The Sunday Session with Francesca Rudkin

As the world begins to travel again, travel agents are digging around for the office keys in the bottom of the junk drawer and heading back to their desks.  But things have changed. Many agents had to pivot and find other jobs as Covid saw the travel industry come to a grinding halt.  They’re not coming back. They’re real estate agents now, florists, builders, some even went milking cows.  New Zea...

Death of the Black Widow by James Patterson: thought it was time we gave the great (well, prolific at least) James Patterson a bit of an airing. This is the story of a femme fatale black widow type of monster who preys (mostly) on men; and is something of an escape artist as the police just can’t catch her. The cop in charge of the cases becomes obsessed with her but she’s a hard one to hunt down....

Simon Bridges' last week in parliament.  Unlimited annual leave? Would you like to see more companies do this?  Elon Musk buys Twitter  Commentator and TV Producer, Irene Gardiner and Political commentator, Ben Thomas joined Francesca Rudkin on the Panel.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Cookbook fans, I wonder how much you know about how the beloved cookbook came to be?  Did you know it was in 1845? Have you ever heard of its creator Eliza Acton? Or what about the fact that the only reason poet Eliza ever wrote and revolutionised the modern cookbook was because she was told poetry wasn’t the business of a lady?  It’s a great yarn and it’s the subject of a new novel – The Language...

As we get older, I think mobility is incredibly important... but joints tend to become stiffer over time, making them less flexible as we age.  Why do we get stiffer as we age?   What are some natural remedies to reduce joint inflammation, stiffness and pain?  Erin is the co-founder, director, naturopath and yoga teacher at Golden Yogi. She holds a bachelor of science (physiology) and a bachelor o...

Mike’s website – goodfromscratch.co.nz  Pinch and a punch for the first day of the month.  This week we have been harvesting the start of our kumara. And as you can see, they are huge!  Note: when growing Kumara they love a hard pan.   By this I mean, when you plant kumara they are best grown approximately 20 cm below the surface but they need to hit something hard! This will force them to grow ou...

Science has just found out that men and women experience pain differently.  We can never fully know how somebody else experiences pain – especially when it’s caused by something we’ll never experience ourselves such as gendered pain like childbirth (or man flu).  Now a new study published in the journal Brain – https://academic.oup.com/brain/advance-article/doi/10.1093/brain/awab408/6551129 – conc...

NZ music docu-series Give It a Whirl:  Kiwi rock music is loaded with great sounds and stories, as this collection demonstrates. The Give It a Whirl collection is built around the 2003 TV series, which explores five decades of popular music in Aotearoa.   The new judges have been announced for MasterChef NZ.   The new-look trio of judges is led by MasterChef Season 2 winner, celebrity cook and ent...

Today is the first day of NZ music month – and it would be rude if we didn’t kick it off with some great Kiwi music.  The theme of this year's New Zealand Music Month is ‘Level Up Our Local Talent’ – calling on the music industry to support our next wave of musicians.  One of those up and comers is Tauranga based singer/songwriter Georgia Lines.  Georgia has announced a tour this week and will be...

Do you fancy unlimited annual leave from work?  It would be great, wouldn’t it?  Well, one Auckland company is leading the way and has implemented just that, unlimited annual leave for their staff.  Actionstep’s Vice President of Engineering, Stevie Mayhew joined Francesca Rudkin.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This afternoon, the Government is announcing a pre-budget package to tackle school attendance issues.  Three Waters is going ahead – what are the next steps?   Should we expect a busy three weeks as we head into the budget?  NZ Herald political reporter, Michael Nielson joined Francesca Rudkin.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Over 50,000 kiwi women are overdue Mammograms due to screening delays. According to the Breast Cancer Foundation, this could mean 300 women have undiagnosed breast cancer.  One woman who has experienced delays in screening is Northland based Antoinette Howard-Mayr.  After discovering a lump in her breast, Antoinette had to beg health professionals for a scan.  The scan has revealed she has stage 3...

Even though New Zealand’s MIQ and virtual lottery system has now come to an end, there is something comforting in the Grounded Kiwis win in the High Court this week. Finally, common sense comes to the fore, it’s like a full stop has been placed under this contentious issue as the High Court acknowledges we needed to protect our border, but it could have been done better.   Grounded Kiwis is an org...

The Bookseller at the End of the World by Ruth Shaw. She runs two tiny bookshops in Manapouri in the deep South. They sound simply charming and she’s clearly a great character – with a very interesting back story. She's sailed through the Pacific for years, been held up by pirates, worked at Sydney's Kings Cross with drug addicts and prostitutes, campaigned on numerous environmental issues, and wo...

This article caught my attention this week and I haven't seen it in the NZ media: space travel for tourists!  A flight went last week to the International Space Station via Elon Musk’s Space X and delivered 3 multi-millionaires who paid US$55m each and had an astronaut escort.  They will stay a week and do some experiments on board too, but they’re not allowed in the Russian section.  The Russians...

MIQ is gone, restrictions are easing, borders are opening, we’re starting to think about traveling again, especially those who are thinking about heading off on an OE. Concerns about a brain drain are bubbling away – should we be concerned?   If you were a young kiwi, would you stay or would you go? If you were overseas, would you come home? With lower wages and sky-high living costs is there anyt...

Last week, we spoke to Olivia Mackay, skipper of the newly formed women’s Live Ocean Racing crew.  The team is backed by two of the world's best, New Zealand sailors; co-founders of Live Ocean, Peter Burling and Blair Tuke.  Peter Burling and Blair Tuke joined Francesca Rudkin.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Is your beauty routine messing with your health and hormones?    Erin is the co-founder, director, naturopath and yoga teacher at Golden Yogi. She holds a bachelor of science (physiology) and a bachelor of natural medicine.  Erin O’Hara joined Francesca Rudkin.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Mike’s website – goodfromscratch.co.nz  This week all I've heard about is friends going fishing and catching fish! Whilst all I've been doing is working. Not fair, but what goes around must come around.  So, this week I've written a recipe for smoked fish chowder. Perfect for the colder nights and for those who are lucky enough to have some spare smoked snapper. This recipe is adapted from Hammerh...

Researchers in Japan have just developed the world's first electric chopsticks that use electrical stimulation and a mini-computer worn on the eaters’ wristband to artificially create the taste of salt!  Salt is made up of sodium chloride, however too much salt can lead to high blood pressure, heart disease and even stroke.  The chopsticks transmit sodium ions from food, through the chopsticks to...

Harry Styles is coming to NZ in 2023.  Coachella weekend 2 is on right now.  The return of Better Call Saul.  Chris Schulz joined Francesca Rudkin.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It’s almost show time! Dancing with the Stars Season 9 kicks off tonight, and this year our very own Kerre Woodham is in the line-up.  We can’t wait to see her glammed up in sequins, waltzing and cha-cha'ing her way around the dance floor.  So, it’s show day, Kerre is already in hair and makeup.  She joined Francesca Rudkin.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

TikTok is changing the face of book publishing.  It’s something that has taken hold in Francesca’s household … this week she received a package of books, that were snapped up by her 13-year-old who had seen them reviewed on TikTok.  In Britain, TikTok has helped book sales reach record high levels in 2021.  Booktok is a huge phenomenon and to talk through exactly what it has meant for publishers h...

Jason Walls has been in Singapore and Japan with the PM this week and he arrived back in New Zealand around 6 this morning.  Newstalk ZB chief political reporter Jason Walls joined Francesca Rudkin.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Weta Workshop has signed on to bring a piece of New Zealand’s World War One history alive.  The project is a memorial museum and visitor centre, in the small French town Le Quesnoy.  It will tell the story of a pivotal moment in the first world war, where New Zealand led the liberation of Le Quesnoy.  To talk me through the project I am joined by Weta Workshop Senior Creative Director, Andrew Thom...