Nine To Noon for Friday 2 December 2022

 

09:05 Beware of DNA ancestry tests: Genomics Aotearoa

DNA ancestry tests might solve some personal curiosity - but are they gifting a treasure trove of data to third parties? Professor Peter Dearden, from the Department of Biochemstry at the University of Otago, and Director of Genomics Aotearoa, says a growing number of people are choosing home test kits through the likes of ancestry.com or 123andme.com, without understanding the consequences. He says most people regard dna kits as entertainment and are unaware that their data could be sold to third parties - including insurance companies which could then deny coverage. Professor Dearden says New Zealand's legal framework needs to provide clearer guidelines on what is private and what is not. Genomics Aotearoa is hosting a series of free public talks tonight at the Otago Museum.

09:30 Counting success: How a South Auckland school switched up maths and got results

 At Manurewa West Primary School the old way of doing maths was thrown out, and the standardised maths assessment was rewritten to reflect real-life contexts and cultures of the school, student achievement has shot through the roof. In fact, it's moved from 42 % to 79 % in 2021. The driving force behind this is one of the school's deputy principals, Shea Bowden. And she's received recognition for the work she's done, this week winning the Primary School Apple at this year's National Excellence in Teaching Awards. She joins Kathryn to talk about how the programme was built and tailored to her school and the boost its had for the children - not just in maths - but in other areas of their education.

09:45 Pacific correspondent Koroi Hawkins

Koroi is in Da Nang, Vietnam where the Pacific Tuna Commission is meeting, to decide the future of the world's largest tuna fishery.  All 26 member countries and participating territories of the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission - WCPFC - are custodians of the multi-billion-dollar Pacific tuna fishery.

Koroi Hawkins is a journalist with RNZ Pacific

10:05 Celeste Ng: creating a realistic dystopia in Our Missing Hearts

American author Celeste Ng is best known for her novel Little Fires Everywhere, a family drama set in Celeste's own hometown; the upscale suburb of Shaker Heights, Ohio. The book was a major best-seller and was later adapted for TV, starring Reese Witherspoon and Kerry Washington. Her first novel, Everything I Never Told You took six years to come to fruition, but was an instant New York Times best-seller. She now has a new book, Our Missing Hearts. Set in a dystopian, but chillingly realistic America, a political and economic crisis has led to anti-Asian racism and violence. At the story's centre is a 12 year-old Chinese American boy named Bird, and his mother Margaret, whose poetry has become a rallying cry to protest new, racist legislation. 

10:35 Book review: What Writers Read: 35 Writers on Their Favourite Book edited by Pandora Sykes

Mellissa Oliver from Unity Books Wellington reviews What Writers Read: 35 Writers on Their Favourite Book edited by Pandora Sykes, published by Bloomsbury

In this love letter to reading, curated by Pandora Sykes in aid of the National Literacy Trust, bestselling and beloved writers share their favourite books: the ones they hold most dearly, that they return to time and again and that helped make them the writers they are.

10:30 Around the motu : Todd Niall with a spotlight on Auckland

There's plenty going on in the City of Sails under new Mayor,Wayne Brown, Stuff's Senior Auckland Affairs Journalist Todd Niall talks to Kathryn about the financial challenges facing the council, replacing directors and relationship building.

10:45 The Reading

11:05 Music reviewer Grant Smithies​ 

The music of Brazil seems to make a special kind of sense during summer, so we'll be hearing two classic Brazilian tracks today, from the late Gal Costa and Noriel Vilela. After that, an understated gem from Dunedin songwriter Maxine Funke and some hefty Jamaican disco from Risco Connection.

11:30 Sports commentator Sam Ackerman : the Halberg legacy, FIFA & more 

Sam reflects on a big sporting week in this country - from the legacy left by Sir Murray Halberg to the futures of other New Zealand athletes and teams being up in the air. Also the action from the FIFA world cup, including Australia advancing.

11:45 The week that was

Join us for a few laughs with comedians Irene Pink and Donna Brookbanks including the story of the monks who got into a spot of bother with meth and some of the most unusual pet insurance claims on the year.