First Up Podcast Options

5:44 AM.Each week we're speaking to the people leading our cities, districts and towns. This week we're heading to Otorohanga - where Max Baxter's in his third term as Mayor. Audio

5:34 AM.Fresh vegetables can be expensive at Christmas time, but needy Auckland families will be able to get some for free this year courtesy of New Zealand's toughest prison. Several boxes of veges, destined… Read more Video, Audio

5:23 AM.For the dog lovers, walkers and owners among us, nothing beats playing fetch with your pooch. But finding the perfect stick can prove challenging - except if you live in Kaiapoi, where one local man… Read more Audio

5:12 AM.When a state of emergency's declared, you might be asked to leave your house almost immediately. The declaration gives authorities the power to enforce an evacuation order, whether or not a… Read more Audio

5:09 AM.A new Department of Conservation report is highlighting how vulnerable Aotearoa's wetlands are to climate change. The report is one of the first of its kind for DOC and uses existing information from… Read more Audio

5:34 AM.Tasty, sustainable, protein rich, healthy for your gut...sounds like the perfect snack. But what if I told you that yummy sounding treat was a cricket? A group of New Zealand researchers have just… Read more Audio

5:23 AM.That's the sound of a healthy coral reef. But many these days don't sound like that. Coral reefs across the world are suffering. Years of warmer temperatures and environmental stress has driven away… Read more Audio

5:12 AM.Wet and windy. That's the weather most of New Zealand's experienced over the last 24 hours. In East Waikato a "wall of wind" struck - breaking windows and bringing down trees. Jenny McGiven, who lives… Read more Audio

5:08 AM.To the UK now where the government is to add a new clause to the Brexit bill to rule out any extension to the transition period beyond the end of next year. The UK is set to leave the EU on 31… Read more Audio

5:58 AM.What were they waiting for? That's the question a grieving mother has for Pharmac - after her 27-year-old son died while switching to a generic version of his epilepsy medication called Logem. It's… Read more Audio

5:44 AM.Rescue officials will this morning announce whether divers will return today to continue the search for two missing people from the Whakaari/White Island eruption. Rob Gatt is currently the Executive… Read more Audio

5:33 AM.Dozens of residents from the South Auckland suburb of Ōtara say they've been taken advantage of by a Māori social housing trust building a development for those recovering from mental illness and… Read more Audio

5:23 AM.TradeMe is, of course, the go-to site for collectors and hoarders and never more so than at Christmas. This week's interesting auctions include a number of festive fundraisers and a curious Coca-Cola… Read more Audio

5:54 AM.Music makes up a large part of how many of us feel about Christmas - carols and modern songs are pervasive everywhere as we go in to the build up to the season. That goes too for classical music… Read more Audio

5:38 AM.After being fed up with stories about multiple shootings, streetfights and crime in South Auckland, 11 local school kids decided they wanted to tell a different story about their community. So they… Read more Video, Audio

5:23 AM.We head to the fruit and vege markets now where we're joined by our mate Glenn Forsyth. Prices going up just in time for Christmas, November prices and top 10 produce buys for this week. Audio

5:07 AM.The first Global Refugee Forum will take place in Geneva tomorrow and it comes at the end of a tumultuous decade in which refugee numbers has risen to over 25 million people worldwide. Guled Mire is a… Read more Audio

5:50 AM.A forensic dentist says people should be patient as teams work to identify the bodies recovered from Whakaari-White Island, because speed is dangerous. Dr David Antunovic says Interpol will have been… Read more Audio

5:38 AM.A man who suffered burns to twenty-percent of his body after a go-kart accident says the victims of Whaakari-White Island face a long, hard road. Roger McKernan was just 13 when he recieved… Read more Audio