Yellowface by Rebecca Kuang. Young, smart and extraordinarily prolific writer with some fantasy to her name and then the book Babel which has been very strong since published in September last year. This new one is very different - set in the world of publishing, there’s a huge buzz around it internationally. It’s about two writers, one of whom has made it and the other hasn’t - so when the successful author suddenly dies, she steals her work in progress and presents it as her own - trouble is the original author was Asian and the story has Asian themes; and our thief is white. She changes her name to Juniper Song which is more ambiguous and shoots up to the top of the bestseller charts, all the while terrified she’ll be found out. It is absolutely scathing about the publishing industry. I reckon HarperCollins only published it to make sure they keep getting all of her other books. It’s very good. 

A Line in the Sand by Kevin Powers. He wrote a book called The Yellow Birds several years ago - set in Iraq, he is himself a veteran of the Iraqi war. This one is about an Iraqi man who was working as an interpreter for the US in Baghdad, but after witnessing (and filming) a massacre carried out by an American Defense contracting team, he’s taken to the US for safekeeping. One day he finds a body on the beach and clues quickly point to the dead man being on his trail, and his new life is suddenly threatened. The themes of the book are concerned with the privatisation of military functions - how Defense Contractors are signing squillion dollar contracts with the US government and then not being held to account. It’s terrific - part mystery and part thriller. 

LISTEN ABOVE

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

BloggerAtLarge's Megan Singleton got a new experience on her fourth trip to Palm Springs in Séc-he.

The Spa at Séc-he is built on the ancient site of Agua Caliente Hot Mineral Spring, using the natural hot springs to fill the pools.

Megan Singleton says one appointment will allow visitors to use all the facilities- gym, natural spring pools, sauna, and salt cave.

Read more about Megan's trip to Palm Springs here.

LISTEN ABOVE

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The early results are in- Netflix's strategy to increase subscribers by cracking down on password sharing works.

The streaming service has reported the biggest jump in subscribers since the early days of Covid-19, thanks to their new limitations on account sharing.

US subscribers can only use accounts within one household- users will have to pay an extra fee to add outside members on.

Flicks.co.nz editor Steve Newall says the streaming wars have entered a new phase where further growth isn't possible without extra measures.

LISTEN ABOVE

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

New York journalist and author David Grann subverted colonial stereotypes in his retelling of a seafaring story.

On January 28, 1742, thirty survivors of His Majesty’s Ship the Wager washed up months after being wrecked off off the coast of Patagonia, and the crew were greeted as heroes.

Six months later, three more castaways turned up off the coast of Chile with a different story about how everyone survived the experience.

David Grann says the seeds of destruction within this story were there from the beginning, as these people were just as susceptible to damage as the ships. 

"You can only imagine- you'd have to build the band of brothers to operate these ships, but the challenges were enormous on The Wager and the other ships on the squadron." 

LISTEN ABOVE

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Charred broccoli with spent lemon dressing and parmesan 

Cook time: 20 minutes 

Serves: 6 

2 heads of broccoli, cut into large florets  

1 tbsp grape seed oil  

flaky seasalt & cracked pepper  

1 cup parmesan peelings  

Spent lemon dressing  

4 lemons  

350 ml grape seed oil  

1 egg yolk  

2 tbsp cider vinegar  

1 tbsp honey  

½ tsp Dijon mustard  

Pinch of salt 

Bring a large pot of salted water to the boil. Blanch the broccoli and refresh in iced water to halt cooking. Drain well then toss in oil and salt.

Now make up the dressing. 

Cut the lemons in half and squeeze the juice into a pot along with the smashed lemon. Cover the lemon with the oil and gently heat over a low heat. (not above 60*C) for 10 minutes. Turn off and allow to cool before straining. In a small bowl whisk the egg yolk with the vinegar, honey, Dijon and salt. Slowly add the oil until well combined.  

Preheat a BBQ or cast iron pan, once super hot place the broccoli onto the grills and cook well until well charred. 

Serve the broccoli on a platter and drizzle over the amazing spent lemon dressing and spread over the parmesan to serve. 

LISTEN ABOVE

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Worried about the indoor air quality of your home or office?  If so, new research suggests all you need are a few plants to help to reassure you. 

Researchers from the University of Technology Sydney have measured how efficient plants are at ridding indoor air of toxic, carcinogenic pollutants giving you a low cost and decorative way to help breathe cleaner air. 

The researchers created a small live green wall using indoor plants known for their phytoremediation abilities (their ability to clean up contaminated soil, air and water). They placed them in sealed chambers which were filled with volatile organic compounds, then used gas chromatography-mass spectrometry to measure the levels of these compounds over time. 

They found that the plants were highly efficient as removing petrol-related compounds including alkanes, benzene derivatives and cyclopentane, and in only 8 hours these levels had dropped to under 20 percent of the starting concentrations.

So if you are looking to help clean your indoor air - which plants were the best? 

The researchers used Devils Ivy, Arrowhead Vine and Spider Plants which are all cheap and easily available at your local garden centre. 

LISTEN ABOVE

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Michael Wood has claimed he regretted his ' serious error' in hanging on to his Auckland Airport shares.

The under-fire Minister sold the airport shares for the sum of $16,000 and donated them to the Anglican Trust charity.

NZ Herald deputy political editor Thomas Coughlan says Michael Wood will likely face punishment- in the form of Cabinet demotion.

"Possibly not to the bottom of Cabinet, but a demotion of some kind. Just to say- you can't do this, if you do stuff like this, there will be a punishment."

LISTEN ABOVE

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Simone Kessell is on a list.

Having appeared on Star Wars min-series Obi-Wan Kenobi and worldwide sensation Yellowjackets, Kessell tells Newstalk ZB’s Francesca Rudkin in Hollywood terms, she is in elite company.

“I’ve never really been on those lists, I’m sort of way down that list… I think Star Wars really helped get on that list and then from there everything’s kind of moved forward.”

She says early in her career she would often second-guess herself, citing a lack of confidence, and wishes she could tell a younger Simone to be patient.

“You’ve just got to keep working, the more auditions you do is work, the more opportunities to get in a room, the more you read, the more you work out physically, all of those things are preparing you for the next one.”

Self-doubt was also something the actor struggled with before landing her breakout roles and says realising those feelings were all in her own head gave her a better understanding of how the industry works.

Kessell (Ngāti Tūwharetoa, Ngāi Te Rangi) first graced our screens in 1992 soap Homeward Bound that was released at the same time as Shortland Street.

As Kessell tells Rudkin, with an ever so delicate tongue in her cheek, we all know which of those two television shows is still running.

Having cracked the US market, Kessell has been opened to two cult followings of fans in Star Wars and Yellowjackets, and been adored overseas, but struggled on her return to Aotearoa New Zealand to land roles she felt she would thrive in.

“I feel like I just don’t get considered for anything back home. It’s weird.”

 She is quick to remember fondly her role in Urewera raids movie Muru alongside Cliff Curtis, but says it is a strange feeling not to be on the New Zealand list.

“Any other role and I’m not even on that list, I can be on a world list in Hollywood but for some reason I’m not on the New Zealand list anymore and that blows my mind.”

While being a proud wāhine Maori, Kessell says if she is on the New Zealand list, it is more often than not for roles depicting single Maori mothers when rather than lawyers.

“I’ve had to source work outside Aotearoa and that’s fine, I’m so privileged and so lucky but I would and am willing to do anything. It’s not about finance; it’s not about money, it’s about work and the representation.”

 Upon returning home, Kessell says she was “put through the ringer” again in auditions.

“I was like; can you maybe just read my CV or look at my reel? But it’s funny, because unlike Australia, New Zealand feels like if you’ve done work in the rest the rest of the world it doesn’t really come into it.”

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The countdown is on- the FIFA Women's World Cup kicks off in a month.

FIFA have confirmed the World Cup is on track to be the most attended standalone women's sporting event, with over 1 million tickets sold already.

Former Kiwi association football player and Beyond Greatness Champion Maia Jackman says the scale of this success is 'unbelievable'. 

"It is reflective of the interest of this beautiful game and how the women are playing in it now and women's sport in general."

LISTEN ABOVE

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Former Transport Minister Michael Wood's suspension is among the latest Ministerial mishaps under Hipkins' term.

The Labour Party has undergone a challenging six months, as the Prime Minister has stood down a Minister every six and half weeks since he took office.

Victoria University political analyst Dr Bryce Edwards acknowledges this isn't Chris Hipkins' fault- and thinks this string of bad luck is 'survivable.'

"I don't think he's done anything wrong here, but he's been let down by poor quality Ministers around him." 

LISTEN ABOVE

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.