Summer Weekends Podcast Options

9:05 AM.Melbourne based journalist Rebekah Holt with the latest. Audio

8:45 AM.Historian Rory Sweetman has uncovered a connection between New Zealand soldiers and the Easter Week Irish Rising, an incident that he says threatened Ireland's oldest university, Trinity College… Read more Audio, Gallery

8:30 AM.Archaelogical investigations of Pa sites on Waikato wetlands are about to start, using Maori traditional knowledge of the area and the latest Western technology to establish when and how the… Read more Audio, Gallery

8:09 AM.We cross to New York Times middle east correspondent Ben Hubbard to get talk about the impact of Soleimani's assassination by the United States on Iran, and the region. Audio

11:50 AM.We continue our book journey around the country - this time crossing live to Louise Ward from Wardini Books in Hawke's Bay. Audio

11:40 AM.Wellington artist Paul Forrest is aiming to create a kaleidoscope of butterflies around the country. From the backyard of his home in Newtown, Paul makes huge but incredibly lifelike butterflies… Read more Audio

11:30 AM.Students at New Plymouth Girls' High School researching sustainable energy generation have found that solar panels become less efficient once the temperature goes over 25 degrees....the opposite of… Read more Audio, Gallery

11:04 AM.Lynn Freeman went to the forest in northern Finland last May, camera in hand, and hit out in a wooden hut, waiting for brown bears, wolves and wolverines to go by. Here, she tells that story.  Read more Audio, Gallery

10:30 AM.Gordie Tentrees, a Canadian troubadour who's performed 750 concerts in 11 countries in just four years, is making is first trip to New Zealand to perform at the Auckland Folk Festival. He speaks to… Read more Audio

10:07 AM.Over the summer we're profiling some of our Olympic hopefuls in less well known sports. Today it's the turn of BMX rider Jessie Smith, whose mentor and sponsor is London Olympic BMX silver medallist… Read more Audio

9:45 AM.Travel writer Heather Hapeta has an allotment at Tanera Park in Wellington, within an organic garden there. For an apartment dweller like herself, the gardens give her a chance to get some fresh air… Read more Audio

9:25 AM.Thunderbirds, Gerry and Silvia Anderson's popular futuristic puppet sci-fi puppet TV series only had two series, on air from 1964 to 1966. The Dinky die-cast merchandise based on the characters and… Read more Audio, Gallery

9:09 AM.Our series on lifesavers continues with the Canterbury West Coast Air Rescue's senior rescue pilot and operations manager Stuart Farquhar. Over his 20 years on the job, Stuart Farquhar has no shortage… Read more Audio

8:45 AM.Auckland designer Haydn Jack graduated in 2016, and has already taken out six New Zealand Best Design Awards. He talks to Lynn Freeman about what he's working on.

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8:30 AM.Wildlife photographer Bill Morris has, for more than a decade, worked for NHNZ and other companies, filming the seabirds and sea lions of New Zealand's sub Antarctic Islands for TVNZs Our Big Blue… Read more Audio, Gallery

8:09 AM.Fires burning on the east coast of Australia are expected to get worse today - with officials saying it is expected to be a very dangerous day. East Gippsland Shire Councillor, Mark Reeves, and… Read more Audio

11:50 AM.Yesterday we spoke to a bookseller in the Wairarapa town of Carterton - and today we're heading about 30 kilometres south to another spot in the region - Martinborough. And we're speaking to Deborah… Read more Audio

11:20 AM.Glow in the dark collars are proving to be an effective way of helping birds to evade cats. It's one of the findings of the CatMap project in New Plymouth, where GPS units attached to cat harnesses… Read more Audio, Gallery

11:06 AM.Auckland's prized Hauraki Gulf islands are under seige from the sea setting archaeologists in a race against time to save important historic sites. One is Auckland council Specialist Archaeologist… Read more Audio, Gallery

10:50 AM.Theo Papouis is a young chef who, just over two years ago, opened up a restaurant in Strathmore after being inspired by the way food is served overseas, in particular, Cyprus.  Read more Audio

10:05 AM.Play it Strange is a charity that allows students to write and play music. It is the brainchild of Mike Chunn of Split Enz fame. He joins Lynn Freeman to play a selection of songs from this year's… Read more Audio

9:45 AM.New Zealand pro surfer Billy Stairmand never dreamed of representing New Zealand at the Olympic games growing up because it wasn't an Olympic sport. But it will be in next year's Summer Olympic Games… Read more Video, Audio

9:30 AM.Ahead of the Summer Olympics in Japan in 2020, Lynn Freeman chats to the Olympic team's all important Chef de Mission, Rob Waddell. Read more Audio

9:06 AM.We talk to Peter Newport - editor of Queenstown based online news outlet - Crux that he started around 18 months ago. Peter talks to Lynn Freeman about the big plans he has for Crux in 2020. Read more Audio