Sunday Morning

8:10 Mark Reason: big weekend wins for Kiwi rugby

Mark Reason, Stuff’s senior sports columnist, gives us his post-match analysis of the first 2025 Bledisloe Cup test match, and the Black Ferns win over France in Women's World Cup Bronze final.

 

8:25 The Sunday Morning Quiz 

Quiz master Jack Waley-Cohen is back with his Sunday Morning quiz. 

Jack is the mind behind the questions on BBC's quiz show Only Connect, known for being both hard — and at the same time totally obvious. Wake up your brain and have a go!  

 

8:30 Dr Vonda Wright: how I transformed my ageing body 

As menopause approached, Dr Vonda Wright found herself in the same position as many women, her brain was foggy and her body hurt. But she took the situation by the reins and rebuilt herself.  

 Now the orthopedic surgeon and longevity specialist is sharing her wisdom with new book Unbreakable: A Woman’s Guide to Ageing With Power. She joins Jim to discuss how she got her health back on track.

 

9:10 Mediawatch 

Bad news about the economy keeps piling up, and it's piling pressure on the politicians in charge of it. Mediawatch asks if the media are shining light in the right places. Also - Trump takes on US media companies - and two stalwarts of TV current affairs are back with a new online show promising to tackle taboo topics. 

 

9.35 Karen Kasler: is Trump mentally fit to be president? 

Long-winded speeches that go off track and unsubstantiated claims have become a hallmark of Trump’s two presidencies, but are we actually witnessing a world leader in mental decline?  

US correspondent Karen Kasler joins Jim to discuss some of the mounting concerns around Trump’s mental acuity. 

 

10:10 Bill Bryson: A Short History of Nearly Everything 2.0 

Much-loved American British journalist and author Bill Bryson is heading back to our shores for two shows in February 2026. The tour comes as Bryson unveils an updated edition of his best-selling book A Short History of Nearly Everything, originally published in 2003. 

Bryson joins Jim to discuss some of the developments since his book was initially published, and how science has shifted in the last 22 years. 

 

10:45 Dr Ali Hill: The Nutrition Edition 

Dr Ali Hill from Otago University's Department of Human Nutrition is back with us on Sunday Morning. This week we talk about the role of diet in inflammation, the benefits of eating thyme, the viral ‘Sleepy Girl Mocktail’ being heralded online, and more. 

 

11:05 Al Gillespie: Unpacking Peters’ announcement on Palestine 

Foreign Minister Winston Peters is set to make a highly-anticipated announcement on whether New Zealand will be joining the growing list of countries recognising a Palestinian state.  

Waikato University International Law professor Alexander Gillespie joins Jim to discuss the implications of Peters’ announcement. 

 

11:15 Jocelyn Crowley: The reality of a ‘grey divorce’ 

Divorce in later life - or grey divorce - is on the rise in New Zealand. Divorces among people over 50 sits just shy of 40 percent at last count, up 7 percent in the last decade. This echoes the upwards trending rates around the globe. Most commonly, they are initiated by women. 

Jocelyn Crowley, a professor of public policy at Rutgers University in the US has researched and written Gray Divorce. She joins Jim to discuss. 

 

11:40 Wade Jackson: using improv comedy to connect people

Wade Jackson is an improv comedian and performance coach, and the founder of the Covert Theatre, the country's only improv theatre which is tucked away off Ponsonby Road in Auckland city.

In an effort to curb the country's loneliness epidemic and rekindle human connection, Wade has launched The Social Club, a free comedy show that’s running every Friday until Christmas.