Saturday Morning with Jack Tame

Another week, more AI advancements.   A crazy powerful AI is just months away  Reporting from The Verge says OpenAI will release a new model, codenamed "Orion", in December. The report says the launch strategy is different - instead of making it available in ChatGPT first, it's going to be given to their paying partners via APIs.   OpenAI's CEO says this is "fake news", but if the r...

Territory  When the world's largest livestock farm is left without a successor, the most powerful factions in the Australian outback: miners, landowners, cowboys and gangsters, start preparing their weapons (Netflix).      Simone Biles Rising: Part 2  The redemption arc for Simone Biles is complete, with the final instalment of this documentary series that follows the Amer...

Lee   The story of photographer Elizabeth `Lee' Miller, a fashion model who became an acclaimed war correspondent for Vogue magazine during World War II.   Venom: The Last Dance   Eddie Brock and Venom must make a devastating decision as they're pursued by a mysterious military man.  LISTEN ABOVE    See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It’s a good idea with a long weekend to make a big batch of some staples that can be eaten for lunch or dinner, dressed up of down. This rice salad is the perfect example; serve it with smoked salmon or a steak or teriyaki chicken or just on its own.    Makes about 6 cups       Ingredients  4 cups cooked brown rice or sushi rice    1 cup shelled edamame...

I’m writing this in Central Park. I’m right up in the North East corner, sitting on a bench by the Harlem Meer, 100m or so from the apartment where I lived for the second half of my twenties. It’s so familiar. The warm evening air, people laid out with picnic mats, a guy with a big plastic bin of churros. Kids chasing each other, squealing, skylarking, the sound of traffic crawling down Fifth Aven...

Michael Morpurgo is a literary treasure.  The author of War Horse and Private Peaceful , he’s written around 150 books, loved particularly among children and young people.  He’s returned with yet another novel, Cobweb following a little dog heading to London in the aftermath of Britain’s triumph at Waterloo.  Morpurgo told Jack Tame that much like many of his stories, Cobweb was ins...

A painful form of arthritis, gout is the second most common form affecting New Zealanders.   A major international study involving around 2.6 million people, has revealed that genetics are a major cause, not lifestyle choices.   Dr Bryan Betty joined Jack Tame to run through the study, what gout looks like, and how it impacts people.  LISTEN ABOVE  See omnystudio.com/listener f...

Kiwi musical icon Kimbra is back with another album.   Idols & Vices (Vol. 1) is a collaborative album, featuring the likes of BANKS, Dawn Richard, DRAM, Skrillex, and Sahtyre, and while Kimbra doesn’t stray too far from her experimental pop sound, there is more R&B and hiphop influences in this work.  Music Reviewer Estelle Clifford joined Jack Tame to give her thoughts on the r...

Kingmaker: Pamela Harriman's Astonishing Life of Power, Seduction, and Intrigue by Sonia Purnell   When Pamela Churchill Harriman died in 1997, the obituaries that followed were predictably scathing – and many were downright sexist. Written off as a mere courtesan and social climber, her true legacy was overshadowed by a glamorous social life and her infamous erotic adventures. Much of what s...

"Savouring Sri Lanka’s Central Highlands is an adventure to relish. Swathed in lush jungle greens, pepper-potted with shapely hills and anchored by a gloriously soothing lake at its heart, the seduction is fast and sweet in the gateway city of Kandy. The very name Kandy conjures visions of splendour and mystique. It’s a city that proudly keeps its legends, traditions and folklore alive." "Another...

Have you ever been so anxious that your stomach started hurting? In addition to its well-known impacts on mental health, stress can also make people feel physically ill—and a new study could help explain why.   Although it’s fairly common knowledge that the gut “talks” to the brain by releasing hormones into the bloodstream, this recent study showed the relationship going back the other way:...

Passionvine Hoppers came up in conversation a week or so ago: a nuisance for gardeners, especially in the warmer north (but more and more a pain-in-the-South as well!).  I also remember that Aucklanders often called them lacy-winged moths. Shows you that entomological knowledge has always been slow to sink in up there in the North Island.   They are certainly not moths, these critters be...

On the Saturday Morning with Jack Tame Full Show Podcast for Saturday 19 October 2024, uniquely talented author Michael Morpurgo joins Jack to discuss his love for fact within fiction, a memorable discussion with Roald Dahl, and the intriguing inspiration behind his new children's novel Cobweb.  Jack discusses team loyalty and his pride in wearing blue to Auckland FC's first match.  Chef...

Amazon is joining other top tech firms with a foray into nuclear power   This deal is to explore the development of small modular nuclear reactors. AI needs massive amounts of computing power, and that requires electricity. Virginia's power demand is already growing 5% YOY and is expected to be double 2024’s level in 15 years.   In addition to that, Amazon is part of a $500 million finan...

Rivals  David Tennant and Aidan Turner star in the small-screen version of Jilly Cooper’s novel set in 1980's England about a rivalry between two powerful men that takes over their lives (Disney+).   The Diplomat   British consul Laura Simmonds and her Barcelona colleague Alba Ortiz fight to protect British nationals in trouble in the Catalan city. Their diplomatic skills are stretc...

The Return   After 20 years away, Odysseus washes up on the shores of Ithaca, haggard and unrecognizable. The king finds much has changed since he left to fight in the Trojan War. His beloved wife, Penelope, is a prisoner in her own home and hounded to choose a new husband. Their son faces death at the hands of suitors who see him as an obstacle in their pursuit of Penelope and the kingdom. O...

I make a few versions of the mighty hummingbird cake but this is an easy, light, manageable version. I like to describe this cake as a banana cake that goes on a Jamaican holiday.   Serves 8-10      Ingredients    1 ½ cups plain flour   ¾ cups brown sugar    ½ cup desiccated coconut    1 heaped tsp cinnamon   ½ tsp each baking powder and...

A rare celestial object has made an appearance in the skies over New Zealand.  Comet C/2023 A3 hasn’t been seen in our skies in for 80,000 years, and with the length of its orbital period, it’s not going to be seen again by anyone alive today.  Kevin Milne caught sight of A3 passing by on Wednesday, and it got him thinking about the last time it passed by, and the next time it’ll show up...

I never thought I would support Auckland in anything.    I mean —duh— I’m from Christchurch. When I was a kid, it was a given that Aucklanders were nothing more than latte-swilling, overpriced-haircut-donning, ostentatious-sports-car-driving primadonnas.   My parochialism isn’t the only force working against Auckland City FC. When the brand-new club kicks off in its very first A-Lea...

One of the most famous foodies in the Southern Hemisphere, Donna Hay is one of the Queens of Cooking.   She’s known for her minimalistic approach to food styling, fresh and vibrant ingredient choices, and grounded recipes for busy people still interested in eating well.  Her latest book ‘Too Easy’ offers an array of delicious dishes like one-pan undone lasagna, crunchy chipotle chicken t...

Dubbed the “most ‘Coldplay’ Coldplay album,” Moon Music is the band’s 10th album, and potentially one of their final ones. Chris Martin has confirmed that there’s a concrete plan for two more albums after this, before the band shuts up shop.  Estelle Clifford joined Jack Tame to give her thoughts on the band’s latest release.   LISTEN ABOVE  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy i...

The Blue Hour by Paula Hawkins   An isolated Scottish island, accessible to the mainland only twelve hours a day. A famous (some might say infamous) artist whose notoriously unfaithful husband disappeared after visiting her twenty years ago. A present-day discovery that intimately connects three people and unveils a web of secrets and lies.    Welcome to Eris: an island with only on...

"After savouring Sri Lanka’s western coast, the nation’s famed cultural triangle serves up a bevy of World Heritage ancient treasures in the heart of the island. Travelling with On the Go Tours, we farewelled the city buzz of Colombo and drove east for several hours to Dambulla, home to the spectacular Dambulla Rock Temple. Sri Lanka has a long history of the presence and practice of Buddhism and...

Our oceans are filled with a variety of things: sea creatures, plants, algae, coral, rubbish. Some things belong there, and some don’t.  Since ‘Litter Intelligence’ began back in 2018, citizen scientists have picked up, counted, and weighed over 621,000 individual pieces of litter from coastal survey areas across Aotearoa, more than 75% of which is plastic.   Sustainable Coastlines has l...

On the Saturday Morning with Jack Tame Full Show Podcast for 12 October 2024, culinary legend Donna Hay joins Jack to discuss what inspires her these days compared to ten years ago, and shares tips on cooking for a house full of hungry teenage boys.  Jack examines the difficulty of learning a new language at middle age.  Film reviewer Francesca Rudkin considers how small-budget kiwi film...