The Best of Nine to Noon 2023

Award-winning broadcaster Kathryn Ryan shares her ten favourite interviews from RNZ's weekday morning show.

Tolaga Bay farmer Bridget Parker on Cyclone Gabrielle: 'It's total f****** carnage'

"We rang Bridget the morning after the fury of Cyclone Gabrielle and the devastation of forestry slash on her Tolaga Bay farm - a repeat event. The rawness of her blunt and heartfelt exposition of exactly what she was seeing as she walked the property, had us all spellbound. As The Spinoff put it: You need to listen to this heartwrenching interview" - Kathryn Ryan

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Jan Jordan: an amazing story of survival

"Most journalists of a certain generation knew criminologist Jan Jordan as the 'go-to' academic on crime. I never knew her personal story. Jan's memoir on her struggles and suffering as a young woman with self-worth, self-harm and suicide attempts was un-putdownable. Her honesty on the page continued on air" - Kathryn Ryan

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Phillip Rhodes: world-class opera singer

"Phillip's big voice and big heart filled our interview. His foster parents, Hawkes' Bay icons Henare and Pam O'Keefe, changed the direction of his life. Phillip's emotion when remembering Pam, who died just a few years ago, spoke volumes in this kōrero" - Kathryn Ryan

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Luke Gray and Georgia Latu: two young change-makers

"One of the absolute highlights this year has been the number of interviews with standout young Kiwis of high school age, or early 20's, doing amazing, impactful work. Here are just two of them: Luke Gray, whose mental health workshops for 13 to 18-year-olds have been rolled out throughout the Eastern Bay of Plenty. And Georgia Latu, who at 17 is CEO of the largest poi manufacturing company in the world, which supplied the Women's Rugby World Cup" - Kathryn Ryan

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Don McGlashan on being inducted into the NZ Music Hall of Fame

"Don's enthusiasm for his craft radiates in this interview. He generously opens up, however, about some of the darker times when the music-making didn't flow. I reckon he had another hour of storytelling in him" - Kathryn Ryan

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Dylan Hollis - the TikToker who loves vintage recipes

"Wyoming-based Dylan's courteous but slightly disconcerting reference to me as 'Miss Kathryn' was just one of the charming delights of this interview, which was also enlightening and uplifting. His history-telling through baking is certainly moreish... 10 million TikTok subscribers can't be wrong" - Kathryn Ryan

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Shane Barr: the Tauranga cobbler sharing his craft online

"A social media savvy cobbler who takes questions from listeners on how to repair everything from Birkenstocks to Red Bands - what's not to love" - Kathryn Ryan

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The legacy of cartoonist Murray Ball 

"It might have begun as a personal journey and tribute to his brilliant father - Footrot Flats creator Murray Ball - but Mason Ball's thoughtful observations and telling of the story yield fresh insights into the life and career of this beloved cartooning great" - Kathryn Ryan

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Irish novelist Anne Enright on her new book The Wren, The Wren

"There are authors who are there to 'do the interview' and then there are authors who are there to really engage with interviewer and audience. Ann Enright's erudite and witty conversation was a favourite this year. After the interview, she texted us to say that having heard me use the te reo word 'piwakawaka' for fantail, she amended her character's dialogue in the forthcoming paperback edition of her latest book, which is partly set in NZ. The diligent ear of the writer... in real time" - Kathryn Ryan

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