Saturday Morning with Jack Tame

There are three reactions to the concept of “feeding your plants”:   1) Plants feed themselves through Photosynthesis (you don’t need to feed your plants!)  2) They’ll pick up elements in the soil that they need for growth and development, nobody feeds the plants in a native forest.  3) What’s scientifically needed for our gardens is a soil test that indicates which chemical element...

Villa Maria Cellar Selection Merlot Cabernet Sauvignon   Why I chose it:   This wine was selected by Gimblett Gravels’ winemakers as one of the top reds from 2022.  A hearty red at a mouth-watering price.  2022 was an average vintage, but this is a well below average price   Can be enjoyed now or stored in a cool place and enjoyed in 5 or 6 years time   A versatile wi...

Elon Musk's “We, Robot” event saw taxis, vans, and humanoids  Elon says it will be "the biggest product ever" calling them an “autonomous assistant, humanoid friend".    He gave us a glimpse into a future. At the party robots danced, served cocktails, and chatted with guests with a voice that sounded like a human. It's cadence and tone were offputtingly normal. When an event attende...

Disclaimer  When an intriguing novel appears at the bedside of a journalist whose career has been built on revealing transgressions, she is horrified to realise she's a key character in a long-buried story, one that exposes her darkest secret (Apple TV+). Sweetpea   Rhiannon Lewis doesn't make much of an impression - people walk past her in the street without a second glance. That is unt...

A Mistake   A talented surgeon's life unravels when a new public reporting system for surgeons' performance is introduced. Her colleagues distance themselves, and even her partner, a hospital nurse, abandons her.     The Outrun   After living life on the edge in London, Rona attempts to come to terms with her troubled past. She returns to the wild beauty of Scotland's Orkn...

Bored of making the same old recipes? Is cooking becoming more of a chore? You might be stuck in a rut. Fortunately, Nici Wickes has some advice on how to pull yourself out and get back into the swing of things.  She recommends checking out cookbooks or magazines for some new recipes, eating out or trying new restaurants for some inspiration, and of course, taking a look to see what interesti...

Supermarket collectable schemes are a dime a dozen these days, with most franchises running a collectable promotion every year. Most buy into the scheme, collecting the stickers or cards and trading them in for a free product, but there are some out there who pass on them.  To Kevin Milne it feels like these people are just throwing away money, and wonders why people would pass on a free cont...

As someone who considers themself at least semi-literate, with the benefit of a reasonable education and at least a passing interest in the world, I can confirm there is nothing quite so humbling in middle-age as learning a new language.    At short notice, I’m hoping to briefly visit a Latin American country for my work in a few weeks’ time, and in preparation this week I downloaded a f...

Rena Owen has cemented herself in New Zealand’s pantheon of film and television greats.  The award-winning actress has a packed acting career, with roles in everything from Once Were Warriors, to Star Wars, to Whina, to Shortland Street.   She stars in productions that create lasting legacies, conveying stories from the culture and history of New Zealand, and her latest work follows suit...

Kiwi soul musician Louis Baker has released his third EP, Medicine his first work as sole producer.   The EP reflects the bond Baker has with his craft, allowing him to connect with himself and communicate with the world.   Estelle Clifford joined Jack Tame to give her thoughts on this new release.  LISTEN ABOVE  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

"Sri Lanka has loomed large on my bucket-list for quite some time. Nicknamed the Pearl of the Indian Ocean, I’ve just ventured to the teardrop-shaped island nation for the first time and it smashed my expectations. Over the course of a week, I savoured Sri Lanka’s colourful cities, vibrant cuisine, ravishing landscapes, astonishing World Heritage treasures and glorious wildlife, which were all sea...

Intermezzo by Sally Rooney   Aside from the fact that they are brothers, Peter and Ivan Koubek seem to have little in common.    Peter is a Dublin lawyer in his thirties—successful, competent, and apparently unassailable. But in the wake of their father’s death, he’s medicating himself to sleep and struggling to manage his relationships with two very different women—his enduring fir...

Stats NZ has released the latest data from the Census, giving fresh insights into the lives of people across the country.  Kevin Milne has been taking a look at the latest numbers and there’s a couple things he found interesting, and some he wasn’t surprised by at all.  LISTEN ABOVE  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

 Although Working from Home might have been new for many of us under Covid, research in the area has been going on for decades. This international research, combined with studies carried out in New Zealand over the past 4 years, notably by Prof Jarrod Harr at Massey Uni, is pretty clear that from a wellbeing and productivity perspective the hybrid model of working is better than working in th...

On the Saturday Morning with Jack Tame Full Show Podcast for Saturday 5 October 2024, award-winning actress Rena Owen joins Jack to discuss the 30-year anniversary of Once Were Warriors, gearing up for the live action Moana, and the role of Māori theatre throughout her career.  Jack shares his love for maps and the remote, extreme, curious places he's drawn to when studying them. He considers...

It’s already getting dry in Canterbury, and I still need to do a lot of planting in order to save us from starvation. Juuls has planted Christmas spuds . Seed potatoes: “chitted” (meaning the “eyes” have started to run out) and the plants are doing well – shooting up in their large tubs on the deck. Every week or so we carefully add some soil on top of the stuff that’s already there, so that the m...

People often fanaticise about sudden wealth – a windfall of money large enough to solve any problem.   But a large sum of money falling into your lap can be complicated and confusing to handle.  Lisa Dudson joined Jack Tame for a chat about the best way to handle sudden wealth so you don’t wind up losing it all.  LISTEN ABOVE  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information...

Joan  Joan Hannington, a fiery and uncompromising woman in her 20s, is a devoted mother to her 6-year-old daughter, Kelly, but is trapped in a disastrous marriage with a violent criminal named Gary. When Gary goes on the run, Joan seizes the opportunity to create a new life for herself and her daughter. Adopting new identities and making new acquaintances along the way, Joan becomes a masterf...

A couple has been blocked from suing Uber for a car crash because they used Uber Eats   When you use Uber Eats you agree to a new set of Terms which state that you must use private arbitration to settle matters, rather than going to court. So, when the NJ couple got into a bad crash while in an Uber ride, a court says the Uber Eats clauses applied. They say they never recalled seeing that box...

Joker: Folie à Deux Struggling with his dual identity, failed comedian Arthur Fleck meets the love of his life, Harley Quinn, while incarcerated at Arkham State Hospital.    Will and Harper   When Will Ferrell finds out his close friend of 30 years is coming out as a trans woman, the two decide to embark on a cross-country road trip to process this new stage of their relationship in...

You’re going to love this avocado whip. Double the recipe so you can enjoy it as a dip for corn chips and/or crudités, on toast, or dolloped in tacos. Use whatever herbs you have on hand. We love using rocket and/or coriander.  Margo Flanagan of Two Raw Sisters offers up a recipe for Eggplant and Avocado Whip from their new cookbook ‘More Salad’ - now available in stores.  Ingredients &n...

You know my idea of fun?    You’re expecting me to say sex, drugs, and rock ‘n’ roll, wild parties, cocaine-fuelled late-night debauchery! Guilty as charged... that sounds like a bit of me.    But no, my idea of fun is a map.    I’ve got a huge, detailed one on my wall. Winkle triple projection, Pacific-centred, of course. I can wile away hours, whole afternoons, inte...

The World of Music, Arts and Dance Festival has all the ingredients for a good time – food, dancing, arts, and an incredible line-up of local and international artists. English/Kiwi rock band The Veils were announced this week in the first line-up of acts to headline next year’s WOMAD festival. The enigmatic indie band have a reputation for their intense live performances, and they’ll be teaming u...

Their first album release in six years, ‘The Forest is the Path’ is Snow Patrol’s eighth studio album, coming after 2018’s ‘Wilderness’.  While promoting the album on X, vocalist Gary Lightbody described the work as a “new beginning”.   “We honour the past, deeply. But while we honour the past we also want to cherish the present and look to the future. So this is the beginning of somethi...

We Solve Murders by Richard Osman   Steve Wheeler is enjoying retired life. He does the odd bit of investigation work, but he prefers his familiar habits and routines: the pub quiz, his favourite bench, his cat waiting for him when he comes home. His days of adventure are over: adrenaline is daughter-in-law Amy’s business now.  Amy Wheeler thinks adrenaline is good for the soul. As a pri...