First Up Podcast Options

5:14 AM.One of New Zealand's brightest hopes for gold at the Tokyo Olympics get their campaign underway today. As well as being the defending Gold Medalists in the 49 class , sailors Peter Burling and Blair… Read more Audio

5:09 AM.To the UK now where thousands of anti-lockdown and anti-vaccine protesters gathered for a "Worldwide rally for freedom" just a week after retrictions were lifted in England. Meanwhile flash flooding… Read more Audio

5:51 AM.We cross to Fiji now where political figures brought in for police questioning, apparently over an obscure land bill. Joining us now is our Fiji correspondent Lice Movono. Audio

5:45 AM.New Zealanders have until Friday to return from Australia on a managed flight home. Returnees will not have to quarantine, other than those coming from NSW who must enter MIQ, while travellers from… Read more Audio

5:31 AM.New Zealand swimmer Lewis Clareburt faded over the last 25 meters to finish seventh in the men's 400m individual medley final in Tokyo yesterday, despite being at the head of the pack for much of the… Read more Audio

5:23 AM.Joining Nathan Rarere now from the fresh produce markets is our Minister of Fruit and Vegetables Glenn Forsyth. Audio

5:15 AM.The small communities of Te Araroa and Wharekahika in Te Tairawhiti are now almost fully vaccinated against Covid-19. The rollout in these isolated areas is ahead of the average achieved by the rest… Read more Audio

5:07 AM.anti-lockdown protesters clashed with police in massive demonstrations in Sydney over the weekend, I'm joined by our correspondent Pam Corkery. Audio

5:51 AM.Cases of Covid-19 in Australia are rising, yesterday New South Wales recorded 124 new cases , Victoria 26 new cases and Queensland has announced it is closing its borders. Professor Nancy Baxter is… Read more Audio

5:45 AM.You might not think of Antarctica as a thriving marketplace, but it's dotted with research stations, including our own Scott Base, and the United States one nearby at McMurdo Station. RNZ Data… Read more Audio

5:41 AM.News from the United States - Covid's third wave, wildfires causing a haze in New York, and self driving cares testing in NYC. Audio

5:28 AM.Time for our weekly catch up with the animals of New Zealand. This week our reporter Ella Stewart spoke with the Wellington Zoo 'General Manager of Animal Care' Daniel Warsaw about a baby little blue… Read more Audio

5:21 AM.Joining Nathan Rarere from the fresh produce markets is our Minister of Fruit and Vegetables Glenn Forsyth. Audio

5:15 AM.Young swim star Lewis Clareburt will attempt to break a 25-year medal drought for New Zealand in the Olympic pool this weekend. The 22-year-old bronze medallist at the 2018 Commonwealth Games and 2019… Read more Audio

5:10 AM.The British and Irish Lions kick off their covid effected Test Series against the World Champion Springboks in Cape Town with kick off at 4am Sunday NZ time. Kiwi Warren Gatland is in charge of the… Read more Audio

5:06 AM.Japan are gearing up for the opening ceremony of the Olympic games tonight at 10pm New Zealand time . This comes as Tokyo continues to experience a surge in positive Covid-19 cases with the BBC… Read more Audio

5:54 AM.We turn our attention now to the country's Covid-19 vaccine rollout. More than 1.5 million doses of the Pfizer have now been given in New Zealand. Covid-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins said New… Read more Audio

5:45 AM.New Zealand's Olympians are starting to settle into the athletes village in Tokyo under strict Covid-19 rules. Among them are two of the youngsters in the squad, 17-year-old Erika Fairweather and… Read more Audio

5:37 AM.We head to Fiji now where health authorities are stretched to capacity by the rampant Covid-19 outbreak. We're joined by our correspondent Lice Movono. Audio

5:32 AM.Every week we check in with the reporters from the Local Democracy Reporting Programme. This week we're in Ashburton, where reporter Adam Burns has been looking at ... water. We started out by… Read more Audio

5:22 AM.A new study has found that a person's financial knowledge, behaviour and psychology have even more influence over financial wellbeing than how much they earn. In other words the more financial… Read more Audio

5:17 AM.To the Eastern Bay of Plenty where Covid 19 vaccinators are welcoming hundreds of people through the doors each week. So far, more than 15-thousand vaccinations have been administered in the… Read more Audio

5:52 AM.New Zealand's Covid-19 procedures for shipping crews are under the spotlight as it's confirmed that a third vessel in our waters is plagued with the virus. Nine crew members on board the container… Read more Audio

5:48 AM.There are just two days to go until the torch is lit in Tokyo and the 32nd Olympic Games get underway ... and they're promising to be one of the most unusual yet. Nathan Rarere spoke with our… Read more Audio