The Sunday Session with Francesca Rudkin

The Port of Oakland authority have launched a plan to change their "Metropolitan Oakland International Airport" to "San Francisco Bay Oakland International Airport". Despite speculation, this change isn't to end decades of mix-ups with Auckland Airport, as the locations were once famously mixed up by an unfortunate traveller in 1985. BloggerAtLarge.com writer Megan Singleton says this name change...

This week on the Sunday Panel, ZB Wellington Mornings host Nick Mills and partner at Freebairn and Hehir, Liam Hehir, joined in on a discussion about the following issues of the week- and more! An opinion piece from Jason Walls claimed the Prime Minister, his Ministers and every other MP in parliament is underpaid. Do we agree with this claim? Do politicians deserve more money?  Prime Minister Chr...

Research shows gut health is critical to one's overall health- so how can we spot the warning signs of an unhealthy gut? Bloating, constipation, or painful digestion are the obvious symptoms, but an unhealthy gut can lead to obesity, mental health challenges, food sensitivities, skin problems and energy loss, among other conditions. Naturopath and wellness expert Erin O'Hara outlines the steps you...

Australian author Liam Pieper's has his work all over bookstores across the Tasman- but they've typically never featured his name. Pieper's been behind several bestselling celebrity memoirs, but as a ghost-writer his name doesn’t appear on the cover and he gets absolutely no public credit for the book’s success.   His new novel dissecting Australian celebrity culture and the fear of getting 'cance...

Rosti with poached eggs and creamed spinach   Cook time: 30 minutes   Prep time: 30 minutes   Serves: 6   5 large potatoes   100gm butter, melted   3 Tbsp sunflower oil   Good amount of salt freshly ground black pepper   300gm black pudding, grilled or fried (optional)   6 eggs, poached   Creamed spinach:   1 Tbsp sunflower oil   1 onion, finely chopped   1 bag spinach   1/2 cup white wine   1 cup...

Exciting news this week, as a nuclear fusion reactor in South Korea breaks all records by running an experiment at 100 million degrees C for 48 seconds. Just for context, that’s around 7x hotter than the centre of the sun.   Nuclear fusion is the process of heating and forcing tiny particles particles together under high pressure and high temperature to make a heavier particle - which releases ene...

The filmmaker behind indie hit 'Ex Machina' is offering viewers a look into a war-torn America ahead of a contentious election season.  Director Alex Garland's 'Civil War' depicts a war-torn futuristic version of America, where states are at war with themselves. Flicks.co.nz editor Steve Newall examines this contemporary thriller- and unpacks the idea that this could be a warning for the months ah...

Enormous frustration among aid agencies six months into the war on Gaza. More than 30,000 Palestinian people, including 13,000 children, have been killed since the war began. Save the Children's Joseph Kay says aid agencies still face heavy restrictions from Israel. He says the numerous deaths of aid workers, including seven World Central Kitchen staff this week, has taken a toll. "This terrible t...

It's been almost 20 years since former newsreader Judy Bailey read her last bulletin- and she's been taking part in several causes and campaigns since. The former 'Mother of the Nation' has recently been busy helping people to embrace aging through her new book Evolving: Finding Health and Happiness As We Age. Judy Bailey says reaching an older age can be an 'uncomfortable' experience if you let i...

One of ZB's leading policitcal commentators has claimed the Prime Minister, his Ministers and every other MP in parliament is underpaid. Jason Walls outlined this concept in a premium opinion piece for ZB Plus, after The Business Herald's Executive Pay Survey revealed CEOs had received an average pay of just under $2.3 million. He says Luxon and his Ministers have to face more public scrutiny and...

More public sector roles face the chopping block, following recent announcements. The Ministry of Health is the latest to propose slashing jobs in order to meet the Government's cost-cutting targets- of an average of 6.5 percent. Former United Future leader Peter Dunne says there needs to be a purpose for restructuring the sector beyond cutting jobs. "It's pretty easy to say- let's just cut number...

I rolled my eyes on Friday as New Zealand youth became the latest punching bag of politicians getting some air time. School was ditched for another Climate Strike around the country, that not only called for action on climate change, but also featured calls for Māori rights and a free Palestine. Associate Education Minister David Seymour said it was 'unacceptable' for students to protest during sc...

Rachel Ward's latest ventures have taken her in a different - and unexpected - direction. She's gone from Hollywood actress and Vogue cover model to becoming a farming expert in rural Australia, alongside her husband Bryan Brown. After her farm was taken out by the devastating 2019/2020 Australian bushfires, Ward decided to change her focus towards regenerative farming- a journey she's documented...

This week on the Sunday Panel, journalist Wilhelmina Shrimpton and e ditor and commentator, Jo McCarroll joined in on a discussion about the following issues of the week- and more! Another year, another debate about the state of Easter trading hours. Is it time to move past shutting the shops during the holiday? Do we need clearer rules this weekend? Do workers need the guaranteed time off?   Have...

After this weekend's inevitable binge on chocolate and carbs, many will want to get back on the 'straight and narrow' after Easter. The annual excuse to indulge in sugar can spark a lot of guilt by the end of the holiday, and one expert recommends balancing out the intake. Naturopath and wellness expert Erin O'Hara says exercise and moderation are helpful steps to take to cancel out the harm of ov...

Mike Van de Elzen: Getting smoky flavour into food Hot Smoking     - Food is smoked inside the same unit as a fire source. - In the Engel fire, you can move the fire basket closer or further away from the food being smoked, controlling the temperature. -Making a hot smoker can be as easy as finding a steel cabinet with shelves, drilling a number of holes into the bottom and top. Then creating a sm...

Charles Darwin confidently stated that male mammals were mostly bigger than females, and this view has been held for over 150 years. New research out this week in the journal Nature Communications, however, finds that Darwin's statement isn’t true and there is actually no difference in size between most male and female mammals. In the study, the researchers compared the body masses of 429 wild ani...

Euphoria and Anyone But You  breakout star Sydney Sweeney has stepped into the world of producing in her latest project. Immaculate , a psychological horror starring Sweeney herself, is based off a decade-old script she discovered- and brought back to life as a co-producer. Flicks.co.nz editor Steve Newall explains if the result if worth checking out. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for p...

The Call  is about Detective Sergeant Honey Chalmers who, after surviving a brutal attack goes back to her small home town to care for her mother. In the course of her work she’s become too close to an informant who’s linked to a gang made up of 501 returnees from Australia, and she’s pretty sure the informant, Kloe, is now in trouble. Honey’s private life is complicated and when Kloe turns up in...

BloggerAtLarge's Megan Singleton returns with a list of 'crazy and bizarre' travel facts for the weekend. Between the rule that you can't photograph the Sistene Chapel ceiling and the impact cabin pressure has on your tastebuds, there's not shortage of unique travel facts to drop into conversation. Listen to Megan's other unexpected travel facts here. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for p...

This week on The Sunday Panel, Chelsea Daniels from the Front Page podcast and NZ Herald Senior Writer Simon Wilson joined in on a discussion about the following issues of the week- and more! Following Princess Kate's shocking cancer diagnosis announcement, do the trolls and speculators need to take a proper look at themselves? What have we come to as a people when our first reaction is extreme th...

Princess Kate's announcement that she's undergoing cancer treatment confused and shocked people all over the world.  There has been a notable increase in cancer in young adults, with people aged 18-49 being impacted more than usual. Naturopath and wellness expert Erin O'Hara explains further. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

If you have ever had a teenager in your home, you know that they have their own unique teenage aroma. New research out this week was able to confirm that teenagers typically smell of goats, cheese and urine- and there is a chemical reason why. Published in the journal Communications Chemistry, the researchers sewed cotton wool pads into the armpit area of pyjamas to collect the sweat from 36 volun...

The 1989 action movie Road House, remembered by audiences as a classic guilty pleasure, has been remade. Starring Jake Gyllenhaal and boxer Conor McGregor, in his acting debut, the film promises to give audiences a fresh take on familiar cheesy 80s charm. Flicks.co.nz editor Steve Newall explains the film further. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The insular Greymouth community of Gloriavale has kept Kiwis enthralled as testimonies keep emerging. A new TVNZ documentary, Escaping Utopia , promises to unveil the stories of people who've left the community- and the struggles they've endured. Co-director Justin Pemberton says Gloriavale is going through a transitionary period following the death of their former leader. "The community is now im...