First Up Podcast Options

5:38 AM.Meanwhile, the Leonid meteor shower will be in full effect over the next few mornings, joining Nathan Rarere from the Dunedin observatory is astronomer Ian Griffin. Read more Audio

5:33 AM.Last year he launched a car into Space, and yesterday Elon Musk successfully sent 4 astronauts up to the International Space Station in his SpaceX Dragon Crew-1 capsule, just days after the the… Read more Audio

5:24 AM.Earlier this year, the Variegated Monstera came out of nowhere to be one of the most sought after and highly prized pot-plants ever listed on TradeMe. In January, one example reached 5-thousand… Read more Audio

5:11 AM.To the UK now where Prime Minister Boris Johnson and a number of his MPs are self-isolating after being exposed to covid-19. The Prime Minister was hospitalised earlier this year when he contracted… Read more Audio

5:53 AM.Nathan Rarere discussed the latest Auckland outbreak is the University of Otago epidemiologist Michael Baker. Audio

5:48 AM.Auckland business group Heart of the City wants a beefed-up track and trace system so if Covid-19 does re-emerge, any restrictions can be confined to a smaller area. A student and retail worker who… Read more Audio

5:35 AM.TVNZ's Guy Heveldt joins Nathan Rarere to pick over the carcass of the All Blacks huge loss to the Pumas on Saturday in Sydney. Audio

5:22 AM.Our Minister of Fruit and Veges Glenn Forsyth spoke to Nathan from the fresh produce market about peas, raspberries and cherries. Audio

5:51 AM.Workers in central Auckland are being asked to stay home today if possible - and to wear a mask - after a woman who lives and works in the CBD tested positive for Covid-19. Health workers are… Read more Audio

5:46 AM.China has tightened its stranglehold on Hong Kong, with Beijing labelling anyone who supports independence "unpatriotic" and forbidding them from sitting on the legislative council. The new rule… Read more Audio

5:44 AM.Almost 23-thousand people have come to the end of the covid income relief payment, without a job to go to. Figures from the Ministry of Social Development to the end of October show just over… Read more Audio

5:31 AM.Something for people who love the humble avocado. David and Judi Grey have been growing and testing new varieties for fifty years on their orchard near Gisborne. David's grandfather even planted… Read more Audio

5:23 AM.It's Friday and time to check in with our Minister of Fruit and Veges, Glenn Forsyth, who's been on the ground in Hawkes Bay this week during the awful weather and flooding. Audio

5:09 AM.To the US now, where President Donald Trump made his first public appearance since his election loss to Joe Biden, visiting Arlington National Cemetery to pay his respects to America's fallen… Read more Audio

5:50 AM.All eyes will be on the skies in Hawke's Bay this morning after a deluge of rain flooded low-lying suburbs this week. Sixty people had to be evacuated from their homes in Napier and Hastings and stay… Read more Audio

5:46 AM.The West Indian cricket team is drawing scorn in New Zealand and from people at home after they repeatedly broke managed isolation rules in their Christchurch MIQ facility. The touring squad had been… Read more Audio

5:43 AM.Despite covid-19, Santa Claus is still coming to town, but getting a photo with the jolly man in red and white will be different this year. The festive tradition will still go ahead but this time… Read more Audio

5:36 AM.A painting by celebrated Dunedin artist John Z Robinson has been sold in London, but with a forged inscription from the artist it was meant as a tribute to. Mr Robinson painted a series in honour of… Read more Audio

5:32 AM.Retiring Kiwi Fern Honey Hireme-Smiler couldn't quite make it to a seventh World Cup. The cross-code star is hanging up her footy boots after nearly 20 years as an elite athlete and with four Rugby… Read more Audio

5:23 AM.A leading New Zealand health researcher says this country needs an over-arching public health programme to tackle the obesity epidemic. A new global study has shown that children in New Zealand… Read more Audio

5:10 AM.To Europe where, just over a week after a terrorist attack in Vienna, the EU is coming to terms with the on-going issue of Islamic extremism. Four people were killed and another 23 injured when a… Read more Audio

5:52 AM.With election day looming, the campaign for some of the birds are well and truly heating up, with some turning to Donald Trump for inspiration. Under the banner "the Orange Face You Can Trust", the… Read more Audio

5:47 AM.It's been a big year in politics but it's not over yet, the hotly contested and brutal election of New Zealands' bird of the year is back. Voting began at the start of this month and closes on at 5 on… Read more Audio

5:42 AM.After yesterday's fantastic news that drug company Pfizer has developed a 90 per cent effective Covid-19 vaccine, the race to get final approval and have it distributed around the world is on. Pfizer… Read more Audio

5:35 AM.An iceberg nearly five times the size of Auckland is on a collision course with the sub-Antarctic island of South Georgia. The huge iceberg carved off the Antarctic Peninsula a couple of years ago and… Read more Audio