The Sunday Session with Francesca Rudkin

So Her Majesty, The Queen, has announced she is pulling out of an Easter church service with regret. Bless the Queen – she’s always so apologetic about not being able to mark an occasion, and yet at 95 years old, and with many thousands of church services under her belt, I don’t think anyone holds it against her.   Queen Elizabeth is of course marking her 70 years on the throne this year, and it’s...

Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus. Terrific story set in the 1960’s about Elizabeth Zott (it’s fiction) who’s a real force of nature. Her dream of a career in science is thwarted when she’s unmarried and pregnant and then given the chance to host a TV cooking show to which she brings all her scientific principles and sets about educating a generation of women (combine one tablespoon acetic aci...

On Friday, Megan flew around the South Pole to see the Southern Lights.   Read about her experience at bloggeratlarge.com  Megan Singleton joined Francesca Rudkin.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Daylight saving – twice a year this debate comes up – is the extra daylight over summer worth the hassle of adjusting to the time change twice a year?   The mandate change is in effect from 11.59pm tomorrow. It has been reported in a new survey that one-quarter of all respondents – 27% – are "unhappy" with the lifting of the mandates  Best April Fools gags – did you see any good ones?  Morgan Godf...

In 2018, a trip to Iran for an academic conference ended with British-Australian academic Dr Kylie Moore-Gilbert being sent to prison.  As Kylie tried to leave Iran to return to Australia, she was arrested and charged with being a spy.  Sentenced to 10 years in a Tehran prison, there began her months-long ordeal inside solitary confinement.  Kylie Moore-Gilbert has written an in-depth account of h...

Why do we get addicted to sugar?  Sugar is associated with many chronic problems and decreases immunity.   How to break a sugar addiction?  How to deal with sugar cravings?  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 joined Francesca Rudkin.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/lis...

Mike’s website – goodfromscratch.co.nz  Hope we are all good, today we are talking about one of Ivy's most favourite fruits. Feijoa. I tell you; she could live on them 24 / 7 if she could!  Feijoas are a special fruit as they can be very polarising for many people, Whilst I'm a fan for the first week, then I get over them pretty quickly! But some simply don't like them at all.  With a huge number...

Huge news in science this week as scientists finally map all of the human genome!  The human genome is made up of billions of Etters known as nucleotide bases, that are paired together in different combinations. They provide the genetic instructions for making the human body.  This code determines everything about us including eye and hair colour, height through to our health and predisposition fo...

Gary Oldman’s spy thriller Slow Horses.  The Grammys are tomorrow.  Steve Newall, editor at flicks.co.nz, joined Francesca Rudkin.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

To his millions of fans, Joe Wicks is known as The Body Coach.   Joe is a fitness instructor, TV presenter, social media star – he's got a whopping 11 million followers – author of bestselling cookbooks, a podcast host on the BBC … AND he holds the Guinness World Record for the most viewers for a fitness workout live stream with an impressive 950,000 viewers during the 2020 lockdown. He's a very b...

One of New Zealand’s iconic tv programmes, Fair Go, turns 45 this week.   Fair Go is New Zealand’s second longest running local tv show behind Country Calendar.   Tomorrow night the Fair Go team will be celebrating with a special anniversary edition of the show.   Fair Go host Pippa Wetzell joined Francesca Rudkin.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The latest in the saga of “the slap” has seen Will Smith announce his resignation from the Academy.   Senior Editor and film critic from Deadline Hollywood, Dominic Patten joined Francesca Rudkin.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On Friday, Consumer NZ warned of price hikes of up to $1000 on household power bills.   It’s just one more in the long list of rising costs – this week alone I received letters from three of my service providers increasing my monthly bill. And no, they weren't all streaming services – but utilities we need.    So, when it comes to other services and products, what else can we expect to increase th...

It doesn’t matter how many years I’ve been putting clocks back and forward, for daylight saving, it always takes me a while to work out if I’m getting more or less sleep. It’s a pre-occupation.   I blame the confusion on smartphones, which make the change automatically for us at 2 or 3am, so we don’t have to think it through. This morning we gained an extra hour’s sleep as our clocks reverted to N...

The Match by Harlan Coben: Sequel to a book called The Boy from the Woods a couple of years ago – but reads perfectly well on its own. Wilde is the boy who was discovered living and growing up in the woods as a child, now keen to find his family so he sends off to a DNA website who give him a match for his father – but then finds himself caught up in an online community who work to expose anonymou...

Wrapping up her West Coast itinerary with the TranzAlpine train across to Christchurch. How often it goes, how long it takes, what it’s like on board.  They’re also thinking about updating their plans to increase the service.  Megan Singleton joined Francesca Rudkin.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Andrew Little yesterday hinted that the Covid response role may go. For two years we have been heavily protected and now it is all disappearing very fast.  Should mandates be up to individual businesses or should it be a blanket Government call as to whether they are used?  Stuart Nash has said we won’t return to the days of old when international tourists return – is this realistic?   Coast day h...

Layne Beachley is the most successful female surfer in history.  After taking up the sport professionally at 16, Layne went on to win an impressive 7 world titles.  She was also part of the first group to tackle sexism in the sport, and is part of the documentary Girls Can’t Surf.  Girls Can’t Surf is making its New Zealand TV premiere this coming week.  Layne Beachley joined Francesca Rudkin.  LI...

Georgia Third is a marine scientist at the joint Graduate School in Coastal and Marine Science hosted by NIWA and the University of Auckland.   She has just returned from a month living aboard New Zealand's only ice-strengthened and dynamically positioned deep-water research vessel, RV Tangaroa.  An incredible trip of research through the Chatham Rise as part of her Blake Ambassadorship.  While on...

Tomorrow afternoon, at 1pm, the 94th Annual Academy Awards, otherwise known as the Oscars, will air on TVNZ2.   Every year I ask myself if the Oscars, and all the other award shows that make up the ‘Awards Season’, are still relevant? Do they have a place, or is it just an opportunity for celebrities to fawn over each other and make ‘woke’ speeches?     Yes, and yes.     One of the main criticisms...

Heart Disease  Many deaths are preventable – what can we do to reduce heart disease risks?  Commonly people think mainly men get heart disease – but the risk factors for women are high, especially after menopause.  What to eat to reduce heart disease risks? Are supplements helpful? Best types of exercise?  Erin is the co-founder, director, naturopath and yoga teacher at Golden Yogi. She holds a ba...

Persimmons, love them or not?   Persimmons are a very sweet edible fruit widely cultivated and eaten in Asian countries. Our persimmon fruit are starting to turn a dark orange this week which is great as they are early. Persimmon fruit generally matures late in the fall and can stay on the tree until winter.    Best eaten fresh, however cooking them or even drying them work really well.    With di...

The Foo Fighters’ Taylor Hawkins has passed away.  The Oscars are tomorrow - who’s going to win, and how to watch them.  Steve Newall, editor at flicks.co.nz, joined Francesca Rudkin.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Jane Seymour is an Emmy and double Golden Globe winning actress.   From one of the original bond girls, Solitaire, in Live and Let Die, her most famous role was as Michaela Quinn in 90s hit Dr Quinn Medicine Woman and more recently Netflix's The Kominsky Method.   Jane has a new movie heading to cinemas later this year.  It’s called Ruby’s Choice, a story of a family grappling with Alzheimer’s.  ...

Well, it seems like we are all getting a bit nostalgic with a resurgence in demand for toys and gadgets from the nineties and noughties.   Trade Me Spokeswoman Millie Silvester joined Francesca Rudkin.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.