Nine To Noon for Wednesday 15 September 2021

 

09:05 Online scams up 79% - and just the "tip of the iceberg"

The Financial Markets Authority is warning of a steep rise in New Zealanders falling for investment scams with the number of complaints up 79​ per cent in the first half of the year, compared to the same period in 2020. From January to June, the FMA received 158​ complaints about investment scams and fraud, up from 88​ a year ago. The FMA says scammers are taking advantage of the pandemic crisis either by using Covid-19 as part of their pitch, or using the economic climate to prey on peoples' fears. It's noted since the start of the pandemic, there has been a rise in three new types of scams; those using social media to make contact with victims, romance - investment scams, and those using imposter websites that closely resemble legitimate businesses. Lynn speaks with FMA general counsel Liam Mason, Banking Ombudsman Nicola Sladden and Netsafe chief executive Martin Cocker. 

09:30 Foot in the door: Training AI to identify crime scene footprints

As anyone who's a fan of crime shows like CSI knows, a bloodied footprint at the crime scene can be key to cracking the case. But behind the forensic science is a person, and people can make mistakes. Matthew Bennett is a professor of Environmental and Geographical Sciences at Bournemouth University and has headed up two studies into whether AI could be trained to make more accurate determination of footprints. The first looked at whether a footprint was from a man or a woman, and the second was into the make and model of footwear. He joins Lynn to talk about how the neural model shaped up against humans.

09:40 Free NCEA tutoring programme growing

The University of Canterbury's outreach programme UCMeXL aims to help Pacific students achieve higher results in all NCEA levels. It's been going for 10 years  and Riki Welsh from the University's Pacific Development Team says the extra tuition study sessions are increasingly popular and are open to all high school students.

09:45 Australia correspondent Karen Middleton

Correspondent Karen Middleton joins Lynn to talk about the Covid divisions growing in Australia, even as vaccination rates rise. Anonymous donors have paid the legal fees of former Attorney General Christian Porter in his defamation case against the ABC over a rape allegation, Prime Minister Scott Morrison is off to meet US President Joe Biden and Quade Cooper has finally been allowed to become an Australian citizen.

10:05 Brainscapes: the maps in our brain

 If the brain's 86 billion neurons were all randomly connected, the brain would have to be more than 20 kilometres wide to fit all those connections. Luckily, they're instead organised through brainscapes, or brain maps. Rebecca Schwarzlose is a cognitive neuroscientist at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri and has just published Brainscapes: An Atlas of Your Life on Earth. She explains how the brain is full of maps; of the body, our senses, how we move, and crucial sources of information. And Rebecca isn't being metaphorical or using artistic license - these are actual maps in your brain. And it's not just a few of them; there's a whole atlas of them. Lynn asks Rebecca Schwarzlose what a brain map actually is. 

10:35 Book review: The Book of Difficult Fruit by Kate Lebo

Melanie O'Loughlin of Lamplight Books reviews The Book of Difficult Fruit by Kate Lebo, published by Picador

10:45 The Reading

We all have one, but there are no two of them exactly alike. 'Mum's the Word' is a series of stories exploring contrasting aspects of motherhood. Today, episode 3: Mothers Day Mouse by Shirley Eng.

11:05 Music With Jess Fu

Music reviewer Jess Fu joins Lynn to share two tracks for Te Wiki o Te Reo Māori, or Māori Language Week and one that gives a Bee Gees favourite an Arab twist. 

11:20 Young Pasifika actor on the rise  

 Dimitrius Schuster-Koloamatangi plays the main role of Will Ilolahia in the The  Panthers' TV show. Set in 1974, the six-part series tells the story of the activists, the Polynesian Panthers during the infamous Dawn Raid era. The Panthers is on TVNZ on demand and it has just screened at the Toronto International Film Festival, where 20 year old Dimitrius  was selected as a 'TIFF Rising Star' 

 

 

11:45 Arts around the country in level 2 (and online for Tamaki Makaurau)

Arts commentator Nina Tonga joins Lynn to talk about how galleries around the country have reopened their doors at level two - and got creative online. She'll look at Dane Mitchell's installation Post Hoc, which he reimagined as a new daily radio show, which listeners can tune into here at 5pm NZ time. Tai Moana Tai Tangata is a solo exhibition by Brett Graham which opened at City Gallery in early August, and If you're stuck in Auckland you can take the virtual tour of his exhibition at Govett Brewster, which launched late last month. Nina will also share her wish list of events happening around the country for the rest of the year.

Music played in this show

10.30 Time Moves Slow by Bad Bad Not Good