Author Interview
Jo Morgan: a life of adventure
Jo Morgan is a mountaineer, avid motorcyclist, adventurer, trader, philanthropist, grandmother, and now author. She's written a memoir about her adventure-filled and unconventional life, which begins… Audio, Gallery
Ian Rankin’s latest work of tartan noir completes the unfinished novel of another Scottish crime writer
Ian Rankin, the creator of Inspector Rebus, talks live from Edinburgh with New Zealand crime writer Vanda Symon at Word Christchurch 2021. Audio
Vincent O'Sullivan: Frankenstein’s creature in Fiordland
What if Dr Frankenstein's monster had been cast away in a fjord in Aotearoa's deep south? This is the proposition explored by Vincent O'Sullivan in Mary's Boy, Jean Jacques, and other stories out next… Audio
Are your desires really your own?
We imitate other people's behaviour but we also subconsciously imitate what they desire, says entrepreneur Luke Burgis. In the new book Wanting, he argues that by "desiring differently" we can become… Audio
Davos Man: the billionaires who looted the world's economies
"Davos Man: a member of the global billionaire class that controls the majority of the world's wealth". In his new book, New York Times global economics correspondent Peter S. Goodman contends that… Audio
Anna Qu's story of love and labour in the US
As a teenager, Anna Qu worked in a sweatshop snipping loose threads from garments until her hands blistered and bled. Anna writes about her quest to understand her mother and generations of Chinese… Audio
In Amber's Wake: Christine Leunens' new novel
The last time Christine Leunens joined Nine to Noon it was from LA, just hours ahead of the Oscars, where Taika Waititi would win Best Adapted Screenplay for JoJo Rabbit. It was adapted, of course… Audio
Shelter: Douglas Lloyd Jenkins' love story in, and of, Auckland
Douglas Lloyd Jenkins is a well-known design writer and his landmark book At Home: A Century of New Zealand Design was the Montana Book Awards Non-Fiction Winner in 2004. He was a co-author of The… Audio
Daniel Pink on the power of regret
Sometimes we do need to look back and examine the pain of the past, says best-selling author Daniel Pink. Audio
“Society would label him a gangster, but I was honoured to see the little boy” – Matt Brown
Christchurch barber Mataio (Matt) Brown wrote She is Not Your Rehab with his wife Sarah. They discuss the book and the global anti-violence movement it has spawned at 2021 WORD Christchurch. Audio
Veteran poet Alan Roddick looks back - and forward
The past, present and even speculation about the future all find a place in the latest poetry collection Next by Otepoti Dunedin based writer Alan Roddick. It's the octogenarian's third collection… Audio
Murder in the Far North. Call DI Bradshaw
Aotearoa's latest literary sleuth, D.I. Nyree Bradshaw is faced by a mystifying and culturally challenging case in Catherine Lea's thriller The Water's Dead. The DI and her team are in a race against… Audio
Real women talk about their menopause experiences
Almost half the world will go through menopause. Yet it remains criminally underdiscussed. Niki Bezzant joins us to discuss her new book, This Changes Everything, which has been billed as a… Audio
Rutger Bregman: are humans actually hardwired for kindness?
Between panic buying and violent protests, the global pandemic has highlighted some of humankind's worst behaviours. But Dutch writer and historian Rutger Bregman insists that despite being painted as… Audio
Chris Kraus: murder and meth in Minnesota
Chris Kraus' upcoming novel The Four Spent the Day Together tells the story of a violent methamphetamine murder involving four teenagers on the Iron Range of Minnesota. Best-known for the… Audio
Feilding English teacher pens memoir to inspire students
Feilding High School English teacher Philip Jeffreys tells Jesse about writing a memoir to inspire his students. Audio
1984 Trades Hall bombing a defining moment in the life of unionist Helen Kelly
Unionist Helen Kelly left a huge impact on New Zealand's political and industrial landscapes. Helen's biographer Rebecca Macfie speaks with Jo Malcolm about her life, times and legacy. Audio
Frances Cook: How to find financial freedom
Author Frances Cook's new book on financial independence, Your Money, Your Future, is billed as a "real-life handbook to finding freedom on any income". She joins the show to discuss the new book and… Audio
The softer side of Clementine Ford
Clementine Ford has been called an angry loudmouthed polemicist by her detractors, and a leading light of the feminist cause by her many fans.The Australian writer and broadcaster is well known for… Audio
Children's author Ruth Paul
Award winning Kiwi author Ruth Paul has seen her children's books translated into Maori, French, Spanish, Mandarin and Korean. She's written and illustrated 25 books and her latest one is about a lion… Audio