Nine To Noon for Monday 22 December 2025

THE RUN HOME TO CHRISTMAS WITH BRYAN CRUMP 

9.10 Whitianga's Waka Kai

We reckon it's a good idea to recognise some of those who'll keep working through the summer break, so that the rest of us can enjoy a holiday.

People like Kerry Stanley, who runs the Waka Kai, making deliveries from New World Whitianga around the east coast of the Coromandel Peninsula.

If you know the region, you'll know Cooks Beach is five minutes by boat from Whitianga, it's 45 minutes by car - and that's on a good day.

And you can't count on a good day at this time of year.

This is the sixth year Kerry's been running the Waka Kai, and he's joins Bryan to tell us more. 

9.25 How streaming is changing our relationship to music 

It's that time where we look back on our listening year - with a rundown of most played songs on music streaming services like Spotify.

In many ways, music has never been more accessible - provided you've got access to the web - what you want, when you want.

And just like CDs, cassettes, LPs, 78s and radio - music streaming is changing how we listen.

Senior lecturer Dan Scudder, who's the head of industrial design at AUT, has been researching how Spotify streaming is changing our relationship to music, he joins Bryan for a chat. 

9.40 The Good Story in Akaroa 

While Spotify has revolutionised the way we listen to music, online shopping has done the same for retail, not to mention books.

More and more people are buying online, so what's it like running a bookstore in a tiny community? 

Leigh Hickey runs The Good Story bookstore in Akaroa, on Banks Peninsula, which opened in April 2023. She gives Bryan her top book recommendations including The Place of Tides by James Rebanks, Raising Hare by Chloe Dalton, Ingrained by Callum Robinson, The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny by Kiran Desai, and Greta and Valdin by Rebecca K Reilly.

10.10 How to take science on holiday with you 

It's the school holidays, but you know you're really winning with the kids when they take an active interest in a subject outside the classroom.

Morgan McKeen is a science technology engineering and mathematics specialist teacher at Milford School in Auckland. 

Our topic today is taking science on holiday with you.

10.35 Keeping us safe over the Christmas break 

Here's someone else who won't be putting his feet up over the Christmas break.

Ian King became a career firefighter in 1974 and is now the chief fire officer in Otaki, where he's lived for 50 years. 

He joins Bryan to tell us more. 

10.45 Christmas eats with Alice Taylor 

Alice Taylor, who's known as 'alicetayloreats' on Instagram, joins Bryan with some ideas that don't involve a lot of money or time. Here are her recipes for Gingerbread Cookies https://www.instagram.com/reels/DSTKjmyk209/  as well as Soft and Chewy Cookies https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w1Q4ATkNlVU and Shortbread https://www.instagram.com/reels/DOZjAm2knTQ/

11.10 How to staycation in Auckland 

Need some ideas if you're staying put in Auckland this holiday season?

The City of Sails is packed with lots of low-cost adventures and special events, if you know where to look.

Here to point us in the right direction is Annie Dundas from Tātaki Auckland Unlimited. 

11.25 Finnish violinist and conductor, Pekka Kuusisto 

Bryan shares one of his favourite RNZ Concert interviews from the year.

Today, it's Finnish conductor, Pekka Kuusisto. 

Pekka was in Aotearoa in October to play Vivaldi Four Seasons with the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra.

11.45 Christmas Eve carols at Wellington Regional Hospital 

Christmas Eve carol singing around the wards at Wellington Regional Hospital is back, after a three-year interruption.

Here to tell us more about this tradition is Ross Scott on behalf of the Wellington Hospital Chaplaincy Team.