The Sunday Session with Francesca Rudkin

Olympic paddler Luuka Jones-Yaxley's lined up an unexpected project after her success in Paris. 

Shortly after retiring from the high-performance canoe Slalom at the Paris Olympics, Luuka received a call and an offer to appear as Charlize Theron’s stunt double in the Netflix film Apex. 

She says the offer felt like an 'April Fools joke' at first, but she was on a plane to the South Island to begin filming before she knew ...

Yesteryear by Caro Claire Burke. Natalie Heller Mills drifts into marriage with a real loser, and in a last desperate attempt to help him make something of himself, gets her father in law to fund them onto a remote ranch in Idaho where she raises a brood of kids, embraces a traditional way of life, and sends it all via Instagram to a rapidly increasing audience. The trouble is, Natalie doesn’t entirely subscribe to the situation sh...

Travel expert Megan Singleton's been in New York seeing the sights, and making some unexpected discoveries. 

After she learned the Abyssinian Baptist Church was booked out, she checked out the spring blossoms in Central Park, explored the Met and visited Little Island - which is built on wine glass shaped stilts across 4 acres in the Hudson River.  

Read more of Megan's travel tips here.

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This week on The Sunday Panel, broadcaster and journalist Wilhelmina O’Keefe and Resident Economist at Opes Partners, Ed McKnight, joined in on a discussion about the following issues of the day - and more!

ACT has recently revealed their new immigration policy - what do we think? Is this going to attract the right people to New Zealand? A lot of what ACT is talking about here is just about enforcing existing laws - have we been to...

Additives are added to processed food to keep it fresher for longer but these might unexpectedly affect the health of the microbes in our guts.

A diverse microbiome is key for our overall wellbeing, as it influences everything from our mood to our metabolism and our brain health, and processed food can have a harmful impact.

Naturopath and wellness expert Erin O'Hara explained further. 

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On the Sunday Session with Francesca Rudkin Full Show Podcast for Sunday 3 May 2026, Francesca speaks to investigative reporter and influential AI expert Karen Howe, who initially supported the development of AI, but now sees a darker side to the newest tech trend.

Luuka Jones-Yaxley has gone from being an Olympic Silver Medalist to Hollywood Stunt Performer. Francesca gets the details on her journey, including rubbing elbows with...

Last week I started my editorial with: ‘Well, it was a rather chaotic, eventful week in politics wasn’t it’, and went on to speak about how I thought it was a mistake that the Prime Minister has decided to decline appearing in a weekly spot on TVNZ’s Breakfast.  

But it appears that ‘chaotic’ and ‘eventful’ is likely to be how we’re going to describe the next 27 weeks until the election, if the coalition can hold itself togeth...

When you board a plane, you probably think about whether or not you want a window or aisle seat that is either close to the bathroom, or far away.  But new research published in the journal AIP Advances concludes that when it comes to safety, who is sitting around you matters more than where you sit on a plane.

There’s a global aviation safety standard rule you’ve probably never heard of: every passenger must be able to evacua...

 Fired duck livers with port and cream 

Cook time: 25 minutes 

Prep time: 30 minutes 

Serves: 6

250 gm duck livers  

1/2 cup red wine  

1/4 cup port  

3/4 cup cream  

6 field mushrooms  

1/2 onion, peeled and sliced thin  

2 cloves garlic, peeled and sliced

2 tbsp sunflower oil  

Salt and pepper

Take a large cast iron or similar pan. Heat to a high heat.  

Add the...

There's growing concerns about the impact of social media on young people, with advocates calling for tighter regulations.

Politicians have voiced support for a teen social media ban in line with Australia, but experts say more needs to be done in this area.

B416 advisor Jade Varney says education is important, but the technology's gone too far to let young people use it without a proper intervention. 

"These technology platfo...

There's concerns about the stability of the coalition after National and NZ First had it out last week.

Winston Peters' office released emails showing Prime Minister Chris Luxon wanted the Government to explicitly support US/Israeli action in Iran, which Peters later rejected.

Former Minister and commentator Peter Dunne says Peters is running rings around Luxon ahead of the election - and it's unclear what this could mean for the c...

The A-League will have a new champion after Auckland FC ended Melbourne City's season in a thrilling 14-goal penalty shootout.

The Kiwi side will play Adelaide United across a two-leg semi-final.

CEO Nick Becker says it was 'crazy' watching the team's performance on the night.

"Sport is such an incredible thing, I think with football especially, because it's such a low-scoring game - the scarcity of goals and then the drama... it w...

ACT has launched its immigration policy ahead of this year's election - with surcharges and tougher limits for serious offenders. 

It includes a $6 a day infrastructure surcharge on temporary work visas, which is expected to pocket $80 million a year.

The party also wants stronger English language requirements, and would also establish a dedicated unit around enforcement for people over-staying their visas.

Leader David Seymou...

James Reyne is regarded as an Australian musical icon thanks to his success in Australian Crawl, and he's set to celebrate the band's success in his new tour.

Alongside the full band, Reyne will be performing the hits of Australian Crawl next month in Auckland and Wellington.

Reyne says he knows it's unusual to celebrate the fall of a band, but it felt right.

"I'm very grateful for that, as I get older, I realise how grateful I am....

Influencer and mental health advocate Jazz Thornton has been campaigning hard for stalking to be criminalised, with new reforms set to be added to the Crimes Act next month.

Thornton was targeted by obsessive messages from a stranger overseas back in 2024, and things escalated when the individual flew to New Zealand and turned up at her house.

Inspired by her own story and those of others, Jazz has created a new documentary ‘Stalke...

The Other Catherine by Lauren Keenan: this is the story of two women bound together through generations of a family, each making their own way in a turbulent world. In 1793, eighteen year old Catherine is sentenced to the colonies and finds herself in the abject misery of the hold of a convict ship sailing to Australia where, despite the horrors and deprivation, she manages to forge enduring bonds with some of the other convicts. T...

BloggerAtLarge.com writer Megan Singleton's been exploring Nashville and taking in the city's history.

She got to go to the Grand Ole Opry and listen to the Oakridge Boys singing Elvira - as well as take some studio tours.

Read more about Megan's experience here.

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On the Sunday Session with Francesca Rudkin Full Show Podcast for Sunday 26 April 2026, in 2024 mental health campaigner Jazz Thornton feared for her life when a stalker flew to New Zealand and turned up on her doorstep.  She was shocked to learn New Zealand had no laws in place to protect her.  She joins Francesca to talk her own situation and her new documentary Stalked.