First Up Podcast Options

5:36 AM.A painting by celebrated Dunedin artist John Z Robinson has been sold in London, but with a forged inscription from the artist it was meant as a tribute to. Mr Robinson painted a series in honour of… Read more Audio

5:32 AM.Retiring Kiwi Fern Honey Hireme-Smiler couldn't quite make it to a seventh World Cup. The cross-code star is hanging up her footy boots after nearly 20 years as an elite athlete and with four Rugby… Read more Audio

5:23 AM.A leading New Zealand health researcher says this country needs an over-arching public health programme to tackle the obesity epidemic. A new global study has shown that children in New Zealand… Read more Audio

5:10 AM.To Europe where, just over a week after a terrorist attack in Vienna, the EU is coming to terms with the on-going issue of Islamic extremism. Four people were killed and another 23 injured when a… Read more Audio

5:52 AM.With election day looming, the campaign for some of the birds are well and truly heating up, with some turning to Donald Trump for inspiration. Under the banner "the Orange Face You Can Trust", the… Read more Audio

5:47 AM.It's been a big year in politics but it's not over yet, the hotly contested and brutal election of New Zealands' bird of the year is back. Voting began at the start of this month and closes on at 5 on… Read more Audio

5:42 AM.After yesterday's fantastic news that drug company Pfizer has developed a 90 per cent effective Covid-19 vaccine, the race to get final approval and have it distributed around the world is on. Pfizer… Read more Audio

5:35 AM.An iceberg nearly five times the size of Auckland is on a collision course with the sub-Antarctic island of South Georgia. The huge iceberg carved off the Antarctic Peninsula a couple of years ago and… Read more Audio

5:30 AM.It's time for our fortnightly look at Kai Moana .. what we can find in the seas and our stores around New Zealand. Nathan Rarere spoke with our fish expert - Foodstuff's Seafood operations manager… Read more Audio

5:22 AM.Each week we take a look at a small New Zealand business and this morning we'll hear from one of the few jewellers still carrying out the highly-skilled craft by hand. Brett Liddle has been making and… Read more Audio

5:09 AM.To the United States now, where President Trump is no closer to conceding the US Election. And it appears that his heels are more than just a little dug in. Nathan Rarere spoke with our correspondent… Read more Audio

5:07 AM.Emergency services, Council staff and Locals will continue the clean up operation in Napier today. Hundreds of properties are still without power, and the city's wastewater system remains overloaded… Read more Audio

5:52 AM.As Covid-19 cases rise overseas so does the desire of doctors wanting to come to New Zealand shores. Medical recruitment agencies say demand to move to the country has sky rocketed this year with the… Read more Audio

5:47 AM.Back to the US now where President Donald Trump has yet to concede the election to President-elect Joe Biden. And many Republicans politicians are backing his stance, telling the President to not to… Read more Audio

5:43 AM.A local state of emergency has been declared in Napier, after a record-breaking amount of rain dumped itself over the city in one day. The 237-millimetres of rainfall caused widespread surface… Read more Audio

5:34 AM.With all the rain about a tropical holiday would be good right about now A government delegation will visit the Cook Islands later this week to assess the suitability of creating a travel bubble with… Read more Audio

5:31 AM.The North Canterbury trainer Regan Todd will have his first ever runner in the New Zealand Trotting Cup at Addington this afternoon. 30 year old Todd took over the training of former Cup winner The… Read more Audio

5:23 AM.This week TradeMe has the usual fine selection of interesting auctions including one of the most excellent caravan restorations you are likely to see anywhere. But first, producer Jeremy Parkinson… Read more Audio

5:10 AM.We head to the UK now as England's second lockdown continues to drag on. Joining Nathan Rarere is our correspondent Henry Riley. Audio

5:43 AM.A second Defence Force employee has tested positive for Covid-19, and flew from Auckland to Wellington after becoming infected. The first case, which was announced on Friday, had been working at the… Read more Audio

5:31 AM.It's comedy season again, with the New Zealand Christmas Comedy Gala kicking off a side-splitting summer of lols. And one of the stars of the show is Billy T James award winner Justine Smith. Nathan… Read more Audio

5:23 AM.It's Monday, and time to join Glenn Forsyth, our Minister of Fruit and Veges from the fresh produce markets. Audio

5:06 AM.After a gruelling five days of waiting for the votes to be tallied, Joe Biden has emerged as the next President of the United States. He addressed a jubilant drive-in crowd in his home state of… Read more Audio