First Up Podcast Options

5:53 AM.Let's go now to the Waikato where the very first passenger rail service between there and Auckland left from Frankton a few minutes ago. Reporter Gill Bonnett is onboard Te Huia. Audio

5:45 AM.The National Party's deputy leader, Shane Reti, says cancer patients are having to spend their life savings not only to get the drugs they need, but just to have them administered by their local DHB… Read more Audio

5:35 AM.We find out today when we will able to head to Australia without needing to quarantine on arrival or on the way back. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern is due to announce the date of the Trans-Tasman… Read more Audio

5:13 AM.To the United States now where the sixth day of testimony in the trial of the former police officer Derek Chauvin is taking place. Chauvin is charged with second-degree murder, third-degree murder and… Read more Audio

5:08 AM.Former Prime Minister Helen Clark has hit out at the UN Security Council for failing to protect the people of Myanmar, where the military continues to cling onto power through acts of brutal violence… Read more Audio

5:49 AM.The Deputy Prime Minister Grant Robertson says the government won't get involved in discussions about US investment company Silver Lake's plans to buy 15 per cent of New Zealand Rugby. The proposed… Read more Audio

5:45 AM.So everyone who has planned camping or outdoors activities for the Easter weekend, have doomed it for decent weather. But we secretly are hoping for clear skies so we can look upwards and check out… Read more Audio

5:41 AM.New research released this morning has identified those geographic areas most vulnerable during outbreaks of Covid-19. The study, conducted by experts from Universities across the country, mapped… Read more Audio

5:31 AM.A Masterton community group has won a reprieve for two pieces of farming equipment that had been set for the scrap heap after being seized by the council in a "dawn raid" because they were deemed a… Read more Audio

5:21 AM.Each week we speak with reporters from the Regional Democracy Reporting Programme, who catch us up on stories that might not have featured on the TV news but which are still great yarns. This morning… Read more Audio

5:13 AM.This weekend VW owners and fans congregate on the Kapiti Coast for the annual Volkswagen Nationals. They're coming from all around the country to celebrate the classic Beetles, Kombis, Variants and… Read more Audio

5:09 AM.To Europe, where countries are looking at all options to bring the resurgent COVID-19 pandemic under control. France is poised to order another lockdown while the east of Austria is going into a hard… Read more Audio

5:53 AM.Every Wednesday - give or take - we introduce you to a first term MP, someone new to parliament and this week it's turn of National Party MP for the North Shore electorate Simon Watts. Audio

5:47 AM.A real and original artwork by Banksy the secretive British graffiti artist went on sale last night at the international Art Centre in Parnell, The work is called 'Keep it real,' it's 30cm squared and… Read more Audio

5:39 AM.A Pike River widow says that she did not sign off on a joint letter released by the family reference group yesterday which accepted the Government's decision to abandon the drift recovery. Family… Read more Audio

5:32 AM.Our resident expert on all things kai moana, Foodstuffs seafood operations manager Brett Sellers is here to tell us about what's fresh as we head into autumn. Audio

5:23 AM.Each week we have a little look around the New Zealand small business world and this week we're talking to Brooke Hobson from 'Native-Hard Sparkling' They make New Zealand's first 'hard sparkling' -… Read more Audio

5:11 AM.The trial of former police officer Derek Chauvin for the murder of George Floyd is in to its second day. We're now joined from his multi-media bunker in his Washington DC garage by our correspondent… Read more Audio

5:06 AM.We begin in Australia, where Brisbane is still locked down with at least 15 cases of the UK strain of covid-19 having now been identified. Nathan Rarere caught up from ground zero is our correspondent… Read more Audio

5:50 AM.The National Party says that only Immigration New Zealand-approved laboratories should be able to provide pre-departure Covid-19 tests for people travelling from abroad. That was one of many topics… Read more Audio

5:47 AM.You may remember 22-year-old Matt Fenn who took on the huge challenge of running 654 kilometres in less than a week for suicide awareness. Only stopping for occasional breaks and power naps, Matt ran… Read more Audio

5:36 AM.A cyber security expert says it's concerningly easy to obtain fake Covid-19 test results and vaccine passports on the Dark Web. While there's not evidence that New Zealanders or people heading here… Read more Audio