Saturday Morning with Jack Tame

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.

Mike Yardley has been living the hard life soaking up the sunshine on Alexandra Headland.LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

I love the story told to me by my friend Michael Braungart, co-author of Cradle to Cradle, the book that helped launch the circular economy movement in the early noughties.He says, what would happen if you take all the humans on the planet and put them in a big pile and then take all the ants and make a pile next to it. The ant pile would be bigger. But no one says , too many ants are ruining the planet. Quite the opposite, the recycling work they do make them almost the best circular economy practitioners around. So the problem isn’t too many humans but our day to day habits. Imagine when we get so good at looking after our world that extra humans would mean an even better planetThere are quite a few reasons that we are not yet taking the climate emergency seriously.I have tapped into the thinking of Art Markman, PhD, Professor of Psychology and Marketing at the University of Texas writing in the Harvard Business Review. He says ‘If people are motivated to avoid threats to their existence now, why is it so hard to get people to act on climate change’.There are four main reasons. For most people it is the difference between long term and short term thinking and this is the hardest trade off for people to make.People don’t save enough money for retirement preferring to spend now, they can over eat in the present and even smoke while actually knowing that long term, this is bad for their healthIgnoring climate change unfortunately has short term benefits. You don’t have to change any habits, business can still make climate unfriendly decisions and make more money now and even the government won’t upset voters now to make hard decisions because of the next election coming upSo what can you do here. Recognising the behaviour is a big part of the solution. We can save for retirement and also give up bad health habits. So we can also change our habits to stop climate change.Business can be encouraged to do the right thing through your buying behaviour and by asking for the climate friendly products you want. Even politicians do listen to their electors if you take the time to let them know what is important to you.Secondly, climate is a non linear problem. people are already good at making judgements of linear trends. I spend $5 a day on coffee. Therefore I can understand the implications without setting up a spreadsheet. But but when things start slowly then accelerate this causes a problem. People will still think linearly. A few cigarettes a days ok but it’s the accumulation of years of smoking that does the damage . Then the health issues suddenly sneaks up on them.Likewise it’s been a long time until any obvious impacts of climate change have appeared. But we can see them now.The third issue is distance. Most of the problems are happening to others far away. Research shows that people conceptualise things from a distance more abstractly than what’s happening to their own neighbours. So it losses impact and is not seen as important.And fourthly the future is actually very abstract. We don’t know what will happen. We love to live in the now, and maybe the past but don’t trust what will happen in the future.And I add a fifth reason. Many, mainly men, think we are so clever, that science will come up with a ‘get out of jail card’ that will sort all these problems. So we don’t have to do anything but wait for these clever scientists to save us. This is quite common thinking , including among media commentators who will rubbish cycle lanes and other green initiatives because of of this thinking.This is wishful and or even magical thinking. Not rational at all, like these blokes like to think. Should we keep smoking and over eating and wait for science to save us. We actually have all the scientific processes right now to reverse the climate emergency , we just need to change our habits and put them in place.So what else can we do?Well...See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The British Gardeners are urged to stop mowing lawns in May so as to “support bees”. Gardeners come in many different "sizes": 1) Precision gardeners. Those that follow the swanky garden magazines and have not a plant nor a blade of grass out of place. Think Versailles and the Famous British gardens like Sissinghurst. When it comes to lawns they are cut to within an inch of their life! There are no weeds, and few "wild Flowers". Most of the borders are sprayed to minimize fungi and bacterial diseases as well as Natural Biodiversity such as insects, spiders, mites, praying mantises and crickets 2) Wannabe-precision gardeners. Those who haven't got the time nor the staff to achieve the number one status. Their gardens really lack detailed attention and as such they're a lot weedier and "all over the place" in the eyes of precision gardeners. They usually do have some structure though... and are pleasant to the eye. 3) Hippies and Macrobiotic adorers of Homeopathy and Herbs. My goodness! That is a mess! Stuff everywhere - no weed control, aphids all over the place, weird flowers popping up everywhere, heaps of blackbirds, lots of worms, swarms of butterflies and armies of moths, native bees, beetles, insectivorous birds and lizards. Ironically, when it comes to creating a garden with the best biodiversity, the third option will win hands-down. Imagine heaps of different species of flowers, weeds, (as well as mosses and lichens) allowing for a huge diversity of wildlife. The nectar and the pollen attached to a variety of flowers is very beneficial for pollinators, such as bees and moths and butterflies, beetles, hover flies, parasitic wasps and predatory critters who all need pollen (protein) for development and nectar (sweet energy). The Brits might have the idea to not mow their lawns in May (getting more flowering weeds in there), but I reckon we can do much better than that: Now is the time to sow wild-flower seeds (mixed series of species) in some vegetable beds that are lying dormant or idle. Some of the resulting plants may even flower in winter and early spring, whereas other species will pop up in mid to late spring, providing our pollinators with extra sustenance (nectar and pollen) and opportunities for survival and reproduction. No, I am not thinking about honey bees so much... We have 28 species of small, native bees and they are brilliant pollinators of our native flowers. These native bee species are often robbed of floral nectar by the commercial and exotic honey bee, so I'd like to give our natives a helping hand. By the way: even “exotic” wildflowers will attract all these critters, so it doesn’t always need to be “native plants”… Apart from bees and bumble bees, we also have a lot of other pollinators in our garden: beetles, small parasitic wasps that help with pest control, as well as hover flies and moths and butterflies; All these creatures are part of our ecosystems and complete our Biodiversity in the garden. Birds, too, like the flowers and the subsequent seeds. I have always liked the idea of creating a wildflower "lawn" in the garden and simply mow elegant meandering paths through these wildflower lawns, so you can walk there without getting wet trousers or wet feet after a shower of rain. Start sowing the wildflower mixes in your garden for a totally different and colourful look in spring. Try it...you'll like it!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Hannah McQueen is talking about the latest OCR increase - the fact that rates are rising faster, and likely higher than previously predicted will be scary for some. The whole economic picture can seem overwhelmingly negative at the moment – so what do you focus on in the midst of the doom and gloom? LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Huawei is banned from supplying 5G equipment in CanadaThis means it's now fully banned across the five-eyes alliance of the USA, UK, Australia, New Zealand and Canada. Canadian companies will have until June 2024 to remove it - at their own cost and without reimbursement from the Canadian government. They say it's a move to protect their critical telecommunications infrastructure of the future from foreign interference. There isn't an easy answer explaining who owns Huawei, and many allegations of subverting sanctions, fraud, espionage. Using the wrong USB-C cable? Your Chromebook will now tell youUSB-C is a very confusing piece of technology. Your cable may have a USB-C connection, but that doesn't mean it can do everything possible with USB-C. Some USB-C cables can handle high power currents, others can't, they can handle various speeds of data, some are Thunderbolt, some are DisplayPort. Depending on the feature depends on the maximum length the cable can be. So soon, when you plug the wrong cable into your Chromebook and wonder why something isn't working, your computer will help you figure it out.LISTEN AABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Stranger Things Season 4 (Netflix) It’s been six months since the Battle of Starcourt, which brought terror and destruction to Hawkins. Struggling with the aftermath, our group of friends are separated for the first time – and navigating the complexities of high school hasn't made things any easier. In this most vulnerable time, a new and horrifying supernatural threat surfaces, presenting a gruesome mystery that, if solved, might finally put an end to the horrors of the Upside Down. Obi-Wan Kenobi (Disney) “Obi-Wan Kenobi” begins 10 years after the dramatic events of “Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith” where Obi-Wan Kenobi faced his greatest defeat—the downfall and corruption of his best friend and Jedi apprentice, Anakin Skywalker, who turned to the dark side as evil Sith Lord Darth Vader. Prehistoric Planet (Apple TV) “Prehistoric Planet” combines award-winning wildlife filmmaking, the latest paleontology learnings and state-of-the-art technology to unveil the spectacular habitats and inhabitants of ancient Earth for a one-of-a-kind immersive experience. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The legendary blues-based rocker George Thorogood and his band the Destroyers have announced they’re coming our way in October. They've sold over 15 million albums, built a catalogue of classic hits and played more than 8000 live shows. There’s no slowing down for 72-year-old George just yet. He catches up with Jack Tame about 45 years of rock and why he still loves it. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Have you noticed all the gorgeous lemon trees beginning to shine with fruit? I just love this time of year when citrus comes into its own again. Try this cake - it’s a terrific combination of a cake and a cheesecake and it’s lemony delicious.Serves 8-12Batter1 ¼ cup sugarZest from one lemon½ teaspoon sea salt1 large egg room temperature220g butter melted3 tablespoons lemon juice2 ¼ cups plain flour2 teaspoons baking powderFilling220g cream cheese softened1 ½ cups icing sugar + extra2 large egg yolks2 tablespoons lemon juiceZest from one lemonCake Batter1. Preheat oven to 170°C. Grease a 23cm round springform tin.2. Combine grated lemon zest and sugar in a large bowl of food processor and give it a quick whizz so that the sugar becomes fragrant and pale yellow. Whisk in the egg, lemon juice and melted butter until combined.3. Sift in the flour and baking powder and combine to a thick batter. Spread batter evenly into the greased tin.4. Make the filling: Use an electric beater to combine cream cheese and icing sugar until smooth. Add egg yolks, lemon juice and zest and continue to beat until smooth. Pour the filling on top of the batter. Knock gently to expel any air bubbles.5. Bake for 45-55 minutes, or until the edges are golden brown and the middle is puffed. If you see it browning too quickly, tent the top with a piece of foil.6. Let the cake cool for 15 minutes before releasing the sides of the tin. Slide it onto a serving plate and dust with icing sugar.7. Serve immediately for extra gooey-ness or chill for a firmer texture. Either way, amazing!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Kevin Milne chats to Jack Tame about some civil naughtiness in Wellington. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

I was sitting in my apartment in East Harlem, New York, when it first hit the news.I think I saw something on Twitter first. Then I turned on cable TV and waited to hear from a police officer or a politician or someone with some authority.There was so much confusion in those first couple of hours. There always is. Everyone hangs on every thread of information but it always takes an age to work out the detail.Everyone in New Zealand was asleep but eventually I just took a punt, hired a car from the Avis down the road, packed my camera gear and started driving north out of Manhattan, through the Bronx, and up across the state border into Connecticut. I was listening to a press conference on the radio when they finally confirmed the fatalities.Ten years ago this December. Sandy Hook.There’s not really anything to say about mass shootings in America that hasn’t been said. But I always feel a bit of a macabre connection to American massacres, because I ended up covering so many in the five years I lived in the States. I remember when Aurora happened. I remember when San Bernardino happened. I remember when Charleston happened. I flew across the country and drove through the night to be at Umpqua Community College. Most people don’t remember that one – eight people died. I was on the scene just a few hours after the Pulse nightclub shooting went down. That held the record for fatalities, at the time.I still think of Sandy Hook the most. The lonely drive up there. The satellite trucks. The families gathering in the firehouse to collect their children and the slow realisation that those parents who were left would forever be bound to the worst of the worst. The memorials that popped up over the next few days. The quietness. The way no one liked making eye contact in the street. Twenty little kids.My girlfriend feels like she has to breathe it all in. She reads every article and watches every press conference. She wants to see the children’s faces and hear their parents wailing. I found her the other day, unblinking, tears gliding down her cheeks as she watched Anderson Cooper interviewing a Dad whose daughter had been shot in the head. She feels compelled to try understand the incomprehensible and in her search for answers, she learns Every. Single. Detail.But I cant anymore. I makes me feel funny to engage with the shootings. I don’t want to know details or learn anyone’s name. I just feel a massive darkness about the whole process, the whole routine and theatre of it all.At the time, Sandy Hook felt like the best chance for something big to change. Obama cried on TV. I was there when he turned up at the vigil in Newtown to meet with all the families and promised to go above and beyond. Maybe this is it, we thought. After all, it doesn’t get any worse. Can you imagine any greater horror than a gunman in a primary school? Five and six-year-old kids.Nothing big changed, of course. There is perhaps no greater illustration of just how poisoned the American political system has become than the fact that a minority interest in assault weapons can ward off greater regulation, even when a majority of Americans favour it and massacres have become the norm.We live in a strange World in which an NBA coach or a group of protesting students might be more effective in affecting change than the post powerful officials in their country.And so I hope I’m wrong. I hope the pendulum of change swings back the other way and that instead of waiting for a horror even more shocking than Sandy Hook or Uvalde, the sheer weight of all these tragedies is enough.But if recent history is any guide, there will be another horror. Another kid with an AR-15. Another worst nightmare. Another Uvalde. Another Sandy Hook.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Estelle Clifford gives her review of Harry's House, the new album from Harry Styles. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Catherine Raynes has been reading actress Minnie Driver's memoir, Managing Expectations as well as Trespasses by Louise Kennedy, which has rave reviews.LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Mike Yardley's been exploring parts of the Sunshine Coast in Australia.LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Steven Dromgool is at a men's retreat for the weekend and thought it was a good reminder to talk about the importance of male friendship. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Pollenia rudis is the cluster fly species we discovered on the North Shore, for the first time in 1984. It may have arrived in some containerised luggage or cargo.Originally from the Northern countries (Scandinavia - north America) where it lives a peculiar life as a parasite of earthworms.The female fly lays eggs in dense grass habitats (paddocks and lawns) and often near eartworm tunnels;The larvae (aka "maggots") hatch, find themselves some way of getting into the soil (gaps around plants or through established earthworm tunnels) and gain entry into the body of an earthworm.Inside the worm it feeds on the internal body fluids and organs.Gross? yep! But most animals on the planet have "parasites" (see below) that can cause damage.The cluster flies that hatch from their earthworm are pretty insects, the size of blowflies (slightly larger that houseflies) with golden hairs on the top of their thorax; In spring and summer I often see them pollinating flowers (The name “Pollenia” is a nice indicator!)When temperatures get cooler in autumn, these flies usually look for a suitable hibernation place: in holes in the ground, under bark of trees, under mulch layers, etc. But if there’s a nice warm human house nearby they will try to gain entry.By their thousands!This year we saw a lot of that happening in Canterbury and parts of southern North Island.They crawl through small holes (ill-fitting window frames, etc) and mark their entry by leaving a residue of Pheromone scent; this means that other Pollenia flies simply follow the trail and join the others…The pheromone is rather sticky and smells somewhat of Buckwheat honey (hence the name buckwheat fly in the USA).Cluster flies are not of medicinal importance (like some blowflies) but are hard to remove due to their messy pheromones. Best “prevention” is to ensure there are no entrance holes around the home.In terms of earthworm population effects: There is no evidence that cluster flies significantly reduce earthwormsGrowers and gardeners use some parasites (small wasps!) to reduce the number of caterpillars that eat your cabbages, or certain tiny parasites that literally "hollow out" the green loopers in your houseplants.Humans have parasites too: tape worm, malaria, hook worm and even insect parasites (fly maggots) that tunnel into your skin (often on the head) in tropical areas - good fun!Now, the idea of parasitism (as well as predation) is to keep populations "in check" and prevent them from escalating in their natural habitat and ecological systems: if you have a heap of aphids on your roses, the parasites and predators move in to reduce the load on your plants - simple as that.LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Bob Campbell's pick of the week is the Villa Maria 2021 Cellar Selection Chardonnay from Hawke’s Bay. Bob's tip - don’t over-chill Chardonnay or it will taste like water. If you get served a wine that is too cold cup your hand around the glass and swirl it until it reaches the right temperature. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Prepare yourself.. there's a new Outlook comingThis is in the very early stages but is going to be a big shift for people. Outlook for Windows on your desktop will start to look exactly like the web version you use today.By rebuilding it, they're going to be able to leverage more integrations with Microsoft products. It'll be more connected directly to OneDrive so you can add an attachment to an email just by typing an @ then the filename. Easy! Microsoft will pin emails to the top of your inbox it thinks you might need to see again, you'll be able to drag emails into your calendar or turn them into tasks in Microsoft To-Do.Costco and Apple have partneredCostco is famous for allowing folks to buy things in bulk for cheap and leveraging its large membership to get access to better pricing of goods. Now that's in the virtual world too in a partnership with Apple. Costco members can get discounts on subscriptions to Apple News Plus, Apple TV Plus, and Apple Arcade. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.