First Up Podcast Options

5:23 AM.Covid-19 modeller Shaun Hendy admits he's nervous about Auckland moving down alert levels. The government will meet tomorrow to decide whether the current alert levels will change at 11.59pm on Sunday… Read more Audio

5:10 AM.To Australia, where this week it was announced the country was officially in recession. Indira Stewart discussed with broadcaster and former Alliance MP Pam Corkery. Audio

5:53 AM.Is it worth testing travellers before they fly here? It's a policy the National Party want to bring in should they win the election - but critics believe it could go against civil liberties. Indira… Read more Audio

5:48 AM.At least five of the people who tested positive for Covid-19 in managed isolation yesterday had tested negative before boarding their flight here. They had all travelled from India via Fiji - landing… Read more Audio

5:45 AM.Stranded on Waiheke Island, sleeping in cars and struggling to make ends meet. According to the Waiheke Budgeting Services Trust, that's the situation 200 foreign nationals are facing, after getting… Read more Audio

5:37 AM.A Maori specialist in artificial intelligence says it's only a matter of time before a Maori or Pasifika person is wrongfully arrested because of a false match on facial recognition software. Police… Read more Audio

5:25 AM.From waste plastic to earrings worn by the Prime Minister. For today's NZ Made business feature we're speaking to Remix Plastic's Anthea Madill, who sells jewellery and other products made from… Read more Audio

5:12 AM.The Green School is open to paying back some of the near 12 million dollars its set to receive from the government's fund for shovel ready projects. Following widespread outrage, Green Party co-leader… Read more Audio

5:07 AM.We begin in US, where President Trump is on his way to the flashpoint of recent unrest, Kenosha Wisconsin. It's been just over a week since unarmed black man Jacob Blake was shot in the back seven… Read more Audio

11:10 AM.Face masks have been an unexpected lifesaver for one Taupo family. Two weeks ago 15-year-old Wilson Simmonds began sewing and selling face masks to help his parents pay his sporting fees. Wilson is… Read more Audio

5:53 AM.After being made redundant from her fashion industry job, Ayla Bligh set up a new New Zealand fashion label, selling limited edition masks with matching hair scrunchies. Within a week of launcing, 'By… Read more Audio

5:44 AM.Gore's district mayor says putting a fire out at the Old Paper Mill in Mataura has not ended the danger of eight thousand tonnes of toxic waste. Yesterday, Fire and Emergency extinguished a blaze only… Read more Audio

5:33 AM.Fiordland locals are being encouraged to bring family and friends to the region during the school holidays - and they'll get a freebie in return. The area's been hit hard by the lack of tourism - so… Read more Audio

5:24 AM.TradeMe's feature auction today is for a visit with New Zealand's biggest baby, the Auckland Zoo's newborn rhino. But if a Rhino visit isn't your cup of tea, there's also morning tea with Sir Richard… Read more Audio

5:10 AM.Gyms say it's first in first served for gym goers at alert level two-point-five - but new work schedules due to Covid-19 are helping to reduce the rush. Auckland gyms opened their doors for the first… Read more Audio

5:06 AM.Indira Stewart looks at the stories dominating the headlines in the UK with our correspondent Henry Riley. Audio

5:52 AM.Auckland is no longer in lockdown - but hasn't moved a full step down to alert level 2. That means social gatherings in the supercity are limited to 10 people, except for funerals and tangihanga, and… Read more Audio

5:49 AM.Students in Auckland are heading back to school today amidst the country's biggest covid-19 cluster and new mask requirements. And while they are keen to get back into the classroom, many say they are… Read more Audio

5:44 AM.People with loved ones in Auckland care homes are being asked to be patient. While the supercity was under alert level three restrictions, aged care facilities implemented strict level 4 lockdown… Read more Audio

5:37 AM.Auckland restaurants, cafes and bars are relieved to be opening their doors again today - despite the supercity not yet moving fully down to alert level 2. The city has instead been moved to what the… Read more Audio

5:23 AM.Joining Indira Stewart for the weekend up date from the fresh produce markets is our Minister of Fruit and Veges Glenn Forsyth - he's back in the Auckland markets and his list of 9 recommended fruit… Read more Audio

5:10 AM.Environmentalists worried a population of bats could be pushed to extinction by a housing development are taking their fight to court. The critically endangered long-tailed bats - pekapeka - live… Read more Audio

5:53 AM.Auckland University Law Professor Bill Hodge joined Indira Stewart to talk about how sending the gunman back to his home country to serve out his sentence - might work out. Audio

5:48 AM.Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters wants convicted terrorist Brenton Tarrant sent back to Australia so New Zealand taxpayers don't have to foot the hefty bill for his incarceration. The mass… Read more Audio

5:46 AM.Caution is being called over any rush to enhance police powers related to suspected terrorism. Authorities here are eyeing Britain's legal framework which, among other things, grants power to arrest… Read more Audio