First Up Podcast Options

5:15 AM.COVID-19 appeared from nowhere last year and changed the world as we know it. But a number of scientists have been working on ways to predict where the next coronavirus might emerge. A new study out… Read more Audio

5:09 AM.Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has had a crack at Australia for dumping responsibility for a woman and two young children detained at the Turkish border on New Zealand. The PM says the woman, who had… Read more Audio

5:53 AM.We stay with the Covid outbreak now, which has Auckland under an Alert Level 3 lockdown and the rest of the country at level 2. Who better to talk us through developments than microbiologist Dr… Read more Audio

5:48 AM.As of yesterday afternoon, community testing centres had swabbed close to 2300 people in Auckland alone. A pop-up testing centre has been set up at Papatoetoe High School, while New Plymouth - where… Read more Audio

5:36 AM.The first Covid-19 Pfizer/BioNTech vaccines have landed. They'll be administered to frontline border workers from this Saturday. Health officials expect all New Zealanders aged over 16 to be… Read more Audio

5:16 AM.The amount of wastewater tests for Covid-19 has increased across Auckland and New Plymouth in response to the discovery of new community cases of the virus. ESR are now testing daily for Covid-19 in… Read more Audio

5:13 AM.A petition started by the Green Party calling for the urgent banning of conversion therapies has reached 80-thousand signatures in just 38 hours. Last night First Up producer Matthew Theunissen spoke… Read more Audio

5:08 AM.To the UK now where Nathan Rarere was joined by our correspondent Henry Riley where the big news is the quarantine hotels which are up and running from today. Audio

5:51 AM.Nathan Rarere spoke with the latest Covid lockdown developments is University of Otago epidemiologist Professor Michael Baker. Audio

5:45 AM.The Green Party says the government could be liable for war crimes over the exports of military equipment to Saudi Arabian forces. Documents received by RNZ show a New Zealand exporter obtained… Read more Audio

5:37 AM.Luna Rossa have extended their lead over Team UK after winning another two races in the America's Cup Challenger Selection Series finals yesterday. The Italians won the first race by 13 seconds and… Read more Audio

5:25 AM.It's Monday morning so the Minister of Fresh Fruit and Vegetables Glenn Forsyth is here to talk about brussel sprouts, melons and antioxidant-rich passionfruit. Audio

5:15 AM.New research has highlighted the risk Covid-19 poses to wildlife in one of the most remote places on earth - Antarctica A group of 15 scientists published a paper this week which found that despite… Read more Audio

5:11 AM.To Australia, we join our correspondent Pam Corkery where the government has suspended quarantine-free travel with New Zealand overnight. Audio

5:06 AM.To the US, where Donald Trump was yesterday found not guilty of riling up a violent mob of his supporters who went on to storm the US Capitol, resulting in five deaths. Senators yesterday voted 57 to… Read more Audio

5:52 AM.He's got no flight attendants or even a plane to put them on but from June, mortgage entrepreneur turned airline boss Mike Pero will add another airline to the lonely skies between the Cook Islands… Read more Audio

5:47 AM.As part of a weekly animal segment this year, we're speaking to animal sanctuaries around New Zealand The Pukaha National Wildlife Centre is an unfenced sanctuary for native wildlife and a visitor… Read more Audio

5:36 AM.New Zealand is an archipelego sitting on top of a sea of magma and shifting tectonic plates. It's a good thing, then, that we've got people like GNS 'hazards and risk scientist' Sally Potter here to… Read more Audio

5:24 AM.Joining Nathan from his hometown of Wellington is our Minister of Fruit and Veges Glenn Forsyth who's been catching up with local growers and sellers. Audio

5:16 AM.From the Festival that brought you Pussy Riot in 2019 - Auckland Live's Fringe Town is back for 2021. For a week, artists take over the Auckland Town Hall as part of the Auckland Fringe Festival and… Read more Audio

5:11 AM.To the United States now where former president Donald Trump's second impeachment trial is into its third day. Shocking new evidence has been introduced, including footage of Vice President Mike Pence… Read more Audio

5:06 AM.Nadine Hickman's own struggles with mental health gave her the drive to do 'more than just lament' when she heard New Zealand's mental health statistics. So she's started a magazine called PEPTALK… Read more Audio

9:40 AM.Turning to Europe now which is battling not only outbreaks of new COVID strains but some of the chilliest temperatures in a decade. Catherine Walbridge speaks with Nathan Rarere from Vienna, Austria.

5:52 AM.A bit of a palaver in parliament this week with Maori Party co-leader Rawiri Waititi being booted out of the house by speaker Trevor Mallard for refusing to wear a tie - but who exactly is the man… Read more Audio