The Sunday Session with Francesca Rudkin

Charred broccoli with spent lemon dressing and parmesan   Cook time: 20 minutes   Serves: 6   2 heads of broccoli, cut into large florets   1 tbsp grape seed oil   flaky seasalt & cracked pepper   1 cup parmesan peelings   Spent lemon dressing   4 lemons   350 ml grape seed oil   1 egg yolk   2 tbsp cider vinegar   1 tbsp honey   ½ tsp Dijon mustard   Pinch of salt   Bring a large pot of salte...

Worried about the indoor air quality of your home or office?  If so, new research suggests all you need are a few plants to help to reassure you.  Researchers from the University of Technology Sydney have measured how efficient plants are at ridding indoor air of toxic, carcinogenic pollutants giving you a low cost and decorative way to help breathe cleaner air.  The researchers created a small li...

Michael Wood has claimed he regretted his ' serious error' in hanging on to his Auckland Airport shares. The under-fire Minister sold the airport shares for the sum of $16,000 and donated them to the Anglican Trust charity. NZ Herald deputy political editor Thomas Coughlan says Michael Wood will likely face punishment- in the form of Cabinet demotion. "Possibly not to the bottom of Cabinet, but a...

Simone Kessell is on a list. Having appeared on Star Wars min-series Obi-Wan Kenobi and worldwide sensation Yellowjackets , Kessell tells Newstalk ZB’s Francesca Rudkin in Hollywood terms, she is in elite company. “I’ve never really been on those lists, I’m sort of way down that list… I think Star Wars really helped get on that list and then from there everything’s kind of moved forward.” She says...

The countdown is on- the FIFA Women's World Cup kicks off in a month. FIFA have confirmed the World Cup is on track to be the most attended standalone women's sporting event, with over 1 million tickets sold already. Former Kiwi association football player and Beyond Greatness Champion Maia Jackman says the scale of this success is 'unbelievable'.  "It is reflective of the interest of this beautif...

Former Transport Minister Michael Wood's suspension is among the latest Ministerial mishaps under Hipkins' term. The Labour Party has undergone a challenging six months, as the Prime Minister has stood down a Minister every six and half weeks since he took office. Victoria University political analyst Dr Bryce Edwards acknowledges this isn't Chris Hipkins' fault- and thinks this string of bad luck...

If you have teenagers at high school, there’s a good chance they’ll be home again for a couple of days next week.   While the primary school teachers accepted a new pay deal this week, the secondary school teachers voted “overwhelmingly” to reject the latest Government offer.   Negotiations have been ongoing for a year already and, from what I hear, the PPTA is determined to hang tough until their...

The House of Eve by Sadeqa Johnson. Set in the 1950’s, it follows the lives of two young Black women - Ruby, in Philadelphia, hoping to get a scholarship to University (she’d be the first in her family ever to go to college) but meets a man (white, Jewish), falls in love and gets pregnant which shatters her dreams. His mother loathes her and is relentless in driving her out of his life - sending h...

BloggerAtLarge's Megan Singleton has returned to Auckland, concluding her trip to America. Megan spent four days in New York City, an expansive- and frighteningly expensive- city with plenty to offer. The highlights of Megan's short stay included the 9/11 Museum, Manhattan's Financial District, the Upper West Side's High Line walkway and the flea markets. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener f...

This week on the Sunday Panel, former Deputy Prime Minister and host of the Ask Me Anything podcast, Paula Bennett and broadcaster Brodie Kane joined in on a discussion about the following topics: This has been a big week for political sideshows- are we sick of the distractions? With all the issues in this country relating to crime and healthcare and infrastructure and roads, is it insulting to se...

The Covid-19 pandemic may have left a significant impact on the world's collective mental state after the fact. The WHO published a report claiming the pandemic has resulted in a marked increase globally in mental health problems, including a 25 per cent increase in depression and anxiety.   Naturopath and wellness expert Erin O'Hara says the stressful environment created by the virus and lockdown...

New Zealand's own Madeleine Sami stars in Amazon Prime's new Australian horror-comedy series Deadloch follows two detectives and an overeager junior constable investigating a serious of mysterious deaths ahead of the town's Winter Festival. Flicks.co.nz editor Steve Newall says this series is perfect for fans of scandi noir crime fiction and Australian comedy, as it mixes a traditional mystery env...

The King's Omelette   1 punnet cherry tomatoes   2 sprigs rosemary   2 tbsp grapeseed oil   sea salt & black pepper   400ml milk   1 smoked fish   2 tbsp butter + 1 tbsp butter for frying omelette   3 tbsp flour   2 tbsp finely chopped fennel tips   8 eggs, lightly beaten   4 tbsp cheddar, grated   4 slices wholegrain bread, toasted   Preheat oven to 190*C. Place cherry tomatoes in a small roa...

What do you wear to sleep? While some of us love our PJ’s, others swear by sleeping naked.  Science supports the naked group with several reasons why being in the buff can help your long-term health.   Firstly, being naked lets your skin breathe. This is especially important as fungi and bacterial thrive in warm and damp areas. Naked sleeping lets the skin around your intimate parts get some air c...

Cyclone Recovery Minister Grant Robertson has offered a voluntary buyout to homeowners affected by Cyclone Gabrielle. The Government will help fund council buyouts of about 700 category three properties, where future severe weather event risks can't be sufficiently mitigated. NZ Herald political reporter Adam Pearse says this announcement was only a 'rough plan' that left a lot of unanswered quest...

Health experts everywhere agree taking care of your microbiome is essential. Gut health is linked to immunity, positive hormones, energy and sleep quality- gut microbiomes are crucial to overall health. Microbiologist and Microbiome Labs founder Kiran Krishnan is regarded as a 'gut health' rock star and he has plenty of tips for optimum gut health. "What happens is- your microbes that live in your...

New Zealand's own Wētā Workshop has helped filmmakers bring iconic creatures and stories to life. Wētā Workshop are behind the visual effects in Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings and Hobbit trilogies, King Kong, and Avatar, among many other films and TV shows. Director Scott Walker teamed up with the effects company to create the monster terrorising a young family in homegrown horror film 'The Tan...

A new documentary screening at DocEdge promises to examine the risks and lure of deep-sea mining. Deep Rising, narrated by Jason Momoa, explores controversial proposals and plans by corporations to mine the ocean floor- and all the devastating consequences that may bring. Director Matthieu Rytz says he was inspired by the complexity of the issue when he heard about it over five years ago. "I was a...

An Auckland University professor fears more may be at stake than lost jobs as more universities downsize. Victoria University and the University of Otago have proposed significant redundancies to cover deficits and declining enrolments. Dr Nicola Gaston from the University of Auckland expressed concerns about the long-term effects downsizing may have on institutions, staff, and academic research....

If you want to see a good cross section of a city, sit in the emergency department at the local hospital for 5 hours.   I did this on Thursday evening after my son’s cold led to a chest infection.    Due of the thick protective glass in reception, we needed to speak loudly to explain our situation to staff. After answering their questions I felt the whole reception area knew all about us and what...

Hang the Moon by Jeannette Walls. She wrote a wonderful memoir some years ago called The Glass Castle which was also made into a really good film. This one is fiction - although some of it is based on her upbringing. Set during Prohibition in the state of Virginia, it’s about young Sallie Kincaid whose father, known as The Duke, is the big man in the region - but she’s banished from the family hom...

Travel blogger Megan Singleton spent a week in Texas, and one of her highlights was her night in Waco. She visited Magnolia Marketplace and got to stay in one of the refurbished homes featured in the reality show, Fixer Upper. Megan says Waco is great to visit if you're a fan of the show, as Magnolia Marketplace draws in lines of fans eager to buy home décor inspired by Chip and Joanna Gaines.   R...

This week on The Sunday Panel, Coast day host Lorna Subritzky and the Front Page's Damien Venuto joined in on a discussion about the following topics- and more! The Labour Party has promised to keep the Superannuation age at 65 and maintain the Winter Energy Payment. What do we make of this announcement- or non-announcement- do you back it? New Zealanders are increasingly embracing ethical investi...

This June, thousands of Kiwis will be encouraged to take part in the Move Your Butt awareness campaign targeting bowel cancer. Bowel cancer is currently New Zealand’s second highest cause of cancer death, with over 3,000 Kiwis diagnosed per year. Naturopath and wellness expert Erin O'Hara says bowel cancer is curable if identified early, and 90 percent of people will recover if they catch the cond...

The line-up for Taskmaster NZ's season four has been revealed, and there's some new names in the mix. Dai Henwood and Melanie Bracewell are among the new batch of comedians set to appear on this year's show alongside Jeremy Wells, Paul Williams, Ray O’Leary, Sieni Leo’o Olo and Karen O’Leary. Flicks.co.nz editor Steve Newall says there's good chemistry within this line-up, and Taskmaster works bes...