Nine To Noon

Gina Rogers, a sharp book reviewer and critic, offers a lively take on Kin by Tayari Jones. She outlines the Louisiana setting and the entwined lives of two motherless women. Short scenes of abandonment, ambition, identity and political undercurrents are highlighted. Rogers praises Jones's prose and character work while teasing the novel's emotional pull.

Dylan Thomsen, road safety spokesperson for the Automobile Association, speaks on vehicle insurance and road‑user policy in New Zealand. He discusses the pros and cautions of making third‑party cover mandatory. Short takes cover who would pay, higher premiums and insurer risk, enforcement challenges, and why full coverage is unlikely.

Trevor Worthy, a world-leading paleozoologist who has named over 100 vertebrate species, recounts a career born in Waitomo caves. He discusses discoveries from Waitomo and St Bathans, the stunning Miocene fauna, precise dating with tephra and stalagmites, and how large-scale sieving and collaborations revealed unexpected diversity and climate clues.

Daniel Schweimler, South America correspondent based in Buenos Aires, gives on-the-ground reporting from the region. He outlines Cuba's shortages, power cuts and rising fears after a Florida speedboat shooting. He covers Mexico's fallout from the killing of cartel leader El Mencho and the chaotic Bolivian plane crash that scattered banknotes.

Raveen Jadaram, former Watercare CEO and current chair of the Infrastructure Commission and water regulator Taumata Arawai, offers a sober take on upcoming water reforms. He warns that many small entities may lack scale and governance skills. He calls for boards with public-health and asset expertise. He urges shared systems, stronger capacity for investment, and a measured regulatory approach.

Julie-Anne Kincade KC, Vice-President of the Law Association and criminal law specialist, outlines risks in the proposed Crimes Amendment Bill. She discusses expanded citizens' arrest powers and dangers of untrained civilians detaining people. She raises Bill of Rights and legal challenge concerns, debates removing limits on force to protect property, and questions new coward-punch offences complicating prosecutions.

Frank Gardner, BBC security correspondent with decades covering the Middle East, gives clear analysis of Iran's unfolding crisis. He discusses regime survival after Khamenei's death. He explains the Revolutionary Guards' power and the chances of internal regime change. He reviews Iran's recent strikes and regional escalation risks. He outlines threats to shipping, and scenarios if the regime collapses.

T20 at home, White Ferns v Zimbabwe, and abroad with the Black Caps World Cup semi-final. Portia Woodman-Wickliffe retires, again. The Super Rugby weekend ahead and the New Zealand Golf Open underway.

A look at some of the funnier headlines of the past week - including a drunken passenger disrupting a murder mystery train ride in Napier, a mum whose trip to a public toilet ended in embarrassment in front of her son's football team, and a man who accidentally took control of 7000 robot vacuum cleaners.

The future of Southland's outdoor stadium, Environment Southland has asked the Government to delay its local government reform, and Southland is preparing for a major surge in attention - both on the ground and online - as the Gore-based 2026 MAGNIficent Adventure Race takes place from February 28 to March 7.