Saturday Morning with Jack Tame

A lot of us get “the blues” during winter or feel a little down – for some people this is a more serious disorder called Seasonal Affective Disorder where periods of depression are strongly linked to winter seasons – although interestingly there must be more to it than simply levels of light/winter weather as it’s not so common in people living in polar regions.  Tips for keeping mentally well ove...

Spent a week in one of my favourite regions: Tairawhiti… Wainui, Tolaga Bay, Mangatuna and Tokomaru Bay.   The school kids love muckin’ around on beaches, despite all that hideous slash everywhere.   Looking for bugs, of course.   At Tolaga Bay they found heaps of rather large black scarab beetles, known in the trade as Pericoptus truncatus, or “sand scarab”; moving across the sandy, grassy play a...

Data shows that mortgage payments are much higher than paying rent – but does that mean it’s not worth owning a home? What are the implications of not owning? What should you be doing with that ‘spare’ money if you opt to rent instead?   LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Meta's launched AI to produce code   Their new "Code Llama" can create working code from natural language prompts, and also debug and explain code pasted into it. So in what is a bizarre turn of events, Meta software engineers have created AI to take their job… or at least parts of it.     Meta says this allows its staff to focus on the "most human-centric aspects of their job, rather than repetit...

Kin A gritty Irish drama about a small Dublin crime family who take on a gangland war with a powerful international drug cartel after a young boy is killed (TVNZ+).      Who is Erin Carter? A British schoolteacher living in Spain finds herself entangled in a supermarket robbery and must fight to clear her name after she is recognised by one of the criminals (Netflix).    At Home with the Fury’s Ne...

Australian surfing legend Owen Wright ranked 5 th in the world, earned a bronze medal at the 2020 Olympic Games and was the first surfer to get to two perfect scores in one event. In 2015, he wiped out at the Bnzai Pipeline in Hawaii and suffered a major brain injury, resulting in him needing to relearn how to walk, talk, and surf once more. In early August he released his memoir ‘Against the Wate...

This pie is so perfect as a quick dessert that will thrill anyone lucky enough to be sharing dinner with you, especially served warm with vanilla ice cream and softly whipped cream.   Serves 2-4     Ingredients: 1 sheet store-bought puff pastry   1 small egg, lightly beaten   1 teaspoon sugar for sprinkling on top   Filling   2 tablespoons cornflour   2 big tablespoons brown sugar   1 teaspoon mix...

Pacific Mother In Pacific Mother we see that when women are supported emotionally, physically and culturally, they are more likely to have a positive birth experience. Whether it's in hospital or at home, on land or in the water. “Collaboration” has been key for our Pacific Mother film.     Sound of Freedom After rescuing a boy from ruthless child traffickers, a federal agent learns the boy's sist...

Today Kevin Milne joined Jack Tame to chat about having passions, specifically a passion for your job. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

I had this amazing little moment one afternoon this week, when for the first time this winter... I threw open the doors of my deck, sprawled out on the couch nearby, and basked in the sunshine as it spilled through onto my face and neck.   Isn’t it amazing what a difference a few days of sunshine can make?   My God.   I know that there are parts of the country that have had it a whole lot sunnier...

Rolling Up the Welcome Mat (For Good) is an extended version of the second EP from American country-pop artist Kelsea Ballerini. The EP was initially released on the 14 th of February 2023, and the extended version was released on the 11 th of August 2023. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Keeper of Hidden Books - Madeline Martin   From the New York Times bestselling author of The Last Bookshop in London comes a heartwarming story about the power of books to bring us together, inspired by the true story of the underground library in WWII Warsaw.   All her life, Zofia has found comfort in two things during times of hardship: books and her best friend, Janina. But no one could hav...

This week Mike Yardley joined Jack Tame to chat about his recent visit to Transylvania. Read Mike's full article here . LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Always interesting! Gardeners love a wide range of plants; often species that are exotic, colourful and bright.  But a number of them are pretty invasive and “weedy.” We all know weeds – they grow where we don’t want them to grow.  Invasive species have often a larger impact on our planet, our natural gardens, forests, ecosystems and alpine vegetation. It all comes down to interfering with our nat...

- Bokashi: fermenting system, takes meat and high concentrations of citrus, cheap to make and transport easily.   - Cold Compost: microorganisms break things down (worms, bugs etc too).   - Hot Compost: more deliberate balance of materials that isn't added to over time (made and then left for 3-6 months), takes garden clippings, branches, hard things, gets up to 65/70 degrees.   - Worm Farm: worms...

What is it?   Burning sensation in the lower chest. Sometimes with a sour/bitter taste in mouth - often after big meal or lying Very mild to severe. Can cause you to cough or your voice to become hoarse. Lasts minutes or sometimes hours.     What causes it?   Stomach full of acid to digest food. Valve at top of stomach – may be weak and not fully The acid in the stomach escapes into oesophagus (tu...

Typing in your password - it's not as safe as you might think   With the help of AI, the researchers could effectively create a unique identifier for how you strike each key, and use that to figure out what you're typing. Each key has an ever-so-slightly different sound based on how we type and where the key is pressed.  In their experiment, they only needed the key to be pressed 25 times to creat...

Fifteen-Love A British sports drama starring Aidan Turner (Poldark) about an elite tennis player who makes a shocking allegation against her former coach (TVNZ+).    Waco: The Aftermath An American drama about the aftermath of the disastrous 1993 standoff at the Branch Davidian compound in Texas (Neon).    Men in Kilts Two Scottish stars of time-travelling drama Outlander return for a second seaso...

Iconic kiwi chef Al Brown is well known for his beloved restaurants Depot and Federal Delicatessen, as well as his Best Ugly Bagel shops. He’s published a number of cookbooks and has recently released a ‘Bach Edition’ of his recipe book ‘Eat Up New Zealand,’ featuring more than 150 recipes and on-location photos from around the country. Al Brown joined Jack Tame to chat about his new book and the...

Makes one loaf tin cake and is simply gorgeous!    Ingredients: 3/4 cup raw sugar  Rind of 2 tangerine – avoid the white pith  Flesh of one tangerine  2 medium eggs  ½ cup rice bran oil  ½ tsp salt  ½ cup thick natural yoghurt  1 ½ cups plain flour  2 tsps baking powder  Method: Preheat oven to 180 C, on fan bake. Grease and line a loaf tin with baking paper.  In the bowl of a food processor, blen...

Kandahar An undercover CIA operative gets stuck in hostile territory in Afghanistan after his mission is exposed. Accompanied by his translator, he must fight enemy combatants as he tries to reach an extraction point in Kandahar.    Monolith A headstrong journalist's investigative podcast uncovers a strange artefact, an alien conspiracy, and the lies at the heart of her own story.     LISTEN ABOVE...

A Northland man was recently charged when his pet dog was caught picking up a kiwi chick and running off with it. The chick was killed, and as a result the owner was fined and the dog was put down. Kevin Milne joined Jack Tame to chat about his first reaction and thoughts about the situation. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The hosts on Fox Sport Australia were bamboozled by a question earlier this week.   What’s the biggest winter sport in Australia?   Is it Rugby League and the excellent entertainment of the NRL? Is it Aussie Rules? Or could it now, be football?   Sadly, it goes without saying that it isn’t rugby, and I’d suggest that even when the Rugby World Cup kicks off, only so many Australians will even reali...

The Ballad of Darren is the ninth studio album by English rock band Blur . It was released on 21 July 2023 by Parlophone and Warner Records.   LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Collector - Daniel Silvia   The Collector is a 2023 novel by Daniel Silva in the author's Gabriel Allon series. The book debuted at #2 on the New York Times bestseller list. The book's premise is the current location of Vermeer's The Concert, which has been missing since the painting was stolen from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum.    After I Do - Taylor Jenkins Reid   From the New York Ti...