Saturday Morning With Jack Tame

Kaylee Bell is one of the most accomplished voices in the New Zealand country music scene.  She’s not only the most streamed female country musician in Australasia, but has a Country Music Award for Global Country Artist to her name.  ‘Cowboy Up’, Bell’s new album, releases next week – an album she made in the midst of being pregnant.  “This record was particularly fun to make,” she told Newstalk ZB’s Jack Tame.  “I was about 34 weeks pregnant when my producer flew out from Nashville .... to bring a bit of Nashville to New Zealand to make the record.”  Previously the record making process was hectic, but ‘Cowboy Up’ came about more collaboratively, created slowly in a studio at home.  “I was like, this is how I want to make my records now,” Bell told Tame.  “It just felt like such a wholesome way to make a record.”  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The last few years have been filled with highs and lows for Tami Neilson, but out of the emotional rollercoaster comes ‘Neon Cowgirl’.   It represents Neilson’s lifelong dream of chasing Nashville and country music – a love letter to the literal Neon Cowgirl in downtown Nashville that watched Neilson grow up and chase her dreams.  Music reviewer James Irwin isn’t the biggest fan of country, but this album might change his mind. He joined Jack Tame to give his thoughts.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Kevin met up with more than just family on his trip to London, meeting some interesting personalities with fascinating connections.  Highlights include a mate of one of his sons who works in television over in the UK, working on the likes of ‘James May and the Dull Men’.   And his wife Linda met singer Jake Shears of the Scissor Sisters, a friend of their other son.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It’s been an extraordinary week in Nepal – going from protests and revolution to a new government and peace in a flash.  Mike Yardley arrived in Kathmandu a few days into the upheaval and can assure that he’s had no issues during his time in the area.   He joined Jack Tame to delve into what his experience has been like and the highlights of his trip.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Secret Book Society by Madeline Martin   You are cordially invited to the Secret Book Society…   London, 1895: Trapped by oppressive marriages and societal expectations, three women receive a mysterious invitation to an afternoon tea at the home of the reclusive Lady Duxbury. Beneath the genteel facade of the gathering lies a secret book club—a sanctuary where they can discover freedom, sisterhood, and the courage to rewrite their stories.   Eleanor Clarke, a devoted mother suffocating under the tyranny of her husband. Rose Wharton, a transplanted American dollar princess struggling to fit the mold of an aristocratic wife. Lavinia Cavendish, an artistic young woman haunted by a dangerous family secret. All are drawn to the enigmatic Lady Duxbury, a thrice-widowed countess whose husbands’ untimely deaths have sparked whispers of murder.   As the women form deep, heartwarming friendships, they uncover secrets about their marriages, their pasts, and the risks

On the Saturday Morning with Jack Tame Full Show Podcast for Saturday 20 September 2025, it's a country music takeover as rising global star Kaylee Bell joins Jack in studio to celebrate her upcoming ‘Cowboy Up’ album release and perform a brand new track.  Plus, music aficionado James Irwin highlights the latest release from Tami Neilson.  Dr Bryan Betty discusses the importance of Blue September.  And Nici Wickes celebrates NZ-grown with a mouthwatering Peach and Vanilla Custard Slice recipe.  Get the Saturday Morning with Jack Tame Full Show Podcast every Saturday on iHeartRadio, or wherever you get your podcasts.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It can be difficult for people to live sustainably – but what about animals? Is it possible to own a pet and still be sustainable?   Kate Hall tackles the question, offering up a few pieces of advice for pet care that takes sustainability into question.  Choosing pet food: consider brands using by-products or sustainable protein sources (like Feed My Fur Baby).  Compostable poo bags (plus a reusable system I used to have for my dog that involves a little glass jar!) or training cats with eco-friendly/paper litter.   Buy second-hand pet gear where possible (toys, beds, crates). There is SO much out there.   Think about your pet’s impact on local wildlife (especially cats and dogs around native species).   Considering if you truly have a lifestyle that will mean the animal will thrive - most people have apartment spaces, so a dog share situation could work better.   Pets bring joy and small choices in how we care for them can make a big difference.  LISTEN ABOVE Se

Its Blue September – New Zealand’s Prostate Cancer Awareness month. We’ve talked about it in the past, however it’s good to remind all the men out there of the importance of the prostate.       Why is Blue September important?   It’s a campaign promoting awareness around prostate cancer.   Raises money for Prostate Cancer Foundation.  Its key focus is to make you think about prostate cancer and talk about it with your GP.   Some key reasons to think about prostate cancer:   4000 men are diagnosed per year – it's the most common cancer for men in New Zealand.  1 in 8 men will develop it over a lifetime.   More than 600 men die from prostate cancer each year.   Early detection often means early treatment.   Most cases occur to those over the age of 60.       What does the prostate do and what do we need to look out for?   The prostate is the size of a walnut and sits at the outlet to the bladder.   It produces fluid for sper

Here we go – it’s spring and people wake up to some troubles with their lawns.  Starlings dig their beaks into the soil and cause “holes” everywhere – some dunnocks (hedge sparrows) follow the starling’s idea.  Grass grubs have always been a “problem” in NZ gardens and lawns. C-shaped grubs that live underground, feeding on roots of grasses and other plants/shrubs.   There are a number of species in the Beetle Family Scarabeidae (scarab beetles) but the native grass grub, Costelytra zealandica, has always been in New Zealand. Its traditional habitat and host plants were native grasses, such as tussocks, and they occur at quite high altitudes.   There is no doubt that these beetles considered the new high-nutrient imported grasses as ice-cream, especially when we started planting whole paddocks full of that stuff!  With all those birds, your lawn becomes a lot more biodiverse – personally, I love that!  Mosses grow as the pH lowers; they are miniature forests in which an enormous

Trump's expected shakeup of the tech job market   Bloomberg is reporting that President Trump is looking to slap a $100,000 fee on the visa popular with tech firms to access top international talent. The White House claims the visa is being used to undercut American workers and give too many high paying jobs to people from overseas.   There are 85,000 of these visas available each year and many end up going to the top tech companies, but there is abuse of the system by outsourcing and staffing companies flooding the lottery with duplicate candidates.     Jack Tame's desire for one Apple operating system to rule them all is a step closer   Having used the latest OS 26 across iPhone, iPad, and Mac, it's clear Apple is converging the design patterns. It feels like we're now just one step away from having a single OS across all devices. On iPad, the multi-tasking is much, much more MacBook like.     Meta had an absolute demo fail live on stage while showing off their AI glasses

Black Rabbit  A rising-star restaurateur is forced into New York's criminal underworld when his chaotic brother returns to town with loan sharks on his trail (Netflix).    Tangata Pai  Five lives collide during a land occupation - an activist musician, a conflicted cop, a grieving nurse, a struggling father, and a torn politician (ThreeNow).    Boyzone: Life, Death and Boybands  30 years ago five lads from Dublin took the world by storm. The remaining members of Boyzone reflect on their accelerated journey to fame - how it affected the trajectory of their lives, relationships, mental health, and the pop music industry as a whole (TVNZ+).    LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Splitsville   When his wife asks for a divorce, a man runs to his friends for support, only to learn that the secret to their happiness is an open marriage.      Swiped   Whitney Wolfe Herd breaks into the male-dominated tech industry by launching two innovative dating apps, making her the world's youngest self-made female billionaire.    LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In spring I start to get impatient for those gorgeous summer fruit. It’s then that I’ll resort to using tinned fruit, and New Zealand peaches are some of the best you can get.   Makes 20x30cm tray     Ingredients   200g butter   1 cup sugar   1 egg   1 tsp vanilla   2 cups plain flour + extra 1 tbsp   2 tsp baking powder   1 can tinned NZ peaches, drained and fruit chopped   1/3 cup sour cream     Method  Preheat oven to 175 C. Line a Swiss roll tin.   Cream the butter and sugar and then beat in the egg and vanilla. Mix in 2 cups flour and the baking powder and press all but ½ cup of the mixture into tin.   Scatter the chopped peaches over the base. Add the extra tablespoon of flour to the remaining dough and mix together. Strew this over the fruit and dab teaspoons of sour cream over the top.   Bake for 45 minutes or until top is golden.   Leave to cool and slice either into fingers or squares.   Serve warm as a

For the years I lived in New York, I always had visiting Kiwis crashing on my couch. And more often than not, when they came to town and were listing off the things they wanted to do in the Big Apple, they’d make it a priority to try and get into the audience at one of late shows.    I went to Letterman and Colbert. I actually bumped into Jimmy Fallon at his studio when I interviewed the leader of his band for this show.     Back then, just a decade ago, late night hosts were more than mega-stars. Their shows were institutions. Even with social media, it felt like their programmes or versions of them were set to exist in some form for decades to come.    How quickly things change.    I really love the US, but Jimmy Kimmel’s suspension feels like another little moment in which we are watching a superpower destroy itself in real time.    To be clear, I’m not a huge fan of Jimmy Kimmel. He’s fine I guess, but I wouldn’t seek him out. I thought his comments about

Elizabeth Knox is one of the country’s most esteemed authors, known best for her novels ‘Vintner’s Luck’ and ‘The Absolute Book’.  She’s also a dab hand at essay collections and young adult stories, though it had been over a decade since she last wrote for a younger audience.  That changed with the release of ‘Kings of this World’, a young adult novel focused on the sole survivor of a cult massacre.   The book is a long time coming, Knox having written it over the span of several years.  “I had the bad habit of writing several books at the same time,” she told Newstalk ZB’s Jack Tame.  “I developed the strategy when I had a lot of distractions in my life, and I decided to distract myself, so I had some power over that.”  “And then I came out of it and thought I'd solved the problem and could always keep doing that, but no,” she told Tame.  “Bad habit.”   Writing young adult fiction is not dissimilar to writing for adults, but there is one central principle Knox abides b

Ed Sheeran has released his eighth studio album: ‘Play’. It’s the first of a new series of themed albums, with titles based on electronic media buttons – ‘Pause’, ‘Fast Forward’, ‘Rewind’, and ‘Stop’ set to follow.  Although there’s plenty of new influences and stylistic changes, with traditional Indian percussion, Hindi and Punjabi vocals, and a guest appearance from Bengali singer Arijit Singh, the core of Ed Sheeran’s musical style is clear.   Estelle Clifford joined Jack Tame to give her thoughts on the album.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Having arrived home from holiday a short few weeks ago, Kevin Milne's recent travel experiences are still fresh in his mind.  Every time you travel, you learn something new, and this time around he learned that there’s a better way to book your flights.  He joined Jack Tame to pass on the tips and tricks he learned.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

"Magical, golden, and steeped in mystique, “The City of a Hundred Spires’ is one of my favourite European capitals. Prague lays on a smorgasbord of stunning architecture, from Gothic, Renaissance and baroque to neoclassical and cubist. Unshackled from the claws of Communism, the capital of the Czech Republic’s rock-solid status as a powerhouse tourist destination continues to shine." Read Mike's full article here. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Vanishing Place by Zoe Rankin    A child who ran from the forest. A woman who must return to it  Growing up with her younger siblings in the unforgiving New Zealand bush, Effie believed their parents had cut them off from civilization because they loved Nature. She never suspected that their reasons might be more menacing. After witnessing a terrifying episode of violence, she escaped the wilderness to forge a life for herself halfway across the globe.  Now, when she learns the only witness to a murder is a little girl who looks just like her, Effie is compelled to return to the scene of her troubled childhood, where the secrets of her upbringing and the terrors of her past come rushing back to the surface. In order to find out once and for all what became of her family—and possibly help this mysterious girl who could be her younger self—Effie must face her greatest fears once more.     Become Unstoppable by Gilbert Enoka   In a career spanning almost

Ever wondered why you can’t stick to an exercise routine or why you hate the gym when everyone else seems to love it? You could be doing the wrong type of exercise for your personality type.   A recent UK study looked at how personality types could predict how enjoyable people find different exercise routines and who can stick to them.  Dr Dougal Sutherland joined Jack Tame to discuss the research.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.