Saturday Morning With Jack Tame

It’s funny how becoming a parent instantly makes you care more about stuff.    As a child, I used to find it really embarrassing when my Dad would yell out at cars that were driving too fast. Now, I’m that guy. Every time a car hoons up our street, I want to scream at the driver. Sometimes I do.  “There are kids here, you tosser!”  My values in education have very much sharpened since becoming parent. My views on kids and smart phones have only intensified. And as Australia’s world-leading ban on social media for under-16s comes into effect, I’m fascinated to see what’s going to happen.  I really, really dislike social media. I think what was initially sold to the world as a way for people to connect has morphed into something far more cynical. The likes of Facebook know they maximise profits by keeping people scrolling. And while once upon a time when you were on Facebook or Instagram, you’d mainly be seeing pictures of your friends, the various platforms have all worked out that not

Alice Taylor has changed the way thousands of Kiwis think about cooking at home.  You may know her for her time as a contestant on Masterchef or from her social media presence at Alice Taylor Eats. She favours no-frills recipes and honest conversations around food accessibility and it’s seen her following skyrocket to half a million across her profiles.   The ethos behind her accounts is pretty simplistic, Taylor told Jack Tame.  “We want to help people save money cooking at home, give them tips and tricks, and ultimately also just make them feel proud about what they’re putting on the table,” she said.  “I think a lot of social media is a bit unrealistic, so we also want to be a platform where people can y’know, watch, have a bit of fun, cook some good food, and feel good about themselves.”   LISTEN ABOVE  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

More and more people seem to be opting for alcohol-free drinks.  The success of Lisa King’s AF Drinks really brought it home to Kevin Milne just how much alcohol consumption habits are changing.  LISTEN ABOVE  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

At some point, everyone has been left disappointed when a musician or artist leaves New Zealand off their tour schedule. But our neighbours across the ditch rarely have the same issue. Chris Schulz is having a mammoth week over in Australia – going to the Good Things music festival, two Kendrick Lamar shows, and is seeing Lady Gaga tonight.  He joined Jack Tame for a chat about his jam packed musical week.  LISTEN ABOVE  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Shattered Lands by Sam Dalrymple   A history of modern South Asia told through five partitions that reshaped it.  As recently as 1928, a vast swathe of Asia – India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Burma, Nepal, Bhutan, Yemen, Oman, the UAE, Qatar, Bahrain and Kuwait – were bound together under a single imperial banner, an entity known officially as the ‘Indian Empire’, or more simply as the Raj.  It was the British Empire’s crown jewel, a vast dominion stretching from the Red Sea to the jungles of Southeast Asia, home to a quarter of the world’s population and encompassing the largest Hindu, Muslim, Sikh and Zoroastrian communities on the planet. Its people used the Indian rupee, were issued passports stamped ‘Indian Empire’, and were guarded by armies garrisoned in forts from the Bab el-Mandeb to the Himalayas  And then, in the space of just fifty years, the Indian Empire shattered. Five partitions tore it apart, carving out new nations, redrawing maps, and leaving behind a legacy of war, exile an

"It’s been eleven years since I last filled my heart with Ireland – a shamefully long break in transmission. On my latest visit to this most enchanting of destinations, my road trip began with a jaunt through Ireland’s “Hidden Heartlands.” Far beyond the heavily trafficked haunts like Dublin, Galway, or Killarney, this interior patchwork of counties beats to a slower pace across Ireland’s central plains. Steeped in nature, resolute village life, and bucket loads of history, it is quite the revelation to get off the beaten track and dabble with the authentic charm, artisanal verve, pastoral beauty and homely hospitality that underpins this lesser-known realm." Read Mike's full article here. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Why do we remember the “good old days” as being so good?   In past weeks we’ve touched on events that are blasts from the past, or the good old days. Most people have fond memories of these good old days. Politicians refer to this too to pull on our heartstrings (and votes) e.g., “Make America Great Again” – the inference being that we can make it good like the past.   So why do the good old days feel so good for most of us?   Some of this is due to what psychologists call “the reminiscence bump”. It refers to our teenage and early adult years of life when we tend to have stronger memories about our lives and major events in life.   You can almost date people’s ages by the time of their reminiscence bump – e.g., my teen and young adult years were in the late 80s, early 90s, so my favourite bands are from then (the Smiths), my favourite football team (Liverpool), favourite movie (Goodfellas), or TV shows (Seinfeld).  Reminiscence bump breaks the general rule of autobiographical memory,

On the Saturday Morning with Jack Tame Full Show Podcast for Saturday 6 December 2025, foodie and social media phenomenon Alice Taylor joins Jack to discuss her quickfire rise, what a day in the life of a content creator looks like, and what makes conversation around food accessibility so important.  Jack discusses his pet peeve grammatical errors.  Chef Nici Wickes has many ideas for edible Christmas gifts and shares a delicious Pistachio and Cranberry Biscotti recipe.  Netflix is buying the studios of Warner Bros Discovery and tech expert Paul Stenhouse delves into the details of the deal.  Plus, master sommelier Cameron Douglas shares his final wine pick for the year.  Get the Saturday Morning with Jack Tame Full Show Podcast every Saturday on iHeartRadio, or wherever you get your podcasts.  LISTEN ABOVE  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

One of the rottenest pests gardeners get on their plants are Pseudococcus longispinus, or any of its close relatives.  Longispinus derived from the word meaning “with a long spine or tail”, so we’re talking about the Long-Tailed Mealybug. Mind you, there are other rotters that don’t look anything like these mealybugs – a variety of scale insects do the same kind of damage, which you really don’t want to see in the garden.  All these insects feed by plumbing their mouthparts into the veins of the plants where they extract honeydew, a sweet sap that contains Nitrogen, which makes the young bugs grow.  Ah! Yes, the group of sap-sucking bugs is the only invertebrate cohort that can be called “bugs” in the naming game of Entomology!  They ingest the sap and poop out honeydew. But their numbers (huge groups) and activities are debilitating for your plants, causing yellowing and ill-thrift, plus black sooty mould all over the place.  The sooty mould is a fungal cover that feasts on the sweet

The Landing Chardonnay 2024, Bay of Islands. RRP from $55.00   If you’re heading to the Bay of Islands this summer, then I can highly recommend a day visit to The Landing. The land’s suitability for viticulture was long ago identified by the missionary Reverend Samuel Marsden. He established the first permanent European settlement in New Zealand, near where our vineyard now sits.     The Landing takes its name from its history as a place where early Polynesian and European immigrants to Aotearoa New Zealand made landfall and built new lives in a new country. And as the home of the first community where European missionaries and indigenous Māori people lived together in New Zealand   The wine: A delicious wine with the stamp of site written throughout the aromas and flavours; beginning with a clay and stone mineral idea then salty seaside suggestions laced with fresh apple and grapefruit, then ripe yellow stone fruits. The layer of wood spice and lees adds complexity and texture accentuated by t

Netflix is buying the studios of Warner Bros Discovery   Netflix will also get HBOMax (but I can't see that sticking around long). Shareholders of WBD will get $23 in cash and $4.50 in shares of Netflix common stock, valuing the deal at $83 billion ($144 billion NZD).  The TV networks that were part of the old Discovery company, plus the Warner Brothers networks like CNN, TBS, TNT, etc, are all moving to their own publicly listed company known at the moment as "Global Networks".   This is of course all subject to regulators, not just in the USA but internationally too – Netflix already operates in 190 countries.     NYT is suing AI startup Perplexity   The suit alleges Perplexity has illegally copied and distributed The Times’ copyrighted content, including stories, videos, and podcasts. It uses this content to formulate responses to user queries. The Times says the AI also generates outputs that are “identical or substantially similar to” The Times’ content.   Publishers ha

Sean Combs: The Reckoning   Unpacking the allegations behind Sean "Diddy" Combs and his Bad Boy empire, spanning decades of his life and career (Netflix).     25 Years of Location Location Location  Kirstie Allsopp and Phil Spencer have been finding homes for the people of the UK. Now, as they hit their silver anniversary, Kirstie and Phil remember the happy moments and turbulent times of helping house hunters navigate their search for a home (TVNZ+).     South Park   New season is absolutely brilliant, massive return to form as they take on the Trump presidency with malicious glee. Stan, Kyle, Eric and Kenny are four foul-mouthed friends who live in South Park. They have several bizarre misadventures in and around town, involving both the ordinary and supernatural (SkyGo).    LISTEN ABOVE  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Giving edible gifts at Christmas is a winner I say! Some ideas take some forethought, like preserved lemons, fruit pastes, chutneys and sauerkraut, but there’s plenty of other ideas that you can whip up over a day or weekend right before the big day. Think shortbreads, flavoured oils, scented salts or sugar meringues, spiced nuts, dukkah, gingerbread loaf, or one of my favourites, biscotti.   Jars, bottles and small wooden or cardboard boxes can all be found in second hand shops, as can ribbon, wool, cotton etc to make them all look pretty. Tie some rosemary or bay leaves to jars and bottles for a festive look or decorate boxes with potato and paint stamps. Get creative!       Pistachio and cranberry biscotti    Homemade biscotti makes for a wonderful Christmas gift as it keeps well (so can be made ahead) and it’s one of those things that’s so much better than the store-bought variety.    Makes about 30    Ingredients  3 medium sized eggs, at room t

Eternity   In an afterlife where souls have one week to decide where to spend eternity, Joan is faced with the impossible choice between the man she spent her life with, and her first love, who died young and has waited decades for her to arrive.     Twiggy   A portrait of international supermodel, actor, singer and iconic British figure, Twiggy.    LISTEN ABOVE  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The moment the syllables spilled from my mouth, I knew I’d screwed up.     “And a repeat offender...” I said.  “Verse a detective dog.”    Verse.    It was the opening few stanzas of last night’s news, the part of the show where we tease a few of the evening’s top stories. And as the opening credits played, with my microphone fader pulled down, I called out to my producer in frustration with myself.     “Versus!” I said. “VERSUS.”  The emails flooded in. I knew they’d be waiting for me. Polite but gently critical messages, kindly informing me that due to myriad inadequacies in the New Zealand education system, I’d used a term more appropriately associated with Shakespeare or Keats than that of the cunning pest control dog starring in the evening bulletin.  But hey. Did you notice there how I used myriad? I don’t know about you, but it drives me crazy when I hear people talk about a myriad OF something. It shouldn’t because apparently a myriad ‘of’ is perf

Eighty years ago, the Nazi high command was put on trial in Nuremberg.  A brand new film, named for the trials, follows a lesser-known story, that of a US Army psychiatrist tasked with determining whether the detained officials were fit to stand trial.  It features Kiwi actor Russell Crowe as the charismatic Hermann Göring, Hitler’s longtime second in command, and Rami Malek as psychiatrist Douglas Kelly.   The film was written and directed by James Vanderbilt, best known for his work on The Amazing Spiderman and Zodiac.  As much as the film is about the atrocities committed by the Nazis, it's also very much about the dynamic between Göring and Kelly.  Vanderbilt told Jack Tame that one of their early inspirations was ‘Silence of the Lambs’, with a person going into a cell and sitting with a prisoner.   “In our film they’re both trying to get over on each other a little bit, they’re both trying to get something out of each other.”  “I sort of loved the idea of these two men,

This week Kevin Milne wants to give a boutique business their flowers.  All Better is a toy repair business run by Janice in Te Awamutu. She specialises in fixing wooden puzzles for kids – a service Kevin was in dire need of after their dog caused a bit of damage to their vintage family puzzle.  If you’re in need of her services, you can contact her via email: jgdownhome@yahoo.co.nz  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The days are getting longer and warmer and the festival season is set to begin.  Although a couple of major festivals have been cancelled, there’s still plenty of events to sink your teeth into this summer.  Chris Schulz joined Jack Tame for a chat about how the festival landscape is shaping up.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

"The great New Zealand summer calendar is generously sprinkled with some sure-fire seasonal hits to add a bucketload of fun to your family holiday. I’ve rounded up a selection of signature events and exhibitions, strung across the nation, that you may well want to thread into your domestic summer holiday plans." Read Mike's full article here. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Driven by Susie Wolff   Life in the fast lane, with a perspective like no other: Formula One superstar Susie Wolff lifts the bonnet on her incredible journey to the top of motorsport, and her ambitions for what comes next.     Unlucky for Some by Tom Wood   In his latest gripping adventure, the world’s deadliest assassin is all out of luck.  Malmo, Sweden. What should have been a simple job - to kill the heir of an organised crime family - spirals out of control when assassin-for-hire Victor is shot and wounded.  Forced to hide out in a hostile city while he recuperates, he doesn’t realise that multiple enemies are circling to take advantage of his circumstances.  Faced with a vengeful criminal organisation, corrupt officials, ruthless bounty hunters, elite mercenaries, and the most dangerous assassin he’s ever faced, Victor’s luck has finally run out.    LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.