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The top stories and other headlines at midday

Seventy teams of eight from across the motu are vying for the title of smartest pub quiz team at The New Zealand Pub Quiz Championships. The three hour extravaganza is the brain child of Believe it Or Not founder Brendan Lochead. Believe It or Not is New Zealand's largest provider of weekly pub quizzes, trivia and quiz nights. Brendan tells Mihi what makes a quiz night fizz.

Rick Thorpe is co-founder of Xtreme Zero Waste, a community hub operating in Raglan, with a transformative approach to dealing with waste. The model has been adopted by communities across Aotearoa. This past year alone Zero Waste has diverted over 14,000 cubic metres of waste from landfill. Joining Rick is Jacqui Forbes who started at Xtreme Zero Waste in 2004, and went on to found Para Kore Marae Incorporated, a Maori not-for-profit organisation with a kaupapa that strives to deliver te ao Maori marae-based, zero waste education programmes. Since their launch, Jacqui and her team have delivered thousands of programmes to tens of thousands of people, all across Aotearoa.

New Zealand historian and author Dr. Monty Soutar's latest historical novel Kawai: Tree of Nourishment is an epic historical adventure examining the initial impact of colonisation on Maori. Set in 1818, it blends history with fiction for a realistic view of what Aotearoa was like at the time. Dr Soutar serves on the Waitangi Tribunal, and in 2015 was awarded the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to Maori and historical research. In 2021 he was awarded the Creative New Zealand Michael King Writer's Fellowship to write the Kawai series.

The latest RNZ Pacific news and sport.

Perrin Hastings is the co-creator and presenter of a new YouTube docuseries The Gender Agenda, a resource to bring gender identity with all its associated questions, fears, hopes and dreams, into the open. Gender identity and answering the question "who am I?" can be difficult if it involves conversations you don't know how to have, but Perrin is here to help.

While the risk of getting covid is still a part of our lives, for people with long covid it could be a life changer. Some people experience the symptoms of covid for many months or even years afterwards. Commonly these include extreme tiredness, brain fog or loss of smell. It has been estimated between 10% and 35% of people experience long covid after contracting covid -19. Dr Toby Hillman is an expert on long covid in the UK. He talks to Susie about the latest research.

The latest RNZ Pacific news and sport.

Who is leading and who is lagging in the fight for a sugary-drink-free Aotearoa New Zealand? Professor Robert Lustic is Emeritus Professor of Pediatrics at University of California. He thinks New Zealand isn't doing enough to reduce sugar consumption, due to the "Four Ds": Deniers, Dinosaurs, Deletants, and Drug addicts. He's been in New Zealand for the FIZZ symposium, which gathers global experts to discuss the impact of sugary drinks on health - including obesity, Type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, gout, and dental issues.

Human destruction of natural habitats and the impact this has on the animal and insect life they support has been well documented, and a new study from the University of Otago takes that impact a step further, providing the most clear cut evidence human activities like deforestation can drive evolutionary change within a species. Co-author Professor Jon Waters from Otago's Department of Zoology talks to Mihi about the significance of their discovery and why it isn't all bad news.

The decision to have a child for someone is at the centre of Safekeeping by former psychiatrist turned author Karen Zelas. The novel, set in Christchurch, explores the idea of surrogacy with all its emotional, financial and legal challenges. Karen Zelas talks to Susie about why she hopes her latest novel will inform the surrogacy debate.

The laters RNZ Pacific news and sport.

The latest news in Niuean language (Vagahau Niue) - brought to you by our partner - Pacific Media Network.

New gang legislation came into force on Thursday, with an immediate arrest in Hastings. Police stopped a vehicle displaying gang insignia on its dashboard just three minutes after midnight, when the law came into effect. RNZ Digital Explainer Editor Katie Kenny joins Mihi to explain how the ban will likely play out in New Zealand according to research.

Richard Chambers was appointed the new police commissioner this week and has already waded into discussing the controversial area of routinely arming police. He's taking over from Andrew Coster who stepped down last week to instead head up the new Social Investment Agency. Chambers said the appointment was one of the "highest honours of my life". He joins Mihi to talk about what he will bring to the top role.