Saturday Morning with Jack Tame

Bexy Cameron grew up in one of the most infamous cults ever The Children of God.  It was started in the 60s by a charismatic evangelical preacher who merged religious beliefs with increasingly depraved sexual and physical abuse, sometimes involving tiny children.   High-profile members included Rose McGowan and her family, River and Joaquin Phoenix and Fleetwood Mac guitarist Jeremy Spencer.  Bexy...

Movie reviewer Francesca Rudkin has some movies you can watch in lockdown: An American Pickle which is on Neon, documentary The Last Cruise on Neon, Luca on Disney+, The Kissing Booth 3 on Netflix. LISTEN NOW See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week, there's been a bit of criticism of the journalists at the daily COVID briefing. But Kevin Milne has some praise for the journos of NZ.LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

I visited Sir Michael Cullen at his home a couple of months ago and had the great privilege of a few hours of his time, at a moment when it was clear his time was very limited.  We spoke about all sorts of different things: Rogernomics, the monarchy, the foreshore and seabed. He talked about God (or, in his opinion, the lack thereof). He spoke frankly about his illness and death.  For an egalitari...

Billie Eilish has released her second album, "Happier than Ever". Music reviewer Estelle Clifford has been taking a listen. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Book reviewer Catherine Raynes has been reading Red Traitor by Owen Matthews and John Boyne's The Echo Chamber. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Travel writer Mike Yardley has been keeping things domestic, and this week he's got some tips for roaming Palliser Bay.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Chaenomeles japonica  Gardeners often have a love-hate relationship with plants, shrubs and trees - there's nothing wrong with that. For me it‘s bulbs. I love them when they flower in early spring, but hate them when I forget where they are and inadvertently dig them up. Then there are roses. Some are brilliant flower-producing specimens, but generally they’re a real bugger to prune, especially cl...

This week, Bob's Best Buy is Guigal 2017 Cotes du Rhone, $22 LISTEN TO BOB'S REVIEW ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Apple shuts down surveys on pay  Apple's employees aren't usually in the press - they're good at holding company secrets and keeping internal matters internal but lately we've seen a couple of things spill over. First it was around work-from-home and return-to-office policies and now around pay. Employees say they've been shutdown with efforts to gather data on employee salaries, working locations...

Author Michael Pollan has long been a hugely respected name for his ideas about eating.  You’ve almost certainly heard the advice ‘Eat food, not too much, mostly plants’. That’s  Pollan, who has written a series of fascinating books about what we’re eating, and where that food comes from.  But now he’s turned his mind to psychedelic substances, starting with 2018’s “How to change your mind” where...

Our movie reviewer Francesca Rudkin has been watching "science-fiction action comedy film" Free Guy, and Kiwi thriller Coing Home in the Dark. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Controversial opinion: I don’t like Lord of the Rings. Gulp. I know! Sorry. I understand that’s a potentially treasonous admission. I don’t have a problem with anyone else frothing over Tolkien’s Worlds and I can appreciate the talent that goes into bringing the stories alive on screen. But I don’t know if it’s the Elves or the Hobbits or the mystical flying beasts but in the sage words of Billy C...

Music reviewer Estelle Clifford's been listening to Prince's posthumous album "Welcome to America". LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Book reviewer Catherine Raynes has been reading The Cellist by Daniel Silva and Thursdays at Orange Blossom House by Sophie Green. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

If you're dreaming of a winter holiday, Mike Yardley has some tips on what's waiting for you in Surfers Paradise. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

De-clutter your life (and help the planet)   There’s no denying that most of us are buying too much stuff. It’s fun to go shopping! But this mindless consumerism is bad for the planet, and it’s cluttering up our homes. This issue has spawned a whole new industry, storage facilities, where we can leave all this excess stuff that we’ve bought. Many a friend has retrieved the things they spent a fort...

Rhubarb  This is a great crop if you’re into crumbles and fruity bits for breakfast with muesli and yoghurt and soaked sultanas, and dessert’s like Nici Wickes’ Rhubarb and Vanilla Bread and Butter Pudding. Rhubarb is pretty easy to grow. It can stand quite a bit of frost. I saw it growing in Mongolia’s permafrost, and in the deserts with big weta-like critters hiding underneath!  In really cold a...

Our resident doctor Bryan Betty has been giving Jack Tame some tips on how to avoid, and treat, migraines. LISTEN ABOVE  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Lucy Lawless is back on our screens on Monday and this time, she’s bringing an Aussie series home to Auckland. She’s starring in the second series of My Life is Murder, where she plays a charismatic crime investigator.    It was originally set in Melbourne, but it’s moved to Auckland, and it’s designed for a Kiwi audience as well as online audiences around the world.  Lucy Lawless has been speakin...

Screentime Queen Tara Ward has some TV picks for your weekend:Hit and Run: Made by the team behind Israeli drama Fauda, this thriller follows a man determined to find out the truth about his wife’s death in a mysterious hit-and-run accident in Tel Aviv (Netflix).  Mr Corman: Joseph Gordon-Levitt wrote, starred and produced this drama about the days and nights of fifth-grade teacher Josh Corman as...

Bread 'n' butter pudding but not as you know it! Think croissants studded with sharp rhubarb and held together by a creamy baked custard.    Serves 6-8    6 croissants  300mls milk   300mls cream   4 large eggs  ½ cup sugar   1 tablespoon vanilla extract  Soft butter to butter croissant  2 cups chopped rhubarb   Icing sugar to dust    Heat oven to 160 C fan-bake (180 regular) and butter an oven pr...

Movie reviewer Francesca Rudkin's been watching superhero film The Suicide Squad, and undercover thriller The Mole. LISTEN ABOVE   See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Kevin Milne's been loving the Olympics - but he's got one problem with the success we've been having. He's been talking to Jack Tame.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The housing crisis. The Covid-19 vaccination rollout. Asset inflation further widening the gap between rich and poor. Poverty. Coal imports. Fiji’s health crisis. What actually constitutes safer policing. The painfully slow rate of change in the mental health sector. Families separated by our closed borders. Three waters. China’s increasing influence in the Pacific. Climate change mitigation. Supe...