Lynda La Plante is the queen of crime fiction. 

She has 50 novels to her name and is the creator of hit TV shows like Prime Suspect, Widows, and Above Suspicion.

Her works place compelling and determined women centre stage – Anna Travis, Jane Tennison, and Lorraine Page just a few of them.  

La Plante’s latest novel introduces a new lead detective, CSI Jessica Russell, as she brings together a team of scientists and experts to deal with a complicated and brutal crime. 

She joined Jack Tame to discuss the inspiration behind 'The Scene of the Crime’ and its focus on forensics. 

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The fourth studio album from Auckland-based band The Beths, ‘Straight Line Was A Lie’ explores some deeply personal topics within the band’s classic indie-rock sound.  

Estelle Clifford joined Jack Tame to give her thoughts on the band’s introspective album.  

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"Bobbing about on my bucket list for far too long, I’ve finally just enjoyed my first foray to heart-stealing Hamilton Island. Glamourous and gorgeous in equal measure this holiday jewel in the Whitsundays archipelago completely smashed my expectations. With an embarrassing surfeit of island vacay options in Queensland, I had assumed Hamilton Island, or Hamo as the locals call it, might just be another pleasant dime-a-dozen speck of palm-fringed sand, edging warm ocean water.  

"But Hamo is so much more."

Read Mike's full article here.

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There’s a common belief that having a pet is good for one’s wellbeing. You often hear stories about how looking into a dog’s eyes gives you an emotional boost or that using real and fake animals in rest homes boosts residents’ moods, but it turns out it’s not a guaranteed path to better mental health – reality is more nuanced.  

Some studies do find that pet owners report lower anxiety and loneliness, and greater life satisfaction. However, other studies show no significant difference, and some have even found that pet owners actually reported lower wellbeing, including higher loneliness, than non-owners.  

The type of bond between owner and pet plays a crucial role.  

Owners with insecure attachments (e.g. anxiety about separation or doubts about their pet’s affection) tend to report higher depression and anxiety – this likely to be worse if your pet also has insecure attachment and worries when you’re not there!  

Feeling a shared identity with a pet (e.g. similar traits or habits) is linked to better wellbeing, so if you look like your pet, you feel better – not sure what that says about me as I’ve got two miniature schnauzers!  

Mindful interaction with pets —appreciating their present-focused nature— can help owners stay grounded. This is the idea behind support animals for people with various types of disability  

Pets require time, energy, and financial resources, which can be stressful, and it’s sometimes the reason people give up pets early. 

During the pandemic, pet ownership was linked to lower wellbeing among women, parents, and those with unstable employment – probably because it was yet another thing to think of/worry about. 

Caring for sick pets or dealing with behavioural issues and grief after loss can be emotionally taxing.  

So, think carefully if you’re thinking about getting a pet! It’s not necessarily all it’s cracked up to be – but we wouldn’t give up ours for anything! 

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Manhattan Down by Michael Cordy  

On the anniversary eve of the 9/11 terror attack, New York swelters under a heat dome of record temperatures. Even the global leaders assembled at the UN HQ are forced to admit that the climate crisis has reached boiling point and the world's time is running out.  

That same day, at precisely 5-25 p.m., everyone on Manhattan Island - every man, woman and child, including all the world leaders at the UN - falls unconscious. Everyone that is, except for Samantha Rossi, a single mother reeling from devastating personal news and Nick Lockwood, a wounded NYPD detective who wakes from a coma just as the City That Never Sleeps falls into one.  

Rossi's first concern is her daughter. Lockwood's is his city. As night draws in, they must work together to unravel the mystery of what has happened and why. Each must decide how far they will go and what lines they will cross to save what matters most to them.  

Manhattan Down is a pulse-pounding contemporary thriller which dares to imagine the unimaginable, a leaderless world being held to ransom by forces unknown for reasons unknown. The questions it asks are terrifying - and so are some of the answers. 

The Cut Throat Trial by S.J. Fleet, The Secret Barrister  

It is one of the biggest trials of the year. Three seventeen-year-old boys are accused of the brutal murder of an elderly teacher on New Year's Eve. 

Each boy denies it. 
Each points the finger at the other two. 
But they can’t all be innocent. 

The three defence barristers have only one job: to persuade the jury that their client is not guilty. But they’re up against a prosecutor who needs to win the case, no matter the cost. 

Because when the game is murder, the competition is deadly. 

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On the Saturday Morning with Jack Tame Full Show Podcast for Saturday 30 August 2025, the grand dame of crime fiction, Lynda La Plante joins Jack to discuss how her characters fit in the modern world of publishing and her new book ‘Scene of the Crime’. 

Jack weighs up the balance between transparency, trust, and the public service. 

As thoughts turn towards summer, travel correspondent Mike Yardley explores Hamilton Island and the Whitsundays. 

Tech expert Paul Stenhouse explains the use of AI in the US's 911 call centres.  

And are pets as good for our wellbeing as we like to think? Clinical psychologist Dougal Sutherland explores life satisfaction as a pet owner. 

Get the Saturday Morning with Jack Tame Full Show Podcast every Saturday on iHeartRadio, or wherever you get your podcasts. 

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Iron deficiencies are an important but often hidden issue – the most common mineral deficiency in the world. Not having enough iron in the body can lead to a range of health problems.  

Why is iron so important in the body?  

• It’s important for making red blood cells in our blood, which carries oxygen around the body.  
• If we don’t have enough iron, we don’t produce enough red blood cells – we call this anaemia. 
• It’s also important for the immune system and growth and development in children.  

How does it affect us if we don’t have enough iron on board?  

• There are all sorts of symptoms that develop, the most common of which is feeling tired or fatigued.  
• Headaches, feeling short of breath, and interesting things like hair loss or brittle nails, racing heart, or ‘feeling the cold’. 
• You may just look ‘pale’. 

What causes it to happen?  

There are three big groups of causes:  

• Blood loss over time.  
  • Commonest cause is women with heavy menstrual bleeding.   
  • Sometimes hidden blood loss in the gut can indicate a serious issue like bowel cancer – if concerned, we will investigate it.  
• Not eating enough iron in our diet.  
  • That can be an issue especially for if you are vegetarian or vegan, as big source of iron is meat. Sometimes an issue for children.  
• What we call ‘malabsorption’.  
  • Not absorbing iron through the stomach. Can be due to things like stomach bypass surgery for weight loss or some stomach infections.  

What can we do about it?  

• It’s important if you are feeling tried or run down you see your GP for a simple blood test, which will tell us if you’re iron deficient. 
• If there is an underlying cause like blood loss, it will be treated or we’ll look for bowel issues.  
• If you are iron deficient, diet is incredibly important.  
• Obviously, meat or fish is an important source.  
• If you are vegan or vegetarian making sure adjust your diet to include more iron – green leafy vegetables, nuts, and seeds. Fruit (Vitamin C) with meals as helps iron be absorbed.  
• Be careful as tannins in coffee and tea stop iron being absorbed.  
• Sometimes you do need iron supplements to boost your iron or occasionally an iron infusion at the GP to get your iron store back up. 

If you are concerned see your GP. 

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Understaffed 911 call centres are turning to AI to help  

911 callers come with some of the most urgent and serious issues, most of the time. But people also, stupidly, call 911 for noise complaints, lost wallets, and more. People see 911 as the way to reach the police.   

This means the operators are run off their feet dealing with all sorts of nonsense. Now there's a startup training its AI agents on 911 calls to help triage and get humans on the more important calls. It's being used in around a dozen call centres today.   

But can you imagine hearing, "I'm sorry, but I didn't quite understand you... can you say it again... police? Fire? Ambulance?" How do you feel about this one?  

Tech is helping make fake leather smell like real leather  

The company, Uncaged, says they can create a durable, animal and climate-friendly material that feels and even smells like leather. Hyundai has partnered with the company to test it for its cars and trucks and joins Jaguar Land Rover on their client list. A car can take anywhere from two to 14 cowhides to do the interior, delivering a carbon footprint 95% lower than that of leather. The automakers need it to be able to withstand hot temperatures for 500 hours, which can be a challenge for non-leather.  

Companies have been trying this for years – Apple moved away from leather cases for iPhones to a material called "FineWoven" that didn't hold up, and they've subsequently discontinued.  

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Atomic  

Two civilians get caught up in a cartel's uranium smuggling across North Africa. Facing a nuclear threat, they must decide whether to save themselves or stop the bomb delivery while evading agencies and traffickers (TVNZ+). 

King & Conqueror   

In the mid-11th century, noblemen Harold of Wessex and William of Normandy are exploited as pawns in royal plots on both side of the Channel. The coronation of King Edward in England leads to the pair's first encounter. Harold warns his father, Earl Godwin, of a rival's treachery - but he is ignored (Neon). 

Hostage  

When the British prime minister's husband is kidnapped and the French president starts receiving threats, both leaders must face an impossible choice (Netflix). 

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The Courier smiled as he deposited the two catalogues on our door-step – he knows we’re Nature Nerds, and so do the lovely folk at Kings Seeds.   

We both settled in front of the fireplace, going through the Nurture/Nourish reading. I was checking all the tomato varieties and other food delicacies, while Juuls browsed all the pretty stuff in Kings Seeds line-up.  

Always interesting to see how two people focus on the plant species that is close to their Heart, Art, and Stomach!

I kept my Tomato wishes in the same group it's always been: Bloody Butcher and Tigerella, while sniffing around the Cherry Tomatoes in all their magnificent colours.  

Last March I managed to harvest the seeds of Tomato Gardeners delight, so those are also ready to be sown, along with Black Krim and Tessaloniki and some more tomato seeds living in my shed. Now it is a matter of sorting out where they’ll go in the tunnel house. 

Watermelon Sugar Baby is something I haven't grown for far too long – it's a yummy dessert!   

Remarkably, Julie decided to interfere in my choices by flagging the tomatoes Brandy Wine Pink and Kellogs Breakfast. This feels like an attack on my tunnel house too. But then again, she reckons that beefsteak tomatoes are very useful when cooking!   

She’s right, of course!  

Her Botanical knowledge is quite amazing and going through a catalogue is like re-arranging the garden:   

Aster King Size Apricot feels like one of those new varieties that she needs to try. I reckon it's probably decades old and had (so far) escaped her attention – it's pink!  

Talking about "pink": How about a Banana ornamental Pink!  

Julie has always loved Cosmos. She just fell in love with the Cosmos double click Rose Bon bon simply because it is part of "creative writing" – something that English Teachers really appreciate. Rose Pink Blooms with multiple layers of ruffled petals -what's not to like?     

Lysimachia Beaujolais is something I cannot remember having seen before. It’s a stunning plant that looks like it would dominate the borders in your garden with dark wine-coloured flowers on spikes. I look forward to Julie’s decision of where to plant it.  

Poppy Amazing Grey is not your regular bright red poppy, but a purple-grey variety that would work well with a coloured background. This is a great flower to experiment with. As is often the case with poppies, keep the seeds for a few weeks in the fridge before sowing.  

I was invited to take a close look at a new Thalictrum, Thalictrum White – “Just want to point out this plant will be attracting bees and other Entomological critters”. I reckon I should go out at night and bathe the pure white flowers in UV Torch-light!  

Zinnia elegans is a group of wonderful cut flowers in amazing colours. Have a look at the Kings Seeds Catalogue: 20 different varieties giving your garden surprising powers of accent. Zinnia Queen Lime blush ended up as Julie’s choice of 2025/26.   

Lime coloured! 

Finally we agreed on a regular food item for Spring, Summer, and Autumn: a decent type of Lettuce, Lettuce Little Caesar. 

But this one? Honestly?  

Gotta be English! Organic Pumpkin New England Pie. 

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