The Sunday Session with Francesca Rudkin

Tasty pork meatballs with tomato and soft polenta   Cook time: 40 minutes   Prep time: 30 minutes   Serves: 6   1 small onion, finely diced   500g pork mince   1 ½ cups grated pumpkin   2 cloves garlic   ½ tsp white pepper   1 tbsp Dijon mustard   4 tbsp breadcrumbs   2 tbsp oil   4 tbsp grated parmesan   Polenta   1 ltr vege stock   280g quick cook polenta   ½ cup finely grated parmesan   200g ma...

The election race is set to crank up another gear today. New Zealand First will launch its campaign for this year's election in Auckland this afternoon. NZ Herald political reporter Adam Pearse says NZ First has been underperforming in recent polls, but some are confident they'll reach the 5 percent threshold. "There are people here, people who've been with the party for a long time, people who ar...

Former broadcaster Paul Henry will return to our screens to host a new reality show. Henry, after semi-retiring in 2016, will return to our shores to host New Zealand's version of The Traitors, airing August 7th. He says he was only planning on coming off hiatus if the right project came along- which this project turned out to be. "When I retired, I said I would never again do daily, weekly, or mo...

The Football Ferns are determined to build on their historic opening win over Norway at the World Cup. The win puts the team in prime position to advance out of their group at the tournament for the first time - in six attempts. Next up for the co-hosts are group underdogs the Philippines, in Wellington on Tuesday. Former Football Fern Michele Cox says this won't be an easy victory, as any team in...

Thursday's deadly attack in Auckland Central has sparked debate about the safety of New Zealand. A 24-year-old stormed a CBD building site, where he shot two people and injured more, before dying in a firefight with police. Police Commissioner Andrew Coster has since stated that despite a "range of challenges", New Zealand is still a safe place to live. Victoria University Emeritus Professor of Cr...

Jenny Radcliffe has an unusual job. Officially her title is a social engineer or a security consultant, but in layman's terms she’s a burglar for hire.   She gets contracted and paid by companies to test out their security systems – to hack in or break into their premises to identify any flaws.   Jenny has detailed her career in her book ‘People Hacker: Confessions of a Burglar for Hire’, and join...

Lady Tan’s Circle of Women  by Lisa See. She’s a terrific writer - one of my favourite books in recent years was  The Island of Sea Women . This new one is historical, set in 15 th  Century China about a woman - Yungxian Tan - whose grandmother was a doctor (highly unusual) and was raised to understand and assist with women’s health, and whose best friend was a midwife in training. When Yunxian is...

Singapore Airlines have announced plans to bring their double-decker Airbus A380 back to New Zealand. The 471-seat superjumbo will replace the A350-900 and add another 1526 seats between Singapore and Auckland per week. BloggerAtLarge.com writer Megan Singleton says Singapore Airlines is linked to Star Alliance, meaning Air New Zealand supporters will be able to boost their miles through the airli...

This week on the Sunday Panel, Coast day host Lorna Riley and political commentator and Capital PR director Ben Thomas joined in on a discussion about the following issues of the week- and more!  New Zealand has missed out on being named the “greatest country on Earth” for the first time in a decade, with a UK Telegraph poll promoting a new champion to the top spot - South Africa. Can New Zealand...

Hollywood actors are joining long-suffering screenwriters on the picket line. Both groups are calling for more compensation for their work, with many worried about streaming services, box office returns and artificial intelligence. Flicks.co.nz editor Steve Newall says the strike will take an interesting turn with roughly 160,000 actors entering the mix. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener fo...

Comedian, actor, writer and podcaster Fortune Feimster has brought her distinct brand of comedy to our shores. She first entered the public eye through her work on Chelsea Handler's Chelsea Lately, and has since appeared in several shows and movies, most recently Netflix's action-comedy Fubar. She's returned to New Zealand for her Live Laugh Love tour, having visited the country pre-pandemic. "I a...

Smoked fish, rosemary and roasted garlic pate   Cook time: 20 minutes   Prep time: 1 hour   Serves: 12   800gm fresh fish (this can be pretty much any type of fish)   6 slices wholemeal bread   300ml milk   250ml sunflower oil   2 sticks fresh rosemary   6 cloves garlic   Salt and pepper for seasoning   1 ltr water and 100gm non-iodised salt for the brine   If you are smoking the fish from scratch...

How often do you blink? On average, most people blink around 15 to 20 times each minute.   Blinking clears away particles from the eyes as well as lubricates the eyeballs. As our eye need a smooth surface for light to property focus on, a dry eye can result in blurry vision. While you might not notice it in day to day life, every time you blink, everything goes dark for about one fifth of a second...

Chris Hipkins confirmed he's pausing tax changes while he's in office. Documents revealed that Labour had planned to introduce a wealth tax affecting 46,000 New Zealanders, but that plan was ultimately scrapped. NZ Herald political reporter Michael Neilson says Labour's clearly concerned about where they're sitting in the polls- both the Taxpayers' Union - Curia poll and Talbot Mills poll placed L...

The 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup is less than a week from kicking off, with our own Football Ferns up against Norway. The World Cup is promised to be one of the biggest events New Zealand has ever hosted and it's expected to bring in an estimated $200 million. FIFA's New Zealand chief operating officer Jane Patterson says the ticket sales in the lead-up are going extremely well. "We've sold more th...

Look, when it comes to having a political view and an editorial opportunity, the expectation is often that I should combine the two and become outraged about something that is or isn’t being done in a way to compel you to think differently or collusively direct you on how to use your two ticks on October 14. Although I’m a strong believer in exercising our democratic right to vote, I’m also collec...

Delegates and global ministers are convening in Auckland as New Zealand hosts 11 nations for a top-level meeting. The Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership ( CPTPP) is the fastest growing trade bloc in the world, and the UK is set to sign the deal. Former New Zealand trade negotiator Charles Finny says the CPTPP agreement is good for New Zealand, as it allows the na...

Night will Find You by Julia Heaberlin (a terrific psychological thriller writer who did a wonderful book called Black Eyed Susans several years ago, and others since). This is about a woman named Vivvy who at the age of ten predicted the death of a young boy, then managed to save him when the moment came and they’ve remained good friends all their lives. He’s a cop and is convinced she’s psychic...

Japan Airlines and Sumitomo Corporation Group are trialling a service allowing tourists to rent clothes as a form of sustainable tourism. Travellers to Japan who take Japan Airlines-operated flights will have the option to rent clothing online and have it delivered pre-arrival. BloggerAtLarge's Megan Singleton says less luggage will reduce CO2 emissions generated by flights, making it a sustainabl...

This week on the Sunday Panel, Newstalk ZB host Roman Travers and Victoria University senior law lecturer Morgan Godfery joined Francesca to discuss the following:  Greens co-leader James Shaw has warned a National/ACT Government would set climate change policy back by 30 years- but how much has the current Labour Government done? Is 2023 the year of the minor party? Scotland wants to decriminalis...

As the nights get shorter and the days get colder, it's common for us to reach for carbohydrate-rich snacks and heavy meals. The cold and rainy weather draws us indoors, leading people to exercise less and indulge in winter cravings. Naturopath and wellness expert Erin O'Hara recommends vegetable soup as an alternative to the carb-filled warm foods reached for in the colder months. LISTEN ABOVE Se...

Tom Cruise made headlines for performing the biggest stunt in cinema history in 2022 and action fans finally get to see it on screen. Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One sees Cruise's Ethan Hunt take part in fist fights, shootouts and chases, including the much-hyped motorbike sequence that took 'years' of preparation. Flicks.co.nz editor Steve Newall says this film delivers clever ideas...

Former law lecturer and jury researcher Claire Baylis used her unique position on the Trans-Tasman Jury Study to craft a novel. In 2008, she was sitting in on the Nia Glassie murder trial in Rotorua and wondered what the experience would be like for regular Kiwis pulled from their ordinary lives to examine graphic evidence. Several interviews later, she'd spoken to several jurors about the trials...

Upside down apple and honey pies with crispy crumble topping   Cook time: 25 minutes   Prep time: 30 minutes   Serves: 6   6 Braeburn apples   1 tsp vanilla paste   3 tbsp liquid honey   A pinch of salt   4 x 15cm puff pastry discs   100 gms unsalted butter   100 gms wholemeal flour   50 gms brown sugar   Greek yogurt   Peel the apples,then cut around the core and then into large wedges. Mix toget...

Many people will claim that their day can’t really start until they have finished their morning cup of coffee.   Needing the caffeine to function is a common statement, but new research published this week shows that it’s not the caffeine that is making the difference- but the process of drinking the hot drink that matters.   Published in the journal Frontiers in Behavioural Neuroscience, the scie...