The Sunday Session with Francesca Rudkin

Journalist, writer and podcaster Emma John is in her 40s. She’s not married, doesn’t have a partner, no kids and she’s happy about it.  Emma is part of a growing trend worldwide of those living single and childfree.  Her new book is called Self Contained, a hilarious look at life as someone who is content and happily single.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Countrywide lockdowns, a slow economy, and a pandemic on your doorstep may have taken a toll on your mental health and lead to stress & anxiety.  A lockdown is an ideal time to practice self-care and focus on your well-being to recharge.  Create a Wellness Retreat at home to come out of the lockdown feeling recharged and inspired   Steps to create a home retreat:  Create a schedule for the day or...

Whiskey Marmalade  5 oranges  1 grapefruit  250g jam setting sugar  2 tsp whiskey  Using a vegetable peeler, thinly pare the rind from one of the oranges and the grapefruit. Cut this rind into very thin strips and place into a heavy based pot.   Using a sharp knife, remove the skin and white pith from each of the oranges and grapefruit. Remove any pips and then blend the remaining fruit to a pulp....

Bat's ability to host pathogens like coronaviruses while not getting sick that could be the secret to a longer life.  One of the key signs of ageing are telomeres - these are the protective end bits on your chromosomes. As we age these telomeres get shorter until they no longer protect the DNA and the cells die.   A study that microchipped the longest-lived bats (Greater Mouse-eared bats) and drew...

Steve Newall reviews new Neon sci-fi show Raised by Wolves, a 10-part series from Alien creator Ridley Scott.  Newall also reviews Steve Martin, Martin Short and Selena Gomez in Disney+’s Only Murders in the Building. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Brynley Stent is the rising talent of New Zealand comedy. She was the 2021 winner of the Billy T Award for her sketch comedy show Soft Carnage.  She also featured on Shortland Street, Funny Girls, Golden Boy, Taskmaster, Have You Been Paying Attention and she’s a contestant on the upcoming season of Celebrity Treasure Island.  Brynley was set to relaunch her award-winning show Soft Carnage this we...

Imagine you have 50-50 chance of inheriting the gene mutation that leads to Huntington’s disease.  A simple blood test can determine whether you carry the gene – but would you want to know or would you rather carry-on life unaware?  This is the agonising decision facing 27 year old Lillian Hanley.  Lillian has made a short documentary about it that is now available as part of the latest season of...

While New Zealand is in lockdown, experiencing Delta for the first time, many around the world have simply had to learn to live with Covid, elimination no longer being an option.  One of those is New Zealander Rachel Bryant, who lives with her husband and daughter in Andorra.  Rachel shared her experience with Francesca Rudkin. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Wellness expert Erin O'Hara talks about how supplements like Vitamin C, D and Zinc could help reduce symptoms and risk of hospitalisation if you catch Covid. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The New Zealand team are in Tokyo ready for the Paralympic Games. Chef de Mission Paula Tesoriero says "our athletes are excited to finally be here after the postponement of the games."LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It's Day 5 of Alert Level 4 lockdown. Another 21 community cases were confirmed yesterday, bringing the number of people infected in this outbreak to 51.There are 179 exposure sites with 219 visits - the majority being in Auckland with some in Wellington and Coromandel. 10,000 close contacts have been identified. Epidemiologist Dr Michael Baker says we should see the cluster peak very soon. LISTEN...

Prison Break by Arthur Taylor - NZ career criminal, a man who’s had a wretched life and says that it would have been completely different if he hadn’t been sent into care as a boy.   People Like Them by Samira Sedira - Set in a small French village this is a very assured first book, a  psychological suspense novel inspired by a true story about a couple in an insular French village whose lives are...

Megan Singleton tells you why it pays to use a travel agent. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Former journalist turned author, Michael Robotham is a crime writer who has three consecutive number ones, over six million books sold across 50 countries in 24 different languages. He’s also the only Australian to twice win the CWA Gold Dagger award – the award presented for best crime novel of the year. His new book When You Are Mine, and is set in the UK. He says this is the first book he's wri...

Dr Michelle Dickinson tells you how you why that failed sourdough loaf is a perfect natural trap for slugs and snails in the garden. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Flicks.co.nz editor Steve Newell reviews specialist streaming services DocPlay and Shudder. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Abbas Nazari was just 7 years old when he and his family decided to flee the Taliban rule in Afghanistan. Out at sea, on a small fishing boat, with over 400 other asylum seekers, their boat started to sink. The group were saved by a Norwegian cargo ship, The Tampa. Turned away by Australia, Nazari and his family were some of the few resettled in New Zealand. That terrifying journey was 20 years ag...

Heading into a level four lockdown was a pretty simple process for my family this time around - bearing in mind no one in our house was trying to shut down a business or travel the length of the country to get home.   There was a scramble to find computer chargers and wine; the rest we decide to leave to chance; including a car which broke down on Tuesday evening – thank you to the AA for coming t...

This week I want to bring you a recipe that will not only challenge our little ones, but gets them thinking about yeast, but most of all keeps them busy for a while! Instead of making a sourdough or bread rolls, let's mix it up at bit and make Bao Buns. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Red Traitor by Owen Matthews: set during the Cuban missile crisis of 1962 this concerns Lieutenant Colonel Alexander Vasin who is employed by the KGB and given the job of rooting out a purported traitor in the highest levels of Russian intelligence – and as he goes about that work starts to hear whispers about a military action – four submarine with nuclear weapons on board are steaming towards Cu...

Megan Singleton chats to Francesca Rudkin about the borders possibly opening up. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

George Fenwick is a Kiwi trying to return home. For many reasons he wasn’t able to return at the beginning of the pandemic, and now is struggling to get home due to issues booking a spot in MIQ. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Former National staffer Monique Poirier and political commentator Shane Te Pou join Francesca Rudkin to talk about the borders opening next year and the need for an independent sports commission. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The big kiwi OE is on hold for many young New Zealanders. But back when the world was open and we were free to explore, Freddie Gillies and his friends took the concept of an OE to the next level. 14 months, 20 countries, 23,000km from Bali to London all done on a bike. Crossing borders and getting visas could be a challenge Gillies said. He reflected on trying to cross Myanmar at a time when they...

Editor at flicks.co.nz Steve Newell reviews new local drama series Panthers that depicts the rise of the Polynesian Panthers and the dawn raids era. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.