The Sunday Session with Francesca Rudkin

The Detective by Matthew Reilly: Matt Reilly is well known for the thrillers he’s been writing for many years now, but this one is quite a departure. It’s based in the American South and is the story of many women going missing over a period of 150 years, starting back in 1877….and the investigators looking for them all also disappeared. It’s set in the nexus of Louisiana and Texas, where a quirky private detective gets the bit bet...

The Coromandel is well-regarded as one of New Zealand's top holiday hotspots, but it's got more to offer adrenaline junkies than it lets on.

Adventure Racing Coromandel co-founder Andy Reid's been leading the charge in this development, having helped create the K2 bike race and the Kauri Run - among others.

Reid's taken his findings and experiences and put them in a new book - Are You Trying to Kill Us?

"We started with the adventu...

This week on The Sunday Panel, editor and journalist Jo McCarroll and Newstalk ZB host Roman Travers joined in on a discussion about the following issues of the day - and more!

A damning police watchdog report from last week found numerous failures in how police handled complaints a staff member made against disgraced former deputy Police Commissioner Jevon McSkimming. How bad does this look for the police?

It's been a big week for...

I had a lovely Saturday morning. Lying in bed, drinking a coffee, reading the weekend Herald and listening to Jack on ZB say that he’ll ditch his wallet by next year as everything he needs will be on his phone. 

I was thinking - keep up, lad. I ditched the wallet during Covid. The phone has become ubiquitous and if not the phone, then a card in a pocket in the phone.

It’s debatable whether this is a good thing considering how ...

For decades, most medical and biological research has been conducted primarily on male volunteers and male animals in laboratory studies. One of the main reasons was convenience - male hormone levels are more stable, whereas female hormones shift across the menstrual cycle, introducing variability that researchers historically preferred to avoid. 

But that convenience has come at a cost. 

When treatments are developed and...

Roasted carrots with mint emulsion and spiced chickpeas 

Cook time: 45 minutes 

Prep time: 20 minutes 

Serves: 12

20 carrots cut in half  

2 tbsp sunflower oil  

Flaky sea salt  

Miso emulsion  

2 soft boiled eggs  

1 tbsp miso paste  

4 tbsp orange juice 

Juice of 1 lemon  

1 cup coriander leaves and stalks  

10 mint leaves  

1 tbsp brown sugar  

1 clov...

Auckland's hotels will be completely full next Wednesday - as the city welcomes 57,000 visitors ahead of two major events.

40,000 are expected from Metallica fans alone, with the rock band set to perform at Eden Park.

Meanwhile, nearly 4,000 international delegates are gathering at Aotea Centre for New Zealand's largest ever academic conference, celebrating indigenous education over five days.

Flicks.co.nz editor Steve Newall expla...

The summer holidays are getting closer, meaning more Kiwis will be leaving their offices for breaks - but research shows they might not fully disconnect.

New research shows fewer than half of New Zealand workers are fully disconnecting from the job when they’re on holiday, putting them at risk of burnout.

Massey University professor of management Dr Jarrod Haar says it's better for workers to make the most of their time off.

"It is...

There's discussion over Andrew Coster's future with the police following a bombshell report.

An IPCA report came out earlier in the week, revealing senior police staff had failed to properly investigate a complaint against then-Deputy Commissioner Jevon McSkimming.

The report implicated Coster, as well as other senior leaders.

NZ Herald political editor Thomas Coughlan unpacked the ongoing discussions.

LISTEN ABOVE

See omnystudio.co...

Kiwi heavyweight boxer Joseph Parker is protesting his innocence, after admitting he failed a drugs test on the day of his defeat to British boxer Fabio Wardley last month in London.

News outlets in the UK said the former world champion tested positive for cocaine.

Parker says it was a voluntary test and the adverse result was 'a real surprise'.

Former professional boxer Junior Fa says this development has come as a shock to New Ze...

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...

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...