The Sunday Session with Francesca Rudkin

Croque monsieur

Cook time: 10 minutes 

Prep time: 30 minutes 

Serves: 4

8 slices of thick white bread or sour dough 

1 ltr bechamel sauce 

8 slices gruyere cheese 

4 slices of smoked ham 

2 tbsp Dijon mustard 

butter for spreading on bread

Bechamel sauce 

4 tbsp butter 

4 tbsp flour 

500 ml milk  

Pinch of nutmeg  

Salt

Preheat a oven to 200*c

Start by making a be...

Learning a new skill can be deeply frustrating. 

Whether you're trying to play your first chord on a guitar, use chopsticks, swing a golf club or simply write your name with your non-dominant hand, the experience is often the same. 

You know exactly what you're trying to do, yet your body seems to have other ideas. Every movement feels awkward, clumsy and strangely unnatural. 

It's tempting to assume that some people...

This week on The Sunday Panel, host of The Prosperity Project podcast, Nadine Higgins, and Coast’s Lorna Riley joined in on a discussion about the following issues of the day - and more!

Liam Dann from the New Zealand Herald says we need compulsory KiwiSaver and National and Labour have to work together to devise a bipartisan solution. What do we make of this? Is making KiwiSaver compulsory an issue for those on lower in...

Simon Painter is behind some of the world’s biggest live circus and magic shows, and his latest production will be coming to our shores this August.

Painter's other works include The Illusionists, Cirque du Soleil, Circus 1903 and the stage adaption of Now You See Me - and his new Cirque Alice show aims to live up to this standard.

The show is a reimagining of Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland, brought to life by a ca...

Former Shortland Street star Tandi Wright has made the jump to a new big screen role - she's set to star in the new horror film Evil Dead: Burn. 

Tandi Wright's made a name for herself in local productions like 800 Words and Nothing Trivial, and she’s also stared in many international shows and films as well.

She says the...

There's hopes compulsory KiwiSaver can help New Zealand catch up to Australia's economy. 

The National Party is campaigning on making KiwiSaver mandatory for all workers, and for gradually raising the matching rate to six percent. 

NZ Herald Business Editor at Large Liam Dann says he wants to see a bipartisan effort and for the Labour Party to get on board. 

He says people will need to get used to that six percent fi...

The Dave Rennie era of All Blacks rugby has started in winning ways with a 34-32 victory over France in the opening match of the inaugural Nations Championship.

New Zealand were made to earn their victory against a well drilled French outfit who never looked out of touching distance, and caused a few nervy moments in the Garden City.

Former All Black Lima Sopoaga said it was a good start, but there's room for the team to improve.

L...

It's a love story...and Taylor Swift said yes.

The pop singer and American football star Travis Kelce tied the knot in front of 1000 guests at New York’s Madison Square Garden.

Many celebrities were spotted attending the event, with comedian Adam Sandler officiating the wedding. 

SiriusXM radio host Ben Harlum says the space was reportedly transformed into a fairy-tale garden - with a separate section marked off for the ...

A historic visit is just the latest in a chain of landmark developments that are seeing us forge closer ties with India. 

Narendra Modi will arrive in Auckland next week - marking the first time an Indian Prime Minister has ventured to our shores in four decades. 

It comes on the heels of our countries signing a free trade agreement. 

Political commentator Brigitte Morton says it's a good sign for the trade agreement...

For a lot of Americans right now, Taylor Swift getting married will genuinely feel like a bigger event than America turning 250. 

This sounds absurd. One is a quarter-millennium celebration of a nation founded in revolution, the other is the wedding of a pop star and an NFL player. But culture has never been driven by pure logic. It runs on emotion, attention and what people relate and connect with.

Taylor Swift isn't simply t...

Director Justin Zoras walked past a bookstore in a small town in Nova Scotia one night, and this experience went on to inspire a documentary.

Elizabeth's Books is run by 83-year-old former seaman Chris Webb and the store only opens at night - sometimes for a few hours or whenever the last customer leaves.

Justin Zoras went on to use the store for The Bookstore That Never Sleeps, which is about to have its world premiere at DocEdge.

Michaela Brake is set to make her grand return to the rugby field later this year, having re-signed with New Zealand Rugby through until 2027.

She's made history in the world of Kiwi Sevens - as a two-time Olympic gold medallist and the all-time leading try scorer in women’s international sevens history.

She's had to step off the field to look after her new baby, Harvey, and she's opened up about the new challenges that come ...

Boring Asian Female by Canwen Xu. This is narrated by Elizabeth Zhang who is a driven,100 percent focused student at Columbia University, desperate to make the right path for herself for which she believes admission into Harvard Law School is a necessity. She’s completely shocked when she doesn’t get in and can’t believe that one of her classmates, Laura Kim, did - and becomes obsessed with Laura, trying to figure...

On the Sunday Session with Francesca Rudkin Full Show Podcast for Sunday 28 June 2026, Sevens superstar Michaela Brake is preparing to make her comeback after re-signing with NZ Rugby.  She joins Francesca for a candid chat about the realities of early motherhood and why she's desperate to get back on the field.

A special bookstore in small town Nova Scotia is the subject of a new film. Director Justin Zoras is in studio to sh...

This week on the Sunday Panel, Director at Capital Ben Thomas and host of The Front Page podcast Chelsea Daniels joined in on a discussion about the following issues of the day - and more!

Stuff's owner raised concerns over what big tech means for the future of our media. Are politicians petty about the media and is that an issue? Do they need to better support the media? Why aren't they making more moves to regulate things? 

...