown gets too much - endless options for streaming entertainment. Could we have done this 15 years ago? Probably not. So how much demand is being placed on the network? On Monday night the evening peak was at 2.57 terabits per second, and yesterday's midday traffic was about 1.7Tbps. Joining Kathryn is Chorus' CEO JB Rousselot.

 
09:30 Australia begins testing potential COVID-19 vaccines

CSIRO, Australia's national science agency, has begun the first stage of testing vaccine candidates for COVID-19, in what it's calling a 'critical research milestone'. Australian Animal Health Laboratory, director Professor Trevor Drew, is leading the efforts.

09:40 BNZ extends its Community Finance programme

BNZ has extended the Community Finance programme it runs with Good Shepherd NZ, allowing $5m of no-interest loans to be accessed by families impacted by Covid-19. The bank says the loans of up to $1500 will help prevent people from using loan sharks or other predatory lenders. Over the past week Nine to Noon has talked to the heads of the biggest banks in New Zealand, and Angie Mentis, chief executive of BNZ joins Kathryn this morning.

09:45 What to do with the Ruby Princess, and George Pell walks free

Australia correspondent Annika Smethurst joins Kathryn to talk about the stricken cruise ship that's now the subject of a police investigation for allowing 3000 passengers to roam around Sydney while Covid-19 was onboard. 1040 crew - many sick - now remain. Australia has 5844 cases of Covid-19, many linked to the Ruby Princess. She'll also talk about the controversial decision by Australia's highest court to free Cardinal George Pell and reverse his conviction for molesting choirboys.

10:05 Nathan Filer: schizophrenia

Former psychiatric nurse turned best-selling fiction writer Nathan Filer wants to have a conversation about something we think we already know about: schizophrenia.  In his new book The Heartland, Finding and Losing Schizophrenia (also published as This Book Will Change Your Mind About Mental Health)  Nathan introduces us to people he met during his time in clinical practice. Nathan tells Kathryn Ryan he hopes to debunk some myths and stereotypes about the condition he refers to as "so-called schizophrenia". Nathan was due to appear at the 2020 Auckland Writer's Festival, until it was rescheduled.

10:35 Book review - Grandmothers edited by Helen Elliott

Linda Burgess reviews Grandmothers: Essays by 21st-Century Grandmothers edited by Helen Elliott, published by Text.

An Australian collection of essays written by.....grandmothers. Excellent for dipping in and out of, with a wide range of writers - from the wonderful Helen Garner to Cheryl Kernot, ex-politician and Australia's first woman cricket umpire.

10:45 The Reading

Goneville, episode 8. Written and read by Nick Bollinger.

11:05 Tunes to listen to in lockdown

RNZ music journalist Yadana Saw joins Kathryn with a selection of music to listen, watch or play while you're in isolation. She also has some music apps and activities to keep all ages amused, as well as artists, DJs and music fans who are finding inventive ways to keep their spirits high.

11:20 New TV show giving Kōhanga Reo some DIY-love

It's been 38 years since the first kohanga reo centre opened in Wainuiomata - and there's now over 8,500 tamariki in centres across New Zealand. But the competition from mainstream centres, and a change to bring them under the Ministry of Education, has seen the number of centres drop from a high of 800 in the mid-1990s to 450, with many of them in need of an upgrade to buildings. Maori TV has a new programme, Tōku Whare Kōhanga Reo, which aims to help bring communities together to do some DIY on run-down centres around the country. Joining Kathryn to talk about his involvement in the show, and the vital role kōhanga reo play in Maori communities is Daniel Procter, co-chair of the Kōhanga Reo National Trust Board and a kohanga graduate himself.

11:45 New studies emerge into Covid-19

This week, Associate Professor Siouxsie Wiles tells us about some of the latest research related to Covid-19. The studies include how far a sneeze travels, research into how the virus sheds itself around the body and one that turns the virus into a musical score!

Associate Professor Dr Siouxsie Wiles is the head of Bioluminescent Superbugs Lab at the University of Auckland.