Saturday Morning With Jack Tame

A Dawning is a collaborative album from Icelandic composer and producer Ólafur Arnalds, and the late Irish singer-songwriter Talos.  The album blends the two musician's iconic styles to take listeners on a journey of raw emotion and evasive hope, and serves as a reminder of the legacy left by Talos.  All the artwork was made by Talos himself.  James Irwin joined Jack Tame to review the album.  LISTEN ABOVE   See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Iconic. Few world landmarks exemplify the full meaning of that word quite like the Taj Mahal. I’ve just enjoyed freshly communing with the wondrous masterpiece in Agra, as part of a private tour of Classic India with Wendy Wu Tours. Four hours drive from New Delhi, Agra is rough and ready in places, much like the driving standards on India’s roads. As my delightful Wendy Wu Tours driver Mr Singh observed, “There are three golden rules when driving in India. You need a good horn, good brakes and good luck.” Before savouring the gleaming Taj, my Wendy Wu Tours guide Nadeem led us on an enlightening tour around Agra Fort. En-route, we passed a decrepit sandstone building that Nadeem remarked had become nicknamed the “Monkey House” by locals. Apparently a vast tribe of 200 Rhesus macaques inhabit the crumbling building, running riot on the adjoining road when they head out to find food. Agra Fort is a marvel, a mighty red sandstone fortress overlooking the Yamuna River. It was established by the Mughal emperor A

A few things to look for in October:  Passionvine Hoppers do a bit of damage from late October/Early November till March-April  These are the problematic insects that are common in the north (and for the past few years, also around Christchurch – they’re spreading South!  Adult passionvine hoppers plus one nearly-mature fluffybum Most of the damage is cased when the bugs are growing bigger and older (later in spring); by then these insects can jump away from insecticides applied; they clever enough to avoid being immersed.  CONTROL and PREVENTION:  Keep an eye on the new fluffy bums hatching in your garden right now!!! Those tiny nymphs often congregate in large flocks at the ends of new growth; they are still very feeble in their movement and won’t be able to escape a cloud of fly-spray aimed at them on a wind-still morning  Spray these young Passionvine Hoppers in October with a good dose of fly-spray; your only chance to hit them before they become troublesome. Slugs and Snai

Most people think about money in terms of days. Wealthy people think about money in decades. Here's how to think about money differently: Based on this calculator.  Ed McKnight joined Jack Tame to look at how Kiwis view their money, and why we should start counting decades, not days. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

ChatGPT is getting an Adults-Only mode From December, verified adults, will be able to chat with AI in a much more adult way.   To be verified you'll need to upload your ID and go through a verification process. Now, how often that verification is rechecked is yet to be know. Could you sign up for an account, then share your credentials? Do you need to scan your face before each session? Unclear.  The company has a principle that they should "treat adult users like adults" -- which means letting them have more 'freedom' to chat about a wider range of topics. That also means removing some of the restrictions around mental health topics.   Why does this matter? Some crazy stats from a resume.org survey of 1000:  25% of Gen Z describe AI bots as their therapist or coach, a friend, or coworker  34% admit to confiding in AI chatbots about things they’ve never told another person  16% say they frequently discuss personal topics such as mental health or relationships with AI, while 33%

The Iris Affair - (TVNZ+) A new British thriller, created by Neil Cross (Luther) and starring Tom Hollander, about a genius who goes on the run with a secret code and must work out what technology it could awaken before she is caught.    Murdaugh: Death in the Family - (Disney+) Patricia Arquette and Jason Clarke star in this true-crime drama series about a prominent South Carolina family involved in several mysterious deaths.    The Diplomat - (Netflix) A new season of the very bingeable thriller that sees Keri Russell play a reluctant American career diplomat who is made ambassador to the UK.  LISTEN ABOVE  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

I flew to Greymouth the morning after Pike River first blew.   I was there, in and out, for several weeks. I keenly remember those first few days of waiting. Of hope. Checking our phones. Checking our phones. Checking our phones.  It’s a cliche, I know. But time moves so slowly when you’re watching a clock. I remember the calculations. How much air? Water? Food? I remember the international media pouring into Greymouth. I remember the despair on the Wednesday afternoon when the families were called in for an update. The mine had blown again. The men were all dead.   One of the great privileges of being a journalist is that you get to meet lots of interesting people and experience lots of different things. I’ve certainly had more than my share of pinch-myself moments over the years. But for all the elections and Olympics and Donald Trump rallies I’ve been lucky to attend one the most memorable afternoons of my life was the afternoon of the Pike River memorial.  You might recall it. It was l

Little marmalade cakes   These light and buttery cakes are perfect using up marmalade. Quick and easy the marmalade flavour is perfect incorporated into a cake.   Makes 12   Ingredients: 170g butter, softened, plus more for greasing muffin tins  1 cup sugar  2 large eggs  2 cups plain flour  1 tbsp marmalade   1 cup milk stirred with 1 tbsp lemon juice  1 tsp baking soda    Topping  ½ cup brown sugar   ¼ cup marmalade   1 tbsp orange juice     Method Preheat the oven to 180 C. Grease 12-hole muffin tin. Line each with small squares of baking paper.   Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy.  Add eggs one at a time and continue beating until well-combined. Don’t worry if it curdles.   Sift in flour and add in marmalade and beat gently until just combined.   In a cup combine milk and lemon juice and wait until is curdles – about 30 seconds. Stir in baking soda and add to cake batter. Mix until just com

Cillian Murphy and Tracey Ullman are the stars of new Netflix movie 'Steve', adapted from a book written by Max Porter.  And Kiera Knightley stars with Guy Pearce and Hannah Waddingham in another book adaptation.  Francesca Rudkin joined Jack Tame to give a rundown of the two movies, including their highs and lows. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Former Prime Minister Jim Bolger passed away this week. He served from 1990-1997 and secured National's largest ever victory in the 1990 election.  Kevin Milne joins Jack Tame to share his personal experiences with Jim Bolger, who he once met at a café on the Kapiti coast.  LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Raised at the bottom of the world, Sam Cullen is on his way up.  The Invercargill-born musician is rising in the music world, having already performed on the main stage at Rhythm & Vines, as well as playing on some of the coolest stages around the country.  He’s been working quietly behind the scenes on his self-titled debut album, which is set to release soon.  Some of the songs on the album, he revealed to Jack Tame, are about five or six years old.  “It’s kind of been less of a, I’m going to sit down and write an album,” Cullen said.  “But the last five years of my life, these are like, the best songs I’ve written and haven’t released yet.”  Only being 25 years old, this means the songs were written throughout the early days of his adulthood – resulting in themes of coming of age and entering adulthood weaving throughout the album.  “I’m pretty proud of it and excited to have it out.”  LISTEN ABOVE  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A couple of interesting quotes came to light this week – one from the late Jane Goodall and the other from Queen Camilla.   Kevin Milne joined Jack Tame to chat about the two quotes and his thoughts on them.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The fifth solo studio album from American musician Jeff Tweedy, Twilight Override is packed full.  It’s a triple album, with a total of 30 tracks, created with the intention of overwhelming the ‘ennui’ that was being squeezed into his life with his own creative works.  He’s credited the prolific output to his belief that creativity “eats darkness”.  James Irwin joined Jack Tame to review the album.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Fly, Wild Swans: My Mother, Myself and China by Jung Chang   Jung Chang’s Wild Swans was a book that defined a generation – the story of ‘three daughters of China’: Jung, her mother and her grandmother and their lives during a century of revolution. Fly, Wild Swans is, quite simply, what happened next.  Jung Chang arrived in the UK in 1978 aged 26, part of a Chinese scholarship programme for study abroad. Finding herself in the London of punk, political protests and Ziggy Stardust, she felt as if she’d landed on the moon. She and her fellow students had all grown up in complete isolation from the west, living in fear as to what might happen if they broke any of the strict rules imposed upon them by their government. It was an invaluable opportunity but came at a cost of long-term separation from her mother and family in China. As Jung began to adjust to life in the West, she warmed to the fashion scene, rebelled and thrived. Her studies took off and she became the first person from the People’s Repu

"For even the most intrepid of travellers, India can be a sensory assault – confronting and riveting in equal measure. If you’re a first-timer to the subcontinent, the Golden Triangle which threads together New Delhi, Agra, and Jaipur offers the best crash-course in getting to grips with India. I first tripped around the Golden Triangle fourteen years ago and I’ve recently completed a return visit with Wendy Wu Tours. It was fascinating to discover the remarkable changes and dramatic swing in living standards, while many aspects to the allure of the Golden Triangle remained unchanged." Read Mike's full article here. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Unless you’ve been living under a rock you’ll know that we’ve just had Mental Health Awareness Week. It’s a great initiative by the Mental Health Foundation to normalise talking and thinking about mental health!   Pop quiz – how many Kiwi adults do you think will, in their lifetime, experience a major mental health problem?   According to Ministry of Health, it’s 47% of us.   But data from the Dunedin Longitudinal Study suggests this figure might be closer to 80%. So that means most of us will experience some mental health problems in our lifetime – that shows it’s pretty normal!   This year, Mental Health Awareness Week’s theme is Top Up Together – focusing on how to “top up” your mental health with others, which can help protect us against developing mental health problems.  To top up our mental health we can use the 5 ways to wellbeing: Connect, Be Active, Take Notice, Keep Learning, and Give. I wanted to share some of my tips to top-up in each of the 5 areas:   Connect – ver

On the Saturday Morning with Jack Tame Full Show Podcast for Saturday 11 October 2025, rising Kiwi musician Sam Cullen joins Jack in studio for a live performance and to chat about the upcoming release of his debut album.  Jack considers the lack of rules around treatment of referees in football.  Tara Ward shares details on the brand-new series of The Celebrity Traitors UK, starring Stephen Fry, Alan Carr, and Celia Imrie.  If you're considering your first trip to India, Mike Yardley has his top tips on navigating the sensory contrast.  And Dougal Sutherland discusses Mental Health Awareness Week.  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.

Motor neurone disease is a devasting condition that’s recently come to prominence in the media with the diagnosis of former English rugby captain Lewis Moody. Another famous person who suffered from the condition was Stephen Hawkins.      What is motor neurone disease?   It’s a progressive nerve disease.   It damages and kills nerve cells in the spinal cord and brain that control muscle movement in the body.   The damaged nerve cells mean the brain can no longer signal muscles in the body.  Muscles slowly lose the ability to function.       Why does it occur?   The exact cause is not fully understood.   It’s thought that up to 10% of cases are inherited and related to a patient’s genes, while 90% are random with no clear genetic cause.   Several things may be important:   Abnormal accumulation protein in the nerve cells, destroying them.   A possible inflammatory or immune system malfunction.   Possible environmental factors li

Codling moths are a pain in the backside for people that grow apples. A week or so after flowering, the fertilised, tiny apples (known in the UK as “codlings”) are the perfect target for the moths to lay eggs in.  The caterpillars emerge from the eggs and tunnel into the developing fruit, causing ugly tunnels, often with fungal infection, brown decay, and “frass” sticking out of the hole. Once these caterpillars are inside, you won’t get them out and the fruit will be rather awful as it develops.  In the old days we used to regularly spray pretty nasty insecticides on our apples: Carbaryl, Organophosphates, etc. Not nice!  The moths are quite pretty: golden colours, about a centimetre in size, flying around the orchard when the flowering has just finished.  The caterpillars exit the fruit when full grown – they descend down the stem/trunk and pupate in loose bark or further down in the soil.  A second Generation develops in summer, especially in the northern parts of NZ.  Second

Apps have arrived inside ChatGPT   Another big moment in the company's offerings – this is where ChatGPT has gone from a tool to a platform. Now inside ChatGPT you can ask it to directly ask an app to do something. So, you can ask Spotify to create a playlist for you that is 150bpm for a 45 minute run. Or you can ask it to research hotels in Paris on Booking.com, and it'll return real results you can then book with a click.   You don't need to search through those sites or apps, ChatGPT becomes the interface for that. The apps at launch are selected by OpenAI and more will be added over time  including retailer Target, restaurant booking app OpenTable, and Uber. They’ll also be adding them for the EU users "soon".   Travel and personal assistant type use cases seem to be the top priority for this launch.      Amazon is launching a prescription vending machine   It owns a doctors clinic network in the USA called One Medical, and inside those locations will be a vending m