Nine To Noon for Friday 31 January 2025

09:05 New research reveals police bias toward disabled people 

A first-of-its-kind study has found disabled people are more likely to be stopped by police, have force used against them, and ultimately end up in the courts and justice system - even when they have done nothing wrong. The findings come from research commissioned by the Police, and undertaken by Mana Pounamu Consulting, Ihi Research and the Donald Beasley Institute. It is part of a move by police to better understand how various communities view police and what their interactions are like. For the disabled community, the evidence showed a lack of understanding by police to recognise disabilities, mistaking some disabilities for acts or threats of violence, and not believing or understanding a person with a disability. The research also found disabled people may struggle to get access to their medication or other support - such as a sign language interpreter - after being arrested. Dr Brigit Mirfin-Veitch, the director of the Donald Beasley Institute and the research lead for this work speaks to Kathryn. She is also joined by Robbie Francis Watene from the Donald Beasley Institute, a disabled researcher, who worked on the ground to collect evidence for this study.

Police Chief Assurance Officer Mike Webb said while some of the findings were challenging, they reflected police's own people's views. He said the results of this research would form part of the evidence base for police to continuously improve training, policies, processes and systems.

09:20 As social media moderation declines, could a Kiwi toxicity tool help?

Earlier this year Meta announced some big changes to how its platforms like Facebook and Instagram would operate - among them, flicking the fact-checkers. The company's CEO Mark Zuckerberg says the third-party moderators were "too politically biased" and it was "time to get back to our roots around free expression". But could that end in a free-for-all, with more hate speech being bandied about? A team of researchers at the University of Auckland have developed a tool called 'Serenity' to help combat toxic online messages. It's aimed at the ones that get around automated moderation filters - with a gentle "nudge" back to the sender to consider and change their wording. Joining Kathryn to explain more is lead researcher Johnny Chan from the University's Business School.

09:45 Pacific correspondent Koroi Hawkins

RNZ Pacific Editor Koroi Hawkins discusses the early impact of Donald Trump's presidency on the region;  Vanuatu's official election results; tension between Kiribati and New Zealand, and excitement builds over Moana Pasifika's Super Rugby pre season game vs the Highlanders.

10:05 Blind rower Toby Ireland's bold goal

16-year-old blind rower Toby Ireland's big goal is to reach the LA Olympic Games in 2028. Toby also has Hyperthymesia - the rare ability to recall nearly all past experiences. His dad Saul realised Toby's memory was different from a young age - and in particualr a moment when Toby recalled the order of 1,000 songs on his iPod. Toby's journey with rowing is just the latest in a long line of endeavours - including outward bound, cross country and piano. Toby and his parents Nikki and Saul join Kathryn in the studio.

10:35 Book review: Three of the best from 2024

Melissa Oliver reviews three of her favourite books from last year: Ash by Louise Wallace, published by Te Herenga Waka University Press, Kai Feast by Christall Lowe, published by David Bateman Ltd, Theory & Practice by Michelle de Kretser, published by Text Publishing. 

10:45 Around the motu: Che Baker in Southland

Che discusses the massive fire at Tiwai Point, Datagrid is seeking fast-track approval for a submarine cable to Australia and critically-threatened petrel are given a second home.

Che Baker is the editor of the Southland Times.

11:05 Music reviewer Jeremy Taylor

Jeremy plays a selection of recent releases and reissues, including The Lilac Time, and Nourished By Time, plus new local releases from Leila Adu and Search For Yeti.

11:30 Farewell to two Dame GOATs

Sports commentator Dana Johannsen discusses the big news in sport this week, including the retirement of two GOATs:  Dame Lisa Carrington and Dame Sophie Pascoe. Plus the bitter bust-up at Ineos Team Brittania and the race to replace Thomas Bach as the next IOC President.

11:45 The week that was with te Radar and Pinky Agnew

A look back at some of the funnier stories of the past week.