The Sunday Session with Francesca Rudkin

Access to mental health support is a constant problem - but one Kiwi start-up is working towards a solution.

Between the shortage of qualified professionals, long delays and high costs, plenty of New Zealanders aren't getting the help they need.

oVRcome specialises in VR Exposure Therapy - and the start-up is expected to showcase the technology at Melbourne’s Digital Health Festival.

oVRcome founder Adam Hutchinson says the company...

Experts have voiced support for Labour's new bill requiring more reporting around tobacco lobbying - and there's growing calls for more transparency.

Reports also indicate alcohol lobbyists have been given input into health policies. 

Transparency Internat...

This week, a new disaster movie was announced. There isn’t a script yet, because no one knows how it’s going to end - and when it was announced, no one knew how to react. If there was ever a global WTF moment in film, it was Trump’s announcement of a 100 percent tariff on films coming into the US which have been produced in foreign lands.  

As is often the case with President Trump, he asks a good question but comes up with th...

Karoline Tamati, known to Kiwi music fans as Ladi6, is back with her new single Lightbulb - and she's confirmed there's more to come.

Her upcoming new album Le Va is her first big musical project in seven years.

This album promises to be a deeply personal project, as it was written as a tribute to Tamati's late mother. 

"We had a very specific theme for this next record - which was that we wanted it to be more indicative ...

David Nicholls is a critically acclaimed author and BAFTA-winning screenwriter - and he's set to make an appearance at this year's upcoming Auckland Writers Festival.

His bestselling book One Day sold millions of copies and went on to become a successful hit series on Netflix.

Off the back of his latest hit novel, You Are Here, Nicholls plans to address Kiwi fans - and open up about the pressures of success.

"I've written a lot of ...

My Name is Emilia del Valle by Isabel Allende. Any new book from the wonderful Isabel Allende is a treat, and this is no exception. It begins in 1866 when an Irish nun becomes pregnant after an encounter with a wealthy Chilean who turns his back on them, and the baby and her mother have to fight for their place in the world. The child, Emilia del Valle, eventually becomes a writer and a journalist, and is eventually sent to cover t...

After 11 years of operating in New Zealand, Ubers can now drop passengers off out front by the doors at Auckland Airport's domestic terminal.

Instead of walking a couple hundred meters from the domestic terminal and through the car rental garage, people in Ubers can enjoy the same convenience as the taxi and shuttle bus riders.  

BloggerAtLarge writer Megan Singleton unpacked this latest announcement - and gave a brief update ...

On the Sunday Session with Francesca Rudkin Full Show Podcast for Sunday 4 May 2025, critically acclaimed author and BAFTA winning screenwriter, David Nicholls on the fear he still gets when releasing a book.

Ladi6 on the impact of losing her mum, new music and why she's turning towards helping others.

Anthony Albanese has won the Australian election in a landslide, correspondent Murray Olds on what went wrong for the opposition Li...

This week on The Sunday Panel, Resident Economist at Opes Partners, Ed McKnight, and host of the Front Page podcast, Chelsea Daniels, joined in on a discussion about the following issues of the day - and more! 

Over in Australia, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese secured a second term as Prime Minister. This comes days after Mark Carney won the role of Prime Minister - with experts claiming anti-Trump sentiment helped propel his...

Nagi Maehashi, founder of  popular food blog RecipeTin Eats, says influencer Brooke Bellamy's new cookbook ‘Bake with Brooki’ plagiarised some recipes from her blog.

Maehashi claimed Bellamy's book contained uncannily similar ingredients, quantities, and instructions for a caramel slice and baklava.  

Mike van de Elzen explained whether you could really claim ownership over a recipe.

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No coastal city is immune to rising sea levels - and one expert has warned New Zealand could be at risk of sinking shorelines.

A new study from a group of New Zealand researchers shows human activity is exacerbating the risks of oceans rising and impacting land. 

Physicist and science writer Laurie Winkless says oceans are getting warmer and glaciers are melting - and it's something that should be considered for future urban p...

The Fyre Festival brand has gone up for sale - a matter of weeks after the organisers postponed Fyre Festival 2 with no new date set.

Billy McFarland, the former organiser who served six years in prison after the 2017 event, claimed giving control of the festival to a new group would help build on the global entertainment brand.

Flicks.co.nz editor Steve Newall wonders if anyone will pay for the event.

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New data has revealed the average cost of a funeral in New Zealand has surged to $14,000 - and one charitable organisation hopes to help Kiwis bring these costs down.

Advocacy group Death Without Debt believes a DIY funeral can be done for little more than $1,000 - if people know how.

Convenor Fergus Wheeler says families could manage the process with no loss of dignity and for far less.

"Things like - moving a body around, no...

There's less than a month left to go until the 2025 Budget - and there's plenty of speculation about the announcements to come.

Finance Minister Nicola Willis has been clear in her initial statements that this coming Budget will be focused on getting the books back in order.

The Government has slashed its operating allowance to just $1.3 billion dollars - a substantial drop from the $2.4 billion forecast by Treasury.  

ZB seni...

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese's re-election is cementing a belief US policy is influencing voters abroad. 

The Labor Party has secured a historic, and comfortable win over Peter Dutton's Liberal National Coalition - with Dutton himself ousted from his own Queensland seat. 

Over in Canada, Mark Carney secured the role of Prime Minister - with experts claiming anti-Trump sentiment helped propel his win.

Former ...

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is returning to the top job, after a decisive election win that was well predicted.

He's the country's first leader to win back-to-back elections since John Howard in 2004, pushing his party back into office - this time with an even larger majority. 

Meanwhile, the night proved a big loss for opposition leader Peter Dutton - after he lost his seat of Dickson in Queensland and conceded...

These days I have blurry memories of my time at primary school in Auckland in the late 70s, early 80s, but I can very clearly remember my ASB school banking book. ASB began school banking in 1972 as a way for children to learn about saving and banks, and I guess it was also with a view to retaining us as customers when we were in the workforce and had real amounts of money. 

On banking days, I can remember bringing my 50 cents...

Gillian Swinton grew up watching her grandmother maintain a family farm in Northern Scotland - and used her experience to cultivate the rural lands of New Zealand.

Now based in Central Otago, Gillian and her partner Hamish live on a 2.7 hectare property - embracing their own journey of living a self-sufficient and more simple life.

Gillian has shared her own story of homesteading with tips and tricks in her new book The Good Life.

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