The Sunday Session with Francesca Rudkin

Ever had one of those weeks when things just go from bad to worse? We all have, right – so we can appreciate how bad things got for KiwiRail this week. It was like watching an episode of Utopia or The Office as more details about the Aratere ferry grounding came to light. Then, to top it off, the Transport Minister refused to confirm or deny whether an advisory group has suggested KiwiRail no long...

Knife River by Justine Champine: When Jess was 13 years old her mother disappeared, which is something she and her sister Liz struggled with for years. Now living in NYC, Jess receives a phone call one day to say that her mother’s remains have been found, which takes her back to the small town of Knife River where she grew up. She moves back into her childhood home where her sister has been living...

Free airport wi-fi could cost travellers in other ways, as some unlucky users found out the hard way. An Australian man has been arrested for setting up fake public networks to harvest people's data and steal sensitive information. BloggerAtLarge writer Megan Singleton says people need to be cautious and not sign in via social media - and only check bank information on personal networks. LISTEN AB...

This week on The Sunday Panel, Coast day host Lorna Riley and senior PR consultant at One Plus One Communications, Damien Venuto, joined in on a discussion about the following issues of the day - and more! What did we think of Stuff's new Three News bulletin? Do we think more people will tune in? Experts have voiced concerns with the Government's new plan for housing, with some claiming it will le...

Dry July is here again, with Kiwis going alcohol-free for the month to examine their drinking habits. Binge-drinking is a lingering part of Kiwi culture, and more and more people have felt inspired to step back to consider the health risks. Naturopath and wellness expert Erin O'Hara says binge-drinking comes with short-term complications - and long-term risks of brain and liver damage. LISTEN ABOV...

Dutch-inspired beef sausage rolls Cook time: 30 minutes Prep time: 10 minutes Serves: 6 500gm beef mince 1/2 tsp nutmeg 1/2 tsp ginger powder 1/2 tsp dried thyme 1 tbsp salt 1 cup breadcrumbs 1 sheet puff pastry Preheat the oven to 180*c Place the mince into a large bowl with the salt, spices and breadcrumbs. Mix together until well combined. Divide the mince into two and roll into long sausages t...

The world of 2018's A Quiet Place has been expanded out through the newly-released prequel. A Quiet Place: Day One  shows viewers how the film's world got to the near-apocalyptic point of the original- with plenty of additional worldbuilding. Flicks.co.nz editor Steve Newall examines whether or not this is worth the watch. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On the Sunday Session with Francesca Rudkin Full Show Podcast for Sunday 7th of July 2024: Francesca reviews Stuff's first ThreeNews 6pm bulletin , architecture professor Elizabeth Aitken Rose expresses concern the Government's housing changes will create cheap slum-like housing and Newstalk ZB rugby commentator Elliott Smith talks about the start of a new era for Scott Robertson's All Blacks. Tru...

'They don’t make music like they used to'- you might say as you listen to the latest hits on the radio. Well, new research published in the journal Scientific Reports might prove you right. In the study, researchers analysed 1,131 melodies from 360 singles that reached the top 5 US Billboard charts each year between 1950 and 2022. They chose to study melodies because when asked to sing a popular s...

Many experts believe fusion energy is the future of limitless clean energy - and one Wellington-based team aims to help New Zealand access this. OpenStar Technologies is working on a 'levitated dipole' fusion reactor prototype, designed to recreate the process where hydrogen atoms 'fuse' to make helium and release energy.  Founder Dr Ratu Mataira was drawn to the possibilities that come with fusio...

Former court reporter turned author Steve Braunias has made a career out of seeing the worst the world has to offer. He's written articles about some of the nation's most infamous murder cases - and he's turned some of his findings into a book, The Survivors: True stories of death and desperation.  He says he'd never felt the trauma of examining the world of true crime, until too many recent incid...

As the hospitality sector struggles and consumers feel the pinch from rising living costs, one entrepreneur has devised a solution. Food waste is still a lingering issue, so Foodprint founder Michal Garvey launched Mystery Bags to help business and consumers get through a gloomy winter period. Garvey says the viral nature of mystery packages would allow consumers to eat out sustainably - and have...

The All Blacks are mightily relieved after the 16-15 win over England in Dunedin to start coach Scott Robertson's tenure. The ABs were kept try-less in the second spell but two Damian McKenzie penalties edged them home. ZB rugby commentator Elliott Smith said this match would have come with plenty of lessons for Robertson. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A change to the UK Government doesn't look to change much for New Zealand. It was a big win for Labour in the UK's general election, with Sir Keir Starmer now taking the helm as Prime Minister. It marks the end of the Conservative's 14 years in power. NZ Herald deputy political editor Thomas Coughlan says New Zealand's close relationship with the UK will likely remain. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio....

Experts fear that the Government's plan to 'flood' the housing market comes with too many risks. Housing Minister Chris Bishop has promised to fill urban areas with development land and remove council powers to mandate boundaries and standards. UOA senior lecturer of Architecture and Planning, Dr Elizabeth Aitken Rose, says freeing up land won't fix the issues in the housing market. "We've know fo...

So, what did you think of the new Three News bulletin at 6pm last night? I worked in TV for over a decade and the one thing I know is you never judge a live show on its first outing. Sometimes not even on its second. I felt a bit sick with nerves for the Stuff team at 5:58 last night. We were forewarned by Warner Bros Discovery this week that the bulletin is not yet everything they want it to be –...

All the Colours of the Dark by Chris Whitaker : A truly immersive thriller which begins in 1975 when young girls are going missing from a small town in Missouri. Patch Macauley and Saint Brown are best friends - and lonely teenage misfits whose lives are forever changed when Patch gets caught up in one such abduction. They carry the ramifications of that through almost 30 years in lives which are...

This week on The Sunday Panel, journalist and editor Jo McCarroll and 818 Publicity director Chris Henry joined in on a discussion about the following issues of the week - and more! Friday's Trump-Biden debate had the Democrats concerned about the party's future after Joe Biden failed to finish sentences and stumbled to answer questions. Does Biden need to step down? Who should lead the Democrats?...

The effectiveness of multivitamins has made headlines after the release of a new study.  The research found multivitamins didn't help people live longer - and found a link between daily usage and increased mortality. Naturopath and wellness expert Erin O'Hara explained that multivitamins have a little bit of everything, which could introduce the body to ingredients it doesn't need. LISTEN ABOVE Se...

On the Sunday Session with Francesca Rudkin Full Show Podcast for Sunday 30th June 2024: Broadcaster Paul Henry talks the return of The Traitors NZ, the state of the nation and whether he thinks the new Stuff/Three 6pm bulletin will work. Kiwi singer songwriter Anna Coddington on her new upbeat album and she opens up about a rough last 18 months. Francesca shares her thoughts on the future of Joe...

New data have revealed 105 million travellers stopped by an unexpected attraction in the last year. The Dubai mall saw millions of people stopping by to check out the aquarium and underwater zoo, the flight simulator, the Olympic-sized ice rink and the largest indoor VR park in the world. BloggerAtLarge's Megan Singleton says this is top of an ever-expanding range of shops and eateries.  LISTEN AB...

After a chaotic 18-month period, Kiwi musician Anna Coddington has returned with a new album. Coddington's Te Whakamiha embraces an upbeat sound, several years after her more subdued work in 2020's Beams . She says she struggled with her home being caught up in the Auckland floods and her case of long Covid- but she's working to build her strength up. "It just felt like the right time to try and r...

Mike van de Elzen: Pad Thai with left-over veggies Cook time: 20 minutes   Prep time: 10 minutes   Serves: 6   2 chicken breast, poached & shredded   Sauce   1 Tbsp brown sugar   3 Tbsp sweet chili sauce   3 Tbsp soya sauce   3 Tbsp peanut butter   Chili (optional)   1 egg, cracked into a cup   1 onion, finely sliced   4 cloves garlic, crushed   2 Tbsp cooking oil   200gm Flat noodles, soaked...

The COVID-19 pandemic substantially changed how many office-based workers worked, and overnight working from home became the norm for millions of people.    Since then, many businesses have tried to force workers back into to the office full-time believing that staff can’t be trusted to work effectively from home. This is often against the wishes of their staff who enjoy life without a commute and...

Thousands of people have poured into Worthy Farm in southwest England for this year's Glastonbury music festival. Coldplay is set to headline this year's edition, alongside other big names such as Dua Lipa, SZA and Cyndi Lauper. Flicks.co.nz editor Steve Newall unpacks the event - including some other surprise contributions. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.