First Up Podcast Options

5:19 AM.New Zealanders are being given the chance to follow in the footsteps of Prince, Ed Sheeran and the Royal New Zealand Ballet - by treading the boards of Auckland's Kiri Te Kanawa Theatre. From singers… Read more Audio

5:09 AM.Around 3 billion dollars worth of clothing orders have been cancelled by big retailers because of Covid-19. The cancellation of orders has left factories around the world with piles of unsold stock… Read more Audio

5:51 AM.75 years ago today the US ended the world war in the Pacific by dropping the first atomic bomb over the Japanese city Hiroshima. Taeko Yoshioka Braid was just 13 years old and at high school just out… Read more Audio

5:47 AM.With international tourism still on hold due to Covid-19, Kiwis are exploring their own backyard. But is our biggest city being overlooked as people opt for getaways out of town? Louise Ternouth… Read more Audio

5:43 AM.An entrepreneur behind a plan to run private-sector managed isolation hotels hopes to attract experts to help re-build the economy. Nicola Alpe and her husband Chris - who heads Jucy Rentals -… Read more Audio

5:35 AM.Doctors are pleading with the Ministry of Health not to further delay a cervical cancer self-screening test they say will save lives. The test for the virus which causes the cancer, is much less… Read more Audio

5:31 AM.It's hoped MPs will be exposed to some of the real dental needs that exist in New Zealand, by attending a mobile clinic running on Parliament's forecourt this morning. The Dental Association will be… Read more Audio

5:22 AM.Rescue workers in Lebanon's capital Beirut are searching for dozens of people missing after the huge explosion which rocked the port area of the Lebanese capital yesterday. The blast, which shook the… Read more Audio

5:10 AM.The same man who went looking for the Loch Ness monster has now led a study that reveals the inner fabric of New Zealand's most famous Jurassic survivor - the tuatara. Two years ago, Neil Gemmell from… Read more Audio

5:07 AM.We cross to Australia where Queensland will close its border to New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory from Saturday as Covid-19 heads north. Indira got the latest numbers from our… Read more Audio

5:53 AM.Pasifika and Asian creatives are calling on NZ On Air to renew their funding round for its Pasifika and Asian Storytellers initiative. The initiative was part of a one-off extra allocation to NZ On… Read more Audio

5:49 AM.Tauranga City Councillors are adamant people can still trust them, despite recently released communications alleging bullying and toxicity. In one text message, Mayor Tenby Powell accuses Councillor… Read more Audio

5:45 AM.A newlywed couple are pleading for a Pacific bubble after being separated for seven months. Sabeel Khan is a New Zealand citizen but his wife is a Fijian citizen, making it difficult to be together… Read more Audio

5:36 AM.Peter Meihana knows what it is to be marginalised as Maori in a pakeha world, and then as pakeha in a Maori world. The Marlborough-born lecturer in Maori history at Massey University has straddled the… Read more Audio

5:32 AM.For the Auckland para cyclist Sarah Ellington, being told she'd never walk again, was all the motivation she needed to prove them wrong. Five years ago Ellington fell out of an apple tree and… Read more Audio

5:23 AM.It's the time of the week where we take a look at a unique kiwi business. This week we've been talking to Anna Mollekin, a contemporary New Zealand artist who says posting on the New Zealand made… Read more Audio

5:08 AM.An Indian-born academic says an event being held at an Auckland temple this evening is effectively a celebration of Islamophobia. The event at the Bharatiya Mandir in Sandringham is being held to… Read more Audio

5:50 AM.A travel bubble with the Cook Islands needs to be open by next month to ensure people there remain employed. That's from the President of the Cook Islands Tourism Industry Committee, Liana Scott, who… Read more Audio

5:45 AM.New Zealand face mask makers are reporting a surge in demand from Australia. The country's only maker of wool-based mask filters, Lanaco, said orders had been strong, but it's also recently fielded an… Read more Audio

5:37 AM.New tenancy laws which aim to strengthen renters' rights is expected to be pushed through Parliament under urgency this week. The Residential Tenancy Amendment bill would make tenancies more secure… Read more Audio

5:32 AM.An Australian whose planned New Zealand holiday can't go ahead says Air New Zealand's lack of compassion about refunding has put him off the airline. Under current rules only New Zealand citizens… Read more Audio

5:23 AM.All Black Sam Whitelock played his 150th Super Rugby match over the weekend and he's auctioning the jersey he wore to raise money for a charity called Farmstrong. Farmstrong is a nationwide wellbeing… Read more Audio

5:53 AM.Victoria's declared a State of Disaster and introduced sweeping new restrictions across Melbourne under stage four. 671 new coronavirus cases have been detected since Saturday and 7 people have died… Read more Audio

5:47 AM.Two Kiwi parents are desperate to get their toddler back home from India during Covid-19 border closures. Veena and Bharat Chaudhary's 17-month-old son, Miraan, has been stuck in India for seven… Read more Audio