The Sunday Session with Francesca Rudkin

On the Sunday Session with Francesca Rudkin Full Show Podcast for Sunday 28 June 2026, Sevens superstar Michaela Brake is preparing to make her comeback after re-signing with NZ Rugby.  She joins Francesca for a candid chat about the realities of early motherhood and why she's desperate to get back on the field.

A special bookstore in small town Nova Scotia is the subject of a new film. Director Justin Zoras is in studio to share why he was so captivated by this bookshop that only opens at night.

Former All White player and coach Ricki Herbert gives his thoughts on the All Whites' World Cup campaign.

Francesca questions why the Government won't make a move on big tech.

And New Zealand's first Michelin stars will be awarded on Tuesday, our resident chef Mike Van de Elzen talks the significance of the star system and reveals how a former boss deprived him of his own Michelin recognition.

Get the Sunday Session with Francesca Rudkin Full Show Podcast every Sunday on iHeartRadio, or wherever you get your podcasts.

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This week on the Sunday Panel, Director at Capital Ben Thomas and host of The Front Page podcast Chelsea Daniels joined in on a discussion about the following issues of the day - and more!

Stuff's owner raised concerns over what big tech means for the future of our media. Are politicians petty about the media and is that an issue? Do they need to better support the media? Why aren't they making more moves to regulate things? 

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Millions of people are turning to conversational AI systems like ChatGPT and Claude to ask questions about symptoms, medications, supplements, nutrition, lab work, and treatment options.

This has raised concerns, as research found that using AI for medical decisions tended to provide inaccurate and inconsistent information.

Naturopath and wellness expert Erin O'Hara explained the research further.

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This coming Tuesday marks the beginning of New Zealand's inclusion in the Michelin Guide with the announcements of the stars.  

The Michelin star system originated as a marketing ploy by French tire manufacturers André and Édouard Michelin in 1900. To encourage road trips and boost tire sales, they created a free guide for motorists. Today, it is globally recognized as the ultimate benchmark for fine dining.  

This entails:

Anonymous inspectors - Michelin inspectors are trained professionals who evaluate restaurants entirely anonymously to ensure they receive no preferential treatment.  

Focus on the food - Stars are awarded based strictly on the quality of the ingredients, mastery of flavour, cooking techniques, personality of the chef, and consistency. The restaurant's décor and service style are not factored into the star rating.  

Global reach - Today, the guide reviews tens of thousands of establishments across more than 40 territories, making it one of the most powerful influencers in global food and tourism trends.

🌟 One Star: "A very good restaurant in its category." 

🌟🌟 Two Stars: "Excellent cooking, worth a detour." 

🌟🌟🌟 Three Stars: "Exceptional cuisine, worth a special journey."

Mike van de Elzen explained further - and recalled his own experience with the Michelin system.

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Your brain was never designed for this much bad news, according to new research.

For almost all of human history, the biggest threats we faced were local - a predator hiding in long grass or a sick child in the village. 

Your brain evolved to notice these dangers quickly because missing one could be fatal. On the other hand, reacting to something harmless carried very little cost. 

This imbalance shaped what psychologists call the negativity bias, where we naturally pay more attention to negative information than positive information, remember it for longer, and react to it more quickly. 

From an evolutionary perspective, this makes perfect sense. Spotting danger helped our ancestors survive long enough to pass on their genes. 

The problem is that while our world has transformed dramatically over thousands of years, our brains have not. 

Today, the same neural machinery that once monitored a few square kilometres is expected to process conflicts on multiple continents, financial markets, natural disasters and political unrest all before breakfast. 

A study published in the scientific journal Nature Human Behaviour wanted to know whether people genuinely prefer negative news, or whether journalists simply believe they do.

To answer this, scientists examined 22,743 randomized controlled experiments run by the news website Upworthy where editors created more than 105,000 different headline variations, which were shown to readers over 370 million times, generating 5.7 million clicks. 

Each experiment involved the same news story, but with different headline wording. Readers were randomly shown one version or another, allowing researchers to isolate whether changing just a few words influenced which headline people clicked. 

The researchers counted how many positive and negative words appeared in each headline using established language-analysis tools, then compared which versions attracted more readers. 

For a headline of average length, every additional negative word increased the click-through rate by around 2.3 percent. 

Positive words had the opposite effect, reducing clicks by roughly 1 percent per additional positive word. People weren't necessarily choosing different stories, they were choosing the more negatively worded version of exactly the same story. 

Our brains treat negative information as potentially important. 

Threats demand attention because they might require action. Long before we consciously decide whether something matters, our nervous system has already begun evaluating it. 

This is why alarming headlines are so difficult to ignore.

Modern news organisations understand this, whether consciously or not. Headlines compete for a tiny slice of our attention, and research shows that negative language consistently wins that competition. 

The challenge is that our brains evolved to respond to occasional, nearby threats, not an endless stream of global crises. 

Instead of processing one danger and moving on, we now encounter hundreds of unrelated problems every day. 

Psychologists have begun describing an extreme form of this pattern as Problematic News Consumption (PNC).

Researchers who developed the scale surveyed American adults about their news habits and found that around 17 percent showed severe levels of problematic news consumption. These individuals reported becoming preoccupied with the news, struggling to regulate their consumption and experiencing disruption to their daily lives. 

Strikingly, 61 percent of people with severe PNC reported feeling unwell "quite a bit" or "very much," compared with just 6 percent among people without problematic news consumption, suggesting a strong link between excessive news engagement and poorer wellbeing. 

Avoiding the news altogether isn't the answer, instead, the evidence suggests we should rethink how we consume news. 

Research on stress consistently shows that people cope better when they can distinguish between information they need to know and problems they can realistically influence. 

That means: 

• Setting specific times to catch up on the news instead of checking constantly.
• Reading fewer, higher-quality articles rather than endless social media posts.
• Recognising when content is designed primarily to provoke outrage or maximise engagement.
• Focusing on actions you can actually take, rather than carrying the emotional weight of every global crisis.

If the news feels overwhelming lately, that isn't a personal failing, your brain is doing exactly what evolution designed it to do: prioritise potential threats. 

The difference is that our ancestors might have encountered a handful of genuine dangers each week but today, many of us encounter hundreds before lunch. 

Our brains were built to survive a dangerous world, not to monitor the entire planet 24 hours a day. 

Understanding that may be the first step towards developing a healthier relationship with the news, allowing us to stay informed without becoming overwhelmed by the constant flow of humanity's worst moments. 

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Auckland Grammar is cracking down on the filming of school sports, and other educators have voiced support.

The debate over media coverage has come up again, after Auckland Grammar sent a “cease and desist” letter to a website that has broadcasted brief social media clips of the school’s First XV.

Shirley Boys High principal and chair of School Sport NZ, Tim Grocott, says schools have a responsibility to protect their students - especially on 'risky' digital platforms. 

"Increasingly, we are seeing sport in particular being broadcast, streamed, and put on various places, and I think there is some risk that comes with that, particularly if it's on an open platform."

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A popular K Road music venue may be looking at a second chance at life.

Neck of the Woods took to social media last week to share the 'heavy news' of its closure due to increasing debt.

Following this news, a GiveaLittle page dedicated to saving the venue was set up by a group of musicians and promoters - and the fundraiser met its target of $150,000.

Entertainment correspondent Steve Newall says it's a challenge to keep these spaces going - and this is good news for the arts and entertainment sector. 

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ACT's leader says the party will be ramping up its messaging as it heads towards polling day.

The party's holding its AGM and its first rally of election year today, less than a week after TVNZ's Verian poll showed the party at its lowest point since entering Government. 

David Seymour says the party's been heavily focused on the work of governing - and has its sights on another term in power. 

Newstalk ZB political reporter Azaria Howell says the party will be unveiling its new deputy leader today - as well as some new policies. 

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Nerves are being frayed in Venezuela with another strong 5.6 magnitude aftershock today - following the massive earthquakes earlier in the week.

The death toll has surpassed 1400 people - with over 3,000 people injured and thousands still missing.

International aid is flowing in, with specialized search and rescue teams also on the ground.

Save the Children Venezuela director Fatima Andraca says it's a stressful situation, but Venezuelans are strong.

She explained amidst the suffering and confusion, there's still a feeling of hope - which is important.

To learn more, click here.

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The World Cup dream is over for the All Whites following yesterday's loss.

New Zealand's exited the tournament after group play, losing their final game 5-1 to Belgium.

Former All Whites player and coach Ricki Herbert says New Zealand's had some great moments in this year's event, but the country lacks the kind of urgency and determination needed to get ahead.

"This has been a team that a lot of people back in New Zealand have held high, and I think we were looking forward to seeing a winning result out of the group and probably, potentially, moving out of the group into the next stage. So they'll be disappointed." 

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