First Up Podcast Options

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

5:44 AM.A foreign diplomat is self-isolating at a consular address in Auckland, because they opted not to enter managed isolation. Sixty people on diplomatic visas have arrived in New Zealand since the… Read more Audio

5:22 AM.Our Minister of Fruit and Veg, Glenn Forsyth joined Indira Stewart for a look at the week in fresh produce. Audio

5:10 AM.Queenstown Lakes Mayor Jim Boult says people are rattled after a skiier who was recently in the town tested positive for Covid-19 in South Korea, and a community testing blitz is a responsible… Read more Audio

5:06 AM.To Australia now where 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… Read more Audio

5:35 AM.Waikato dairy farmers Richard and Nadine McCullough have a 383 hectare dairy farm near Lake Karapiro, milking 650 friesian cows supplying milk to Open Country Dairy. They are this year's winners of… Read more Audio

5:30 AM.Nathan Rarere joins Indira Stewart for a look ahead at the weekend's sport. Audio

5:22 AM.A look at the weekend in fresh produce, our Minister of Fruit and Veg, Glenn Forsyth joins Indira Stewart. Audio