Saturday Morning with Jack Tame

Estelle Clifford has been listening to the new Black Seeds album, Love & Fire. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Meredith, Alone – Claire Alexander For anyone who has lost hope, Meredith will help you find it...discover the most uplifting and unforgettable debut of the summer.Nazi Billionaires – David De Jong A groundbreaking investigation of how the Nazis helped German tycoons make billions off the horrors of the Third Reich and World War II—and how America allowed them to get away with it. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Mike Yardley has been kicking back in Fiji.LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Our sustainability expert Kate Hall gives her advice on how to rely less on your car. Short car trips under two kilometres make up nearly a third of all car trips on our road in NZ!LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Citrus are “surface-rooting” and hence do not like a lot of “competition” from grass roots, so it pays to keep them mulched and avoid grass growing close to the trunk.Bark, Compost, Chippered branches; anything that suppresses the grass (especially Kikuyu) and will add organic matter is usefulFertiliser?Nah! In mid-winter plants do not take up much nutrients – wait till it gets warmer in springThey love a warm, sheltered spot in full sun – protected from wind; usually not good with heavy frosts. (Meyer lemons possibly a few degrees below zero); protect the trees from heavy frosts with frost-cloth…. So: ensure you have a lot of direct sunlight on your plant; (trim the trees that shade the citrus!)Lemons should be fruiting. Ensure that the load of fruit on the branches is not too heavy (breaking!), so remove fruit accordingly, especially from young trees and prune some off to let the frame-work develop; next year let a few more grow as the tree strengthens its branch system.(Meyer) Lemons have a habit of fruiting well every second year (usually in winter and spring months); therefore it’s best to plant two or three lemon trees to have a continuous supply of lemons!Peeled lemons hanging from your tree? Get a Timms Trap!Sooty Mould; If you have sooty mould (fungi growing on sap sucking insect’s excrement) now’s the time to use some spraying oil (Conqueror Oil) to get rid of the cause: scale/mealybug/whitefly)Neem Oil is often a good, organic “suffocator” of small sap-sucking insects. Use the Oils frequently (every two weeks or so) and spray both sides of leaves and branches.LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Dr Bryan Betty chats to Jack Tame about the 2020 Child Health Report that's just been released with specific focus on dental care – the biggest non-communicable disease for children in the world. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Netflix has confirmed ads are coming In April they said they were open to the idea, but now it's been confirmed. They'll still have an ad-free product, but they're adding an ad-supported lower cost plan to their offering. It's going to take Netflix time to build out an ad sales team and build its ad technology and infrastructure, so in the meantime it's looking to partner with companies who are already experts in this area. Changes to abortion laws turn a spotlight on personal data collection If state authorities were to investigate if an abortion has taken place, peoples' personal data could be used. Search history, text messages, phone logs could all be used, but so too could location data suggesting if someone had visited a known abortion clinic. Even period tracking apps could contain data helpful for the investigation. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Chloe: A thriller about Becky, a young woman who compares herself to the picture-perfect lives on Instagram and compulsively returns to one account: Chloe's. However, when Chloe dies suddenly, Becky's need to find out how and why leads her to assume a new identity (Prime Video) Loot: Comedy starring Maya Ruldoph, about a billionaire who’s life suddenly erupts in a tabloid-fuelled, self-destructive scandal (Apple TV+). Man vs Bee: Rowan Atkinson returns to the small screen in this Netflix comedy, as a man working as a house sitter is tormented by a mischievous bee. Wacky hijinks ensue. Eight episodes. (Netflix) LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

‘Ice Man’ Wim Hof has become a worldwide phenomenon. He has more than 20 Guiness World Records to his name, has climbed icy mountains in nothing but shorts and sandals and run a half marathon above the arctic barefoot. The method to Wim's madness is his cold therapy and breathing technique. The Dutch Native has lived an incredible, albeit slightly unconventional life, but says he’s on a mission to change the world. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Sweet, crispy and scrummy, these hashbrowns are so delicious and perfect for a long weekend! Take advantage of parsnips and carrots when they’re in season, even though they’re available year-round, as they taste so good freshly picked. Makes one large or 4–6 smaller hash browns 1 medium carrot, grated 1 medium parsnip, grated 1 egg (can omit) a small handful of chopped parsley salt and pepper oil for frying a dollop of sour cream to serve chutney to serve Place the grated carrot and parsnip into a bowl. Add the egg and parsley and mix with a fork. Season well. Heat enough oil to coat the bottom of a medium-sized frying pan. Spoon the mixture into the pan as one large or individual hash browns. Cook for 4–5 minutes or until golden brown. Flip and cook until golden on second side. Serve with a dollop of sour cream or your favourite chutney.Other topping suggestions: Flakes of smoked salmon or other fish Crispy bacon Avocado LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Francesca Rudkin has been watching Baz Luhrmann's Elvis and Kiwi film, Whina.LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Kevin Milne has taken issue with the phasing out of Ernest Adams products. He joined Jack Tame to discuss this tragedy at the supermarket.LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We were only two or three minutes into the game when it happened.The guy had the ball in midfield and I rushed up to mark him. He stepped backwards and brought the heel of his boot right down the front of my right shin. We don’t wear shinpads in our grade. Maybe we should. No foul! Play on! Seriously?!Maybe my leg was numb? I dunno. It felt bad when it happened and it looked bad when I stared down at my shin, but I wondered if maybe the freezing weather had muted the pain a bit. It just didn’t hurt like it should.This will shock you I’m sure, but contrary to my public profile, I’m not really very tough. I’m not someone who shrugs in the face of compound fractures and third-degree burns. I find pain, painful. I do my best to avoid it. But it wasn’t through heroism or bravery that I chose to play on, despite the large slit down my right shin and my blood-soaked sock. Maybe it was adrenalin! It just didn’t actually hurt that much.The most painful thing at the After Hours surgery was the wait. Not sure if you’ve heard, but our healthcare system has seen quieter periods. At first, the lady on the front desk told me it would be five hours before I could to see a doctor.‘Maybe just get it washed out by a nurse.’ She said.‘Wrap it up overnight and find someone else to stitch it, tomorrow.’ Hmm.The wait was only half that time, in the end. I braced for a terrible sting when they flushed out the would with saline and then jabbed me with anaesthetic, but in the end it was all good. They sewed up my shin like a hole in a pillowcase. I drove home and twisted myself into all sorts of highly-unflattering positions in the shower as I endeavoured to keep the wound dry.The next day wasn’t too bad. The nurse at my GP clinic cleaned and dressed my shin. He poked it a bit to see if there was any sign of infection. It felt pretty good.‘Does that hurt?’‘Nah.’‘Do you have a high pain threshold?’He reckoned that last night was a key milestone. 72 hours from the sprig digging out a large strip of my leg, I should know with a reasonable degree of confidence if the wound was infected or if it was healing efficiently, as it should. We should know if the stitches were working.‘All you need to do,’ he said.‘Is take off the dressing.’Huh.I started at the corner. I worked up just a couple of millimetres, a tiny little piece of bandage, but I could already see the problem. There was no sign of infection, but every single one of my leg hairs was absolutely, utterly determined not to let the bandage go without a decent fight.I mightn’t be very tough. But I am hairy. My leg hair could be accurately described as voluminous. If the shampoo marketing department was feeling a bit creative, I’d be hired immediately for a Palmolive ad. Stroking my leg is like stroking a border collie.I knew what I had to do, of course. Some cliches are cliches for a reason. I tensed my body. Inhaled deeply, to the bottom of my lungs. And I peeled that dressing off my leg like a ripe banana.Riiiiiiiiip.Tears pricked in the corners of my eyes. I gasped like someone waking from a fever dream.It hurt like a bastard.LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Estelle Clifford gives her rating of George Ezra's third album, Gold Rush Kid. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Catherine Raynes has been reading Horse by Geraldine Brooks and Le Fric Family, Power and Money by Alex Duff.LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Travel expert Mike Yardley has been eating and drinking his way around Marlborough. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It’s always difficult knowing the right things to say to someone who is grieving so Steven Dromgool is sharing his advice on how to help a partner that’s dealing with loss. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

There has been blood on the floor of markets all round the world this week – with share markets falling into ‘bear market’ territory. Hannah McQueen talk us through how to navigate your finances when there appears to no be safe haven in sight.LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Internet Explorer is no moreIt's the end of an era! Microsoft has officially ended support for the once-popular internet browser which many people used to explore the internet for the first time. Microsoft Edge is their new browser - actually built on Google's browser technology - and is steadily adding new features. Applications which will only run on IE will be able to run in Edge, using a compatibility mode. If people are still using IE in a few months, those users will see a banner directing them over to Edge.Internet Explorer was 26.Adobe plans to make Photoshop free on the webA new online-only version of Photoshop is being tested in Canada, with plans to allow anyone, where to edit photos in their web browser. Their plan is to make it more accessible, not to be nice, but to showcase the features of Photoshop in the hope you'll upgrade to the full desktop version. Instagram's latest attempt to take down TikTokMeta's photo social network is expanding to full-screen videos and looking to switch up its navigation (which could even see the 'compose' button move back to the bottom). Instagram says it's still "an important part" of the service, but it certainly doesn't seem that way.LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is going to hurt: A British medical comedy-drama based on the best-selling memoir by Dr Adam Kay, about the lives of junior doctors working in an obstetrics and gynaecology ward in the NHS (TVNZ1, from Sunday) For All Mankind: A new season of the science-fiction space drama that imagines the 1960s space race between the U.S. and the USSR never ended (Apple TV+). Everything I know about love: based on the book by journalist Dolly Alderton about the changing friendship between two best friends in their 20s as they navigate life, love and everything in between (TVNZ+) LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Brit singer-songwriter James Bay shot to fame in 2014 with his songs Let it Go and Hold Back the River.He's now back with a third album and his most personal yet after a wild ride of dealing with the pandemic and becoming a new dad. The Grammy-nominated and Brit award-winning artist joins Jack Tame on Saturday Morning. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Francesca Rudkin has been watching Nude Tuesday and The Other Fellow doco from the Doc Edge Film Festival. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

I am not a technophobe.I need no convincing that technology makes many aspects of our lives much easier and though I’ve been known on occasion to come late to technology - for a couple of years I was convinced that cellphones were nothing more than a passing fad - I DO eventually come around. I do. I find technology intuitive. I quickly become one of those people who can’t imagine life without it.That being said, for several months now I’ve been at war with my phone’s cleverness. Against my wishes, against any explicit instructions, and in spite of my very best efforts to override my phone’s decision making, it has decided on a small but meaningful autocorrect change which is fundamentally changing my text communication.Every time I type the word ‘can,’ my phone changes it to ‘can’t.’I’m aware that in the grand scheme of autocorrect fails, this mightn’t seem all that significant. I Googled some extreme examples of people whose messages have been completely transformed by the supposed smartness of their smartphones, and some of the texts certainly leave you wondering if technology is indeed a force for good.Instead of asking if his partner was keen to eat chicken fajitas for dinner, autocorrect meant someone called Luke asked about eating chicken vaginas, instead. Chicken vaginas? For dinner? Hmm. I think I’ll stick with drumsticks, thanks.In another exchange, a dad asked his family chat who had a spare key to the back door.“Grandpa died” replied Mum. Grandpa DIED?! Oh my god! Mum! That’s awful! But what a strangly blunt way to share the sad news. Sorry. Grandpa DOES, clarified Mum. Grandpa DOES. Autocorrect strikes again.My autocorrect drama pales in comparison. But just pause for a moment, and imagine how much the addition of an apostrophe and a letter changes the intention of my communication.Jack, can you get some milk from the dairy on the way home?“Of course I can’t”Jack, can you please collect me from the airport?“Yes, I can’t.”Have you confirmed whether those two Cabinet Ministers will be interviewed on Sunday?“They can’t do it. They need to be finished and out the door by 9.30 so they can’t make their party hui.”It’s been months. I tried turning autocorrect off and on. I tried various help forums. Sometimes I catch it. I thumb back through my message and delete out the superfluous characters. Sometimes I don’t. I’m at the point where I’’m starting to wonder what it means that my phone always defaults to can’t instead of can. Does it mean I’m a negative person? Am I glass half-empty rather than half-full? A can’t-do, rather than a can-do?I can’t only hope that my phone can’t relearn that every time I say can’t I actually mean can’t. No. Hang on. Every time I say can’t I mean can’t. Wait. Every time I say C-A-N, I mean can’t.Can’t you understand my frustration?LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

I made this for the first time last Matariki and loved it as a dessert! Fried bread, or parāoa parai is easy to whip up and this recipe produces lovely soft soft pillows of fried bread which, served warm with ice cream and blackberries and drizzled with mānuka honey, make a gorgeous dessert. Makes 12-16 pieces 2 teaspoon instant yeast ½ teaspoon sugar 1 – 1 ½ cups warm water 2 1/2 cups high grade flour ½ teaspoon salt Cooking oil, for frying Ice cream to serve Blackberries to serve Icing sugar for dusting Mānuka honey for drizzling In a small bowl, sprinkle yeast and sugar over half a cup of the warm water, stir gently, cover and leave to sit and froth for 5-7 minutes. In a large bowl, mix together the flour and salt. Slowly add the foamy yeast mixture and some of the remaining water, stirring with a knife as you go, until a scraggy mass forms. Mix with your hands in the bowl and keep adding water until a soft dough forms – you may or may not need all of the water. Turn the dough onto a well-floured surface (and oil the empty bowl) and with light hands, knead for 5 minutes or until the dough is smooth. Transfer back to the oiled bowl, cover, and leave to proof in a warm place for 30-40 minutes or until doubled in size. Once the dough has doubled in size, pat out onto the floured surface and roll out to a 1-2cm thickness. Cut into squares or triangles and leave to rest for 5 minutes. Heat 2 cm oil in a large fry pan and fry bread until golden brown, flip and cook until puffed up and fluffy in the centre. Serve warm fried bread with ice cream and blackberries and showered in icing sugar.Nici’s note: For lovely soft pillows, aim for a slightly sloppy and sticky dough which may be hard to knead but it will firm up on rising. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Catherine Raynes has been reading Four Treasures of the Sky by Jenny Tinghui Zhang and The Murders at Fleet House by Lucinda Riley.LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Honestly! Most people think that winter is a “dead time” in the garden. But if you haven’t had a go at growing peas, you’d never know how easy that is. First of all, gardeners often grow a “green crop” in winter that gets dug into the soil in spring to add Nitrogen for the next growing season; We often use peas and other legumes for that task and the key is to dig them in before they set seed. Of course, those “green crops” are never sown for eating! But if you want edible peas, for instance, you could plant the seeds right now in the garden amongst the wintery conditions and frosts, and they’d germinate as well… were it not for the hungry birds, who are keen to devour some sown pea seeds in those lean winter months as there are few nutritious sources of food available at that time of the year. Oh and not just birds! Rats and Mice are in a similar boat… craving food. I prefer to sow them in a hidden spot (glass house or tunnel house) in seed-pots and let them grow until they are 5, 6, or 7 cm tall, with true leaves (not just the cotyledons). At that stage most of the valuable nutrients will have been used from the pea seeds and the transplanted young plants will be relatively safe from the birds and rodents. Seed raising mix in sowing cells works well for me; depending on the temperatures, you’d be looking at 2 weeks germination and an extra week or so to get some height on the little plants. When ready for transplanting, create a nice garden bed with good, weed-free soil, some grains of slow-release fertilisers and carefully put them into their spot… A bit of a “climbing rack” might keep them off the wet ground and results in harvesting cleaner pods. Then it’s just a matter of letting them grow and set their own “seeds” in seed pods we call “peas”. To be quite honest, few things taste fresher than new peas. While our peas and beans are so cooperative in terms of germinating in winter, think about their relatives, the Broad beans. They too will come up in the coldest months of the year, some can germinate at 4 degrees. Ideally plant the seeds from March (in the very coldest conditions) to May and Mid-June (elsewhere). These plants do not like too warm conditions. Broad beans are quite heavy plants and prone to collapsing when they grow, so a bit of support would be appreciated. The Sugar snap peas need a little bit of warmth to get going, so wait until late Early to Late Spring. But you know…. It’s something to look forward to!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Mike Yardley has been cruising in the Sounds. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Greenwashing is when a company purports to be environmentally conscious for marketing purposes but actually isn’t making any notable sustainability efforts. A USA survey recently found 95 percent of so called green products violated the common principles we are going to talk about. Hidden Trade-off: a claim that a product is "green" based on an unreasonably narrow set of attributes without attention to other important environmental issues. paper, for example, is not necessarily environmentally-preferable just because it comes from a sustainably-harvested forest. other important environmental issues in the paper-making process, including energy, greenhouse gas emissions, and water and air pollution, may be equally or more significant.No Proof: a claim that cannot be substantiated by easily accessible information or by a reliable third-party certification. Vagueness: a claim that is so poorly defined or broad that its real meaning is likely to be misunderstood by the consumer. "All-natural", for example isn’t necessarily "green". arsenic, uranium, mercury, and formaldehyde are all naturally occurring, and poisonous but certainly not green. Or 90 percent biodegradable. What does this mean. Even nuclear waste is biodegradable if you wait a few hundred thousand years. Worshiping False Labels: a claim that, through words or images, gives the impression of a third-party endorsement where none exists.. Marketers make up their own label or the whole packaging looks like an eco product even though it’s not Having said that, a reputable third party certification can be the solution to greenwash by giving certainty that the claims are true Irrelevance: a claim that may be truthful but which is unimportant or unhelpful to consumers seeking environmentally-preferable products. Again, a good example is the over use of biodegradable and compostable. Especially now around plastics that would only biodegrade in a commercial compost facility but makes you think you could throw them in your own compost bin. Lesser of Two Evils: a claim that may be true within the product category, but that risks distracting consumers from the greater environmental impact of the category as a whole. Like organic cigarettes or a new V8 sports car with slightly better fuel efficiency. Fibbing: a claim that is simply false. This is the rarest sin in NZ as the competitors will quickly let the commerce commission know. The big danger here is that people think they are doing the right thing for the planet and they are actually doing very little. It’s a distraction from making real change. The other danger is the people become disillusioned with all green products and will just give up trying to do the right thing. The solution is to do a bit of research yourselves. Check out the company website and see if they can back up their claims with specific data and searchable references And look for real third party certification.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Our wine expert Bob Campbell has been sipping on Paritua 2022 Rosé from Hawke’s Bay.LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Apple's had their developer conference and are about to launch new devices - what's in store?I really think Apple has crushed it this year!The line between the iPad & MacBook is blurringThe new version of iPadOS will allow for overlapping windows in a workspace, much more like what you'd expect on a laptop. You can even plug it into a monitor and extend the display, like a laptop. Stage Manager is their new way to arrange and toggle between windows and it works the same way on both Mac & iPad. MacBook Air has a new designIt's stunning. They've made it more boxy like the pro, making it less of a wedge. It also comes with the M2 chip which just has the most incredible performance. True all day battery life.iPhone as a webcamYou can mount your iPhone at the top of your MacBook and it'll automatically connect allowing you to have a super high definition webcam. The wide angle lens also allows for a 'desk view' to show people something you've sketched out, printed out, or want to show off.LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Royal fans out there might recognise her name.Actress Erin Doherty starred as a young Princess Anne in the popular Netflix series The Crown. Doherty was relatively unknown before being cast as Anne but the 29-year-old is now being touted as one to watch. The Brit has a new psychological series out called Chloe and it's received rave reviews already. She catches up with Jack Tame.LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week is Coeliac Awareness Week - a chance to turn the spotlight on the condition whereby the body’s physiology is unable to tolerate gluten – a protein found in wheat, rye and barley – and as a reaction the immune system attacks your own tissues when you eat gluten. This from the NHS: Over time, the immune reaction to eating gluten creates inflammation that damages the small intestine's lining, leading to medical complications. It prevents absorption of some nutrients (malabsorption) and the classic, and immediate, symptom is diarrhoea. Other symptoms include bloating, wind, fatigue, low blood count (anaemia) and osteoporosis. The mainstay of treatment is a strict gluten-free diet that can help manage symptoms and promote intestinal healing. It’s a horrible condition made worse by it being undiagnosed and the fact that so many foods contain hidden gluten in some form these days – thickeners in sauces, fillers in sausages etc etc. So, here’s a delicious loaf that is perfectly fine for those following a GF diet. 1 ¼ cups GF flour 2 tsps baking powder 1 cup sugar – a mix of brown and white is fine 1 cup dessicated coconut 1 cup milk – regular or plant-based 2 tsps vanilla extract Turn the oven to 160 C fan bake. Grease and line a loaf tin. Mix all the dry ingredients together and then pour in the milk and vanilla and stir to combine. Scrape into the loaf tin. Bake for 60 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean. Cool then slice to eat. It toasts well too.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Francesca Rudkin has been watching Jurassic World: Dominion and Bhutanese drama film, Lunana: A Yak In The Classroom.LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Kevin Milne chats about all the threats to life and limb there seem to be around currently - especially if you live where he does with tornadoes, high seas and lightning storms.LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

I knew it the moment I saw it.My bike just looked a bit... off. It was sitting heavy in the bike rack at work. Everyone else’s bikes sat bright and perky on puckered, plump, pressurised black rubber.There is just something so distinctly sad about a flat tyre.I started walking home with it. I moped up the hill, leading my bike like a handcuffed prisoner. Cyclists zipped past me in the bike lane, one after the other, fast and free, their high-vis vests snapping in the wind, home in no time! I kept on missing the traffic lights. Mope, mope, mope. Ten minutes from home, it started raining.I figured I must have got the flat on the way to work that morning. I couldn’t remember riding over broken glass or thumb tacks or a discarded bucket of nails. Just one of those things, I figured. The Gods saw the weather forecast and thought uh huh! Here’s an idea. A bit of sport. Let’s make Jack’s day just a little bit worse.It took me longer than it should have to change the tube. I’ve recently had to move my furniture around, and I emptied three large storage containers before I dug out my tyre levers. With two thirds of my worldly possessions arranged across the garage floor, I flipped my bike on its back. No sign of a nail. No thumb tacks. No sign of a gaping wound. I’m ashamed to say I took the easy way out and instead of finding the puncture and patching the hole, I just chucked in another tube. I pumped her up to sixty PSI and scoured the grease off my knuckles. Ride on.Nothing gets you down like a flat tyre in the rain. Except, maybe, for waking the next morning, packing your bags for work, scurrying down to the garage and discovering another flat tyre.Brilliant. For a moment I wondered if it was a non-violent protest by someone who just really hates cycle lanes. Since those eco-warriors are letting down the tyres on gas-gazzling SUVs, maybe some of the bike lane NIMBYs have been feeling inspired? As I walked to walk, it started to rain.The good thing about getting a flat tyre two days in a row is that the second time around, you’re faster. You’re better practised. You feel like a Formula One pit crew as you flip your bike on its back and see the familiar streak of black grease across your palm. Unfortunately for me, this theory only holds if you didn’t somehow lose the only hex key that fits your cycle’s axle bolt. I emptied three large storage containers and re-arranged half my worldly possessions across the garage floor before I found it.This time, I was really careful. I spun the wheel and scoured it for nails and pins. I ran my fingers all along the inside of the tyre and flicked out the tiny little bits of detritis that had gathered inside. I used my last bike tube and delicately arranged it around the outside of my rim, inflating it just a little bit to keep it inside the tire before sealing the rubber lips around the inside ring. I pumped it up, slow and steady. Sixty PSI. I wiped all the grease off my fingers and pushed off down the hill.The wind in my hair. The fresh winter air in my lungs! Hallelujah, I thought! I’m alive!There are certain moments in life that one becomes aware of a sinking feeling. In this case, it was a very literal sensation, not unlike gently lifting the lever to lower your office chair. I was perfectly located in the no man’s land that marks the single-least convenient part of my entire commute to work. A few drops of rain began to plop on my backpack as I climbed down off my pedals. My back tyre sagged and folded around the rim like a belly spewing over a waistband.Bugger it, I figured. Tomorrow, I think I’ll drive.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

I knew it the moment I saw it.My bike just looked a bit... off. It was sitting heavy in the bike rack at work. Everyone else’s bikes sat bright and perky on puckered, plump, pressurised black rubber.There is just something so distinctly sad about a flat tyre.I started walking home with it. I moped up the hill, leading my bike like a handcuffed prisoner. Cyclists zipped past me in the bike lane, one after the other, fast and free, their high-vis vests snapping in the wind, home in no time! I kept on missing the traffic lights. Mope, mope, mope. Ten minutes from home, it started raining.I figured I must have got the flat on the way to work that morning. I couldn’t remember riding over broken glass or thumb tacks or a discarded bucket of nails. Just one of those things, I figured. The Gods saw the weather forecast and thought uh huh! Here’s an idea. A bit of sport. Let’s make Jack’s day just a little bit worse.It took me longer than it should have to change the tube. I’ve recently had to move my furniture around, and I emptied three large storage containers before I dug out my tyre levers. With two thirds of my worldly possessions arranged across the garage floor, I flipped my bike on its back. No sign of a nail. No thumb tacks. No sign of a gaping wound. I’m ashamed to say I took the easy way out and instead of finding the puncture and patching the hole, I just chucked in another tube. I pumped her up to sixty PSI and scoured the grease off my knuckles. Ride on.Nothing gets you down like a flat tyre in the rain. Except, maybe, for waking the next morning, packing your bags for work, scurrying down to the garage and discovering another flat tyre.Brilliant. For a moment I wondered if it was a non-violent protest by someone who just really hates cycle lanes. Since those eco-warriors are letting down the tyres on gas-gazzling SUVs, maybe some of the bike lane NIMBYs have been feeling inspired? As I walked to walk, it started to rain.The good thing about getting a flat tyre two days in a row is that the second time around, you’re faster. You’re better practised. You feel like a Formula One pit crew as you flip your bike on its back and see the familiar streak of black grease across your palm. Unfortunately for me, this theory only holds if you didn’t somehow lose the only hex key that fits your cycle’s axle bolt. I emptied three large storage containers and re-arranged half my worldly possessions across the garage floor before I found it.This time, I was really careful. I spun the wheel and scoured it for nails and pins. I ran my fingers all along the inside of the tyre and flicked out the tiny little bits of detritis that had gathered inside. I used my last bike tube and delicately arranged it around the outside of my rim, inflating it just a little bit to keep it inside the tire before sealing the rubber lips around the inside ring. I pumped it up, slow and steady. Sixty PSI. I wiped all the grease off my fingers and pushed off down the hill.The wind in my hair. The fresh winter air in my lungs! Hallelujah, I thought! I’m alive!There are certain moments in life that one becomes aware of a sinking feeling. In this case, it was a very literal sensation, not unlike gently lifting the lever to lower your office chair. I was perfectly located in the no man’s land that marks the single-least convenient part of my entire commute to work. A few drops of rain began to plop on my backpack as I climbed down off my pedals. My back tyre sagged and folded around the rim like a belly spewing over a waistband.Bugger it, I figured. Tomorrow, I think I’ll drive.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Estelle Clifford's been listening to Kiwi dub/reggae band Rhombus and their new album, After Party. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Catherine Ryanes has been reading Dirt Town by Hayley Scrivenor and Sparring Partners by John Grisham.LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Mike Yardley is escaping the chilly weather for the sunny state of Queensland in Australia. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Steven Dromgool chats to Jack Tame about the importance of siblings and whether blood really is thicker than water. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

June is bowel cancer awareness month and Dr Bryan Betty is speaking about the screening programme and its importance. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Big changes with Sheryl Sandberg leaving Meta / FacebookThe 52-year-old has been at the company for 14 years. She's held an unconventional COO role because she was usually the public face of the company. A COO usually is a very internal operations-focused position. She's been under investigation at Meta for using company resources to plan her wedding. Meta says that isn't tied to why she's leaving.Reports suggest she was burned out, tired of being a punching bag for the company's many many problems and isn't well suited to the metaverse.She's sold $1.7 billion dollars worth of stock over the past decade, putting her into a rare category of being a non-CEO and non-founder to become a billionaire.She's keeping her seat on the Meta board.What's next.. no word.Apple's Developer Conference is next weekMark your calendars.. expecting a new version of their Apple Silicone clip.LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Responder: Martin Freeman stars in this British thriller about a cop under pressure, who must tackle a series of night shifts on the beat in Liverpool while trying to keep his head above water personally and professionally (TVNZ OnDemand).Pistol: Directed by Danny Boyle, this miniseries follows the rise and fall of the Sex Pistols amid the 1970s London punk rock scene and is based on the memoir by guitarist Steve Jones (Disney+).Match Fit: A second season of the charming series that sees World Cup winning coach Sir Graham Henry and rugby royalty Sir Wayne Shelford bring together a team of former All Blacks from the late 1990s and early 2000s (Three, from Wednesday 8 June).LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

While most run away from war zones, Anna Kent runs toward them.Anna helps the most vulnerable women deliver babies in often harrowing conditions. At 26, she delivered a baby in a tropical storm by the light of a headtorch. The following year, she became responsible for the female health of 30,000 Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh. Anna’s details her experiences in a new book called Frontline Midwife.LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In celebration of the Queen’s 70th Jubilee we’re making a British favourite – Yorkshire Puddings!Makes 12 large4 medium eggs200mls milk200g plain flourLarge pinch saltGrapeseed or rice bran oil1. In a large bowl, whisk up the eggs until broken up. Pour in the milk and add the flour and whisk together gently until combined. Avoid overworking the batter, any lumps will soften in the resting period so don’t over-whisk the batter at this stage. Add the salt. Pour batter into a jug and rest in the fridge for at least 15 minutes, while you heat the oven.2. Heat oven to 190 C. Take a 12-hole muffin tin and pour oil into each hole, to quarter fill then place on a tray. Transfer to the oven and heat for 12-15 minutes. Remove and, acting quickly so the oil doesn’t cool too much, pour batter into the muffin holes, filling to nearly the top. Return to the oven and cook for 20-25minutes.3. These Yorkshire puddings can be eaten with any roast dinner (not just beef) or even as a snack with other toppings – think basil pesto and showered in parmesan, sautéed mushrooms with horseradish, salmon sour cream and capers…endless options.LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The French Film Festival is playing all around New Zealand over the next month. Francesca Rudkin talks through her picks. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Kevin Milne was entranced by the pageantry in London for the Queens Birthday and chats to Jack Tame about it.LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

When Jacinda Ardern and Joe Biden sat down, one subject was totally inevitable.Touring the U.S in the wake of its latest massacre(s), the New Zealand Prime Minister was asked by almost every politician or late night TV host about gun reform. As far as they were concerned, March 15th happened and within days her government acted. Almost immediately she took steps to get military style semi-automatic off the streets. To many Americans it was the sort of common sense policy-making that seems desperately distant in the United States of Mass Shootings.Of course, the real story was more complex than that. At the same time as Ardern was being celebrated by the American left as a heroic bastion of gun reform, Auckland recorded yet another worrying series of public shootings. Police have arrested nineteen gang members for firearms and drug offences in relation to the incidents, but over the last few weeks it has felt like only a matter of time before someone innocent ends up catching a bullet.In one sense, this spike in gun crime isn’t an aberration: 2021 had the highest number of firearms offences in at least the last 15 years. But the events of the last few weeks represent the crossover between two intertwined problems: gangs and guns.We don’t know with certainty exactly what guns have been used for each of the different public shooting incidents of the last few weeks. A shooting in Beach Haven last night appeared to involve a shotgun, which can obviously be legally purchased. But critics see the headlines of the last few weeks as evidence Jacinda Ardern’s gun buyback scheme was a failure: If the buyback had worked, we wouldn’t be having shootings.I agreed with the critique of the ACT Party at the time the buyback was announced - gangs and criminals were never going to voluntarily hand in their weapons at the local cop shop. Can you imagine?!But the criticism also misses a fundamental point. The buyback was never likely to have a massive impact on gun crime in the short term. Outside of hopefully preventing possible massacres in the future, the real benefit of the gun buyback scheme will be realised over time, when gangs and criminals can no longer steal weapons that have been legally purchased by law-abiding gun owners. Previously it wasn’t difficult to continuously supply a black market with military-style rifles. And with no gun register, it was impossible to track anything.But now, the source has dried up. Gangs will have to rely on their current caches, legal firearms, or on smuggling illegal weapons into New Zealand. Even though the buyback scheme meant law-abiding citizens were stripped of their military-style semi-automatics, ultimately it should also restrict the supply of those weapons to those with illicit intentions.This is little comfort right now, especially for the communities in which gang-related gun violence in most prevalent. So what more can we do? ACT might have opposed the gun buyback scheme, but the party also wants a different law change to help with the current violence: If a lawful Police search discovers an illegal operation, a gang member, and an illegal gun, the crown would be apply to fast-track the seizure of assets.This is not a silly idea.LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Estelle Clifford has been spinning Florence and the Machine's new - and fifth - studio album, Dance Fever.LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Catherine Raynes has two books picks this week worth a read - What Eden Did Next by Shelia O’Flanagan and Trust by Hernan Diaz.LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.