Saturday Morning With Jack Tame

"There’s no denying that Fiji Airways is on a roll, busy spreading its wings across the world. Fiji’s plucky and ambitious national carrier is now a serious, highly competitive airline player in the Pacific, directly connecting Nadi with over 25 international destinations in 15 countries and territories. Its international route network is nearly as comprehensive as Air New Zealand’s, who fly to 29 international destinations in 16 countries." "Fiji Airways has been showered with accolades of late, including being named an APEX World Class Airline for 2026, thrusting it into the world’s top 10 carriers, alongside the likes of Emirates, Qatar Airways and Singapore Airlines." Read Mike's full article here. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Truth About Ruby Cooper by Liz Nugent   If my sister hadn’t been beautiful, none of it would have happened.  Ruby Cooper and her sister, Erin, live an idyllic life in their close-knit church community in Boston. But when Ruby is sixteen, she is involved in an incident that causes her family’s world to implode.  Across decades, the fallout leaves a wake of destruction behind Ruby in Dublin and Erin in Boston.  Not that Ruby wants to think about the past.  But it can’t stay a secret forever.    Battle of the Arctic by Hugh Sebag-Montefiore   Winston Churchill called it 'the worst journey in the world'. But was even this telling quote, describing the nightmarish torment experienced while transporting military aid to northern Russia during World War Two, an understatement?   As this book's title implies, Battle of the Arctic tells a unique story. For much of the conflict was complicated by terrific storms, snow, ice, fog, whales and Arctic mirages, so that what is

Kate Hall has embarked on a new project.  She and her family have just begun transforming their 1960s home in Red Beach into what they’re calling a ‘Suburban Homestead’ – a home that produces more, wastes less, and works with nature rather than against it.   Kate joined Jack Tame for a chat about the project – their goals, current plans, and the reason they’ve made this decision.   LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Warning: Article includes images of animals caught in predator traps.  Not terribly long ago, Selena Gomez had a go at marketing a chocolate cookie that features cinnamon and all sorts of sweet stuff in the recipe.  It was an Oreo described as “Flavour-Forward”, and it was suggested people consume that wonderful stuff during things such as the Emmy Awards or the Oscars.  Sweetness and cinnamon are often used to attract possums to the lethal traps, used to make New Zealand Predator-Free…  And guess what!  A local Cantabrian biologist (Graham Hickling) had a go at trying out the Oreo to see if possums might be interested – and they were!  More than enough for me to have a go myself in the last few weeks, beginning with my Possum Trap. The Selena Gomez Oreo is dirt cheap – you don’t have to be Dutch to appreciate that…  With some apple, a couple of Oreos, and various other good possum attractants (self-raising flour and cinnamon), I started on night one, to see if any possum w

On the Saturday Morning with Jack Tame Full Show Podcast for Saturday 28 March 2026, legendary British comedian Eddie Izzard joins Jack to discuss her most iconic moments, playing all 23 characters in Hamlet, and gracing stages across NZ this year.  Jack reflects on what the opening of the Te Kaha stadium means for Christchurch as a city.  Chef Nici Wickes chats fancy sea salts and shares a deliciously easy recipe for Salted Caramel Baked Apples.  Sustainability expert Kate Hall discusses her latest project: a suburban homestead.  Plus, Swedish mega-popstar Robyn has released her new album ‘Sexistential’. Music reviewer Chris Schulz joins Jack to admire her impact and share his favourite tracks.  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.

What are ingrown toenails and how do we recognise them?   They’re common, typically the corner or side of toenail grows into the surrounding soft skin.   It often occurs on the big toe, although it can occur on any toe.   It causes pain along the nail edge, redness, swelling, and is tender when touched.       What causes them?   Commonly caused by a badly cut toenail – too short, or rounded edges.  Wearing tight fitting footwear can increase pressure on the nail.  Injuring the toe, such as stubbing it, or recurrent pressure from something like running.   Sweaty feet, genetics causing curved toenail shape, and occasionally medication.       How do you treat them?   Mild, early   Warm saltwater soaks. Lift the nail edge – put some cotton wool under the edge to it lift out. Wear more comfortable footwear, take panadol. Moderate   It can sometime become infected.   Requires antibiotics.  Severe   Requires na

OpenAI is undergoing a dramatic strategy shift   Consumers are no longer the focus.    Sora —the app that let you create a version of yourself and generate videos, and that Disney signed up to license its IP to— is being shut down. I can only imagine the cost to run it must be incredible.   They're also pulling away from the 'instant checkout' feature, making ChatGPT less 'shoppable'. Reports in the Financial Times say the planned 'erotic mode' is on pause indefinitely. The launch date already slipped multiple times, reportedly because of both internal and external pressure.   So where does OpenAI go next? Business users and developers. Claude (by Anthropic) has been dropping feature after feature the past few months and has seemingly won the hearts and minds of the developer community. Its new co-work feature is effectively a more everyday version of Claude Code. It seems OpenAI is under attack.      Meta's defeats in court   Two jury cases have returned verdicts

Bait   London-based actor Shah Latif suffers from an existential crisis and his life spirals out of control after auditioning for the role of a lifetime (Prime Video).     Jo Nesbø’s Detective Hole  A brilliant but troubled detective, Harry Hole, hunts a serial killer while battling a corrupt adversary, Tom Waaler, as they navigate ethical grey areas, with Harry determined to bring the criminal to justice (Netflix).    LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Baked apples are taken to a whole new level with this version.    Serves 4-6     Ingredients  3-4 large apples, halved through waist, cored   ½ cup brown sugar, firmly packed    25g butter, melted   3 tbsps. water    1 tsp sea salt    ½ cup walnuts   To serve: cream, sour cream, or crème fraiche       Method  Preheat oven to 180C.    In an oven dish, place sugar, butter, water, and salt. Stir to mix.    Set apples in the dish, cut side up. Scatter walnuts over and around. Cover tightly with foil.   Bake for 20 minutes, then remove foil and baste apples with syrup.   Cook for a further 20-30 minutes uncovered until apples are soft and the caramel lovely and syrupy. If you need to cook a bit longer, do, but only until apples are soft, not mushy.    While still hot, dollop on some cream, sour cream, or crème fraiche, which offsets the sweetness beautifully, even stirring some

Before yesterday, I can honestly say I’d never heard the word grouse.   Well, actually that’s not true, I’d heard the word grouse. I knew it as a bird. As game for a hunter.   But I’d never heard it used in the slang form.   “It is grouse,” said Christchurch Mayor, Phil Mauger, as he cut the ribbon in his city’s brand new $683m stadium.   So long as you mean it’s excellent, I thought, then I’m with you Phil.   I was born and raised in Christchurch. I’ll always have an affection for the ‘03 that comes from having had a great childhood based in a place. It’s never been perfect, but it’ll always be home.   We could see the old stadium from our family home. The first time I was ever on TV was while sitting with my dad on the old embankment at Lancaster Park for a test between Pakistan and New Zealand in February 1994. The cameraman came and got a little cutaway shot of us, and the next day at school various people excitedly came to tell me.  There’s no doubting the new stadium i

They Will Kill You   A woman answers a cryptic ad for a housekeeping job at a luxurious yet foreboding New York City high-rise. Upon arrival, she discovers residents have vanished without a trace for decades, fuelling whispers of a satanic cult lurking in the shadows.    Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man   Amid the chaos of World War II, Tommy Shelby returns from a self-imposed exile to face his most destructive reckoning yet. With the future of his family and country at stake, Shelby must face his demons and choose whether to confront his legacy or burn it to the ground.    LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Dame Lynley Dodd is a staple of Kiwi childhoods.   The beloved children’s author is best known for her Hairy Maclary series, the first of which was released over 40 years ago.  She’s sold millions of books worldwide, and just this week she was honoured at the New Zealander of the Year Awards.  Dodd was granted the Legacy Award for fostering a love of literature in generations of children.   While she admits it sounds a bit silly, Dodd admits to feeling slightly guilty at the level of acclaim and the legacy she’s built.  “Well I obviously, I think, [I've] been spending all these years thoroughly enjoying myself producing these books,” she told Jack Tame.  “It sounds a bit, you know, I’ve been indulging myself, and I have, doing these things, but no, it’s been great fun.”   Dodd’s love of wordplay and language stems back to her childhood, as her parents were, in her words, much into words, and there was an “awful lot of fun” with language in her home.   “Both my parents w

Our parents are some of our biggest influences.   It was Kevin Milne’s birthday last week, and also the anniversary of his father’s death, and it got him thinking about the influence fathers have on their sons.   This is compounded by the release of Louis Theroux’s Manosphere documentary, which reinforced to him the importance of a positive male influence in a child’s life.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Gorillaz have returned with their ninth studio album.   The Mountain was recorded across a range of locations, primarily India and London, and draws heavily from the Indian classical instrumentation, pairing it with the group’s eclectic electronic and pop influences.  It features performances in multiple different languages, including Arabic, English, Hindi, Spanish, and Yoruba, with themes of death, grief, and the afterlife threading through the album.  Chris Schulz joined Jack Tame to share his thoughts on the release.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Look What You Made Me Do by John Lanchester   What if the year's most talked about TV show was all about your marriage?  Kate, thirty years into her marriage, has a seemingly idyllic metropolitan, North London life. Phoebe, a young screenwriter, is the creator of the year's hit TV show, Cheating.  When Kate's world takes a darker turn, she thinks she sees details and intimacies in the show that only she and her husband Jack could possibly have known. But who has betrayed who? Who gets to tell whose story?  A black comedy of resentment and entitlement, Look What You Made Me Do is the story of two very different women from two very different generations, heading toward a battle only one of them can win.     A Far-Flung Life by M.L. Steadman   Western Australia, 1958. A truck rumbles along a lonely outback road. A moment’s inattention, and in a few muddled seconds the lives of the MacBride family are shattered.  Instead of leaving them to heal, fat

"The weather could not have been a more idyllic. I was basking in the brilliance of Lake Taupō aboard the glorious replica steamboat, Ernest Kemp, as were several dozen guests from all over the world. Cruising the great lake for over 40 years, this gorgeous little vessel that accommodates 50 guests, began life in Kerikeri, named in honour of the last member of the Kemp family to live at Kemp House. A massive and damaging flood in the Kerikeri Inlet in 1981 prompted the sale of this shallow draught vessel, and Ernest Kemp began a new life feeling the lake’s freshwater on its hull, a year later.: "For a complete change of pace, I was itching to rock some of Taupō’s much-vaunted mountain bike trails. And they won’t disappoint." Read Mike's full article here. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Kiwis are struggling with their health and wellbeing in the workplace.  Umbrella Wellbeing has released its annual report into the state of workplace health and wellbeing, which surveyed over 11,000 people across 33 workplaces over the last two years.   It found:  More than half the workplaces surveyed struggle to support staff wellbeing and mental health   About 25% of workers were experiencing high or very high levels of psychological distress – the main things affecting this were a mixture of personal and work factors including:   Not getting enough sleep   Their workplace not prioritising mental wellbeing   Not getting enough leisure time   Poor diet   Bullying or harassment at work   12% of people’s productivity at work was explained by a mix of personal and work factors including   Not getting enough physical activity during the day   High workload   Not being clear about their role at work   Poor sleep       Ov

On the Saturday Morning with Jack Tame Full Show Podcast for Saturday 21 March 2026, beloved children's author and creator of Hairy Maclary, Dame Lynley Dodd joins Jack to discuss being honoured with the Legacy Award at the New Zealander of the Year awards and the lasting impact of her work.  Jack considers when secret identities should be kept secret.  Kevin Milne reflects on the influence of fathers on their sons after watching the latest documentary from Louis Theroux, Inside the Manosphere.  Two Hollywood heart throbs lead Francesca Rudkin's film picks.  Plus, Ruud Kleinpaste chats getting your bulbs ready.  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.

Seeing as it’s getting towards autumn, a number of bulbs need planting in the garden - I’ll pick on a few of them.  Tulip  Fabulous early spring colour – remember the historical stuff with the Dutch making heaps of money out of often virus-ridden “varieties” (early 1600-s AD) – around Fl 3000.00 per bulb while the average yearly wage of a skilled craftsman was around Fl 300.00. The bubble burst in 1637 AD.  These days they are a bit cheaper and more reliable. They grow well in the South Island with very cool winters – up north they need winter chilling (taking out of soil and put in fridge for 8 weeks). In mild climates it pays to plant later in the year, say May/June.  But in the South Island, planting the bulbs can start in a few weeks; order them now! Some great bulb outlets: Bulbs direct, Garden Post, NZBulbs, Fiesta Bulbs, and Hadstock Farm in Springston.  Work the soil to 20 cm deep in sunny to semi-shade position (generally bulbs prefer well-drained soils). Plant 15 cm spaced

Mission Reserve Cabernet Merlot 2024, Gimblett Gravels, Hawke's Bay, RRP from $25.00   The wine:   A classic Hawkes Bay red blend with the power of Cabernet framing the softness of Merlot. Flavours of blackberry and tobacco, Doris plum, Kalamata olive, and dried herb, with some smoky wood muscle. Dry, lots of texture from tannins and acidity framing a core of dark berries and plum. It’s fresh, it’s new, and ready to drink today or lay down for another 1-2 years.   The Food:   A wine for casseroles or leaner meats, excellent for lamb lollypops or a home-made shepherd's pie. This style of wine has the power to stand up to a medium-rare steak as well as the softness for sweeter red meats such as lamb or venison.   The season:   2024 has proven to be an excellent year for red wines from Hawke’s Bay, and frankly from throughout NZ. Lots of dry warm days when it was needed and a cooling diurnal shift in the evenings. Releasing the wines now demonstrates the power and concentration of s