x

75% of people globally want unbiased news (Pew Research) but are concerned they're not getting that.

Get balanced coverage with Symby. See how stories are covered across diverse outlets and spot when one side covers a story the other skips.

PODCAST

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.

news

All Episodes

5:25

Steve Newall: Flicks.co.nz editor on the release of...

The Sunday Session with Francesca Rudkin ·

2025/10/04

Taylor Swift's much-anticipated 12th studio album, The Life of a Showgirl, dropped on Friday after weeks of hype and speculation. For this album, the 35-year-old artist reunited with Swedish hitmakers Max Martin and Shellback to deliver a more upbeat project with some light introspection. Flicks.co.nz editor Steve Newall says the album's prompted mixed responses - but it's already broken several key records. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

en-US

9:52

Frank Frizelle: colorectal surgeon on the Government...

The Sunday Session with Francesca Rudkin ·

2025/10/04

Experts say better staffing numbers will be key to improving bowel-cancer screening. The screening age is set to lower to 58 for Northland, Auckland and the South Island today, with the rest of the North Island to follow in March. More than 120,000 people will qualify for screening in the first year of this change, and the Government aims to boost colonoscopy capacity to lower the age screening age further. But colorectal surgeon Frank Frizelle says there's plenty of capacity to expand it, but more

en-US

4:39

Ethan Griffiths: Newstalk ZB political reporter on...

The Sunday Session with Francesca Rudkin ·

2025/10/04

The past few weeks have been chaotic for Te Pāti Māori following Takuta Ferris’ social media posts and the decision to remove Mariameno Kapa-Kingi as party whip. These events have raised concerns about instability within the party and there's plans to announce a reset in the coming days. Newstalk ZB political reporter Ethan Griffiths says it's unclear what this reset will look like, or how the Labour Party will respond. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

en-US

5:50

Ant Strachan: former All Black on the All Blacks...

The Sunday Session with Francesca Rudkin ·

2025/10/04

The All Blacks have picked up a bonus-point 28-14 win over the Wallabies in Perth, but it hasn't been enough to win the Rugby Championship. South Africa's landed the title after winning a tight contest against Argentina 29-27 in London, just edging out the ABs on points differential. Former All Black Ant Strachan says this result will come as a relief for the All Blacks, but there's room for improvement ahead of the four-match grand slam tour in November. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for

en-US

9:02

Dr Andrew Lensen: AI expert addresses calls that New...

The Sunday Session with Francesca Rudkin ·

2025/10/04

There's growing calls for New Zealand to regulate AI, amid concerns that the nation is falling behind on this matter. It's been revealed that Meta has been data scraping the accounts of users in New Zealand and Australia due to the lack of regulations - in order to train AI. AI expert Dr Andrew Lensen says the EU is leading the way with its AI Act - and it's something other countries should be looking into. "It has its own issues or criticisms, but it's still a really good piece to sort of start

en-US

15:39

Astrid Jorgensen: Pub Choir founder on her new book...

The Sunday Session with Francesca Rudkin ·

2025/09/28

Astrid Jorgensen used her love of communal singing to build Pub Choir - a concept she took all the way to America's Got Talent. The idea involves turning a theatre of regular people into a choir and with Jorgensen's tuition and a PowerPoint, any group can sing a three-part harmony. She used her experience to craft a memoir - Average At Best. "Can everyone learn to sing and win a Grammy Award? Absolutely not. But can everyone physically sing? Yes! If you can talk, it's the exact same mechanisms that

en-US

16:44

Ken Follett: author on his new book Circle of Days

The Sunday Session with Francesca Rudkin ·

2025/09/28

Ken Follett's made a name for himself as an author of historical epic novels - and he's got a new one out. After starting his career as a thriller writer in the 70s, Ken’s decision to write The Pillars of the Earth in 1989 set his career on a different trajectory, and it paid off. Pillars has sold over 27 million copies and to date remains his most famous novel - and his total book sales now sits around 198 million copies globally. Ken’s latest book,Circle of Days, is another historical epic built

en-US

4:26

Whitcoulls Recommends: Culpability and Mother Mary...

The Sunday Session with Francesca Rudkin ·

2025/09/28

Culpability by Bruce Holsinger. When a self driving car crashes, a family’s lives are thrown into chaos. In the aftermath, questions are raised about responsibility for the accident and where the ethical line between human culpability and the technology is drawn. The people in this family are all keeping secrets from one another, and as these are thrown into the spotlight this book just gets more and more compelling. I couldn’t put it down. Mother Mary Comes to Me by Arundhati Roy. She won the

en-US

3:39

Megan Singleton: BloggerAtLarge.com writer on how to...

The Sunday Session with Francesca Rudkin ·

2025/09/28

It's common for people to want to build a trip around a big event, but waiting for the flights and hotels to line up can be tricky. Booking things at the last minute can add on a bunch of extra costs, so BloggerAtLarge writer Megan Singleton revealed how you can get ahead and make a booking. She also revealed how to make the most out of a cancellation policy - read more about her travel tips here. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

en-US

10:06

The Sunday Panel: Did Winston Peters make the right...

The Sunday Session with Francesca Rudkin ·

2025/09/28

This week on the Sunday Panel, resident economist at Opes Partners, Ed McKnight, and Newstalk ZB host Roman Travers joined in on a discussion about the following issues of the day - and more! Foreign Minister Winston Peters confirmed New Zealand wouldn't recognise a Palestinian state at this point in time. Are we surprised by this? The All Blacks managed to turn their luck around and beat the Wallabies 33-24 at Eden Park - and claim the Bledisloe Cup. But would it mean more if we won it over three

en-US

4:10

Erin O'Hara: naturopath and wellness expert reveals...

The Sunday Session with Francesca Rudkin ·

2025/09/27

Inflammation can be caused by a number of factors, but new research has found there's a link between the condition and hormone changes in women. Loss of oestrogen can affect joints and the connective tissue that 'glues' your skeleton together, and the changes in hormones can result in general muscle aches, pains and stiffness. Naturopath and wellness expert Erin O'Hara explains further. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

en-US

116:53

Full Show Podcast: 28 September 2025

The Sunday Session with Francesca Rudkin ·

2025/09/27

On the Sunday Session with Francesca Rudkin Full Show Podcast for Sunday 28 September 2025, Ken Follett is the master of the historical epic, this week he tells Francesca why he turned to Stonehenge for his new novel Circle of Days. Pub Choir has become a global phenomenon, it's founder Astrid Jorgensen talks about why she's so passionate about getting people singing and why being able to sing, isn't important. The Government has announced it's position on Palestinian statehood, Geopolitical analyst

en-US

3:52

Mike van de Elzen: Throw-out roasted vegetable salad

The Sunday Session with Francesca Rudkin ·

2025/09/27

Throw-out roasted vegetable salad Prep time: 10 minutes Cooking time: 20 minutes 6 parsnips, carrots, courgette or buttercup & cut into long wedges 2 tbsp cooking oil Heat oven to 180 degrees. Place the vegetables into a large bowl and toss through oil and spiced salt. Then into a roasting tray ensuring all the veggies are single layer. Bake for 20 minutes before tossing and cooking for a further 5 minutes while you make the chickpea salsa. Once the veggies are cooked and whilst they are still

en-US

5:14

Dr Michelle Dickinson: nanotechnologist on her top...

The Sunday Session with Francesca Rudkin ·

2025/09/27

The 2025 Ig Nobel awards have been revealed, with drunk bats, pizza-eating lizards and painted-up zebra cows among this year's nominees. Dr Michelle Dickinson's gone through the nominees - and outlined her top three. Does painting a cow to look like a zebra mean it's bitten less by flies? Scientists have long wondered why zebras are not bitten by flies as much as other animals. Researchers who were looking into how to prevent cows from being bitten by flies decided to test if had something to do

en-US

5:51

Steve Newall: Flicks.co.nz editor on Bird of the Year...

The Sunday Session with Francesca Rudkin ·

2025/09/27

The highly-anticipated Bird of the Year vote is set to close tonight - with the champion bird due to be announced tomorrow. The annual contest has grown into a cultural phenomenon, and it's produced plenty of memes, international headlines, a bit of vote-rigging scandal, and even controversy when Last Week Tonight got involved. Flicks.co.nz editor Steve Newall weighed in on the most popular birds - ahead of voting closing at 5pm tonight. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy

en-US

8:52

Naomi Boak: former park ranger on the start of Fat...

The Sunday Session with Francesca Rudkin ·

2025/09/27

Fat Bear Week 2025 is under way - and people can now cast their votes for their favourite chunky bear ahead of the winter season. Fat Bear Week is an annual competition between brown bears in Alaska, and the bears are all up against each other as they try to eat as much as they can to prepare for hibernation. Former park ranger and long-time worker on Fat Bear Week, Naomi Boak, says the event's seen plenty of growth over the last few years. "Lat year, there were over a million votes from over 100

en-US

4:11

Adam Pearse: NZ Herald political reporter on Luxon...

The Sunday Session with Francesca Rudkin ·

2025/09/27

Questions have been raised as to how the Government can bounce back after the recent Mood of the Boardroom survey result. The annual survey of New Zealand business leaders showed Luxon slipping in the rankings of ministers - from 6th to 15th. NZ Herald political reporter Adam Pearse says the economy isn't improving the way the Government needs and people still aren't feeling hopeful. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

en-US

5:55

Elliott Smith: Newstalk ZB rugby commentator on the...

The Sunday Session with Francesca Rudkin ·

2025/09/27

The All Blacks have set their eyes on consistency after snaring the Bledisloe Cup for another year. The 33-24 win over the Wallabies keeps the trophy at NZR headquarters - the 23rd consecutive summer it will spend there. Newstalk ZB rugby commentator Elliott Smith says the All Blacks didn't fold like they did in Wellington last time, but there's still room for improvement. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

en-US

9:12

Geoffrey Miller: geopolitical analyst on Winston...

The Sunday Session with Francesca Rudkin ·

2025/09/27

An international relations expert is deeming New Zealand's decision on Palestinian statehood as 'surprising'. Winston Peters confirmed at the UN General Assembly that we won't recognise a Palestinian state right now - as the conditions aren't right. Geopolitical analyst Geoffrey Miller says this decision is out of synch with our international allies, including Australia, the UK and Canada. "And these are states with which New Zealand is quite close with, when it comes to positions on the war in Gaza

en-US

14:09

Sönke Iwersen: German investigative journalist on the...

The Sunday Session with Francesca Rudkin ·

2025/09/21

Back in 2022, investigative reporter Sönke Iwersen received 100 gigabytes of confidential leaked data from a whistle-blower inside Tesla. The files detailed dangerous autopilot software errors, a high number of workplace accidents in Tesla’s factories and a culture of fear within the company. Iwersen's investigation is now a book called The Tesla Files: Inside Elon Musk's Empire of Power and Deception. "We found, actually, that there had been warnings inside Tesla about this mistake, the level of

en-US

3,158 results

Similar Podcasts

Expres Ráno

Expres FM

PBS News Hour - Full Show

PBS News

CD Voice

China Daily

Israel Today: Ongoing War Report

Noa Levi

Jeffrey Epstein: The Coverup Chronicles

Bobby Capucci