"Just imagine taking a jaunt to Calypso’s Cave, where the nymph Calypso held Odysseus as a prisoner of love for seven years in Homer’s epic Odyssey. How about taking to the waters in the Blue Lagoon or gazing in awe at the Crystal Caves of Comino? Malta’s neighbouring islands of Gozo and Comino are full of history and wonder. I recently travelled to the Maltese islands with Insight Vacations, on their 6-day Easy Pace Malta premium guided tour. It offers the winning mix of guided sightseeing and flexi-time, allowing you to ample opportunity to personally discover and savour the destination’s treats, at your own leisure."

Read Mike's full article here.

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"Just imagine taking a jaunt to Calypso’s Cave, where the nymph Calypso held Odysseus as a prisoner of love for seven years in Homer’s epic Odyssey. How about taking to the waters in the Blue Lagoon or gazing in awe at the Crystal Caves of Comino? Malta’s neighbouring islands of Gozo and Comino are full of history and wonder. I recently travelled to the Maltese islands with Insight Vacations, on their 6-day Easy Pace Malta premium guided tour. It offers the winning mix of guided sightseeing and flexi-time, allowing you to ample opportunity to personally discover and savour the destination’s treats, at your own leisure."
Read Mike's full article <a href="https://www.newstalkzb.co.nz/lifestyle/travel/mike-yardley-the-glories-of-gozo-comino-malta/">here.</a>
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

Mike Yardley: Gozo and Comino, Malta's little rock-stars

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/7784f840-c291-422a-924b-ad9000bbad71/clips/ecd14049-4ae0-4f32-8118-b1cf0015f78e/transcript

Bonfire of the Murdochs by Gabriel Sherman  

When Rupert Murdoch made a fateful decision about who should inherit his media colossus, he believed that pitting his children against each other would produce the most capable heir. Twenty-five years later, that gamble would tear apart one of the world's most powerful families and trigger a multi-billion dollar reckoning in a succession battle featuring betrayals, lawsuits, and revenge plots. 
 
In Bonfire of the Murdochs, bestselling author Gabriel Sherman tells the inside story of this epic family war, one whose seeds were planted a half-century ago in Australia when the complicated patriarch left his homeland to conquer the world and please the ghost of his judgmental father. That quest culminated in a media empire that controlled Fox News, The Wall Street Journal, and tabloids on three continents, which wielded more political and cultural power than any single company in modern times. 
 
But Rupert's plan to rip up the secret trust controlling his empire and anoint his conservative firstborn son Lachlan as successor set him on a collision course with his three more liberal children. What price would Rupert pay to secure his legacy? For the aging patriarch, this would be his final and most personal deal. 
 
Based on interviews with more than 150 sources, Bonfire of the Murdochs is a richly textured narrative where each child plays their predestined role in a blood feud that explodes in a courtroom showdown. There, Murdoch's children weaponize his own secrets against him. It is a tragedy Shakespeare would have appreciated, where getting everything you want costs everything you love. 

  

Hooked by Asako Yuzuki  

Eriko really wouldn't mind being savaged, if it was her best friend doing the savaging ... 

Eriko's life appears perfect - devoted parents, spotless apartment and a job in the seafood division of one of Japan's largest trading companies. Her latest project, to reintroduce the controversial Nile perch fish into the Japanese market, is characteristically ambitious. But beneath her flawless surface she is wracked by loneliness.  

Eriko becomes fascinated with a popular blog written by a housewife, Shoko. Shoko's posts about eating convenience store food and her untidy home are the opposite of the typical Japanese housewife's manicured lifestyle.  

When Eriko tracks Shoko down at her favourite restaurant and befriends her, Shoko is at first charmed by her new companion. But as Eriko's obsession with Shoko deepens, her increasingly possessive behaviour starts to raise suspicion. As Eriko's carefully laid plans begin to unravel, how far will she go to hold on to the best friend that she's ever had?  

Beautifully translated by Polly Barton, Hooked is a thrilling and unsettling story of the line between friendship and dangerous obsession. A delicious exploration of food, loneliness and womanhood in contemporary Japan, Hooked brings together all the ingredients for which Asako Yuzuki is so adored. 

 

LISTEN ABOVE 

Bonfire of the Murdochs by Gabriel Sherman &nbsp;
When Rupert Murdoch made a fateful decision about who should inherit his media colossus, he believed that pitting his children against each other would produce the most capable heir. Twenty-five years later, that gamble would tear apart one of the world's most powerful families and trigger a multi-billion dollar reckoning in a succession battle featuring betrayals, lawsuits, and revenge plots.&nbsp; &nbsp; In Bonfire of the Murdochs, bestselling author Gabriel Sherman tells the inside story of this epic family war, one whose seeds were planted a half-century ago in Australia when the complicated patriarch left his homeland to conquer the world and please the ghost of his judgmental father. That quest culminated in a media empire that controlled Fox News, The Wall Street Journal, and tabloids on three continents, which wielded more political and cultural power than any single company in modern times.&nbsp; &nbsp; But Rupert's plan to rip up the secret trust controlling his empire and anoint his conservative firstborn son Lachlan as successor set him on a collision course with his three more liberal children. What price would Rupert pay to secure his legacy? For the aging patriarch, this would be his final and most personal deal.&nbsp; &nbsp; Based on interviews with more than 150 sources, Bonfire of the Murdochs is a richly textured narrative where each child plays their predestined role in a blood feud that explodes in a courtroom showdown. There, Murdoch's children weaponize his own secrets against him. It is a tragedy Shakespeare would have appreciated, where getting everything you want costs everything you love.&nbsp;
&nbsp;&nbsp;
Hooked by Asako Yuzuki &nbsp;
Eriko really wouldn't mind being savaged, if it was her best friend doing the savaging ...&nbsp;
Eriko's life appears perfect - devoted parents, spotless apartment and a job in the seafood division of one of Japan's largest trading companies. Her latest project, to reintroduce the controversial Nile perch fish into the Japanese market, is characteristically ambitious. But beneath her flawless surface she is wracked by loneliness. &nbsp;
Eriko becomes fascinated with a popular blog written by a housewife, Shoko. Shoko's posts about eating convenience store food and her untidy home are the opposite of the typical Japanese housewife's manicured lifestyle. &nbsp;
When Eriko tracks Shoko down at her favourite restaurant and befriends her, Shoko is at first charmed by her new companion. But as Eriko's obsession with Shoko deepens, her increasingly possessive behaviour starts to raise suspicion. As Eriko's carefully laid plans begin to unravel, how far will she go to hold on to the best friend that she's ever had? &nbsp;
Beautifully translated by Polly Barton, Hooked is a thrilling and unsettling story of the line between friendship and dangerous obsession. A delicious exploration of food, loneliness and womanhood in contemporary Japan, Hooked brings together all the ingredients for which Asako Yuzuki is so adored.&nbsp;
&nbsp;
LISTEN ABOVE&nbsp;

Catherine Raynes: Bonfire of the Murdochs and Hooked

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/7784f840-c291-422a-924b-ad9000bbad71/clips/960510b9-f312-41ca-9b26-b42200073669/transcript

"One of life’s great truths is that Las Vegas never rests on its laurels. It is constantly in a state of evolution and reinvention, unfurling ever brighter and more ambitious embellishments to enrich its entertainment arsenal."

"No matter how you tackle Sin City, Las Vegas requires a suspension of disbelief, as you’re swallowed up within the whirling, swirling haze of escapist gratification. Blend the best of new and old Las Vegas, sampling the latest and greatest hits in town."

Read Mike's full article here.

LISTEN ABOVE

"One of life’s great truths is that Las Vegas never rests on its laurels. It is constantly in a state of evolution and reinvention, unfurling ever brighter and more ambitious embellishments to enrich its entertainment arsenal."
"No matter how you tackle Sin City, Las Vegas requires a suspension of disbelief, as you’re swallowed up within the whirling, swirling haze of escapist gratification. Blend the best of new and old Las Vegas, sampling the latest and greatest hits in town."
Read Mike's full article <a href="https://www.newstalkzb.co.nz/lifestyle/travel/mike-yardley-the-latest-and-the-greatest-in-las-vegas/">here</a>.
LISTEN ABOVE

Mike Yardley: Las Vegas' latest and greatest

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/7784f840-c291-422a-924b-ad9000bbad71/clips/998309de-59b4-4b8c-b4b5-b4220004015a/transcript

As we approach the Easter break —a time typically filled with texts, chocolate, memes, and quick check-ins— new research from 2degrees suggests Kiwis may be craving something more meaningful. The study reveals a modern contradiction: Kiwis have more ways to stay in touch than ever, but two thirds say meaningful conversations are harder to come by.  

While texting and social media have become the default, a phone call still has the greatest emotional impact - 77% say they feel meaningfully better after speaking to someone close to them, yet only 15% regularly pick up the phone.  

Always on, rarely connected:  
67% of Kiwis say meaningful conversations are harder to come by despite having more ways to stay in touch than ever  
Nearly one in three (32%) are making fewer calls than five years ago   
23% of Kiwis can't recall a single phone number apart from their own   

How Kiwis use their phones to communicate:  
68% say text-based messaging is their primary way of keeping in touch vs just 15% who default to a phone call   
When asked where their thumb instinctively reaches in a spare moment, 45% said social media vs just 5% who make a call, meaning Kiwis are nine times more likely to scroll than call.  

Top reasons Kiwis don’t call more:  
Messaging feels easier (31%) 
Not wanting to interrupt (27%) 
Feeling too busy for a proper conversation (20%) 
Or a phone call feeling too awkward or unexpected (19%)   

The case for calling:  
77% feel better after a phone call with a loved one  
59% say there is someone in their life they wish they called someone more often  

LISTEN ABOVE 

As we approach the Easter break —a time typically filled with texts, chocolate, memes, and quick check-ins— new research from 2degrees suggests Kiwis may be craving something more meaningful. The study reveals a modern contradiction: Kiwis have more ways to stay in touch than ever, but two thirds say meaningful conversations are harder to come by. &nbsp;
While texting and social media have become the default, a phone call still has the greatest emotional impact - 77% say they feel meaningfully better after speaking to someone close to them, yet only 15% regularly pick up the phone. &nbsp;
Always on, rarely connected: &nbsp;
<ul>
<li>67% of Kiwis say meaningful conversations are harder to come by despite having more ways to stay in touch than ever &nbsp;</li>
<li>Nearly one in three (32%) are making fewer calls than five years ago &nbsp;&nbsp;</li>
<li>23% of Kiwis can't recall a single phone number apart from their own &nbsp;&nbsp;</li>
</ul>
How Kiwis use their phones to communicate: &nbsp;
<ul>
<li>68% say text-based messaging is their primary way of keeping in touch vs just 15% who default to a phone call &nbsp;&nbsp;</li>
<li>When asked where their thumb instinctively reaches in a spare moment, 45% said social media vs just 5% who make a call, meaning Kiwis are nine times more likely to scroll than call. &nbsp;</li>
</ul>
Top reasons Kiwis don’t call more: &nbsp;
<ul>
<li>Messaging feels easier (31%)&nbsp;</li>
<li>Not wanting to interrupt (27%)&nbsp;</li>
<li>Feeling too busy for a proper conversation (20%)&nbsp;</li>
<li>Or a phone call feeling too awkward or unexpected (19%) &nbsp;&nbsp;</li>
</ul>
The case for calling: &nbsp;
<ul>
<li>77% feel better after a phone call with a loved one &nbsp;</li>
<li>59% say there is someone in their life they wish they called someone more often &nbsp;</li>
</ul>
LISTEN ABOVE&nbsp;

Dougal Sutherland: Meaningful connections and conversations

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/7784f840-c291-422a-924b-ad9000bbad71/clips/4eb93844-fb44-4472-a673-b422000243c2/transcript

Mike Yardley: Gozo and Comino, Malta's little rock-stars

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