Nine To Noon for Friday 12 August 2022

09:05 Trump estate search and seizure approved by US Attorney General

In a new development in the controversial FBI search of former President Donald Trump's Mar-a Lago estate, the Attorney-General Merrick Garland has confirmed he personally approved the search. But the focus now is on exactly what's inside the sealed search warrant which led to the raid. Mr Trump's lawyer claims the FBI removed around 12 boxes from the residence. So far the reasons for the search have not been revealed but the FBI is asking the courts to release details of the warrant. Susie gets the latest from our US correspondent Ron Elving. 
 

09:10 Power demand expected to peak: Transpower asks for more supply

Transpower predicted power demand could hit a new record this morning - and asked generators to crank up supply. On Tuesday, the national grid operator asked for additional generation on the basis of a forecast cold snap and lower than expected wind. It held a further conference with industry yesterday afternoon. Just over a year ago, Transpower's poor coordination and communication was blamed for 34 thousand households being left without power on the coldest night of the year. So - has demand surged this morning and is supply adequate? Susie speaks with Chief Executive of Transpower Alison Andrews

09:30 Citizen scientists rally to reverse the decline of honey bees

Volunteers around the world are taking part in a citizen science research project into bee biodiversity and decline. The researchers involved in the Zooniverse Big-Bee Bonanza project are checking specimen labels for information on measurements and bees' locations to figure out how bees are responding to human impacts on climate, flora and other aspects of their lives. On the research team is Rob Guralnick who's the Curator of Biodiversity Informatics at the Florida Museum of Natural History at the University of Florida. He tells Susie about the honey bee population in America, which is rapidly declining, reflected in declining crop yields for produce including apples, cherries and blueberries.

09:45 Pacific correspondent Koroi Hawkins

Koroi is just back from Solomon Islands where commemoration ceremonies took place across the capital Honiara. He talks to Susie about the activities marking the 80th anniversary of the Battle of Guadalcanal.     Also, the Covid outbreak in the Marshall Islands is getting worse with the first death just recorded. And the Tongan deputy Prime Minister is one of three Tongan ministers who have lost their seats in parliament due to corruption.

Koroi Hawkins is an RNZ Pacific Journalist.

10:05 Kiwi photographer Simon Townsley: capturing history

Twice named British Press Photographer of the Year, Simon Townsley was at Tiananmen Square and the fall of the Berlin Wall.He's covered many conflicts, including the Gulf war, the siege of Sarajevo and most recently, the Russian invasion of Ukraine, capturing images of people whose lives have been devastated.The award winning photojournalist is a Kiwi, who left for London in 1987, where he spent 14 years as Senior Photographer at the Sunday Times. In recent years he's focussed on highlighting global health issues by creating compelling images of distressing situations.  Simon tells Susie Ferguson he wants to open the eyes of people who've become desensitised to the plight of others.

1025: Strays or well-fed hustlers? The case for microchipping cats

Scroll through any community social media page in New Zealand and you're bound to find a post about a lost cat. And so it was on the Birkenhead community Facebook page this this week - with a picture of Carpark Cat, who'd taken to hanging around the local New World.  But the post about the stray, but seemingly well-fed cat, appears to have sparked a custody battle. And with no microchip - it's hard to know for sure where her home is. Frustrated with seeing repeat messages about the same "lost" kitty, local resident Hilary took the cat by the tail - as it were. She joins Susie to explain - along with Christine Sumner, the SPCA's science officer, with a plea for people to microchip their cats.

10:35 Book Review - The Twilight World by Werner Herzog   

Adrian Hardingham from Unity Books Wellington reviews The Twilight World by Werner Herzog, published by Penguin Random House.

10:45 The Reading

11:05 Music reviewer Grant Smithies

Wellington’s ENJOY Contemporary Art Space hosts a show called Everybody Soundsystem over the coming weeks, inspired by Aotearoa’s early underground dance party scene. Inspired by that project, Grant has chosen some tracks today from a new compilation called Fell From The Sun, which gathers “comedown classics” from the 90s UK dance scene, alongside revolutionary Afro art-punk from Talking Heads and Italo-disco from Black Box.

11:30 Sports Commentator Sam Ackerman

Sam talks to Susie about whether we about to witness the end of the Ian Foster era with the All Blacks? Trent Boult's decision to hand back his NZ Cricket contract and what it means and the impact Ross Taylor's honesty will have on the Black Caps.

 

11:45 The Week That Was

Comedians Irene Pink and Pinky Agnew with some of the lighter stories of the week.

Music played in this show

Track: Losing My Religion
Artist: R.E.M
Time Played: 9:30am

Track: Buffalo
Artist: The Phoenix Foundation
Time Played: 9:45am