The Sunday Session with Francesca Rudkin

Lower back pain can be a debilitating and painful condition - one that affects up to 80 percent of all people at one time or another.  Wellbeing expert and naturopath Erin O'Hara joined Francesca Rudkin to discuss some simple, at-home remedies to help treat back pain. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Snapper wrapped in prosciutto & a warm lentil salad 800gm snapper fillets 4 slices of prosciutto 1 cup Le puy lentils 2 cloves garlic, crushed 1 small onion, chopped 1 small knob ginger, peeled and chopped finely 1Tbsp Cardamon seeds, crushed 2 large ripe tomatoes 500ml Chicken stock 1 small pkt corinader leaves 50g butter 2 tspn Crème fraiche Juice of a Lemon Salt Sliced red chili if you wish Pl...

One of the biggest problems facing agriculture today is what to do about emissions.  Estimates vary, but livestock are reckoned to be responsible for up to 14 percent of all greenhouse emissions from human activities, with the average cow producing 250-500 litres of methane a day. AgResearch have been working on giving cows a vaccine against certain gut microbes that are responsible for producing...

Lockdown is over once again, and people are starting to get out and about again. That's evidenced by a raft of major events on this weekend, including the Beacon Festival, while local movie Cousins has hit $1 million at the box office. Entertainment commentator Chris Schulz joined Francesca Rudkin to discuss the latest in entertainment. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy informat...

New Zealand soul artist Teeks - otherwise known as Te Karehana Gardiner-Toi - has this week released his first album, Something to Feel.  He first came to public attention in 2017 when he released his EP The Grapefruit Skies and his breakout hit, If Only. That year he was also named as Best Māori Artist at the New Zealand Music Awards. Last year, Teeks' star rose further, with his first-ever tour...

The grounding of the Ever Given cargo ship in the Suez canal has captivated the world - but one expert is not surprised it has happened.  The sight of the 400-metre ship, with a total tonnage of 220,000 tons, stuck the width of the canal, while tugboats and dredgers attempt to free it has created many a meme as well as concerns, as it highlights the fragility of the global shipping industry. About...

One started Auckland family has launched their own small business - inspired by the entrepreneurial spirit of their 11-year-old son. In the name of education, parents Fred and Lavinia have joined forces with 11-year-old son Dominic and 15-year-old Caesar to start The Fidget Store. The whole endeavour is aimed at teaching their children to run a business with each family member holding a 25 percent...

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern is under fire for taking longer than she had indicated to make moves on the two-way travel bubble with the Cook Islands. Speaking to media with Cook Islands Prime Minister Mark Brown on Friday, Ardern revealed the two Governments were working towards a bubble start date in May. This is despite saying in December that the Government was aiming for the bubble to be open...

In a big news week, we still had time to get upset about lions and Wiggles. The Wiggles received death threats! Think about that – the Wiggles received death threats! I appreciate many are upset about the Wiggles taking emergency spots in managed isolation but it’s not the performers fault - management organising the tour didn’t get sorted earlier. Nor should the cast of The Lion King become targe...

Cabinet ministers will discuss a trans-Tasman travel bubble with Australia on Monday with a view to mid to late April as a potential start date.  Covid-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins yesterday indicated a bubble would be at least three weeks away because airports and airlines would need time to set up the necessary systems. Speaking on The Country Thursday, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said:...

The incredible story of Franki Valli and the Four Seasons is coming to stages across New Zealand. The hit Broadway musical Jersey Boys opens in Auckland next month before moving on to Wellington. And with Broadway and West End closed, New Zealand has been lucky enough to secure American theatre star Hayden Milanes to play Franki Valli himself. Milanes has toured extensively playing Franki and is n...

The Rose Code by Kate Quinn This is historical fiction by the author of The Alice Network (which and The Huntress. It’s a Bletchley Park story – the place where Britain’s finest brains worked during WW2 to crack German military codes. Three women become friends there but war, loss and the impossible pressures of secrecy tear them apart. The code-breaking techniques are fascinating, as are the huma...

After a year without international travel, New Zealand is getting closer to opening the borders to Australia. Cabinet will tomorrow meet to discuss a trans-Tasman bubble, with speculation rife that a bubble could open up as soon as mid-April. Air New Zealand is already gearing up for one, with the announcement this week of new flights to Tasmania's capital of Hobart. But what should travellers ant...

Endometriosis is a condition that affects women - and one that seems to be becoming more common. It's also a condition that many women don't know they have, putting the pain down to typical period pain - and not aware that they shouldn't be having that degree of pain. Wellbeing expert and naturopath Erin O'Hara joined Francesca Rudkin to discuss the condition and the symptoms. LISTEN ABOVE See omn...

Wastewater analysis is something few would expect they'd be interested in a year ago. However, it has become a key tool in the Covid-19 battle, with the tests helping to find any undetected outbreaks in the community. But Covid isn't the only thing that wastewater can discover - with our waste helping scientists discover a lot of things about our lives, including what drugs we take and how much al...

With nominations set and just over a month until showtime, details are trickling out about the 93rd Oscars and neither sweatshirts nor Zoom made the cut. "Our plan is that this year's Oscars will look like a movie, not a television show," said show producers Jesse Collins, Stacy Sher and Steven Soderbergh in a statement Friday. They've enlisted Emmy and Tony Award winning director Glenn Weiss to d...

Fig, ginger and caramel loaf (serves 8ish) Prep time: 20 mins Cooking time: 40 mins Fig topping 125g butter 150g light muscovado sugar 6 figs, stem removed, skin on, halved Line a small cake loaf tin approx. 20cm x 12cm with greaseproof paper and then grease with a touch of butter. Melt butter in saucepan over a low heat. Add sugar and stir over heat until the mix becomes foamy and pale (2-3 minut...

Hollywood actor Lucas Hedges' career constantly seems to be on the rise. His movie career started after being spotted in a middle school play by director Wes Anderson, but it took career took a major leap in 2017, when he was nominated for an Oscar for his breakout role in Manchester By the Sea.  He was just 18 when he played that role making him one of the youngest actors to be nominated for Best...

Travel agents say there is significant pent-up demand for holidays across the Tasman - when a two-way travel bubble is started. About half the three million-plus trips taken a year by Kiwis before the pandemic were to Australia and the group representing hard-hit agents say many of their clients are eager to dust off their passports as soon as possible. Travel Agents Association of NZ president Br...

Tourism Minister Stuart Nash is promising targeted support for struggling tourism businesses but with a warning - the old model is unsustainable and has to go. In a speech this morning in Queenstown, Nash unveiled some details of what that support might be, adding that it will likely target specific regions - the West Coast of the South Island, Queenstown, Fiordland, Aoraki Mt Cook, Kaikōura. He l...

One of sailing's most recognisable voices is now part of the America's Cup Hall of Fame. New Zealand commentator Peter Montgomery is the first Kiwi broadcaster and sixth altogether to be inducted. Montgomery's enjoyed an illustrious career that's included 13 regattas - including the most recent race for Newstalk ZB. He joined Francesca Rudkin to discuss his illustrious career and the honour of bei...

It could have been mistaken for a graduation ceremony. Proud parents, welcome hugs, long embraces. Small groups standing around chatting, laughing. Mewling infants hoisted onto shoulders. But take a closer look. The bursts of laughter are cut off short. Sudden tears wiped away. Many people hobbling on crutches, bandages over recent surgeries, latest rounds of treatment. Deep shrapnel setting off t...

A new book is taking a behind the scenes look at the space industry - more specifically, the inside story and origin of leading-edge rocket company SpaceX. The company was founded by Elon Musk, who serves as CEO, CTO and chief designer of SpaceX, also CEO, early investor and product architect at Tesla. He’s also one of the richest people in the world. The new book is Liftoff: Elon Musk and the des...

When I Ran Away by Ilona Bannister In the chaos after New York’s twin towers collapsed, Gigi Stanislawski meets a total stranger who she doesn’t see again for the next ten years – when they fall in love, marry and move to London. But there are major differences in their class and cultures and after a traumatic birth, Gigi runs away. I read this from beginning to end and was convinced I was reading...

Weta Workshop Unleashed has been mesmerising audiences in Auckland for the last three months, after bringing a slice of the Wellington studios magic up to Auckland.  Travel blogger Megan Singleton paid it a visit, and spoke with Francesca Rudkin to give her the lowdown.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.