First Up Podcast Options

5:34 AM.It's semi-finals day in the men's draw at the Australian Open, after the woman's semis yesterday. Nathan Rarere was joined by tennis commentator Dave Worsley. Audio

5:21 AM.It's the end of January already, and time to talk with our Minister of Fruit and Veggie, Glenn Forsyth. Audio

5:10 AM.To Africa now where the ousted President of Burkina Faso is being held under house arrest by the military, after the military coup which has been condemned by the international community. Nathan… Read more Audio

5:06 AM.We begin this morning in the United States, where eyes are on Russia as tensions over Ukraine continue to heat up.. Nathan Rarere found out more from our correspondent in Washington, Simon Marks. Audio

5:49 AM.The government is under fire over allegations it "comandeered" rapid antigen tests from private companies. The government plans to increase the number of tests available to the public ahead of an… Read more Audio

5:42 AM.With schools going back next week, uniforms shops around the country are full of ashen-faced parents watching their bank balances dwindle after they hit "enter" on the Eftpos machine. And a children's… Read more Audio

5:24 AM.Every Thursday we're delighted to be able to zoom across the country and talk to one of the reporters from the Local Democracy Reporting Programme. This morning we're in South Auckland with Local… Read more Audio

5:06 AM.We begin this morning in the United Kingdom, where the party-gate report is due to be released. Ellie Jay spoke to our London correspondent, Henry Riley. Audio

5:52 AM.Later today we'll find out a bit more about what the next phases of New Zealand's Omicron strategy will look like, It follows yesterday's news that 14.5 million Rapid Antigen Tests will arrive in the… Read more Audio

5:47 AM.The jump back to the red alert level means thousands of businesses once again having to adapt to new restrictions. Infometrics Chief Economist Brad Olsen is here to help explain them. Audio

5:34 AM.We're going to go back to Australia this morning as the Australian Open is at the quarter-finals stage - joining Ellie Jay for a look at the first Grad-Slam of the year is tennis commentator Dave… Read more Audio

5:26 AM.We'll head now to the Middle East where Houthi rebels in Yemen have claimed responsibility for a drone attack on an oil facility in Abu Dhabi.. Ellie Jay spoke with our correspondent Alex Baird. Audio

5:06 AM.Ellie Jay was joined by our correspondent in Australia, Pam Corkery. Audio

5:51 AM.Nathan Rarere spoke with the deputy leader of the National Party, Nicola Willis, and asked if she thinks the country's prepared for Omicron. Audio

5:46 AM.A major live events company has cancelled all of its shows for the rest of the year as a result of the country going to the red traffic light setting. Greenstone Entertainment made the difficult… Read more Audio

5:34 AM.To the Cook Islands now where Cabinet has to decided to keep the travel bubble with New Zealand open - despite the Omicron outbreak here. Nathan Rarere spoke with Liana Scott from the Cook Islands… Read more Audio

5:27 AM.This week on TradeMe - a very very special Land Rover AND A John Britten tribute helmet, being auctioned to support an up and coming motorbike racer. But first, producer Jeremy Parkinson talks with… Read more Audio

5:17 AM.Much of Tonga is still covered by a layer of ash after the eruption of the Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai volcano just over a week ago. And that ash isn't going anywhere, anytime soon. Nathan Rarere spoke… Read more Audio

5:11 AM.We head to Japan now where, like in New Zealand, things were starting to get back to normal ... until Omicron came along. Since the start of the month, the new variant has washed over the country at… Read more Audio

5:08 AM.We begin this morning in the United Kingdom, where Prime Minister Boris Johnson is still under pressure from both opposition parties and members of his own Conservative Party to resign over what has… Read more Audio

5:53 AM.Back to the situation in Tonga now as New Zealand Defence Force personel join efforts to restore essential services in the wake of the eruption and resulting tsunami. Joining Nathan Rarere is the… Read more Audio

5:47 AM.New Zealand is waking up to tighter Covid-19 restrictions this morning after confirmation that a family in the Nelson-Tasman region have the Omicron variant. Ten people have now tested positive in the… Read more Audio

5:37 AM.To Tennis now, where the Aussie Open is heading toward the pointy end. Nathan Rarere spoke with our tennis correspondent Dave Worsley. Audio