Saturday Morning With Jack Tame

"Singapore never fails to serve up an electrifying experience, constantly refreshing and enhancing its enticements. After paying my respects to Singapore’s beloved water-spout mascot, the Merlion, overlooking Marina Bay, I ventured over to the jaw-dropping botanical blockbuster of Gardens by the Bay, armed with my Go City Explorer Pass. "Take a stroll through Kampong Glam. Once the seat of Singapore’s first sultan, the neighbourhood's colourful shophouses are home to a jumble of cafes and boutiques wedged among decades-old perfumeries and fabric merchants." Read Mike's full article here.  LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Breath of the Gods by Simon Winchester   What is going on with our atmosphere? The headlines are filled with news of devastating hurricanes, murderous tornadoes, and cataclysmic fires. Gale force advisories are issued on a regular basis by weather services around the world.  Atmospheric scientists are warning that winds – the force at the centre of all these dangerous natural events – are expected to steadily increase in the years ahead, strengthening in power, speed, and frequency. While this prediction worried the insurance industry, governmental leaders, scientists, and conscientious citizens, one particular segment of society received it with unbridled enthusiasm. To the energy industry, rising wind strength and speeds as an unalloyed boon for humankind – a vital source of clean and ‘safe’ power.  Between these two poles – wind as a malevolent force, and wind as saviour of our planet – lies a world of fascination, history, literature, science, poetry, and engineering which Simon Winches

A couple of months ago we covered Prosopagnosia – the inability to recognise faces. Following on from that, today we’re covering Aphantasia – the inability to see mental images.   Most of the time most of us, if asked to remember something or “picture” something in our minds, we create a mental image of the thing or person.   For example, if asked to remember what you had for breakfast this morning, many of us will mentally see the weetbix and toast – not always in perfect detail, but there will be a picture of the thing.   But for a small number of people, this is just a theoretical idea. They have aphantasia.   Estimated to affect about 1% of people – not a disorder in itself but considered one end of a spectrum related to how well or poorly we can visualise things in our mind.  Some people become aphantasic after a head injury or damage to the brain. Others have never had it and assume that terms like “mental pictures” were just meant to illustrate the idea of thinking about someth

On the Saturday Morning with Jack Tame Full Show Podcast for Saturday 8 November 2025, an author who is very familiar with bestseller lists, Michael Connelly joins Jack to discuss being an unofficial voice for Los Angeles, and how the devastating fires changed his perspective on the city and prompted him to start over for his new book ‘The Proving Ground’.  Jack considers what makes a good meal, and how much a Michelin Star means.  Strawberries are here and Nici Wickes shares her favourite way to serve them while the season is still early.  Kevin Milne champions a humble tool: the clothes peg.  Clinical psychologist Dougal Sutherland delves into a condition in which people are unable to see mental images.  And music correspondent Chris Schulz is vibe checking live from Sydney as Oasis get ready to perform the final gig of their reunion world tour.  Get the Saturday Morning with Jack Tame Full Show Podcast every Saturday on iHeartRadio, or wherever you get your podcasts.  LIS

With Christmas on its way, the season of spending is fast approaching.   The allure of credit cards becomes stronger at this time of year as people try to figure out how they can afford everything they need to.   Financial planner Lisa Dudson joined Jack Tame to give some advice on how best to balance credit cards and build good habits.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Three reactions to the concept of “feeding your plants”:   Plants feed themselves through Photosynthesis (you don’t need to feed your plants!)   They’ll pick up elements in the soil that they need for growth and development – nobody feeds the plants in a native forest.  What’s scientifically needed for our gardens is a soil test that indicates which chemical elements are lacking in soil.  This is about the Science of Fertilisers.  This is the time of the year when soil temperatures are the best for plant growth. Roots work over time to extract minerals, dissolve them in water, and transport them through the phloem bundles to the leaves of plants, where photosynthesis puts it all together and creates carbohydrates and chemicals that allow cell-elongation (growth).   Plants use three main elements for bulk growth “food”: Nitrogen, Phosphorous and Potassium (K), which are generally known as NPK (their chemical symbols).   N is used to make green stuff: leaves and Chlorophyll

Australia is going to force the streamers to make Australian content   It'll focus on those with more than 1 million Australian subscribers, which means Netflix, Disney+, and Amazon Prime Video will all be included.   The law will require them to spend at least 10% of their total Australian expenditure or 7.5% of their Australian revenue on new Australian drama, children's, documentary, arts, and educational programs.   The bill was not introduced earlier as the Aussies first waited out the 2024 US presidential election and later feared that its winner, Donald Trump, could counterattack with tariffs.      Elon Musk's trillion-dollar pay package   Tesla shareholders overwhelmingly approved a pay package that could make CEO Elon Musk, already the world’s richest person, the world’s first trillionaire.   His new deal has some rather lofty targets and if met would give him stock valued at a trillion dollars. These include:   Delivering 20 million Tesla vehicles and on

The Hack  Examining the "News International" phone hacking scandal, through the work of Nick Davies, a journalist who uncovered evidence of phone hacking, as well as the investigation into the murder of Daniel Morgan, a private investigator (TVNZ+, from Sunday).    Death by Lightning  Presenting the story of James Garfield, who rose from obscurity to become America's 20th President and Charles Guiteau, the man who assassinated him (Netflix).    Playing Gracie Darling  When Joni's best friend Gracie vanished at 14 during a séance, it haunted her; 27 years on, a girl vanishes when a group of local kids are playing "Gracie Darling" and Joni must face her fears to uncover the truth (ThreeNow).    LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Bugonia   Two conspiracy-obsessed men kidnap the CEO of a major company when they become convinced that she's an alien who wants to destroy Earth.    Ballad of a Small Player   When his past and his debts start to catch up with him, a high-stakes gambler laying low in Macau encounters a kindred spirit who might just hold the key to his salvation.    LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

I love strawberries but this early in the season they can lack flavour. My advice is to warm them up! Roast or grill or in a pan with some sugar and lemon juice and you’ll find them a different berry altogether – jammy, sweet, and full of flavour.      Ingredients:  2 cups strawberries, hulled and large ones halved or quartered   1 tablespoon brown or white sugar    Juice from one orange    1 vanilla pod, halved and seeds scraped   Yoghurt or cream to serve   Handful of hazelnuts, toasted and chopped       Method:  Gently heat strawberries in a pan on the stove top or in the oven, with sugar, orange juice, and vanilla until they slump a little.   Serve with yoghurt or cream and sprinkled with hazelnuts.      Serving suggestions:    Spooned over brioche toast or toasted croissant topped with fresh ricotta. In a bowl with quality vanilla ice cream, a lick of balsamic vinegar or grind of black pepper

It arrived in the hands of a waiter, who moved with the lightness and grace of a ballet dancer across the restaurant floor. It had a fleshy colour. A creamy, brown kind of hue.  It was inflated to the size of a balloon, but the shape was slightly less uniform.   “Asparagus,” said the waiter. “Prepared in this pig’s bladder.”   I don’t know how many bladder-based meals you’ve had in your life but that was a first for me. The asparagus, I should say, was absolutely delicious. But not so amazing that I personally felt compelled to give up roasting food in my oven in favour of bladder cooking, from then on.  I was dining at Eleven Madison Park. It’s an extraordinary fine-dining restaurant at the foot of Madison Ave in New York, just across the way from the Flatiron Building. Tom Brady had his penthouse across the road. I once saw Rupert Murdoch walking his dog in the park outside. And the food at ELP is as fancy as the neighbours. As a winner of three Michelin Stars, Eleven Madison Park i

If you’re anything like me, the moment you saw the World’s most famous art gallery had been robbed of the French Crown Jewels... one thing came to mind.   It’s silly really, because at the end of the day it’s a crime. A serious crime. Nevertheless, it’s hard to totally ignore the audacity and romance of it all.   What’s the difference between a robbery and a heist? Whatever it is that distinguishes those words... there is something seductive.    We were told the thieves were organised, efficient, and used specialist equipment. I imagined a Tom Cruise-like figure firing a grappling hook out of a special gun, repelling from the ceiling and acrobatically navigating a room of invisible lasers, any of which if broken, would immediately trigger an alarm and a carbon dioxide pump that would starve the room of oxygen and suffocate the thieves where they stood.  Alas, as more detail has emerged over the last two weeks, it’s become clear the Louvre Heist was less Mission Impossible and more Mis

Listen to the Saturday Morning with Jack Tame Full Show Podcast for Saturday 1 November. Get the Saturday Morning with Jack Tame Full Show Podcast every Saturday on iHeartRadio, or wherever you get your podcasts.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

As the capital of the world’s largest democracy, Delhi embodies the essence of modern India – a vivid paradox of old and new, rich and poor, foreign and familiar. It’s been fourteen years since my last visit and the economic transformation is ever-present. High rises, swanky malls and residential colonies housing the booming middle-class are mushrooming everywhere. As my engaging Wendy Wu Tours guide Girish remarked, as we were whisked into the city from the airport, “Delhi is more than a mere city, it has morphed into the national capital region.” With the metropolitan population now nudging 30 million, Delhi is a megalopolis and on-track to becoming the world’s most populous city in three years’ time.  Our hotel was in New Delhi, the more modern, planned city within a city, that was built by the British in 1911 and replaced Kolkata as the national capital, twenty years later. In a city notorious for its air pollution, which is supposedly steadily improving, one of the great paradoxes of New Delhi is t

Kate Hall joins Jack Tame to share her experience with using reusable nappies for her newborn. She covers:  How to wash them (a very commonly asked question on social media)  Her favourite brands - Clever Wee Fox, Fluffy Ducks and Kekoa  Her daughter is 4.5 months and has saved over 1000 nappies from going to landfill!  LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This time of the year a wonderful Pohutukawa “shrub” is flowering its little heads off: Metrosideros carminia known as the crimson rata; a Native in the North Island all the way down to Taranaki and Hawkes Bay. It comes as a shrub when you get them from cuttings, but they’ll move up like tree climbers when they emerge from seeds. Pollinators love them – and so do I. Favourite food of tui and bellbirds, as well as silvereyes and wood pigeons (kereru). Kowhai come in many different species and heights; there are fabulous, gnarled forms which, in themselves, are beautifully sculptured. Divaricating shrubs!! Muehlenbeckia astonii. A Native plant that could be your new hedge, or your sculpted shrub, or even a suitable nesting site for native birds. It’s all about elegant little leaves, hanging from a zig-zagging system of branches that you will only find in Aotearoa. In winter the whole shrub will change colours to a Dark-Orange that will stand out, no matter what the weather is like. White flowers – a

Often people experience sneezing and congestion and are unclear of the difference between a cold and hay fever - very common in spring.  What is the difference?  This time of the year can be confusing especially with a late carry over of winter illnesses. Basically, hay fever is an allergic reaction to pollen, dust or pets. The common cold is an infection caused by a virus most often: rhinovirus. Hay-fever comes on suddenly, lasts for days to weeks, often frequent sneezing, and red itchy watery eyes, itchy throat, nose. No temperature. Common Cold: Comes on gradually over days, last 5 to 10 days, thick yellow nose discharge, mild eye irritation, less sneezing, often temperature and muscle ache.   How should you tell the difference?  If itch eyes and nose think hay fever. If you feel achy and unwell more likely a cold. Hay fever does tend to occur at certain times of the year – especially spring, or lawn mowing. With a cold often have ben in contact with someone who is sick  &

Nvidia becomes the first company to hit $5 trillion in value Since the launch of ChatGPT in 2022, Nvidia's shares have climbed 12x. Just three months ago it was the first company to hit $4 trillion. It's 8.3% of the S&P500 so those who hold low-cost index funds in their retirement accounts will feel the effect of every Nvidia market move - both good and bad.  Five trillion is just a staggering number. You would need to take New Zealand's government debt ($182 billion) and times it by 27 in order to reach that same number. It's worth almost double the top nine pharma companies combined and 1.6x the top eight global oil companies combined.  Amazon fires 14,000 people It made huge cuts to its corporate workforce to cut some of the fat from its covid hiring spree and leaning into AI tooling. Those severance payouts will cost it$1.8 billion. Together with the better than expected results in the AWS segment, the stock popped 7% this week. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy informatio

Down Cemetery Road - (Apple TV+) Emma Thompson and Ruth Wilson star in this British series about a woman who hires an investigator after an explosion and a girl goes missing on the same night in a quiet suburban neighbourhood.   IT: Welcome to Derry - (Neon) This new horror series follows events in the 1960s in the time leading up to the events of the first film in Stephen King’s “It” series.  Educators - (TVNZ+) The return of the brilliant unscripted comedy series that takes us behind the scenes of a New Zealand high school. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

You’ll know quiz queen Anne Hegerty best for her on stage persona – the Governess.  She dominates tv screens every night on The Chase – with one of the best win rates of any chaser.  And now, Anne will be on our screens in a brand new kiwi version of the tv phenomenon – The Chase New Zealand.  She joins Jack Tame to share her secrets to trivia-based success. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.