The Sunday Session with Francesca Rudkin

The Green Party will be looking to shore up its support on the second day of their AGM today. Co-leader Marama Davidson will release the Greens' election manifesto at Auckland University. NZ Herald political reporter Michael Neilson says the Greens are trying to appear more united by warning a prospective National-ACT Government would set climate change policy back by 30 years. "It did seem this y...

Kiwi actress JJ Fong debuted on our screens in web series Flat3, and now has many high-profile roles to her name. She's appeared in Go Girls, Step Dave, and Shortland Street- and made the jump to Netflix starring in global hit Wellmania alongside Celeste Barber.   She's also returning for the second season of the Kiwi dystopian series Creamerie, screening July 14. She says the international succes...

Mark Zuckerberg's newly launched 'Twitter killer' platform is enjoying a successful launch. More than 70 million people have now joined Meta’s Threads in 48 hours, upending the social media landscape and shattering records. NPR tech reporter Bobby Allyn says the success of Threads is due to Twitter becoming more chaotic and unusable since Elon Musk took over. "It's become so full of hate and drive...

Scam stories aren’t new. We hear about scams constantly, but recently there has been an increase of scamming stories in the news. The cautionary twist seems to be that the people who’ve been  scammed are tech savvy people who are surprised they’ve been successfully tricked.     We know scams are increasing. Latest statistics from Cert NZ show cyber crime reports increased 12 percent in the first t...

A winning start on foreign soil for the All Blacks in 2023. New Zealand have opened their Rugby Championship campaign with a 41-12 win over Argentina in Mendoza. Former All Black and ZB commentator Ant Strachan says this victory surprised some commentators, but the team pulled through. "They played really well, collectively really impressive on defence. And I think they really started to get their...

Dice  by Claire Bayliss. This is the (fictional) story of a sexual assault case which is, I believe, loosely based on the Roastbusters fiasco (and coincidentally soon after I read it the appalling Mama Hooch story from Christchurch was all over the media). Four teenage boys invent a sex game based on the toss of a die and the police charge them with multiple sexual offences against three teenage g...

BloggerAtLarge's Megan Singleton knows the Texas region of San Antonio has more to it than the Alamo. Between the San Antonio River Walk, the shopping and dining at The Pearl District and the Tex-Mex restaurants dotting the area, the region has plenty to offer. Read more about Megan's experience in San Antonio here . LISTEN ABOVE   See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week on the Sunday Panel, BusinessDesk investments editor and host of Cooking the Books, Frances Cook and The Front Page's Damien Venuto joined in on a discussion about the following- An Otago University study has named alcohol New Zealand’s most harmful drug- and drink driving statistics have doubled in the last decade. Do we need to take alcohol consumption more seriously? Does New Zealand...

There have been growing concerns about the dangers of Aspartame, an artificial sweetener found in Diet Coke. The World Health Organisation has announced that Aspartame may be carcinogenic to humans and 'possibly' cause cancer. Naturopath and wellness expert Erin O'Hara says it's clear Diet Coke is not a healthy drink, but drinkers would have to consume 12-36 cans per day to be affected by carcinog...

As the weather cools down, Kiwi film fans have a new excuse to take shelter in movie theatres. The 2023 New Zealand International Film Festival kicks off on July 19th and continues on through 16 towns and cities until September. Flicks.co.nz editor Steve Newall highlights French thriller 'Anatomy of a Fall', Wes Anderson's 'Asteroid City' and Todd Haynes vehicle 'May December' as unmissable highli...

Self-taught Australian cook Nagi Maehashi has introduced the world to plenty of quick and easy recipes through her blog and debut cookbook. Maehashi's wildly successful debut cookbook RecipeTin Eats: Dinner has won several awards and outsold the likes of Jamie Oliver and Yotam Ottolenghi.   She says her incredible success hasn't sunk in yet, as it still feels unexpected for the self-taught chef. "...

Mike’s beef krokets   Cook time: 2 hour   Prep: 45 minutes   1kg beef blade or topside   2 tsp salt   2 litres cold water   2 beef stock cubes   Roux   100g butter    100g flour   3 tsp gelatin powder   Crumbing   2 cups flour   1 egg   2 cups milk   2 cups panko breadcrumbs   Vegetable oil for frying   Place the beef into a large pot and cover with cold water, salt and stock cube. Slowly bring to...

This week, we are talking maths and music. Want to help your child to be better at maths at school? New research out this week suggests all you need to do is add a little music.   Published in the journal Educational Studies , the researchers analysed almost 50 years of past research which covered 55 different studies involving almost 78,000 students.   They looked at three different ways that mus...

A view the Prime Minister's trip to China wasn't entirely smooth sailing. His meeting with Xi Jinping was met with a warm reception from Chinese media. But Newstalk ZB political editor Jason Walls says when he hit Shanghai his trip was somewhat overshadowed by Minister Kiri Allen causing drama at home. He says while there were bumps, the trip has led to some gains. "One business leader on the 29-s...

In 1976, seven-year-old Suzanne Heywood's father took his family on a three-year sailing adventure inspired by Captain James Cook. Three years on the ocean turned into a decade and Suzanne was deprived of stability, friendships and education as she grew up on the water missing her homeland. She says her parents kept insisting she had a 'privileged childhood', but she recalled having mixed feelings...

Cirque du Soleil is back- with the daring acrobatics being performed on ice skates. After wrapping up a well-received Christchurch season, Cirque du Soleil Crystal promises to amaze Aucklanders with their unique mesh of acrobatics and theatre on ice. Cirque du Soleil Artistic Director Rob Tannion says working on this project was an amazing experience. "The acrobats and the skaters are totally outs...

It's been one year since Te Whatu Ora was formed, and experts aren't giving it favourable marks. Over 30 entities, including 20 district health boards were scrapped and replaced with national public health agency Te Whatu Ora.   Association of Salaried Medical Specialists Executive Director Sarah Dalton doesn't think Te Whatu Ora has done well, but says there's glimpses of hope. "There are signifi...

Yes, this week Taylor Swift has been a problem.    One mightily, time wasting, agonising and possibly expensive problem.    Depending on how it played out for you.    If you got tickets to Taylor’s historic Aussie concerts, then I’m thrilled for you. I really am. My kids have both been fortunate to see Taylor Swift perform here in New Zealand. My son was one of only 2 boys in Spark Arena in 2013 f...

The Guest by Emma Cline: Summer is coming to a close on the East End of Long Island, and Alex is no longer welcome. A misstep at a dinner party, and the older man she's been staying with dismisses her with a ride to the train station and a ticket back to the city. With few resources and a waterlogged phone, but gifted with an ability to navigate the desires of others, Alex stays on Long Island and...

After receiving an 'astonishing' bill from One NZ, BloggerAtLarge's Megan Singleton learned some unexpected drawbacks involved with using eSims. Megan revealed that using an eSim does not preclude One NZ from charging you $8 per day even with global roaming switched off- the charge is applied by default. She also checked out Spark's roaming packages- and revealed what they can offer travellers.  L...

This week on the Sunday Panel, ZB and Gold FM host Andrew Dickens and TV producer, journalist and commentator Irene Gardiner joined in on a discussion about the following issues of the week- and more. Labour has had a particularly bad month, between the recession announcement and multiple scandals coming out of Cabinet. Despite this, National's Luxon fell to 22 percent in the metric, his lowest in...

Millennials and Gen Z are less likely to think about cancer due to their age, but rising figures may give them cause for concern. Cancer is the fourth leading cause of death among young adults, and studies show that cancer rates between ages 25- 49 have increased over the years.   Wellness expert Erin O'Hara encourages young adults to be proactive and get checked right away if something feels off....

Harrison Ford is pulling out the fedora and whip one last time in Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny. The film arrives in theatres on June 29th, and Harrison Ford has said this will be his final attempt at portraying Indy. Flicks.co.nz editor Steve Newall says Harrison Ford's performance is the highlight of the film, as his 'cantankerous streak' ages like fine wine. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio....

Frozen Vegetable Yellow Curry   Cook time: 20 minutes   Prep time: 20 times   Serves: 6   2 tbsp grapeseed oil   1 pkt frozen mixed vegetables, which can contain potatoes   1 pkt fresh spinach leaves   1 cup frozen peas   1 cup of curry paste   1 can coconut cream   2 tbsp brown sugar   3 tbsp thai fish sauce   Juice of 1 lemon   1 cup mint leaves (optional)   1 cup coriander leaves (optional)   w...

To make a human embryo you need a sperm and an egg – or at least that was the case until this week when new research was announced where an embryo was made without either of those two things!  The ‘synthetic human embryo’ was made by manipulating an embryonic stem cell to grow into an embryo-like structure. The study, announced at the International Society for Stem Cell Research conference opens u...