April 11, 2026 • 11 mins
This week on the Sunday Panel, host of the Prosperity Project podcast, Nadine Higgins and Newstalk ZB host Roman Travers joined in on a discussion about the following issues of the day - and more!
What did we think of the Artemis II mission, now that it's done. Are we excited about the new era of space exploration that this mission has brought? Does the thought of an actual moon landing excite us? What about Mars?
While Iranian and US delegates are arriving in Pakistan, it's unclear how the peace talks will go. How confident are we that we will get some kind of resolution out of these peace talks?
Are we worried about 'digital dementia'?
LISTEN ABOVE
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Listen
Watch
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:06):
You're listening to the Sunday Session podcast with Francesca Rudkin
from News talks EDB.
Speaker 2 (00:12):
Okay, so just getting you a quick heads up, there
will be a stand up with Emergency Management and Recovery
Minister Mark Mitchell that will be taking place at midday.
We will be taking it live here for you on
news talks EDB. It is time for the panel and
I would like to welcome host of the Prosperity Project podcast,
Nadine Higgins. Good morning, Kyoda, and also news talks HEDB
(00:35):
host Roman Travis.
Speaker 3 (00:36):
Good morning Roman, Nadine, Francesca, good morning.
Speaker 2 (00:39):
Good to have you both with us. Okay, I've been watching.
I've got a little bit hooked on the Artemis to Journey, right,
and the reason that I've become quite obsessed about it
is because of the future and what comes next. I
had no idea how close we were to start building
a base on the Moon, like twenty twenty eight. Nick,
(01:00):
you know, a few years time we're going to be
thinking actually about putting humans on the Moon, which I
think is really excited. Does it rock your boat, romance,
because I mean people are either into it, they're either
paying as no attention or they're a little bit like me,
getting just sucked into what it all means and significance
of it.
Speaker 1 (01:16):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (01:17):
Look, I think it's fascinating and I've enjoyed watching what
I've seen. My concern is what's the race for what's
up there that people really want? And I think many
know the answer. I'm personally a big fan of Uranus.
I'm not a follower of the proverbal sheep. So when
people are heading to Mars, I'll be heading to Uranus.
It's cold there and I like it cold. They get
about two hundred degrees below zero, so you can imagine
(01:38):
every night you've got a log fire. That's me.
Speaker 2 (01:40):
Well, I don't think I'm going to be moving anywhere,
to be honest with you the day because I like trees.
Speaker 4 (01:45):
So like oxygen and stuff.
Speaker 2 (01:49):
I like trees that I like going outside.
Speaker 4 (01:52):
Would you move?
Speaker 2 (01:54):
Would you you know, live alone?
Speaker 4 (01:57):
And feel like that is still the stuff of science fiction.
And look, it's exciting from a kind of awe and
wonder perspective what we're able to do and what's out there.
But I just can't get my head past the cost
of it, you know, ninety three billion US dollars. I
think they've spent on Artemis to date and growing. And look,
(02:19):
the fuel bill alone would have been pretty wild, and
that's obviously a precious resource right now. But also, look,
we can't figure things out on planet Earth. You know,
we're polluting it and we're fighting with each other, Like,
why would we extend that to another planet. Maybe we
should just focus on making sure everyone is fed and
peaceful here before we start burning money to get to
(02:41):
the Moon and beyond.
Speaker 3 (02:42):
I do wonder though, how much of that cost was
actually road user charges, you know, because with the cost
of feel that you've got to look at that more closely,
don't you.
Speaker 4 (02:51):
Yeah, I don't know if they've paved the path to
the moon yet, so I'm not sure that rucks are obligable.
Speaker 2 (02:57):
I think I think you're absolutely right, and I think
that that's why it's taken. What was it, nineteen seventy
was the last time humans went, you know, the into space,
and there's a reason why we haven't done it again.
And I think you've nailed it that there's you can
absolutely see better use for that money on planet Earth,
right but that we're seeing private companies coming in. Could
(03:21):
the commercial space industry is being involved. So I think
governments are realizing that they can't carry the burden on
their own nin So you know that's that's at least
a step in a new direction, I suppose.
Speaker 4 (03:33):
Yeah. And I guess, like all things, if there is
a commercial game to be made, then yeah, the private
sector the race will be on. But I guess you've
got to make that case right when the cost is
that astronomical, what is the payback?
Speaker 3 (03:50):
Yeah? Or even another question, who's going to be in
control of it all? If you've got people like Donald
Trump at the helm, that's a worry. He should be
sent to out of space, shouldn't they? Honestly?
Speaker 2 (03:59):
Yeah, And I think you're right. I am totally caught
up in the ore and the wonder of it all.
And that's because it's to me, the moment is a
really nice distraction as to what is going on. And
you know, in our in our current lives and our
current world, nones current planet.
Speaker 4 (04:12):
Yeah, we can look back at the Earth and remember
how small and insignificant we are in the grand scheme
of things. We are but a blip on the timeline
of the universe.
Speaker 2 (04:21):
So I'm taking it Neither of you would jump at
the chance to go in space. I would I do
Low Earth orbit. Absolutely.
Speaker 4 (04:27):
That doesn't mean I wouldn't go. I just I just
don't know. If I wouldn't, I wouldn't pay for it
depends who's floting the bill, because I have the cheapest
ticket you can get. What was that one that was
at Blue Origin sent out? The cheaps ticket's probably about
quarter of a million dollars. But I definitely have some
other uses for that much money.
Speaker 2 (04:45):
Yeah, you're in finance, aren't you. I love it. You're
totally you're totally thinking about the household budget going. No,
we're not going to be able to ful that, but possibly,
you know, I.
Speaker 3 (04:53):
Sneak it on. I just put it on the nz
ME credit card, I think, and just sort of code
it to some weird expense.
Speaker 2 (05:00):
I'd like to see your tribe, Okay. An American delegation
deed by Vice President J. D. Van is in Pakistan
meeting with senior Iranian negotiators. This was taking place on Saturday,
after known few details about the talks have been released.
How positive are you roman that some kind of resolution
will come out of these chats.
Speaker 3 (05:19):
I think with this you need to go back to
the people of Iran. They've risked their lives. Thousands have
lost their lives to get this far. For them, the
focus is not a return to freeing up the Strait
of Hormuz. It's about not having the Islamic state ruling them.
And I wonder to what extent that will be remembered
through these peace talks, because Donald Trump can't even clearly
articulate what this war is all about, and by now
(05:40):
his completely undiplomatic mind will be focused on the valuable
liquids underground that is really after who's going to be
focused on the people of Iran. Trump is not only
mentally unfit for office, He's also a clear and present
danger to the entire world. So I don't have a
lot of hope, to be honest, What about Enidine?
Speaker 4 (06:01):
I mean, I guess I'm similarly pessimistic. If anything that
makes me slightly optimistic, it's that they're actually having these
negotiations face to face rather than through intermediaries. I guess
that takes one link out of the chain, and you know,
maybe they can get on the same page. But no,
the Iranian people aren't thinking about the Strait of Humus.
(06:22):
But the Iranian regime will be there's no way that
they are going to give up control of that straight
because that's the only leverage they've got. That's their trump card,
if you will, and that will remain a sticking point.
And I think I wish I could be more optimistic,
(06:44):
But when the guy in charge says it makes no
difference to me if the two sides make a deal,
you have to wonder really how invested he is in peace.
I mean his challenge for the Nobel Peace Prize as well,
and truly in the review mirror.
Speaker 2 (07:00):
Well, it just feels like he's sticked a box and
gone and moving on to the next thing. His comment was,
maybe they make a deal, maybe they don't, doesn't matter
from the standpoint of America, we win. And I just
think that there seems to be a complete lack of
real concern about how this all unfolds. Interestingly, though, I
think it's this week you have the Israelian Lebanese ambassadors
(07:21):
to the US meeting there for direct talks, because I
think that's going to be really key, is you know,
Israel obviously is continuing this ground invasion and attacks on Lebanon,
and that's going to have that's going to impact these talks.
Speaker 3 (07:34):
The other tooks.
Speaker 2 (07:36):
Progressing forward too, So there's there seems to be an
awful lot going on. I'm going to try and remain
a little bit more optimistic than you two, but I mean.
Speaker 4 (07:45):
I didn't feel like we've been trying to broke a
piece in the Middle East for generations and this is
the latest iteration of that. And everyone's a little bit
more invested in it because it's literally hitting everybody in
the pocket. So hard to hate to bring it back
to finances, but that does focus other people's attention on
it when they rictually feel the impacts of something happening
(08:08):
half a world away. Yeah.
Speaker 3 (08:10):
And I think the other thing too is that when
you've got people like Pauline Hanson getting a lot of
the media in Australia, Donald Trump in the US, I
think there's a responsibility that media need to be more
focused on not what's being said and the swear words
in a tweet and getting outraged by that, that the
actual actions of these people. They get the airtime because
it's clickbait and it's just horrific to see what's happening,
(08:32):
and I think we need to be more focused on
outcomes than the actual words said.
Speaker 2 (08:36):
I think we will at some point come to an agreement,
but whether we're leaving Iran in the Middle East in
a better place, I certainly don't. I'm not sure I
see that happening. Okay, very quickly, Roman, Do you think
your phone is making you dumb?
Speaker 1 (08:50):
Yes?
Speaker 3 (08:51):
Oh, you know that's thick. There's two planks sometimes because
I and what I find weird is that when your
phone is not in your hand or not with an eyesight,
I always feel like, oh, perhaps the boss is going
to care, perhaps someone needs me. Yesterday I was in
the gardens for four hours and it was this Catharsis
of freedom. I felt like I was running naked through
the gardens. It was great.
Speaker 2 (09:10):
Were you gardening? Were you in some local botanical gardens?
Speaker 3 (09:13):
No? No, I dress up like Barry Crump and everyone
thinks on the village, the village idiot. I do all
the gardening for the apartment block and yeah, okay.
Speaker 2 (09:21):
Well, the whole reason I'm asking this is that there's
this term digital dementia and our memories and our cognitive
functions getting worse because we've just spent so much time
on your screen. How do you feel. How do you
feel in your memory and cognitive ability? Isn't it Deane?
Speaker 4 (09:37):
I'm not the best one to ask, because when your
children are still working, you several times a night, you're you're,
you know, you're, you're putting the butter in the pantry,
and the you've got an excuse than the fruit. But
what I took from this study is that my husband
gives me grief because every night I'm on my phone
doing the puzzles on the New York Times and he
teases me. But apparently that is good for my brain,
(10:00):
so slightly better than all the scrolling. But from that perspective,
generations of us are screwed because we're they're scrolling our
lives away on increasingly a name stuff. And I guess
your brain is like any other muscle. If you're not
using it, it gets.
Speaker 2 (10:16):
You lose it. You got to use it or you
lose it. I also think they make us lazy phones,
so so some people you know at home, I live
with what we call finger princesses. Have you heard of those?
Speaker 3 (10:28):
Excuse me?
Speaker 2 (10:28):
I think people who are too precious to use their
to use their fingers to google something on their own,
so they're always saying to you things like what you
win as Easter, or what times the dance pack up
or what you know like they just ask you all
these questions and you want to go google it yourself,
check your calendar. But people are too they're too precious.
(10:49):
Do you live with one of those.
Speaker 4 (10:50):
No doubt, I'm probably, I'm probably princess.
Speaker 3 (10:57):
I think one of the best things you can do
is that when you're searching anything, at the end of
what you're searching, put minus AI and it takes the
AI summary the top and you go straight to the articles.
Do that and you won't feel quite as thick.
Speaker 2 (11:09):
Oh there we go. Nice, very nice advice. Thank you
both so much, Adene Higgins and Roman Travors.
Speaker 1 (11:16):
For more from the Sunday session with Francesca Rudkin, listen
live to News Talks it B from nine am Sunday,
or follow the podcast on iHeartRadio.
You're listening to the Sunday Session podcast with Francesca Rudkin
from News talks EDB.
Speaker 2 (00:12):
Okay, so just getting you a quick heads up, there
will be a stand up with Emergency Management and Recovery
Minister Mark Mitchell that will be taking place at midday.
We will be taking it live here for you on
news talks EDB. It is time for the panel and
I would like to welcome host of the Prosperity Project podcast,
Nadine Higgins. Good morning, Kyoda, and also news talks HEDB
(00:35):
host Roman Travis.
Speaker 3 (00:36):
Good morning Roman, Nadine, Francesca, good morning.
Speaker 2 (00:39):
Good to have you both with us. Okay, I've been watching.
I've got a little bit hooked on the Artemis to Journey, right,
and the reason that I've become quite obsessed about it
is because of the future and what comes next. I
had no idea how close we were to start building
a base on the Moon, like twenty twenty eight. Nick,
(01:00):
you know, a few years time we're going to be
thinking actually about putting humans on the Moon, which I
think is really excited. Does it rock your boat, romance,
because I mean people are either into it, they're either
paying as no attention or they're a little bit like me,
getting just sucked into what it all means and significance
of it.
Speaker 1 (01:16):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (01:17):
Look, I think it's fascinating and I've enjoyed watching what
I've seen. My concern is what's the race for what's
up there that people really want? And I think many
know the answer. I'm personally a big fan of Uranus.
I'm not a follower of the proverbal sheep. So when
people are heading to Mars, I'll be heading to Uranus.
It's cold there and I like it cold. They get
about two hundred degrees below zero, so you can imagine
(01:38):
every night you've got a log fire. That's me.
Speaker 2 (01:40):
Well, I don't think I'm going to be moving anywhere,
to be honest with you the day because I like trees.
Speaker 4 (01:45):
So like oxygen and stuff.
Speaker 2 (01:49):
I like trees that I like going outside.
Speaker 4 (01:52):
Would you move?
Speaker 2 (01:54):
Would you you know, live alone?
Speaker 4 (01:57):
And feel like that is still the stuff of science fiction.
And look, it's exciting from a kind of awe and
wonder perspective what we're able to do and what's out there.
But I just can't get my head past the cost
of it, you know, ninety three billion US dollars. I
think they've spent on Artemis to date and growing. And look,
(02:19):
the fuel bill alone would have been pretty wild, and
that's obviously a precious resource right now. But also, look,
we can't figure things out on planet Earth. You know,
we're polluting it and we're fighting with each other, Like,
why would we extend that to another planet. Maybe we
should just focus on making sure everyone is fed and
peaceful here before we start burning money to get to
(02:41):
the Moon and beyond.
Speaker 3 (02:42):
I do wonder though, how much of that cost was
actually road user charges, you know, because with the cost
of feel that you've got to look at that more closely,
don't you.
Speaker 4 (02:51):
Yeah, I don't know if they've paved the path to
the moon yet, so I'm not sure that rucks are obligable.
Speaker 2 (02:57):
I think I think you're absolutely right, and I think
that that's why it's taken. What was it, nineteen seventy
was the last time humans went, you know, the into space,
and there's a reason why we haven't done it again.
And I think you've nailed it that there's you can
absolutely see better use for that money on planet Earth,
right but that we're seeing private companies coming in. Could
(03:21):
the commercial space industry is being involved. So I think
governments are realizing that they can't carry the burden on
their own nin So you know that's that's at least
a step in a new direction, I suppose.
Speaker 4 (03:33):
Yeah. And I guess, like all things, if there is
a commercial game to be made, then yeah, the private
sector the race will be on. But I guess you've
got to make that case right when the cost is
that astronomical, what is the payback?
Speaker 3 (03:50):
Yeah? Or even another question, who's going to be in
control of it all? If you've got people like Donald
Trump at the helm, that's a worry. He should be
sent to out of space, shouldn't they? Honestly?
Speaker 2 (03:59):
Yeah, And I think you're right. I am totally caught
up in the ore and the wonder of it all.
And that's because it's to me, the moment is a
really nice distraction as to what is going on. And
you know, in our in our current lives and our
current world, nones current planet.
Speaker 4 (04:12):
Yeah, we can look back at the Earth and remember
how small and insignificant we are in the grand scheme
of things. We are but a blip on the timeline
of the universe.
Speaker 2 (04:21):
So I'm taking it Neither of you would jump at
the chance to go in space. I would I do
Low Earth orbit. Absolutely.
Speaker 4 (04:27):
That doesn't mean I wouldn't go. I just I just
don't know. If I wouldn't, I wouldn't pay for it
depends who's floting the bill, because I have the cheapest
ticket you can get. What was that one that was
at Blue Origin sent out? The cheaps ticket's probably about
quarter of a million dollars. But I definitely have some
other uses for that much money.
Speaker 2 (04:45):
Yeah, you're in finance, aren't you. I love it. You're
totally you're totally thinking about the household budget going. No,
we're not going to be able to ful that, but possibly,
you know, I.
Speaker 3 (04:53):
Sneak it on. I just put it on the nz
ME credit card, I think, and just sort of code
it to some weird expense.
Speaker 2 (05:00):
I'd like to see your tribe, Okay. An American delegation
deed by Vice President J. D. Van is in Pakistan
meeting with senior Iranian negotiators. This was taking place on Saturday,
after known few details about the talks have been released.
How positive are you roman that some kind of resolution
will come out of these chats.
Speaker 3 (05:19):
I think with this you need to go back to
the people of Iran. They've risked their lives. Thousands have
lost their lives to get this far. For them, the
focus is not a return to freeing up the Strait
of Hormuz. It's about not having the Islamic state ruling them.
And I wonder to what extent that will be remembered
through these peace talks, because Donald Trump can't even clearly
articulate what this war is all about, and by now
(05:40):
his completely undiplomatic mind will be focused on the valuable
liquids underground that is really after who's going to be
focused on the people of Iran. Trump is not only
mentally unfit for office, He's also a clear and present
danger to the entire world. So I don't have a
lot of hope, to be honest, What about Enidine?
Speaker 4 (06:01):
I mean, I guess I'm similarly pessimistic. If anything that
makes me slightly optimistic, it's that they're actually having these
negotiations face to face rather than through intermediaries. I guess
that takes one link out of the chain, and you know,
maybe they can get on the same page. But no,
the Iranian people aren't thinking about the Strait of Humus.
(06:22):
But the Iranian regime will be there's no way that
they are going to give up control of that straight
because that's the only leverage they've got. That's their trump card,
if you will, and that will remain a sticking point.
And I think I wish I could be more optimistic,
(06:44):
But when the guy in charge says it makes no
difference to me if the two sides make a deal,
you have to wonder really how invested he is in peace.
I mean his challenge for the Nobel Peace Prize as well,
and truly in the review mirror.
Speaker 2 (07:00):
Well, it just feels like he's sticked a box and
gone and moving on to the next thing. His comment was,
maybe they make a deal, maybe they don't, doesn't matter
from the standpoint of America, we win. And I just
think that there seems to be a complete lack of
real concern about how this all unfolds. Interestingly, though, I
think it's this week you have the Israelian Lebanese ambassadors
(07:21):
to the US meeting there for direct talks, because I
think that's going to be really key, is you know,
Israel obviously is continuing this ground invasion and attacks on Lebanon,
and that's going to have that's going to impact these talks.
Speaker 3 (07:34):
The other tooks.
Speaker 2 (07:36):
Progressing forward too, So there's there seems to be an
awful lot going on. I'm going to try and remain
a little bit more optimistic than you two, but I mean.
Speaker 4 (07:45):
I didn't feel like we've been trying to broke a
piece in the Middle East for generations and this is
the latest iteration of that. And everyone's a little bit
more invested in it because it's literally hitting everybody in
the pocket. So hard to hate to bring it back
to finances, but that does focus other people's attention on
it when they rictually feel the impacts of something happening
(08:08):
half a world away. Yeah.
Speaker 3 (08:10):
And I think the other thing too is that when
you've got people like Pauline Hanson getting a lot of
the media in Australia, Donald Trump in the US, I
think there's a responsibility that media need to be more
focused on not what's being said and the swear words
in a tweet and getting outraged by that, that the
actual actions of these people. They get the airtime because
it's clickbait and it's just horrific to see what's happening,
(08:32):
and I think we need to be more focused on
outcomes than the actual words said.
Speaker 2 (08:36):
I think we will at some point come to an agreement,
but whether we're leaving Iran in the Middle East in
a better place, I certainly don't. I'm not sure I
see that happening. Okay, very quickly, Roman, Do you think
your phone is making you dumb?
Speaker 1 (08:50):
Yes?
Speaker 3 (08:51):
Oh, you know that's thick. There's two planks sometimes because
I and what I find weird is that when your
phone is not in your hand or not with an eyesight,
I always feel like, oh, perhaps the boss is going
to care, perhaps someone needs me. Yesterday I was in
the gardens for four hours and it was this Catharsis
of freedom. I felt like I was running naked through
the gardens. It was great.
Speaker 2 (09:10):
Were you gardening? Were you in some local botanical gardens?
Speaker 3 (09:13):
No? No, I dress up like Barry Crump and everyone
thinks on the village, the village idiot. I do all
the gardening for the apartment block and yeah, okay.
Speaker 2 (09:21):
Well, the whole reason I'm asking this is that there's
this term digital dementia and our memories and our cognitive
functions getting worse because we've just spent so much time
on your screen. How do you feel. How do you
feel in your memory and cognitive ability? Isn't it Deane?
Speaker 4 (09:37):
I'm not the best one to ask, because when your
children are still working, you several times a night, you're you're,
you know, you're, you're putting the butter in the pantry,
and the you've got an excuse than the fruit. But
what I took from this study is that my husband
gives me grief because every night I'm on my phone
doing the puzzles on the New York Times and he
teases me. But apparently that is good for my brain,
(10:00):
so slightly better than all the scrolling. But from that perspective,
generations of us are screwed because we're they're scrolling our
lives away on increasingly a name stuff. And I guess
your brain is like any other muscle. If you're not
using it, it gets.
Speaker 2 (10:16):
You lose it. You got to use it or you
lose it. I also think they make us lazy phones,
so so some people you know at home, I live
with what we call finger princesses. Have you heard of those?
Speaker 3 (10:28):
Excuse me?
Speaker 2 (10:28):
I think people who are too precious to use their
to use their fingers to google something on their own,
so they're always saying to you things like what you
win as Easter, or what times the dance pack up
or what you know like they just ask you all
these questions and you want to go google it yourself,
check your calendar. But people are too they're too precious.
(10:49):
Do you live with one of those.
Speaker 4 (10:50):
No doubt, I'm probably, I'm probably princess.
Speaker 3 (10:57):
I think one of the best things you can do
is that when you're searching anything, at the end of
what you're searching, put minus AI and it takes the
AI summary the top and you go straight to the articles.
Do that and you won't feel quite as thick.
Speaker 2 (11:09):
Oh there we go. Nice, very nice advice. Thank you
both so much, Adene Higgins and Roman Travors.
Speaker 1 (11:16):
For more from the Sunday session with Francesca Rudkin, listen
live to News Talks it B from nine am Sunday,
or follow the podcast on iHeartRadio.
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
Crime Junkie
Does hearing about a true crime case always leave you scouring the internet for the truth behind the story? Dive into your next mystery with Crime Junkie. Every Monday, join your host Ashley Flowers as she unravels all the details of infamous and underreported true crime cases with her best friend Brit Prawat. From cold cases to missing persons and heroes in our community who seek justice, Crime Junkie is your destination for theories and stories you won’t hear anywhere else. Whether you're a seasoned true crime enthusiast or new to the genre, you'll find yourself on the edge of your seat awaiting a new episode every Monday. If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, you’ve found your people. Follow to join a community of Crime Junkies! Crime Junkie is presented by Audiochuck Media Company.