Nine To Noon for Wednesday 19 July 2023

 

09:05 Apple's new voice replicator can bypass bank voice authentication

A new accessibility tool set to roll out across Apple devices can replicate a user's voice with enough accuracy to bypass banking recognition systems. From mid-September, iPhones will be able to parrot back anything you type in, after following just 15 minutes of randomised voice prompts. It is part of the iOS 17 upgrade, and it's just one of a range of new functions to assist people with disabilities. Apple is taking precautions to ensure the voice data cannot be hacked - the information is stored on the device itself, rather than being uploaded to a cloud. An early version tested by a staff member at RNZ managed to trick a phone banking voice authentication system.

Kathryn Ryan speaks with Aucklander Pratik Navani - he signed up to the Apple iOS beta release and has early access to the feature. She also speaks with Dr Dennis Desmond, a former US counterintelligence officer who lectures in cyber-crime and security at the University of the Sunshine Coast, and also disability advocate and Workbridge CEO Jonathan Mosen. 

09:30 NZ lagging in protections for female athletes 

Revelations this past month of two more cases of inappropriate behaviour or misconduct by top-level sports coaches involving athletes shows there's still too little protection for sports women. Leading sports academic Professor Holly Thorpe says New Zealand is lagging behind what other countries' sports bodies are doing. Earlier this month, a 10 year coaching ban was handed down by Athletics New Zealand to top pole vault coach Jeremy McColl, after an independent investigation found him guilty of  "serious misconduct" over a number of years towards athletes. It follows revelations last month, that several years ago, athletics coach Andrew Maclennan had a sexual relationship with a teenager he coached.  Athletics is not the only sport grappling with the abuse of young athletes - with cycling, canoe racing, gymnastics, hockey and rugby also coming under scrutiny in recent years. Kathryn speaks with Professor in Sociology of Sport and Gender at Waikato University, Dr Holly Thorpe and Sports and Exercise Physician Dr Sarah Beable.  

09:45 Australia: Games gone, girl governor, dingo attack, space junk

Australia correspondent Karen Middleton joins Kathryn to dissect the death of Victoria's Commonwealth Games dream, after Premier Daniel Andrews decided it was just too expensive for the state to host. Australia is set to have its first female central bank governor, with confirmation Michelle Bullock will take over the job - albeit a tough one with home owners struggling with the effects of 12 straight interest rate increases. A dingo cull could be on the cards after a woman out jogging on K'Gari - formerly Fraser Island - was attacked by a pack of four. And police are guarding a giant piece of what looks like space junk on a West Australia beach. 

Karen Middleton is chief political correspondent for The Saturday Paper.

 

10:05 Poet Kristen Phillips on her loving book about her dad's dementia

Close to 70,000 people in Aotearoa New Zealand are currently living with a dementia diagnosis. And that number is rapidly growing as the population ages, with an estimated 100,000 more to be diagnosed by 2050. The degenerative brain disease can affect thinking, independent function, and behaviour. But for many of us, navigating dementia is a personal and often heartbreaking story, as we watch someone we love change. But not everything has to, as Kristen Phillips illustrates in her loving book Dad, you've got dementia: Conversations with my Father. Now back in Wellington after 30 years in London, the basis of the Kristen's book began during phone calls with her father, Don, while she was still overseas. 

 

10:35 Book review: Restless Dolly Maunder by Kate Grenville 

Paul Diamond reviews Restless Dolly Maunder by Kate Grenville published by Text Publishing

10:45 Around the motu : Alisha Evans in Tauranga

The Tauranga City Council is seeking feedback on a proposed $220 million stadium, there's a call from Western Bay of Plenty officials for the Government to upgrade a critical highway for the region and the rural community of Te Puna rallying to be heard about non-compliant industrial activity in their area.

Western Bay of Plenty Local Democracy reporter Alisha Evans based in Tauranga with SunLive 

10:55 Inflation drops to 6 percent

Inflation has fallen to its lowest level since late 2021, with Stats NZ reporting a 1.1 per cent rise in consumer prices for the three months ended June. The annual inflation rate fell to 6.0 per cent from 6.7 per cent in March. Kathryn speaks to RNZ Business Editor Gyles Beckford. 

11:05 Matariki music with Dave Wilson

Music commentator Dave Wilson joins Kathryn to share some songs in the spirit of Matariki - ones that encourage us to raise our eyes to the skies.

Dave Wilson is musician, composer, and ethnomusicologist, a senior lecturer at the New Zealand School of Music at Victoria University of Wellington

11:30 Can a traditional Samoan diet combat type two diabetes?

Samoa has among the highest rates of obesity and type two diabetes in the world. Amy Maslen-Miller, also known as the Samoan Scientist, is a current PhD candidate at the University of Auckland, dedicating her time to researching how a traditional Samoan diet can help prevent type two diabetes in our Pasifika population. Her research goes all the way back to studying the diet and lifestyle of the 19th and early 20th centuries. 

11:45 Personal finance: What's happening with pay transparency clauses?

Simran Kaur joins Kathryn to talk about pay transparency clauses, and how they've been used by employers to keep workers' salaries secret. Critics say it's helped to perpetuate the gender pay gap and Parliament’s Education and Workforce select committee recommended reform over a year ago. Where's it at now?

Simran Kaur is the co-host of the podcast Girls That Invest. This discussion is of a general nature, and does not constitute financial advice.

Music played in this show

Track: Cosmic Love
Artist: Florence + the Machine 
Time played: 11:14am

Track: Ogreala Mesechina (The Moon Was Shining)
Artist: Ljubojna 
Time played: 11:19am

Track: Hiwa-i-te-Rangi 
Artist: Maisey Rika 
Time played: 11:23am