The Sunday Session with Francesca Rudkin

Tapu Te Po is by our own music star, Marlon Williams, it's Marlon’s take on Christmas classic O Holy Night.  The song is part of a new album from Australian musician Paul Kelly, called Paul Kelly’s Christmas Train.  Marlon Williams joined Francesca Rudkin.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Claire Trevett is a political reporter from the NZ Herald and she joined Francesca Rudkin to discuss Christopher Luxon's first week as leader of the National party. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

There are fears New Zealand’s backpacking industry is on the verge of collapse.  A report has been released highlighting the dire situation and urging the Government to take action.  Author of the report and the Backpacking Youth Travel Association sector lead Brett Duncan joined Francesca Rudkin.  LISTEN ABOVE  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It’s been a big week for the National party, with the leadership team looking to make a big first impact and all eyes will be looking ahead to the party's reshuffle tomorrow.  National deputy leader Nicola Willis joined Francesca Rudkin.  LISTEN ABOVE  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

After one hundred and seven days in lockdown, Auckland finally moved into the traffic light system on Friday.   Suddenly my life as an Uber driver kicked into high gear again, as my daughter was allowed back into her dance school – so nice not to have to rearrange the furniture anymore for zoom lessons – and end of school term celebrations with mates took place. It was great to see the kids hangin...

The Lincoln Highway by Amor Towles. He wrote a book called A Gentleman in Moscow a few years ago which is really terrific, and I adored this new one. It’s about two brothers and starts in Nebraska in the 1950s. Emmett, the older one is released from a juvenile prison farm where he served time for involuntary manslaughter. They’re on their own with both parents gone and decide to leave the farm and...

Travel blogger Megan Singleton joined Francesca Rudkin to give the lowdown on the prep you need to do before booking an overseas trip. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Newstalk ZB Wellington Mornings host Nick Mills and journalist Jo McCarroll joined Francesca Rudkin for the Sunday Panel. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Long time friends, our very own award-winning news reader Niva Retimanu and world champion Beatrice Faumuina have teamed up with a new podcast.  It is called Straight Up and features fascinating personal stories from a range of high-profile guests.  The podcast launched yesterday, the hosts of Straight up, Niva Retimanu and Beatrice Faumuina joined Francesca Rudkin.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.co...

Erin is the co-founder, director, naturopath and yoga teacher at Golden Yogi. She holds a Bachelor of Science and a Bachelor of Natural Medicine.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

As we start to get closer to Christmas (less than 4 weeks away!) our focus starts to turn towards Christmas day brunch, lunch, BBQ or dinner meals and the food required for them.    Some of us think of it as just another meal and are confident in the kitchen, but for many it comes with a huge amount of challenges. Not only is it stressful  it can be the most you have to cater for a all year challe...

Who knew, but there is a lack of research on what makes a good hug, so scientists from London decided to do something about it.  They took 250 people over two different experiment types and just asked them to hug - they didn't give any instructions on how, or how long.  They then studied their interactions and asked the volunteers to describe their feelings after the interaction.  They found that...

Aotearoa's own Scribe has a documentary series on TVNZ and Steve Newall, editor of flicks.co.nz joined Francesca Rudkin to break it down. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Benee is back again with a fresh new single, this is Doesn’t Matter.  But she is not done there, the award-winning artist has announced some exciting news this week, her 2022 world tour will kick off with a nationwide tour on New Zealand, starting in February.  Benee joined Francesca Rudkin. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week, an application was launched by news publishers to the Commerce Commission for approval to collectively bargain with Facebook and Google over payment for their use of New Zealand journalism.  Managing editor of the NZ Herald Shayne Currie joined Francesca Rudkin.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Newstalk ZB political reporter Jason Walls joined Francesca Rudkin to dive into the National Party's turmoil and hedge his bets over who will emerge as leader. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Governments around the world are reacting to new Covid variant Omicron.  The variant, found in South Africa this week, has been labeled a one of concern by the World Health Organisation.  New Zealand has added nine southern African nations to the list of very high-risk countries, following the lead of the likes of the UK, US and Australia.  This morning UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has tightene...

A week out from the move into the new Covid Protection Framework, or traffic light system, and around the time an announcement was made about a new Covid 19 variant of concern found in South Africa - leading countries, like ours, to adjusting their border restrictions - a document dump revealed the contents of Sir Brian Roche’s report on the review of the Delta outbreak.    Sir Brian Roche is the...

Radio personality and travel writer Tim Roxborogh and TV presenter Carolyn Taylor start their adventure in Kaikoura to enjoy a bird’s-eye view of the local sea life and discover the remote, untouched beauty of Stewart Island.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Plot by by Jean Janff Korelitz. She wrote a book called You Should Have Known which was turned into the TV series The Undoing with Nicole Kidman and Hugh Grant that Francesca might have seen – it was terrific. This new one is about a writer who had moderate success with a book but can’t replicate it and is teaching creative writing at a 3rd rate university when one of his students outlines thi...

Public health experts say letting Auckland's bars, cafes and hairdressers open next week wouldn't be wise but one thinks the Government may make the move anyway with cases and hospitalisations remaining steady.   Nearing 100 days in lockdown, Cabinet will re-evaluate Auckland's alert level setting tomorrow and consider whether a transition to alert level 3 step 3 would be viable.   The move would...

Anyone who has had children or tweens over the last 14 years is likely to be familiar with Greg Heffley, the awkward, middle school weakling from Jeff Kinney’s Diary of a Wimpy Kid.  The series is incredibly popular, it’s sold over 250 million copies and has been translated into 65 languages.  The books have also inspired feature films and a musical.  Jeff Kinney has released the 16th Diary of a W...

Cloud Cuckoo Land is the new book by Anthony Doerr, who wrote the fabulous All The Light We Cannot See which I think is one of the very best books of the last decade. It begins with the English translation of a long-lost book from Ancient Greece. It then transcends time and space, moving from Constantinople in the 15th century all the way through to 2146 with a narrative that somehow, inexplicably...

Travel blogger Megan Singleton joined Francesca Rudkin to discuss Singapore's 'Cruises to nowhere' that are focused on the onboard experience as opposed to the destination. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Lorna Subritzky and Liam Hehir joined Francesca Rudkin on the Sunday Panel. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.