Last month saw Northlanders cut off from the power grid due to a fallen pylon.

Kevin Milne has been keeping an eye on the coverage this week, and finds Transpower’s statement about why the pylon fell rather humorous. 

He thinks their "It's unprecedented that so many nuts were removed at once" will be remembered like the Kiwi classic, "You have to blow on the pie."

LISTEN ABOVE

Last month saw Northlanders cut off from the power grid due to a fallen pylon. 
Kevin Milne has been keeping an eye on the coverage this week, and finds Transpower’s statement about why the pylon fell rather humorous.  
He thinks their "It's unprecedented that so many nuts were removed at once" will be remembered like the Kiwi classic, "You have to blow on the pie." 
LISTEN ABOVE

Jack Tame’s crisp perspective, style and enthusiasm makes for refreshing and entertaining Saturday morning radio on Newstalk ZB.

News, sport, books, music, gardens and celebrities – what better way to spend your Saturdays?

Jack Tame’s crisp perspective, style and enthusiasm makes for refreshing and entertaining Saturday morning radio on Newstalk ZB. News, sport, books, music, gardens and celebrities – what better way to spend your Saturdays?

Jack Tame’s crisp perspective, style and enthusiasm makes for refreshing and entertaining Saturday morning radio on Newstalk ZB.News, sport, books, music, gardens and celebrities – what better way to spend your Saturdays?

Saturday Morning with Jack Tame

Kevin Milne: A new classic Kiwi news bite from Transpower

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/7784f840-c291-422a-924b-ad9000bbad71/clips/c5492d48-4c28-4159-92d9-b1ab0176c3b7/transcript

What is earwax?  
Earwax: a natural substance produced in the ear canal.  
It contains oils, dead skin cells, and tiny particles.  
Earwax protects the ear: traps dust, germs, and keeps the skin moist.  
It's naturally self-cleaning: wax usually moves out on its own.  
Earwax is normal – it does not mean your ears are dirty! 

 

Why does earwax sometimes cause problems?  
When too much wax builds up, it can become hard and impact.  
Some people are more prone due to narrow ear canals, excess hair, or hearing aids  
Cotton buds push wax deeper into the ear and irritate and damage the ear canal – do not use them. 

 

How do we know if we have an earwax problem?  
A blocked or full feeling in the ear or hearing being muffled or reduced.  
Sometimes it can cause ringing (tinnitus), dizziness, or slight discomfort.  
Remember: a blocked ear isn't always wax, infection can cause similar symptoms.  

 

How do we treat earwax?  
Talk to your doctor or nurse if your ear feels blocked, so they can examine the ear canal.  
Ear drops can soften the wax, allowing it to come out naturally. Olive oil often used.    
If it doesn't clear, your doctor or nurse can remove using ear suction or irrigation.  
Make sure you see your doctor for severe pain, discharge, bleeding, sudden hearing loss, or persistent dizziness.

Remember: earwax is normal, it protects the ear, we can’t prevent it, and never use cotton buds in the ear! 

 

LISTEN ABOVE  

What is earwax? &nbsp;
<ul>
<li>Earwax: a natural substance produced in the ear canal. &nbsp;</li>
<li>It contains oils, dead skin cells, and tiny particles. &nbsp;</li>
<li>Earwax protects the ear: traps dust, germs, and keeps the skin moist. &nbsp;</li>
<li>It's naturally self-cleaning: wax usually moves out on its own. &nbsp;</li>
<li>Earwax is normal – it does not mean your ears are dirty!&nbsp;</li>
</ul>
&nbsp;
Why does earwax sometimes cause problems? &nbsp;
<ul>
<li>When too much wax builds up, it can become hard and impact. &nbsp;</li>
<li>Some people are more prone due to narrow ear canals, excess hair, or hearing aids &nbsp;</li>
<li>Cotton buds push wax deeper into the ear and irritate and damage the ear canal – do not use them.&nbsp;</li>
</ul>
&nbsp;
How do we know if we have an earwax problem? &nbsp;
<ul>
<li>A blocked or full feeling in the ear or hearing being muffled or reduced. &nbsp;</li>
<li>Sometimes it can cause ringing (tinnitus), dizziness, or slight discomfort. &nbsp;</li>
<li>Remember: a blocked ear isn't always wax, infection can cause similar symptoms. &nbsp;</li>
</ul>
&nbsp;
How do we treat earwax? &nbsp;
<ul>
<li>Talk to your doctor or nurse if your ear feels blocked, so they can examine the ear canal. &nbsp;</li>
<li>Ear drops can soften the wax, allowing it to come out naturally. Olive oil often used. &nbsp; &nbsp;</li>
<li>If it doesn't clear, your doctor or nurse can remove using ear suction or irrigation. &nbsp;</li>
<li>Make sure you see your doctor for severe pain, discharge, bleeding, sudden hearing loss, or persistent dizziness.</li>
</ul>
Remember: earwax is normal, it protects the ear, we can’t prevent it, and never use cotton buds in the ear!&nbsp;
&nbsp;
LISTEN ABOVE &nbsp;

Dr Bryan Betty: Treating earwax – a really common and really annoying issue

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/7784f840-c291-422a-924b-ad9000bbad71/clips/6e36d147-dfd8-46be-9663-b4c300137699/transcript

Listen to the Saturday Morning with Jack Tame Full Show Podcast for Saturday 12 September.

Get the Saturday Morning with Jack Tame Full Show Podcast every Saturday on iHeartRadio, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Listen to the Saturday Morning with Jack Tame Full Show Podcast for Saturday 12 September. 
Get the Saturday Morning with Jack Tame Full Show Podcast every Saturday on iHeartRadio, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Full Show Podcast: 12 September 2026 

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/7784f840-c291-422a-924b-ad9000bbad71/clips/3d388e8c-2687-4c85-b7f0-b4c300039b1e/transcript

A few weeks ago, we discussed the story of one of those beautiful centipedes captured by a young lady (Raine). A lovely 5 centimetre long body with long legs and fast movement – a beauty!  

I thought it might be prudent to tell the story of our native giant centipede, often found at night in the North Island. In Latin the name means “one hundred legs”, but they ain’t got that many!  

Usually, they have somewhere around 23 pairs of legs... or 21 pairs, or 25 pairs, or 27 pairs – always an odd number of pairs of legs (never an even number – why? Who knows!). 



The front pair of legs is modified into hollow fangs with which they bite and administer poison to subdue or kill prey.  

That poison also acts as a digestive juice: they inject it into prey, and it starts to dissolve the inner structure of the insect/prey so that after half an hour all the centipede needs to do is suck the dissolved innards of the prey up like a soup!  

So in reality, the centipede has an external stomach in the form of that poison that pre-digests the food in the prey’s own body!  

The poison is a nasty neurotoxin that really causes quite a bit of damage to humans too – I'd know! I’ve been bitten and it caused a 2.5-hour paralysis in my right arm and hand – I couldn’t write for a few hours! Then there was an itch for weeks and weeks and weeks. Some big centipedes can be really dangerous, but I don’t think there are any cases of fatalities…  

But it must have been close, every now and then…  

Centipedes are really fast hunters; they have amazing long rear legs that grab anything that annoys them – I can show you how to “stroke” a centipede and in which direction so you don’t end up caught in those hind legs, which means an almost certain bite!  

Each body segment has its own set of “brains” or neurological centre. That regulates the leg movement and coordinates the magical motion they display.  

They usually crawl into nice dark and moist places, because their skin is relatively thin and they dry out very quickly.  

When a mother has eggs, she is very dedicated and looks after them for weeks and weeks – almost like an incubating mother hen. She also licks the eggs constantly to keep them moist and clean of bacteria. There is evidence that her excretion has some very powerful anti-bacterial and anti-microbial compounds in it, that could be very useful for future human medicine! 



Even these scary centipedes need protection, because they may contribute to our future techniques in human medicine.  

Look after all these creatures on our (Animal) Planet! 

LISTEN ABOVE  

A few weeks ago, we discussed the story of one of those beautiful centipedes captured by a young lady (Raine). A lovely 5 centimetre long body with long legs and fast movement – a beauty! &nbsp;
I thought it might be prudent to tell the story of our native giant centipede, often found at night in the North Island. In Latin the name means “one hundred legs”, but they ain’t got that many! &nbsp;
Usually, they have somewhere around 23 pairs of legs... or 21 pairs, or 25 pairs, or 27 pairs – always an odd number of pairs of legs (never an even number – why? Who knows!).&nbsp;

The front pair of legs is modified into hollow fangs with which they bite and administer poison to subdue or kill prey. &nbsp;
That poison also acts as a digestive juice: they inject it into prey, and it starts to dissolve the inner structure of the insect/prey so that after half an hour all the centipede needs to do is suck the dissolved innards of the prey up like a soup! &nbsp;
So in reality, the centipede has an external stomach in the form of that poison that pre-digests the food in the prey’s own body! &nbsp;
The poison is a nasty neurotoxin that really causes quite a bit of damage to humans too – I'd know! I’ve been bitten and it caused a 2.5-hour paralysis in my right arm and hand – I couldn’t write for a few hours! Then there was an itch for weeks and weeks and weeks. Some big centipedes can be really dangerous, but I don’t think there are any cases of fatalities… &nbsp;
But it must have been close, every now and then… &nbsp;
Centipedes are really fast hunters; they have amazing long rear legs that grab anything that annoys them – I can show you how to “stroke” a centipede and in which direction so you don’t end up caught in those hind legs, which means an almost certain bite! &nbsp;
Each body segment has its own set of “brains” or neurological centre. That regulates the leg movement and coordinates the magical motion they display. &nbsp;
They usually crawl into nice dark and moist places, because their skin is relatively thin and they dry out very quickly. &nbsp;
When a mother has eggs, she is very dedicated and looks after them for weeks and weeks – almost like an incubating mother hen. She also licks the eggs constantly to keep them moist and clean of bacteria. There is evidence that her excretion has some very powerful anti-bacterial and anti-microbial compounds in it, that could be very useful for future human medicine!&nbsp;

Even these scary centipedes need protection, because they may contribute to our future techniques in human medicine. &nbsp;
Look after all these creatures on our (Animal) Planet!&nbsp;
LISTEN ABOVE &nbsp;

Ruud Kleinpaste: New Zealand's venomous giant centipede

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/7784f840-c291-422a-924b-ad9000bbad71/clips/fc56a3c7-1422-499d-bb0f-b4c30004a8fd/transcript

Kevin Milne: A new classic Kiwi news bite from Transpower

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