First Up Podcast Options

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

5:47 AM.Some property owners in the small West Coast town of Reefton are in for whopping rates increases of more than 200 per cent if the Buller District Council adopts a proposed new rating formula. LDR is… Read more Audio

5:37 AM.Zoom call too boring? Want to see if everyone is really listening? For a mere $10 you can have a goat from Cronkshaw Fold Farm 'butt' into your Zoom call and thousands of people around the world are… Read more Video, Audio

5:35 AM.Auckland teenager Fran Jonas was doing typically teenage things when she got a rather untypical phone call this week. The 16-year-old spin bowler was yesterday named for the first time in the New… Read more Audio

5:26 AM.It's time for us to catch up with one of the ace reporters from the Local Democracy Reporting programme, the free public-interest news service dedicated to strengthening coverage of parts of New… Read more Audio

5:16 AM.For many New Zealanders, the idea of one day owning a home is little more than a dream. But in growing numbers, they're joining a global movement aimed at getting people on the property ladder despite… Read more Audio

5:53 AM.Investors will need a 40 percent deposit to get a mortgage as a result of new LVR rules announced by the Reserve Bank yesterday. The bank is reimposing Loan To Value ratios from next month at 20… Read more Audio

5:48 AM.Perhaps the main talking point from Parliament's first day back yesterday was when Maori-Party co-leader Rawiri Waititi was booted out of the house for refusing to wear a tie. Mr Waititi claimed that… Read more Audio

5:42 AM.Two students from AUT's Faculty of Design and Creative Technology have been selected as finalists in the Global Lexus Design Awards competition. During level 4 lockdown last year Jessica Vea and Gayle… Read more Audio

5:33 AM.Its time to talk about Meat without feet now with Brett Sellers from Foodstuffs who's got the latest from the fish markets - and we're talking about popular fish for Chinese New Year. Audio

5:24 AM.East Otago residents can still be tested for lead poisoning today as a result of the region's water contamination scare. Last Tuesday, residents in Waikouaiti and Karitane were first told about high… Read more Audio

5:12 AM.It's a big day in the United States where former president Donald Trump faces his second impeachment trial before the Senate. Mr Trump is accused of "incitement of insurrection" for riling up his… Read more Audio