Recognising talent behind the mic, the 2022 NZ Podcast Awards Presented by rova have announced the winners from a pool of more than 400 nominations. A panel of 32 Kiwi and international judges from the media and podcast industry selected the winners, with the aim of recognising the hard work of producers, media networks, talent, and independent podcasters in the thriving podcast industry in New Zealand. Among the winners, The Commune was awarded “Podcast of the Year” and “The Spotlight Award” for its excellent storytelling and sound design. Whakamāori won “Best Education” and “Best Māori or Pasifika Podcast or Host” for being an entertaining and engaging podcast that made the listener feel part of the whānau. The Lake received two awards for “Creativity” and “Best Factual Podcast,” and RNZ was awarded “Network of the Year” for the quality of their output.

How will more draconian policies fix the problems the last set of draconian policies created? The perception is that crime is out of control, despite the evidence showing a spike, but in context, isn’t the hysteria clickbait the mainstream media are selling it as. How will more draconian policies fix the problems the last set of draconian policies created? The same people screaming that the mainstream media are scaring us over Covid are more than happy to promote crime clickbait by that very same media! As the desperation drives violent crime via a Crime Porn News filter to insecure viewers, watch how the crime debate disintegrates into lynch mob level bumper sticker slogans.

Bay of Plenty have won their first New Zealand Men’s Interprovincial Golf Championship title in a decade in front of hundreds of their home supporters at Omanu Golf Club. The last time a Bay of Plenty side won the national match play competition was in 2012 at Otago Golf Club. The Bay side won 3.5 – 1.5, but the match was decided on the final hole between No.1s Mitchell Kale and Auckland’s Joshua Bai. Player of the Tournament went to Shaun Campbell, who went through the tournament undefeated at No.2, winning seven and a half out of eight matches. The Record of the Tournament went to Mitchell Kale who won seven out of eight at No.1.

Over the past seven days there has been 40,098 new cases of Covid-19 in the community reported to the Ministry of Health. The ministry are also reporting a further 35 deaths related to the virus. Of the community cases, 11,142 are reinfections. The seven-day rolling average of community cases has increased to 5721 while the seven-day rolling average of deaths attributed to Covid remains at three. Reinfections are also making up an increasing proportion of new infections – and some 27 per cent of the cases we know about.

Harry and Meghan tackle their rift with the royal family in a new documentary. Video / NetflixHarry and Meghan tackle their rift with the royal family in a new documentary. Video / NetflixThe Duke and Duchess of Sussex have been advised not to attend King Charles’ coronation. Former Conservative party leader Iain Duncan Smith told the Mail on Sunday newspaper: “If they dislike the royal family so much why would they attend the coronation?”And fellow Tory David Mellor added: “They shouldn’t come to the coronation. “The false narrative presented in this series could give rise to people with a fixation on the royal family to enact their fantasies.”

Here's our summary of key economic events over the weekend that affect New Zealand, with news this week brings the final chance by central banks to tackle inflation. Then the US will release its November CPI data which is expected to show inflation easing somewhat. We will end the week with US retail sales data and an ECB rate review, expected to bring a +50 bps rise to 2.5%. That ECB rate hike will be the last official central bank effort to tackle inflation in 2022. Also over the weekend, American producer prices rose a bit more than expected.

Ronaldo clears the airRonaldo clears the airCristiano RonaldoCristiano Ronaldo says his dream of winning the World Cup with Portugal has ended, while stopping short of announcing his retirement from international duty. Ronaldo left the field in tears after Portugal lost 1-0 to Morocco in the quarter final yesterday morning. In his first comments after the elimination, Ronaldo says it was time to take stock' without saying explicitly if he wants to carry on being available for Portugal. He says he just wants everybody to know that a lot has been said, a lot has been written, a lot has been speculated about, but his dedication to Portugal has never wavered for an instant. Meanwhile, in the first semi final, Argentina will take on Croatia on Wednesday at 7am.

Train Wreck: Perhaps the easiest way to describe what Willie Jackson’s new public broadcaster will be like, is to set out clearly what it will not be like. It will not be fair. It will not be balanced. It will not perceive itself as a platform ...

This week I am sharing a recipe with you that you should absolutely try, unless of course you’re dairy-free. STRAWBERRY & BASIL MOUSSEServes 6-8750g strawberries½ cup sugar1 teaspoon vanilla extract8 large basil leaves500ml creamSet aside four strawberries, hull the remainder then cut into quarters and put into a saucepan along with the sugar. Remove from the heat, add a pinch of sea salt, the vanilla and the basil leaves. Once the strawberries are cool, fish out the basil leaves (when I made this I couldn’t find one of my leaves and it was fine, so you don’t need to be too fussy!) Fan them out then use these to garnish the dessert along with a few tiny basil leaves if desired.

Not only has the crude oil price been falling but the Kiwi dollar has risen against the US dollar this month. Photo / Getty ImagesNot only has the crude oil price been falling but the Kiwi dollar has risen against the US dollar this month. Not only has the crude oil price been falling but the Kiwi dollar has risen against the US dollar this month. I suspect the reason local economists haven’t been quick to make a big deal of the oil price slump is that it might not last. Regardless, if we do face more inflationary pressure, then clearly it is preferable to be starting from a lower base for oil prices.

READ MORE:* Baby in donor blood case set for surgery within 48 hours after court ruling* Baby blood case: Doctors to decide on 'vaccinated' blood for baby, court rules* What's happening in the case of the baby and the blood donations? Aaron Wood/Stuff Former broadcaster Liz Gunn became a fierce advocate for the parents of a sick baby who requested 'unvaccinated blood' for his heart surgery. Unlike the low-fi Counterspin Media, Gunn specialises in well-produced, longer-form interviews that heavily feature Gunn herself. Please, I beg you.”SUPPLIED/Stuff Liz Gunn has been a forceful advocate for the parents of a baby requiring open-heart surgery. “She just needs peace and quiet to have her baby protected.”In fact, Gunn was actively shielding the baby’s parents from mainstream coverage.

Rebel MP Gaurav Sharma threw the Labour Party into a tailspin this year with explosive allegations of bullying. Sharma responds with a 2600-word statement on Facebook, providing a timeline of his interactions with Parliamentary Services and the Labour Party whips. Former Labour Party whip Kieran McAnulty, current Labour Party whip Duncan Webb, former MP Gaurav Sharma, and Labour leader Jacinda Ardern. 18 August 2022Sharma continues to level fresh accusations against the Labour Party in his first public interview since his suspension. 23 August 2022Gaurav Sharma speaks to media ahead of the vote that saw him expelled from the Labour Party.

Kiwis are paying through the nose for party drugs in New Zealand. (video first published in May 2018)Party drug MDMA – essentially ecstasy –is on the rise in New Zealand but an “unusual” spike came after someone seemingly flushed about $1.7 million of the party drug down a central Auckland toilet. When Customs intercepted 5 kilograms of the drug at the border in 2017 it was given a street value of $2.1m, giving the amount down the central Auckland wastewater system – about 4kg – an estimated value of $1.7m. An August police briefing to Police Minister Chris Hipkins, released under the Official Information Act, shows that wastewater testing was done in May – covering 33 sites nationally and 66% of the population – when a spike in MDMA was found. It was deemed as being dumped prior to being used because there was no following increase in metabolite, a by-product of using MDMA.

Announce protest actions, general chit chat or give your opinion on issues we haven’t covered for the day. Announce protest actions, general chit chat or give your opinion on issues we haven’t covered for the day. The Editor doesn’t moderate this blog, 3 volunteers do, they are very lenient to provide you a free speech space but if it’s just deranged abuse or putting words in bloggers mouths to have a pointless argument, we don’t bother publishing. EDITORS NOTE: – By the way, here’s a list of shit that will get your comment dumped. Sexist language, homophobic language, racist language, anti-muslim hate, transphobic language, Chemtrails, 9/11 truthers, Qanon lunacy, climate deniers, anti-fluoride fanatics, anti-vaxxer lunatics, 5G conspiracy theories, the virus is a bioweapon, some weird bullshit about the UN taking over the world and ANYONE that links to fucking infowar.

Right now, the real number of daily Covid infections is about twice as high as the daily reported cases. READ MORE:* Covid-19: Ministry of Health reports 24,068 new weekly Covid cases* Only 35% of Covid cases being reported, ministry says, after earlier saying it was 75%* Covid-19: Is our long-postponed infection survey still worth doing? A high ascertainment rate – closer to 100% – means the reported cases more closely match the true number of infections. Apply the case ascertainment rate and that means there were some 40,000 infection a day back in March. Ella Bates-Hermans/Stuff The case number totals you read about all the time are informed by largely self-reported Covid-19 cases.