Saturday Morning With Jack Tame

"As Arrowtown glowed in its golden, fiery blaze of autumnal hues, it was a thrill to be back in this treasure-chest township, cradled by nature’s splendour. It’s one of my all-time favourite holiday playgrounds and I was eager for a fresh dip from its glorious offerings." Read Mike's full article here. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Martha’s Vineyard Beach and Book Club by Martha Hall Kelly   wo sisters living on Martha's Vineyard during World War II find hope in the power of storytelling when they start a wartime book club - a spectacular novel inspired by true events from the bestselling author of Lilac Girls.   2016: Fresh from her mother's funeral, Mari arrives on Martha's Vineyard off the coast of Massachusetts to study under the enigmatic painter Elizabeth Devereux. But she soon realises that her relationship to the island runs deeper than she ever thought possible.   1942: It's World War II, and Smith sisters Briar and Ginny are faced with the impossible task of holding their failing family farm together as the US army arrives on their island. In an attempt for normalcy, the sisters start a book club that quickly grows in numbers and becomes a lifeline for the women who remain on the island. That is, until a German soldier's arrival casts shadows of doubt and danger. Who can they really trust in their tight-knit com

The Department of Conservation is currently seeking feedback on its Predator Free 2050 strategy.  The current strategy aims to completely eliminate five predators from New Zealand: rats, stoats, ferrets, weasels and possums.  However, they’re now asking whether feral cats should be added to the list as well.  Predator Free NZ Trust CEO Jessi Morgan told Francesca Rudkin that there’s estimated to be between 2.5 million and 14 million feral cats in the native bush.  She says that at the time the strategy was originally created, people were less aware of the impact they were having on native species, but there’s now an awareness and willingness to have them included.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The next few months we’ll be “in the dark” so to speak – the shortest days of the year puts us in front of the Low Emissions Burner, keeping warm while reading gardening magazines.   What kinds of plants give us colour at this time?   Go and visit your local Botanic Garden and take a note book with you – I often look at the stuff that Julie plants at our place.  Tree Dahlia are huge plants that can grow up to 4 or 5 meters tall. They are true Dahlias, just a bit taller than your ordinary varieties.   Their contrast with blue autumn and winter skies is remarkable. Easy to grow and easy to prune after flowering. They simply grow another lot of branches next autumn!   Nerines are currently spectacular. Bright pink flowers delivered by a bulbous plant. Seeing we’re in rather frost-free part of the Port Hills, they keep on flowering. They belong to the Amaryllidaceae (bulbs) and don’t care about soil quality as long as it isn’t too wet. Easy to transplant.    Salvia leucantha (

Ha Ha Merlot 2023, Hawkes Bay. RRP $19.00   Ha Ha means – to ‘Catch your breath’ in te reo Māori   A palate of plums and blackberry fruit scents, there’s a light violet touch and generous fruity core. Fine tannins with medium+ acid line to frame the flavours of plums and red berry fruits. Balanced and refreshing with decent length and lots of style. Best drinking from 2025 through 2028.     The Food:    Merlot is one of those wines that bridges the earthy umami flavours of winter fare almost seamlessly every time. One such dish a chicken ballotine stuffed with spinach, lentils and prunes. You can substitute out the prunes for dates, raisins or even dried apricot.   The natural sweetness of the fruit with the meat is what Merlot likes. Spinach and red wine tannins like each other a lot, and lentils provide the earthy theme to the dish. The lentils can be served on the side if stuffing them into a rolled-up chicken breast or leg doesn’t fit your idea of using lentils in that w

On the Saturday Morning with Jack Tame Full Show Podcast for Saturday 31 May 2025, hot off her big win at the Aotearoa Music Awards, Fazerdaze aka Amelia Murray joins Francesca Rudkin to discuss how it felt to bag her first AMA.  Francesca's championing an ACT policy.  Karl Puschmann discusses the brand-new film from Jesse Armstrong, Mountainhead.  And chef Nici Wickes delivers a sweet treat for the long weekend - cake fit for a King.  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.

Instagram isn’t just for square photos anymore   You can already post images with a rectangular aspect ratio of 4:5, but with 3:4, your photo won’t be cropped at the ends. You can still post a square too.   My theory is that this is in response to the resurgence of people taking photos on actual cameras again. The tourists in NYC seems to love a dedicated camera - and I don't mean a DSLR, I mean an old school 'digital camera' point and shoot style.  It's a little sad – one of the things that made Instagram special was that it forced creativity into a square. Same as with Twitter – 140 characters made things fun.     Your work Gmail will now start automatically summarizing emails   Google's Gemini investment is coming to your inbox if you like it or not. Gmail now creates summaries automatically for complex threads, and they’ll appear above the emails themselves. These are already available but require you to request it manually. The update will just be for mobile, and it may take

Department Q   Carl, a former top-rated detective, is wracked with guilt following an attack that left his partner paralysed and another policeman dead. On his return to work, Carl is assigned to a cold case that will consume his life (Netflix).    The Better Sister    Chloe, a high-profile media executive, lives a picturesque life with her husband Adam and son; her estranged sister Nicky struggles to make ends meet; when Adam is murdered, the two sisters reunite and try to untangle a complicated family history (Prime Video).    Brassic    In a forgotten corner of Northern England, Vinnie and his mates are stone-broke. Driven to a life of petty crime, Vinnie, Dylan, Cardi, Ash, Tommo and JJ's friendship has stood the test of time, but the cracks are beginning to show. When Dylan's girlfriend Erin wants out to start afresh in a new town, Dylan is torn between following her or staying with the pals he thinks of as brothers. As their past indiscretions begin to catch

If you ever need to produce a celebration cake, this is it!     Serves 8-10     Ingredients:   Sponge cake    130g unsalted butter, softened   1 cup caster sugar   2 teaspoons vanilla extract    3 large eggs    2⅓ cups self-raising flour   1 pinch salt   1 cup milk      To decorate    1/3 cup raspberry jam, warmed slightly    1 ½ cup icing sugar    30g butter, softened    ½ cup raspberries (fresh or frozen, defrosted)    3-5 tablespoons, boiling water   1 ½ cups coconut thread   300mls cream, whipped with one tbsp icing sugar       Method:  Preheat the oven to 170 C fan bake. Grease two 20cm round cake tins and dust with flour. Beat the butter, sugar and vanilla until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, and mix until well beaten. Stir in the flour and salt then the milk and mix until just combined, being careful not to over-mix. D

Mountainhead   A group of billionaire friends get together against the backdrop of a rolling international crisis.     Captain America: Brave New World   Sam finds himself in the middle of an international incident after meeting with President Thaddeus Ross. He must soon discover the reason behind a nefarious global plot before the true mastermind has the entire world seeing red.    LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It’s not often you will hear me unreservedly champion an ACT policy, but I am all in when it comes to their concern and policy response to sexually explicit deepfakes.   The US and UK are leading the way with legislative changes on this, New Zealand law lagging well behind.   ACT MP Laura McClure has prepared a bill to restrict the generation and sharing of sexually explicit deepfakes. Recently she announced "The Deepfake Digital Harm and Exploitation Bill expands existing legislation around revenge porn and intimate recordings, and ensures that those who produce or share deepfakes without consent face criminal accountability, and victims have clear pathways to seek redress and removal of harmful content." This is a common sense move in a tech area which is so fast moving that we’re always playing catch up. Once upon a time we warned our children about nude pics. When it became apparent some just couldn’t help themselves, the recommended advice became that if they were sending pics, they should

After a decade of chart-topping hits, sold-out tours, and almost 300 million streams, Mitch James is stepping away from music for good. He's set to take the stage  one last time for The Final Show – an emotional send-off at the Christchurch Town Hall on Saturday 24 May. Estelle Clifford joined Jack Tame to share her thoughts on Mitch James's final album. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Book of Guilt by Catherine Chidgey The first NZ-published book to hit number one this year. From the author of Pet. Set in England in 1979, identical 13-year-old triplets are part of a Government scheme where they're constantly monitored and medicated. Nightshade by Michael Connelly Los Angeles County Sheriff's Detective Stilwell has been 'exiled' to a low-key post, policing rustic Catalina Island, after department politics drove him off a homicide desk on the mainland. But while following up the usual drunk-and-disorderlies and petty thefts that come with his new territory, Detective Stilwell gets a report of a body found wrapped in plastic and weighed down at the bottom of the harbour. Crossing all lines of protocol and jurisdiction, he starts doggedly working the case. Soon, his investigation uncovers closely guarded secrets and a dark heart to the serene island that was meant to be his escape from the evils of the big city. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week, Mike Yardley opened up about Glenorchy's brand of eco-concious tourism, and revealed why it's a must-visit for fans of jet-boating, nature and Middle Earth. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Last Friday (May 16) was Pink Shirt Day in New Zealand which, as we know, is to promote anti-bullying - serving as a reminder that bullying can happen anywhere. Some people think it only happens in the playground at school but reports show it also occurs in workplaces, with a Massey Uni study in 2023 reported 1 in 4 people experienced bullying at least monthly in the workplace.  Clinical psychologist  Dougal Sutherland unpacked the numbers - and offered up some tips as to how it can be dealt with. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Last week, a collaborative group of Enthusiastic Restoration Organisations got together on Waiheke Island in the Hauraki Gulf. They were there to celebrate an inspirational project that commenced almost two decades ago: getting kiwi on the island.  I remember having many chats with the Late Sir Rob Fenwick and his wife Lady Jennie about making the island predator-free so that these birds (and other species) could be introduced.  And last week, it happened…   Ten birds (some the size of a moa!) were carefully taken from a nearby island (Pōnui) and shipped by barge to Waiheke. Pōnui got its kiwi (14 of them) in 1964 and these birds thrived there on the farm and in some forested areas, resulting in a current estimate of 1500 birds. (a huge density!)  The Chamberlin family looked after them well and allowed Save the Kiwi to muster the first lot of birds and take these to Waiheke.  It was a huge event with all the important organisations present: Save the Kiwi, Ngāti Pāoa, Ngāi Tai ki Tāma

On the Saturday Morning with Jack Tame Full Show Podcast for Saturday 24 May 2025, award-winning playwright Leki Jackson-Bourke and emerging dance talent Justice Kalolo join Jack to discuss New Zealand's leading contemporary dance company Black Grace celebrating 30 years, and the brand new production Rage Rage. Jack weighs up whether KiwiSaver becoming means tested opens the door to superannuation getting the same treatment.   Tom Cruise has delivered the 8th and final instalment in the decades-long Mission Impossible franchise - Francesca Rudkin reveals her thoughts on the nearly-three-hour epic. And, Ruud Kleinpaste shares his efforts in the collaborative work to get kiwi back on Waiheke Island.   Get the Saturday Morning with Jack Tame Full Show Podcast every Saturday on iHeartRadio, or wherever you get your podcasts. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In a bid to boost Kiwis' retirement savings, the Government is increasing the default KiwiSaver contribution rate to 3.5 percent next year and then 4 percent by April 2028.  The scheme will also be extended to 16 and 17-year-olds from April 1, 2026 - they will need to opt in, as the automatic enrolment will remain at 18. The Government contribution rate, however, will reduce by half, from 50c for each dollar a member contributes to 25c, from July 1 this year. In addition, those earning over $180,000 will no longer receive a Government contribution. Finance expert Lisa Dudson says these changes will help people build up more for their retirements and first home deposits - but there's concerns as to how it will impact low-income earners. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Johnny Ive, the designer behind the iPod, iMac & iPhone, is going all in with the creators of ChatGPT. Two years ago he started a company, io, to rethink the computer for the AI-age - which OpenAI was an investor in. OpenAI has now purchased it for $6.5 billion according to Bloomberg. Tech commentator Paul Stenhouse says the staff will be joining OpenAI, but Ive won't be. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Sirens - (Netflix) Julianne Moore and Meghann Fahy star in this glitzy drama about a woman concerned about her sister’s relationship with her billionaire boss.  Nine Perfect Strangers - (Prime Video) A new season of the drama based on a book by Liane Moriarty and starring Nicole Kidman, about nine strangers who congregate at a wellness retreat to gain respite from their lives.  Tucci In Italy - (Disney+) Academy Award nominee Stanley Tucci travels across Italy, discovering the history, secrets, and delights of the country's regional cuisines.  LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.