Nine To Noon for Thursday 25 July 2024

 

 

09:05 Social service providers fear children at risk due to funding uncertainty

Hundreds of charities and NGOs providing care for vulnerable children and families say they're in limbo waiting for Oranga Tamariki to tell them whether funding will be continued, and they fear young people will be put at more risk. Oranga Tamariki funds a range of programmes delivered by external care providers - including counselling for children; social workers in schools;  teen parent units; wrap around support for neurodivergent children,  support for foster parents and family and sexual violence programmes. Contracts ended at the end of June - some providers received emails saying they would not be renewed.  Others were told they would, but they have not yet received any confirmation. Nikki Hurst is the Executive Officer of the Council of Christian Social Services - she says it's causing stress for providers, but more importantly, putting vulnerable young people at risk. Kathryn also speaks with Chief Executive of Social Service Providers Aoteaora Belinda Himiona. 

09:20 AI-trained laser could aid against weed problem

A New Zealand plant biologist has come up with a laser that can kill targeted weeds using artificial intelligence. Invasive weeds are a massive problem in New Zealand. If left to their own devices they can transform an entire ecosystem, and in one example AgResearch has warned the sleeper weed Chilean needle grass could become a billion-dollar problem for agriculture if controls aren't set up soon. A concept thought up by Dr Kioumars Ghamkhar at AgResearch for a laser trained to identify and zap particular weeds has been successfully trialled. The Map and Zap unit can be fitted to the likes of a tractor or robot to suit the food production system it is operating in. The product has been usd by Cloudy Bay Wines in its vineyards with some success and Dr Ghamkar says he wants to see the technology potentially get to the level it can be used in drones for weeds in remote, hilly parts of the country.

09:30 The new sports in action at the Paris Olympics - and the battle to get them there

This year's Olympics in Paris will showcase quite an innovative programme change. In addition to the traditional events like track and field, swimming and gymnastics there'll also be more youth-oriented sports like surfing, skateboarding, kiteboarding, sport-climbing and breaking...that's breakdancing. Their foray into the Olympic schedule hasn't been easy....and to talk more about that is Holly Thorpe, Professor in Sociology of Sport and Gender at the University of Waikato. She's the co-author of 'Action Sports and the Olympic Games: Past, Present, Future' and has been watching the evolution very closely.

09:45 UK: Starmer's left-wing woes, Tory leadership race, Olympian's horse-whipping

UK correspondent Hugo Gye joins Kathryn to talk about the pressure new Prime Minister Keir Starmer is under from the left wing of his party - with a rebellion from seven MPs over the issue of family benefits. Who are the contenders to be the new leader of the Tories? And one of Britain's greatest-ever Olympians, Charlotte Dujardin, has been pulled from Paris over a two-year old video of her whipping a horse.

Hugo Gye is Political Editor of The i Paper, based in the House of Commons press gallery.

10:05 Allison Pugh on why human interaction is good for us - despite AI convenience

Sociologist Allison Pugh says human interactions matter greatly, giving dignity and a sense of purpose to people. We need to feel that we're seen - and to see the other person. But that's under threat. In her new book The Last Human Job: The Work of Connecting in a Disconnected World she argues our human connections could be lost as artificial intelligence and automation become more commonplace. Over five years she interviewed people in roles where important connections happen: a chaplain sitting with a patient as they grapple with bad medical news, therapists or hairdressers listening to clients or a teacher realising a pupil's difficulties. Allison, who has just started in a new role as Professor of Sociology at Johns Hopkins University, speaks to Kathryn why casual conversations are important to our social fabric.

10:35 Book review: Mongrel by Hanako Footman

Jenna Todd of Time Out bookstore reviews Mongrel by Hanako Footman published by Footnote

10:45 Around the motu : Tess Brunton in Dunedin

An independent investigation has found Invercargill's Nobby Clark mayor seems willing to deliberately and provocatively use racial and homophobic slurs. He has been found to have breached the council's Code of Conduct during a TV interview where he used the N-word. And The Chatham Islands is grappling with an 'out of control' feral pig population that residents say is causing widespread damage.

11:05 Tech: The case of the man who claimed to be the mysterious Bitcoin inventor

Technology commentator Alex Sims details the case of Dr Craig Wright, an Australian computer scientist and businessman who's claimed for years that he's the main part of the team that created Bitcoin, the person behind the pseudonym Satoshi Nakamoto. She looks at the 'lawfare' he engaged in with those who disputed his claims, and how he ended up in court himself. His case was this week referred to the UK's Crown Prosecution Service for potential perjury and forgery. 

Alex Sims is a Professor in the Department of Commercial Law at the University of Auckland Business School and an expert on blockchain technology, copyright law and consumer law.

11:25 How not to lose your cool with your kids

Tips and tricks for keeping your cool with your children. Many parents will have had moments with their kids they're not proud of, and they've yelled at their children in the moment. Jackie Riach is a psychologist and manager of parenting organisation Triple P New Zealand. She shares strategies for not "losing it".

11:45 Screentime: America's Sweethearts, Loot

Film and TV reviewer Perlina Lau joins Kathryn to talk about America's Sweethearts: Dallas Cowboy's Cheerleaders, a Netflix documentary that lifts the lid on life for the most famous cheerleading team in the US. She also reviews season two of Loot, starring Maya Randolf, about a divorcee trying to work out what to do with an enormous settlement.

Perlina Lau is the host of RNZ's Culture 101 programme