'Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery' - the third instalment in the 'Knives Out' series has received a positive review from Flicks.co.nz editor Steve Newall. 

He told Francesca Rudkin that the film is, 'really humour laced, really strong performances, and the sort of film as well that I think really benefits from not having your phone in your lap.' 

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'Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery' - the third instalment in the 'Knives Out' series has received a positive review from Flicks.co.nz editor Steve Newall.&nbsp;
He told Francesca Rudkin that the film is, 'really humour laced, really strong performances, and the sort of film as well that I think really benefits from not having your phone in your lap.'&nbsp;
LISTEN ABOVE

News, opinion, analysis, lifestyle and entertainment – we’ve got your Sunday morning listening covered with The Sunday Session with Francesca Rudkin on Newstalk ZB.

The Sunday Session with Francesca Rudkin

Steve Newall: Flicks.co.nz editor reviews the third 'Knives Out' movie

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/7784f840-c291-422a-924b-ad9000bbad71/clips/f45dced6-40d4-4e8f-993d-b3a401779b50/transcript

In the latest episode of Great Chats with Francesca Rudkin, famed chef Yotam Ottolenghi talks finding the joy of cooking and talks his stage show coming to New Zealand in 2026. 

We hear from Black Grace Dance Company founder Neil Ieremia as the group celebrates 30 years of stunning performances. 

Plus Bill Bryson talks revisiting and revising his iconic book A Short History of Nearly Everything. 

Great Chats with Francesca Rudkin brings you the best interviews from Newstalk ZB's The Sunday Session. 

Listen on iHeartRadio or wherever you get your podcasts. 

LISTEN ABOVE

In the latest episode of Great Chats with Francesca Rudkin, famed chef Yotam Ottolenghi talks finding the joy of cooking and talks his stage show coming to New Zealand in 2026.&nbsp;
We hear from Black Grace Dance Company founder Neil Ieremia as the group celebrates 30 years of stunning performances.&nbsp;
Plus Bill Bryson talks revisiting and revising his iconic book&nbsp;A Short History of Nearly Everything.&nbsp;
Great Chats with Francesca Rudkin brings you the best interviews from Newstalk ZB's The Sunday Session.&nbsp;
Listen on iHeartRadio or wherever you get your podcasts.&nbsp;
LISTEN ABOVE

Episode 17: Yotam Ottolenghi, Neil Ieremia and Bill Bryson

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/7784f840-c291-422a-924b-ad9000bbad71/clips/20a442ef-5aa7-4a46-af44-b3a70010afe0/transcript

Audio file 

FR EDITORIAL 301125.mp3 

 

Transcript 

So, did you get yourself a bargain on Black Friday or some kind of good deal in the last 10 days that may also be associated with a Black Friday? I've done quite a bit of Christmas shopping this weekend, most of it online through Kiwi retailers, and have saved at least the shipping costs or up to maybe 25% savings, which, you know, it all adds up.  

There have been warnings this week about being sucked into Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales. Consumer New Zealand, they did a three-month investigation. They tracked 10 products at four major retailers, and they found that half of the items could have been bought at the same or lower prices at some point in the last three months.  

But I think we all know this. Black Friday is a brilliantly executed marketing campaign. The reality is a lot of discounts are a token gesture, but if you do your homework and you have a bit of luck, you can find something you wanted for a good price. And I think that we approach shopping differently these days, driven by the fact a lot of the big retailers have sales all the time.  

If we look at the main sales at this time of the year, people go shopping at Labour Weekend, Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and hey, look, if you've missed out, Boxing Day is only about four weeks away. So you'd be an idiot to buy something when it wasn't on sale. But hopefully all the spending will still be giving retailers the lift they need.  

This week there was a little bit of good news from Stats New Zealand with data showing that the total volume of sales increased 1.9% in the September quarter compared to the June 2025 quarter. And this is the largest quarterly increase in activity since December 2021.  

Last year, payment provider data showed that more than $175 million was spent at core retail merchants during Black Friday weekend. And it's going to be really interesting to see what the figure is this year. And retail, there sort of seems to be a little bit of a frenzy around retail at the moment.  

Look at the anticipation around IKEA opening in Auckland's Mount Wellington this week on December 4th. Good on AT for warning shoppers there could potentially be 40-minute delays to get off the motorway. And then it may take an hour to find a car park. You were warned. You may think it's unnecessary, but we all know what it's like when we hit that traffic on the motorway and we stop. 

Look, I know. It's exciting. I care opening. I have a kid going flatting next year and I wouldn't be surprised if we end up buying a flat pack of some sort. But IKEA's not going anywhere. Do yourself a favour and give it some time before you descend on the Swedish giant. Or better still, shop at some of our very own Kiwi excellent flat pack furniture stores. But look, if you're less patient than me and you're prepared to deal with the traffic, best of luck out there. 

LISTEN ABOVE

Audio file&nbsp;
FR EDITORIAL 301125.mp3&nbsp;
&nbsp;
Transcript&nbsp;
So, did you get yourself a bargain on Black Friday or some kind of good deal in the last 10 days that may also be associated with a Black Friday? I've done quite a bit of Christmas shopping this weekend, most of it online through Kiwi retailers, and have saved at least the shipping costs or up to maybe 25% savings, which, you know, it all adds up. &nbsp;
There have been warnings this week about being sucked into Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales. Consumer New Zealand, they did a three-month investigation. They tracked 10 products at four major retailers, and they found that half of the items could have been bought at the same or lower prices at some point in the last three months. &nbsp;
But I think we all know this. Black Friday is a brilliantly executed marketing campaign. The reality is a lot of discounts are a token gesture, but if you do your homework and you have a bit of luck, you can find something you wanted for a good price. And I think that we approach shopping differently these days, driven by the fact a lot of the big retailers have sales all the time. &nbsp;
If we look at the main sales at this time of the year, people go shopping at Labour Weekend, Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and hey, look, if you've missed out, Boxing Day is only about four weeks away. So you'd be an idiot to buy something when it wasn't on sale. But hopefully all the spending will still be giving retailers the lift they need. &nbsp;
This week there was a little bit of good news from Stats New Zealand with data showing that the total volume of sales increased 1.9% in the September quarter compared to the June 2025 quarter. And this is the largest quarterly increase in activity since December 2021. &nbsp;
Last year, payment provider data showed that more than $175 million was spent at core retail merchants during Black Friday weekend. And it's going to be really interesting to see what the figure is this year. And retail, there sort of seems to be a little bit of a frenzy around retail at the moment. &nbsp;
Look at the anticipation around IKEA opening in Auckland's Mount Wellington this week on December 4th. Good on AT for warning shoppers there could potentially be 40-minute delays to get off the motorway. And then it may take an hour to find a car park. You were warned. You may think it's unnecessary, but we all know what it's like when we hit that traffic on the motorway and we stop.&nbsp;
Look, I know. It's exciting. I care opening. I have a kid going flatting next year and I wouldn't be surprised if we end up buying a flat pack of some sort. But IKEA's not going anywhere. Do yourself a favour and give it some time before you descend on the Swedish giant. Or better still, shop at some of our very own Kiwi excellent flat pack furniture stores. But look, if you're less patient than me and you're prepared to deal with the traffic, best of luck out there.&nbsp;
LISTEN ABOVE

Francesca Rudkin: Why are we in such a retail frenzy?

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/7784f840-c291-422a-924b-ad9000bbad71/clips/649ad0ce-3f79-4808-ab6a-b3a401888f59/transcript

The hugely popular Synthony Festival is going ahead at the end of March. 

Synthony has taken off over the last few years – with the 2025 festival selling out and 40,000 people attending. 

2026 will be the first Synthony Festival for The Black Seeds – and their front man Barnaby Weir told Francesca Rudkin that he is looking forward to the festival. 

'To get an invite, to such a huge, awesome gig, which is already proven and has a huge clientele, a huge audience is really great for us.'

LISTEN ABOVE

The hugely popular Synthony Festival is going ahead at the end of March.&nbsp;
Synthony has taken off over the last few years – with the 2025 festival selling out and 40,000 people attending.&nbsp;
2026 will be the first Synthony Festival for The Black Seeds – and their front man Barnaby Weir told Francesca Rudkin that he is looking forward to the festival.&nbsp;
'To get an invite, to such a huge, awesome gig, which is already proven and has a huge clientele, a huge audience is really great for us.'
LISTEN ABOVE

Barnaby Wier: 'The Black Seeds' frontman talks ahead of Synthony festival

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/7784f840-c291-422a-924b-ad9000bbad71/clips/ca26c8e4-5f70-4ec6-a1f6-b3a40185f2be/transcript

Steve Newall: Flicks.co.nz editor reviews the third 'Knives Out' movie

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