The Sunday Session with Francesca Rudkin

Ava DuVernay is a critically acclaimed, Hollywood film-maker who's not afraid to push the boundaries.  She's behind films such as Oscar nominated Selma, and documentary 13th.  Her latest film has been labelled rebellious and radical - based on the book Caste by Pulitzer Prize winning author Isabel Wilkerson, the film is called Origin. Ava joined Francesca to discuss her newest film.    LISTEN ABOV...

Studies show about a third of people wake throughout the night, with various reasons for sleep disruptions.  Erin O'Hara is a naturopath and joined Francesca Rudkin to discuss ways to get better sleep.   LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Bacon and Egg Pie    Cook time: 40 minutes   Prep time: 10 minutes     1 packet of flaky puff pastry, 5 sheets   10 fresh eggs   150g streaky bacon, cut into 1 cm dice   ½ white onion   1 stick of rosemary (optional)   ½ tsp flaky sea salt and cracked pepper   2 T sesame seeds     Preheat your oven to 180 degrees   Take a heavy 26cm EngelElzen cast-iron or similar pan and lightly spray the inside...

Scientists off the coast of south-east Alaska used an underwater speaker to play a recording of a humpback whale greeting call.  A humpback whale broke away from its group and approached the vessel, in which is thought to be the first time humans and whales have communicated with each other in the humpback language.  Nanogirl Dr Michelle Dickinson discussed this and more with Francesca Rudkin.   L...

Steve Newall from flicks.co.nz joined Francesca to chat nominations for the Aotearoa Music Awards, as well as Zendaya's new film Challengers.    LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Last weekend in the aftermath of the Bondi Mall stabbings, we saw a prime example of how badly wrong the internet can go.  For 14 hours, Sydney student Ben Cohen was widely named and wrongly identified as the killer - and it spread like wildfire internationally. By Sunday morning, his name had made its way into the mainstream media - with Australia's 7News misidentifying Ben as the attacker.  Barr...

In 1944, Phyllis 'Pippa' Latour parachuted into Nazi occupied Normandy as an undercover agent.  Had she been discovered, she would have been shot instantly - however Pippa made it out. In fact, she was one of the last female special operations agents to get out of France Alive.  After the war, Pippa ended up here in New Zealand, but never told a soul, not even her husband or children, about her mi...

Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has had a busy week in Southeast Asia.  ZB Political Editor Jason Walls discussed with Francesca Rudkin what came out of this trip, as well as further AUKUS Pillar 2 talks.    LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

I’m not sure the government thought through the timing of this week’s release of guidelines around kids’ illness and school attendance.   Half way through the school holidays, I can assure Associate Education Minister David Seymour that after another week most parents will be happily marching their children off to school, snotty nose or not.   Which isn’t to say we don’t love our children. They’re...

On Friday, Mike McRoberts announced his news presenting journey would come to an end.  The final 6pm NewsHub bulletin on July 5th will also be Mike's last... after a 40 year career in the media, half of which was spent in the prime-time news slot. Mike McRoberts joined Francesca Rudkin to discuss his decision to step away.    LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Borrowed Hills by Scott Preston. Set amidst the foot and mouth scare in Cumbria in 2001, this is the story of two men, William and Steve, who have neighbouring sheep farms and are forced to destroy all their stock. They attempt to hide the remnants of one of their flocks from the authorities, and then when William falls in with a criminal shyster, Steve is roped into their plans to travel sout...

If you're about to embark on a first cruise or you're carrying out a post-Covid bucket list adventure, there's plenty you should be aware of before you set sail. BloggerAtLarge's Megan Singleton recommends returning to the ship on time during planned excursions, and taking advantage of the dining room- among more travel tips. Read more of Megan's advice for what not to do on cruises here. LISTEN A...

This week on the Sunday Panel, Coast's Lorna Riley and s enior PR consultant at One Plus One Communications, Damien Venuto, joined in on a discussion about the following issues of the week- and more!  There's growing concern locally produced Kiwi content could be facing more difficulties. On top of the Newshub and TVNZ cuts, there's fears TV shows like Shortland Street could be scrapped. Should we...

Dietary fibre supplements are enjoying a resurgence in the world of wellness. Research shows fibre has plenty of benefits- it helps with r egulating bowel movements and gut health, w eight management and blood sugar regulation. Naturopath and wellness expert explains the benefits of fibre, and other ways we can get it besides supplements. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy inform...

Beer battered fish with creamy tartare sauce Cook time: 5 minutes Prep time: 20 minutes Serves: 6 4 sides white fish like, gurnard, snapper, or similar 2 bottles beer 1 cup flour salt oil for frying Creamy Tartare 2 egg yolks 1 Tbsp white wine vinegar 1 tsp Dijon mustard 300ml grapeseed oil 3 Tbsp crème fraiche 2 Tbsp chopped capers 2 Tbsp chopped gherkins 2 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley juice and ze...

If you are feeling angry, you might be tempted to vent, but science has a much better, evidence based solution for you. Research published this week in the journal Scientific Reports involved scientists asking 100 volunteers to write an opinion piece about important social issues such as whether smoking in public should be banned. They were told that their writing would be evaluated and feedback w...

Three's new local psychological thriller series is set to follow two best friends- and a surrogacy pact that falls through. Set in a post-quake Kaikōura, the series explores the town's recovery following the disaster, as the friendship between the leads turns toxic. Series creator Sarah-Kate Lynch and lead actress Morgana O’Reilly say the earthquake provided a solid backdrop for the series, as it...

Some of cinema's biggest names are expected to go head to head at the 77th Cannes Film Festival. Paul Schrader,  David Cronenberg and Francis Ford Coppola have films ready to go for the May event, with the latter's $120 million  Megalopolis attracting plenty of pre-festival buzz. Flicks.co.nz editor Steve Newall explains what film fans can look forward to ahead of the festival. LISTEN ABOVE See om...

Foreign Minister Winston Peters has been busy over the last few days. Peters even got to catch the eclipse in New York, on the last leg of his diplomatic journey through the Middle East, Europe and the United States. ZB political editor Jason Walls says Peters has also pushed New Zealand a step closer to joining up with the AUKUS agreement. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy info...

Dame Susan Devoy seems to have done it all. She's been a four-time world squash number-one champion, former Race Relations Commissioner, chairwoman of The Halberg Trust- and even a contestant on Celebrity Treasure Island. She says her original vision for the book was a 'tell-all, name-and-shame' look-back at everyone who'd gotten under her skin- and it turned out quite different. "It's easy to wri...

In 1954, Pauline Parker and Juliet Hulme were convicted of one of the most infamous and high-profile murders in the history of New Zealand. The brutal beating of Honora Rieper made headlines all over the world, and got more exposure in the 1990s following the release of Sir Peter Jackson's Heavenly Creatures. Seventy years on, the brother of one of the teen murderesses, Jonathan Hulme, appeared on...

There's growing concern that the cuts across TVNZ and Newshub won't be the last for locally produced content. As the nation's biggest broadcasting companies struggle with falling advertising revenue, the fate of Kiwi favourites such as Shortland Street remains uncertain. NZ Screen Producers’ Guild President Irene Gardiner says local content plays an important role in keeping audiences together. "I...

Forensic teams in Sydney have begun a scene examination into yesterday's fatal stabbing at a shopping mall. Six people - five women and one man - were killed and eight injured by a knife-wielding assailant, who was shot dead by a police officer on site. Australian correspondent Sam Emery says several other people have been hospitalised following the attack. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener...

So World Athletics made an announcement this week that will no doubt send ripples throughout other global sporting organisations - and give ammunition to those who claim the Olympics aren’t worth the bother anymore - by announcing they would pay track and field gold medallists at the Paris Olympics $50,000 (USD). Understandably, the first question asked was if this move violated the Olympic spirit...

Day One  by Abigail Dean. Set in the Lake District of England, this is about a school shooting and its aftermath. A local school is putting on an annual performance by the older kids, designed to make the four year olds who will start school in the autumn feel comfortable and keen to begin their education – but it all goes horribly wrong, and the way it plays out afterwards is a real sign of the t...