Saturday Morning With Jack Tame

After serving up this soup to a group of friends one of the diners wanted to marry me because it’s that good haha. The recipe mimics a bouillabaisse but I’ve pared it back to create an unfussy dish that’s quick and easy to prepare. Serves 2 as a main course Ingredients: 4 tbsp olive oil 2 cloves garlic, crushed 400g crushed tomatoes ½ cup white wine 300g white fish such as snapper, gurnard or hapuka, cut into large bite-sized pieces 6-8 mussels, scrubbed and de-bearded 6-8 cockles, scrubbed 2-4 large prawns, peeled and deveined ¼ cup mayonnaise ¼-1 tsp (depending how hot you like it) fresh minced chilli 1 T parsley, chopped fine Method: Heat oil in a heavy based pot. Add garlic and cook for 1-2 minutes until it softens but isn’t coloured. Add tomatoes and simmer for 2-3 minutes. Add the wine and cook for 1 minute. The sauce can be left at this stage until you are ready to serve. Just before serving, add the fish pieces, mussels and cockles, cover and cook on medium to high for about 2 minutes or until some

Wuthering Heights:  Much anticipated adaptation of the 1847 Emily Bronte novel. Directed by Emerald Fennell with ‘artistic license’. Starring Margot Robbie and Jacob Elordi. Tragedy strikes when Heathcliff falls in love with Catherine Earnshaw, a woman from a wealthy family in 18th-century England.  Crime 101: Chris Hemsworth leads a big-name cast. A Los Angeles detective pursues an elusive thief who teams up with an insurance broker for one last heist.  LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Kevin's been to see author Bill Bryson talk this week, and he has some astonishing facts to share with Jack.  He's also coming to Auckland this weekend to see the NZ Polo Open in Clevedon, and his wife Linda is particularly excited to see the horses in action.  Listen to Kevin and Jack catch up on the week's antics, and hear some potentially eye-opening facts.  LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Yumi Zouma is the gold standard for ethereal dream-pop.  But after a decade together, the Kiwi quartet has decided to push the envelope, taking strides into a heavier rock sound.   Their fifth studio album, ‘No Love Lost To Kindness’, is a turning point, filled with themes of confrontation, disillusionment, risk, and honesty.  The band’s guitarists, Josh Burgess and Charlie Ryder, joined Jack Tame to discuss the album, its creation, and the decade they’ve been creating together.   Ryder told Tame that while there’s a big juxtaposition between this album and their previous body of work, it was a natural progression.  “We listen to a lot of music of all genres, that includes like, rock music, heavy stuff, and at the time, I think, yeah, it made sense for us to go in more of a grungier, harder direction.”  “After releasing five albums, and I guess like, 100 songs, you can’t just keep doing the same thing over and over again.”  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for p

Kevin Milne’s dreams to buy a gorgeous house has been stymied by something unexpected: age.   Photos of what quickly became his dream home popped up this week, but it became a disagreement between him and his wife Linda, with her banning him from even thinking about buying it.  But why? Kevin joined Jack Tame to explain what’s made the house so unobtainable.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

New Zealand was host to two contrasting acts this week, playing out at the opposite ends of the North Island.  On Thursday, Auckland’s Laneway Festival was held at Western Springs, whilst in Wellington, Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds played two shows – one Thursday and one Friday.   Chris Schulz was at both events, and joined Jack Tame to share his thoughts.    LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Such a Perfect Family by Nalini Singh   A woman buried. A woman broken. A woman crashed. A woman burned. And the man who knew them all.  Love at first sight, a whirlwind Vegas wedding, a fairy-tale romance. For seventy-nine days, Tavish Advani has been the happiest man in the world—until his new life turns to ash, his wealthy in-laws’ house going up in a fiery explosion. His badly injured wife lies in a coma, her family all but annihilated.  Tavish thought he left the sins of his Los Angeles life behind, but it’s not so easy to leave behind an investigation into the deaths of several high-profile women—all of whom he professed to love. Tragedy and death follow him no matter where he goes . . . but this time, he knows he’s innocent.  Desperately trying to clear his name as the authorities zero in, he begins his own investigation into the fire—and learns that his wife’s picture-perfect family may have been nothing but a meticulously constructed mirage. The truth is much darker

"If you’re planning a road-trip in the South Island in the coming months, tack on a scenic foray with the Mid-Canterbury heartland. Easily reached within an hour from Christchurch, it’s an understated, uncrowded region that handsomely rewards the eager explorer, headlined by its spectacular scenic high country and blissful sense of escapism. Fanning out from Ashburton and bounded by the silvery braids of the Rakaia and Rangitata rivers, Mid-Canterbury spans the extremes, from pancake-flat plains to serrated, sky-piercing peaks. The mountains rise up to meet you remarkably quickly, after driving west from Ashburton. Here’s a round-up of some sure-fire favourites to add to your leisurely road- trip." Read Mike's full article here. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What is the happiest job in New Zealand?  Research undertaken in 2025 looked at how people across different jobs and sectors rated their wellbeing. They targeted people who were “mid-career” – around 40 years old.  Dr Dougal Sutherland joined Jack Tame to delve into the findings and see what factors make for the happiest careers. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On the Saturday Morning with Jack Tame Full Show Podcast for Saturday 7 February 2026, Kiwi dream-pop quartet Yumi Zouma joined Jack to discuss a decade together and their creative shift for album No. 5, No Love Lost to Kindness.  Jack finds the Epstein files illuminating.  Two contrasting musical events took place at opposing ends of the North Island this week and music reviewer Chris Schulz went to both.  Clinical psychologist Dougal Sutherland reveals the happiest jobs in New Zealand.  Plus Nici Wickes is not letting us overlook the classics with a deliciously moist Blueberry Muffin recipe.  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.

During a rather aggressive storm in springtime, our ancient tunnel house showed it was time to get a new one. That was our Christmas project.  Some of our tomatoes survived but there was still lots of space for other plants and ideas, and Kings Seeds sent a catalogue to my inbox just at the right moment!   February specials and Brassicas plus a great number of beautiful plants in many colours (and for a reasonable amount of money). Let's try something out!  Snail Vine  An exotic, heirloom vine grown for its highly perfumed, spiralled flowers resembling curled snail shells. Ideal for growing up fences, trellis, and pergola, or sow in containers with a grow cone or obelisk for support. Fabulous for providing fragrance to outdoor spaces. They germinate within 2 weeks in summer, love warm conditions and develop fast in full sun.  Great for our warmer areas in New Zealand, but even in the cooler regions they usually become an “Annual”. Try a few seeds as soon as you get them and keep

Hunter's Gewürztraminer 2025, Marlborough RRP from $25.99     The Wine:   A fragrant wine led by scents of ripe pomaceous fruits and white pepper, orange and mandarin peel, some yellow citrus then apple and spice. Delicious on the palate with flavours that keep repeating. The spice or herb layer increases carried by the alcohol and acid line. Vibrant and youthful, a wine that will find its happy place by late 2026/early 2027, then great drinking through 2029.      The vintage:    A very warm December followed by a cool, temperate summer (January-February) allowed for slow, even ripening.  Above-average, high-volume yields, a bumper crop or a return to "normal" after smaller harvests. Harvest was well-paced, smooth, and dry, allowing growers to pick at optimal maturity. This translates to very good vintage and excellent for some.      The Food match:   For cheese fans and what my wife and I call ‘French take-outs’:  Washed-Rind ("Stinky") C

New models this week from Anthropic and OpenAI   A new Opus and a new Codex – the Agentic Coding war is only continuing to heat up. Both are now incredibly capable and are giving technical users who can't write code superpowers.       Anthropic's new Legal plugin wiped $50 billion from the stock market   The Co-Work plugin for Claude can review legal documents, flag risks, and track compliance. Legal tech stocks took a hammering. Harvey, a legal focused startup, does exactly the same thing as this plugin, and is/was valued at $8 billion. There are a lot of AI startups that are "wrappers", basically adding some UI or workflow on top of these models. We're going to see a lot of startups die as the big AI platforms start to offer specialist tools.      The EU says TikTok is too addictive for kids   But how do you solve it? The Commission has some ideas, including adding screentime breaks (so the user's app disabled for a set number of minutes?), changing its algo

DMV   A comedy set in the place everyone dreads going most —the Department of Motor Vehicles— where employees are making minimum wage dealing with customers who are annoyed before they even walk in the door (TVNZ+).       Lord of the Flies   From Adolescence writer Jack Thorne comes this bold reimagining of the classic dystopian novel. Stranded on a tropical island after a deadly plane crash, a gang of schoolboys descend into anarchy (TVNZ+, from February 8th).    LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

I’m generally sceptical of conspiracy theories.    Call me old fashioned, but I’m pretty sure we landed on the moon. I think 9/11 was al-Qaeda, not an inside job. I think climate change is real.    But I’ve got to admit, I’ve been captivated by the information released in the Epstein files. And while I still don’t think it reveals a coordinated paedophile ring, the trove of information released so far has been far more enlightening than I ever anticipated it would be. Truthfully, I thought it would be a nothing burger. I was wrong.    It’s not that the files necessarily prove greater illegality. Many people thought the dump would reveal a client list of the global elite: a black book of politicians, billionaires, CEOs, celebs, and royalty who’d committed the most appalling crimes and would be rounded up and brought to justice.   So far at least, it doesn’t have that. But it has illuminated a web of connections and relationships among the wealthy, connected, and powerful that

It Was Just An Accident   In Iran, a man bumps into the man he believes to be his former torturer. However, faced with this person who fiercely denies having been his tormentor, doubt sets in.    Melania   Twenty days before the 2025 presidential inauguration, Melania Trump navigates the complexities of the White House transition as she prepares for the role of first lady once again.      LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Sometimes we forget about trusted old favourites in favour of the latest trend or new fancy ingredient, but can you remember your first blueberry muffin? The joy and juiciness of each bite, the fact that they’re very likely better on day two, and that buttering them will change your life. Make the most of late season blueberries this weekend.    Makes 12 regular muffins       Ingredients  2/3 cup white sugar + extra for topping   ¼ cup lightly packed brown sugar   2 medium eggs   ¾ cup plain yogurt   120g melted butter or oil   1 ¾ cups plain flour   1 generous tsp baking powder   ½ tsp sea salt   ½ tsp baking soda   1 tbsp lemon zest,    1 tsp vanilla extract   1 punnet fresh or frozen blueberries      Method  Preheat oven to 180C. Line 12 standard muffin tins with liners or baking paper or grease well with oil.   Beat sugars with eggs in a large bowl and then whisk in yoghurt and butter

The 2026 Winter Olympic Games are just one week away.   New Zealand’s presence at the Games is growing, with 17 athletes set to compete this year.  And though he won’t be competing this year, two-time Winter Olympic medallist Nico Porteous knows how they’ll be feeling.  At age 16, he won the Bronze at the 2018 Games in PyeongChang, and four years later, took the Gold in Beijing.   But last year he decided to shift focus, stepping away from the Olympic-level competition.  Porteous had been in high performance and competitive environments since he was ten years old, and felt it was time for something new.  “We’re lucky that in our sport, competition isn’t everything,” he told Jack Tame.  “With the support of sponsors, we can move into different areas such as, y’know, making films and doing one off projects, so that areas has always really excited me and inspired me.”  And with two Olympic medals under his belt, a raft of other titles, and even a New Zealand Order of Merit

Privacy has been a big topic of discussion this week, and it got Kevin Milne and his wife Linda thinking about the old Yellow and White Pages.  There was a time where every household had their own copy, and while they haven’t been discontinued entirely, they are a lot less common nowadays.  But one notable year, some workers at Yellow Pages pulled a Banksy, and the doodle wasn’t noticed until much too late.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The fifth studio album from NZ indie-rock quartet Yumi Zouma, ‘No Love Lost To Kindness’ is a turning point for the band.  In this album they made a deliberate effort to shed the soft-focus production of their previous works in favour of a heavy and more emotionally exposed feeling  ‘No Love Lost To Kindness’ was recorded in Mexico City, and tackles themes of confrontation, diagnosis, disillusionment, risk, and honesty.   Chris Schulz joined Jack Tame to share his thoughts on the album.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.