Saturday Morning with Jack Tame

Bob Campbell has been diving into the Spanish Reds - his best buy this week is the 2020 Piqueras High Altitude Garnacha, Spain $16.99.LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Have you ever grappled with the BIG questions of life like why do we exist or what is our purpose? Well, Brian Greene ponders these types of questions for a living. Brian is a world-renowned theoretical physicist. He uses science and math to understand the complex workings of the universe. He’ll be here in June to speak about his new book, called 'Until the End of Time: Mind, Matter and Our Search for Meaning'. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Buying lunch every day becomes expensive and, dare I say it, not that healthy. Bought food is invariably more calorific than food you make yourself. Focus on loading up your lunch choices with protein – chicken, beans, tuna, tofu, quinoa – for sustained energy (i.e. it will fill you up and keep you feeling full for longer) plus some carbs to bulk it up slightly – think noodles, rice, pasta, bread, pastry – but you don’t need too much of these. Then include fresh ingredients like leafy greens and grated veges and in cooler months, canned tomatoes, grains, beans etc in soups stews etc. Lunch Buddha bowl: Makes enough for 4 serves 2 cups cooked rice – I like using brown rice 1 ½ cups frozen shelled edamame beans (available in supermarkets) 1 ½ cups grated or roughly chopped veges – carrots, snow peas, thinly sliced broccoli florets 1-2 tbsps tamari or soy sauce, to taste 4 cups chopped/shredded red cabbage, spinach, lettuce or kale Optional toppings 1-2 ripe avocados Chicken, salmon or tuna Thinly sliced cucumber Thinly sliced spring onion Lime or lemon wedges Toasted sesame oil, for drizzling Sesame seeds Pour boiling water over edamame beans and leave for 3 minutes, then drain. Divide the rice, edamame and raw veggies into 4 bowls/lunch boxes. Arrange toppings of your choice. Drizzle lightly with tamari/soy and any other dressings and top with sliced green onion and a lime wedge or 2. Chill till ready to serve.Here’s some more ideas that can all be made the night before for saving time: Wraps – load them up with salad, chicken, ham etc – leave out the cheese. Sammies – make them extra good with spicy chutneys, mustard, mayo and smashed boiled eggs etc and season them well with salt and pepper Line muffin tins with tortilla and fill with Bolognese, egg/ham/sweetcorn/spinach/feta, top with cheese and bake for 20 mins at 180 C.LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Francesca Rudkin has been watching Turning Red and The Adam Project this week and gives Jack Tame her review. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Kevin Milne has been celebrating with the Irish this week for St. Patrick's Day. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Call me a sucker. Last Sunday morning, the petrol gauge in my car dropped to one bar and I pulled up at Mobil and filled up with gas. It cost $150 to fill my 2012 Toyota hatchback. In twenty years of driving, it was the most money I’d ever spent filling my car. Of course, it felt painful. But I figured I didn’t have much of a choice. The war in Ukraine looked set to continue and even if I waited, I knew I’d have to fill up sooner or later. The next day Labour cut petrol excise tax by 25c a litre. Cutting the price of petrol for three months and halving the cost of public transport will cost almost $400m. The policy had almost no scrutiny or oversight. There was no regulatory impact assessment. The Ministry of Transport and Treasury have kindly agreed to a ‘post-implementation assessment.’ They’ll tell us how it went, after it’s all over. Brilliant. But although the Government has framed the tax cut as an urgent and nimble piece of leadership, we should describe it for what it really is: cynical and reactionary. Transport makes up a significant slab of our carbon emissions profile. As painful as it was for businesses and households alike to have petrol at $3 a litre – and I appreciate that for some people it was extremely painful - the surge in prices presented an unrivaled opportunity to encourage significant behavioural change. The Government is concerned about the cost of living crisis? Last I checked, they said the climate crisis was the nuclear free issue of this generation. There are plenty of other more targeted ways to relieve cost of living stresses. Taking a couple of bucks off the cost of a bus ticket won’t encourage more people onto public transport if the cost of filling their car is just the same as it’s always been. The truth is, petrol taxes would never have been cut if Labour had been well ahead in last week’s poll. They saw the poll numbers. They freaked out. They dropped almost $400m to try and win back some popularity. And the annoying thing is... it works. The reason New Zealanders haven’t kicked up a stink is that fundamentally, we would prefer the comfort of cheaper petrol than a government with the courage to make difficult but necessary choices. This is why we find ourselves in the shit. This is why our housing is some of the least affordable in the World. This is why we have a looming crisis over the cost of superannuation. This is why we’re dragging out heels on doing anything meaningful about climate change. We voters only care about the short term. And our politicians only care about keeping us happy. They’re not nimble or urgent. They’re cowardly. But ask yourself this: regardless of your political stripes, wouldn’t you prefer a government to be led by its principles than by the polls? A society deserves the leaders it elects. Once again, Jacinda Ardern’s Government has shown it’s more interested in doing what is popular than what is right.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Estelle Clifford's been listening to Kiwi artist BENEE's new album Lychee.LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Remember Me – Charity Norman A close-knit community is ripped apart by disturbing revelations that cast new light on a young woman's disappearance twenty-five years ago. After years of living overseas, Emily Kirkland returns to New Zealand to care for her father, Felix, who suffers from dementia. As his memory fades and his guard slips, she begins to understand him for the first time - and to glimpse shattering truths about his past. Truths she'd rather were kept buried. Davos Man – Peter Goodman Drawing on decades of experience covering the global economy, award-winning journalist Peter S. Goodman profiles five representative "Davos Men"–members of the billionaire class–chronicling how their shocking exploitation of the global pandemic has hastened a fifty-year trend of wealth centralization. Alongside this reporting, Goodman delivers textured portraits of those caught in Davos Man’s wake, including a former steelworker in the American Midwest, a Bangladeshi migrant in Qatar, a Seattle doctor on the front lines of the fight against COVID, blue-collar workers in the tenements of Buenos Aires, an African immigrant in Sweden, a textile manufacturer in Italy, an Amazon warehouse employee in New York City, and more. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Mike Yardley says Vivid is back after a two-year hiatus thanks to Covid. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Relationship expert Steven Dromgool shares with Jack Tame compatibility questions to ask when you think you’ve found ‘the one’.LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

One of the things that are bothering New Zealanders in the late summer and autumn days are wasps. There are a few species that really drive people mad:The German wasp is just one of them; the Chinese paper wasp is another one.They are quite different from each-other and easy to identify:German wasps are stockily-built insects, mostly yellow with some black stripes and spots on their body;The Chinese paper wasps are much more slender and often fly with dangling, long legs. Their bodies are mostly black with thin yellow stripes and spots.There are other distinguishing features (such as nest shapes and sizes and where they prefer to build their nests.But what they have in common is the fact that they have no sense of humour.But this little segment is not about all these details at all… it is about their name, or should I say their names!“German wasp” and “Chinese Paper wasp” are the common names (also known as vernacular names) of the species.Their scientific names are, respectively: Vespula germanica and Polistes chinensis. And that makes total sense, because those names are the real Latin names that were given to these two wasp species by the authors who described them. The common names were derived from their Latin names.So far, so good.The Chinese paper wasp (P. chinensis) got its name because it hails from the China, Korea and Japan region on the planetBut the German wasp (V. germanica) does not originate from just Germany at all! It originally lived right throughout Europe and Northern Africa and as far east as Ukraine and Moscow, right up to North India.Yet the author of this wasp species (The Danish entomologist Johan Fabricius, a student of the famous Carl Linnaeus!) decided to call this pest Vespula germanica, the German wasp.In the 18th Century it was not unusual to name an important human pests after the neighbours with whom you had the most quarrel or conflict and Germany was sometimes on the receiving end of these name-calling exercises… and that was even before the World Cup Soccer was invented!The German cockroach (Blattella germanica) was a name conjured by Linnaeus himself; yet the species had nothing to do with Germany. It originally came from South East Asia or thereabouts and spread to busy Europe with the increase in trade and people movement.Or it might have even come “out-of-Africa” with us… all those years ago!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Shane Warne's death has sent shockwaves around the world. He's suspected of dying from a heart attack and our resident doctor Dr Bryan Betty says it's a reminder for middle aged men to get a yearly heart check-up.LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Here are some rules I try to abide by when looking for budget-friendly meals· Only use what’s in season· Shop with a list but stay open to a bargain· Ties in with above, don’t stick to ingredients if they’re expensive, substitute for something cheaper eg. jars of capsicum/peppers instead of fresh, rump steak instead of sirloin or cheaper yet, learn how to cook well with eggs or pulses for your protein, use sour cream / crème fraiche instead of cheese in cooking· Spices are your friend for cooking on a budget - they pack a punch for very little expense· Avoid semi or fully prepared meals – they’re expensive whichever way you look at it· When shopping compare the per gram cost – you’ll be surprised that larger portions are not always cheaper (mayo is a good example of this!)· Beef up curries / casseroles with vegetables (carrots / potatoes / onions / pumpkin / spinach) – good for the body and the wallet· Shop to the theme of “You can’t always get what you want”· The Destitute Gourmet, Sophie Gray, has 3 principles for saving $$: Plan ahead, Eat Healthy, Eek out the luxuries www.destitutegourmet.co.nz – great website· Practice or LEARN to cook well – that way your health and your food bill is in your handsMy favourite 3 budget meals:1. 3 meals from one roast chicken; a roast, then use some meat for sandwiches or tacos / make soup with the carcass2. Lasagne made with lentils instead of meat and sour cream/cream fraiche instead of cheese on top3. Rosemary & potato/pumpkin frittataLISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Apple's going "peak performance" This event saw the continued rollout of the new Apple chips across their devices - including into the iPad Air and the launch of the wildly powerful Mac Studio. The screens on their phones, tablets and laptops have always been incredible and now there's an affordable option for a high quality Apple monitor! Announced alongside the Mac Studio is the Studio Display which is a 27" 5K monitor with an updated camera, three mics and six speakers. It's around $2000, which is a steal compared to the Pro Display at $5,000 monitor and $1,000 stand. Its launch did see the death of the 27" iMac though. Print your own lipstick at home Can't decide which shade to buy? Now you can print them all at home...and as you need them. This cool device from Yves Saint-Laurent prints lipstick. You load the cartridges in the bottom of the device, use an app to select the color you want, and it'll print it straight into a compact for you to apply now or take on-the-go. You can take a photo of your outfit and the app will suggest lip colors for you. Depending on what cartridges you select, it can produce between 1000 and 4000 shades. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

History-making and title-taking about sums up an astonishing 12 months for Kiwi squash player Paul Coll. The 29-year-old is the first Kiwi male to take the top spot in world rankings, something he says was “unexpected”. Paul is based in Amsterdam but is always on the move playing in tournaments around the world, the latest being the Windy City Open in Chicago, where he won his first title as number one. Paul Coll joined Jack Tame. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Somebody Somewhere: A new HBO drama. Sam is a true Kansan on the surface, but, beneath it all, struggles to fit the hometown mould. Grappling with loss and acceptance, she discovers herself and a community of outsiders who don't fit in but don't give up (Neon). Winning time: Rise of the Lakers Dynasty: A new drama about the professional and personal lives of the 1980s Los Angeles Lakers, one of sports' most revered and dominant dynasties - a team that defined an era, both on and off the court (Neon). Joe vs Carole: A new series that dramatises the events of documentary Tiger King, telling the tale of Joe Exotic, the former Oklahoma zoo operator and big cat breeder who was put on trial and sentenced to 22 years in prison for plotting to murder another big cat enthusiast (TVNZ OnDemand). LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Movie reviewer Francesca Rudkin has been watching two great films this week:Blind Ambition (Doc - Cinema) Having escaped starvation and tyranny in their homeland of Zimbabwe, four refugees have conquered the odds to become South Africa's top sommeliers. Driven by relentless optimism, a passion for their craft and unshakeable national pride, they form Zimbabwe’s first ever wine tasting team and set their sights on the coveted title of ‘World Wine Tasting Champions’. From the moment they arrive in France to compete, this team of mavericks turns an establishment of privilege and tradition on its head. A truly uplifting documentary that celebrates just how irrepressible the human spirit can be. Off the Rails (Drama - Cinema) Now in their 50s, four friends re-create an inter-rail journey across Europe, but this time 18-year-old Maddie is taking her mother's place, fulfilling her dying wish. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Kevin Milne is celebrating the start of the Bluff oyster season and reckons they’ve gotta be the best oysters in the world.LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

One of the best things about my job is that when a new poitical poll comes through, I get to look at the results just a little bit earlier than everyone else.Labour 37. National 39. Boomfah.A few things are obvious. People are sick of Covid. We’re sick of restrictions. Sick of disruption. We’re sick, sick, in more than 200,000 cases. Covid is stressful. We’re right in the throes of the surge. That’s never going to bode well for whatever government is in charge.Inflation. The cost of living. Whack. Didn’t I say in my very first show of this year, that inflation would be the word of 2022? Not Omicron. Not Antigen. Not Wordle. Inflation.Is it Labour’s fault? Yes and no. When it comes to our economy, New Zealand is a dinghy hitched to the back of a the global mega-liner. And the bulk of the really big spending, the billions and billions of dollars that were pumped into our economy over the last two years during Covid-19, was committed to save jobs. Don’t forget, National said it would have done the same. Any time National MPs are asked for actual detail about the wasteful spending they say has contributed meaningfully to the cost of living increases, their argument falls apart pretty quickly. The main reason the cost of petrol has increased so much is that Russia invaded Ukraine. Sorry, but that wasn’t Jacinda Ardern’s fault.That being said, in the eyes of voters, at least National acknowledges it. For much of this week, Jacinda Ardern was trapped in a little game where she doesn’t want to use the word, crisis. She doesn’t want to explicitly say there’s a cost-of-living crisis. Ah, yes. Deja vu. What goes around comes around, eh? The Crisis game is the same game Labour MPs played when in opposition, when the National government of the day didn’t want to say there was a housing crisis, even though it was self-evident at the time (Incidentally, it has become, much, much worse under this government).The Crisis Game is just a name game. It’s not a serious policy debate, it’s a debate over a label. But here’s an idea: Just admit it. Accept it. Use the term. Take the blow and move on.This government, in its prioritisation of messaging and communication, contorts itself into all sort of peculiar positions to avoid ever making any sort of concession. They rarely concede anything is worse-off on their watch. They never frankly admit they might have got something wrong.People see through it. They’re tired of it. It’s dishonest. It comes across as smug. And for something like inflation, it makes you look out of touch.There is a lot to be said in life for a bit of humility.And I reckon that poll underscored one thing, more than anything else; the government can no longer lean on its Covid-19 response for voter support.In all likelihood, the next election won’t be fought over Covid. It’ll be fought over the economy. It’ll be a classic back-pocket debate. ANZ reckons house prices could fall 10% this year. The OCR could rise one hundred basis points. Russia isn’t leaving Ukraine. Inflation won’t be tamed overnight.New Zealanders could be in for a tough period. Least of whom, Jacinda ArdernLISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Estelle Clifford has been listening to Jamie McDell’s new self-titled album and gives it top marks.LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Very Last List of Vivian Walker – Megan Albany: New book from Award winning Australian Writer Vivian Walker is dying. This is not on her list of things to do. A darkly funny debut that proves even the most imperfect of lives is worth celebrating. Now that I've got cancer, I know I should be letting go and just being in the moment with my child but, seriously, what mother has got time to spend with their kids? Em and Me – Beth Morrey: The author of The Love Story of Missy Carmichael is back with a new novel. A mother. A daughter. A secret waiting to be discovered. For too long – since the sudden death of her mother as a teenager, since the birth of her daughter, Em, when she was just seventeen – Delphine has been unable to let go of the past, obsessed with protecting Em and clinging to a secret that could ruin everything. She’s been living life in safe shades of grey. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Mike Yardley has been roaming around mighty Manawatu, home of the Turbos and wind turbines. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

One of the questions I get asked all the time is ,’why don’t we grow food on the grass beams on our street’One of the biggest users of water and chemicals is actually our love affair with grass. Let alone the energy and petrol used to mow it.Back in European history, us peasants who came from there, used to have vegetable gardens and only the lords in their manors had lawns kept short and neat by sheep and groundsmenNow we are all lords and ladies but this has a high ecological cost. So change your own lawns to veges, flowers, ground covers and natives for bird lifeAnd this flows on to the beams along our streets. We are getting less backyard space as we concentrate our housing, so what is possible with our public landLet’s look at the problems and regulations and see what solutions are out thereStreets are full of dirty polluting cars that will make any food grown there inedibleA very good point but some streets have very low traffic and food could be grown. In all others there are plenty of options.Fruit trees with thick skins like citrus or feijoas are being planted successfullyGrow pollinators especially for the local bees. We are talking here of all sorts of flowering ground covers, shrubs and trees. And native plants for our birdsWe will end up with rotten fruit all over the footpath and bred verminIn successful plantings locals make a pact to be the guardians of specific fruit trees on their street. This has been working successfully in many areas of NZ. Some councils have even put online where the current ripe fruit is availableAnd if this doesn’t work and the council isn’t prepared to do the cleanup then, pull them out and change to bee and bird friendly plants.And the vermin problem hasn’t eventuated in areas with these schemesThe maintenance men are always digging up the streetsYes they are and you just need to be prepared to lose these plants and start again . And be careful of the types of trees near access points and key infrastructureIt’s dangerous if the footpaths aren’t clear, safe and accessible for all usersThis is true and must be considered in the design of the planting. Especially if the tree chosen may become too big. Don’t plant pears or plums unless they are a miniature varietyThe roads are for cars to drive and mustn’t be covered in rotten fruit and especially people on the road picking that fruitTrue again and this is a combination of local guardians keeping the trees trimmed and collecting excess food, plus initial design of the plantingThey will get vandalisedTo an extent but so far their hasn’t been much of this happening. We look after our own streets if we have an attachment to what is happening there.And around NZ these problems have been overcome. Council often don’t have clear policy on this so it will pay to contact them. However, I do know a few people that are in the guerrilla gardening mode, they just act now and ask for forgiveness later.If this is too hard Council can be approached to let some land in the local park be used for community garden.And the prize is, more community togetherness, possible common compost schemes, free seasonal food, better bird and bee life and a generous more liveable city life.LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Winter crops need to go in!Might not feel like it, but winter is just around the corner.Soil is still warm-as, so when you plant seeds, they germinate quite quickly; take advantage of that helping hand, so that seedlings will grow quickly in the warm conditions, while they slow down on their way to lower temperatures.Brussels Sprouts:Sow now (early March); transplant the seedling in May in a pre-prepared bed in full sun with nice, friable soil with a good dollop of Lime (NOT dolomite lime!). The lime (high pH) prevents club root disease.Plant them in a spot where they are protected from too much wind. These Brassicaceae are rather top-heavy and could easily topple over!“Improved” and “Jade F1” are good varieties that usually do well. You can also find a purple-red heirloom variety; In early winter after the first frost!! You can harvest themCabbages and Broccoli are also still worth planting; they are related to the sprouts, so a similar modus operandus applies for them. Don’t forget the Lime…I had a good run with red cabbage, this year (a favourite of one of my – 8 year old – grandson, Edouard). I think he eats it raw!Leeks can sometimes be a bit of a bother when you sow the seeds. The tiny, thin seedlings are a bit of a pain when it comes to transplanting them; I prefer to buy seedlings that are already reasonably sturdy and easier to handle.Use friable and deep, fertile soil; Create “furrows” in which you plant the seedlings.As the plants grow gradually bury the stems in the soil from the higher sides of the furrow: buried leeks will have white stems as a result of lack of light. I often push this “blanching” trick to a rather maximal position, by burying the stems as far as I can. White leek stems taste a heck of a lot better than green ones!Early march in warmer areas of Aotearoa is still a good time to sow the last crop of French beans – they could last you well into autumn. Maybe not a winter crop as such, but close, if you keep them in a warm and sunny spot.Spring onions will go on and on and on; plant a row or two for the stir-fry or soups, Udon or Somen. I usually cram them in close proximity to each-other (5 to 6 cm apart) and mound them up as they grow, just like the leeks.Making use of the autumn sun and temperatures, Carrots will germinate easily too; important to have very friable soil without stones of hard clay patches; It really pays to make the growth of carrot roots as effortless as possible for the plant, otherwise you’ll get those forked carrots!Fertiliser with some extra Phosphate to develop those roots.The best thing about carrots is that you don’t need to harvest them all at once: the best way to “store” them is by leaving them in the soil.LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Bank lending changes are prompting lots of borrowers to look at second-tier lenders when the banks say no. Enable.me's Hannah McQueen speaks to Francesca Rudkin about who exactly are these second-tier lenders and what you should look out for.LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Apple & Google have turned off live data in their maps to protect the people of Ukraine Live map activity is great to help detect traffic and disruptions when life is normal, but in a war zone it can be dangerous. Both Google & Apple have now disabled these features which collect user data to show clusters of activity. In the US at least, the maps can show busy locations, such as how many people are at a particular gym or bar, but can also show hotspots such as shopping districts, beaches, or protests. There was a fear that people congregating to shelter could inadvertently appear on a map. The live traffic feature tipped of academic researchers that the Russian invasion was happening, because there was a traffic jam at 3:15 in the morning right near where satellite images had previously showed the staging of Russian military vehicles. Dr Jeffrey Lewis a Professor at Middlebury Institute in California started tweeting his findings and updates as the traffic jam rolled towards Ukraine. Cryptocurrency's ability to transcend borders is in the spotlight With Russia out of the SWIFT banking system and sanctions on financial activity with Russia, Cryptocurrency is being used to skirt the move money. It's peer to peer nature makes it Hillary Clinton warned last year that she saw crypto as an easy way to bypass government financial controls, but also feared manipulation of the crypto markets by China or Russia. She called on regulation in the past and has again come out strongly against crypto companies saying that it's disappointing some are refusing to end transactions with Russia. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Dropout: Based on the popular podcast and based on true events, The Dropout is a tale of ambition and fame gone terribly wrong. Amanda Seyfried plays American entrepreneur Elizabeth Holmes, who develops healthcare technology that puts millions of patients at risk and loses everything in the blink of an eye (Disney+). Pieces of Her: this might well be your binge watch for the weekend! From the team behind Big Little Lies and The Undoing, Toni Collette stars in this thriller about one woman’s quest to understand her mother after a violent attack brings an unknown past to light (Netflix). Our Flag Means Death: Rhys Darby and Taika Waititi star in this new comedy set in 1717, about wealthy landowner Stede Bonnet (Darby) who has a midlife crisis and decides to blow up his cushy life to become a pirate. It does not go well (Neon). LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We often feel like we never have enough time in the day and the time that we do have needs to made the most of! Luckily, we have the likes of clinical psychologist-turned-writer, Dr Alice Boyes, to save the day. Alice is a Kiwi based in the US and her blogs on the popular website Psychology Today garner millions of views. She has written a brand new book called Stress-Free Productivity. It’s a tool-kit to help readers flourish...without the burnout. Dr Alice Boyes joins Francesca Rudkin to talk about her book. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We all need a bit of cheering up after the week we’ve had so here’s an absolute favourite that’s worth the effort – custard slice! 2 sheets store-bought puff pastry 1L full fat milk 75g butter, chopped 2 tsp vanilla extract ½ cup sugar ½ cup custard powder or corn flour 4 egg yolks 1 cup icing sugar 1 tsp vanilla extract Preheat oven to 180 C. Line a 20-22cm tin with baking paper, allowing some to hang over the sides for easy removal later. Roll the pastry to slighter thinner and larger than they come. Place the pastry sheets on baking trays lined with baking paper. Use a fork to prick holes all over the pastry then top the pastry sheets with another sheet of baking paper and another baking tray. Bake for 18-22 minutes or until golden brown. Allow to cool completely on wire racks before trimming to fit your tin. Make the custard: Place 3 cups of the milk, butter, vanilla and sugar in a pot and heat until just before boiling point. While it heats, in a bowl whisk the custard powder/cornflour, remaining milk and egg yolks together until smooth. Slowly pour this mix into the hot milk, whisking as you go. Reduce heat to low to medium and continue cooking, stirring constantly, until you have a thick, glossy custard. Place your first pastry sheet on the base of the tin, pour over the custard and top with the remaining pastry sheet. Refrigerate for 3-4 hours, or until set, before icing. To make the icing, mix the icing sugar and vanilla together with a little hot water. Start with a tablespoon or two first, adding a little more at a time until you have the right consistency. Pour over the pastry and chill again for 1 hour. Once set, lift out onto a chopping board and use a large serrated knife, or scissors, to slice into squares. Eat up! LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The BatmanThe Batman ventures into Gotham City's underworld when a sadistic killer leaves behind a trail of cryptic clues. As the evidence begins to lead closer to home and the scale of the perpetrator's plans become clear, he must forge new relationships, unmask the culprit and bring justice to the abuse of power and corruption that has long plagued the metropolis. ‘Jeen-Yuhs’ - Kanye West documentaryThe lives of an emerging superstar and a filmmaker intertwine in this intense, intimate docuseries charting Kanye West's career, filmed over two decades. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Kevin Milne wants to talk about an issue which, strangely, involves Dad's Army.LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

I am over Rapid Antigen Tests – and we’ve only been able to buy them for a week!Don’t get me wrong, I’m all for the use of these tests. They alleviate the pressure on laboratories struggling to cope with testing numbers, and allow us to take responsibly for our own health as the contact tracing is overwhelmed. Most importantly, they allow people to keep earning a living, business and schools to stay open, and help critical services and supply chains to remain operational.We’ve seen the role they have played overseas. We understand their purpose and their value.I love em. But I’m already over the effort involved with trying to get one.We have had all the time in the world to organise how they’re distributed; yet the feedback this week is that once again delivery has been haphazard, and frustrating for many. It’s a familiar refrain.RAT’s are free for those with Covid symptoms or who are household contacts – so they should be. But some of these people are waiting in queues for hours to pick up their test or pre-order. Others are whipping through testing sites in no time at all. Some are being given packs of 5 tests even if there are only two people in the car.The distribution kinks are still being ironed out as we go, but you can understand why some are thinking twice about putting themselves through it.And if you’re being driven to buy your own RATS it’s been a frustrating experience as well. Stock has been slow to reach shelves and from what I’ve seen in chemists and supermarkets this week they’ve run out pretty quickly. Prices vary. It’s good to see some suppliers will be selling at cost, for those who aren’t I have less kind words.Demand will be high. I can understand the ease of having a few RATS in your medical kit. Makes life easy when one of the kids claims to have a sore throat, but is clearly trying to avoid a maths test. It also makes sense to do a test before visiting an elderly family member or heading to a wedding or function.But many do not have an extra $30 - $45 a week to throw a pack of RATs in the supermarket trolley.And don’t even get me started the challenges businesses are having trying to do the right thing and source their own supply.This week someone said, let’s not let RATS become the new toilet paper. And I couldn’t agree more. I’m resigned to the fact it will take at least the rest of this month to get our response working properly.It might also give the government time to come to their sense and do at least what Australia did, and hand out ten free home test kits over a three month period for pensioners and those with community services cards. How about every household getting free RAT tests like they did in the UK?The government has abdicated its responsibility for our health and handed it back to us as individuals, and I understand why, but this comes with an obligation to give us the tools we need to look after and manage ourselves. And for many it needs to be free. Who thought we’d be looking to the UK for best practice on anything to do with COVID, but with RATS they got it right.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Mike Yardley has been hanging out in the city of Palmerston North.LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Estelle Clifford's been listening to Avril Lavigne's angsty new album, Love Sux. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Fear Index – Robert Harris: The Fear Index is a 2011 novel set in a period of roughly 24 hours from the 6 May 2010—the date of the British general election and the Flash Crash. It’s been made into a new film starring Josh Hartnett.Dark Horse – Greg Hurwtiz: Evan Smoak - Orphan X aka The Nowhere Man - is back at break-neck speed in a thrilling new adventure from Gregg Hurwitz. Having just survived an attack on his life Evan Smoak isn't interested in a new mission. But one finds him anyway. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Relationship expert Steven Dromgool gives us his advice on the age-old trick question: I love you but I'm not 'in love', should I leave?LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Wine expert Bob Campbell has been tasting Neudorf 2021 Rosie's Block Moutere Albariño from Nelson. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In the old days, when I was a long-haired hippie (!!!) I used to make my own liquid fertiliser for the organic garden.Two reasons:1) it brought all sorts of elements into the top soil (beneficial for plants)2) the liquid in the barrel often had the most amazing life-forms living in it (especially rat-tailed maggots! – I’ll get into details in a later episode of “Jack’s weird and wonderful world”Main plants to add to the barrel-with-water:Weeds!Weeds grow in your garden because conditions are such that the weeds can flourish simply because they have the nutrients that might be lacking in the soil!!If you have lots of YARROW it might mean your soil could do with a bit of Phosphorus. Yarrow has deep roots that can grab phosphorus from way down in the soil and “bring it up”. Mind you it also has good amounts of Potash, plus the trace elements of copper and sulphur.COMFREY does a similar deep mining of the soil: it gets potash up to the surface.I have a lot of NETTLE in my garden – a sign of Nitrogen being leached out, probably because of sloping conditions of the soil. But the yellow and red admiral butterflies love the nettle for their caterpillars.Other useful weeds: Dandelion, fat hen, borage, dock, plantain, tansy, sow-thistles, and that awful CleaverFor extra nutrients grab some fresh chicken poo (Nitrogen!)Barrel with water and all the weeds you can find; soak them in there for a few weeks so it all breaks down nicely – this often starts becoming quite smelly (maybe put a lid on?) and will be ready when it has become a nice yucky sludge.In cooler weather it’ll take a lot longer to create a barrel of fertiliser.Now, delivery of the stuff is tricky: you don’t really want to use the “raw” stuff, but dilute perhaps 1 in 10, so you get a nice, light tea brew that won’t burn the roots of the plantsIf you live near the coast: grab some seaweed too as that’s usually full of extra minerals that work well in the “trace elements department”Personally I have given up making liquid fertilisers (lack of time, really)… as there is some very efficient stuff on the market that works brilliantly.LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Social Media is a minefieldNow is the time to be very careful.. there is a lot of misinformation - whether deliberate or accidental - on the platforms. There's an account - @aircraftrack - that is tracking military aircraft and, based on this, has been accurately predicting when the air-attacks will take place. Then through live cameras and posts from citizens you can see the explosions from multiple angles. Concerns over internet accessIn a 21-st century war there are fears internet connectivity could be targeted, either through cyber attacks or physical attacks on hardware/infrastructure. In the first 24 hours of the conflict cable-based ISPs have seen some outages in Kharkiv - the second largest city. Cell networks have remained up through.Ukraine has been a source of cheap labor for tech giants There is a really solid software engineering industry there and a cheaper cost of living, so tech firms have been increasingly outsourcing/offshoring work there. SAP, Wix, Revolut have moved employees to safer locations inside Ukraine, or even to neighboring Poland. Grammarly, founded in Kyiv in 2009, still has folks working there as well as SF, New York and Vancounver. With the location diversity of tech talent, you've got a much better chance of knowing someone who may be living in the conflict area.LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Raised by Refugees: a new New Zealand comedy. Pax Assadi is your typical 12-year-old from the early 2000s - obsessed with hip hop, girls, and Eddie Murphy. His parents came to New Zealand in the late '80s as refugees and want him to get good grades, but all Pax wants to do is fit in. However, a major international incident makes that very difficult (Neon).Landscapers: Olivia Colman and David Thewlis star in this crime drama based on true events. A seemingly ordinary British couple become the focus of an extraordinary investigation when two dead bodies are discovered in the back garden of a house in Nottingham (Neon).Super Pumped: The Battle for Uber: This seven-part drama chronicles one of Silicon Valley's most successful and most destructive start-ups, Uber. The story focuses on Uber's hard-hitting CEO, Travis Kalanick, and his sometimes tumultuous relationship with mentor Bill Gurley. Starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt (500 Days of Summer) and Uma Thurman (Pulp Fiction) (Neon, from Monday).LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Kiwi comedian Pax Assadi is no stranger to the stage. He started his career in stand-up comedy in 2012 and was nominated for the Billy T Award just a year later. However, his new project takes him from stage to screen. Pax has just released his new TV comedy series, Raised by Refugees. It’s based on his experience growing up in Aotearoa as a half-Pakistani and half-Iranian kid. His parents want him to study hard and eventually become a doctor but all Pax wants to do is fit in and feel accepted Pax Assadi joins Jack Tame on Saturday Mornings to talk about the show. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Uncharted: Street-smart Nathan Drake is recruited by seasoned treasure hunter Victor "Sully" Sullivan to recover a fortune amassed by Ferdinand Magellan, and lost 500 years ago by the House of Moncada. Starring Mark Wahlberg and Tom Holland. Hive: An Albanian-Kosovan drama film about struggling widows who start a business to sell a local food product, hoping to provide for their families. Together, they find healing and solace in the new venture, but their will to live independently is soon met with hostility.LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Before we say goodbye to nectarines, plums, peaches and the rest of the summer stone fruit, make this tart and serve it with great dollops of cream.Makes one 23cm tart1-2 sheets store-bought sweet shortcrust pastry5-6 nectarines, plums, apricots or peachesFilling100g unsalted butter, softened100g (caster sugar1 tablespoon plain flour2 size 6 free-range eggs,3 tsps vanilla extract1 cup + 2 tablespoons ground almonds1. Heat oven to 190 C. Place a tray in to heat up.2. Roll out pastry on a lightly floured surface and press into 23 cm tart tin. Prick all over with a fork, then chill for 30 minutes.3. Halve and remove stones from the fruit and cut each half in half.4. Beat together butter and sugar until smooth and pale. Beat in eggs one at a time then stir in vanilla, flour and almonds. Mix to combine. Spread mixture over chilled pastry. Arrange fruit on top of filling. Place tart tin onto heated baking tray and bake for 35-40 minutes or until pastry is cooked and filling is golden brown.5. Cool tart for 10 minutes before removing from tin.6. Serve slices warm or cooled with whipped cream!LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Eleven years ago, Kevin Milne spent two weeks in Ukraine filming a documentary for Intrepid Journeys. He speaks to Jack Tame about his experience visiting the country now at the centre of world news.LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The World is changing before our eyes. Russian forces continue to advance into Ukraine. Residents in Kyiv are being handed guns as they prepare to try and defend their homes.I won’t pretend for a moment to be some high-placed geopolitical analyst but in watching the events in Eastern Europe this week I’ve been taken by a few things.1) For all the tanks and artillery, paratroopers and fighter jets, Vladimir Putin continues to use information as perhaps his important and effective weapon. The propaganda and misinformation that comes from the Kremlin makes it very difficult for anyone – Russian or otherwise – to ever know with certainty what’s true and what isn’t. For months, Putin has been insisting he isn’t preparing for war. Russian talk shows called Western governments’ warning about a looming invasion ‘hysteria’ and ‘absurd.’ When Putin appeared on TV a few nights ago and made the case for invading Ukraine, he claimed to be fighting Ukrainian neo-Nazis, despite the fact Ukraine’s president is a Jewish comedian. When the Ukrainian President made a similar address as a last-ditch effort to prevent war, he spoke in Russian, appealing directly to the Russian people.“I know they won’t show my address on Russian TV.” He said.“But Russian people have to see it.”Russia dedicates resource to weaponising information abroad. Putin was able to utterly destablise parts of the American democracy by hacking emails from Hillary Clinton’s campaign team. We’ll never fully quantify just how many people were led astray by Russian bots spreading misinformation on Facebook in the leadup to the 2016 U.S election. But the Kremlin’s propaganda octopus has awfully long tentacles. Just this week, the highest-rating show on Fox News was echoing talking points from the Kremlin. Host Tucker Carlson, no doubt led in his messaging by his close relationship with Donald Trump, said on-air that Ukraine isn’t a “real democracy” and the conflict in Eastern Europe was a mere “border dispute.” Millions of viewers lapped it up.2) We are witnessing in real time yet another step in America’s retreat from global dominance. I’m not saying Russia is taking its place. I’m just saying that Russia is thumbing its nose and there’s next to nothing America can do about it. Having played World Police for the last seventy years, the American public has little appetite for foreign wars. Biden has ruled out fighting with Russian troops and the Afghanistan fiasco has reminded everyone that the World’s mightiest military power perhaps isn’t so mighty after all. The threat of sanctions was insufficient to stop Vladimir Putin. And that’s it.It also has to be said, the U.S ceded the moral high ground. There is an obvious hypocrisy in seeing American leaders rage against Russia’s invasion of a sovereign country. Vladimir Putin opposed the invasion of Iraq. If it was ok for the U.S to invade sovereign territory on the other side of the World, why can’t Russia invade its neighbour?3) Once again we are reminded of the impotence of international organisations. Countries like New Zealand can strongly condemn and blah blah blah but it won’t do anything. The U.N is hamstrung by the Security Council’s power of veto. Russia’s biggest trading partner, China, is conspicuous in its relative silence, so far refusing to condemn the Russian invasion and likely gaming out what the international response would mean for potential similar action in Taiwan.We are watching the World order change in real time. All we can really do is hope it isn’t too bloody.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

You can now see the data powering your Uber rating Uber's new privacy center shows you a lot more of the data they collect about you...including your rating as a passenger. You can now see exactly how many 1-star rides are ruining your perfect 5-star score. They're also showing you how many rides you've taken, how many Eats orders you've made.. which makes for horrifying reading for some! Is the web facing a new Y2K style problem? Chrome, the world's most popular web browser, is about to hit version 100, which could cause issues with websites and web applications. If the applications are looking at what the browser's version is, and are expecting a two digit number, then those sites could break when they get three digits. Microsoft Edge is built off the base of Google Chrome so will face similar problems. The savvy developers have seen this coming and have been testing to make sure they're good to go.LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Catherine Raynes has been reading The Maid by Nita Prose and Again, Rachel - the first sequel from Marian Keyes about everyone's favourite character, Rachel Walsh. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Mike Yardley's been working up a sweat biking and hiking around Ruapehu on the Central Plateau. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

One of the easiest ways to make a difference in the climate emergency is composting your organic waste rather than throwing it in your rubbish binOrganic matter in your rubbish goes into the landfill where is starts composting in amongst your paper and plastic waste. This causes methane to build up, which is a strong greenhouse gas, and can also reintroduce some of the nasty chemicals and heavy metals back into our environment. Not good.If you have no room you can use a worm farm or bokashi bin. Jack has been using a worm bin for years in his balcony gardenToday we will talk about a backyard compostMany people are a bit afraid or concerned that it will take too much time to compost and be messy. Let’s talk about how easy, and in the end satisfying, composting can beWhat do you needFirst of all find a handsome closable container that can sit on your bench and take all the scraps as you prepare your meals and then scrap off your plates after eating. We also have a larger bin on the floor that operates by a foot action to open the lid,. This is for bigger meals, corn and harvest season and when you have visitors and are eating a lot of food.A garden fork is handy to own and best for turning the compostCollect green materials, usually grass clippings , coffee grounds and if available manure from horses, cows, chickens or sheep. These are high nitrogen additives that will kick start the microbes breaking down your waste. The green items also include your kitchen waste including egg shells, tea leaves etc.For your brown materials wood chips from the local garden contractors are perfect. Other “brown” options include shredded cardboard, dried leaves, straw or hay, all of which should be well mixed with other items so they don’t compact and impede air flow.Then find a space in your yard for the bin, preferably in the shade. Bins come in many shapes and sizes. Find one that suits your habits and spaceCompost requires four main ingredients: water, oxygen, nitrogen — from “green” items — and carbon — from “brown” itemsA compost pile should be damp, like a squeezed-out sponge, but not dripping, and the more often you turn it and give it oxygen, the faster the microbes can break the materials down to an earthy-smelling, chocolate-brown amendment for your soil. You don’t have to turn it at all, but it will take much longer for all the materials to break down.1. Start with a 8 to 15cm layer of untreated wood chips or small broken branches at the bottom of a bin or just on the ground. This will help absorb odours and provide air circulation.2. Add a 8cm layer of green or nitrogen items, such as vegetable trimmings and eggshells.3. Add a 3cm layer of a high-nitrogen activator such as manure, brew waste or coffee grounds. If you use grass clippings, make sure to mix them in with other items so they don’t compact.4. Add a 8cm layer of brown or carbon ingredients, such as wood chips, shredded newspaper or cardboard, straw or hay, pine needles or dry leaves (well mixed with other ingredients so they don’t mat).5. Water those layers well so the pile is thoroughly wet, and if you have enough ingredients, repeat the same layering process, watering again to ensure all the ingredients get wet.6. Turn the pile monthly by forking ingredients from the bottom of the pile to the top. When you add food scraps, cover them with wood chips or some other brown material to absorb odours and deter pests, but try to keep an even balance of greens and browns and make sure the pile stays moist. If the pile gets too dry, decomposition slows and it’s more likely to attract ants and other pests. Add more greens and water, and turn. If the pile starts smelling or gets too wet, add more brown carbon material and mix it well.7. Once you fill a bin, let it “cook” for a few months (turning it monthly will speed the process) and start a second bin or pile...See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

There are a lot of nonsense stories around white-tails. People seem to be very frightened of them; I blame the media, who don’t seem to have a scientific bone in their bodyThese species are from Australia – came here in the 1800-s, probably with household goods in containers; we now have a couple of species Lampona cylindrata and Lampona murina.Recent taxonomic investigations showed there are 61 species of white-tails in Australia; imagine what we’ve missed out on so far!They are nocturnal huntersLove to live on the outside of our houses – their favourite prey is grey house spider; the one that makes those messy cobwebs on weather boards and in the corner of windows – and yes… also the one that lives in your car’s side mirrors!Warm summer: people sleep with windows open; easy entry for the spiders.When disturbed, they tend to run quickly and hide in all sorts of nooks and crannies; yep – they may find their way under the sheets as wellWhite tails can and will bite when trapped or provoked.But… the media reports of serious repercussions, including necrotising fasciatus – or - necrotising arachnidism (where the flesh starts to die as a result of an infection in the bite) are simply unsubstantiated – bad journalism and highly dodgy!So far there is no white tail bite recorded where the biting spider was identified by an entomologist, and the patient was observed by medical experts, linking the whole cause and effect up in truly proper scientific manner.The spider bites that have been followed up resulted in nothing more than a pair of red fang marks and a wee bit of short-lived painThen there is the Daddy-Longlegs myth:White tails are unlikely to capture and devour these cellar spiders (Daddy Longlegs); I’ve tried it many times: put a white-tail and a Daddy-Longlegs in one container and see who eats who.(Great trick for the classroom, by the way!)In almost 100% of the cases the Daddy-Longlegs will wrap up the white tail before it even gets anywhere near the body of that long-legged spider!Just thought I’d tell you about that,So you can stop worrying!LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.