Saturday Morning with Jack Tame

Ordering free COVID tests was a breezeThe US Government is offering four free at-home COVID tests to each residence and ordering them was super simple - I'd probably describe it as one of the best interactions I've ever had with a government service. To make it happen they tapped the resources of the US Postal Service. The page was effectively a checkout page, with the product already selected, the price very clearly shown as free. You just needed to add your name and address and press submit. It was really that easy. If only every service was that good! Netflix is having a rough 2022First it's annoyed customers in the US and Canada by raising prices around 11% making the basic plan $15.50 a month - which is the third time they've increased prices since 2019. They're now one of the most expensive streaming services in the market.Now the value of the company has fallen by almost a quarter in just a week. Massive content spend, increased competition and lower than expected subscriber growth is thought to be behind it.Netflix is expected to spend $230 billion on content in 2022 - that's only behind Disney and Comcast (who owns NBCUniversal and Sky in the UK). Their spending is probably only outpacing Netflix because they're spending big money on sports rights to things like the NFL, NBA and Olympics.LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Under the Vines: a charming new romantic drama about a Sydney socialite (Rebecca Gibney) and London lawyer (The Crown’s Charles Edwards) who mutually inherit a run-down vineyard in New Zealand (Wednesdays on TVNZ 1 and TVNZ OnDemand).Bloom: An Australian fantasy drama starring Bryan Brown and Jacki Weaver. A year after a devastating country flood kills five people, a new plant is discovered with the power to restore youth. This is a miracle for locals but some are prepared to kill for it (both seasons on TVNZ OnDemand).Stay Close: This British thriller is the latest Netflix adaptation of one of Harlan Coben’s bestselling novels. When Carlton Flynn vanishes 17 years to the night after Stewart Green did, it sets off a chain reaction in the lives of people connected to both men. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Matthew Vaughn is a renowned Hollywood director and producer with a portfolio chocka full of cracker films such as Rocketman, Kick-Ass and the comedy classic, Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels. He’s also directed and written the King’s Men series, which stars Ralph Fiennes and Colin Firth. A third installment has just been released called The King’s Man. Matthew Vaughn speaks to Francesca Rudkin about his love of being involved in the King's Men series. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Movie reviewer Chris Schulz speaks to Francesca Rudkin about the House of Gucci film and another Scream installment. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The weather has been wonderfully settled for months – I’ll remember it as cloudless blue skies and 27 every day, regardless of what weather forecasters predicted, and even when it wasn’t.Traveling around the North Island over the Christmas and New Year, I noticed a relaxed Kiwi summer vibe. Maybe it was the exhilaration of being able to leave home towns and visit family and friends, maybe it was the relief another difficult year had ended – but there was a distinct feeling people were enjoying the here and now.Not even the mention of an international DJ’s walkabout with Omicron was going to dampen the mood. Nothing was going to ruin the holiday vibe. We covered our ears and sang lalalalala. There would be plenty of time to return to life, and the reality of the challenges that lie ahead, a little later on.A friend recently said to me that this summer reminded her of the Kiwi summers of her childhood – constant long hot days and balmy evenings. Were our summers always sunny and hot? I suspect it’s nostalgic and the selective memory of a childhood at play.When I look at our faded family photos from the 70s and 80s, of summers spent at the beach, it clear not much has changed. OK, so maybe bikinis have become a little more revealing and sun umbrellas have turned into tents, but a swim in the sea is still an invigorating experience, there are still those annoying patches of sunburn from badly applied sunscreen, boogie board rashes, and sea lice.So after two years of craziness, this summer has fulfilled a craving for normality, a return to the simple and familiar.A respite from reality which was abruptly interrupted this week.“Think about what you need at home if you are required to isolate. Think about contingency planning should parts of your workforce need to stay at home", was the Prime Minister’s advice on Thursday.Trevor Mallard followed up the Prime Minister’s press conference with a tweet saying “Omicron is coming and when it arrives it will spread quickly. If you can afford it it will pay to stock up a bit. There will be thousands of close contacts a day.” Have we not been lectured against panic buying for two years now? At least the Speaker then offered to do a grocery or medicine run for anyone in need in Wainuiomata. Bless him.And then the Finance Minister suggested there were no funds for a forth vaccine jab. Hasn’t our whole approach been based around the importance of getting the jab?If the government hadn’t shut down the MIQ lottery for March and April this week, you’d almost think they were handing over responsibility to the individual to deal with Covid from here on in.But back to summer.The joy of this summer has been knowing that each day will be the same. As New Zealanders we sometimes feel we must get out and do something – especially on a fabulous day.I tend to be guilty of that. But once I realised this endless summer wasn’t going anywhere, and there would be many more days ahead, I happily spent down time after work and on days’ off lying in the shade with a book in hand.Enjoying the calm before the next storm.I hope you’ve had a chance to do that too.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Kevin Milne speaks to Francesca Rudkin about the hot weather over the summer break - and why that's not necessarily a good thing. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Music reviewer Estelle Clifford reminisces on her top albums of the year. Want to listen? Click the link below to a Spotify playlist of all the songs on each album.Estelle Clifford's top albums of the yearLISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Catherine’s top picks for summer Fiction: Never – Ken Follet The Lincoln Highway – Amor Towles Malibu Rising – Taylor Jenkins Reed Wish You Were Here – Jodi Picoult Non-fiction The Incredible Life of Hubert Wilkins – Peter Fitzsimons Windswept and Interesting – Billy Connelly This Much I Know To Be True – Miriam Margolyes Story teller – Dave Grohl LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Mike Yardley gives his top tips on western Southland - places like Riverton and Gemstone Beach.LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

New Year is a common trigger for relationships to end. Three things to consider:1. We tend to be attracted to similar people, people who break up tend to change the person not the problems. 2. Where there are communication problems we often misinterpret our partners intentions. 3. If we have kids we have a relationship with our partner for the rest of our life, how we separate matters. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Looking forward to Christmas? Why not dive into the garden with a glass of Campari/Soda, grab a hammock and through squinted eye-lids observe the typical summer features in the bug department Close your eyes slightly and look in the direction of the sun. Especially when the late afternoon sun is lower in the sky and temps are up. Millions of tiny insects fly around. Migrating winged aphids – looking for new host plants Winged thrips (even smaller than aphids) also looking for somewhere to land and feed and… a good, sturdy mate to enjoy the Christmas season with Microscopic parasitic wasps – looking for new (insect!) hosts to lay their eggs in Ballooning two-spotted spider mites – yes, these wingless mites will create a strand of silk to migrate with on quiet days with little wind. After all they’re related to spiders! Baby spider often do exactly the same thing: float on their strand of silk and move long distances; we even get those large Orb-weaving spiders from Australia, here in NZ… they move here at this time of the year and grow to become huge adult spiders – sooo cooool. Very small flies (things like Drosophila – vinegar flies) – the creatures that buzz around your fruit bowl, following the smell of over-ripe fruit; going from house to house to compost bin Minute midges, wanting to lay their eggs in damp soil or even the edge of your pond Dancing flies, that create clouds of constantly-moving swarms of insects in a mating frenzy If you get a butterfly net (with really fine mesh) sweep overe the lawn in summer and see what you catch – that is a serious lot of tiny invertebrates – Biodiversity!! Our biodiversity starts with the smallest of creatures. They all have a job to do.They all form the basis of the food chain And…they all travel in a particular way… effortlessly. Merry Christmas everyone!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Mumm Marlborough NV Brut Prestige $35Why I chose it:- Thought I’d go out with a bang on my last pick for 2021- A collaboration between Mumm Champagne and Pernod Ricard NZ. A blend of 46% Pinot Noir, 45% Chardonnay and 9% Pinot Meunier.- Think of it as a Kiwi wine with a slight French accent- Open carefully by covering the cork with a napkin as you loosen the wire. Best to hold the bottle at 45 degrees.What does it taste like?- Delicately aromatic sparkler with lemon curd, citrus blossom, and baguette crust flavours. Seamless wine with a seductively ethereal texture and delicious mouth-tingling acidity.Why it’s a bargain:- Champagne prices start at around $50 while good NZ Methode (bottle-fermented sparkling wine made using the champagne process) starts at around $30. It is champagne quality at a local Methode price.Where you can buy it?- Glengarry, Super Liquor, New World and Liquorland all have it at $29.99. That’s a very good price but shop around and don’t forget to ask for a bulk discount if you plan to buy six or more bottles.Food match?- Freshly shucked oysters garnished with a squeeze of lime is my favourite, but it is a versatile food match.Will it keep?- Not in my house. It is probably as good as it is going to be but no rushLISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What you should know about the worst computer vulnerability security researchers have ever seen.It's called Log4j. It's a tiny logging application which records actions taken by users or systems that lives deep inside the software. Basically any application running on Java includes it.. which is a staggeringly large list. Hackers can use a vulnerability in Log4j to install ransomware or malicious code onto the server/system running the software.Java is used as a programming language by some of the biggest corporations and government departments so change won't happen quickly.. which means these vulnerabilities are going to be open for some time. Security researchers are expecting 2022 to be a rough year.Apple is delaying its return to the officeCompanies are basically giving up on dates now. Omicron is destroying any and all plans.My favorite thing to do when you've got a moment..Change those passwords! Clean them up! Give the gift of a password manager this Christmas!LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Our very own Gin Wigmore is returning home for a five-date tour next year. She’s currently based in L.A with her family where she’s writing a new album and running a hotel called The Good House. She cathces up with Jack Tame on music, her life overseas and what she's looking forward to about coming home. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

XMAS RECIPES & TIPS TURKEY The trick to cooking the perfect turkey is this; stuff, truss and flip, by which I mean that I stuff it with a buttery stuffing, including under the breast skin, before trussing it to keep the legs and wings tucked into the body so that it cooks evenly and then, once cooked, flip it to rest on its breast so that all the lovely juices run in to moisten the breast meat. Perfect! Orange maple glazed ham, sourdough and mustard sauce There’s nothing quite like warm ham at Christmas and glazing it yourself is easy to do. Serves 10+ ½ or whole cooked ham, try and select one with a decent fat layer under the skin 3 fresh oranges 2 tablespoons maple syrup 1 heaped tablespoon flour 2 tablespoons wholegrain mustard Sourdough to serve Heat oven to 120 C and place ham in to warm for 30 minutes. Take out and remove top layer of skin, leaving the layer of fat intact. Warming the ham first makes it much easier to ease the skin away from the fatty layer. Use a sharp knife to score the fat layer in whatever pattern you like. Slice one orange into very thin rounds. Make the glaze by mixing together juice from the remaining two oranges, maple syrup, flour and mustard to a smooth paste. Rub this into the fat then arrange orange slices in top to cover the top. Brush the oranges with the remaining glaze. Bake for 1 hour, basting after 30 minutes. Serve thick slices of warm ham with warmed sourdough and mustard sauce.Mustard sauce 2 tablespoons hot mustard ¼ cup mayo, crème fraiche or sour cream Salt and pepper Mix together to form a smooth sauceLISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Movie reviewer Francesca Rudkin has been watching the new Spiderman movie, Ghostbusters & The King's Man. She's also got a review of Westside Story and The Matrix: Resurrection. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Kevin Milne chats to Jack Tame about the ups and downs of 2021. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In July of this year, my Dad almost carked it.He went tramping alone in the bush in winter. He got lost. He fell.He smashed up his body and fractured a vertabrae. He was hallucinating, hypothermic, severely-dehydrated, suffering serious muscle wastage and close to kidney failure, when the Nelson Marlborough Rescue Helicopter answered his emergency locator beacon and winched him out of the bush, alive. A few days later, his new granddaughter was born.When the two of them sit down at Christmas lunch next week, there will be plenty of reasons for the Tame family to feel grateful.I’ve been thinking a lot about gratitude, this week. I’ve been reflecting on all the stresses and challenges we’ve faced. 2021, maybe even more than 2020, has been dominated by the pandemic. For our last show together this year, I’ve been trying to put our experience in context.The truth is, despite everything, I’m still grateful to have spent the majority of the last two years in New Zealand. Of course, there have been significant errors in our Covid response. I think we were woefully unprepared for Delta in New Zealand, despite all the warning signs. Sir John Key said ‘Smug hermit kingdom.’ I’d say complacent, or naive. We didn’t properly plan for a scenario where lockdowns weren’t enough to knock out the virus. It took community spread for us to inject urgency into the response. It took community spread for us to go to the secondary vaccine market, to introduce vaccine certificates and mandates.I think, at times, we’ve treated New Zealanders overseas like second-class citizens. History will show, despite all the warnings from public health experts, we stuffed up elements of the response for Māori. We weren’t ready for at-home isolation monitoring. We didn’t increase ICU capacity. It took forever for saliva and Rapid Antigen tests to become available.And yet... and yet... and YET. I still think, if you had to pick any major country in which to have spent the last two years, New Zealand would have to be near the top of the list. Sure, at certain moments it would have been nicer to be living in New York or the U.K or Spain or wherever else. When Auckland was locked down and the Northern Hemisphere was living large? Sure. I felt envious, too. But compare us, now. The U.S just passed 800,000 recorded deaths. New Zealand is still in double figures. We have a 90% eligible vaccination rate. Any way you look at it, that’s an extraordinary achievement.I appreciate this view might put me in the minority amongst my Newstalk ZB colleagues. But you know, we are capable of a little bit of complexity in our thinking. We can hold two seemingly contradictory thoughts in our heads. We can acknowledge our leaders and bureacracy have made significant errors - errors which deserve hard critiques and political consequences – but that the totality of our response has still made New Zealand a much better place to be for the last two years than most other places in the World. I’m grateful for that.I don’t know how easy it’s going to be to escape the pandemic, this summer. Omicron probably has its own plans, but at the very least, I’m going to try.On Monday I’ll fly to Nelson. I’ll drive home to Golden Bay. And if the weather’s clear next week, I’ll head out on the overnight tramp on which my Dad almost died six months ago. My brother, my sister, and my old man will climb up to Boulder Lake. The plan is to start early, and go slowly. If all goes well, we’ll reach the hut hours before sunset. We’ll make a brew. We’ll have a feed. We’ll bunk down for another family Christmas, bruised, weary, and grateful.LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Estelle Clifford gives us the lowdown on Kiwi country singer Kaylee Bell and her new album Silver Linings. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Theroux the Keyhole – Louis Theroux Step inside Louis' life like never before as he turns his critical eye on himself, his home, and family and tries to make sense of our weird and sometimes scary world. His new autobiography is the perfect book for our uncertain times by the hilarious and relatable Louis Theroux. For Your Own Good – Samantha Downing USA Today bestselling author Samantha Downing is back with her latest sneaky thriller set at a prestigious private school—complete with interfering parents, overeager students, and one teacher who just wants to teach them all a lesson LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Mike Yardley chats to Jack Tame about Queenstown - what to do, where's new to eat and drink and whether they're ready for the influx of Aucklanders once they're allowed out.LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Most of us have now come across Secret Santa either with our extended family or workmates. This is actually a very eco activity, swapping out lots of small presents, that often are never used, to one well thought out gift, mainly within a price range. This can be given out randomly, this was the job of the youngest member of our family, or someone takes on, secretly letting everyone know who they are buying a present for.My families have now moved on the a more competitive version. Sometimes called Pirate Santa. Everyone is given a specific number, equal to the number of family present. The gifts are all put in the middle of the room.Number one chooses from this pile and opens it for everyone to see then places this present in front of themselves.Number 2 now can choose another present or take the present off number 1. If this happens number one has to choose another present.By number 3 they can take the present from 1 or 2 or choose a new present. If say number 2 has their present taken they can choose a new present or take the present from number 1.By the time you get to say number 11, there can be multiple instances of presents being taken. The only thing is you can’t take a present that has already been taken in that round.I have had my favourite present taken and then got it back up to six times during one of these sessions.It’s a lot of fun and quite revealing of the characters of your group.Secret Santa gifts can also be played around with.You can choose themes - the idea that an experience is more valuable than an object can be used.Make the gifts all experiences. A visit to the movies, a home cooked meal, an offer to do chores at the persons house. Let your imagination go wild. This secret Santa can still be played in any of the versions we have talked about . Probably works better with family than work matesMake the gift ridiculously cheap, say $2, but at the same time magical . This works best if it is the version that you know who you are buying the present for. Time to let those creative juices flowThe gift can be a food item that you have made yourself although if it’s open to all, you may have to make it vegan and gluten-free. You can present this in a beautiful container which is part of the giftMake everything second hand - junk shop treasures.I guess Xmas gifting is a great time to be true to your values. Let your friends and family see you can walk the talk.I read something recently that said normalise fruit trees, sourdough starter and favourite recipes as gifts. Give something that can keep giving for generations.LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Gardening in a dry, hot timeAlways tricky; evaporation and transpiration really take it out of the ground and the plant’s system.Water when it gets cooler (late evening or better still: really early morning).Try not water all over the plants – it needs to end up in the root zone, so aim for that.Water on leaves causes burning and that hurts the plants.Droplets can act as a microscopic lens that magnifies the sun rays.Imagine an upside-down plastic bottle buried into the root-zone of a shrub… with its bottom cut off.Now fill the bottle with water and that water slowly leaks out of the neck under the soil surface right into the zone where the roots are.Easy to re-fill and therefore delivering the water exactly where it’s needed(not on the leaves, but on the roots)Instead of just water: put some very diluted liquid fertiliser in; water and minerals at the same time!Sprinklers are quite dodgy: the small droplets will largely disappear (evaporation) before they hit the ground;Also: you can’t really control where these droplets (or the remains there-of) will fall.Mulch is a covering material that literally protects the soil from direct sunlight. It cools that soil and the root zone and will significantly reduce evaporation from the soilBecause mulch consists of large particles (and not the fine clay or loam and sand particles) it breaks the hygroscopic movement of water in the soil; it’s all to do with interrupting the capillary action and that stops water moving from cooler, wetter areas down below to the hotter, drier areas of soil near the surfaceDESIGNWith the disruption of climate, some areas will get drier (East Coast) others get wetter (West Coast) or windier.Adapt planting to these conditions.Succulents and Mediterranean plants will deal better with drier conditions; as do Salvia, Hosta, Corokia, thyme – do a google search there’s plenty of great plants!Some of our native wetland species can cope with occasional flooding – some trees (kahikatea and plants (flax) are ideally suited to wetlands, as are puketea, swamp maire, ribbonwood, putaputaweta…Shelter from wind can be useful too.There are also plants that don’t care too much about salt-laden winds (Griselinia, Tecomanthe, bougainvillea, Pyrostegia, Pittosporums, Echiums etc etc).LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Our resident doctor Bryan Betty chats to Jack Tame about the year of Covid and how successful we have been with the vaccination program. He also talks about why there's the issue with Māori vaccination rates, Covid in the community and the emergence of Omicron.Bryan Betty is a GP and medical director for the College of GPs. He’s also on the Covid-19 advisory committee. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tara Ward joined Jack Tame and shared her picks for this week:And Just Like That: It’s the Sex in the City revival that follows Carrie, Charlotte and Miranda once again as they navigate friendship, love and relationships through their 50s, with New York City as the backdrop (Neon)The Investigation: a six-part documentary series that follows the investigation into the death of Swedish journalist Kim Wall, which made headlines around the world as “the submarine case” (TVNZ OnDemand)The Teacher: Sheridan Smith stars in this British thriller about a teacher with a chaotic private life who is accused of having a drunken sexual encounter with a student. But with no memory of the night and hoping for redemption, she sets out to uncover the truth (TVNZ OnDemand).LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Amazon showed just how big it is againNot only are they so big they can get around the global supply chain crunch by building their own containers and putting them on their own planes, but they also take down thousands of web services when their cloud hits a grey patch.Their 'US-East' region of Amazon Web Services went out for hours this week crippling a wide range of apps likes Tinder, Coinbase and Disney+ but also smart home services like self-cleaning cat litter boxes and roomba vacuums! Amazon's own operations were also halted when their internal apps went down too.LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Erik Weihenmayer is one of the most accomplished mountaineers and adventurers in the world. He’s climbed Mount Everest, reached the top of the tallest peaks on each of the seven continents and paddled the entire 445 kilometres of the Grand Canyon on the Colorado River. But what makes Erik’s achievements so unique is that he’s blind. Jack Tame chats to Erik about his expeditions and his latest adventure - in front of the camera with actor Will Smith as part of Disney’s Welcome to Earth series. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

‘Tis the season to be jolly and this dessert is jolly good! A choux pastry wreath is a stunning dessert for the festive table and it is absolutely delicious.Serves 8-12Choux130g chilled butter, chopped250mls water145g plain flour4 large eggs (about 230g in the shell), lightly whisked½ teaspoon sea salt3 teaspoons sugar (optional)150g white chocolate¼ cup cream4 tablespoon fruit compote, I used Barker’s cherry and vanillaFilling300ml cream200g mascarpone2 teaspoons vanilla extract2 tablespoons icing sugar + extra to dust2 cups fresh mixed berries to serve1. Preheat oven to 170C fan and line a baking tray with baking paper. Drawn a 25cm circle on it to use as a guide.2. Heat the butter and water in a saucepan over medium heat for 1-2 minutes or until the butter melts and the mixture comes to the boil. Add the flour and use a wooden spoon to beat for 1-2 minutes or until the mixture comes away from side of pan. Transfer to the bowl of a standing mixer or to another bowl that you can use an electric beater in. Allow it to cool for 4-5 minutes.3. Begin to beat and add an egg with the beaters still running. Once incorporated, add the next and so on. I beat the final egg with a fork first before drizzling it in bit by bit as you may not need all of it to get a choux pastry mixture that is thick and glossy.4. Use a tablespoon to spoon 12 even spoonfuls within the drawn circle on your tray. I start with one at 12 o-clock, then six, then 3 and 9 and then I fill in the gaps. Using a finger moistened with water, smooth out any peaks on top of the choux mounds.5. Bake for 45-50 minutes or until puffed and golden. Reduce the heat to 100 C fan and bake for a further 10 minutes. Turn the oven off. Leave the puffs in the oven for at least 1 hour to dry and crisp up. Cool.6. Carefully cut the profiterole ring in half horizontally. Discard any pieces of uncooked dough from the profiterole centres. It can now be stored in an airtight container for a few days. Crisp it in a 100 C oven before filling and decorating.7. Melt white chocolate over a gentle heat, whisking in enough cream to form a thick smooth sauce. Cool to warm. Spread each profiterole with white chocolate sauce. Chill briefly to set.8. To fill; Dab fruit compote into each profiterole, add some fresh berries too. Beat together cream, mascarpone and icing sugar until stiff peaks form – watch you don’tover beat it. Spoon this mixture into the ring base and gently place the top ring. Dust with icing sugar.9. To serve, pull apart each profiterole and serve with fresh berries.LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Francesca Rudkin gives us the lowdown on Wes Anderson's The French Dispatch and a sobering documentary about Covid called The First Wave."The French Dispatch" is inspired by New York magazine and is set in France. Rudkin says it's an incredible lineup with stars, a lot of them familiar with Wes Anderson fans."The First Wave" is a National Geographic documentary that looks at the first wave of Covid-19 cases in New York. Rudkin says the tone is quite right to watch the film as we have moved on in the world with Covid.LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Kevin Milne is celebrating the 23rd birthday of an icon of the entertainment industry but it's not quite who you think! He told Jack Tame the Big Mouth Billy Bass is set to tragically spend its birthday on Thursday once again high and dry and out of battery in some dark places in garages."I urge all our listeners who have a Big Mouth Billy Bass in their shed or loft release him like you would any unwanted fish."The Big Mouth Billy Bass made an estimated US $100 million in nine months.LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Let’s get one thing straight: It would be fantastic if New Zealanders didn’t smoke.Our Smokefree 2025 aspirations, although perhaps a smidgen optimistic, are excellent. The steps we’ve taken over the last few decades, from advertising restrictions to plain packaging laws, excise tax hikes to the recent ban on smoking in cars, have made a massive difference to the number of New Zealanders who smoke cigarettes. I look back to the childhood evenings I spent in rugby clubrooms, heavy with a fog of cigarette smoke, and it feels like a different life.But I do have some reservations about the phased-in ban on cigarette sales. Restricting drug access can have unintended consequences. Would we have seen the surge in dairies being robbed in violent robberies if we hadn’t massively increased excise taxes? Of course not. And more broadly, does banning drug use ever work? In my experience, human-beings will always find a way to get an illicit fix. If you ban anything, you automatically create illegal demand. And the black market for cigarettes might not end up being too big, you can be sure it will exist. It already does!The thing that tilts me in favour of the proposal is that the drug which makes cigarettes so addicitive – nicotine – isn’t actually being banned at all. I’ve got heaps of mates who have moved off the lungas’ and onto vaping instead. I’m almost 35, I’ve never smoked a cigarette and I’m confident I never will. But I have had a hoon on a few vape pens in my time. With watermelon or mango or cool mint flavours, I can see why the kids like them so much. Banning cigarettes simply wouldn’t be possible if we didn’t have something like vaping as an alternative. But that has its own issues. There will be many young New Zealanders – tens or hundreds of thousands, even – who might never have smoked a cigarette, but become addicted to vaping instead. I suppose this is a cost of progress.I have to say though, I prickle when I compare our politicians’ proactive work with tobacco to that of other drugs. If we were to step back and consider what drug harm needed priorisiting in New Zealand, cigarettes and tobacco wouldn’t be top of the list.It’d be booze. Booze is the number one cause of death for young New Zealanders aged between 15 and 49. Booze kills almost three times as many New Zealanders every year as smoking. And that’s not to mention all of the crime, violence, and societal problems it causes.For tobacco, we’ve gone hard. We’ve banned advertising and sponsorship. We’ve cranked up excise taxes. We’ve introduced plain packaging laws and banned smoking indoors. We’ve heavily subsidised programmes to help Kiwis quit.With booze? ... Nothing.I’m not suggesting we ban alcohol. Of course not. But it looks increasingly likely New Zealand will move to ban the sale of cigarettes before it gets anywhere near introducing the simplest advertising or marketing restrictions for our most harmful drug.I’m open to the phased-in ban on cigarettes. I hope it’ll work. The Cancer Society reckons it’s courageous. But if you want real courage, find me a government that’ll do something meaningful about alcohol.LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Estelle Clifford has been listening to US indie singer-songwriter Julien Baker and her new album, Little Oblivions. She told Jack Tame this album can be confronting at times. "What I loved about this album is it's so well produced and in-control-sounding and it's about a whole lot of stuff when you're not in control...It's quite clever."LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Book expert Catherine Raynes has been enjoying Jodi Picoult's new novel Wish You Were Here and acting legend Stanley Tucci's memoir Taste: My Life Through Food. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Mike Yardley gives us the lowdown on the Catlins - from Curio Bay to Nugget Point.LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Common problems and questions1) Compost bin or worm farm is full of little white worms and moreI often see a compost bin as a miniature version of a perfect ecosystem.Anybody who’s job it is to break down organic matter will live there – first the “shredders” of waste material: millipedes, slugs/snails, slaters, roaches, beetle larvae, some maggots – even mice and rats.Their waste (excrement) is broken down by the next group of “composters”: fungi, amphipods (litter hoppers)Next lot is the extremely numerous springtails and tiny fruitfly larvaeThen come the mites (minute), bacteria and other small “finishers”. sometimes fungal, some worms.Even worm farms should have all these in them at some stage and that’s how Nature runs the show2) Leafcurl on stonefruit/peaches/plumsFungal disease that started last autumn when infection began; The new buds that were formed in autumn and during early winter got the fungal spores on them and it manifested itself as leafcurl in spring and early summer.Prevent next years’ infection by spraying double dose of copper when half your leaves have fallen off in autumn – do that twice in a row a few weeks apart3) Fruit trees not fruiting well or flowering plants not flowering wellUsually a deficiency of potash (the “K” in NPK)Did you fertilise your plant at all?? If answer is not: use some rose fert or tomato fert a few times a year – little and often. I tend to grab Seafood soup and Seaweed tea and alternate those often.Just using Blood and Bone (Mostly “N” and some “P”!!!) does not give a plant much incentive to grow flowers and fruit: Chuck some sulphate of potash around the ailing plant in late spring, and during summer – water well in and do it again in early spring next year – That usually does the trick4) Need pollinators!!!Some people think that lack of fruit is result of “no bees”.MaybeAlways make sure you have plenty of flowers around your garden that will attract the insects that do the pollination… and it’s certainly not just “bees”: Blow Flies, beetles, thrips, mites, drone flies and hoverflies as well as the dozens of native bee species we have in NZ (some can be tiny!)I adore the colourful exotic flowers you can plant around the vegie garden or orchard; but some of the tiny native flowers are just as attractive and they cater for a totally different “market”Biodiverse gardens includes biodiverse plantings and that even may include “weeds” such as dill and flowering parsley and flowering wild carrot and especially yarrow!!!5) Tiny black insects digging tunnels in my clay soilHa! Those are some of the native bees we just discussed; these critters are brilliant at all their jobs and make a tiny, thin tube into the soil where they have a few larvae, fed on pollen and nectar;Our native bees are not “social” bees (like honey bees) but each tunnel is one pair… mind you they do like living “together” with other pairs in that patch of soil, so it looks like they’re almost social.LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Steven Dromgool share his tips for remembering missing loved ones at Christmas with Jack Tame.Covid restrictions can hit people hard at Christmas but there are ways to make space for the loss and still celebrate. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Finance expert Hannah McQueen talks about how to make 2022 a more fruitful one financially. While we can’t control Covid, she tells Jack Tame, there are other things within our control that people can focus on amid high inflation and rising interest rates."Depending on your problem, there's a particular strategy that's appropriate."She said there are easy fixes.LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

How would you feel if your phone's camera was always watching? Qualcomm's latest processor will have this capability - which means it could be coming to Android devices as early as next year.Here's how they're pitching it.. it makes it easier to unlock your phone because it will unlock the moment you look at it. You can then quickly look over at your phone to see notifications instead of needing to pick it up. They're pitching it as making your phone more secure, because as soon as you're not looking at it, it will lock. If it can see you and someone else, then private information or notifications could be hidden.They say the images are not recorded or saved, the camera is just scanning for faces. When it's in this scanning mode, none of the other phone's functions are connected. Only when a face is detected is when those other systems are activated and the face is authenticated.Jack Dorsey, one of the founders of Twitter had a big weekHe stood down from his CEO position, handing it over to the CTO. He's presumably going to now focus more of his attention on Square, which this week got renamed as 'Block'. Facebook rebranded as Meta to own the metaverse space, now Square wants to be everything Blockchain?LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Acting legend Melanie Lynskey is a true Kiwi success story. She rose to fame as Pauline in Peter Jackson’s 1994 film Heavenly Creatures and has since starred in the likes of Two and a Half Men, Togetherness and Mrs. America. The 44-year-old now has a starring role in new thriller series Yellowjackets which has rave reviews so far. Jack Tame catches up with the actor. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Dan Brown’s The Lost Symbol: Based on the 2009 Dan Brown novel of the same name, The Lost Symbol is the story of a young Robert Langdon (Ashley Zukerman) being tasked by the CIA to solve a number of puzzles when his mentor (Eddie Izzard) is taken (Neon, from Monday 6 December)Heels: A new American drama about two brothers and rivals - one a villain, or "heel," in the ring; the other a hero, or "face," war over their late father's wrestling promotion, vying for national attention in small-town Georgia (TVNZ OnDemand).Moone Boy: Created and written by Chris O’Dowd, Moone Boy follows Martin Moone, a quirky young boy who lives in a small Irish town, has an imaginary friend named Sean. With Sean's help, Martin navigates life as the youngest member of a chaotic family (TVNZ OnDemand).LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Using frozen bananas as a base for ice cream creates a beautiful creamy texture!Add to it 2-3 cups of other frozen fruit (store-bought is fine) and about a third of a cup of liquid, either coconut cream, pouring cream or maple or sugar syrup. It’s great to use a high-powered blender for a smooth, gelato texture but a food processor will do the trick too, just stop and scrape down the sides frequently. Serve it immediately or freeze it solid then thaw for 15-25 minutes before scooping. Get as creative as you like with adding flavours!Berry vanilla ripple2 large bananas, chopped and frozen1 teaspoon vanilla paste400g frozen berries2-3 dates, soaked in warm water1/3 cup cream or coconut creamDark chocolate to serve1. Blend one frozen banana with vanilla until smooth – this will be your ripple. Set aside.2. Blend remaining banana with frozen fruit and dates and with the motor running drizzle in the cream or coconut cream and blend until smooth. Spoon into a lined loaf tin. Top with banana vanilla mix and with a spoon handle, marble it through the berry ice cream. Serve immediately or freeze for 2+ hours before scooping.Kiwifruit choc mint and coconut1 large banana, chopped and frozen400g chopped and frozen kiwifruit1/3 cup maple syrup or honeySmall handful mint leaves4 tablespoons grated dark chocolateCoconut to serve1. Blend everything except the coconut together until smooth. Spoon into a lined loaf tin. Top with coconut and either serve immediately or freeze for 2+ hours before scooping.Mango passionfruit1 large banana, chopped and frozen400g chopped & frozen mango1/3 cup coconut creamPassionfruit pulp or syrup to serve1. Blend everything except the passionfruit together until smooth. Spoon into a lined loaf tin. Top with drizzled passionfruit syrup and either serve immediately or freeze for 2+ hours before scooping.LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Francesca Rudkin's been watching Jane Campion's The Power of the Dog and a documentary called Burning, about the Australian bushfires.LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Out of all the political speeches that have been made this week, Kevin Milne speaks to Jack Tame about an interview Jack did with Jim Bolger which impressed him the most."In my mind, the interview was remarkable."LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

107 days.Maybe it’s Stockholm Syndrome. Maybe I’ve found a few more freedoms but lost my mind. I dunno. I never thought I would say this, but there actually a few things I’m going to miss about lockdown life.I only considered it last weekend, on what it transpired was my last lockdown picnic. Saturday was a glorious, warm summer night in Auckland. A whisper of a cool evening breeze. It was the sort of temperature where it’s so perfect you don’t think about the temperature. It doesn’t cross your mind.The park was chocka’. Everywhere, families and groups of mates had laid out their picnic mats to lounge and laugh and graze and sip wine in the fading light. The grass was soft. Kids were playing. Birds were squabbling in the twilight. It was bliss.‘Why don’t we always do this?’ asked my mate.I reckon. Picnics were one of the few great pleasures of lockdown. I know it wasn’t just me. Every evening I passed the park, it was close to standing room only. It actually reminded me of the Great Lawn in New York’s Central Park. In a city where most people live in tiny apartments, it’s normal to organise an outdoor picnic with your mates. As we learnt in Auckland this year, people will use good public spaces.I’m gonna miss riding my bike in lockdown. What a joy to race around the city with only half the usual traffic. Only half the usual reasons to be scared for your life. Apparently global bike sales have gone bananas during the pandemic. I looked at buying a bike from the U.K until I realised that because of demand, I’d be waiting almost a year for it to arrive. As I discovered in lockdown, there are a few simpler ways to deal with the stresses of the pandemic than by heading outside for a quick blat up Auckland’s volcanoes, the elements on your face.What else will I miss about lockdown? I’ll miss the flexibility of working in my pyjamas. I’ll miss having an easy excuse not to hit the gym. I’ll miss feeling a tiny bit excited about a trip to the supermarket... Countdown?! Oh, what a treat!The thing I hope I can sustain from lockdown is the way in which the restrictions make you reckon with the things that are important in life, but which we sometimes take for granted. Friends. Family. Job security. The local cafe that makes our neighbourhood just so. To slot back into pre-lockdown life, exactly as we were, would be a shame.Yep, I’ll miss elements of lockdown, but I certainly won’t miss lockdown.107 days. Good riddance to that.LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Catherine Raynes has been reading Mercy by David Baldacci and the marvelous Miriam Margolyes' memoir, This Much I Know is True. She joined Jack Tame to share her thoughts.LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Mike Yardley gives Jack Tame the lowdown on the magic of Fiordland. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Five years ago, Taranaki-born woman Jane Wynyard swapped her high-profile PR career in London for the arid plains and tropical climate of Kenya. She went from high heels, designer dresses and celebrity parties to jandals, shorts and a camera. Jane now works as a communications consultant for various conservation groups, while roaming all over Africa to film and photograph wildlife. She speaks to Jack Tame about her wild adventure. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Estelle Clifford has been listening to Ladyhawke's new album, Time Flies - her fourth album and the first in five years. She told Jack Tame this is all the stuff we'd expect from Ladyhawke - except this is more personal.LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Growing tomatoes It’s great to have a go at these fruit – there are many varieties too and everybody has their favourite ones. But there are some problems that can occur, whether you’re raising them in an open garden bed or in a glasshouse/tunnel houseTomato – (potato) psyllids are a nuisance interloper in NZ. They got here a few decades ago and will attack Solanaceous plants (potatoes, tomatoes, nightshades, poroporo, you name it).I used to get heaps of them when growing tomatoes in Auckland but in Christchurch they seem to be prevalent only in autumn (takes longer to develop plague proportions).What to look for?First sign is “ill-thrift” on tomatoes; you just pick there’s something wrong. If you then look closely at the leaves you’ll find small “nymphs” – especially on newer leaves and on the underside.You’ll also find lots of tiny white crystals of excrement of these sap-suckers – it tastes like sugar (and it is!). Call it solid, crystalline honeydew if you like. When the sap-sucking bugs develop they turn into adult psyllids: like a small aphid with wings – often hopping away when disturbed.When you photograph them or look up close they are actually quite beautiful!Control/PreventionIn my Canterbury tunnel house (and in my open garden) I rarely get them now, simply because I am fanatical about pulling up nightshade weeds. I reckon the psyllids overwinter on these weeds, so removing them meticulously helps a lot to keep your patch clean.Sprays with insecticides need to commence well before you see the first psyllids. It keeps their populations down too. I use neem oil if I have to spray, regular neem sprays will keep them down. Aim for the newer leaves/growth on the tomato plants.I see some recommendations for Spinosad (Yates Success) and abamectin but have never used that.I don’t grow potatoes but if you do, only use the early varieties (before Xmas!) so that your risk of spreading the psyllids to the summer tomatoes is somewhat reduced.A really fine horticultural pest control mesh, covering your tomatoes from spring onwards, will keep the psyllids out of your crop. You can get that mesh in garden centres and at the place where it was developed and tested: the Biological Husbandry Unit at Lincoln UniversityLISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Bob Campbell has been enjoying the best red under $20 he's had for a while - the Taylors 2019 Shiraz. It's a full-flavoured wine, perfect for summer BBQs. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.