Saturday Morning with Jack Tame

Taylor Swift has released her much anticipated eleventh studio album The Tortured Poets Department, the release catching her fans by surprise with the addition of 15 unknown songs. Two hours after the initial release of the album The Anthology was released, Swift saying in a tweet that she'd written so much tortured poetry over the last two years and wanted to share it with her fans, hence the double release. The BBC described the album as 'vulnerable but vicious', which Estelle Clifford had to agree with. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Sympathizer Near the end of the Vietnam War, a spy who was embedded in the South Vietnam army flees to the United States and takes up residence in a refugee community, where he continues to gather intelligence and report back to the Viet Cong (Neon). Baby Reindeer Dealing with a female stalker, a man is forced to face a dark, buried trauma (Netflix). Painting with John At an undisclosed location in the Caribbean, artist John Lurie hones his watercolour painting techniques while sharing his reflections on life (Neon). LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Abigail A group of would-be criminals kidnaps the 12-year-old daughter of a powerful underworld figure. Holding her for ransom in an isolated mansion, their plan starts to unravel when they discover their young captive is actually a bloodthirsty vampire. Origin Based on the life of Isabel Wilkerson, played by Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor, as she writes the book Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents. Over the course of the film, Wilkerson travels throughout Germany, India, and the United States to research the caste systems in each country's history. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

How long does the average person live? How will that impact their retirement? How much money do you need to live comfortably when retiring? When do you start saving? How do you start saving? Economist Ed McKnight joined Jack Tame to dive into how to save to make your retirement work. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

My Favourite Mistake by Marian Keyes Anna Walsh had a dream life - according to everybody else. She lived in New York, had a long-term boyfriend, and had The Best Job In The World working as a highly successful beauty PR. So why did she decide to take a flamethrower to the lot? Because now she's back Dublin, living with her parents. She's undeniably forty-eight, with no partner, no job, and no direction. Anna's lost her purpose. She needs a new challenge to help her fall back in love with life again. When an opportunity arises to solve a PR crisis in the tiny town of Maumtully, Anna leaps at the chance. But will the appearance of an old love interest derail her plans? A Calamity of Souls by David Baldacci Jack Lee is a white lawyer from Freeman County, Virginia, who has never done anything to push back against racism, until he decides to represent Jerome Washington, a Black man charged with brutally killing an elderly and wealthy white couple. Doubting his decision, Lee fears that his legal skills may not be enough to prevail in a case where the odds are already stacked against both him and his client. And he quickly finds himself out of his depth when he realizes that what is at stake is far greater than the outcome of a murder trial. Desiree DuBose is a Black lawyer from Chicago who has devoted her life to furthering the causes of justice and equality for everyone. She comes to Freeman County and enters a fractious and unwieldy partnership with Lee in a legal battle against the best prosecutor in the Commonwealth. Yet DuBose is also aware that powerful outside forces are at work to blunt the victories achieved by the Civil Rights era. Lee and DuBose could not be more dissimilar. On their own, neither one can stop the prosecution’s deliberate march towards a guilty verdict and the electric chair. But together, the pair fight for what once seemed impossible: a chance for a fair trial and true justice. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

"The humming Hurunui township of Amberley is on a roll. 40 minutes’ drive from Christchurch, Amberley’s population has surged by over 50% in the past decade and is projected to double again in the next ten years. Straddling SH1, this embracing country town exudes a hearty welcome, with its boutique shopping offerings and a fantastic Farmers Market every Saturday morning, abuzz with producers and artisans. With a long and proud rural history, Amberley is a rich commercial cradle for the region’s growers and producers." Read Mike's full article here. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The importance of leading well during times of change (of which there is a lot of at the moment!) and the importance of leaders looking after their own wellbeing as part of leading well. A recent study interviewed 20 CEOs from leading companies in the USA. It showed that really effective leaders helped improve team and individual performance and helped the organisations do really well. On the flip side, leaders who were burnt out or stressed passed this onto their team. They tended to be closed off to new ideas, create a negative psychological climate, and make decisions based on anxiety and avoidance. This highlights the need for leaders and organisations to make sure leader’s mental wellbeing is a priority. Leaders should consider this as a core part of their job and actively schedule it in. It’s helpful for leaders to make sure they have good social connections outside of work and ideally a peer network across their business that they can talk openly with as they’re often not able to share everything with their team. Important to be predictable in their role and part of this is managing their own emotional expression, but what do they do with the “residue” of this? Getting professional coaching/supervision can be really helpful in this domain. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Let’s concentrate on the N, P and K. Nitrogen is the stuff that makes plants green; this molecule provides the building blocks for Chlorophyll. If you have plants that are valued for their leaves and green stems (grass, lawns, lettuce, ornamental trees and shrubs) they will need more N than say P or K. Plants with important roots (carrots, parsnips, potatoes) and other underground organs that will grow as they explore for “food in the dark”; they need a little bit more P (Phosphate) to do just that. And the K (Potash) is for reproduction. Plant reproduction is of course mostly through flowers, which are pollinated and hence become fertilised to produce seeds and fruits which, when deposited on soil, will yield new seedlings. That means that flowering plants and fruiting trees, shrubs, vines and berry bushes, really appreciate an extra dollop of potash, just to keep the cool stuff coming. But in Autumn temperatures are going down and most plants, trees and shrubs will slowly stop growing to prepare for winter. They simply don’t need a lot of fertiliser at all – in fact many of them slowly stop taking in these food molecules. Generally speaking: if you would fertilise plants in autumn the plant may try to create some more new leaves – roses (and quite a few other plant species) would do that in late summer and autumn. Those soft, new leaves will be very susceptible to frost damage. Not advisable! Right now, a lot of shrubs and trees are trying to prepare for winter by storing the N, P, K and such valuable macro or micronutrients before they drop the leaves. Those nutrients are “stored” in the twigs, stems and woody parts; the leaves will discolour to reds, oranges and yellows, Those autumn colours literally look like deficiency patterns – mind you, they look beautiful! Just visit Central Otago. One thing I would fertilise from now on is the compost bin!! If I use the Seaweed Tea, its nutrients will encourage tiny critters and bacteria, fungi etc., to develop in the compost. That results in a much quicker decomposition and more fertility when you use that compost in spring. Another good use of fertiliser is for Cymbidium orchids! These plants are often grown in warmer areas (out of the frosty zones) and will appreciate a high K (potash) diet in autumn and winter so they can produce a heap of flower buds in late winter. Similarly certain bulbs would like a bit of slow-release food, to develop their own flowers or even more bulbs. Think about Garlic and shallots! Winter is often their growth time. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Meta is out to kill ChatGPT Mark Zukerbeg admits that Meta isn't known as an AI leader but doesn't want it to be that way for long. They have released their Llama 3 models which are monumental steps ahead of Llama 2. For the sake of scale, Llama 2 was trained on 2 trillion tokens, Llama 3 was trained on 15 trillion tokens. Simply, it's going to know more and be able to connect more dots than before. Meta has made the small and medium versions of Llama 3 available to external developers but hasn't yet confirmed when the large model will be made available. You're going to see more AI on Facebook, Messenger, and Instagram. You'll see prompts for replies generated by AI. The AI Assistant will be more prominent. For the first time, Meta's created a standalone chatbot for desktop, outside of its product frameworks. Meta.AI looks just like ChatGPT but is totally free. The Swifties were divided over the album leak What do you do when a hotly anticipated Taylor Swift album is leaked in a Google Drive folder before launch? Do you listen? Do you wait for the official release? It's the ethical questions that had Swifties debating online this week. The leak has turned out to be the real album, but not the surprise 2am album, making the The Tortured Poets Department a double album. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

For those who are taking Anzac Day off next week and are looking for something to make over the long weekend, these could be worth a try. Ingredients: ½ leek, diced and gently sautéed 1 cup cauliflower florets, finely diced 20g butter + 50g butter 4 heaped tbsps. plain flour 300mls milk Pinch white pepper 50g hard cheese (cheddar or machego are good options) 1 egg extra flour for coating ¾ cup breadcrumbs Method: 1. In a pot, melt the 20g butter on a low heat, add the leeks and cook until softened. Add in cauliflower and cook for 3-4 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon. 2. Melt the 50g butter then add flour and stir to form a paste. Allow to cook for 2-3 minutes, then slowly add the milk, stirring or whisking until there are no lumps. Increase the heat slightly and stir until the sauce is a thickened and the flour has completely cooked – you shouldn’t be able to detect any flour when you taste it. 3. Add the pepper, cheese, leeks and cauliflower and stir to combine. Taste to make sure it has enough seasoning. Pour into a bowl and allow to cool completely. It will be very thick once cooled. 4. Set up three plates, one with a beaten egg, one with seasoned flour and one with breadcrumbs. 5. Begin to shape the croquettes by rolling tablespoonfuls of the cooled béchamel into small sausage shapes. Roll each one in flour, then egg, then in the breadcrumbs and set aside. 6. Fill a medium sized pot with enough cooking oil to come halfway up the pot and turn it to medium heat. Focus and do not leave the pot for a minute! 7. Once hot enough (small currants will form on the bottom of the pot but it will not reach smoking point), begin to cook the croquettes, 3-5 at a time by lowering them into the oil with a slotted spoon. If your oil is not hot enough they will sink and melt, instead of floating and frying, so trial one first. 8. Fry in batches until each is golden brown all over (turn them if you need to but they often do it themselves). Remove and drain on paper towel and serve immediately. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

When you reach 75 years of age, in order to get your drivers licence you have to do a health test. The test includes a cognitive test to check for dementia, and a general health test. Kevin Milne went to sit the test earlier in the week and suffice to say he was a bit nervous. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

How did she do it? How could it be? Tell me how —HOW— does the most famous popstar in the World right now keep anything secret? I get it. It’s not a nuclear code. It’s not a secret access key for a banking system that would make a keen hacker trillions of dollars in an instant. But that Taylor Swift, in the digital age, with however many hundreds of millions of fans Worldwide following her every move, can press a button and drop 15 songs, having secretly recorded them and prepared them to be published simultaneously on streaming platforms around the World, tells you one thing: Taylor Swift’s lawyers really know how to write an iron-clad NDA. Is Taylor Swift worth the hype? I’m not a Swiftie, per se. I didn’t go to Australia for the Eras tour. But I also hate it when people sneer at other people’s music tastes. Music tastes are so subjective. Who am I to say that what I’m listening to is any better or worse than what you prefer? Any reasonable person cannot say that Taylor Swift is not two things: an incredibly talented songwriter, and an incredibly hard worker. Taylor’s been teasing something new. She’s made mysterious social media posts. Finally, yesterday, all was revealed: The Tortured Poets Department, a surprise double album. As the internet melted down with reactions and analysis, I searched the 31 songs on Spotify and cranked up the beats. It was good. It was fine. Personally, I still prefer her early stuff. But even though I couldn’t name the ex-boyfriends most of the songs are apparently about, I enjoyed listening to the lyrics and found myself gently tapping along as I fixed dinner. And I’m noticing this weird phenomenon with Taylor Swift. Even though I’m ambivalent to her music, like an ocean current, I find myself still getting swept along in the hype. I get it. I think we all do. We all have an artist for whom at some point in our lives we’ve been desperate for any flicker of something new: a magazine cover, a single, an album, a World Tour. For me, for about five years, it was Kanye West. For you, someone else, I’m sure. It’s the Beatlemania thing. There is something primal, something is our cells, a zeal, some magic, some uniquely human quality that loves to be caught up in the fever of a crowd, to share in the collective idolising of that little dot under the brights on stage. It doesn’t happen with authors or artists. The closest you might get is Lionel Messi on a football pitch. And although I wouldn’t call myself a Swiftie. I’m here for the Swiftie hype. But is she worth it? A miserable sod might suggest no one’s worth it. But given she has built one of the largest and most influential fan bases in the history of music, she has produced the highest-grossing tour of all time, she’s the first musician to become a billionaire solely from writing and performing, and she’s shattering all manner of streaming records, I’m gonna side with the wisdom of the Swiftie crowds. Is Taylor Swift worth the hype? Of course she’s worth the hype! See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Released right as summer died, ‘Gothic Summer’ is the sixth studio album from Australian pop duo The Veronicas. In an interview with Rolling Stone, Jess Origliasso said the album was very metaphorical. “The whole theme of Gothic Summer is that it’s basically exploring social commentary on what we think is reality versus how we create our reality.” The duo’s other half, Lisa Origliasso, told Apple Music the album is about the highs and lows of life, “Finding beauty, empowerment and self-love in the shadows and darker parts of life’s experiences.” LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Day One by Abigail Dean Marty seems to do no wrong. Trent can’t seem to get things right. When they are thrown together by tragedy, their futures may be defined by one What really happened on Day One? Stonesmere is an English seaside suburb defined by poignant traditions passed from generation to generation, and the bonds of small town community spirit. But when a lone gunman disrupts a school assembly, he sets of a chain of events that throws this close-kint town into turmoil. Marty is a golden girl, albeit one sometimes in the shadow of her father’s accomplishments and the care of her mother—an outsider who became a beloved teacher. Meanwhile, Trent’s home life is in the only child of a mother forever on the lookout for the boyfriend who can remake their lives, Trent longs for Stonesmere’s stability. But he and his mother only pass through. In the wake of the violence in Stonesmere, Trent is transfixed by the news coverage of his former home, and his sense that something doesn't quite add up. As he dives deeper, he falls under the spell of a slick online media personality and the conspiracies he peddles. As Marty fumbles to play the part of the grieving good girl, she becomes the focus of these conspiracies—and Trent’s attention. The Hidden Storyteller by Mandy Robotham The war is over. But there are still secrets to be found amidst the ashes… Hamburg, 1946. The war is over, and Germany is in ruins. Posted to an Allied-run Hamburg, reporter Georgie Young returns to the country she fled seven years prior – as Chamberlain spoke those fateful words – to find it unrecognisable. Amidst the stark horrors of a bombed-out city crumbling under the weight of millions of displaced Europeans, she discovers pockets of warmth: a violinist playing amidst the wreckage, couples dancing in the streets, and a nation trying to make amends. But when she joins forces with local policeman Harri Schroder to solve a murder case he is working on – a woman with the word traitor engraved into her skin – she soon discovers that the darkest secrets of war haven’t been left in the past. And once again she is pulled into a world she hardly expected to see again… LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Friends Like Her In a quake-torn Kaikoura town, best friends' lives spiral downwards when a surrogacy pact disintegrates, revealing dark secrets and strained loyalties amid a calamitous backdrop (Three from Monday at 8.40pm and ThreeNow). Franklin In December 1776, Benjamin Franklin is world-famous for his electrical experiments, but his passion and power are put to the test when he embarks on a secret mission to France, with the fate of American independence hanging in the balance (Apple TV+). Fallout In a future, post-apocalyptic Los Angeles brought about by nuclear decimation, citizens must live in underground bunkers to protect themselves from radiation, mutants and bandits. Based on the video game series of the same name (Prime Video). LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Civil War In a dystopian future America, a team of military-embedded journalists races against time to reach Washington, D.C., before rebel factions descend upon the White House. Late Night with the Devil In 1977 a live television broadcast goes horribly wrong, unleashing evil into the nation's living rooms. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

"It’s entirely understandable that on arrival in Waikīkī’s sun-kissed playground, you will soon surrender to the dazzling arsenal of holiday indulgences along the glitter-strip. Whether you’re stuffing yourself sinfully at the Cheesecake Factory or marinating in Mai Tais, decadence flows freely in Waikīkī. It has worked its monopolising magic on me, far too many times! "But without wishing to sound like a virtuous try-hard, on my latest visit to Waikīkī, I made a personal pact that I would off-set my culinary and cocktail indulgences, by working-out for those rewards. I duly explored a plethora of nature experiences in close proximity to the holiday mecca, to counterbalance the inevitable binging and boozing. And it fast became an eye-opener about the ravishing outdoorsy treasures, string around the south-eastern coastline of O’ahu." Read Mike's full article here. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What is cryptosporidium and what does it do? - It’s a parasite found in the gut of infected people. Also, animals such as cats, dogs, cattle, and sheep. - Basically, it’s a nasty ‘stomach bug’, if you get infected it causes a nasty stomach infection. - Gives you painful stomach cramps, really smelly diarrhoea, and nausea. How do you get it and can we treat it? Infected people or animals pass it on through infected poo, we basically swallow the parasite: - Contact with infected people or animals - Drinking water becomes infected - Food after food preparation with hands that are contaminated. - Swimming in shared water such as swimming pools, paddling pools, or infected beaches, rivers. Generally, we don’t treat it, antibiotics generally don’t help. We advise things such as Panadol and medication to stop stomach cramps. It’s really important to keep fluid levels up so you don’t become dehydrated, especially children. What do we do to prevent it? - It’s really important not to spread it or catch it! - The basics: don’t spread it, wash hands for 20 seconds with soap and hot water then dry: -After going to toilet -Before you prepare food. -Have contact with animals, after gardening, caring with someone with diarrhoea, or changing babies' nappies Other thing to note: - The parasite hangs around in your body for 14 days after your symptoms clear up. - Don’t swim in swimming pools for 14 days after an infection – you can spread it for up to two weeks!! -Also, when signs go up at beach or river not to swim, don’t. Means there’s a sewage leak and you can contract cryptosporidium. -Certainly, if you are concerned contact your general practice or medical centre. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Repair Cafes have become increasingly popular across the country, 233 of them popping up in the last twelve months. What is a repair cafe? -A free event where people bring in their broken or damaged belongings and local volunteer experts do their best to repair them. -Generally happens once a month in a community or as a pop-up event. Why they are great -Promotes sustainability -Encourages the development of repair skills (which we need to preserve - too many skills, like simple sewing, are being lost) -Cost saving -Community building -Education/awareness -Empowerment (community & individual resilience) -Innovation/creativity -Circular economy: keeps resources in the local resource pool Where people can find them: https://www.repaircafeaotearoa.co.nz/ LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Despite the nice week or two in Canterbury (noticed the Temperatures in the high twenties, this week?) there comes a time when we’ll be filling the Ultra-Low Emissions Burners again. Some of our native birds will either be looking to get autumn food, while others will depart for better climates. Migration is a clever option. There are a few ways in which we can keep an eye on our birds’ movements: the expensive trick is to catch birds and attach a transmitter to their body that bleeps every now and then and sends a signal to satellites indicating the longitude and latitude, time of day and speed of flight. Expensive technology, but pretty cool to work with. Our team in Canterbury, led by Peter Reese, is doing it the simple way: catch the bird (in this case a Harrier), put a standard metal band around one leg and on the other leg a much larger, coloured tag with a (three-digit) number that can be seen from quite a distance through a pair of binoculars. We re-capture some of the birds, often in the place where they were banded originally. But the clever trick is that anybody with binoculars might be able to contribute to the research. That is a rather safe way of assisting with the project. You see, Harriers have very little sense of humour. You can imagine that their strong, curved beak will be their ace attack system…Maybe. I found that they would love to smack you with their extremely sharp talons, a great scientific word for long, pointy nails. So far we have only started a year or so ago; the hypothesis is that these harriers move north when the snow starts falling in the South Island – maybe they do exactly that! But it would be nice if people could keep their eyes peeled and report tagged or banded harriers when they see one, or when they find one on the side of the road, bowled over by a car. Either fill in an online reporting form, write, email, or ring the National Banding Office (DOC). They will need to know the following details: • Band number• When the bird was found the bird (date if possible) • Where the bird was found• If the bird is colour banded, the position of each colour band (note which leg it was on and the position • The condition of the bird Seeing it’ll be school holidays, it might be a good idea to get kids to observe Harriers (and other birds) and become real-life ornithologists. Or maybe just Nature Nerds!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Gmail knows your inbox is overflowing with subscriptions and is trying to help So it wants to help. It seems they're testing a new feature which adds a "Manage Subscriptions" area. There you will be able to see who is sending you the most emails per quarter. Marketing folks get ready... early screenshots show you'll be able to see who sends you less than 10, 10-20 and 20+ emails per quarter. It's estimated that Google blocks nearly 15 billion undesired emails daily. You can see why they want to deter folks from sending things that they'll filter out anyway! They already have the one-click unsubscribe feature which is brilliant. They've also recently started requiring companies who are "bulk senders" —who send more than 5000 emails a day— to adhere to new requirements proving they own the domain they're sending from and that the email being delivered has been authorized to be sent by the service sending it. Yet another product goes to Google's graveyard Google One VPN is now dead. Google Podcasts was also killed a few weeks ago. It's so commonplace there's a website to memorialize these dead products: killedbygoogle.com. It's up to 295 entries. Spotify will let creators manipulate songs According to WSJ, Spotify is developing tools that would allow users to “speed up, mash-up, and otherwise edit” songs, and save them for listening. Some TikTok creators have made pitching up or speeding up songs part of their signature look. The idea is that if you do the editing on Spotify, Spotify knows about it, and can make sure the artists get their appropriate royalties. On TikTok these remixes become "original audio" of the creator and it's unclear if the money makes its way back to where it should. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In 1999 the British Post Office introduced a faulty piece of accounting software, the consequences of which would see over 900 subpostmasters wrongly prosecuted for theft, fraud, and false accounting. Some lost their businesses, jobs, and homes, and many were left financially ruined. Others were convicted and sent to prison, some dying while they waited for justice. The case has been highlighted in the ITV drama Mr Bates vs the Post Office; the prosecution of Post Office subpostmasters being described as ‘Great Britain's worst miscarriage of justice’. Alan Bates, a former subpostmaster, has been leading the charge and this week gave a strong witness statement at the public inquiry into the Horizon IT scandal. He told Newstalk ZB’s Jack Tame that the outpouring of support from across the nation has been absolutely wonderful, and they may need to engage it going forward. “Some of the, if you might call them, the baddies in all of this might be trying to get away scot-free,” Bates said. “We have real concerns that they need to be held accountable for their actions in all of this, and often that fails to happen in so many of these big scandals with big firms.” Bates told Tame that he’s never really struggled with accounting, so when the Horizon system was introduced to his own Post Office, he could see it was lacking from the outset. “Once problems started occurring, it was pretty obvious what was the root cause of it all.” He’s worked with computer systems before so he could not only see the issues with the programme itself, but with the stances the Post Office was taking on it. Bates said they could never give him an assurance over the accuracy of the system, and they kept swearing no one else could access it, despite it being a network system that anyone could access if they had the right codes. “They just terminated me, given me three months' notice and walked off with the investment.” Bates professes to be something of a stubborn man, telling Tame that he knew his stance on the system was right and so he dug his heels in on it. “We started meeting others over the years, and then we found out we weren’t the only ones, and they weren’t the only ones, and we sort of grew from there.” In Bates’ opinion, a lot of this whole event has been about controlling the narrative, which the Post Office with its significant resources was able to do for ‘donkey’s years’. “It wasn’t until we got them in the court, into the high court, and we got the judgements, the outstanding judgements from Judge Fraser, that the narrative changed.” “They started losing their footing in all of this, and we started to take over.” The most important thing in all of this, Bates told Tame, is getting the financial redress for the victims. “They’ve been waiting far too long.” LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Autumn brings one of my all-time favourite fruits: quince. Lumpy and bumpy, rock hard and astringent when raw, this fruit transforms upon cooking to something fragrant, soft and utterly divine. This recipe is a derivation of the Persian dish khoresh, referring to a stew, and the quince pair beautifully with lamb. Serves 2-4 Ingredients: 1 large onion, diced 500g lamb, cubed 1 tbsp turmeric 2-3 cm cinnamon stick ½ tsp cardamom powder (optional) 100g yellow split peas, pre-soak these for 1-2 hours 2-3 tbsp lemon juice 1-2 tbsps sugar 2 quince, peeled, quartered and cored 2 tbsp bloomed saffron (optional) Salt and pepper to taste Vegetable oil Water Method Heat some oil in a pan and sauté chopped onions until softened and beginning to brown. Add the lamb along with the spices and fry until browned on all sides. Add in split peas and just enough boiling water to cover. Lower the heat and simmer for one hour or until meat is fully cooked and split peas are tender. Whilst the meat cooks, sauté the quince quarters in a clean, lightly oiled pan over a medium heat until golden brown. Set aside until the meat is tender, about 45-50 minute mark, and add them then. Once the quince has been added, season with lemon juice, sugar, saffron (if using), salt and pepper to taste and cook without stirring for the final 10 minutes or so. Serve with rice. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Truancy has been a hot topic over the last few weeks, the Government announcing their new guidelines and targets. Kevin Milne has been reading up on the subject and has come to the realisation that it’s a significantly bigger issue than he thought. He thinks it’s time to stop trying to score political points and set about fixing the problem. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tuesday was one of the most statistically significant days of my life. I’m sure I’m not the only one who spends a lot of time on the Statistics New Zealand website but just in case you have more exciting things to do with your time, you might have missed the latest population estimates. According to Statistics New Zealand, the median age for New Zealand men is 37.1 years old. That means half of men are older and half are younger. I was born on March 4, 1987. That means on Tuesday April 9th, I turned 37.11 years old, I moved from one side of the ledger to the other. This time last week, when we were last speaking, I was in the younger half of Kiwi blokes. Today, I’m in the older half. I know, I know… you might as well sign me up to a Ryman Village right now. The truth is I do feel older. Or at the very least, I’m conscious of having an aging body. I’ve got an arthritic hip and deteriorating eyesight. Hair grows in weird places, springing from my shoulders, nostrils, and the outsides of my upper arms. When I catch myself in the mirror as I get out of the shower, it’s as though gravity has grown a few percentage points stronger. Wibble-wobble. One of the flaws of the human condition is that most of us only appreciate our youth as it starts to fade. We lament being ID’d until the day we’re not ID’d. For some reason, having a dicky hip has made me really want to climb more mountains. I’ve always been big on sunblock if I was spending a long time outside, but it’s only now, as the wrinkles and sunspots gather on my face, that I’ve started to block up every day in summer, regardless of whether I’m spending much time outdoors. For the first time in my life, I proactively take anti-inflammatories before playing social sport. Statistics New Zealand can give you all sorts of milestone numbers. It can tell you I’m old for a first marriage. It can tell you I’m already older than most first-time Dads. It can tell you that statistically speaking, I can expect to die on the 25th of June, 2073. Of course, I know that’s not quite how life works. I’m at the age and stage where you really appreciate that life isn’t fair. No one is guaranteed any amount of time on this mortal Earth. Sometimes it’s the most full-of-life, the five-plus-a-day, Low BMI, not-one-cigarette-evers who for whatever reason, fate cruelly picks out. I‘ve said it to you before; aging is a privilege. I remember once reading somewhere that 27 typically marked the physical peak for men. I felt old when I turned 28. I remember staring down 30, looking back when I turned 35, and thinking I should have better appreciated just how youthful I was. I’m sure this will be the same. I’ll look back at 37.11 and laugh at my youthful naivety. Except that it doesn’t change the facts. Short of a mass exodus or a national fertility crisis, I will never again be in the younger half of New Zealand men. Once you’ve crossed the Rubicon, there ain’t no going back. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

‘Ohio Players’ is the 12th studio album by the Black Keys, with fourteen tracks and a run time of 44 minutes. The intention behind the album was to create something “fun”. Something that not only sounded fun, but was also fun for the band to create. The album’s title seems to be a nod to that ideology, the band’s members coming from the state of Ohio, but also a reference to the 70’s band of the same name. Music reviewer Estelle Clifford thinks this may be the most poppy songs they’ve put together, the album filled with feel good, energetic music, the kind that makes you feel like you’re at a live gig or festival. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Scoop Inspired by real events, this fictional dramatization gives an insider account of how the women of Newsnight secured Prince Andrew's infamous interview (Netflix). Ripley A wealthy man hires down-on-his-luck grifter Tom Ripley to travel to Italy to urge his vagabond son to return home; Tom's acceptance of the job is the first step in a life of deceit, fraud and murder (Netflix). Alone Australia Ten brave Australians are dropped into the most brutal terrain of New Zealand's South Island to face the ultimate survival test and merciless forces of nature for a cash prize (TVNZ+). LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Redundancies and restructures galore are taking place across every sector at the moment, and these changes can have a significant impact on mental health and wellbeing. Change is always difficult, but change within a business can really set off people’s flight or fight instincts and add to their worries and anxiety. Businesses have to be careful in how they handle this change, as doing so badly can increase the harm their employees suffer and open the organisation up to increased risk. Dr Dougal Sutherland has some tips for what to do when change is occurring. For individuals: -Focus as much as you can on the aspects you can control throughout the process -Try not to get sucked into worrying about the problem, focus instead on the aftermath For organisations: -Really emphasise wellbeing in the workplace, you need to look after everyone involved -staff who are affected -staff who are “unaffected” but may be suffering from “survivors' guilt” -managers who have to deliver the decision -HR people who support the managers and staff LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On Call by Ineke Meredith It's all in a mad day's work: the good, the bad and the crazy. From a man who swallowed fishhooks to a patients playing pranks, emergency operations in the wee hours, constantly being mistaken for a nurse, and holding hands through silent goodbyes, this is a book about the strange, messy, intense world of surgery. When Ineke's parents in Samoa fall ill, she is torn between her roles as a surgeon, a daughter, and a single working mother. Are the sacrifices of a life in scrubs worth it? Laugh-out-loud and sobering in equal turns, On Call is a memoir from inside the operating room and everything it takes to survive. The Fellowship of Puzzlemakers by Samuel Burr Clayton Stumper might be in his twenties, but he dresses like your grandpa and fusses like your aunt. Abandoned at birth on the steps of the Fellowship of Puzzlemakers, he was raised by a group of eccentric enigmatologists and now finds himself among the last survivors of a fading institution. When the esteemed crossword compiler and main maternal presence in Clayton’s life, Pippa Allsbrook, passes away, she bestows her final puzzle on him: a promise to reveal the mystery of his parentage and prepare him for life beyond the walls of the commune. So begins Clay’s quest to uncover the secrets surrounding his birth, secrets that will change Clay—and the Fellowship—forever. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

"Despite being ravaged by devastating wildfires last August, the Valley Isle of Maui continues to shine with unparalleled scenery and golden hospitality. Maui would love to see you. From hidden beaches in every shade to the dramatic peaks of West Maui and Haleakalā, Maui’s elemental brilliance is seductive. Also known as the East Maui Volcano, Haleakalā is a colossal, active shield volcano that constitutes more than 75% of Maui’s landform." Read Mike's full article here. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

BOB’S BEST BUYS Escarpment Gris 2023 Martinborough $30 Why I chose it: -I like it very much and respect Escarpment as a top producer. -It’s a wine that spans the seasons. -It is genetically the same grape as Pinot Noir, but it is “gray” instead of red-skinned (“Gris” is French for gray). Pinot Blanc is even paler (“Blanc” means white in French). What does it taste like? -A smooth-textured, bright, fresh wine with flavours that resemble pear and green apple. It has a hint of sweetness balanced by refreshing acidity. Why it’s a bargain: -It is an interesting wine that is well made, by a top producer who offer it at a fair piece. Where can you buy it? -Wine Hub, Christchurch, $26 -NZ Wine Boutique, $29.99 Food match? -Blue cheese combines sweetness and acidity with the saltiness of the cheese – delicious! Will it keep? -Good for 3 or 4 years, possibly more with careful storage. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It’s time to start thinking about winter and looking after your soil. We all know that garden soil thrives when you add Organic material (compost!!!) to the soil. Just like the Sea-food soup it enriches the Fertiliser amount and that helps no, not just the plants, but certainly the tiny live-stock in the soil that feeds the plants through the roots: Photosynthesis is the way a plant feeds itself. It allows the microbes and beneficial fungi to work on the mulch – it simply breaks the mulch down and turns it into a kind of slow-release fertiliser that will benefit the plants when everybody “wakes up” in spring. Chipped prunings from your fruit trees, hedges, severed dead branches and twigs, old fallen fruits, berries, and husks are all ready to be recycled according to the law of “Circular Economy” which runs the planet and your garden. My most wonderful tool in the garden is our Hansa C7 Chipper Machine; it works its bottom off at this time of the year. Everything that goes through it will turn to mulch and everything that once lived will turn to compost, even Coffee grounds! There are lots of articles that warn gardeners against using coffee grounds in the garden, so we’ve decided to have a go at that stuff (our son-in-law owns a French bakery that also brews a decent cup of coffee – plenty of brown grounds in serious quantities). Information around this topic: Acidity (pH): After brewing, the grounds are almost pH neutral: between 6.5 and 6.8 (higher than Hydrangeas that need a lower pH to flower blue! Nitrogen: Just 2%; not a great deal – still need N on the soil in spring! Other nutrients: Phosphorous, Potash, Calcium, Magnesium all in rather small amounts and Manganese, Zinc and other micronutrients also in very small quantities – certainly not an “over-dose”. So, it looks as if these coffee grounds really don’t produce a heap of “plant food”; instead, they “feed” the microbes that deliver “Glues” that are brilliant at producing great soil structure. What about effects on plant growth? Any negative effects? Robert Pavlis (a Canadian who writes an interesting blog called Garden Myths) led me to some publications around Testing caffeine for allelopathic effects. The findings show that if you use huge amounts of coffee mulch it could certainly stunt the growth of bacteria, fungi, seedlings and even plants! (Does that surprise you?) However, after 6 months the trend totally reverses, and the plants grow better than before. And here’s Julie’s observation: Since we used the grounds as “mulch”, the blackbirds (her worst enemy that toss mulch out of the garden and onto the paths) have ceased vandalising the borders and raised beds. No more mess of ornithological origin! LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Microsoft is unbundling Teams from Office globally Once again, thanks EU! It comes six months after it uncoupled the two products in Europe in a bid to avert a possible EU antitrust fine. Rivals say packaging the products together gives Microsoft an unfair advantage. I'm all in favor of unbundling - because all these services are starting to offer the things the others do too, but usually not as well. Slack is great at instant messaging, but now you are also effectively paying for its video and audio meetings and collaborative documents. Google's bundle includes email, calendar, docs, video meetings. Zoom now offers add-ons such as an email and calendar service, IP phone system and virtual white-boarding. Amazon's stopping its "just walk out" service at supermarkets Amazon Fresh will now have smart carts, which allow customers to scan items as they go. Amazon says this is better for the customer because they want to view their receipt as they shop, and know how much money they saved while shopping. It also reduces a massive overhead of installing the cameras and sensors the technology relied upon AND the extensive human review process. According to The Information, 70% of the sales had to be manually reviewed in 2022, which was far, far higher than the 5% Amazon had hoped for, which needed a team of over 1000 people. It's also a good example of where it looks like the AI is doing all the heavy lifting, when in reality most of it was people in India watching the cameras and effectively being the cashier, just remotely. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Shortland Street has been running for an impressive 32 years, and Jayden Daniels played one of the most popular characters in its entire run. After graduating from Toi Whakaari in 2014 Daniels picked up the role of Curtis in 2015, using that role as a stepping stone to enter the screen industry proper. He starred as Gabriel in the 2023 film Evil Dead Rise, and Cyril in Whina, the biopic of Dame Whina Cooper. Daniels' is now making the switch from screen to stage, going back to his roots and theatre training with Auckland Theatre Company’s production of The Effect. The play follows two people who meet during a clinical drug trial and fall in love, asking the question of whether the love is real or just a side effect of the medication, written by multi-award winner Lucy Prebble. “There’s love, there’s sorrow,” Daniels told Newstalk ZB’s Jack Tame. “She writes it way better than I’m explaining it now.” A majority of Daniels’ training was theatrical training at drama school, but since he’s been working on screen since his graduation there’s been a bit of an adjustment. “The whole time I’ve been trying to pull down, be smaller and more subtle,” he said. “If I’m on screen, I can drop right down and talk to you like this,” Daniels lowered his voice in example. “Whereas on stage I’m having to project. Even if I’m talking to you close, I have to be big and loud.” “That’s been a challenge for me.” Daniels has worked in both mediums, and while he used to think he had a preference, he’s recently discovered that theatre has a lot to teach him. The techniques he can rely on when acting for camera aren’t applicable to stage performances, as audiences can’t hear softspoken voices or see the minute expressions on actors’ faces. And while he doesn’t prefer one over the other, he told Tame that there are benefits to working in theatre. “You can take more risks in theatre. You’re rehearsing for a very long time, which is a luxury in acting, especially on screen.” “I feel like I put a lot of pressure on the product on screen because you get there, you don’t have long to shoot the scene and its done. Whereas here you can try this, it didn’t work, I’ll just throw it to the complete other end.” LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Io Capitano Longing for a brighter future, two Senegalese teenagers embark on a journey from West Africa to Italy. However, between their dreams and reality lies a labyrinth of checkpoints, the Sahara Desert, and the vast waters of the Mediterranean. Monkey Man A young man ekes out a meagre living in an underground fight club where, night after night, wearing a gorilla mask, he's beaten bloody by more popular fighters for cash. After years of suppressed rage, he discovers a way to infiltrate the enclave of the city's sinister elite. As his childhood trauma boils over, his mysteriously scarred hands unleash an explosive campaign of retribution to settle the score with the men who took everything from him. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This sticky cake is studded with tangy feijoas and has a chewy caramelised coconut topping added halfway through cooking and it’s just gorgeous. Makes a 23cm cake. Ingredients 1 cup pitted dates 1 cup boiling water 1 teaspoon baking soda 130g butter ½ cup white sugar ½ cup brown sugar 1 large egg 1 ¼ cups plain flour 1 teaspoon baking powder Pinch salt ½ cup dessicated coconut 1 cup peeled and diced feijoa Coconut topping: 1 cup shredded coconut 1/3 cup brown sugar 1/3 cup milk 50g butter Method: 1. Preheat the oven to 170 C. Grease and line a 23cm round baking tin. 2. Cover dates in boiling water and leave to soak for 5 minutes then add baking soda and blend to a chunky paste in a food processor. 3. Cream the butter and both sugars until pale and creamy then beat in the egg and beat for one minute more. Add the date paste to the creamed mixture and stir until combined. Sift in flour, baking powder and salt. Fold in coconut and feijoa chunks until combined. Scrape into baking tin, gently smooth the top and bake for 30 minutes. While it cooks make the coconut topping by combining all ingredients in a small pot over a low heat until melted together. 4. At 30 minute mark, gently spoon the coconut topping over the cake, in an even layer. Continue to cook for a further 25-35 minutes until topping is golden brown and a skewer inserted comes out clean. Run a knife around the edge of the cake to loosen the topping from the tin and leave for one hour before gently turning out and cooling fully. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Over a decade ago Kevin Milne wrote a book about his life. Going about his daily life, he keeps an eye out for copies of this stunning work of literature, which this time led to something of an humiliating situation for him. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

As the words spilled out of my mouth, I realised it didn’t make for much of a pitch. “I’ve got a show I want us to try.” I’d told my wife. “Oh yeah. What’s is about?” she asked. “Well... err... it’s about a scandal in Britain involving lots of post offices and an accounting dispute.” “Post offices?” She said. “Accounting? Riiight.” She said. Yes, it’s fair to say I hadn’t pegged ‘Mr Bates vs The Post Office’ on an expectation of sex scenes, car chases, gunfights, and Hollywood heartthrobs. I’d actually only been vaguely aware of the Post Office scandal before the TV show was aired in Britain earlier this year. If you haven’t heard of it, it’s now routinely described as the greatest miscarriage of justice in British legal history. In short, Britain’s Post Office —arguably once Britain’s most trusted institution, and surely it’s most British institution— directed all of its subpostmasters, the people running the little village post offices you see all over the U.K, to use a new software system for balancing their books. But the software underpinning the system was faulty, meaning try as they might, subpostmasters routinely ended up with shortfalls. Despite thousands and thousands and thousands of complaints, the Post Office refused to accept there was anything wrong and they forced subpostmasters to make up the thousands of pounds in shortfalls with their own money. Most egregiously, between 1999 and 2015, 900 subpostmasters were convicted of theft, fraud and false accounting. That number alone makes you spin. A handful of people being charged with stealing might be one thing. But 900! It’s remarkable there were any subpostmasters left. The legal efforts to overturn convictions and get the Post Office to take full responsibility and pay compensation has been a long, painful affair. The story has been covered by British media. It’s been raised in parliament. But it took a TV drama to really rattle the cage. It mightn’t have been much of a pitch, but within minutes of starting Mr Bates vs the Post Office, my wife and I were locked in. It was compelling. She had tears rolling down her cheeks and even I felt a bit misty-eyed (although I was naturally careful not to let her see me). I don’t know that I’ve ever watched a show and so desperately wanted it all to be resolved. And I cannot think of many TV dramas that have had more of an immediate impact. Immediately after it aired, the government announced legislation to overturn the wrongful convictions of hundreds of subpostmasters. More than a million people signed a petition calling for the former Post Office CEO to be stripped of her CBE. King Charles formally revoked it shortly thereafter. More than a billion pounds has been earmarked for compensation. I realised as the final credits rolled that of course, it wasn’t really a story about the Post Office and accounting. It was a story about power. About class. Mr Bates, David, vs The Post Office Goliath. And in an age where so much entertainment is fast and snackable, and we all have so much competing for our attention, it was a great reminder about the extraordinary power of really good storytelling. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In Beyoncé's own words, “this ain’t a country album. This is a Beyonce album.” Cowboy Carter is Beyoncé's eighth studio album, presented as a broadcast by a fictional Texan radio station, Dolly Parton, Linda Martell, and Willie Nelson all acting as the radio DJs. The album features a total of 27 songs resulting in a lengthy hour and 19 minutes total. While primarily being a country album, elements of blues, soul, rock, R&B, and folk are incorporated into its overall sound. While Beyoncé was born and raised in Houston Texas, Daddy Lessons from her 2016 album Lemonade was the first time she’d used the country influences of her upbringing in her musical career. It was met with a fair bit of pushback, the experience resulting in the creation of Cowboy Carter. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Ten Seconds by Robert Gold After a tense birthday celebration in Haddley, journalist Ben Harper watches his boss, Madeline, get into the car that has come to collect her. He walks home, never imagining that by the next morning, Madeline will be missing. To find Madeline, Ben will have to return to the now infamous murder case that made her journalism career over a decade ago. A case which, Ben quickly discovers, was never as simple as it seemed. But time is of the essence, and soon it's not just Madeline's life on the line . . . The Long and Winding Road by Lesley Pearse Lesley Pearse didn't publish her first novel until she was 48. Now she has sold over ten million books around the world and is a constant presence on the bestseller chart. A writer of heart-stopping stories, Lesley's books are filled with heroines struggling to make it in a difficult world. Yet this description could apply to Lesley herself. In this, her first ever autobiography, she tells of growing up in an orphanage after her mother's death, her racy twenties in London during the swinging sixties and working as a bunny girl and dressmaker. Packed full of Lesley's signature warmth, wit and poignancy, this is the story of a woman and a writer fighting against the odds to achieve her dreams. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Nomadic living is becoming more common with the rise in living costs, people travelling round the country house sitting to save money. Kate “Ethically Kate” Hall is one of these people, and joined Jack Tame to discuss how it works, the pros and cons, and how to keep sustainable while you do so. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This weekend will see two tax changes come into effect for property owners. One is impacting those who use the likes of Airbnb or Bachcare to rent out their property, and the other impacts those who rent out an investment property. What are the changes and what effect will they have? Enable Me’s Nadine Higgins joined Jack Tame to run through it all. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

"From time-honoured tourist haunts to hidden treasures and trending head-turners, Melbourne impresses in all seasons. But if you’re planning an autumn city-break in the Victorian capital, here’s a round-up of some top recommendations to thread into your schedule." Read Mike's full article here. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Garden City is becoming more and more the home of that Aussie sap-sucking pest we knew so well in Auckland, and it shows in the number of people that contact us on talkback radio. Until recently, this species was a North-Islander – it slowly spread further and further south: Nelson, Blenheim, Golden Bay, further south along the west coast and also down the east coast of the South Island: Kaikoura, Christchurch and Banks Peninsula. I’ve seen them in Akaroa a few years ago, so they have been hanging around the warmer Canterbury spots for a while. I reckon this is a nice example of climate change in action. Damage to a large range of garden plants: They suck sap from a wide variety of host plants, often climbers (Wisteria, Passionfruit vines) and Perennials (salvia, Hydrangeas, Camellia, you name it!!). Sap-sucking is their big impact on garden plants – sometimes they debilitate their host, pooping honeydew all over the place and that creates a deposit of sooty mould, like with so many sap-sucking insects in the garden. The damage starts as soon as the little fluffy-bums appear on the scene (in mid-Spring). Now, these are the Passionvine Hopper control tricks for Autumn: Currently they are adults, with quite cute moth-like wings that are partially see-through. These jumpy sapsuckers are impossible to hit with chemical sprays. The female hoppers mate and lay eggs on thin twigs or branches and also on the tendrils of growing vines (such as Passionfuit vines): Easiest thing to do is to find those egg-laying sites and prune them off in late autumn - early winter. Chuck them in the Ultra Low Emissions Burner and they won’t hatch next spring. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The US government has released AI rules for its agencies Say hello to the "Chief AI Officer" - every US government agency will now need to have one. Agencies will also be required to establish AI governance boards to coordinate how AI is used within each agency. They must mitigate the risks of algorithmic discrimination and inform the public about how the AI is used. They will be required to submit a report each year detailing every system which is used. Any government-owned AI models, code, and data should be released to the public unless they pose a risk to government operations. Kamala Harris says: "This is to make sure that AI is used responsibly, understanding that we must have senior leaders across our government, who are specifically tasked with overseeing AI adoption and use." Self driving "Robotaxis" are coming to NYC's streets At this stage, they will only be permitted if they have a safety driver behind the wheel as they test their software on the "country’s most challenging urban environment". NYC is letting other cities be the testing ground, only allowing companies who have tested their cars elsewhere to be permitted. As part of the process, they'll need to supply crash and "disengagement" data. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Mr Bates vs The Post Office The extraordinary story of the greatest miscarriage of justice in British legal history, where hundreds of innocent sub-postmasters and postmistresses were wrongly accused of theft, fraud and false accounting due to a defective IT system (TVNZ+, from March 31). Renegade Nell A historical drama about a quick-witted and courageous young woman framed for murder, who unexpectedly becomes the most notorious outlaw in 18th-century England (Disney+). The Couple Next Door A British drama about a young couple who develop a fast friendship with their new neighbours when they move to an idyllic suburb, only for the relationship to take some unexpected and sinister turns (TVNZ+). LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Wicked Little Letters When the residents of Littlehampton start receiving letters filled with obscenities and hilarious profanity, Rose, a rambunctious Irish immigrant, is accused of the crime. Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire Godzilla and the almighty Kong face a colossal threat hidden deep within the planet, challenging their very existence and the survival of the human race. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Originally from Australia, screenwriter Gavin Strawhan is behind some of New Zealand’s biggest TV shows. Shortland Street, Outrageous Fortune, Nothing Trivial, and Mercy Peak are just some of the entries on his extended resume, but now he’s turning his focus to the page instead of the screen. Set in rural coastal New Zealand, The Call is Strawhan’s debut novel, the novel growing from a story Strawhan was told years ago by a detective. “She had given out her number and the girlfriend of a guy in a gang had started ringing her late at night and giving away little tips of information, especially if they had a domestic.” Although he's been working in screen and television for over thirty years, he told Newstalk ZB’s Jack Tame that this was what he wanted to do growing up. “I took a very long route via television to get back to what I wanted to do.” Strawhan went to university for biology, swapping to drama and English after going out with an actress. He wrote for a theatre company years later, before going on to get a job as a trainee script editor on Neighbours. “So, you know, these things are going in weird directions.” The process of writing a novel is rather different to working in a writer's room, Strawhan telling Tame that while it's an exciting environment, it’s also exhausting. “When Covid came along and the production I’d been working on shut down, it was my opportunity.” There was no network to pitch an idea to, and he didn’t have to come up with an ending or have everything locked down. “I just got up every morning and wrote two or three thousand words, and then I’d go for a walk and then I’d come back and edit what I’d written. “It was just so lovely,” he told Tame. “I really enjoyed it.” LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Every mouthful of this tastes like a hot cross bun only better! It’s crunchy and creamy, sweet and spicy. Serves 4-6 Ingredients: ½ cup currants or raisins ¼ cup rum or brandy Squeeze of fresh orange juice ½ tsp cinnamon + extra for dusting Pinch nutmeg Pinch mixed spice 200mls cream, whipped 1 packet store-bought meringues 2-3 fresh plums, sliced 2 tbsps glace orange or lemon peel, chopped finely Small handful mint leaves Method: Simmer currants or raisins with rum, orange juice and spices for 3-5 minutes until they plump up. Cool. Take a large platter and dollop the whipped cream on it. Roughly crush the meringues and sprinkle these over the cream. Scatter over plum slices, chopped peel and cooled currants. Dust with a bit more cinnamon and scatter over mint leaves. When serving make sure that each serve gets a bit of everything. Notes: Use pears or feijoa if you can’t find fresh plums. For a dairy free alternative, use coconut yoghurt instead of cream. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Music and love often go hand in hand, many of the most well-known songs covering the topic. While there’s plenty of modern pop songs that do the feeling justice, Kevin Milne believes that they’re not the most romantic. He’s been taking a look back at the stage shows of the 50’s and 60’s and can’t help but think they top the charts. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.