Nic Russell: writer and health advocate opens up about the hard times she's faced in new book Bollix

Irish-born Kiwi author Nic Russell has dealt with an unrelenting amount of hardship and grief - and she's turned her experiences into a book. She's survived breast cancer, she’s lost a child, had a heart transplant and been diagnosed with Parkinson's - all before the age of 50 - and that inspired …

Vea Mafile'o: film director on exploring Jonah Lomu's life in new documentary

Hundreds of family videos and years of research have gone into an intimate new documentary about rugby legend Jonah Lomu. The film draws on archive footage to tell the story of the All Black, who died 11 years ago aged 40. It follows Lomu from his time at Wesley College through his rise to the Al…

Whitcoulls Recommends: The Body and the Blood and Big Little Truths

The Body and the Blood by Molly Crighton. This is a crime thriller set in and around St Paul’s Cathedral in Dunedin’s Octagon. A woman is found on the floor beneath the organ loft - initially the police assume she’d fallen, but a young police administrator senses that something more sinister was af…

Megan Singleton: BloggerAtLarge.com writer on the risks of using airport wi-fi

About 8.7 million passengers were affected by a cyber attack on a group of airports in the UK last week. Data relating to car park, lounge and fast-track security bookings at three major airports was accessed in the hack, including passengers’ email addresses, phone numbers, vehicle registrations …

Mike van de Elzen: Fresh pappardelle with lemon gremolata

Fresh pappardelle with lemon gremolata  Cook time: 2-3 minutes  Prep time: 15 minutes  Serves: 6 1 batch fresh pasta 3 lemons   3 cloves garlic, crushed   1 cup parsley, chopped   2 tbsp grapeseed oil   Sea salt   Cracked pepper Good parmesan Zest the lemons and then juice into a bowl, …

The Sunday Panel: How can we enforce the teen social media ban?

This week on the Sunday Panel, Newstalk ZB Wellington Mornings host Nick Mills and host of The Prosperity Project, Nadine Higgins, joined in on a discussion about the following issues of the week - and more! There's calls to make changes to the health system, with General Practice New Zealand outl…

Full Show Podcast: 30 August 2026

On the Sunday Session with Francesca Rudkin Full Show Podcast for Sunday 30 August, Jonah Lomu was a giant of the rugby world and a global superstar. A new documentary coming to cinemas this week sheds light on the life of Jonah behind the scenes.  Director Vea Mafile'o joins Francesca in studio to…

Dr Michelle Dickinson: nanotechnologist on whether sugary drinks increase your risk for cancer

Having one sugary drink a day probably doesn't feel like a particularly dangerous habit, but a large new study published in the journal Gastro Hep Advances suggests regularly drinking sugar-sweetened beverages could be associated with a large increase in the risk of stomach cancer.    The researche…

Erin O'Hara: Naturopath and wellness expert on the rise in chronic fatigue

Experts have noticed chronic fatigue syndrome is on the rise, and there's plenty of theories about why this is. Between long Covid, post-viral fatigue, and chronic stress, there's a lot of factors at play and experts are trying to get a handle on it. Naturopath and wellness expert Erin O'Hara out…

Steve Newall: entertainment correspondent on the death of Dolly Parton

Country music legend, songwriter and humanitarian Dolly Parton died last week, and tributes have been rolling in from all over the world. Parton died in Nashville from cancer aged 80, and her music has seen a significant bump in streaming. Entertainment correspondent Steve Newall looked back on t…