On the Sunday Session with Francesca Rudkin Full Show Podcast for Sunday 7 December 2025, for years it was believed Suzanne Vega's 'Luka' was about a young boy, this week she tells Francesca why, after 35 years, she finally admitted she is Luka. Kiwi band Castaway are a band on the rise, this week they perform their latest single 'Pretty Little Liar' in studio and talk about their breakout year. Andrew Coster has finally spoken out, ZB political reporter Ethan Griffiths on Coster's version of events including his claims Ministers knew more than they have let on. And is garlic the next thing in mouth wash? Dr Michelle Dickinson explains. Get the Sunday Session with Francesca Rudkin Full Show Podcast every Sunday on iHeartRadio, or wherever you get your podcasts.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Mindful eating is when we become fully connected with all the sensations experienced when eating and drinking including sight, sound, touch, smell and taste. Why is eating more mindful is helpful? By being more mindful and conscious it helps us to reflect on what we are eating, how and why. Naturopath Erin O'Hara shared her insights with Francesca Rudkin as well as a few mindful eating tips to help improve digestion. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Pop rock band Castaway released their sophomore EP Nondual in October - the popular tracks resulting in regular airplay on many mainstream radio stations. Three of the five band members Joe, Rhys and Austen joined Francesca Rudkin and told her about the pressure of recording this album in such a short space of time. They also shared how they met at Canterbury University and making the decision that music could be a career for them. Plus they preformed Pretty Little Liars live in studio. LISTEN ABOVE AND WATCH BELOW See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
This week, we continue with part two of our four-part lead-up to Christmas, focusing on sides and salads. Mike van de Elzen has chosen two of his favourite classic salads ahead of the festive season, and runs Francesca Rudkin through the recipe as well as a few tips on the key to a great salad. Ember charred cauliflower with grated ginger, parsley and parmesan Cook time: 10 minutes Prep time: 10 minutes Serves: 6 1 head of cauliflower oil for cooking Flaky seasalt and cracked pepper 1 large knob ginger, peeled and mircoplaned 1/2 flat leaf parsley, roughly chopped 1 cup parmesan, finely grated 4 tbsp Extra virgin olive oil (this would have to be a first!) Cut the cauliflower into long florets. You should look at getting around 15-20 florets. Bring a large pot ofof salted water to the boil and plunge in the cauliflower. Cook until just under. This will take about 3 minutes. Remove and plunge into iced water to stop the cooking. Drain once cold and place the cauliflower into a large bowl, drizzle with oil and season with salt. Char-grill over embers or on a hot BBQ until coloured. Place back into a clean bowl, toss through the fresh ginger, parsley, parmesan and the remaining olive oil. Check seasoning, you may need more salt. Toss and serve Roasted carrots w mint emulsion & spiced chickpeas Cook time: 45 minutes Prep time: 20 minutes Serves: 12 20 carrots cut in half 2 tbsp sunflower oil flaky seasalt Miso emulsion 2 soft boiled eggs 1 tbsp miso paste Juice of 1 orange Juice of 2 lemon 1 cup coriander leaves and stalks 10 mint leaves 2 tbsp brown sugar 1 clove garlic 1 tbsp ginger, peeled 300ml sunflower oil Spiced chickpeas 1/4 cup sunflower seeds, roasted 1/4 cup pumpkin seeds, roasted 1 can drained chickpeas 1 tsp paprika 1 tsp ground cumin 1 tsp ground coriander 1/2 tsp crushed farm chilli 2 tbsp sunflower oil Pre heat the oven to 180*c. Cut the carrots in half and drizzle with oil and sprinkle with some salt. Place into the oven and roast until tender. Combine all the ingredients for the spiced chickpeas in a bowl and toss, lay out onto a roasting tray and place in the oven along with the carrots. Cooked for 30 minutes stiring every 10 until crispy. Allow to cool Make up the mint emo Bring a pot of water to the boil and carefully drop in your eggs. Time them for 5 minutes before removing and placing into iced water till cold. Carefully roll the eggs breaking the shell before peeling. (good luck!) Place all the ingredients apart from the oil into the blender and turning on slowly before turning up and slowy drizzle in the oil. Season with salt and pepper if required. Spoon a couple tbsp of mint emo onto a platter and stack the roasted carrots on top and finish with the spiced chickpeas.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Garlic is famous for many things, boosting flavour, warding off vampires, and making your kitchen smell incredible (or incredibly strong). But new research suggests it might have one more surprising talent: acting as a natural alternative to traditional mouthwash. The research published in the Journal of Herbal Medicine found that an extract made from garlic could offer antimicrobial powers comparable to chlorhexidine, a common chemical used in many medical-grade mouthwashes. But could garlic replace chemical mouthwashes altogether? Dr Michelle Dickinson discusses the findings and her take on it with Francesca Rudkin. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Netflix is acquiring Warner Bros Discovery in a blockbuster US$83bn deal – plus debt. As part of the deal, Netflix takes the TV and movie studio and other assets, including the HBO Max streaming service. Flicks.co.nz's Steve Newall analysis the deal with Francesca Rudkin, as well as Quentin Tarantino’s 20 favourite films of the 20th century. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Sometimes I wonder what the world thinks of us. Not in an insecure way – as in, we need the world’s admiration to validate how wonderful we are. But when I see the local stories which break through into international media I do wonder if the world thinks we’re a bit odd. Many international news outlets this week followed the story of a Kiwi jewellery thief who allegedly thought the best way to steal a $33,500 Fabergé locket was to swallow it in the shop. I’m not sure if this was the plan all along, or whether it was a spontaneous plan B after plan A went wrong. But he was arrested minutes after the alleged theft – so regardless of which plan it was, it wasn’t a smart one. You may wonder why someone would intentionally swallow a foreign or non-digestible object, and the obvious answer in this case would be to avoid arrest. But, it’s been done before – so maybe we’re not so odd! Earlier this year, a thief posing as a buyer for a professional US athlete stole two pairs of diamond earrings valued at just under US$1.4m from a Florida jeweller. In an effort to avoid arrest he swallowed the earrings, and then asked if he would be charged for what was in his stomach. The alleged Kiwi thief may have watched the TV show 'Joan' about notorious UK jewel thief Joan Hannington, who liked to swallow her loot. It’s a risky way to acquire jewellery. It’s a perilous journey travelling through the oesophagus and the uniquely shaped stomach – which is apparently where mobile phones get stuck. Yes, apparently this is something prisoners do, including one who swallowed four mobile phones. Then the object has to get through 12 feet of small intestine before entering the large intestine, and avoid perforating the bowel. The one reassuring thing for a jewellery swallowing thief is that metals such as gold, silver and many of the precious stones aren’t affected by stomach acid. After our Kiwi thief was picked up, he was given a medical assessment and a police officer was assigned to constantly monitor him. For a week. The good news is that on Friday the limited edition item was recovered without requiring medical intervention, and a photo of a gloved hand holding a gold chain with price tag attached was released. Good on the police, the goods recovery operation was a success. What we are yet to establish is whether this now famous pendant is worth more or less after its globally publicised journey.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
American folk rock artist Suzanne Vega launched onto the global music scene back in 1987. Almost 40 years on, Suzanne is still making music. Her latest album ‘Flying with Angels’ receiving rave reviews - Rolling Stone referring to it as the best album of 2025 so far. With the album out, she's hitting the road and heading back to New Zealand in September next year – touring Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch. Suzanne Vega joined Francesca Rudkin ahead of her return to our shores. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Andrew Coster has given his first interview on TVNZ's Q&A with Jack Tame since resigning from the public service. The former Police Commission resigned as head of the Social Investment Agency this week. He claimed in the pre-recorded interview two senior politicians knew more than they have publicly admitted about the handling of complaints against disgraced deputy commissioner Jevon McSkimming Newstalk ZB's Political Reporter unpacked the interview with Francesca Rudkin and what the former top cop claimed, as well as Mariameno Kapa-Kingi being reinstated as a Te Pati Maori member. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
In just over a week, roadside drug testing of drivers will begin in Wellington, with the aim to roll it out nationwide by mid-2026. So how will it work? And how reliable will this testing be? Hayden Eastmond-Mein from the Drug Foundation joined Francesca Rudkin to guide her through what the tests involve and why they've still got concerns about the approach. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Master Builders are calling for a National Building Register to better protect homeowners. This is in response to the Government preparing to shift to a proportionate liability system for the construction sector. These changes are expected to come into effect in 2026. Master Builders CEO Ankit Sharma told Francesca Rudkin why they're pushing for this register. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
In the latest episode of Great Chats with Francesca Rudkin, famed chef Yotam Ottolenghi talks finding the joy of cooking and talks his stage show coming to New Zealand in 2026. We hear from Black Grace Dance Company founder Neil Ieremia as the group celebrates 30 years of stunning performances. Plus Bill Bryson talks revisiting and revising his iconic book A Short History of Nearly Everything. Great Chats with Francesca Rudkin brings you the best interviews from Newstalk ZB's The Sunday Session. Listen on iHeartRadio or wherever you get your podcasts. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Audio file FR EDITORIAL 301125.mp3 Transcript So, did you get yourself a bargain on Black Friday or some kind of good deal in the last 10 days that may also be associated with a Black Friday? I've done quite a bit of Christmas shopping this weekend, most of it online through Kiwi retailers, and have saved at least the shipping costs or up to maybe 25% savings, which, you know, it all adds up. There have been warnings this week about being sucked into Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales. Consumer New Zealand, they did a three-month investigation. They tracked 10 products at four major retailers, and they found that half of the items could have been bought at the same or lower prices at some point in the last three months. But I think we all know this. Black Friday is a brilliantly executed marketing campaign. The reality is a lot of discounts are a token gesture, but if you do your homework and you have a bit of luck, you can find something you wanted for a good price. And I think that we approach shopping differently these days, driven by the fact a lot of the big retailers have sales all the time. If we look at the main sales at this time of the year, people go shopping at Labour Weekend, Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and hey, look, if you've missed out, Boxing Day is only about four weeks away. So you'd be an idiot to buy something when it wasn't on sale. But hopefully all the spending will still be giving retailers the lift they need. This week there was a little bit of good news from Stats New Zealand with data showing that the total volume of sales increased 1.9% in the September quarter compared to the June 2025 quarter. And this is the largest quarterly increase in activity since December 2021. Last year, payment provider data showed that more than $175 million was spent at core retail merchants during Black Friday weekend. And it's going to be really interesting to see what the figure is this year. And retail, there sort of seems to be a little bit of a frenzy around retail at the moment. Look at the anticipation around IKEA opening in Auckland's Mount Wellington this week on December 4th. Good on AT for warning shoppers there could potentially be 40-minute delays to get off the motorway. And then it may take an hour to find a car park. You were warned. You may think it's unnecessary, but we all know what it's like when we hit that traffic on the motorway and we stop. Look, I know. It's exciting. I care opening. I have a kid going flatting next year and I wouldn't be surprised if we end up buying a flat pack of some sort. But IKEA's not going anywhere. Do yourself a favour and give it some time before you descend on the Swedish giant. Or better still, shop at some of our very own Kiwi excellent flat pack furniture stores. But look, if you're less patient than me and you're prepared to deal with the traffic, best of luck out there. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
The hugely popular Synthony Festival is going ahead at the end of March. Synthony has taken off over the last few years – with the 2025 festival selling out and 40,000 people attending. 2026 will be the first Synthony Festival for The Black Seeds – and their front man Barnaby Weir told Francesca Rudkin that he is looking forward to the festival. 'To get an invite, to such a huge, awesome gig, which is already proven and has a huge clientele, a huge audience is really great for us.' LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
A social media trend called 'Sleepmaxxing' involving elaborate routines and hacks to maximize sleep quality and quantity, has been growing in popularity. Social media wellness content is giving advice about sleep - how to get more of it; how to improve it; how to measure whether you’re getting quality sleep and commonly marketing sleep aids (sometimes expensive). But are there downsides to following a trend when it comes to your own health? Wellness expert Erin O'Hara breaks down the facts. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
On the Sunday Session with Francesca Rudkin Full Show Podcast for Sunday 30 November 2025, there's Oscars buzz around Russell Crowe for his portrayal of Hitlers right hand man in new film Nuremberg. This week Russell tells Francesca why he's not interested in another Academy Award. Over the last few years Synthony Festival has taken off, The Black Seeds are playing the festival for the first time, front man Barnaby Weir talks about preparing for the uniquely different performance. Chris Hipkins is in campaign mode, he shares just how he plans to get a Labour victory at the next election, and Francesca shares a warning ahead of Ikea opening this week. And science has discovered we don't become "real adults" until much later in life than we though, Dr Michelle Dickinson shares the details. Get the Sunday Session with Francesca Rudkin Full Show Podcast every Sunday on iHeartRadio, or wherever you get your podcasts. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Chili pickled vegetables Cook time: 5 minutes Prep time: 10 minutes Serves: 12 Pickled vegetables can include: Carrots, fennel, baby beetroot, radish, red onions, cucumbers or red cabbage 1 tbsp fennel seeds 1 tbsp coriander seeds 2 fresh chili, sliced 2 bay leaves 1 tsp mustard seeds 300 ml cider vinegar 250 ml water 1/4 cup sugar 1/2 tsp salt Jar and lid Firstly prepare the vegetables for pickling. Clean all the vegetables and cut in 1/2 or 1/4 or finely slice. Trying to make all the vegetable pieces roughly the same size. To make your pickle mixture, start by toasting your seeds in a pan until fragrant. Place the rest of the pickling mixture ingredients into a pot, adding seeds once toasted and heat until boiling. Remove the pickling mixture from the heat and carefully pour the hot mixture over the top of the vegetables and seal with a lid. (If pickling cucumbers or finely sliced veg allow mixture to cool first) Roasted beetroot & cummin hummus Cook time: 45 minutes Prep time: 10 minutes Serves: 6-8 2 cups chickpeas, soaked overnight in water 2 whole beetroot 1 tbsp cooking oil 2 tbsp tahini 1 tsp baking powder 11 tsp cummin powder Sea salt Pre-heat the oven to 180*c Individually wrap the beetroot in tin-foil, drizzle over a little oil and sprinkle over a touch of salt before wrapping. Place into the oven and cook for 30 minutes before testing. Test by inserting a small knife to see if the beetroot is cooked. Once cooked allow to cool before removing skin. While the beetroot is cooking, place the soaked chickpeas into a large pot, cover with cold water and add a touch of salt and the baking powder. Bring to the boil and cook until tender. Once cooked drain. Place the beetroot into a food processor and biltz until smooth. Add the chickpeas and biltz until smooth. Add the tahini, curry powder and seasalt to finish. Yoghurt flatbreads w coriander butter Cook time: 2 minutes Prep time: 10 Serves: 6-8 Flat breads 350g bread flour 2 tsp baking powder 350g natural yoghurt 1 tsp salt Coriander butter 200 gm unsalted-butter 1 cup fresh coriander, finely chopped 1/2 tsp sea salt 4 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed For the flat breads Combine all the bread ingredients together in a bowl and mix with a spoon, then use your hands to pat and bring everything together. Dust a clean work surface with flour, tip out the dough. Knead for a minute or so just to pull everything together, before leaving while you make the coriander butter. For the butter, Add to the butter and mix in the rest of the ingredients. Re-dust a clean surface with flour, divide the dough into small balls. Flatten with your hands, then using a rolling pin roll roughly 3mm thick. Either place dough into a griddle pan on a high heat or onto a tray in a very hot oven. As soon as they are coloured remove and brush with a coriander butter and cut into random pieces. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
We often think of brain development as something that happens in childhood, stabilises in adulthood, and then gradually declines. However new research published in the journal Nature Communications suggests our brains actually move through five distinct eras, each with its own strengths, vulnerabilities, and turning points. Researchers analysed MRI brain scans from nearly 4,000 people aged between newborn and 90 years old. Their goal was to understand how the brain’s internal wiring, changes over a lifetime. Dr. Michelle Dickinson joins Francesca Rudkin to break-down and analyse the study. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
'Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery' - the third instalment in the 'Knives Out' series has received a positive review from Flicks.co.nz editor Steve Newall. He told Francesca Rudkin that the film is, 'really humour laced, really strong performances, and the sort of film as well that I think really benefits from not having your phone in your lap.' LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Kiwi born Hollywood star Russell Crowe has played many intense roles in his career. But his latest might be his most intense yet. Heading back to world war 2, Russell plays Hitlers right hand man Hermann Goring in ‘Nuremberg’, the film focusing on the duel between psychologist Douglas Kelley and Goring, in the lead up to the post war trial. Crowe told Francesca Rudkin that he had to do a lot of background reading before playing the part. 'So you have to find those moments of what I call quiet contemplation, where you get to really think through and learn about what you're doing.' LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.