First Up Podcast Options

5:50 AM.Nathan Rarere spoke with Canterbury University Covid-19 modeller Michael Plank. Audio

5:42 AM.New South Wales recorded 77 new community cases of Covid-19 yesterday, 33 of whom are believed to have been out and about while infectious. Sadly, a woman in her 90s became the first person to die in… Read more Audio

5:34 AM.We head to Fiji now where Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama announced last night that the country will not go into lockdown because, he says, it will destroy the country's future. Nathan Rarere spoke… Read more Audio

5:23 AM.We're just on a month into winter - and here for his Monday look at the state of fresh produce is our Minster of Fruit and vegetables, Glenn Forsyth. Audio

5:16 AM.Social workers say changes are needed at Oranga Tamariki, so that they can make better decisions when they're faced with possible cases of abuse and neglect. The Independent Children's Monitor has… Read more Audio

5:12 AM.To the UK we head and the football frenzy that is London where we're joined by our correspondent Henry Riley. Audio

5:07 AM.Sir Richard Branson has been launched into space on his Virgin Galactic ship VSS Unity. Sir Richard and a number of other passengers on the craft were released from their mothership at twenty past… Read more Audio

5:52 AM.From early next term high school students in Whanganui over the age of 16 will receive their first doses of the Covid-19 vaccine. Bruce Jones is the Whanganui District Health Board's communicable… Read more Audio

5:47 AM.In Australia, Sydney residents have been told that the next eight days will determine the way they live for the rest of the year. It comes as the city recorded a record 38 cases of Covid-19 infections… Read more Audio

5:43 AM.Now here's one that may have some people squirming in their seats. Data journalist Farah Hancock has been investigating who eats all the food we produce in New Zealand and she's uncovered an… Read more Audio

5:22 AM.Right now is the perfect time to be planting two aromatic vegetables that can make a big difference in flavour in your cooking. And lucky for kiwis, for the first time in nearly a decade New Zealand… Read more Audio

5:14 AM.Denika Mead is 17 and she's a self published author, living in Wellington she's released 3 fantasy books over the past two years. They are called 'The Royal orchid Trilogy' and Denika says they're… Read more Audio

5:09 AM.Washington DC correspondent, Nick Harper spoke to Ellie Jay about the assassination of Haiti's President Jovenel Moise, Joe Bidens response to the assassination, What's to be expected with Joe Bidens… Read more Audio

5:50 AM.Earlier Firstup spoke to hospitality worker of 16 years Chloe Ann-King who told us she doesn't believe there is a skills shortage in New Zealand. She believed the industry just isn't paying kiwis… Read more Audio

5:47 AM.Football fans in England are gearing up for a nail biting evening as they take on Denmark in the semi-finals of the Euros, If England win the match it'll be the first time they have been in a… Read more Audio

5:37 AM.A long-time hospitality worker and union rep says the sector's staff shortage isn't just down to border retrictions and if employers offered better pay and conditions the roles would be filled by New… Read more Audio

5:34 AM.New Zealand's vaccine programme has another string in its bow - with a second Covid-19 vaccine getting sign-off. The regulator Medsafe has approved the single-dose Yanssen vaccine for those aged 18… Read more Audio

5:31 AM.Silver Fern Maia Wilson took to social media this week to share the journey she's on with her body image. Publically opening up about her struggles that started as a young athlete wasn't easy for the… Read more Audio

5:23 AM.Our seqment LDR, where we join one of the reporters from the Local Democracy Reporting programme and this morning we headed to the far south Ellie Jay caught up with LDR's Southland journalist Matthew… Read more Audio

5:15 AM.The Animal rescue charity HUHA has taken in over 40 rabbits which were among hundreds being hoarded in an Auckland house Helping you Help Animals is among the animal rescue organisations who offered… Read more Audio

5:09 AM.A New Zealander staying in Fiji has turned his attention to helping keep people fed, as a former health minister urges Fijians to eat less and to grow their own food due to shortages. Covid-19 cases… Read more Audio

5:05 AM.Anita Purcell spoke to Ellie Jay about the latest in Europe. A citizen in Germany has been arrested on suspicion of spying, a prominent journalist has been shot in the Netherlands, President Putin has… Read more Audio

5:53 AM.Celia Hay, the Director of the New Zealand School of Food and Wine, speaks to Nathan Rarere about the understaffed hospitality industry and how most hospitality students have already been snapped up.

5:47 AM.Restaurants across New Zealand have been forced to close their doors as Covid-19 border restrictions cause understaffing in the hospitality industry. The industry is calling for urgent visa… Read more Audio