09:05 Concerns over fast-tracked changes to urban density rules

The Resource Management Act (Enabling Housing Supply) Amendment Bill was a surprise announcement last month - a rare cross-party agreement designed to speed up the building of new houses. Submissions closed at midnight on Tuesday for the fast-tracked law, which should be passed before Christmas. There are two main proposals: A new planning process to help 'tier one' councils to work out, and roll out, intensification policies earlier than was initially planned. The second, would see 'tier one' councils apply medium density residential standards from next August - including three homes of three storeys without the need for a resource consent. Many have expressed concerns about the speed, scale and potential long-term impact of the changes. This morning Kathryn speaks with Simon O'Connor, a former Auckland Council planner who now runs his own company, Sentinel Planning. And Ekin Sakin, a Christchurch-based architect and committee member with the Urban Design Forum.

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Photo: RNZ composite

09:30 New research into football headers and memory decline - are Kiwi kids protected?

As more research continues to emerge into the effects of heading a football and cognitive decline, there's no move in New Zealand yet to introduce heading regulations for younger players. Children under 10 have been banned in the US from heading balls since 2015, and the UK moved last year to ban the under-12s from headers in training and introduce a limit of 10 at training at all levels. In the latest study, a group of former professional footballers in the UK were asked about the number of headers they'd taken through their career and then run through a memory test similar to those that screen for dementia. The research, published recently in the Journal of Neuropsychology, found strong evidence between the number of headers over their careers and the players' lower test scores. Dr Davide Bruno of Liverpool John Moores University joins Kathryn to talk about the research.

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Photo: Photosport/123RF/Supplied

09:45 UK: More details on Liverpool terror suspect, Boris admits mistakes over sleaze

UK correspondent Harriet Line joins Kathryn to talk about how Liverpool terror suspect Al Swealmeen had been buying bomb parts for months, and how his conversion to Christianity is now being questioned. Boris Johnson today admitted making mistakes in the Government's botched attempt to spare Owen Paterson from being suspended from the Commons. And booster shots are on their way for adults over 40.

10:05 Lost letters of Elizabeth I rewrite history 

British Historian John Guy talks to Kathryn about the lost letters of Elizabeth I which not only shed fresh light on her fraught relationship with Mary Queen of Scots, but have rewritten history. When Elizabeth came to the throne in 1558 she made England Protestant, consequently she had many Catholic enemies who wanted to see her replaced by Mary Queen of Scots. John Guy is a Fellow in History of Clare College, Cambridge, and author of several books on the royal cousins and rival Queens, Elizabeth I and Mary, Queen of Scots. Mary was beheaded, aged 44, but it's now been revealed the execution, ordered by Elizabeth I was almost averted. John Guy has examined a previously lost document, now referred to as the John Guy letter, and it rewrites history. Currently The British Library has an exhibition Elizabeth and Mary: Royal Cousins, Rival Queens.

10:35 Book Review: Out Here: An Anthology of Takatapui and LGBTQU+ Writers from Aotearoa edited by Emma Barnes and Chris Tse    

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Photo: Auckland University Press

Michelle Rahurahu reviews Out Here: An Anthology of Takatapui and LGBTQU+ Writers from Aotearoa edited by Emma Barnes and Chris Tse, published by Auckland University Press

10:45 The Reading

Dogside Story, part nine. Written by Patricia Grace.

11:05 Tech: FluBot texts, Tesla's brake software fail, REvil charges laid

Technology correspondent Tony Grasso joins Kathryn to look at how the FluBot malware is spreading by text, rather than email. A software error that causes Tesla's autopilot to slam on the brakes raises questions about the balance between safety and business. And a 22-year-old Ukrainian hacker who was extradited from Poland has now been charged for his part in the REvil ransomware gang, thought to have netted more than US$200m and encrypted at least 175,000 computers.

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Photo: AFP, 123RF

11:25 Why parenting can be lonely - especially in a pandemic

A photo of a mother comforting crying little baby, pain, grief and parenting

Photo: 123rf

Kathryn talks with Clinical Psychologist Sarb Johal about the challenge of loneliness for parents, particularly during a pandemic. He says parenting can be tough at the best of times, but when you're stuck at home in lockdown, or you have to keep your kids at home because they're unwell, it can be very isolating.

11:45 Film and TV: Passing, Love Hard and The Lost Symbol

Film and TV reviewer Laumata Lauano joins Kathryn to talk new black and white film Passing (Netflix), which looks at the complicated friendship of two black women in segregated 1920s America, one of whom is "passing" for white. She'll also look at Christmas romantic comedy Love Hard and one for all the Da Vinci Code fans out there - a new prequel series called The Lost Symbol (Neon).

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Photo: IMDb