Sir Tony Robinson is one of the world’s most recognisable history presenters.

After four career-defining series of British sitcom ‘Blackadder’, he fronted 20 seasons of the archaeological dig show ‘Time Team’.

His humorous hooks and accessible presentation has helped to demystify history and inspire passion in a whole new generation.

Robinson has written over 30 children’s books, ‘Maid Marian and Her Merry Men’, ‘The Worst Jobs in History’, and ‘Tony Robinson's Weird World of Wonders!’ just a few of the titles.

His latest work, ‘The House of Wolf’, is his first foray into fiction directed at an older audience, covering the Anglo-Saxons, Alfred the Great, and the making of England in the 9th century.

Writing for adults is quite different to writing for children, and Robinson said it scared him “rigid” when he first started.

“I had massive imposter syndrome”, he told Jack Tame.

“It's ridiculous, isn't it, like I've been on the stage for 60 odd years, and yet when it came to writing a book, terror gripped me.”

His subject matter is also a bit of a balancing act, as weaving historical fact with the narrative one wants to convey can sometimes be a challenge.

“I did go quite bonkers writing it,” Robinson told Tame.

Upon finishing the first draft, his publisher sent it off to reviewers, journalists, and some historical novelists – people Robinson respected.

“I was in even more terror,” he revealed.

“And then after six weeks, the writer Dan Jones, who wrote a stormingly popular historical novel called ‘Essex Dogs’, he wrote a review of it really, and it was so fulsome.

“Immediately, all that paranoia that I’d had dispelled completely.”

‘The House of Wolf’ is now out, and fans will be able to see him live on stage in 2026 in ‘An Audience with Sir Tony Robinson’. He’ll be performing at Auckland’s Bruce Mason Centre on February 17th, and at Christchurch’s Isaac Theatre Royal on February 18th.

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The old seems to be the newest trend.

While people are always interested in the newest thing, nostalgia is flooding the musical scene right now – Metallica, Oasis, Tool, AC/DC, and the Pixies are just a few of the acts selling out stadiums and venues at the moment.

But what’s behind the boom in nostalgia acts? How much longer can it last?

Chris Schulz joined Jack Tame to discuss the trend.

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Nash Falls by David Baldacci

Walter Nash is a sensitive, intelligent and kindhearted man. He has a wife and a daughter and a very high-level position at Sybaritic Investments, where his innate skills and dogged tenacity have carried him to the top of the pyramid in his business career. Despite never going on grand adventures, and always working too many hours, he has a happy and upscale life with his family.

However, following his estranged Vietnam-veteran father’s funeral, Nash is unexpectedly approached by the FBI in the middle of the night. They have an important request: become their inside man to expose an enterprise that is laundering large sums of money through Sybaritic. At the top of this illegal operation is Victoria Steers, an international criminal mastermind that the FBI has been trying to bring down for years.

Nash has little choice but to accept the FBI’s demands and try to bring Steers and her partners to justice. But when Steers discovers that Nash is working with the FBI, she turns the tables on him in a way he never could have contemplated. And that forces Nash to take the ultimate step both to survive and to take his revenge: He must become the exact opposite of who he has always been.

And even that may not be enough.

A Short History of Nearly Everything 2.0 by Bill Bryson

Bill Bryson can't contain his curiosity about the world around him. A Short History of Nearly Everything 2.0 is the result of his quest to understand everything that has happened from the Big Bang to the rise of civilization – how we got from being nothing at all to what we are today. Now fully updated to reflect the many scientific discoveries in the last twenty years since this book was first published, it explains among much else:

• Why Pluto is no longer a planet
• How the number of moons in the solar system has more than doubled in 20 years
• How scientists used advances in genetics to discover previously unknown species of early humans
• Why we still don't know what most of the universe is made of
• How the little Higgs boson transformed physics

This journey through time and space will inform a new generation of readers, young and old, as well as those who read this book on first publication with a new perspective based on what we know now.

Written in his inimitable style, Bryson makes complex subjects fascinating and accessible to everyone with an interest in the world around them.

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"Beckoning as a homeland to incredible food, world-class wine, iconic cultural landmarks, and infused with a bohemian spirit, Paris is the epitome of a tourist mecca. Home to over 140 museums and 30,000 bakeries, you’ve got so many alluring visitor experiences to weigh up than you can poke a baguette at."

Read Mike's full article here.

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We’re constantly looking for ways to spot early signs of problems such as depression or bipolar disorder, based on the idea that the earlier we can spot signs the earlier we can intervene.

Traditionally in psychology this has relied on asking people to monitor themselves and report back. Lots of problems inherent in this e.g., lack of motivation, lack of awareness, not knowing what to look for, self-fulfilling prophecies, etc. Psychology research is often hampered by lack of more objective ways of collecting information that don’t rely so much on self-report of individuals.

New methods are emerging which look at how someone’s pattern of typing on a smartphone keyboard might predict early onset of depression.

Firstly – rest assured this isn’t some new and frightening emergence of big-brother watching your keystrokes! For this research people had to download a specific keyboard to use with their phone that feeds back results to researchers about their typing patterns, it didn’t capture the content of what they were writing. This is referred to as passive-sensing as doesn’t require any extra effort from people, just for them to keep using their phone as usual.

A number of interesting findings about depression:

• When depressed, people have lower accuracy in spelling and more variability in typing speed – possibly reflects slow-down in their thinking.
• They also tend to have more times using their phone than when not depressed – might indicate loneliness and social withdrawal.
• When people are depressed, they have much higher rates of using the backspace key than when not depressed – suggests they’re making more errors which could be due to slowing down of thinking or lots of ruminating about life and going round and round in their heads.

For people with bipolar disorder, they’re more likely to have high rates of backspace use when also having increased levels of activity and decreased levels of sleep – both of which are warning signs of a possible manic episode.

Other interesting research using technology:

Smartphone apps monitoring daily patterns of behaviour reduced reoccurrence of periods of depression. This was done by tracking when people slowed down in their levels of daily activity and had less periods of being outside in daylight. The app would alert them to this change, and suggesting that if the pattern continued, they could get depressed again – this led people to get more outside activity.

Some interesting possible implications:

• Could be really helpful in noticing early warning signs of things like depression in a really unobtrusive way.
• Imagine linking this data in with AI who could send you info about early warning signs and what to do about them, plus link you in with a psychologist if needed.
• Potentially gives people the ability to monitor themselves and make small changes in their behaviour to prevent getting depressed and without having to see a psychologist.
• Nice to have some good news about potential benefits of technology and given we usually focus on how these things can suck us down into the dark underbelly of the internet!

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On the Saturday Morning with Jack Tame Full Show Podcast for Saturday 22 November 2025, iconic history presenter Sir Tony Robinson discusses his first foray into historical fiction for an older audience, ‘The House of Wolf’.

Jack sings the praises of Dimitris as the Christchurch institution celebrates 40 years of souvlaki in The Garden City.

Francesca Rudkin reviews the Wicked sequel, Dougal Sutherland discusses a new study showing how mobile phone activity can predict mood and Chris Schulz hails the return of the nostalgia acts.

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

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They are “on the wing” at this time of the year. Spiders do not have wings of course, but they can fly for many miles – it’s called Ballooning.

There are many examples of them flying in jet streams, thousands of feet off the ground, across water, seas, oceans. Each year we get the juveniles of those huge Australia Golden Orb-Weaving Spiders in NZ – they grow up to become huge Australian Golden Orb-Weaving Spiders and frighten the life out of New Zealanders!

At this time of the year, look up on a fine, sunny almost wind-still day and see what’s floating past!

Spider silk glands have liquid proteins called spidroins. They're actually kinda gooey and are pressed out gently to form silk; it’s strong, yet light and flexible – a fabulous building material that serves many purposes.

We all know about the famous “websites” that spiders make to catch flying prey.

Take the kids outside on a dew-laden morning to find those webs and see if you can find the owner nearby. Those webs have sticky and non-sticky strands of silk, so the spider can walk on them without getting stuck themselves.

New Zealand’s famous nursery web spiders build quite elaborate constructions in gorse bushes and long grasses: white nests, with (deep inside) a small silken ball with hundreds of eggs.

That nest alone is made of 5 or 6 different types of silk

Even the one spider most people love to hate (the Daddy Longlegs in the corner of your ceiling) has a clever trick with silk: it can hold a few dozen eggs in its mandibles with just one strand of silk.

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What is the difference between Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes?

• Diabetes affects more than 300,000 people in New Zealand and costs the country $2.1 billion a year in health costs (0.67% of GDP!).
• It occurs when the pancreas does not produce enough insulin to control blood sugar.
• Type 1: Usually begins in younger people; an autoimmune reaction destroys the pancreas so it can’t make insulin.
• Type 2: More common with age; the pancreas wears out over time and doesn’t produce enough insulin.

What is happening with Type 2 diabetes in New Zealand?

• Over 250,000 New Zealanders have Type 2 diabetes, previously seen mostly in people over 50.
• Over the past 25 years, it is increasingly occurring in younger people – even those in their early teens and children.
• It’s particularly effecting Māori, Pasifika, and Asian young people; this pattern was not seen 30 years ago.
• This is a new and concerning trend.

Why is this occurring?

• The exact cause is unclear, but it is seen worldwide, especially in Indigenous populations.
• It is complex – caused by more than just lifestyle.
• Likely involves genetics, strong family history, maternal diabetes in pregnancy, and some lifestyle factors. More research is needed.

Why should we be worried?

• Early-onset Type 2 diabetes seems to have a more aggressive course.
• Complications such as kidney disease, heart disease, and strokes occur earlier.
• It’s a significant cost to the health system, and an even greater cost to patients, whānau, and communities.

What can we do about it?

• Improve awareness and education.
• Provide strong wrap-around support for young people with diabetes.
• Know the symptoms and see your GP – weight loss, tiredness, frequent urination, and excessive thirst.

Remember: diabetes can occur at any age.

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