First Up Podcast Options

5:44 AM.Over the past couple of weeks we've been speaking with businesses up and down the country about how they've been managing in lockdown or at Alert Level 2. Some have managed to adapt - and indeed quite… Read more Audio

5:35 AM.Spring is almost upon us - and it's been a while since we talked "meat without feet". Nathan Rarere spoke with Brett Sellers, Seafood operations manager with Foodstuffs. Audio

5:26 AM.Every so often we have a look around the small businesses and this week we're talking to the founders of AweAo. Aweao are Laurie and Sebastian who make macrame, carved Jewellery, sculptures and wall… Read more Audio

5:17 AM.Almost 400 refugees who fled Afghanistan in last month's takeover by the Taliban have arrived in New Zealand. Some have already completed their mandatory two weeks in managed isolation only to find… Read more Audio

5:07 AM.To Australia now, where Nathan Rarere spoke with our correspondent Pam Corkery.. Audio

5:54 AM.While Tamaki Makaurau remains in an Alert Level four lockdown, schools across the motu also remain closed. Approximately 100,000 secondary students will continue to learn online, as end of year exams… Read more Audio

5:50 AM.While Auckland remains in Alert Level 4 until at least next Tuesday, the rest of the country also remains at what the Prime Minister is calling Delta Level 2. Just to remind you - under the Delta… Read more Audio

5:37 AM.Nathan Rarere spoke to National Party deputy leader Shane Reti about yesterday's Alert Levels announcement. He asked whether he's had a chance to get out to any coffee outlets at Alert Level 2. Audio

5:32 AM.For six generations Russell Smith's family has been in the locksmithing trade. But lockdown has meant his central Auckland business is calling it a day. After 33 years the family business on Ponsonby… Read more Audio

5:24 AM.This week on TradeMe - The Block Houses are up for grabs, and TradeMe's Millie Silvester looks at one particular place in Auckland's glamour suburb Pt Chev. Also there's been an upswing in searches… Read more Audio

5:16 AM.We head to Japan next where there will be a change of leadership in the country's ruling party, the Liberal Democrats. Nathan Rarere spoke with our correspondent Chris Gilbert who caught him up on the… Read more Audio

5:06 AM.Let's get into it by crossing to the UK where the Prime Minister Boris Johnson is preparing to reveal plans for another pandemic winter. Nathan Rarere spoke with our correspondent in London Henry… Read more Audio

5:52 AM.Good news yesterday that New Zealand has bought half a million doses of the Pfizer vaccine from Denmark, so we can continue the high levels of vaccination we've seen in recent weeks. But new cases of… Read more Audio

5:46 AM.With Covid case numbers in Auckland remaining stubbornly high, teachers, students and their parents are beginning to think it could be next term before schools reopen. Nina Hood is a University of… Read more Audio

5:33 AM.The Warriors players have withdrawn their bids for MIQ rooms in the hope that it makes it easier for their nine staff members to get a spot. The players have written to Minister of Sport and Deputy… Read more Audio

5:25 AM.Joining Nathan Rarere from Monday's fresh produce markets is The High Priest of Potatoes, the Dalai Lama of Dragon fruit, our Bishop of Bananas and Minister of Fruit and Vegetables - Glenn Forsyth. Audio

5:17 AM.During lockdown garden centres have been closed to customers, leaving some keen gardeners with fewer plants to plant. But landscaper and garden guru Tony Murrell told our reporter Ella Stewart that… Read more Audio

5:10 AM.Commemorations marking the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks were held in the United States over the weekend.. We'll talk with our NY correspondent Bevan Hurley shortly.. But first - Bevan went… Read more Audio

5:05 AM.We start this morning in Canada where, with only a week until an election, many are saying Prime Minister Justin Trudeau may well regret calling the surprise poll. Joining Nathan Rarere for a closer… Read more Audio

5:50 AM.Monica Iken-Murphy met her husband-to-be Michael on September the 11th, 1999. The couple soon married, and after only a few months of married life, Monica talked with Michael for the last time. It was… Read more Audio

5:46 AM.Hauliers who travel through Auckland want rapid saliva tests to be made available before they're required to prove they're getting a weekly Covid-19 test. The new testing regime was due to come into… Read more Audio

5:38 AM.And as we end the week of the everywhere except Auckland being at Alert Level 2, We're heading up North to Ahipara to check in with North Drift cafe owner Amy Tepania. Audio

5:30 AM.Without being able to book MIQ spots if they travel to overseas competitions, some of our top athletes are being forced to rethink their career paths. Yesterday we brought you the story of multisport… Read more Audio

5:21 AM.To the weekend markets now - Nathan Rarere is joined by our Minister of Fruit and Veg Glenn Forsyth. Audio

5:16 AM.It's 'Te Wiki Tiaki Ao Turoa' or 'Conservation Week' And the Department of Conservation is encouraging us all to take a moment to 'Arohia te taiaho' - notice nature. Our producer Ellie Jay spoke to… Read more Audio