Ellie Jay
Best of First Up for Friday 7 May
In the pod today: New Zealand's IPL cricketers begin their exodus from Covid-ravaged India; a middle-aged cool Mum doing stand up: flights to and from New South Wales are on hold until midnight… Audio
Best of First Up for Thursday 6 May
In the pod today: we speak with the winner of the Champions of Cheese Awards; the Cricket Players Association says that New Zealand's IPL stars hope to leave India within the next 24 hours and the… Audio
Podcast Critic: Ellie Jay
Featuring The improvement association, The Lazarus heist and 'something rhymes with purple'. Audio
Best of First Up for Wednesday 5 May
In the pod today: Sol3 Mio singer encourages others by getting the Covid-19 vaccine; no one wants to see the head lice notice come home from school ... but one Northland woman saw a business… Audio
Best of First Up for Tuesday 4 May
In the pod today: the Indian Youth Congress tells us it was just answering a call for help when they delivered an oxygen tank to the New Zealand High Commission in New Delhi; buckle up, we're going to… Audio
The Wonderful World of TradeMe with Logan Mudge
This week in the wonderful world of TradeMe we've gone political. The Prime Minister has taken to the easel again all in the name of charity and a Christmas post card that may or may not be from the… Audio
Best of First Up for Monday 3 May
In the pod today: a leading epidemiologist says we shouldn't risk sending our athletes to Tokyo for the Olympics; nine border workers lose their jobs because they refuse to be vaccinated and how is… Audio
Best of First Up for Friday 30 April
In the pod today: We catch up with Joseph Parker as he prepares for his first fight under a new trainer; a woman excommunicated by the Exclusive Brethren Church likens it to becoming a refugee in her… Audio
Takahe slowly being brought back from extinction
Here at First Up we absolutely love native birds and April is Takahe awareness month. These Native taonga are slowly being brought back from the brink of extinction. Julie Harvey is Takahe Advocacy… Audio
Robertson: future of rugby, NZers stuck in India
New Zealand Rugby holds its Annual General Meeting today where members will consider a bid by American company Silver Lake to but a 12.5 per cent stake in the organisation. It's seeking approval for a… Audio
Cook Islands still waiting for opening of travel bubble
Cook Islanders are patiently waiting for the travel bubble with New Zealand to open as the country's tourism operators shut shop ... but it keeps being put off ... and put off. A two-way travel bubble… Audio
LDR Wairarapa: Carterton Council by-election
As we do every week, it's time now to catch up with one our reporters from the Local Democracy Programme. The free public-interest news service is dedicated to strengthening coverage of local… Audio
Fiji goes into lockdown after new Covid cases announced
We head to Fiji where the country is in lockdown as the country's Covid cases top 100. Ellie Jay spoke with our Fiji correspondent Lice Movono shortly after the government announced two new Covid… Audio
Whangarei Mayor disappointed at WA traveller in Northland
A man is self isolating in Northland after travelling to New Zealand from Perth, despite the city being in lockdown. The breach was found during routine passenger checks after the man arrived here on… Audio
New MP: ACT's Toni Severin
One of the big winners of the 2020 election was undoubtedly the ACT party which went from one solitary member of parliament to a caucus of 10. ACT was clearly the big opposition winner from the swing… Audio
Up Down Girl at the Circa theatre, Wellington
Showing at the Circa theatre in Wellington this week is an honest and uplifting inclusive play. Up Down Girl is about the extraodrinary life of a person with Down Syndrome and their mother's… Audio
Reti:diversifying trade away from China good thing
Ellie Jay asked the National Party's deputy leader Shane Reti whether he thought the criticism of the Government over its relationship with our Five Eyes partners is justified. Audio
Buchanan: Five Eyes criticism of NZ rooted in misogyny
A leading defence analyst says the backlash the government is facing over its reluctance to extend the Five Eyes alliance beyond security matters is entirely misguided and seems rooted in misogyny… Audio
Kurtis Imrie joins paddling sister with Olympic selection
With less than 100 days to go until the Tokyo Olympics we are speaking with as many Olympic athletes as possible to hear how they're preparing. Canoe sprinters Max Brown and Kurtis Imrie are set to… Audio
The Wonderful World of TradeMe with Millie Silvester
This week's feature auctions on Trade Me include an incredible collection of Chinese porcelain - 41 pieces of the finest Nanking China with a fine price to match - and a multi-million dollar property… Audio