The Sunday Session with Francesca Rudkin

Full on weather around the country over the last week, and this weekend and Cyclone Dovi is set to cross the North lsland today.  Miriyana Alexander joined Francesca Rudkin.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Last week, Francesca started the show talking about Starlink satellites and the long-term impact they have on our night sky and the inevitable space junk they create.  Then a few days later, Elon Musk’s Space X announced they could lose up to 40 of the 49 launched satellites because of a geomagnetic storm.  To talk us through the impact of all of this, space scientist Duncan Steel joined Francesca...

NZ Herald Political Editor Claire Trevett joined Francesca Rudkin with an update on the anti-mandate protest in Wellington, increased abuse toward journalists, and New Zealanders in Ukraine.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Spotify has been all over the headlines in the last couple of weeks, but looking past Joe Rogan and Neil Young there is talk of far wider injustice from the streaming service.  In the UK an inquiry into music streaming is looking at claims of musicians getting a raw deal.  In America, The Union of Musicians and Allied Workers, has been fighting the streaming giant for some time with its Justice at...

During a week in which frustration at the government’s handling of various aspects of the Covid response have been playing out very publically, New Zealand quietly reached a milestone – 10 million Covid vaccines had been administered by 2pm on Friday afternoon.   This is something worth celebrating. It wasn’t long ago when this seemed like an impossible milestone to achieve, given how slowly the L...

The Maid by Nita Prose. Molly the maid works at the Regency Grand Hotel. She’s a loner, alone in the world and clearly somewhere on the spectrum but she takes enormous pride in her work. Then one day she finds a guest dead in his bed which starts a whole chain of events which change her life forever. Readers who liked Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine will love this.     Davos Man by Peter S. Go...

Megan Singleton, Blogger at Large.com  TOPIC: TRAVEL INSURANCE  Who’s covering covid and why do you need it even if travelling in NZ?  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week’s panel: 1News Senior Reporter Katie Bradford and political commentator Ben Thomas joined Francesca Rudkin.  They discussed New Zealand’s Covid-19 response, the reopening of the border and the 5-step plan, and MIQ.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

You’ll probably most fondly remember Sally Lindsay, as Shelley Unwin, barmaid and land lady at The Rovers from Coro Street.   Since leaving the Cobbles, Sally has had an eclectic career of acting, presenting, game shows, narrating documentaries and she even owns her own production company.   Her latest show is one of her own creations, a new murder mystery, The Madame Blanc Mysteries which is now...

Erin O’Hara 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.  Kids are back to school, we’re back at work, the year has kicked off with a hiss and a roar – lot going on and stress levels can rise … so to talk about how to reduce cortisol and turn down the dial on stress I am joined by …  How t...

Mike’s website – goodfromscratch.co.nz  Whilst I was driving this week, I tuned into Newstalk and they were talking about how home-kill meat has never been more popular.   Question is why is home-kill a great option if you have a lifestyle block?  You know what you are raising and what they have eaten  They are killed on the farm v the meat works  You can choose the butcher  All of these things ma...

I don't think any video can top this one by Professor Ronen Segev – lead author on this weeks research.  This is hilarious...  What would you think if you saw a goldfish driving a mini fish tank down a street – odd to say the least, something of one of those prank shows – but in fact you would be observing a study to see whether goldfish can perform navigational tasks outside their normal environm...

Steve Newall is the editor at flicks.co.nz, he joined Francesca Rudkin and discussed the new show Pam & Tommy and Roland Emmerich’s new disaster movie Moonfall.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Much loved celebrity chef and food writer Rick Stein has spent much of his career travelling the world, experiencing different food cultures and searching for food perfection.   Now in his new cookbook Rick takes us inside his own kitchen, embracing and celebrating the joys of the home cooked meal – sharing with us his favourite family classics and childhood memories, inspired by the comfort found...

The live events and creative industries have been hit hard by the arrival of Omicron and the move to the red traffic light setting.   However, despite restrictions, Auckland Theatre company is forging ahead with its season opener.   Their new show Grand Horizons opens this week.    Director Jennifer Ward-Lealand joined Francesca Rudkin.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy informa...

This week Denmark became the first country in the EU to drop all Covid-19 restrictions.   The Government deciding the virus is no longer a critical threat to society.   So, no more masks, no more vaccine passports, no more mandatory self-isolation.   Danish Professor Lone Simonsen joined Francesca Rudkin.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A very quiet Waitangi Day today.   To run us through a very different looking commemoration, New Zealand Herald Political Reporter, Michael Neilson joined Francesca Rudkin.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

I saw something quite extraordinary last weekend, and I am keen to hear if you’ve seen the same thing, and your thoughts on it.    So, I took a week off and spent it with my family at Omori, at the southern end of Lake Taupo. It’s a glorious little settlement, and thanks to its size and limited street lights, a perfect place to sit outside at night and enjoy the stars. Even the teenagers come outs...

Love Marriage by Monica Ali.   She wrote a wonderful book called Brick Lane several years ago which made her one of the young darlings on the literary scene. Love Marriage is the opposite of an arranged marriage and this is about a Bengali immigrant family living in London; Yasmin the daughter is a medical student engaged to another trainee doctor but their families could not be more different and...

TOPIC: 2022 travel plans  Let’s look at the stats I’ve gathered for people’s travel intentions for 2022. Hardly anyone is planning to stay put!  Then a quick recap of my 2 NZ tours, which are popular NZ destinations too.  March: Nelson – Abel Tasman – Punakaiki – Hokitika Wildfoods Festival (where Dave Dobbyn is playing) and Trans Alpine to Christchurch.  April: Autumn in Central Otago. Staying in...

Charlotte Bellis MIQ – was the right call made?  Do you feel safe under this Government?  Nick Mills and Brodie Kane join Tim Beveridge.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A new year is always a good time to start a new habit or set a new goal, and this year it might just be finding financial freedom.  Frances Cook is a self-confessed reformed “financial mess”, she’s now a money writer, commentator and the Investments Editor at Business Desk.  She has written a new book, Your Money, Your Future: The realest guide to finding financial freedom, which just happens to b...

What to have in your COVID care kit?   It would be research-based supplement products (vitamin D, zinc, quercetin, NAC), along with panadol/neurofen/thermometer, oxygen oximeter, etc.  Erin O’Hara joined Tim Beveridge.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Mike’s website – goodfromscratch.co.nz    Happy Tomato!  We can't really talk about summer without bringing in the big guns of the vegetable garden Tomatoes.   We have a truck load of them growing on the farm, I think Bee and Adrianne, our gardeners, are busy keeping the pesky birds away from them at the moment.   Don't ask me about the varieties but what I can tell you is they are the sweetest an...

What time were you born?  Did you know that primates (which includes humans) mostly give birth at night.  A 2018 UK study found that 71.5% of spontaneous natural human births occurred at night.  There are many theories for why this might be, including thoughts that our ancestors lived in groups which were active and spread out during the day so a night birth was probably safer for the mother and b...