Saturday Morning with Jack Tame

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.

25 years. If Sam Bankman-Fried was to spend his full sentence behind bars, he’d be in his fifties by the time he was released from prison. Still, it could have been worse. The maximum potential sentence faced by the so-called crypto king was more than a century. Like many, I’ve marvelled in the rise and fall of Sam Bankman-Fried. It’s an extraordinary story. The son of high-profile professors, he made a fortune in crypto currency faster than any human had ever made money before. $NZ 43 billion with his dual crypto-currency companies, FTX and Alameda Research. Companies which turned out to not be nearly as independent from each other, and from each other’s balance books, as they legally should have been. But what is really extraordinary about the Sam Bankman-Fried story is that we fell for it. Not you or I, necessarily —even though I’m firmly in the crypto demographic, I’ve never heard anyone sensibly explain what it actually does. It just seems like speculation for the sake of speculation. No different to gambling for the sake of it— by we, I mean the world. Looking at it now, it all just seems so obvious. Bankman-Fried, like however many characters before him, perfectly played the part of an uncouth, slobbily-dressed, beanbag-sleeping tech bro. I say characters because —come on— the whole wearing sneakers, shabby socks, and poorly-fitting t-shirts despite billions of dollars in net worth, while meeting a former President – this has become such a cliché for so called tech geniuses. He suckered the world with his image. And he suckered the world with his money. How many celebrities took a buck, or a few million, to shill for something they didn’t really understand? How many politicians chose not to ask too many questions, but gladly received the campaign donations he passed on their way? It remains to be seen how much investors will actually get back from Bankman-Fried’s fraud. But following the case, what is clear about his $NZ13 billion fraud is not that it was the work of a tech genius, but that it was the work of a simple conman. The fraud was not breathtaking in its complexity, it was breathtaking in its simplicity. A good old fashioned ponzi scheme. For all of the hype, then. For all of the fuss. For all of the big promises about crypto’s future and the blazing path of a brilliant young billionaire who’s genius sucked in titans of industry and some of the most powerful people in the World, we are left once again with an old pearl of wisdom: If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Estelle Clifford reviews Gossip's first album since reuniting in 2019, Real Power. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Hunter by Tana French It's a blazing summer when two men arrive in a small village in the West of Ireland. One of them is coming home. Both of them are coming to get rich. One of them is going to die. Private Equity by Carrie Sun When we meet Carrie Sun, she can't shake the feeling that she's wasting her life. The daughter of Chinese immigrants, Carrie excelled in school, graduated early from MIT, and climbed the corporate ladder, all in pursuit of the American dream. But at twenty-nine, she's left her analyst job, dropped out of an MBA program, and is trapped in an unhappy engagement. So when she gets the rare opportunity to work at one of the most prestigious hedge funds in the world, she knows she can't say no. Fourteen interviews later, she's in. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Mike Yardley spoke to Jack Tame about his time in Coolangatta, in southern Gold Coast. For more tips on tripping the sights and treats of the southern Gold Coast, Mike's article is here. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Dougal Sutherland discusses a recent survey by Umbrella Wellbeing showing the large number of employees who feel that their mental wellbeing isn't being prioritised, and the risk that poses for businesses. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A few days ago, we celebrated our Autumn Equinox; that was on Wednesday 20th March at 16:06 to be precise. It really has nothing to do with this story, apart from the fact that you'll notice quite a few good-looking holes in your lawn around this time of the year. It shows you that life-cycles either come to an end or change from one phase to the next. A good example is the mess made by starlings in my lawn: hundreds of sizeable holes per square metre really stands out. Autumn rain has finally made the soil quite wet; Grassgrub larvae (juveniles) are moving upwards in the soil to avoid being drowned and starlings literally probe the soil for tasty grubs. I'm not that worries: these starlings provide a gratis pest-control service. On soils where there are few plants (think of those "naked" vertical clay banks) you'll often find medium-sized round holes with an opening that looks "counter-sunk" in shape. This is the job of our native tiger beetles. When they are larvae they create these tunnels into the soil and block the entrance with their head, while waiting for suitable prey to walk past. From now on, you'll notice that the holes are open - the larvae will finalise their juvenile stages underground and emerge in late spring as fast-moving adult beetles. And from now on there will be critters that come out of the soil, especially after good rain events. Earthworms will move up easily to grab some organic material from the surface of the soil and to drop some casts off on top! These worms are recyclers and literally live off of the dead plant material (and other natural waste, such as animal droppings). This planet is perfectly designed in and around our soil. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The US Government says users who purchase Apple smartphones are "locked in" to the Apple ecosystem. Within the ecosystem, all your devices and services are meant to interconnect effortlessly. Apple says it will seek to have the case dismissed, and if unsuccessful, will fight it vigorously. The Justice Department estimates that Apple's share of the US smartphone market exceeds 70%. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Escaping Utopia TVNZ's new three-part documentary series takes us behind the scenes of Gloriavale and reveals what it's like to live in - and leave - the extreme religious community. (Begins Sunday on TVNZ1 and on TVNZ+). Palm Royale This new comedy drama features an all-star Hollywood cast and follows a woman in the late 1960s who will do whatever it takes to be admitted into an exclusive Palm Springs society (Apple TV+). Obituary A dark Irish drama about an obituary writer who is being paid per article. When work dries up, she decides to take matters into her own hands (TVNZ+). LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Brooke Ligertwood, also known as Brooke Fraser, returns home to New Zealand to perform a one-off concert with the Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra. Brooke sits down with Jack Tame at Roundhead Studios to discuss what she has been up to. WATCH / LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

With a recession just announced, it's important to get the most out of every dollar without compromising on the quality of your food. Here are some things you can do to stretch the weekly meal budget: Learn to cook! Adopt a waste not, want not attitude - never let anything go to waste. Grow your own food, especially herbs. Preserve or freeze! Sauces, fruit, chutneys, butter, milk, etc. Buy in season and buy on special. Buy off-supermarket - bulk foods, local fruiterers, clearance houses. Ingredients and food items that will save you money: Protein - beans, peas, meats (limit to 100g per person), chicken, etc. Tinned and frozen vegetables retains their quality well - corn, peas, tomatoes. Meatless meals will always be cheaper; potato & pea curry, tacos, eggs. Use lesser cuts and offal - chuck steak, kidneys, etc. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Kevin Milne spoke to Jack Tame about his love for the stage songs of the 1950s & 60s. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Just before 6pm Friday local time, Kensington Palace published a rare video of Catherine, Princess of Wales. Having taken a few weeks to process and digest the news in private, and having taken time to tell her children, she announced to the World she is being treated for cancer. Apart from that, we don’t have a huge volume of information. We don’t know much more except she says she received the diagnosis after tests following abdominal surgery in January. She has begun receiving preventative chemotherapy. First of all, hearing those words is a shocking and affecting experience. For anyone who has had friends or family with cancer – and I would suggest that’s most of us – it snaps you right back to your own experience. At a really basic human level, I think many of us feel a real sense of empathy for what Kate and that family must be going through. Personally, I found my thoughts drifting to the issues of the last few weeks: The internet conspiracies about Princess Kate’s health and whereabouts and the now-infamous doctored family photo. I also found myself trying to imagine all the complicated dimensions that being a prominent royal adds to this situation. You would think that the privilege of that position will afford Kate the very best medical care. But at the same time, there is an extraordinary level of public attention that will come with this experience. Even before this announcement, medical staff in the U.K were trying to illegally access Princess Kate’s health records. That’s tough. And finally, my thoughts settled on Kate’s health in the broader context of what the Royal Family is going through right now. Both Princess Kate and King Charles are now being treated for cancer. It must be a huge stress on the family... and I am acutely aware that Prince William is sitting there in the middle, trying to support both his father and his wife as they are undergo their treatments. I think everyone will be wishing them a speedy and full recovery. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire The Spengler family returns to the iconic New York City firehouse where the original Ghostbusters have taken ghost-busting to the next level. When the discovery of an ancient artifact unleashes an evil force, Ghostbusters new and old must unite to protect their home and save the world from a second ice age. Road House 2024 remake available on Prime. Ex-UFC fighter Dalton takes a job as a bouncer at a Florida Keys roadhouse, only to discover that this paradise is not all it seems. Starring Connor McGregor and Jake Gyllenhaal. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Bill Ryder-Jones was guitarist/vocalist for the West Kirby Merseyside band The Coral, who were successful in releasing 5 top 10 albums in mid 2000s, starting out as teenagers. His latest solo album is complete with classy hooks and rousing choruses, and his closely mic-ed voice is fragile, delicate, even on the edge of croaky, giving the impression he's sharing intimacies directly with the listener. Featuring lush pop hooks and even school assembly choirs of kids - the songs sound triumphant and powerful and happy even if most of them are dark, sad and of lost love. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Sisterhood by Cathy Kelly - In just one night, at her own 50th birthday, her world has imploded. Her mother has kept a secret hidden all her life. And it changes everything. Before Lou can take another step, she needs to get to the bottom of the shocking truth that alters who she really is. The River We Remember by William Kent Krueger - A body of a wealthy landowner, Jimmy Quinn, is found shot and assumed murdered by many. His body is found floating half naked in the Alabaster River. The investigation is thrown into the lap of Brody Dern, a returned honored veteran, the sheriff, who bears many internal and external scars from the war. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

"Basking in the world’s largest lagoon, fortified by the world’s second-largest barrier reef, and boasting extraordinary biodiversity, New Caledonia’s natural good looks and succulent subtropical balm is just the beginning of the sweet seduction. Unlike Fiji or the Cook Islands, New Caledonia has not established the same holiday getaway familiarity with Kiwis. It is still somewhat under the radar. But you can fully expect your great expectations of South Pacific holiday indulgence to be delightfully smashed." Read Mike's full article here.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

4 sustainable things to do this autumn Collect leaves for your compost: gather these from parks, ideally not in car parks (can be contaminated). Put them into your compost, store in a dry place and add them slowly over the course of the year. They're great carbon for your compost! Get your winter clothing out & donate what you can (autumn is a good time for this as the second-hand stores want autumn/winter clothing, NOT summer stuff as they cannot store it). Wash it properly, hand wash woolen knits, store them in vented places to reduce the risk of moths. Freeze/store/save your autumn/summer produce: e.g. freeze your abundance of tomatoes, turn it into tomato sauce or chop them in meal sized portions to freeze. This reduces your reliance on canned tomatoes during winter. Consider how you're going to heat your home: do your curtains need to be replaced? Set timers on your heat pump, find second-hand heaters, consider adding things like wool underfloor insulation. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.