The Sunday Session with Francesca Rudkin

Love, Pamela by Pamela Anderson. Her story in her own words, which paints a very different picture to the blonde bombshell image that most of us have about her. She comes across as extremely well read and well informed; smart; a devoted mother (as she says, her kids are miracles which is remarkable considering the gene pool) and someone clearly with a lot of talent – she starred on Broadway in Chi...

Summer is the season for outdoor weekend markets, and BloggerAtLarge writer Megan Singleton called in from Hawke's Bay to share her favourite Kiwi markets. Megan asked her Facebook fans to submit their preferred weekend markets, from Kerikeri to Invercargill, and shared her top 37 to give people all across New Zealand the chance to find one close to them. Learn more about New Zealand's most-loved...

This week on The Sunday Panel, Francesca Rudkin was joined by Liam Hehir, Partner at Freebairn and Hehir Lawyers and Business Desk Investments Editor and host of Cooking the Books podcast, Frances Cook to discuss the following issues: Has the year started well for new Prime Minister Chris Hipkins and the Labour Party? The polls would certainly indicate this... What can opposition leader Chris Luxo...

Property investment is often viewed as an easy way to generate and grow wealth, but how can investors make it work? Ed McKnight and Andrew Nicol, hosts of The Property Academy podcast and Opes Partners experts detail the best ways to invest in property in their new book ' Wealth Plan'. Ed McKnight and Andrew Nicol believe property is a great investment because it consistently generates returns and...

The burst of wet weather in the North Island has likely turned many homes into breeding grounds for mould. Mould thrives in damp, poorly ventilated areas, and can reproduce by creating spores that spread around a given area. Wellness expert and Golden Yogi co-founder Erin O'Hara says that the rain and floods have likely led to mould growing in walls on under carpets and may be difficult to spot. E...

Today is a pretty special day in the Van de Elzen household as it's Pops or Opa's birthday. Don't ask me how old he is! I think he's either 86 or 87, but it doesn't really matter and more so, I'm sure he's not that fussed! This week at the farm we braved the wet and harvested a lot of our potatoes. We had to get them out as the ground wasn't drying up any time soon. So we have an abundance of pota...

We know that turning off the screens before bed is supposed to help us achieve a good night's sleep, but it's a difficult habit to break. New research confirms that some genres of TV may help or hinder your sleep, and the most helpful genres are certainly unexpected. According to the study, participants who fell asleep to horror, action or suspenseful shows before bed got a better night's sleep as...

Black Mirror creator Charlie Brooker is back with 'Cunk on Earth', a mockumentary providing a unique look at the history of civilisation. Comedian Diane Morgan stars as Philomena Cunk, an ill-informed commentator who asks researchers and historians questions about the world while sharing her own observations.  Philomena Cunk may be new to viewers here, but the character featured on Charlie Brooker...

LA-based photographer Chris Cuffaro has been behind some of the most iconic entertainment images of all time. Chris Cuffaro has been in the industry for 30 years and photographed George Michael, George Harrison, Pearl Jam, Nirvana, Brad Pitt, and Kobe Bryant, to name a few. He is currently in New Zealand to promote his Greatest Hits Exhibition taking place next week. Chris Cuffaro says he original...

The 65 th Annual Grammy Awards are being held in LA tomorrow, after months of anticipation.   This year's ceremony may be historic, as Beyonce is in the running to become the most awarded artist in Grammy history. Associated Press entertainment writer Jonathan Landrum Jr says Beyonce has nine nominations, including the coveted song, record, and album of the year. Jonathan Landrum Jr predicts Beyon...

MPs from all of the nation's major political parties are arriving for the annual parliamentary pōwhiri at the Waitangi Treaty Grounds. This year's parliamentary pōwhiri presents the first opportunity for Prime Minister Chris Hipkins to connect with important Maori leaders. ZB's Chief political reporter Aaron Dahmen says there was some confusion yesterday about whether or not political leaders coul...

It's a long weekend, which makes it one of the riskiest times of the year to be out on the road. Provisional statistics show 378 people died on our roads last year, 59 more than in 2021 and 2020.  One month into 2023 our road toll already sits at 24.   Educator Duncan Woods has taken his own story of road tragedy to help others – he is a facilitator at driver training programme The Right Track. Th...

The Italian Daughter by Soraya Lane who is a local author, based in Canterbury. Perfect for fans of Lucinda Riley’s Seven Sisters series, and like them, this is the first in an 8 book series, the next one, The Cuban Daughter is coming in July. The author wrote this one during the Covid lockdown when she was dreaming of travel, fun and romance and has set part of it on a beautiful vineyard in moder...

Auckland Airport has announced that they will resume flights from this morning, but travel disruptions from the flooding will likely continue. International flights have resumed, with 13 flights departing and 15 flights scheduled to arrive into the airport today.  Auckland Airport informed BloggerAtLarge's Megan Singleton that the kiosks are in good shape, but the floods have caused significant da...

On this week's edition of The Sunday Panel, e ditor and commentator Jo McCarroll and PR consultant and political commentator Ben Thomas joined in to discuss the following issues of the week: The Auckland flooding- how were we affected? What did we think of Auckland mayor Wayne Brown's response to the extreme weather? How did Chris Hipkins handle his first crisis? Could he have done more to stand o...

Astrophysicist Dr Matt Agnew returns with a new book designed to simplify science and astrophysics for readers. Dr Matt Agnew first entered the public eye through his appearance on The Bachelor 2019 (Australia), standing out as 'the nerdy Bachelor'. Since his reality show appearance, he's spent the last couple of years working on Dr Matt’s Guide to Life in Space, a book meant to educate readers ab...

Distractions are everywhere, between phones, computers, emails and social media, it's harder than ever to stay focused on work or school. The constant notifications are pulling us away from work or school related tasks, especially in the early part of the year. Erin O'Hara, wellness expert and Golden Yogi co-founder, says that it's important to set boundaries between work time and devices. Erin O'...

Welcome from a very wet Auckland City,   Whilst the rain continues to fall in Auckland, unfortunately the price of food in supermarkets continues to rise. Most schools are going back over the next two weeks. There is no better time than now for me to try and help out, with some money savings in the lunchbox.     First up is the lunchbox itself, try and buy a multi-compartment / bento style lunchbo...

New research states that you may need to take your children out on a clear night to get a look at the stars- while you still can. A report from the journal Science states that if light pollution levels continue at the current rate, today’s children will see only half of the stars currently visible when they become adults.   Scientists measured light pollution using satellites, but the way our eyes...

Avatar: The Way of Water is confirmed to be the biggest movie of all time at the New Zealand box-office. The Avatar sequel is still playing in theatres and managed to beat out the original in terms of box office revenue this weekend. This weekend's overall earnings make Avatar: The Way of Water the 4th highest grossing movie worldwide. Flicks.co.nz editor Steve Newall says this means James Cameron...

Jemima Khan has been in the public eye since 1995, when she married cricket superstar and future Prime Minister of Pakistan, Imran Khan. Following Jemima Khan's return to the UK, she spent the next several years working in fashion, journalism, and more recently has worked in film and TV production. Jemima's first film is 'What's Love Got To Do With It' and it was inspired by her time in Pakistan a...

Auckland experienced severe record-breaking rainfall over the last 24 hours, with more wet weather forecast today. The extreme weather resulted in flooding, property damage, and power outages, leading to insurance claims rising as Aucklanders witness the full impact of the damage.  CEO of AMI, State and NZI Insurance, Amanda Whiting says that these insurance companies have seen 3500 claims so far,...

Chris Hipkins was faced with his first emergency as Prime Minister less than three days in, as Auckland experienced extreme weather on Friday. Chris Hipkins visited Auckland yesterday after the record-breaking rainfall led to flooding, slips, property damage, and four deaths.  NZ Herald political reporter Adam Pearse says that Chris Hipkins didn't have much presence in Saturday's press conference,...

It wasn’t a great day for leadership yesterday. Not for Wayne Brown, nor for Prime Minister Chris Hipkins, and the reason for that failure is that yesterday, I had no idea who was in charge. Wayne Brown spent most of the press conference finding officials who would absolve him of any failings in communication or decision making, and Chris Hipkins was upstaged by the gesticulations of the mayor try...

Auckland experienced record-breaking rainfall last Friday and is forecast to receive more by the end of today. Auckland mayor Wayne Brown placed the region in a State of Emergency after the rain resulted in widespread flooding, slips, power cuts, and property damage. Wayne Brown's response to the extreme weather has come under fire, as the State of Emergency wasn't declared until after 10pm on Fri...