Saturday Morning with Jack Tame

The last member of Kevin's family turned 20 this week. What is there to celebrate about a daughter's teenage years? Isn't it all bad? LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

For all our species’ achievements and all our billionaires blasting off to space, a few events this week have reminded me of one our fundamental shortcomings. Human beings are not very good at listening to Mother Nature.   Take the Olympics. It’s very obvious to anyone with a scintila of intelligence the Olympic Games should not be going ahead. I love sport. I love the idea of the Olympics in theo...

John Mayer’s got a new album out, and he seems to be making fun of it before the rest of us get the chance  It’s got an 80’s soft rock vibe so what’s he called the album? Sob Rock.  Estelle Clifford’s been taking a listen. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Our book reviewer Catherine Raynes has been reading The Last Thing He Told Me by Laura Dave and When The Stars Go Dark by Paula McLain. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It's school holidays, and you might have teenagers around more than usual. Relationships expert Steven Dromgool has some tips for what to do when teenagers are driving you crazy. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Improving Your soil   Mid-winter isn’t a great time to start digging in your sodden soil. It can be quite fragile, yet it provides us with organic materials that can:  1) Sequester carbon 2) Store moisture   3) Retain fertility   4) Grow trees that provide us with oxygen   5) Be a home to an amazing biodiversity   6) Feed us (vegie gardens!!)    Mulching and adding is the thing to do in winter.  P...

A scary virus has been spreading through New Zealand, filling our EDs, and it's particularly bad for children. Our resident GP Dr Bryan Betty has been giving Jack Tame all your need to know about Respiratory syncytial virus aka RSV. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Joe Biden wants you to be able to fix your iPhone  He signed an Executive Order directing the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to prevent manufacturers from imposing restrictions on independent repair shops and do-it-yourself repairs.  Basically, devices we buy are having their lives cut short because the hassle to repair them makes it easier to just buy a new one. Take it somewhere that isn't autho...

Michael Palin: Travels of a Lifetime: Beloved actor and TV traveller Michael Palin revisits some of his popular travel documentaries. Through intimate conversation and his own personal archive, Palin reflects on how he got addicted to travel and the challenges he faced making the shows (Neon).  Ted Lasso: It scored 20 Emmy nominations this week, and the second season drops of this charming series...

Bill Edgar has a job you’ve almost certainly not heard of before - he’s a ‘coffin confessor’. For $10,000, he will spill your secrets at your funeral.  Bill actually has a laundry list of other descriptions too, all of them worth of an interview in their own right. He's a former street kid, a prisoner, a sexual abuse survivor and an inventor. That’s when he’s not being one of Australia’s leading p...

Chicken & leek family pie   The pie is all about minimum fuss and maximum deliciousness! The flavour and creaminess of this pie belies the simplicity of making it and it’s a fabulous pie for the whole family.   Serves 4-6   1 free-range ready roast chicken  2 tablespoons butter or olive oil   2 leeks, sliced thinly   200g crème fraiche  ½ cup vegetable or chicken stock  ¼ teaspoon black pepper   ...

Movie reviewer Francesca Rudkin has been watching French film The Godmother, and female-led action movie Gunpowder Milkshake. LISTEN ABOVE  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Two weeks ago, a heatwave in Canada and the U.S caused one thousand deaths. Yesterday, floods in Germany killed at least 125 people. As we go to air, hundreds of people in Buller are being evacuated because of massive rainfall. And New Zealand’s farmers are back home. You’d have to agree, for the most part the protest was a good bit of theatre. There were a few loopy extremists with whack-job sign...

Nature Connections  With school Holidays coming up and winter days often variable, here are some of my observations on how to connect kids with nature. I’ve noticed that bombarding kids with science and scientific principles is usually not a great intro into working in and with nature. Each person has different interests and those are the ones that allow a connection to be made.    Image from Ruud...

Mike Yardley has been doing some real-life international travel, and he has some tips for trips to Cairns & the Reef. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Estelle Clifford has some special music for the school holidays, Ziggy Marley’s new children’s album “More Family Time”.LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

By Malcom Rands Yes we do live in disposable times. I heard managers at big box stores saying they wanted the public to be able to buy anything they wanted out of one pay packet. So that meant a radical decrease in quality to make this possible. So things don’t last long, and hey, for the retailers and manufacturers it means you will be buying from them again, real soon. And the eco impact of manu...

This week, our book reviewer Catherine Raynes has been reading Mrs England by Stacey Halls and Yours Cheerfully by AJ Pearce. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week, treasury warned us the government’s on an unsustainable debt track, partially due to the aging population and the cost of superannuation.  Enable Me's Hannah McQueen's been talking to Jack Tame about whether we need to raise the age of eligibility. If you to get in touch with Hannah, head here. LISTEN ABOVE    See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

If you own a PC, you need to install a security update now   The exploit is codenamed PrintNightmare because of a flaw in a pre-installed system application that manages the printer functions. It’s in every version of Windows. The bug allows someone to remotely take over your PC. Microsoft has issued patches for all the latest operating systems as well as some of their older unsupported operating...

We Are Lady Parts: A British comedy that follows the highs and lows of Muslim female punk band Lady Parts, as seen through the eyes of Amina Hussein, a geeky PhD student who is recruited to be their unlikely lead guitarist (Neon).  White Lotus: HBO’s new drama is a social satire set at an exclusive Hawaiian resort, and follows the vacations of various hotel guests over the span of a week as they r...

My kitchen rules for reluctant adults letting non-adults into the kitchen:   * Understand that there will be mess! Give kids a lesson in how to wash up + BE prepared to act as kitchen lacky and tidy up after them (controversial I know but it does save you getting bad-tempered).   * Don't let them cook whatever they want, guide them into cooking what you want. Kids will always want to make fancy ca...

Kiwi artist Troy Kingi has just released his fifth album in the 10-10-10 series, where he’s producing 10 albums in 10 years in 10 different genres.  Called “Black Sea Golden Ladder”, this is his ‘folk’ installment.  He's been in the studio talking to Jack Tame about the album, and his upcoming tour. Sat 7 August @ Turner Centre, KerikeriSun 8 August @ Leigh Sawmill, LeighTue 10 August @ Forum Nort...

Movie reviewer Francesca Rudkin has one for the kids and one for the adults. For the school holidays, she's been watching animated movie Moon Bound. And for the adults, and maybe some of the older kids, the new Marvel movie Black Widow. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Kevin Milne has had his Covid vaccination this week, and he's got a tip for anyone wanting to get there's a little earlier than planned. He's been explaining to Jack Tame. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.