The Sunday Session with Francesca Rudkin

This week, a hearing has heard heartfelt pleas from Rotorua locals as the future of the city's emergency housing or ‘MSD Mile’ is considered.  Residents and business owners have had their say at the hearing in front of three independent commissioners.  They have also heard from the applicants – the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development who want to keep running 13 motels as emergency housing. ...

Over in the UK, Liz Truss has resigned from her role as Prime Minister, and there's been plenty of speculation about who will replace her. Boris Johnson has been spotted flying back to the UK from a Caribbean holiday, but there's no official confirmation as to whether or not he'll run for Prime Minister again. Rushi Sunak is another candidate who may be a front runner, but he hasn't made any offic...

Today on The Sunday Panel, TVNZ producer Irene Gardiner and Liam Hehir, legal expert and contributor for The Spinoff, are here to talk about: NZ First's big comeback announcement. Do we need NZ First and Winston Peters back? Will it work in this political climate? And can we trust them? In perhaps the most on-brand for New Zealand story ever, should the Kakapo be expelled for its success ahead of...

The borders have been open for a while, and travelling to America safely is finally an option again.  BloggerAtLarge.com's Megan Singleton is on her way herself this Monday, and she shared some advice for travelling around the region in a post-COVID world, as there are different factors to take into account now.  For instance, Megan told us all about the importance of printing out vaccination reco...

Exiles by Jane Harper. In the last few years she’s become the Queen of Australian crime. Her first book was six years ago, called The Dry ( was also made into a movie which has just started screening on Netflix). This new one is set in small town South Australia, where one night a woman goes missing at a festival leaving her baby in a pram. Detective Aaron Falk (who has featured in some of her oth...

Kiwi comedian Chris Parker has had a busy couple of years so far, in terms of media appearances and content producing. Between his relatable and compelling lockdown parody videos, and publicised interest in felting (the latter even getting him a spot in the Auckland Museum) from last year and his successful run on reality TV in 2022, he's had lots to do. In between winning TVNZ's Celebrity Treasur...

A surprising tip for weight loss that many people might not have considered has to do with the timing of meals. As intermittent fasting becomes more popular, the times you choose to eat have been linked to weight loss or weight gain. For instance, skipping breakfast and delaying lunch til three pm in the afternoon have confirmed links to obesity.  Erin O'Hara, naturopath and wellness expert, talke...

There are few stories which have raised my hackles more than a recent one which has now reached the international news media around our arts council, Creative New Zealand, and its decision to pull funding for a Shakespeare festival. This has been running in secondary schools around New Zealand for around three decades and has involved the participation of more than 120,000 students. Now in its wis...

This week is a little bit different as we are launching our beef patty and meatball range with Green Meadows beef. So I want to share a recipe with the listeners around the Beef and Kimchi patty.   This recipe calls for a Korean chili paste called Gochujang, which is a popular fermented red chilli paste. Its' sweet but also savoury flavours make it really good for meat marinades or combined with v...

Lab-grown brain cells have developed enough sentience to play arcade game 'Pong', according to recent data.  The cells were taught to play the game by the scientists who grew them, and they developed their skills independently.  University Of Auckland Research Fellow Joel Rindelaub explained what this means for scientific development and what these cells may be capable of in later studies.   See o...

A version of Netflix with ads is one step closer to being a reality, according to a recent announcement. The company is set to launch Netflix Basic With Ads next month in at least twelve countries. This version of Netflix will be cheaper for subscribers, but will have ads mixed in with the content. While places like Australia and the US will be able to get Netflix Basic With Ads, New Zealand has b...

A new word to add to your vocabulary when cooking – Ottolenghify your food.  This is the new theme of the latest Ottolenghi Test Kitchen cookbook – Extra Good Things.  It’s all about adding that little extra life to your dish.  The book is co-authored by the man himself, Yotam Ottolenghi and his right-hand woman, lead of the Ottolenghi Test Kitchen Noor Murad. They explained their work and creativ...

Kiwi journalist Lisette Reymer has been in Ukraine this week assessing damage of Russian attacks across the country.  This including a dangerous mission with a team assessing remnants of the Russian attack, locating landmines and booby traps.  Newshub Europe correspondent Lisette Reymer called from Kharkiv in Eastern Ukraine to talk us through it all. LISTEN ABOVE   See omnystudio.com/listener for...

Winston Peters has recently announced NZ First will be making a political comeback ahead of the 2023 election. The NZ First leader has yet to divulge much information surrounding the party's new strategies so far, but further announcements are set to be revealed later in the weekend. Adam Pearse, NZ Herald political reporter, shared what he knew so far about the planned comeback, and whether or no...

The latest QV Housing Price Index was released this week and it wasn’t pretty reading – sales at a 12 year low - the average house price was down annually for the first time in over a decade. QV experts are labelling the housing correction as painful but also saying there is no end in sight.  So how do you navigate a property market on the decline? Ed McKnight is a Property economist and host of t...

Today on the Sunday Panel, Gold Breakfast and Newstalk ZB host Andrew Dickens and host of the Straight Up podcast and ZB newsreader Niva Retimanu are here to talk about the local body elections after the fact. The swing to the right – we’ve seen a definite appetite for change across the country – what does this mean for the Labour Government?   Wayne Brown – how do you feel about your new mayor? ...

Our Missing Hearts by Celeste Ng . Set in what I think she’d call a dystopian future America, although I don’t think we’re that far away from it – a law called PACT has been passed which stands for Protect American Culture and Tradition, and where persons of Asian origin (PAO) are shunned. Bird is a twelve year old boy who lives a quiet life with his father – his mother was one such PAO and was a...

In light of the Women's Rugby World Cup kicking off this week, BloggerAtLarge.com's Megan Singleton is here to talk about sports tourism as an experience. Plenty of people can travel domestically and internationally to check out sporting events- but Megan feels the need to remind everyone about the importance of taking out travel insurance. As we get used to travelling in the era of Covid, Megan S...

Jason Gunn burst onto our screens in the early 90s, entertaining children with shows life After School, What Now and of course The Son of a Gunn show with sidekick Thingee.   Along with brother Andrew, Jason has released his first junior fiction book – it's called Jason Mason and the World’s Most Powerful Itching Powder. Jason Gunn is here now to discuss this latest product designed to entertain t...

The Therapeutic Products Bill is set to be introduced in Parliament this year, replacing the Medicine Act, 1981.  This bill involves the regulation of the delivery of pharmaceutical and natural health products, and it has caused some concern.  Rongoā Māori health workers think of the bill as overreach, and have created a petition opposing the bill as a means of counteracting it, as they feel that...

Hope we are all enjoying the school holidays! We are managing to get through them just.   This week we have just started to harvest some Rhubarb, which is a bit odd as you mainly relate to rhubarb being used in heavier winter desserts and dishes. However rhubarb is in fact a spring vegetable or fruit.   Rhubarb is in fact a fruit not a vegetable. In 1947, a New Yolk court ruled that it was to be c...

This week was a big one for the scientific community, as the Nobel Prize winners for 2022 were announced across various scientific categories.  Dr Joel Rindelaub, Research Fellow at the University of Auckland, scientific communicator, and contestant on Celebrity Treasure Island NZ, is here to talk about this year's award recipients. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Show Me Shorts, a film festival showcasing a selection of short films is back on for its 17th year.  Multiple short films of varying genres and story types will be running as part of the festival, which opened in Auckland this past Friday.  Other screenings are set to operate in other parts of the country over the next few days. Flicks.co.nz editor, Steve Newall, is with us to explain further. LIS...

Simon Gault is one of our legendary chefs – opening his first restaurant Bell House at just 22 -  he’s since been in charge of several of Auckland’s finest, the likes of Euro, Gault’s on Quay or more recently Giraffe.   He’s also been on our screens – most notably as a judge on Masterchef.   Simon has shared his life's adventures and stories in a biography, it is called No Half Measures, and he jo...

Former National Party MP, Nick Smith makes his return to politics as Nelson's new mayor. Nick Smith appreciates the opportunity to return to politics and knows his experience as an MP will serve the people of Nelson well. Nick Smith is with us to explain what he has to offer and what he plans to bring in his new role as Nelson's mayor. LISTEN ABOVE    See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy inform...