Nine To Noon for Tuesday 1 April 2025

09:05 Retiring Parole Board chair on how the prison system is working

Sir Ron Young has just finished as chair of the Parole Board after nearly seven years. In the past year,  the Parole Board conducted 8,261 hearings involving 4,234 offenders serving long-term sentences. Sir Ron talks with Kathryn about the challenges of assessing the risk of reoffending for those inmates eligible for parole. He also discusses the wider picture of bulging prisons, rehabilitation failures, recidivism and a changing political environment.

09:35 NZ startup with overnight market research

When a company wants to try a new idea they usually have to carry out market research that can take months. A New Zealand startup is using artificial intelligence to cut that time frame down to an overnight process. Launched in 2023, Ideally is a company that makes software allowing users to test marketing ideas with rapid-fire customer surveys. James Donald is the chief executive and one of the founders of Ideally. He has been through the startup process before - having previously founded the online travel agent company Yonder, which was sold to an American company last year.  Ideally has just raised $6 million in a second funding round, after an earlier seed raise of $2 million. The company has about 30 staff and is aiming to grow customers in Australia and the United States. 

09:45 US correspondent Ron Elving 

The fallout continues from the editor of The Atlantic being added to a national security chat on Signal. The US is approaching 'Liberation Day' with new tariffs set to come in, and President Trump is targeting buyers of Venezuelan oil. Elsewhere, markets are responding to inflation pressure and weak consumer confidence.

Ron Elving is a Senior Editor and Correspondent, Washington Desk for NPR news.

10:05 How David Baker is changing the world with new proteins

Dr David Baker's Nobel Prize-winning breakthrough of designing new proteins has the potential to stop cancers, pandemics, fix plastic pollution, and rein in carbon emissions. Proteins are chains of amino acids - essential for building and repairing tissue, forming enzymes and hormones, and they support the immune system by making antibodies. Dr. Baker's groundbreaking research has enabled the creation of custom proteins, already being used to tackle some of the world's biggest challenges. Dr Baker's research used computer and laboratory techniques to create the proteins. Last year he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry - alongside Google DeepMind's Sir Demis Hassabis and John Jumper. Dr Baker's work, which was referred to as 'world changing' by the Nobel Foundation judges, was done out of the University of Washington's Baker Lab, where they pioneered the world's most popular software for computational protein design. 

10:35 Book review: My Gorbals Life by Allan Gilfillan McLachlan 

Quentin Johnson reviews My Gorbals Life by Allan Gilfillan McLachlan published by Sheena Ross Publishing

10:45 Around the motu: Jonathan Leask in Mid Canterbury

Ashburton will have a new mayor after Neil Brown announces he will not be re-running, a user pay system for public bathrooms has been proposed after $30k of vandalism, and Jonathan has updates on council staffing across the region. 

Local Democracy Reporter in Mid Canterbury - Jonathan Leask from the Ashburton Guardian

11:05 Business correspondent Victoria Young

Victoria goes beyond the supermarkets, discussing a BusinessDesk investigation into the major food suppliers in this country and their use of transfer pricing. Grame Hart has been involved in a failed house building project, while the Financial Markets Authority restructures as its workload increases. 

11:25 Community gardening with Xanthe White

Landscape designer and gardener Xanthe White talk about gardening in the community.

From places where individuals have a plot to grow their own food alongside others, to shared berms and community restoration projects. What makes for a successful community gardening project and why?

11:45 Sports with Marc Hinton

Moana Pacifica blow away the Crusaders in Christchurch - but is this the year for the Australian sides? They make up four of the top six teams in Super Rugby Pacific. Marc also discusses NZ Rugby's new broadcast deal after turning down an Anzac test with Australia. The Warriors beat the Wests Tigers while the Black Ferns 7s win in Hong Kong.      

Marc Hinton is a senior sports writer at Stuff