The Sunday Session with Francesca Rudkin

Four Treasures of the Sky by Jenny Tinghui Zhang. Fiction about a Chinese girl in the 19th century who is sent to the city by her grandmother when her parents disappear, and is subsequently kidnapped and sent to America – to a brothel in San Francisco. She eventually manages to make her way across the States, presenting herself as a young man as that’s safer, ending up in Idaho where she has a goo...

Large.com travel blogger Megan Singleton joined Francesca Rudkin to chat about her upcoming trip to Martinborough. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Dr Nikki Stamp is one of Australia’s leading heart surgeons, an author and TV presenter.  Nikki always wanted to be a surgeon but never expected just how tough the job would be – the long hours, sexism, burnout and bullying.  Her new book ‘Scrubbed’ details the issues faced by those in the public health and how she’s turning her attention to fixing it – and it's a story with so many similarities t...

Wellness expert Erin O'Hara joined Francesca Rudkin to discuss understanding the mind-body connection and how it affects your health. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

I’ve never made Coq au Vin and I thought it was a lot more complicated than it is!   3 cups of red wine – is this a dish for family? Does the alcohol burn off?   This week we had one of our very popular supper clubs at the school. It was super cold! and we had all the fires going.   Because it was so cold, it was great as I could dig out a real winter warmer. Coq au Vin.   While Coq au Vin might s...

Can we talk about the follow up of a story we had previously discussed?  A couple of months ago we chatted about the first patient receiving a pig's heart and were super excited about it.  Sadly that patient died two months later, hindering the study and creating conversations around whether or not pig's hearts can cope with the needs of a human recipient.  This week it was discovered that the hea...

Editor of flicks.co.nz Steve Newall joined Francesca Rudkin to discuss this year's Eurovision that is currently underway, as well as Brett McKenzie's new tour and album 'Songs without Jokes'. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Hugh Bonneville is most well-known for his role of Robert Crawley, Earl of Grantham on smash hit drama Downton Abbey.  He’s also been in films like Nottinghill, Viceroy’s House and Paddington  In Hugh’s new film, he plays much-loved children’s author Roald Dahl in To Olivia.  Hugh Bonneville joined Francesca Rudkin from the UK.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On Monday 16 May, Police Minister Poto Williams will take a paper to cabinet for sign-off, outlining the Government’s solution to the spat of ram raids we’re currently experiencing. This follows a recent announcement that funding will be allocated in the 2022 Budget to support businesses and protect themselves from ram raiders.  We don’t know what these solutions are at present, but it’s the Gover...

It has now been 80 days of fighting in Ukraine since Russia invaded.  Newshub Europe Correspondent Lisette Reymer is back in Ukraine for the fourth time since the war began and joined Francesca Rudkin from Kyiv.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Newstalk ZB chief political reporter Jason Walls joined Francesca Rudkin to give a preview into what we can expect in this week's Budget. The pair discussed Act's alternative Budget, National's response and a few details on the Emissions Reduction Plan that will be delivered by James Shaw on Monday. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tomorrow Climate Change Minister James Shaw will be unveiling the Government’s Emissions Reduction Plan.  To discuss, Terrence Loomis from the Fossil Fuels Aotearoa Research Network and researcher Jess Berentson-Shaw joined Francesca Rudkin.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Wake by Shelley Burr. The latest in a crop of really terrific Australian crime thrillers – they all share similar characteristics. Small isolated town, atmospheric, the heat, and people in small communities telling lots of lies. Centres around the case of a missing girl which has never been resolved though her sister has often been suspected of the crime, and a Private Investigator turns up years...

Tourism is slowly coming back to life – but in order to get it up and running, I imagine there are some good deals out there? Is it worth looking at the packages on offer?  Megan Singleton, bloggeratlarge.com, joined Francesca Rudkin.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Claire Trevett wrote in the NZ Herald this week that the most important pageant in politics at the moment is for the coveted tiara of Mr Economic Credibility. Who do you think is winning the race? Luxon or Robertson?   Corrections is paying for tattoo removal for new prisoners.  Duck shooting season started yesterday and according to Fish and Game New Zealand, some 50,000 game bird hunters came ou...

Australian actress Teresa Palmer is most well known for her roles in films like Warm Bodies, Hacksaw Ridge, she was fabulous in the true story Ride Like A Girl and Francesca just loved her in A Discovery of Witches.  Teresa’s new movie is The Twins.  The Twins is streaming now on Shudder.  Teresa Palmer joined Francesca Rudkin from LA.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy informat...

Kim Kardashian is in the hotseat for her comments about the diet she had to do in order to fit into her Met Gala look. Her comments are said to be promoting crash dieting in order to lose weight.  What negative effects does crash dieting have on your health?  Erin also has some nutrition tips to lose weight in a sustainable way.  Erin is the co-founder, director, naturopath and yoga teacher at Gol...

Sadly, as we age our ability to hear decreases due to damage from loud noises and medical treatments like cancer treatments.    We are born with tiny hair cells in our ears, which when we are young stick up and detect the vibrations from sound waves sending signals to our brain about the frequency and amplitude or pitch and volume of the sounds around us.    Hair cells develop in the embryo and ou...

Happy Mother's Day to all those wonderful mums out in the world.   Every year, I want to bring you a recipe that you can all cook for your mums and this year is no different. But instead of a dessert or something sweet, this year, I want to share with you my own mum's recipe.  Dutch pea and ham soup.    It's a cracker of a soup and if your wooden spoon stands up in the middle, you know that it's j...

The Foo Fighters and Ticketmaster.  Elemental Auckland – the first post Omicron music festival.  Ozark finale released on Netflix.  Chris Schulz joined Francesca Rudkin.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

If there is one person you want to go to, for the inside story on the royal family, it’s investigative journalist Tina Brown.  Tina is the former editor of Vanity Fair and the New Yorker, in 2007 she wrote The Diana Chronicles.  Her new book continues the story post-Diana, it’s called The Palace Papers: Inside the House of Windsor – the Truth and the Turmoil.  Both books were written with unpreced...

The Big OE is back on with reports of growing numbers of young Kiwis looking to head offshore.  Trans-Tasman company The Working Holiday Club helps young people book working holidays in the UK and Canada.  CEO Natalie Broomfield joined Francesca Rudkin.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It’s pre-budget announcements season and we won’t be seeing tax cuts but National wants everyone to want them.  May 19th is budget day – I want to say it’s the big day but with the budget, it’s actually all about the leadup.  What did you think of Simon Bridges speech?   New Zealand political editor Claire Trevett joined Francesca Rudkin.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy infor...

In his term as Chief Censor, David Shanks has overseen a time of vast change and challenges – the livestream of the March 15 terror attack, ever-evolving new technologies, online hate and misinformation. He’s seen things that no one should be exposed to.  David's five-year term at the Classifications Office ended on Friday and joined Francesca Rudkin to discuss his time in the role.  LISTEN ABOVE...

This week Health Minister Andrew Little announced a taskforce to tackle long delays for procedures and appointments within the health system.   The thought of yet another working group or taskforce may make us roll our eyes, but this one is at least made up of people working at the heart of our DHB’s and health system – which should give us some hope. Those on the taskforce are at least aware of w...