First Up Podcast Options

5:24 AM.It's the final week of August's 'Kindness store on TradeME', they've been helping KidsCan with items for children in need. There's literally hundreds of things up for you to buy to donate to children… Read more Audio

5:16 AM.A group of Kiwis stranded overseas say the MIQ booking system is dysfunctional and are urging the government to fix it. Grounded Kiwis, which is made up of some 2000 people, has sent an open letter to… Read more Audio

5:09 AM.Joining Ellie Jay from Washington DC is our correspondent Nick Harper to discuss the withdrawal from Afghanistan. Audio

5:53 AM.The vaccination of Whanganui's school students appears to be being hampered by misinformation and anti-vaccine protesters who've been picketing the city's schools. This term, pupils over the age of 16… Read more Audio

5:46 AM.To Fiji where official covid-19 figures have fallen but there are concerns that's due to people simply not being tested. Ellei Jay spoke with our correspondent Lice Movono. Audio

5:37 AM.We cross to Haiti now where a powerful earthquake has killed at least 700 people and injured hundreds more. The 7.2-magnitude quake hit the west of the country on Saturday morning, toppling and… Read more Audio

5:25 AM.As we do every Monday we're joined by Glenn Forsyth to hear what's good in the wonderful world of fruit and vegetables. Audio

5:15 AM.The Taliban has moved closer to retaking full control of Afghanistan, with reports in the past few hours that the Kabul airport is under heavy artillery fire. Kabul is now the only major city left in… Read more Audio

5:54 AM.We're joined by University of Otago epidemiologist professor Michael Baker - to talk about increasing the time between vaccinations and new self-isolation rules for the vaccinated. Audio

5:48 AM.At yesterday's 'Reconnecting New Zealanders to the World forum' there were perhaps more questions than answers. But there was one thing about which all the experts agreed unequivocally: get the… Read more Audio

5:44 AM.Kiwis are flocking to the Cook Islands in their droves to escape the winter cold with the added bonus of the Cooks also being the only overseas destination we can travel to without going through… Read more Audio

5:35 AM.No, that wasnt a new breed of dog you saw in the park by the beach It's the time of the year where young seals and male seals of any age can be spotted in some unusual places as they leave their… Read more Audio

5:23 AM.It's time to talk to our Minister of fruit & veggies, Mr Glenn Forsyth.. Audio

5:15 AM.Despite the government's recent attempts to slow the country's soaring house prices, latest Real Estate Institute data shows that they continue to rise and are now 31 per cent up on this time last… Read more Audio

5:06 AM.To the US now where the medical infrastructure is groaning under the weight of a huge up-swing in covid-19 cases, after restrictions were lifted in many states a few weeks back.. Joining Nathan Rarere… Read more Audio

5:47 AM.Nathan Rarere spoke with the Deputy Prime Minister Grant Robertson what a level 4 lockdown would look like when the country faces the Delta variant of Covid-19. But before we got into that, Nathan put… Read more Audio

5:35 AM.With the deadly Delta variant of Covid-19 banging at the door, the government has issued a strong warning to New Zealanders, saying it won't hesitate to plunge the country into lockdown. Covid-19… Read more Audio

5:31 AM.Every week we're joined by one of the journalists from the Local Democracy Reporting Programme and this morning we're in the Wairarapa with LDR reporter Marcus Anselm. He explained to Nathan Rarere… Read more Audio

5:23 AM.It's that time of the week when we turn our attention to small New Zealand businesses doing interesting things and this week we'll hear from Elena Milne. Elena knits beautiful scarfs, hats and baby… Read more Audio

5:06 AM.We begin in Europe this morning - joining Nathan Rarere from Sweden is our correspondent Anita Purcell Sjölund talking about fires in Greece. Audio

5:53 AM.No significant reopening of New Zealand's border will happen until early next year, and not before our vaccine programme has been rolled out. We remain in danger of a Covid-19 outbreak similar to New… Read more Audio

5:44 AM.After the Women's Sevens win over Russia in Olympic pool play, an impromptu BBC interview with Ruby Tui won her legions of fans around the world. The Black Ferns star's candid answers and relentless… Read more Audio

5:35 AM.New findings show that rates of depression and anxiety amongst youth has doubled during the pandemic. Researchers looked at 29 studies of more than 80-thousand youth globally, and concluded that young… Read more Audio

5:31 AM.Yesterday it was Franklin the orphaned donkey foal who defied death.. today it's Geronimo the alpaca .. but his story may not have such a happy ending. You see the UK government want to kill him. It… Read more Audio

5:22 AM.New York Governor Andrew Cuomo has announced his resignation in the face of growing concerns about his treatement of women. Joining Nathan Rarere from Washington DC is our correspondent Simon Marks. Audio