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
Kiwi musician Georgia Lines is back with her new musical projects, and she's set to make an appearance at the upcoming cabaret festival.
She released her new single Wonderful Life last Friday - and she's a finalist for four Tui’s at the Aotearoa Music Awards, including Single of the Year for her song The Letter.
She says it was an 'amazing' experience to be nominated for these awards.
"When I saw the email about the mu...
Author Raynor Winn experienced a week like no other back in 2013 - and it inspired the hit film starring Gillian Anderson and Jason Isaacs.
In the space of seven days, she and her husband Moth lost their family home, and then Moth was diagnosed with a rare terminal degenerative brain disease and given two years to live.
Homeless and facing an uncertain future together, Raynor and Moth left on a 630 mile trek along the South ...
Air by John Boyne. This is the fourth book in a series about the four elements of matter (the preceding titles are Water Earth and Fire), where he takes each element and writes a story around it. This time the novel is set while the protagonists are on a flight, 30,000 feet up in the air, on a trip towards a woman who isn’t expecting them. It’s story of a father and a son on a moving journey to mend their troubled lives. I love Joh...
BloggerAtLarge's Megan Singleton has been gallivanting through Mexico City - and she's outlined her 4-day itinerary full of recommendations for exploring the region.
She highlighted the historic museums, the cathedral, the Pyramids of Teotihuacan - and a wide range of dining options.
Read more about Megan's experience here.
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This week on The Sunday Panel, Coast Day host and host of the Trip Notes podcast, Lorna Riley and Partner and Freebairn and Hehir Lawyers, Liam Hehir, joined in on a discussi...
Breathing through your nose is widely regarded as a healthy move - and the trend on social media of utilising tape seems to prove that.
Research shows nose breathing is more natural and helps your body effectively use the air you inhale.
Naturopath and wellness expert Erin O'Hara explains why breathing through your nose filters out bugs and other nasties.
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Roasted cauliflower with Cafe de Paris butter
Cook time: 5 minutes
Prep time: 15 minutes
Serves: 6
300 gm soft unsalted butter
1 tbsp tomato ketchup
1 tbsp dijon mustard
1 tbsp capers, chopped
1/2 cup shallots or onions, finely diced
1 tbsp Italian parsley, finely chopped
1 tbsp thyme leaves, lightly chopped
2 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed
...
On the Sunday Session with Francesca Rudkin Full Show Podcast for Sunday 25 May 2025, in the space of a week Raynor Winn was made bankrupt and learned her husband was terminally ill. This week she talks Francesca how a 630 mile coastal walk healed her husband turned her life back around.
Ahead of the Aotearoa Music Awards, singer-songwriter Georgia Lines performs her brand new single 'Wonderful Life'.
If you've ever had your lunch snatched by a seagull, you’re not alone. However, new research published in the journal Royal Society Open Science suggests that your chips might be safer than you think - if there is only one gull hanging around.
Scientists have discovered that lone seagulls are far more cautious than those in a group. This behaviour is driven by a trait called neophobia, which means fear of the unknown. In a re...
This week’s Aotearoa Music Awards marks 60 years of celebrating Kiwi artists and their songs, albums and achievements.
Industry experts regard the event as 'essential' to supporting local artists and new Zealand's wider music community.
Flicks.co.nz editor Steve Newall unpacked some of the nominees ahead of the event.
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Leading UK experts are warning of the health risks facing athletes training for the Enhanced Games.
This week, it was announced the first ‘Enhanced Games’ will take place as a four-day event in Las Vegas next May.
The event endorses the use of performance enhancing drugs - with organisers aiming to unlock a new level of 'superhuman performance'.
Dr Martin Chandler and Professor Ian Boardley are leading experts in the fi...
For a Government which champions an urgent need to increase growth, to cut wasteful spending, and for less reliance on Government, they sometimes take a relaxed approach to doing something about it.
Take the proposed change for 18 and 19-year-olds to no longer be eligible for an unemployment benefit. It sounds like the Government’s taking a decisive stand - until you find out it’s not going to come into practice until July 2...
The Government unveiled their latest Budget last week - and it's prompted divided responses across both sides of the political aisle.
The Finance Minister described her second Budget as 'No BS', while Prime Minister Christopher Luxon labelled it the 'Growth Budget'.
Meanwhile, the opposition has been quick to take aim against it, with Labour and the Greens lambasting the KiwiSaver changes and the sanctions against teenagers on JobS...
A Deputy Prime Minister swap is on the cards this week.
NZ First leader Winston Peters and ACT Party leader David Seymour are sharing the role as part of the Government's coalition agreement.
Peters serves as the Deputy until Saturday this week.
Seymour says he's already filled in the role before.
"It doesn't actually change my job day-to-day, it means I'll spend a bit more time covering for Chris if he's out of Wellington or out o...
Auckland FC's dream debut season in football's A-League has come up one game short of the Grand Final.
Their 2-nil semi-final second leg loss to Melbourne Victory in Auckland - on the back of a controversial refereeing call - has consigned them to a 2-1 defeat on aggregate.
Sky Sport football analyst Jacob Spoonley says this outcome would have been 'devastating' for Auckland fans.
"The big moments are what you want to get rig...
Dominic Hoey's been regarded by many as a champion of the underdogs - and his latest coming-of-age story is no exception.
1985 tells the story of Obi, a child growing up surrounded by poverty in a dysfunctional family, who goes on an adventure to save the family home.
Read more
It's been a memorable 2025 for Kiwi country star Kaylee Bell, and she's got even more to look forward to.
She's played a music festival, she's done a collab with the Wiggles - and she welcomed her first child earlier in the year.
Bell says it's been 'awesome' seeing country music surge in New Zealand - and hearing her hits resound with Kiwi fans ahead of the Aotearoa Music Awards.
The Emperor of Gladness by Ocean Vuong. This is the story of Hai, a Vietnamese immigrant to America where he lives in the town of East Gladness, Connecticut where, at the most difficult moment of his life he’s befriended by Grazina, an 82 year old Lithuanian widow. They become each other’s support person, an unlikely pairing but each of them living lives so far away from the promised American Dream. It’s a masterly portrait of life...
Disney's latest theme park destination will be in the United Arab Emirates, on a relatively new tourist island already packed with amusement parks, a golf course, indoor skydiving and a stadium.
Construction on the project hasn't started as of yet - and industry reports indicate it could take at least six years before the park opens to Disney fans.
BloggerAtLarge.com writer Megan Singleton says the project will be an indoor p...
This week on the Sunday Panel, managing director of 818, Chris Henry, and director at Capital, Ben Thomas, joined in on a discussion about the following issues of the day - and more!
Eurovision 2025 took place today - what do we make of this year's entries? Do we get it? Do we think Austria deserved to win?
It's been an interesting week in politics, with political reporter Thomas Coughlan bringing up the 'excessive amount of pig-he...
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