First Up Podcast Options

5:26 AM.Off to market we go - the fresh produce markets with our Minister of Fruit and Veges, Glenn Forsyth. Audio

5:17 AM.With Covid restrictions continuing to take a huge toll on businesses, particularly in the hospitality and events sectors, some operators are having to make big decisions in order to stay afloat… Read more Audio

5:12 AM.To Pakistan now where Microsoft founder Bill Gates is paying a visit.. I talked with our correspondent Kaswar Klasra in Islamabad.. and began by asking him what the billionaire is doing there. Audio

5:08 AM.To Fiji, where yet another tropical storm is brewing and this time it's got nothing to do with the weather or an outbreak of covid-19. A convicted rapist has been included in a 7s rugby team. For more… Read more Audio

5:42 AM.Under Phase Two of the Government's Omicron response instead of receiving a call from public health officials, people who test positive will now be notified via text message. The text will direct them… Read more Audio

5:24 AM.Our Minister of Fruit and Veges Mr Glenn Forsyth joined Nathan to talk about the abundance of apricots in some very new varieties and how best to buy Avocados...  Audio

5:14 AM.Both the UK and US are warning that reports of shelling in the Ukrainian region of Donbas might be part of a Russian pre-text for war. Newshub's Europe correspondent Lisette Reymer is in Kiev with… Read more Audio

5:10 AM.To Western Africa now where after nine years of French involvement in the conflict in Mali, President Macron has announced that French troops are to leave. For more on that and the other big news out… Read more Audio

5:06 AM.We begin in the USA where, just over an hour ago, President Joe Biden addressed the tensions in Ukraine from the White House lawn. Joining Nathan Rarere from New York City is our correspondent Bevan… Read more Audio

5:52 AM.Listening to that was the chef and manager of the Backbencher Gastropub across the road from Parliament on Molesworth St, Alistair Boyce. Audio

5:42 AM.Another day, another record number of Covid-19 cases to report. 1160 new community cases were logged yesterday and authorities seem certain we've not yet reached the peak of the Omicron outbreak… Read more Audio

5:31 AM.An Auckland-based theatre company says the Performing Arts industry is on the brink without access to a wage subsidy or resurgence payments. Every year the National Youth Theatre pays for 10,000… Read more Audio

5:24 AM.It's time for our Thursday chat with the Local Democracy reporters and this morning is the turn of Jonathan Leask from the Ashburton Guardian. Nathan Rarere asked Jonathan what's going on with the… Read more Audio

5:16 AM.As you walk the high streets of the cities, you can't help but notice how the latest fashions hug their figures perfectly. That's right, we're talking about mannequins. One man who's been in the… Read more Audio

5:12 AM.From former Europe to actual Europe now, where the main focus for most has gone from the Omicron outbreak to the possibility of the imminent outbreak of war. To tell us more Anita Purcell Sjölund is… Read more Audio

5:08 AM.It's been exactly 24 hours since news broke of the settlement paid by Prince Andrew to Virginia Giuffre's charity to settle her lawsuit against him.. but questions remain about how he funded the… Read more Audio

5:46 AM.Since the Government's Covid tracer app came into force QR codes have been mandatory for most businesses, but as the Omicron wave hits, are we still scanning in? And do we actually need to? At… Read more Audio

5:38 AM.The Winter Olympics hit another peak yesterday, with Zoi Sadowski-Synnott taking a silver in the BIG AIR snowboarding .. Nathan Rarere asked our man in Beijing, Patrick Fok, whether the support shown… Read more Audio

5:23 AM.This week on TradeMe's cool auction list is an old-skool fundraiser utilising the powers of the sharpie pen and the 2021 All Blacks.. And a vehicle that will keep your drinks cool But first TradeMe's… Read more Audio

5:23 AM.Every few weeks we talk with James Parr from the Open Space Agency.. and he and Nathan Rarere had a chin wag. Audio

5:11 AM.All eyes were on Russia over the past few hours as President Putin and the German Chancellor Olaf Scholtz held a joint press conference after meeting in Moscow. This follows Russia's Defence Ministry… Read more Audio

5:05 AM.We begin this morning in Australia where the issue of criminal deportees from Australia to New Zealand has raised its head again - this time an attempt by the Australian government to deport a man… Read more Audio

5:48 AM.Speaking of boosters.. probably not too many of them around Parliament grounds as hundreds of protestors wake up to day 8 amid concerns of growing sanitation issues. The group was told yesterday by… Read more Audio

5:44 AM.The country will move to Phase Two of the Government's Omicron plan from midnight tonight, with the number of daily Covid cases likely to pass the one-thousand mark today. This comes after three… Read more Audio