The Sunday Session with Francesca Rudkin
News, opinion, analysis, lifestyle and entertainment – we’ve got your Sunday morning listening covered with The Sunday Session with Francesca Rudkin on Newstalk ZB.
Episodes
2025 marks 30 years since Kiwi dance company Black Grace was formed, and this anniversary will be marked with some new performances.
Later this month, the company will stage Paul Taylor's Esplanade, in a double bill with If Ever There Was A Time - an original work by founder Neil Ieremia.
Ieremia says when he first started out, there weren't a lot of dance opportunities for Māori men, and he aimed to change that.
"I remember w...
On the Sunday Session with Francesca Rudkin Full Show Podcast for Sunday 9 November 2025, Bill Bryson's book 'The Short History of Nearly Everything, is the best selling science book of the 21st century. This week he tells Francesca why he came out of retirement to rewrite it after 23 years.
Neil Ieremia is credited with changing dance in New Zealand. This year his company, Black Grace turns 30 and he joins Francesca to talk ...
Bill Bryson's A Short History of Nearly Everything has sold millions of copies since its initial publication in 2003, but a lot has changed since then.
Bryson had initially retired, but he's since revised his best known work with updated information - and he's set to do a speaking tour, with Auckland and Wellington events to take place in February.
He says a massive amount has changed in the 22 years since writing the book and upda...
Megan Singleton's travelling through the US, and she spent some time in Boston before heading to New York.
She started off in the historic Beacon Hill neighbourhood before moving down to the up and coming Seaport District, and she shared her highlights from both areas.
Read more about Megan's experience here.
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This week on the Sunday Panel, resident economist at Opes Partners, Ed McKnight, and journalist, TV producer and commentator, Irene Gardiner, joined in on a discussion about the following issues of the day - and more!
Treasury is calling for the Government to make some asset sales to bring down debts. Is this a viable way out? Where could we start in offloading assets?
The Government has given New Zealand's movie produc...
Being healthy didn't used to appear to be so complicated, but there's growing concerns about new changes.
Constant new trends and studies sometimes contradict previous advice and make it hard to discern reliable information - causing people to question their diets and exercise habits.
Naturopath and wellness expert Erin O'Hara explains further.
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Cured and roasted salmon pate
Cook time: 10 minutes
Prep time: 20 minutes
Serves: 6-8
1/4 side of salmon; de-boned with the skin on
Salmon salt
100gm flaky seasalt
2 tbsp brown sugar
Pate
200gm cream cheese
1/2 tbsp Dijon mustard
1 lemon
1 tbsp chopped fennel or dill
1 small red chili
3 tbsp sunflower oil
Salt
Serve with Lebanese f...
If you’ve ever tried to cook pasta at home, you’ll know the struggle - one minute it’s undercooked and chewy, the next minute it has disintegrated into a sticky mush. If you’ve ever attempted to cook gluten-free pasta, your experience has probably been even worse.
So is there an idea way to cook pasta and does gluten-free pasta need different treatment?
New research published in the journal Food Hydrocolloids used some of the...
US country singer Jelly Roll says it broke his heart to have to cancel his Auckland show last night due to illness.
Some concert-goers - who had travelled from all over New Zealand - were already lining up at Western Springs when the news broke, just hours before it was set to start.
Jelly Roll said he's probably missed three shows in the last decade and prides himself on showing up, but he just couldn't do it this time.
Flicks.co....
It was really good on Friday to see the Government respond to the film industry’s call for help to remain globally competitive.
We’re a country full of talented, skilled, creative, innovative, hard-working people, who have created a vibrant and reputable screen industry.
It’s a well-established sector which provides professional services from pre-production and shooting through to post-production. It employs 24,000 people, a...
A new treatment is on the way for Kiwis impacted by OCD.
Charity Open Closed Doors is bringing The Bergen Four Day OCD programme to our shores - the treatment is internationally recognised and has a near 70 percent success rate.
Clinical psychologist Dr Ben Sedley travelled to Singapore to learn about the programme first-hand, and he was impressed by the results.
"Once you...
Treasury is nudging the Government to sell state assets that are underperforming or are no longer fit for purpose.
It is continuing to sound alarm bells over the Crown’s finances being on an 'unsustainable' path forward.
Newstalk ZB political reporter Ethan Griffiths explained the situation further.
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A youth advocate says Oranga Tamariki's evaluation of the boot camp pilot tells us nothing we didn't know.
It's revealed six of the nine youth participants re-offended after being released - but less seriously than a cohort not included.
Kickback co-founder Aaron Hendry says these young people have experienced significant harm, including neglect, poverty and homelessness.
"It's about addressing the housing insecur...
Satisfaction for All Blacks coach Scott Robertson in how they wrestled momentum back to clinch a 25-17 win over Scotland in Edinburgh.
A late Damian McKenzie try and penalty secured victory after the home side came from 17-nil down to level the scores going into the final quarter.
Newstalk ZB rugby commentator Elliott Smith says it was a tight game, with Scotland nearly managing to get ahead
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Get the Sunday Session with Francesca Rudkin Full Show Podcast every Sunday on iHeartRadio, or wherever you get your podcasts.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
In the latest episode of Great Chats with Francesca Rudkin, we hear from multi award winning and delightful Australian author Trent Dalton on his latest book, Gravity Let Me Go. He also celebrated his theatre production coming to Auckland.
Francesca catches up with Kiwi actress Melanie Lynskey. She's taking Hollywood by storm with a starring role in Yellowjackets but came home to star in the new Pike River film.
Pl...
UK comedian and actor Bill Bailey is set to start his next tour of New Zealand in the coming days, and he's spoken of his love for the nation.
His brand-new show Vaudevillian kicks off in Queenstown and he's revealed how excited he is to tour the 'beautiful country.
"There's a lot about it that I love...the sort of things New Zealand offers are the sorts of things I would seek out in any country that I have a bit of spare tim...
Paul Henry's been a regular presence on New Zealand screens and he's come out of retirement to take on his most anticipated hosting job yet.
He is set to host New Zealand's own version of The Chase - the long-running UK-based game show that Kiwis tune into every week.
Ahead of this version dropping to TVNZ next month, Henry says it's 'daunting' taking on a project like this.
"The show is already so popular in New Zealand, but what'...
Yesterday on Jack Tame’s show, I was talking about the new Springsteen film - Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere - and Jack asked me why there have been so many music biopics recently? It got me thinking about how musicians and their origin stories and struggles with fame have always made for good films, and we’ve always made them.
But Jack is right, there have been quite a few biopics about musicians recently - think Bett...
The Widow by John Grisham. Simon Latch is a small time, small town lawyer in Virginia, whose marriage is falling apart, his gambling is out of control, and his legal practice is on the verge of going under. Then an elderly widow arrives on his doorstep, to say that her husband left her millions of dollars in shares, which she wants to keep out of the hands of her estranged stepsons and as she no longer trusts the lawyer who drafted...
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