Saturday Morning with Jack Tame

Ainbo In the spirit of Moana and Frozen, 'Ainbo - Spirit of the Amazon' is the epic journey of a young hero and her Spirit Guides, "Dillo" a cute and humorous armadillo and "Vaca" a goofy oversized tapir, who embark on a quest to save their home in the spectacular Amazon Rainforest. The Starling After Lilly suffers a loss, a combative Starling takes nest beside her quiet home. The feisty bird taunts and attacks the grief-stricken Lilly. On her journey to expel the Starling, she rediscovers her will to live and capacity for love. Ride the Eagle Leif is left with a conditional inheritance when his estranged mother Honey dies. Before he can move into her picturesque Yosemite cabin, he has to complete her elaborate, and sometimes dubious, to-do list. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It’s official!Even if it comes as the least surprising news to anyone. Auckland’s $785m proposed cycleway across the harbour has been scrapped and the money allocated elsewhere.I say it’s unsurprising because from what I could tell, almost no one thought the standalone cycle bridge was a good idea. $785m! Even in the age of cheap money and rock-bottom interest rates, that’s a massive chunk of change. These sorts of projects never stay on budget.A few weeks after it was announced, I asked the late Michael Cullen for his thoughts.‘Folly!’ the former Finance Minister replied.‘The sooner they scrap it, the better.’One of the curious footnotes in the cycle bridge’s brief history is even most cyclists didn’t think it was a good idea. They actually hadn’t been asking for a standalone structure. Indeed, in conspiratorial circles, some felt that maybe the government had backed the idea as a way of fostering resentment against cyclists. A Newshub Reid Research poll in August found only 12% of respondents actively supported the idea. I wonder if even those people misunderstood the queston.Transport Minister Michael Wood has acknowledged there wasn’t the public support for the project to continue. Good on him for not trying to spin. I imagine it’s been a bit of a harsh political lesson, but I just hope the experience doesn’t put him off finding some cheaper pragmatic alternatives for helping cyclists get across the harbour.Because when you pause and think about it for a moment, it’s absolutely ridiculous that in 2021, cyclists and pedestrians can’t easily cross from the North Shore to the City and back again. At its closest, the gap is only a few hundred metres! You can swim it, for goodness’ sake! At a point in time when our roads are clogged, and we should be doing everything in possible to promote cleaner forms of transport, there’s no straight-forward option for cyclists to skip across the Waitematā.This solution was not the answer, but the core problem still exists and it’s more acute than ever.It’s a great shame that for some reason the debate over cycling infrastructure has become a mini culture war. Compared to roads, we spend embarassingly little on cycle lanes and dedicated infrastructure. After all, every person you get on a bike is a car you get off a clogged street, and emissions out of the atmosphere. It’s in motorists’ personal interests for more people to ride bikes!One of the silver linings of this lockdown is that in riding my bike around the city, I’ve felt safer than ever on the road. I pedal up Maungawhau Mt Eden for a bit of exercise. I head West for a few kilometres on the North West bike path, and I ride my bike to work. I won’t miss the cycle bridge, but whether it’s a dedicated ferry, a bike bus, or a roped-off lane over the current bridge on weekends, I’m looking forward to the day I can finally take my bike an explore the North Shore.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Kevin Milne talks to Jack Tame about the difference in their ages, what happened in his lifetime before Jack was born, and what's likely to happen in his lifetime after he's passed on - celebrating the span of their combined years. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Lil Nas X found fame with his country-rap Old Town Road, which ruffled the feathers of country purists who didn’t like his new take on the genre. It was released at the end of 2018, and it’s now joined with other tracks like a queer take on Dolly Parton’s Jolene in his new album Montero. Estelle Clifford’s been sharing her thoughts with Jack Tame. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Catherine Raynes has been reading Beautiful World, Where Are You by Sally Rooney, and What Comes After by JoAnne Tompkins.LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Travel writer Mike Yardley has some tips for travelling in the The Waitaki Lakes District.LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Relationship expert Steven Dromgool has been talking to Jack Tame about the best ways to support a partner who has depression.LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Mulch and plant and plant and mulch… These are busy, busy, busy times in the garden. Even though we may still get some frosts here in the South Island, I am lucky to be able to chuck seed-trays and germinating plants in the tunnel house or, if I behave nicely, in Julie’s glasshouse. But first, think ahead to summer. We often get seriously dry conditions here on the South Island’s East Coast. Grab yourself a heap of mulch, pea straw is often the go-to material down south. You can also use a load of good compost or a pile of last autumn’s dried leaves, compressed in an old wheely bin. Autumn leaves into leaf-mold. You can also get a chipper that creates mulch from your pruning wood. I love my Hansa chipper, as it always allows me to keep the carbon “waste” and turn it into an investment for my soil. It won’t leave the property! Some mulch ends up in compost bin, coarse mulch is fabulous for the patches in the garden. Mulch covers the soil, making it difficult for weeds to germinate and it keeps the moisture in the soil as it reduces evaporation. Think ahead to summer, remember! Reduce your water bill.What to plant in your garden? Well that’s up to you, really. My Julie is keen on beautiful flowers and stately plant forms. Late winter we had gorgeous violets all over the place (grown in shaded parts of the “woodland” garden). That garden was covered in mulch and also yielded plenty of hellebores, narcissus and tulips; in a month or two there will be blue Himalayan poppies. Now we’re seeing Amelanchier blossom contrasting with Chaenomeles flowers. On the other side of the garden our native Clematis is absolutely covering the old, dead trunk of an impressive birch. Clematis needs its “head” (the flowers) in full sun but the roots need to be in total shade, covered with at least 20 cm mulch, to keep it moist and cool. If you haven’t got a great deal of room, consider creating a raised bed with some quality topsoil, covered with a decent layer of mulch to keep it from desiccating. Then you can grow carefully pruned fruit trees, beans and colourful silver beet in amongst your favourite ornamentals: Planning, mass-planting and mulching! START NOW!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week Bob Campbell has been drinking Yalumba 2020 The Y Series Viognier $16.95.LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Microsoft's new Surface lineup is here for Windows 11 October 5th is launch day for Windows 11, and the the new range of Surface devices. Their new lineup focuses even more on the design and creative aspects with a more responsive pen that includes haptic feedback to make it feel more like you're writing on paper. For the WFH era, there are upgraded mics and cameras. Surface Pro 8 The tablet-first computer's display has smaller bezels and a faster refresh rate, it's got Thunderbolt 4 and upgraded Intel processors. The keyboard and pen are sold separatelyS Surface Laptop Studio Their most laptop laptop is powerful enough for gaming and now has three 'modes' for using it. There is the regular "laptop" mode where the keyboard is fully exposed. The laptop screen slides down over the keyboard to create "Stage" mode designed for presentations, gaming or watching movies. The screen can then continue to slide to go flat in "studio" mode, so you can draw more easily. It's some very cool engineering. Surface Duo 2 This is the follow up version to their dual screen Android-powered phone, that folds like a book. It can even turn inside out like a book too! The Surface Pen works with it to allow you to scribble notes and doodle on the go. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Vigil: A tense new British drama that’s been called “Line of Duty in a submarine”. The mysterious disappearance of a Scottish fishing trawler and a death on-board a Trident nuclear submarine bring the police into conflict with the Navy and British security services (starts Sunday on TVNZ1, also on TVNZ OnDemand) The Morning Show: Reese Witherspoon, Jennifer Aniston and Steve Carrell return for a second season about the behind the scenes dramas of an early morning television show (Apple TV+) Reservation Dogs: Take Waititi’s new show is a comedy series about four Native American teenagers growing up on a reservation in eastern Oklahoma, who turn to crime as a way of escape (Disney+) LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Country Music has a lot of connotation, but one that might not come immediately to mind is feminism. But it actually has a proud feminist past. And our very own country star Tami Neilson’s made that the centre of her new show, The F Word. Partnering with Professor of Musicology Dr Jada Watson, she’s come up with a setlist of the Songs of Feminism in Country Music. That’s songs like Dolly Parton’s 9-5, which was actually about sexual harassment in the workplace. The tour’s supposed to start mid next month, but of course all hinges on Covid alert levels. But that uncertainty hasn’t stopped fans snapping up tickets. In fact she’s added another Auckland show during lockdown, showing there are still optimists among us. Tami Neilson has been speaking with Jack Tame. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Flash fried asparagus & prosciutto I’m prepared to spend good money on new season asparagus as it’s such a treat! It’s doesn’t need to be fussed with, just a lick of olive oil, flash fried in the pan and a few toppings and you’re away. This makes a such beautiful side dish, light lunch or dinner. Serves 2 2 bunches asparagus 2 tablespoon olive oil + extra to serve 4 tablespoons currants, soaked in hot water 2 tablespoons pine nuts 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar 2 tablespoons 2-3 rashers prosciutto 4 tablespoons crème fraiche Lemon juice Salt and pepper to season Snap tough ends off the asparagus spears – they will naturally snap where they need to. Pour boiling water over the spears and let sit while you heat a pan to medium-high. Splash oil into pan and transfer asparagus from boiling water into the pan. Cook until blistered in places and cooked though still firm to the bite. Drain the currants and toss these and the pine nuts into the pan along with the red wine vinegar. Briefly toss everything together then remove from the heat. Spread crème fraiche onto a serving dish. Heap on the asparagus, top with the currants and pine nuts. Drape over the prosciutto, squeeze over some lemon and season with salt and pepper. Enjoy! LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Movie reviewer Francesca Rudkin has been watching PIG, a drama about a truffle hunter's missing pig, and Netflix's SAS: Rise of the Black Swan.LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Kevin Milne's getting sick of the relentless negativity about the way we've handled the COVID response.He's been speaking to Jack Tame.LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is the first show I’ve broadcast in more than a month in which Auckland has been out of the dreaded Alert Level 4.And honestly, I thought this time, things *might* be different. I thought after more a month of sitting at home, more of us in the big city might have taken stock, kicked the habit, and set our aspirations a little higher for the move to Level 3. Aucklanders might have learnt from every one else around the country. A new start. A new dawn. A new opportunity to refresh our routines.But no. We all went to McDonalds and Burger King and Wendy’s and Carl’s Junior, and KFC, instead.Well, not all of us. I’m not trying to be all high and mighty but I haven’t had any of that Worldwide-franchisey-plastic-additivesy-supersize-me shit in almost fifteen years and I’ll be damned if a move to Level 3 was going to convince me to spend half an hour with an idling engine waiting for some chicken nuggets in a drive-through queue.What’s wrong with people? On Wednesday I could see queues down the street for my closest franchise. Addicts waiting for a fix! Honestly, big brand fast food franchise marketing has to be one of the greatest media swindles of all time. Because in case you haven’t noticed, the food’s really not that good.It’s ok I guess. A bit of sugar, salt, and saturated fat plus however many hundred additives. Call me old fashioned but I prefer my food to be prepared with ingredients, not random numbers.And before you accuse me of elitism, know this: I’m not a vegan. I’m not a health nut. I eat sugar and salt and saturated fat. But if I’m going to enjoy some takeaways as a bit of a treat, I’d much rather spend my money on a roti canai at the Malaysian hole-in-the-wall down the road, or on a scoop and a piece of cod at the local fish and chip shop. Independent small businesses need all the help they can get right now.I know we love to joke about it. Haha! Two guys got caught trying to smuggle buckets of K-Fry over the Auckland border. Hilarious. I just think sometimes the fixation is a bit... lame. Apparently health officials have been considering setting up a vaccination system at KFCs, Piza Huts, and Taco Bells. Part of me thinks it’s smart. Part of me thinks it’s funny. Part of me thinks it’s pretty sad state that there are apparently people in our society who would rather get a Cheesy Gordita Crunch than a vaccination for a deadly virus.I saw Population Nutrition Professor Boyd Swinburn on Breakfast this week, lamenting the fast food ‘culture of craving’ that has dominated Covid-19. I totally agree with him. It’s a conversation our society don’t really want to have and you shouldn’t need me to make this point: If you think Covid-19 puts pressure on our health system, just wait until you hear about bad nutrition!There are plenty of reasons I hope we never go back to Level Four. Plenty. Top of the list: I’m sick of people treating a quarter pack or a McChicken combo like a sweet sip of water after a long march through the desert.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Las Vegas rock band Imagine Dragons have released their fifth album: Act 1. One review has said “There are a few songs you might like here, but a few you’ll violently hate”. Estelle Clifford's been giving her thoughts to Jack Tame. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Book reviewer Catherine Raynes has been reading The long run and beautiful game of Rodger Federer by Christopher Clarey, and The Turnout by Megan Abbott.LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Mike Yardley's got some tips for a spring swing through the Wairarapa.LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week is organics week, which is a chance to look at what organic actually means. What is it good for us? It’s about what’s NOT in a product, rather than what is. Organic farmers don’t use synthetic chemicals including fertilizers, pesticides, weed sprays and antibiotics. The products are also free of GMOs and artificial ingredients. Eating organic drastically reduces your exposure to pesticides. Many studies have now shown the health risk from pesticides and especially important for pregnant women and children. Why is it good for the environment? Organics creates less pollution, especially protecting the health of our waterways. Good organic soils store significant amounts of carbon which is so important in our fight against climate change. But it’s too expensive! Latest research shows it’s only 7.5% more expensive than conventional food. And there’s ways to make it cheaper. Firstly, eat quality but less of it. For example the cheap chicken or bacon has a much higher water content. Being tricked into thinking you have more is rife in the grocery industry. You can also grow your own. Fresh vegetables, minutes from being picked out of your own organic garden, is like a health explosion. You won’t need those supplements if you eat fresh organic nutrient dense food. It’s good for our economy. The Organic sector is a fast and sustainable growth area for NZ exports. Many countries are looking for safer foods. How do you know if something is organic? Organics has an international certification system. Certified producers are audited every year by respected certifiers, who themselves are audited by international peers. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is a good weekend to get into the garden and plan ahead for crops and fruit...and gratis pest control. Fruit Trees and crops need pollinators. It pays to always have a mixture of useful pollen and nectar sources flowering when you want to attract pollinators to your garden. The idea is simple: have a little “meadow” of flowering plants that will anchor the native bees, flies, beetles, butterflies and moths to your patch. Insects do have a “memory” for where the best meals are to be found: pollen (protein) and nectar (sweet boost of energy). But wait, there’s more! Quite a few of these insects are also good pest controllers of small sap-sucking and chewing critters on your crops, shrubs and trees. What they do is passive biological control. It’s a good strategy: instead of having to spray against the various pests on your plants, why not let the natural predators and parasites do it? The animals you’d want to attract to your place are insectivorous birds, of course, like silvereyes. But they can only do so much, they are often quite omnivorous and will eat a range of insects: pests as well as beneficial insects! How about getting some specific parasitoids on board; small parasitic wasps that will lay their eggs inside the nuisance caterpillars, in mealybugs, scale in sects and aphids. These parasitoids need to feed as adult insects before they can mate and lay their eggs. Flowers with just the right mix of pollen and nectar will do nicely: it fattens up the parasitoids and keeps them in perfect condition. Some of the predacious insects (like larvae of hover flies, ladybird beetles) are also useful to have on your side. They, too, feed on pollen and nectar, especially in the adult stage! See the attraction? My friends at Kings Seeds have put together a wildflower blend called the Beneficial Insect Blend that contains phacelia, borage, buckwheat anise, coriander, bishops flower, anise, alyssum, cosmos, bergamot, anise hyssop and crimson clover. Some of these are true heroes when it comes to drawing in pollinators and beneficial insects. Phacelia (blue Tansy) is great for predatory hover flies that devour aphids. Sow the seeds now, but watch out if this plant is getting a bit weedy in certain environments. Buckwheat is a nice small plant with white flowers. It fits in empty spaces and under fruit trees, in berry gardens and productive vegetable gardens and feeds parasitoids. Flowering Umbelliferous plants like corriander attract a wide range of beneficial insects. Alternatively, you can leave your parsley go to flower and “seed”, carrot flowers, Queen Anne’s lace and such nice umbels of flowers, are usually full of parasitoids and predators too. Anise, alyssum, bergamot do exactly the same stuff. Similarly: try some dill and fennel. Finally, there are a heap of native flowers that seem to be attractive to the beneficials. Hebe is such a flower, but also Manuka and Pohutukawa. Not something you’d sow and utilise within a few weeks or months, but worth thinking about for long-term planting to facilitate free pest control! LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Kevin Milne's been letting things slide - he's embracing his lazy side in lockdown.Kev's been speaking to Jack Tame.LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

American Rust: Jeff Daniels stars in this compelling drama as complicated and compromised chief of police Del Harris (Daniels) in a Rust Belt town in southwest Pennsylvania (Neon). Scenes from a Marriage: Adapted from Ingmar Bergman’s 1973 Swedish classic, and starring Oscar Isaac and Jessica Chastain, Scenes from a Marriage re-examines the show’s iconic depiction of love, hatred, desire, monogamy, marriage, and divorce through the lens of a contemporary American couple (Neon). Back to the Rafters: The popular Australian family drama returns, picking up six years since we last saw the Rafter family. Dave and Julie have created a new life in the country with youngest daughter Ruby, while the older Rafter children face new challenges and Grandad Ted struggles to find his place (Amazon Prime Video). LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Iconic TV series Packed to the Rafters is back, and what else could it be called than BACK to the Rafters. Most of the cast is back, including legendary Aussie actor Michael Caton who's back in his role as Grandad Ted. If you don’t know the name Michael Caton, you’ll almost certainly recognise some of his most famous lines from the ‘97 film The Castle. He's been speaking with Jack Tame.LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Movie reviewer Francesca Rudkin has some flicks for those in lockdown, and those in level 2.Aucklanders can watch action flick Kate, and documentary Shcumacher on Netflix. If you're out of Auckland, she's been watching documentary The Lost Leonardo which is in cinema.LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

I got up early, drove out to the airport, and joined the lines of cars slowly crawling between the big marquees. It was simple. It was fast. The staff were friendly and efficient. It felt oddly momentous. Significant. A bit like I feel when I cast a ballot on election day. One day I’ll tell my kids about the time I first got vaccinated for Covid-19. That’s the thing. We don’t just get vaccinated to protect ourselves. My jab wasn’t just for me. It was for older people who might be more susceptible to the virus. It was for the kids who aren’t yet eligible for the jab. It was for my nephew, Ren, and my niece, Elsie. It was for my colleagues. My friends. Anyone and everyone with a compromised immune system. My jab was for all of us.This is going to be one of the most important weeks in the history of our Covid-19 response. And not just because of Cabinet’s lockdown decision. This is one of the most important weeks because we’re at the point in the pandemic response where we’ve reached our absolute lowest barriers to vaccination. Our vaccination numbers over the next few days will give us the clearest insight yet about the levels of vaccine hesitancy in New Zealand, and our chances of reaching an 85% or 90% vaccination rate for the population. Think about it. As of today, anyone over the age of twelve can be vaccinated. For free. The safety and efficacy of the vaccines have been publicised widely for months. You don’t need a booking. You don’t even really have to queue. There are drive-in centres operating and mobile vaccines buses doing the rounds. With shipments from Spain and Denmark, we have absolutely no concerns about supplies of the Pfizer vaccine. Everyone in every part of the country has had a good taste of lockdown, so I don’t think the pandemic or the vaccination program will come as breaking news. You would hope that even the hardest workers or busiest parents, or people with mobility issues might have been able to work out how to get a jab. Of course, there will always be a few exceptions and people in tiny little remote places for whom access is incredibly difficult. But if eligible New Zealanders haven’t received at least one jab by the end of this week, what more can we do? In short: if not now, when?As for lockdowns, I don’t know what the powers-that-be will decide on Monday but it looks pretty likely Auckland will be moving down to Level Three. It tells us a few things. First of all, the tools for Covid-19 containment are a whole lot better than they were at the start of last year. More people are vaccinated. Contact-tracing and genomic sequencing make tracking the spread of the virus easier. Perhaps more than anything... we’re over it. The social contract is fraying. I don’t think we need opinion polls or comprehensive population analysis to confirm it. We feel it in our bones. People who’ve had kids at home for the last month are pulling their hair out. Parts of the country that haven’t seen Covid in more than a year are really sick of restrictions. If our politicians had the same risk tolerance as they did for Covid-19 during the lockdowns last year, there’s no way on Earth that Auckland would be shifting. But New Zealand is fed up. And the Prime Minister knows it.Some modellers think it’s quite possible we don’t get to absolute zero for Covid cases in the community for several weeks, if we ever get there at all. I know a lot of the cases are linked, but we are still seeing people with the virus active in the community. And even if we do stamp out this outbreak, it’s only a matter of time before we have another one. Hence... vaccines vaccines vaccines.If you’ve been holding off for whatever reason, what are you doing this morning? Treat it as an outing! Roll up your sleeve. Relax your bicep in the knowledge that you are contributing to the greater good.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Singer Halsey has a new album called “If I Can’t Have Love, I Want Power’ and it traverses a topic that’s not so common in pop music: Pregnancy and Childbirth. Estelle Clifford’s been giving Jack Tame her thoughts.LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Book reviewer Catherine Raynes has been reading Count the Ways by Joyce Maynard and When Things areAlive They Hum by Hannah Bent.LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Relationship expert Steven Dromgool has some tips on how to get the most out of hugging your partner. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

For those needing to stay a bit closer to home, Mike Yardley has some tips for spring festivities in Christchurch.LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tomatoes on track Now’s a good time to start sowing your tomatoes in little pots, inside, so you can release them into the garden when it gets a bit warmer and when frost dangers have disappeared. You can also grow some suitable varieties in large pots or sizeable containers on the north-facing balcony. Tomatoes come in many varieties and in two distinct growth strategies: The Indeterminate varieties keep on growing to become long, long climbers… meters long, sometimes! In commercial glass houses, these vines are carefully “trained” to keep on growing on extensive support structures. Indeterminate tomatoes are usually grown in good garden soil and tied to climbing frames The Determinate varieties do not become long vines, but are more like a bush that grows no higher than 50 centimeters and flops all over the place; they do not tend to need staking at all and are good for growing in large containers or patio pots Some are adaptable to growing in hanging baskets, as their short-ish vines can simply hang down and produce their tomatoes on the vertical vine-lets. A few things to be aware of when growing tomatoes in pots, containers or hanging baskets: 1) they use a heap of water (transpiration is key to good photosynthesis and production of sugars for the fruit. 2) Never let them dry out, because the root systems do not re-store themselves easily once they were allowed to dry out. 3) Use fruit/flowering fertiliser sparingly and perhaps best as a liquid fertiliser. “Small doses and often” is the key; do not use high-Nitrogen fertiliser as it will only promote a lot of leaf material and not much fruit! 4) keep the plants in good day light. Eight or more hours of sunlight per day is very good! (works on 6-10 hrs per day) 5) Use the best tub and container mix you can get: nice and friable with good drainage. Get your seed sown: get a seed catalogue and select your chosen varieties to grow this year. Germination of seeds are best in temperatures of 21-24 degrees during the day (16 degrees at night) and don’t “bury” the seeds. Keep them in moist (not wet) seed raising mix, just below the surface of the soil. THEY WILL GERMINATE IN THE DARK! Here are some cracker determinate varieties to look for: * Window box red specially bred for pots/containers; cherry tomato size * Baxter’s Early Bush is very compact too * Container Choice Red grows up to 60 cm and is a larger “beefsteak”-sized tomato * Patio Choice yellow F1 hybrid is a yellow cherry tomato: heaps of fruit on short, hanging branches; ideal for hanging baskets! * Best Boy Bush is something that keeps low and sprawls all over the ground. Should be good in large tubs. Produces red, medium sized tomatoes * Two rather cold-hardy varieties that would grow well in cooler climes: Oregon Spring is parthenocarpic and can self-pollinate when a short season doesn’t allow for many pollinators and Sub-Arctic Plenty was allegedly bred for the US military base in Greenland; very small plant, but tough as heck! And some indeterminate varieties: * Artisan Blush did well for me, last year: stunning yellow/orange smallish fruit with a grand taste. * Chef’s Choice yellow is a nice, large yellow fruit – fabulous taste. Its stable mate Chef’s * Choice Green is brilliant too – you’ll quickly learn to tell when it’s ripe – green tomatoes can be a trick for young players! * My absolute all-time favourite and totally versatile variety is Tigerella. It ends up in salads and as the bulk of all my frozen tomato sauce packets * Andiamo is low acid and apparently great for Bolognes * A good, meaty and slice-able variety (large and ribbed) is Thessaloniki. My good friend Mike usually ends up with 80% of them for his Scottish tomato sandwiches. * If you are after smaller cocktail tomatoes (cherry tomatoes) try the standard F100 hybrid which seems to be a bit variable, sometimes. Mind you, on the other hand I have been getting some fabulous miracle off-spring from these cherry tomatoes and I w...See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Lockdown can be very financially damaging, especially for business owners. But for some people, it's a change to actually improve your finances. Enable Me's Hannah McQueen has been been talking to Jack Tame, and explaining how you can make this happen. If you want more help, visit www.enable.meLISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Turning Point: 9/11 and the War on Terror - It's the 20th anniversary of 9/11 and there are plenty of 9/11 documentaries about the attacks on television this week, but his documentary series on Netflix goes deep into the history behind the attacks, documenting Al Qaeda’s roots in the 1980s to America’s response, both home and abroad (Netflix) Halifax: Retribution:Rebecca Gibney returns as forensic psychiatrist Jane Halifax as she faces the most thrilling and dangerous case of her career, hunting down a killer terrorising an entire city (TVNZ OnDemand) Sparking Joy with Marie Kondo: In this Netflix reality series, Marie Kondo brings her joyful tidying tactics to people struggling to balance work and home life — and shares her own world. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Amazon now has its own brand of TVs They want full control of the second most important screen in your home - the big one in your living room. After partnering with TV manufacturers with Fire TV collaborations, they're now branding TVs as their own. There's the Fire TV Omni and the Fire TV Series 4. The Omni model has a higher resolution screen and voice control. Even when the Omni is off, you'll be able to use it like an Alexa. The Fire TV Omni will integrate with your Ring doorbell so the moment someone pushes the button, their video will appear in picture-in-picture. Amazon says there are other smart home integrations coming too. Spotify wants to make your playlists better If you've got a playlist that needs some new life, the new Enhance feature is for you. Based on the songs already in the playlist Spotify will recommend more music you should add. They'll appear in the list with a big green sparkle next to them to show they're auto-magically added, but you can make them permanent additions by clicking the plus button. You'll see the 'Enhance' button at the top of your playlists over the next month. Microsoft admits it doesn't know when offices will reopen The Delta variant has forced companies to change their office mask policies and their return to office plans so many times that Microsoft has kind of given up. They've pushed their October 4th date seemingly indefinitely, not giving employees a new date to work with. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Today is the twentieth anniversary of 9/11. The terrorist attacks by al-Qaeda killed almost 3,000 people, and countless more have died from the environmental impacts of being near the collapsed Twin Towers. The attacks prompted the invasion of Afghanistan, we all now know how that ended. They also changed the world as we know it. Can you remember the feeling of waking up that morning and hearing the news? The attacks also upturned the lives of the thousands of people who were travelling that day. Kiwi Elias Kanaris is one of those people. He was flying Chicago to London, when his plane was diverted to the tiny Canadian town of Gander. The town’s population was doubled when 6,700 people were stuck there after panes were grounded following the attacks. Elias is a Resilience and Leadership keynote speaker, and he’s written a book about what he learned from the experience, called “Leading from the Stop”. He's been speaking to Jack Tame. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week, Francesca has movie picks for everyone. If you're in lockdown, Infinite is available to stream on Neon. If you're luck enough to be heading down the alert levels, there's Respect. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Caramel apple cake This cake has it all going for it – quick to make and bake, soft and moist, incredibly delcious with a thick caramel icing – it’s like a nog soft comforting pillow! The recipe makes a very large sheet pan cake, enough to give away so cheer up someone’s day. Makes 25x35 rectangle cake 220g butter 1 cup water 2 cups plain flour 1 teaspoon baking soda Pinch salt 1 teaspoon cinnamon 1 cup sugar 1 cup brown sugar ½ cup yoghurt or buttermilk 2 large eggs, lightly whisked 200g (about 2 medium) chopped apples Icing: 1/3 cup sugar Splash water 120g butter ¼ cup milk 3 cups icing sugar Preheat oven to 200 C. Grease and line a shallow 25x38cm rectangle tin. You could use 2 x swiss roll tins. In a medium pot bring the butter and water to a boil. Sift in dry ingredients – flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and sugars – until combined. Add in yoghurt and eggs and stir to combine then fold in the chopped apples. Pour batter into the prepared tin spreading it into the corners. Bake for 17-20 minutes, or until it springs back to the touch. Cool for 10 minutes then ice while warm. For the icing: in a small pot make a caramel by heating, without stirring, the sugar and a splash of water until it simmers rapidly then turns a golden brown colour – about 5-7 minutes. Swirl the pot, don’t stir it. Once it is dark golden remove from the heat and add the butter and milk, careful as it will spit! You can stir it now. Cool it slightly. (if it solidifes, mix in some more milk and warm it slightly) Heap icing sugar into a large bowl and add the caramel sauce and stir to a smooth, pourable icing. Pour icing over warm cake and leave to set. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Kevin Milne's made rediscovered something during lockdown: the joy of nature documentaries. And it's made him see climate change in a new light. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

I was a Year Ten high school student. I remember my friends talking about the attacks as we rode out bikes to school. In social studies, our teacher pulled a TV to the front of the class and we sat and watched in silence. I must have spent eight or ten hours watching TV that day. More than anything, I remember the dust.That’s my recollection of 9/11, one of those moments where you remember where you were. And as we all think back to our own experiences of 9/11, the anniversary makes for a good opportunity to sit back and consider the attacks from the eyes of the people who organised them.19 fanatics, armed only with box cutters and a few weeks’ training at a flight school, arguably changed the course of history more than any other people this century. The domino effect from those burning towers is extraordinary. Would the Iraq War have ever been fought if 9/11 didn’t happen? Would the U.S have fought in Afghanistan for twenty years? Would George W. Bush have been re-elected President? Would Donald Trump have ever made it to the White House? Would we have born witness to a series of terrible soft target attacks, the London underground bombings, the Bataclan theatre attack, the Boston and Manchester bombings? Would ISIS, Al-Shabaab, and however many other Islamic-inspired extremist groups have ever been formed?In many ways, our World has changed for the worse because ultimately, sadly, the 9/11 terrorists achieved their awful objective. And some. They killed a lot of people. They brought down the towers. But they achieved more than that. Even though we knew their ultimate goal was to drive America and other Western democracies into a state of perpetual fear, even though their ultimate objective was spelt out clear as day in the name we used to describe them; terrorists, we couldn’t help it. For the last twenty years, Western democracies have lived in fear, and it’s only made the risk of terrorism worse.A few nights ago, I watched a film about the late Middle East foreign correspondent, Robert Fisk. It included a clip of him in a debate about the root cause of the 9/11 attacks. ‘It’s evil, pure and simple!’ said the person he was debating. ‘Evil! Evil! Evil!’. Fisk argued that actually, life doesn’t work that way. It’s not so simplistic. No one wakes up and has a cup of tea and says ‘I’m going to do something really evil!’One person’s terrorist is another’s freedom fighter. Think of all the conflicts America was involved with in the decades before 9/11. Consider it from the hijackers’ perspective. Why is it just for American soldiers to invade and bomb distant lands – often Muslim majority countries - but evil when a group of people attack New York in response?Scared people act irrationally. The wars that spun out of 9/11 didn’t eliminate the risk of terrorism. They increased it. With every civilian wrongfully killed by a rocket or a drone, every village torn up by an armoured troop carrier, another dozen potential enemies were created.And here we find ourselves, twenty years on. Is our World any safer than it was on September 10, 2001? For me, I think it’s the saddest thing about those awful events twenty years ago: The plan worked.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We’ve been waiting for a few weeks now. There’s been fire, an ex-wife in a wedding dress, and a lot of unfinished music...but Kanye West has finally released Donda. Estelle Clifford’s been taking a listen. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Before we went back into lockdown life, travel writer Mike Yardley was touring The Great Alpine Highway. He's been giving Jack Tame some hints for when we can get on the road again.LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Firewood Collections For those of us lucky enough to have an ultra-low emission burner as a cosy heating source, the yearly job of gathering and stacking firewood is an excellent hobby that keeps us fit and creates interesting opportunities for discovery of organisms. I love looking at tunnels in wood bark beetle scribbles under pine bark and macrocarpa which are elegant sites for caterpillars to pupate (over-winter), and locating the winter hiding spots for native cockroaches, slaters, booklice, barklice, millipedes and centipedes. The reason I study my firewood before bringing it inside to be burned is sometimes you get critters in there that perhaps need to be rescued from a firey end. Native Grassgrub beetles (Odontria) often hide between stacked logs. Outside they are dormant and won’t move a lot at all until temperatures go up in a month or so. But when you take the logs inside, they wake up and fly around like miniature lawnmowers (same sort of noise) in your living room. Lifecycle is completed on the roots of plants, often grass species. These are what you’d expect when you take in Eucalyptus wood. Epithora dorsalis is a longhorn beetle from Australia, relatively recently discovered as an interloper here in New Zealand. The grubs of these beetles create substantial tunnels in gum tree wood. If you find our native huhu grubs in your fire wood, you might have left it too late. The wood is in a state of decay, quite moist and un-burnable! This can happen to the bottom row of wood, in touch with the ground/soil for a long time. A firey end might be human consumption! Spiders are also taking advantage of a place to hibernate: here’s a common jumping spider: Trite auricoma, the Golden-Brown Jumping Spider. White-tailed spiders also turn up frequently; they’ll wake up in the warmth of your lounge. Not very harmful at all, by the way! But the invertebrate that I obliterate immediately on discovery is the queen Vespula wasp, in this case a German wasp. These girls are sitting out the winter and will start a new nest in spring. They are a real pest and their impact can be avoided by getting rid of them before they start building.LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Kids garden The children are our future and one of the best ways to instil them with healthy eco values is through gardening. It will also change their attitude to food, and may even make some of the old ‘I won’t touch’ foods into favourites. This can be a fun and enjoyable experience for everyone and provides unlimited learning opportunities for kids and adults. Here are some tips: Keep it simple, and probably small. Gardening doesn’t need much space and in fact many successfully garden out of containers. Use just a few easy to grow vegetables, maybe some flowers. Simple means less stressful and more likelihood of success. Choose the right plants. Some veges you can plant straight into the soil because of their large seed size. I suggest peas and bush beans. These both can be eaten raw straight from the plant. Peas have the wonderful ‘open a present’ thing happening. Watch them become a kid’s favourite. If you have room you could try a rambling melon, rock melon or watermelon. Radish are easy and produce very quickly but may be too spicy for some kids. Other easy plants include lettuce, sunflowers, marigolds, carrots, cherry tomatoes and parsley. Make the layout suit the kid. You can have raise beds, containers, or just walk between rows. Make sure the rows are close enough together that your child can reach the middle of the garden without stepping on the soil and compacting it. And make one area which they have complete freedom to experiment themselves. Let them have their own tools. These don’t need to be expensive or new. Can get kid sized gloves, shovel and watering cans. Get them to decorate the garden. Seed markers, special rocks and shells, drift wood. This can be an art project as well. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Our Master of Wine Bob Campbell is recommending The Ned 2021 Sauvignon Blanc, Marlborough $18.99.LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Richard Branson's spaceship has been grounded It turns out the test flight wasn't as successful as we thought it was. The New Yorker reports that after the craft detached and was blasting off to space traveling at twice the speed of sound, the onboard pilots got yellow and red warning lights to indicate the spaceship wasn't vertical enough to make it back to earth safely. The plane uses the momentum of the accent to then set it up for its glide back to the runway on earth. The FAA says the plane veered outside its approved airspace for over a minute. They're now investigating, Their first revenue generating mission, with the Italian Air Force, is now on hold. Twitter looking to archive your old thoughts Tweets from deep on the timeline have caused people numerous problems over the years. Opinions evolve, cultural moments happen and society's social contract changes but the Tweets live on. Twitter needs fresh content every minute, so needs to assure people that posting their thoughts and happenings is a good idea. They're reportedly looking at a feature to archive Tweets from public view after 30, 60, or 90 days or a full year after they're sent. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Back in February, when lockdowns were just a distant memory, a group of Kiwi celebs headed to Kerikeri to compete in Celebrity Treasure Island. Little did they know that when it would be released, we’d be stuck at home, and ready for some light viewing. One of the contestants on the beach is reality star, Art Green, who joined Jack Tame for a chat. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Impeachment: American Crime Story: The third season in Ryan Murphy’s American Crime Story series examines the national crisis that led to the first impeachment of a U.S. President in over a century through the eyes of the women at the center of the events: Monica Lewinsky, Linda Tripp and Paula Jones (SoHo, from 8 September). The Flight Attendant: A reckless flight attendant with an alcohol problem wakes up in the wrong hotel, in the wrong bed, with a dead man - and no idea what happened. Unable to piece the night together, she begins to wonder if she could be the killer (Neon). Only Murders in the Building: Steve Martin, Martin Short and Selena Gomez star as three strangers who share an obsession with true crime and suddenly find themselves wrapped up in one. When a grisly death occurs inside their exclusive Upper West Side apartment building, the trio suspects murder and employs their precise knowledge of true crime to investigate the truth (Disney+). LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Fathers' Day Breakfast Traybake Is your dad a fan of sweet or savoury for breakfast? If he’s savoury, try this fabulous way to cook up “The Big Brekky” – it’s so much easier than cooking up hashbrowns, eggs and bacon separately. Do it for dad this weekend! This is easy to make for one or a crowd – just scale it up or down to suit you! Serves 1 ½ large potato per person, thinly sliced ¼ onion, sliced thinly 2 rashers bacon, chopped roughly Sprig of fresh rosemanry or sage or basil ¼ tsp sea salt + pepper Slash of olive oil 1 egg per person Small handful of parsley, chopped Heat oven to 200 C. Line a large oven tray with baking paper, twisting the corners to give it a lip. Scatter potato and onion slices over the lined tray. Add bacon and rosemary, the seasoning and a drizzle of oil and toss to coat. Spread them out so that they cover the tray in a thin layer. Bake in the upper third of the oven for 10-15 minutes until potatoes soften and begin to crisp. Tease a gap (or gaps if making for more than one person) in the potatoes and break an egg into it. Cook for 10 minutes or until egg is done to your dad’s liking! To serve, season again with salt and pepper and sprinkle over the parsley. Eat up! LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Movie reviewer Francesca Rudkin has some flicks you can catch from your couch this weekend. The musical comedy version of Cinderella starring Camila Cabello, Neon's Infinite, and Neon documentary Class Action Park. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What more could have been done to stop the attack? We don’t know enough yet to answer that with the certainty the gravity of this attack deserves. But we understand a few things.This man was known to Police and authorities. He was known to the Prime Minister. Judging by previous monitoring when he was arrested for buying a hunting knife, I think it’s safe to say he didn’t have the freedom to plan a more sophisticated attack. That’s not to say he wanted to plan a more sophisticated attack – we don’t know that yet. It’s not to say his spree at the New Lynn Countdown wasn’t terrible. But it also wasn’t particularly well-planned. Compared to the Christchurch terrorist, who was able to plan an attack for a long period of time without ever being bothered by the authorities and who used an assault weapons to kill as many people as possible, we are fortunate that yesterday’s attack wasn’t as sophisticated. Part of that may be because this man was being monitored. I thought it was interesting the Prime Minister was so enthusiastic about getting the suppression orders lifted from this man’s case – it suggests to me that she and her advisers feel confident there was nothing more the security agencies could have done to stop the attack.From what we’ve been told, you would have to say Police responded incredibly quickly. 60 seconds, if indeed that was the length of time between the start of the attack and Police shooting the man dead, is a very short period of time. Not short enough for those people who were attacked, but pretty quick.Clearly this will draw attention to New Zealand’s anti-terror laws. In 2017 the man tried to travel overseas to fight for ISIS. He had fundamentalist material at his home. But two days after he was bailed he purchased a hunting knife and was arrested again. Authorities tried to prosecute him under the Terrorism Suppression Act. But a ruling judge said under the law as it stands, the purchase of the knife could not be considered a triggering act. The judge took the unusual step of forwarding his decision to the Attorney-General, Solicitor-General, and the Law Commission. He felt, as many others and the Royal Commission felt, our laws had a gaping hole when it came to the planning of a terrorist attack.This is being changed. New terrorism laws are passing through parliament at the moment. It won’t be absolutely clear until those laws are finalised if they could have prevented this attack. Sadly the change has come too late.One last point: We need to be sure that Police and authorities did everything possible within their powers to prevent the attack happening in the first place. But we also need to accept that power has limitations. Limitations are important. Police and security agencies can’t just lock someone up forever without following a scrupulous judicial process. Sadly, regardless of our terror laws, there will always exist the possibility for an individual to go out and harm innocent people. We should take every prudent step to prevent it from happening. But an independent judiciary and appropriate limits on power help to give us the freedom and security that events and people like this, threaten. They are part of what make New Zealand a good country to live in.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.