Jono, Ben & Megan - The Podcast - FULL: Can Jono convince our boss to let him work 4 days

Episode Date: May 18, 2022

Our Budget day predictions, Jono calls our boss to ask to work four days a week, does he succeed? We chat with Eric Murray who has Covid and is off Dancing with the Stars and Comedian and Snapchat Dude Tom Sainsbury comes to visitSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Hits, with the Jono and Ben podcast. Welcome along to the podcast. Today's the 19th of May. Ben Boyce, lovely to have you on the show. Nice to be here. We've got a big show coming up very shortly. Jono, you're a big campaigner for the four-day working week. Not intentionally, but it's kind of just transpired over the last few days that I am.

So we put it to the test with a very awkward call to the boss here to see if he could... Well, the theory was if you're going to get the fifth day off of this show, you still want to appear like you're here. Because a lot of companies that do the four-day working week, they make up for it, you know, in the other days that they're there. I don't know how you do that for a radio show, but I think we've cracked the code where I just record little bits, little snippets, interact with you.

You're still here. Yeah, I'm still here. I'm batting away. But you just play little clippets of me laughing and reacting to your fine banter. Yeah, so we put that to the test today on the podcast. A lot of guests joined us today. We've got Tom Sainsbury. He's a very, very funny comedian.

Eric Murray, a former RIA, just gone from Dancing with the Stars. We'll find out why on the podcast. And Hamish Cheek from The Fearless. You want all that? It's all on the podcast. Yeah, wonderful menu there. Wonderful menu there. Now, what has happened is just some shocking stuff's gone on behind the scenes here.

Ben Boyce, you came up with a genius idea for us to live in a bloody gondola, didn't you? You sent the email probably five, six days ago. You're like, let's live in, next stunt we'll live in a gondola. Well, I was here looking at some stuff. I've always got, like, you know, some of them I send through, some of them I just put on a document of stuff, you know, because I'm always like, oh, here you go,

Ben, another wacky idea. He does. Producer Behubs, you're in on all these. Are there too many emails from him? You can be honest. I've tried not to. I'm really trying to delve out. I've even got a document that I just put them on now.

I just put them on. The Saturday emails have definitely eased up a little bit. Yeah, of course. You're weak. That's your time. I love it how he's got a dock of emails just ready to send. Well, no, I've got an email of ideas. His draft is full.

He's got nine years worth of emails just backed up waiting to send. Well, no, I've got an email of ideas. His draft is full. His draft. He's got nine years worth of emails just backed up waiting to send. It's really over. Yeah. But no, anyway,

he came up with this idea. Genius idea. Live in this gondola. McCormick swooped on in with a live in a gondola campaign. Gary McCormick. Oh, because I was reading about a guy who did it overseas.

He broke the world record for the longest time in a theme park ride and he lived in a gondola. He had like yoga sessions and, you know know like a little concert and things like that. I think he spent quite a lot of time in there. Maybe you cc'd in gmccormick at gmail.com. That's what I

did. Okay. It's a fatal mistake. We're doing it all the time. I'm always cc'd. I've sent him so many emails that I'm just, you know. He's like no one else is responding to his emails here so he thinks you'll fire them off. I don't know why they go, great idea, love it. We'll definitely do that.

So I thought we were doing it, but clearly we aren't. It's a great idea, though. But we can't do it now. No, no, no. We can't do it now. It's gone. It's theirs. Well done.

Yeah, well done. It's a race to the finish line on these wacky radio ideas, isn't it? Yeah, everyone's playing in the same game, aren't they? Yeah, well, you should be sending more emails, mate. All right, I will. I'll send you one now. Have a great day. Jono and Ben, just like family.

The family members you're ashamed of. Jono and Ben on the hits. I had to do something that I imagine most people listening have done, but it's not a really cheery experience, and that's going to, you know, sign a will, update your will, have those conversations with a lawyer. It's just kind of... So you already had a will?

Yeah, I was going through some stuff, updating something else, your will have those conversations with a lawyer it's just kind of so you already had a will yeah it was going through some stuff updating something else and then we were like let's let's reflect now again just on the on the will and so what a change from the first well what did you update on the well not really anything except for the facts we just kind of went back through every you know back through the cremation the bearing thing you know who gets what if you if you don't what have you opted for with one of you oh as far as a cremation, I thought. Oh, you got a cremation, yeah. Well, I just, I was like, you know,

and this is me and my paranoia as well, but imagine if you could still, your brain was still operating and you were buried. I was like, imagine that. Imagine if, you're like. Yeah, that's not going to happen. Well, imagine, you don't know it's not going to happen. I do, I do.

I 100% know that it's not going to happen. You might be dead, but your brain's still, you know, and you're like, oh, I'm just like, yeah, what's the, you know. Yeah, again, I do. I 100% know that it's not going to happen. You might be dead, but your brain's still, you know, and you're like, oh, I'm just like, yeah, what's the problem? You know? Yeah, again, I can love. Like a dream, like when you're asleep and you're like, so I was like, well, that's just. So you spend the rest of your days, you've got this lifeless body,

but your brain's just sitting there underground going. Well, we don't know. We don't know. So you're like, obliterate me. Burn me. Turn me into ashes. Yeah. I don't want to know. So, yeah, you sort, probably not. So you're like, obliterate me. Burn me. Turn me into ashes. Yeah. I don't want to know.

So yeah, you're sort of going through this. But then what if your thoughts are still going, Ben? But you're ashes. Oh, well, no, but I'm like ashes. Yeah, well, you're right. But that's why I was hoping that the ashes would get rid of that. Okay, so you've opted for that. Okay.

What I love about this is this cheery tone of this conversation. Yeah, yeah. It's very... No, but it is. It's quite a heavy thing. I sort of walked out of there yesterday, you know, because you're like, well, what happens if, you know, I was with my wife Amanda,

so what happens if she passes away? What happens if I pass away? What happens if you both pass away? What if one of you is not mentally up to, you know, carrying on? You know, you're like, oh, man, what if you walk outside now and you get hit? I'm like, jeez, that could happen. I could be hit by a...

What you didn't need is any more of this in your life. More anxiety and paranoia about where things are at. I could be hit by a... What you didn't need is any more of this in your life. More anxiety and paranoia about where things are at. I was like, geez, it's something that everyone needs to do. You do,

and you don't do it early enough either. We only just did one last year. And don't worry about it, I've put a lot of stuff on you. Okay? When I go, you're going to be

shouldering a lot of responsibility, okay? I know I have to clear your internet history. That's just one of them. That's just one of them. That's just one of them. And how do you feel about two new kids in your life? Yeah, I can handle it.

Yeah, because that's one thing you've got to do. I remember our parents telling us, you know, you'd go to this auntie and uncle if anything happened to both of us. So who would your kids go to? Yeah, well, we've got that. We've got sort of a system of, like, if this person, and then if that person's not there, then that person, you know. And then once the kids get to a certain age,

then it doesn't matter anymore, right? Yeah. Did I make the top 10? Did I make it to the top 10? No, we didn't. But I'm not in the top 10. I don't know. We didn't go past sort of two.

We sort of went, there was two. I know, but you've got this person doesn't work out that person. Where am I? That's as far as we got. I mean, sure you would have gotten to the, yeah, you would have gotten the top 10. I would have been top 10? 20?

Yeah. 30? I don't know. I've have been top 10? 20? 30? I don't know. I've been as far as like... He's like, I'd rather give them to the homeless guy outside the casino than hand them over to me. Sorry, not a very cheery topic, but it's real. It's real.

It's all the things that you kind of have to go through, right? And that's what radio is, mate. It's real, eh? No holds barred. Sign your will today. Could end tomorrow. Could all end. Ben's brain could still be ticking over if he's buried. Hey's real, eh? No holds barred. Sign your will today. Could end tomorrow. Could all end. Ben's brain could still be ticking over if he's buried.

Hey, next, a shock. Another shock ejection from Dancing with the Stars, and they didn't even have an episode yesterday. Another couple have gone home. And another couple have been brought back. I can't keep up with this show. There's too much happening.

Scrolling through your feed. Voted TV Guide's sexiest newsreader nine times running. Mike McRoberts does one hell of a job. I was going to say, yeah, it simply sounds like Mike McRoberts. In the meantime, he's Ben Boyce. Now, Dancing with the Stars 2022 has been hit yesterday by another shock exit. So obviously, you know, people were up in arms about Sonia Gray, Eli Matheson being sent home. But this time, thanks to...

They were, but then we all just move on with life. Well, yeah. You know? For one day, we're like, this is the most shocking thing. Give me the next day, you know, life moves on. But this time, there's a shock exit last night. Now, Olympic rowing great Eric Murray and his dance partner Lauren are out

at the competition after testing positive for COVID. Well, Eric Murray's tested positive for COVID. According to the BBC rules, because it's the semi-final week this week, they're out of the competition. If it was a regular week, they would have been given a bye and they would be allowed to continue. So also according to the rules, that means Vaz and Brittany are back in because they were the last people eliminated. So back. So while stuff going on well they've almost got

a like because what's today Thursday so they'll be like oh jeez we've got to learn a dance it's true they haven't had

you know a few days to learn a dance we spoke to Vaz on Monday yeah Tuesday Tuesday and they were just

ecstatic to be out of the competition wouldn't that be the worst phone call to get hey guys you're back on you're back off the bench.

Now, Bee Humphrey, our producer, had a good theory. What if, you know, Vaz and Brit, for example, get COVID? Then they have to go to the next eliminated couple, and you keep working your way back down to Sonia Gray, who then takes out Dancing with the

Stars 2022. Everyone's gone because of COVID and they win. Ends up by default. And all she has to do is just wiggle her hips a little bit. Well done. What a plot twist. Best hip wiggle I've seen. Because cast, crew and staff are all tested daily with rats tests.

What about the audience? Yeah, I think everyone going into that. Oh, jeez, you've really got to love Dancing with the Stars. Everyone has to go along and do a rats test before going along. We're going to catch up with Eric Murray after 8 o'clock this morning just to see how he's feeling. He wants to talk. Yeah, he's going to talk this morning.

Even with COVID. Yeah, what a nice guy. He's joining us this morning after 8.30. And the budget is out today. High rising prices around New Zealand. There'll be a bit of interest on the budget today. See if there's any financial relief for Kiwis. They reckon there's a lot of money going towards health system,

climate change. But what's going to happen for everyday Kiwis is probably the big question. You, me, Bill, everyday Kiwis. What's happening? Two o'clock today, Grant Robertson stands up and reads out the budget. And yesterday, how's this? A block of mainland cheese was just a couple of days ago $21.50 for a tasty cheese, one kg block at Countdown.

That's come down in price a little bit, but that's a 27% increase from last year. $21.50 for cheese. I thought Countdown were bringing down the prices of the basics because they had that three day period where they're like, whatever the prices are at the end of those three days, we lock in for winter.

And cheese was $22. Yeah, tasty cheese. I mean, you can get other cheeses a lot cheaper, but yeah. I don't understand why there are price variants when it comes to cheese and milk. They're all coming from the same place.

But then you're like, why is that cheese any more expensive? Why is mainland tasty more expensive than budget tasty? Maybe you're just paying for the brand. You know, maybe it's all the same cheese. They just put a different label on it. Well, yeah, the price of the same cheese was basically $17 at Pack and Save on the same day as well.

So, yeah, you're just paid to shop around if you've got the time. Yeah, and boy, stick with the big brands. Go cheap, mate. I'll milk myself and turn it into cheese. Oh, yeah. Okay. I tell you what and turn it into cheese. Oh, yeah. Okay. I tell you what, that's not going to be $22. No. No, you could even pay me $22 to have that. And, yeah, that is what's

making it. $22 would be pretty low price. Take some of my cheese for $20. Okay. You got me. Now, The Feelers are one of New Zealand's most successful bands ever, seven number one singles, and this year is the 21st anniversary of their huge album, Communicate,

and they're about to go on tour playing the album, which includes this hit and many more. And joining us right now from The feelers, Hamish G. Good morning. Great to have you on. How's it going? Thanks, mate. How's it going?

Good, buddy. Lovely to have you on. Are you thanks for having me, mate? I've got to remember, it's not the rock. It's not the rock. Keep it highbrow. That's what John O'Season said. Well, I don't know.

You don't have to keep it highbrow. No, my brows actually haven't changed in any position. I think they need to. It's like a character from Sesame Street. Very prominent brows. Now, this is very exciting, but it also makes us feel like, jeez, I feel a little bit old now. 21 years since Communicate first came out.

I mean, that's crazy. 21 years. I know. What's crazier is it doesn't feel like 21 years. No. And your parents tell you that, so, you know, you get yelled really quickly. You know, it just feels like the other day. We were in London recording the album, had a great time.

We were there for about a month with our favorite producer. Probably our favorite album, I think. James and I were talking about it the other day. So many hits. I mean, Communicate is as good as it gets. Fishing for Lisa, Astronaut. And I didn't realise because I was watching

a Seven Sharps story on you guys the other day. It was produced by a really well-known music producer that you got in touch with. Yeah, so Gil Norton. So I've always been

a fan of the Pixies. So he's done three out of four of their records or whatever. And I suppose because the Foo Fighters and Nirvana before the Foo Fighters

were big fans of the Pixies, I think Nirvana was a Pixies tribute band before they did their own songs, right? The Foo Fighters got Gil Norton to do The Colour and the Shape, which is their best album. That's not up for debate at all. Don't even start debating it. I'm not going to. So he'd just done that record and I thought,

if this guy is that versatile, he can do stuff that's pretty alt-C, he can do stuff that's commercially...-C, he can do stuff that's commercially... He'd also done Counting Crows, stuff that's really quite poppy and commercial, so I thought he's really versatile. I sent him a CD in those days.

I was about to say, how on earth did you reach out to someone like that on the other side of the world back then? Oh, I can't remember how I got his details. I think I actually asked... I might have asked Dave Grohl, because they'd come over, their first tour to New Zealand, we, and they just played at the Auckland Town Hall. They weren't massive. We all knew it was Dave Grohl from Nirvana, right? But they played at the Town Hall.

James and I, my singer, I decided, we've always done this. We're going to be ambassadors. We took them out on the piss, basically. We ended up at the K Road pool hall and all this sort of stuff. I think I got his details off days. Oh, really? Yeah, and I sent him a letter, handwritten letter. I didn't have email. Email did exist in 2001.

You were just five years behind the world. I got my driver's licence at 31. I sent a letter and a CD and two weeks have gone by and I'm thinking, maybe I should get email. It looks really amateur, right? I've not heard back. He did get back and said, look, I've had it in my car. I've been really busy producing another record.

But he'd had the CD in his car stereo, spinning it for two weeks, and then got back and said, I really like it. I love it. How did he get back in touch with you? Was he writing a letter? Was he a phone call?

It was a phone call. And went over to London to do the rest of it. I love it how we're talking about communication as if it's post-World War II and 1940s. It was only 21 years ago. Ironically on an album called Communicate. It's awesome what you're doing and I can't wait for you guys to head on the road again.

21 years of Communicate. It's going to be awesome. Playing some of the songs you've never played live before, which I find hard to believe as well. Once. We played them once at the CD launch 21 years ago. So there's five singles off the album, and we always play those. But there are 13 songs, so there are seven songs that we played twice,

once in the studio and once at our launch. So we have been rehearsing, which I'm ashamed to admit is something we don't really do. And I imagine it would just be like learning brand new music. You'd be like, did we write the song? What was that? No, it's great. They're coming along really do. And I imagine it would just be like learning brand new music. You'd be like, did we write the song? What was that? Yeah. No, it's great. They're coming along really well. The thing is, we'll play the album in its entirety. We'll go off before we break

and then we'll tootle back on after everyone's had a light refreshment and just play everything else. Play some more hits. I love it. A sensible half-time break as well. It's a half-time break, yes. Hey, Hamish G from the Feelers, always love catching up with you, mate.

You keep well. Yeah, thanks, buddy. Good to talk to you guys. Spy. Know what's up. Spy.co.nz Alright, Bell Crawford at up spy.co.nz Alright, Belle Crawford at gmail.com

Welcome along for some Spy Yeah, now of course you're probably seeing so many updates of the Amber Heard Johnny Depp trial, it's still ongoing She has been cross-examined currently by Johnny's lawyer, so hopefully things might wrap up soon It is dragging out a bit really, isn't it?

Yeah, she is doing a pretty bang up job, Johnny's lawyer. By the sounds of it. From the five second clips I hear every second day. That's a good lawyer. You want her on your team. That's probably a real rollercoaster for everyone involved, isn't it?

Now I'm purely on the sidelines, like I say, I'm not fully invested in the case, but does it feel like Amber Heard's testimony is unraveling? Yeah, it is a bit. And I've been watching all the clips each day so that I can bring you what I think is the most important stuff. And first up, she didn't like this one when they said that Johnny actually got her the role in Aquaman.

Mr. Depp mentions Aquaman, doesn't he? Yes, he does. Mr. Depp got you that role in Aquaman, didn't he? Excuse me? Mr. Depp got you that role in Aquaman, didn't he? No, Miss Vasquez, I got myself that role by auditioning. Can you hear the snigger at the end of the lawyer? Aquaman, too.

I know, they keep calling it Aquaman. Yeah, that's what they say over there. Is that how they say it? Are we saying it wrong, or are they saying it? Well, I think the movie overseas they're doing it, it's all Aquaman. And then the movie, he's what they say over there. Is that how they say it? Yeah. Are we saying it wrong or are they saying it? Well, the video, yeah, I think the movie overseas they're doing it, it's all Aquaman. And then the movie, he's Aquaman. And then they come to New Zealand, Aquaman.

You're Aquaman down here and we're not going to change anything. He's like, I'm Aquaman. Yeah, you're in New Zollum now. All right, you say it properly. You're slobbered to our waters. You're Aquaman. Oh, so she was getting a bit defensive about how she obtained the role. Yeah. I auditioned like any other good, hard-working actor.

Yeah, fair enough, though, if that's the case. Yeah, if that's your trade and you worked hard to get good at it, you don't want to be known as the person who just got the gig because your husband got it for you. Yeah, and also the allegations that have come out that Amber potentially started these legal proceedings. Not Johnny, as everyone thinks. It's not my understanding I initiated an

arbitration. It's my understanding that our lawyers sent a letter to his lawyers after he called me a liar again, effectively, in an interview. And that's two months before your op-ed that was published in December of 2018, right? That is correct. And that's six months before Mr. Depp filed this case against you, correct? That's correct. So you fired the first shot, not Mr. Depp? I disagree. We sent a letter. Oh, Jesus, lawyer is good. I'd be like, stop asking.

I don't know. Just please. I know you know everything. She really leads you down the garden path, doesn't she? Well, how much longer have we got to go with this thing? They said after six weeks. It's going to just drag it on, isn't it? You're saying you can win tickets to the trial.

Well, what they're doing is you can apply to go to the trial, right, and everyone wants to. And the latest is that people are scalping them on the black market, selling the court access. And people are booking out thousands of dollars to get a seat. Because I imagine everyone's allowed to see court case proceedings in America. Yeah, it's a public court. But you can just watch the live stream, you don't need to go. Yeah, um, gee

it sounds like a radio promotion doesn't it? Win two tickets to the Deb Hurd trial. Well there we go, hopefully it'll wrap up soon for everyone involved in that case. Exactly, yeah you're right. I promise I'll have some more uplifting stuff to come and you can get more spy at thehits.co.nz Mmm, coffee breath. Jono and Ben onco.nz Thanks for hanging out with us

I appreciate it Or maybe you just stumbled on here by accident or maybe your workplace is bullying you into listening We don't care we just still appreciate your ears Ben, we were on a group email

a couple of days ago with some people that were talking to about business interests in Australia. You're right. Okay, you sent the initial email. Yeah.

And you got a response from someone, you know, relatively high up in a company. Yeah. And they said, great to hear from you. I've CC'd in the head of this department. You can deal with them. Okay? So then I thought, well, I'll jump in here. You know, I'll jump in and just acknowledge the fact that we've seen the email.

And so I said, hey, lovely to meet you, XYZ. We'll send over the bits and pieces in the next couple of days. So I've just checked my email this morning. And dear God, bits is auto-corrected. Oh, no, I can only imagine. You know what word it's autocorrected to. I can imagine. It sounds very similar.

Is that with a T? I've said, we'll send over. I don't know this person. I mean, this is a high caliber email. It's really taken what we're trying to do to a whole nother place isn't it what a shocking auto-correct fail sometimes and then you know to notice it 48 hours later like if i noticed it in the moment i could have gone sorry auto-correct even that would have been a knock a shocking introduction but now i've i've seen it off as if it's some sort of lowbrow joke

to these people. I don't even know. It hasn't landed because no one's replied back. One's gone, ha ha, that's funny. They've gone, well, this is an introduction. Well, thanks for killing that for us. So don't expect too much to come from that now, okay? Unless that's what they're after.

And then we're probably not the people to even go down that road the annoying ones talking between the songs jono and ben on the heads it's a game we play uh called close contacts uh where uh one of us gets the other person's phone uh today i've got your phone jono and i get to scroll through your contacts and call anyone you want and it comes up actually if we found and I get to scroll through your contacts and call anyone you want. And it comes up, actually, we found a system to come up through your, it'll be your number calling them. It's been a game changer for this show.

We found a cable that's been hiding under the desk. We didn't even know it was there and you can plug your dongle into your phone. And it looks like, this is not important to you listening, but for us it looks like you're calling from your phone. Otherwise it would be from a private number. Anyone I want, and you need to work out, you don't know who I've called,

you need to work out who I've called in an awkward conversation because the person that answers is like, why is Jono calling me? I mean, it's very low level, but for some reason I get very nervous about it. Oh, I've gone through here. This one's very topical.

This person's been in the news in the last couple of weeks. They'll be up. Are you surprised? Can I get another clue? Are you surprised that I have their number? No, not surprised. No, not surprised, but I'd be surprised if they answer right now, put it that way, but they will be up and they have been on the news in the last couple of weeks. Alright, let's make

a call. Hello, Joe? Hey, mate, how are you? Yeah, not bad. How are you going? Yeah, good. You been well? Yeah, it's gone all good, man. It's been like, you know, something completely new, and I'm slowly learning, but I think it's... We've had some good shows this week, for sure.

Yeah, nice. This is Eli Mathewson. Yes, it is. Eli, it is Jono. How are you, mate? You're good. How are you going, mate? We've got a lot to explain to you right now. We play a game called Close Contacts where Ben plugs

my phone in. He calls someone from the contact list but I don't know who he's called and I have to figure it out through a process of elimination. And an awkward conversation. And you got there. You didn't get to dancing with the stars. I know, yeah.

I was ready to bring it up. I was like, John, I'll tell you what, I've been going through it the last few weeks. Pull up a chair, mate. Yes. That's what they said in the Women's Day. Dumped dancer, Eli Matheson, right? That's what they called me.

I don't know which member of their writing team came up with that fun little slogan, but it's my new Instagram bio. Yeah, you put that on business cards as well. Dumped dancer, Eli Matheson. Yeah, anyone looking for a dumped dancer, I'm available. Let's go. Oh, well, mate, we were very proud of you on the show. Yeah, you did so awesome.

You were robbed. You really were. Yeah, you were. Hey, thanks, dudes. I agree. And it's good to hear. I was like, oh, what does John I want to catch up on? Yeah, it's always going to be for prank purposes.

I don't know. You might be getting rid of me. You'll be like, yeah, you know, guys having secret chats about teaming up together. I guess that is the danger of this game is he calls someone. Oh, God, I've been having a conversation with him. Are we still rolling, Ben? What's happening? Hey, good on you, Eli.

Thank you, mate. Hey, thanks, teams. You have a bloody good day. I'd like to hear from you. I'd like to talk even if it was just for a radio break. You know how radio works, yeah? You're right in there. Yeah, I'm in the machine now, mate.

You're in those trenches, buddy. Tested safe for listing from home. Jono and Ben on the hits. We do have a friend of the show and he's based in Portland, Oregon. We like to refer to him as our US correspondent because it really raises the prestige of the broadcast, doesn't it, Ben Boyce?

We've also got former producer Juliette, who's in the Mediterranean on a soupy. We've got our European correspondent. Eat that up, One News. John, welcome. How are you? Good morning, guys. How are you doing? We're doing all right. Now, John, regular listeners to the show will know that you are, well, we call you our U.S. correspondent, as Jono said. It really does.

The show comes across far more professional than it actually is when we say we have a U.S. correspondent. We've got producer Juliette, who used to work on the show. She's now a U.K. correspondent. That's right, I've got correspondents all over the world. Eat that up, One News. You're a Kiwi that lives in Portland, Oregon, and you got in touch with us because something very special

has just happened in your life. Yeah, I'm friends with a lot of the local breweries here in Portland, and one of them called me up last week and said, what are you doing Monday morning? And I'm like, well, I guess I can take an hour off work and come into the brewery. So I go in and they take me to the canning line, and lo and behold, they're canning up a beer called John the Kiwi. So you've got your own craft beer, John the Kiwi.

You've sent us the picture of it. It's got your face, animated version of your face, surrounded by a giant kiwi fruit, and it's John the Kiwi's blonde ale. Yeah, their flagship beer is a thing called Pineapple Express, and I like it a lot. I buy it a lot. I buy it a lot. I take cans of it around the world with me, and they knew I was a big fan, and they said, well, we're going to make a kiwi fruit version of it,

and let's name it John the Kiwi. That is so cool. You've got your own now. Where is this beer? Is it just in Portland, Oregon, available in local shops? Actually, so they made about 7,000 cans of it and it's for sale all over the state of Oregon.

That's incredible. You've sent us a picture of the back of the can. It says, John the Kiwi is named in honour of Portland's favourite Kiwi. Are there any others in Portland? Yeah, sure. Has he won that by default? Portland's favourite Kiwi and beer enthusiast, John Lovegrove.

You didn't even get to try it? Would that be the case before it actually went into production? No, I did. I did try it right off the canning line. They gave me the first case right off the canning line and they gave me a can to drink right away and I did. So, yeah, it's delicious. What if you didn't like it?

A little taste of Kiwi fruit. There was a lot of pressure on you there. What if you went, oh, hang on. This isn't for me. You know what? Honestly, I'm not a huge fan of kiwi fruit. It's very subtle. It's a lovely gesture, guys.

Manufactured 7,000 of these, but I don't want to put my name to this. You've even got kia ora on the can as well. Yeah, yeah. And they put their logo as a lion holding a flag and they changed it to a kiwi holding a flag. Oh, this is John Lovegrove. Very customised dance. Again, now

putting on your producer's hat. John's like I've had this happen to me. Why don't you do a topic off it? Which is why we really appreciate you on many levels, John. What was your idea? Ask people what have they had named after them. What have they named after them? You know, we'll keep it wide and open.

What have you named after things as well? Okay. All right. Sounds good. 0800 THE HITS, 4487 is our text number. You can text us as well. John, our U.S. correspondent in Portland, Oregon, lovely to talk to you.

Cheers. We'll put a photo of the can up on our social media so people can have a look as well at The Hits Breakfast. Thank you, John. You keep safe. Cheers. We'll put a photo of the can up on our social media so people can have a look as well at the Hits breakfast. Thank you, John. You keep safe. Cheers, you too, guys. We're talking about what's been named after you or what have you been named after on 0800 The Hits?

G'day, Jo. Kia ora. Kia ora to you. I've always dreamed of talking to Jo. That's nice to hear. That's the first time I've ever heard that So that's lovely Dreams come true Jo We're just talking about

Either stuff you have named after you Or you have named after something else What is it for you? So we named our daughter Cassio After a watch that I bought my husband As a first gift. Oh, that's really cool. So it's got a really sentimental meaning

to it. It did. We went six weeks without naming her and we were just calling her baby girl and we couldn't agree on a name. So you said, how about the watch I gave you once? So no, my husband said to me, well, how about, he said,

I would like to name her after this watch that you brought me. Jeez, the brainstorm had been going on for quite a long time. Yeah, so, and yeah, it's quite, I mean, it's an original name, and yeah, it suits her to the T. I couldn't imagine her having any other name. That's the thing, you're right. As soon as you name something, you just can't imagine them being called anything else.

Absolutely. And she's never laid a day in her life. Never laid? Does she wear a Casio watch? Does she feel like she needs to? So she does, yes. And funnily enough, our next two boys, we're both given watch names as well,

just to might as well carry on the phase. You've got a little tag here and swatch. So now we have Seiko and Loris. Seiko and Loris. Wow, so you're the watch family. And funnily enough, my son's middle name is Seiko. He does have expensive taste. And if you ever have a look, Seiko watch brands are very expensive.

I love it. You're the watch family, that's cool. Do people, when you come up to a social event, they're like, it's the watch family, you know, it's a point of conversation? No, we get known for other things, but yeah, that's fine too. Casio

gets nicknamed quite a few things, so, you know, G-Shock, you know, the standard original name. It could be like Cassie, I'm not sure if you get Cass, Cass, you know, and they're full name Casio, the standard original name. But it could be like Cassie. I'm sure she'd get Cass, Cass, you know, and then a full name Cassio. So, yeah, I like it. It could also have been a misspelt casino as well. For her husband, possibly.

Have you ever heard of anyone else been called Cassio? Not when we named her. But then sort of as time's gone on like we've met people with Cassius and you know names similar to that but I have heard of one other young person in our community that's named Cassius as well

Oh it's taken off, well that is awesome, great backstory Jo Thank you And you go and have a lovely day You too. Thank you so much. Bye. Ka kite. Ka kite. Tom Sainsbury he's hilarious. You'll know him as the Snapchat

dude on social media. He's also on Snackmasters and Give Us A Clue on TV and he's about to go on tour. He joins us in the studio right now. Great to have you in here Tom Sainsbury. Always lovely to be here guys. Thanks for having me. Do you know we've had a lot of phone conversations with you over the last two years.

Yes, we have. Due to, you know, reasons that everyone's well aware of. What's that? What's all that? I see you face-to-face, Tom. Oh, look, guys, I much prefer it. I love talking to you guys on the phone, but, you know, there's nothing like interacting

with facial expressions. There is. So we're just talking about your social media in general. Yes. You're just humming on there. The Snapchat dude's humming. Hey, the Snapchat. What a name.

First of all, why did I choose that on a one? I love the Snapchat dude. Because this is what you're rolling with. I know. For your tour as well. It's like Snapchat dude. You know, once you're branded, that's it, guys. Oh, boy.

We tried to do Ben and Jono. It just doesn't sound the same. No, it doesn't. You're like, oh. I'm just playing with my brain. I think my brain's melting. Yeah, the social media, it is kind of humming, but then you can never rest on your laurels

because sometimes there are weeks where no one's watching anything and then sometimes for some reason I can't work out everyone's laughing stuff. But as long as it's fun. The lockdown must have been a godsend for social media. You'd be like, just keep the country in permanent lockdown. Yeah, sorry, guys.

That is my, I would have loved that. No, it was so perfect. Followers upped, no end. Yeah. So now you're about to go around the country, which is cool. You get to do that again. And one thing I do love when you go around that you can see on social media is you take a sort of cliche.

Well, normally people would take a photo of the beach where they have their legs in the shot and they'd have the ocean behind yeah but you take those photos in all sorts of random locations around New Zealand um I think that's you know I'm always sunbathing even if it's like it's even if it's snowing on the Remarkables I like to kind of get my legs out and just get a bit of a tan on it or you know sometimes just construction around suburban you know sort of bleaker sort of places which i love but i but i always think about the backstory of you having to do this in a location and maybe it's not shorts weather so i'm like are you taking your pants off i always like when i leave leave in the morning it's always like we shorts tom because you have to pull this one

off the coldest i probably did was sweden in the height of winter and like there i was doing it in front of downtown Stockholm, McDonald's, getting my legs out, having a five-star. And the wonderful thing about the Swedish people is that they don't kind of interact and they just kind of avoid eye contact. And so you get them in the back of shops as well, just avoiding eye contact. So that was the best place to do it.

Just a polite nation of people. Yes, that's right. They don't want to cause a fuss. No, they don't. Now, I was looking at your tour the other day when you were coming in. Relentless, relentless tour of Aotearoa. I mean, Waumaru. Does Waumaru need, do they need entertainment?

Are they starved? The thing is, I need to do a lot of kind of damage control. There's a lot of collateral damage in Aumaru. I did a universally panned social media campaign for them, promoting Oamaru. They weren't against me. They were just against the whole campaign. Oh, really?

So this was a campaign you were paid to do? This was a campaign I was flying down to do. Who turned on you? The Oamaruians. Oh, they did? Yes. What happened? I mean, the whole thing was interestingly organised.

I didn't have a script until I showed up, and then suddenly I've been thrust. The whole thing was a dog's breakfast you could say and it showed on screen as well so now you're back

you're like I'm like please forgive me guys this is can we call we'll call Wamanu now and just see if they have if it's safe for you

to go back did the town turn on you yeah we'll go through to Temptations Bakery here good this is on Thames Street so you're showcasing the town showcasing all the highlights Yeah, we'll go through to Temptations Bakery here. Good. This is on Thames Street.

So you're showcasing the town. Showcasing all the highlights of the town together. Temptations Bakery, Donna speaking. Donna, listen, it's Jono and Ben from The Hits here. How are you, Donna? Good, thank you. How are you? Yeah, good.

Listen, we have a guest with us. He's coming back to Wamaru to perform. He's a little nervous, though, because there was a tourism campaign that went awry. Do you know about this? Yeah, John Sainsbury. He did a tourism campaign. Can you remember the tourism?

I was dressed up as a Victorian lady or as a steampunk person walking around, and apparently there's a huge backlash in the township. Can you remember that? Yes, yes. Oh, no, she can't. She can't remember that. What were they saying, Donna? I can't actually remember, but I just remember the hoo-ha about it. So now we think it's okay for him to come back, right?

Make amends? Yes, absolutely. Yeah. Thank you, thank you. Do you know what, Donna? What are you doing on the night of the 16th of June? Absolutely nothing. Well, you're going to the Opera House, okay, to see Tom Sainsbury.

Oh, awesome. Thank you. We'll give you out some tickets. You're a champion. I like how you're giving away Tom's tickets. Yeah, no, please. Can we give away tickets? Yeah, of course.

Thank you. That's lovely. Thanks, Donna. Thank you, Donna. No, absolutely. I love how Donna described it as a hoo- you. That's lovely. Thanks, Donna. Thank you, Donna. Absolutely. I love how Donna described it as a hoo-ha. I did too.

It went perfectly because she admitted that there was a hoo-ha, but she described it very gently as a hoo-ha. Such a Kiwi way of putting it. A hoo-ha? I can't remember exactly what it was, but it was a hoo-ha. It's so good. Oh, you're a very funny man, Tom. Go catch Tom Sainsbury on tour.

It kicks off May 29 in New Plymouth. Pretty much, there's not a part of New Zealand he's not visiting. You can check out our dates at Event Finder. Just type in Tom Sainsbury and the dates will come out. Thanks for coming in, mate. Thanks for having me, guys. Scrolling through your feed. What he lacks in muscle mass he makes up for in HR complaints made against him. Ben Boyce, what is happening in scrolling?

Well, I'm going to ignore that comment and just talk about a shock elimination on Dancing with the Stars. As I said before, there wasn't even an episode yesterday, but a couple is out of the competition. And sadly, it's Eric Murray and his dance partner, Lauren. Eric Murray, Olympic rowing great, has caught COVID. Easy E. He was doing a good job, too. I saw his hips weren't lying, and they were doing fantastic work out on the dance floor.

So according to the rules set by the BBC, who own the format of the show, Dancing with the Stars, because it's a semi-final week, they're out of the competition. If it was a regular week, they would have had a bye, but that means they are out. And the last couple that were eliminated, which is Vaz and Brittany, they're back in the competition because that's the rules. They're back into that faked hand spraying booth.

They thought they were out, didn't they? Yeah, and they were happy to be out. We spoke to them on Tuesday after they were eliminated. Now, you did mention it off-air before, they've only got two or three days to really slap a routine together. Imagine if they win the competition and they'll be like, well, we were out. We were out.

And then they brought us back in. No, they've only got three days, so they're probably going to end up doing the chicken dances. But then you were saying if someone else gets the vid, then they would go back to the next eliminated contestant. You can work your way back all the way to Sonya Gray. After her shock elimination, she comes on, does a twerk or something, I don't know, what would you do?

Just a sprinkler, takes the whole thing out. So it's 8.30 this morning, Eric Murray's very kindly agreed to catch up with us, so we're going to talk to him, and he'll be pretty gutted, I would imagine, but it's kind of the reality of life at the moment with COVID around. Yeah, I'm surprised they've gone this far without it affecting the program. Yeah, they test it every day as well.

And Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison, SCOMO, he's gone viral this morning. We'll put a clip up on our story. So he's on the campaign trail. There's an election in Australia soon, and he was playing. It's this weekend, isn't it? He was playing some football with a couple of kids in Tasmania. And unfortunately, he didn't see one of the little kids.

And jeez, he just mowed the poor little kid over. Is that what happened? Because he tackles him. It's like a state of origin NRL tackle. But it's football. It's like soccer. It's football. It's soccer.

It doesn't even require a tackle. No. Also, does Scott Morrison trip over and land on the kid? He doesn't see. He doesn't come up in his peripheral vision. And unfortunately, knocks him to the ground. Tell you what, he took that kid out quicker than a Kiwi with a criminal conviction. It was brutal.

And he just lands on top of him. Yeah. So the football park apparently is scheduled for upgrades. Yeah, they're going to bring down the grandstand. And afterwards he jokes saying when the grandstand comes down, if you need a bit of help to bulldoze it down, I might be able to help with that. That little kid looked like he had it coming, though.

I saw that look on that kid's face. I was watching another one this morning online as well. So overseas, who's the British Prime Minister? Whose name escapes me? Boris Johnson. Oh, yeah, he did it A few years ago Playing a rugby match Who tackled a kid

No accidentally again A rugby match against kids And he sort of trips Running away And this poor little kid Is just standing there And he just falls Straight into the kid

So the kid's like I'm fine I'm fine But everyone looked A bit shocked in there Yeah well I mean As a takeaway from this Maybe fully grown adults Shouldn't play

sport with tiny children. I agree. He's got a new good campaign slogan, though. It could be like tackling the cost of living crisis and children. Vote for Scott Morrison. Oh, jeez. Five words for 5K.

You're just five words away from $5,000. It is our Game of Words association That we play every morning You match all five words with our five words You win $5,000 Listen I haven't checked the forecast for today But I'm pretty sure the outlook's for us to make it rain Ben it's happening $5,000 worth

Hopefully it's going to be all yours Mini and Tauranga Hi guys How are you? You're an accountant I am, I am, I am You'll be frothing over the budget today Hi, guys. How are you? You're an accountant. I am. I am. I am. You'd be frothing over the budget today.

Let's see what happens, hey? Let's see what happens. I'm ashamed to admit this. I'm 40 years old, and a large part of it I don't understand. Probably about 90% of it I don't understand. Yeah, yeah. And I'm ashamed of it. I think like a lot of New Zealanders, hey? Yeah. What's your big prediction, Minnie? Make a wild prediction. Probably about 90% of it I don't understand. Yeah, yeah. And I'm ashamed of that. I think like a lot of New Zealanders, hey.

Yeah. What's your big prediction, Minnie? Make a wild prediction. Oh, gosh. Do I really have to? No. No, you don't. No, you don't.

Grant Robertson will say some words. Do I want to? That's the question. Yeah. Well, actually, swing your predictions. We're going to make our predictions next, so stick around for that. But right now, let's try. Our budget predictions. Let's try and add $5,000 to your budget, to your bottom line by winning you $5,000. Great referencing

Ben. He's pulling out all the jargon. Hey, who do you want to send into the soundproof booth? I'll go with Donna. Okay, spreadsheets. Doesn't quite work. You can't just say things from accountancy. Alright Minnie, here is your first word this morning.

What happens, what do you say when I say ASB as the first word? Bank? Yeah, bank with a question mark or just bank? Recycle is word number two. Recycle? Plastic? Oh, sorry, say that again.

I missed that. Plastic? Oh, plastic. Plastic or plastics with the... Just plastic. Plastic, plastics with the... Just plastic. Plastic, yeah. Stone is word number three. Stone, S-T-O-N-E, stone.

Stone. Oh, my goodness. A stone. Can we come back to that one? Yeah, sure. Book is word number four. Book. Reading.

Reading, yeah, that's a good option. And, Minnie, your final word, obviously, we'll come back to stone, but your final word is mood. M-O-O-D, mood. Swing. Mood swing. Yeah, that's exactly what I thought, too. All right, let's circle back to stone now. What are you thinking for that one?

I have no word for stone, to be honest. I wish my eight-year-old was here. She's better than me. Well, stone. I mean, I don't know what Jono's going to say. What popped into my head was rock, but I don't know if that's going to get you rock, pebble, those sorts of things.

Let's go for rock. Rolling stone. I'll take your word for it. But don't take my word for it. I'm just giving you options. All right, you're going to lock in rock. Okay. Yeah, let's do rock.

Okay. Well, I hope I haven't led you away with that one. We'll get Jono out of the soundproof booth. Zero accounting software. Oh, he's been thinking of some stuff. Okay, Jono. That's all I could come up with. Okay, Minnie. Yes. Let's do it. Let's match words. Come on, Jono.

Okay. Alright, Jono. First word I said to Minnie this morning was ASB. ASB. Bank. Yeah, well done. One from five. I'm going to go with the word that we struggled with, because let's find out if we're going to carry on in this competition. Stone was word number three. Stone, S-T-O-N-E, stone.

Stone Mason. He's pulled us out early. Rock was one. Oh, Rock. I was also thinking Stone Come on, Thomas Rock was one Oh, Rock I was also thinking Stonehenge So I was definitely Lots of options Not on the same page, Minnie

Not on the same Sorry, Minnie Let's quickly go through And see how you would have gone Recycle Bin No, plastic is what she said Recycle

That was a tough one Book Club Oh, jeez Reading And mood Oh, my word Mood

Swing Yeah, there we go. We pulled it back, but only just. Minnie, I'm so sorry we didn't quite get you $5,000 for your bottom line. It's all good. It's all good. Thanks, guys. You'll want to hang around for our budget predictions.

I know you weren't willing to put yours on public record, Minnie, but we're going to give ours next, OK? Oh, goodness. OK, let's buy. Hard-hitting interviews and informed opinion. Mike Hosking on Newstalk TV. In the meantime, Jono and Ben on the hits. Now the budget is out today.

The government is set to announce what the heck's going on, how they're going to dig us out of this hole at the moment. Have they got a plan? There's meant to be a bit in there about health, a bit in there about the environment. That's what all the experts are thinking there's going to be stuff on. Yeah, well, all the experts are doing their predictions in a subtle way. Ben Boyce, and this is Jono and Ben's.

Is it Jono and Ben's or is it just... Well, we'll say Jono and Ben's and I'll tell you at the end if I want to put my good name to it. Okay. Okay, so this is predictions that you could maybe see at two o'clock today. This is what's going to be happening. First one.

Jacinda Ardern admits she's been faking COVID this week so she didn't have to sit through another long, boring-ass budget speech. That could be very, very true. I mean, not that you want to fake COVID, but the boring budget is probably... It would be a long sit-through. It'd be longer than an end-of-year school assembly. And then you've got to answer questions in the mail. Oh, mate, I checked out probably about an hour and a half ago.

Yeah, I don't know. OK, another prediction. Finance Minister Grant Robertson controversially puts all of the budget on red at the casino. Well, red is Labour's colour, so you know. It's a wild gamble, but it could double our money out at all.

Come on, New Zealand, let's roll the dice, all right. Okay, another budget prediction. Yeah. Government refuses to say the words cost of living or crisis. Any of those words at all. Even of. $950 million is going to be set aside for a feature-length Chloe Swarbrick movie trilogy

directed by Jane Campion, Taika Waititi, and Peter Jackson. Okay. That could be happening. Well, there is going to be a Chloe Swarbrick movie, right? So why not? Let's make it a trilogy. David Seymour delivers a witty zinger following the budget announcement.

Another prediction. David Seymour has a witty zinger featured on the 6pm news. Yeah, he'll be writing them. He'll be like brainstorming for days, right? Yeah. David Seymour releases

a witty zinger meme on social media. Okay, here's another one. 56 million is going to be set aside to bribe Hollywood actors to say favourable things about New Zealand. We're so guilty of that. Every time we talk to a celebrity, Hollywood actors to say favourable things about New Zealand. We're so guilty of that.

Every time we talk to a celebrity, we're like, say something nice about New Zealand. And we lap it up. We love it. How about this? 45 million assigned for upgrading old man Mallard's sprinkler system. He probably needs a new ready lawn too, doesn't he? He does, yeah. We'll put some AstroTurf down.

That's what I did. You know, I haven't looked back. You have not. You haven't mowed that AstroTurf once. That's what I did. You know, I haven't looked back. You have not. You haven't mowed that AstroTurf once. Although you say picking the leaves up is an issue. Yeah, I go on my hands and knees and pick up leaves every now and again. Here's another one. Another prediction for the budget today.

National disagrees with many decisions in the budget. That's definitely a prediction you're going to say at 2 o'clock today. Act. Disagree with many decisions in the budget. Then Labour disagrees with national and act for disagreeing about the decisions they disagreed with in the budget it's all to look forward to this afternoon at two o'clock isn't there there we go enough uh that's so mad oh here we are one final one grant robertson notices a fatal spelling mistake on the cover of the bugget hopefully he doesn't read that out welcome to the 2022 bugget.

Oh, jeez. I'll start again. That's Cash in Car. Guess how much cash we've stashed in the Škoda's boot and drive it home along with all that money. You can win a brand new Škoda Kamek Monte Carlo worth just under $46,000 and thousands of dollars in the back of the car.

Your chance to have a guess right now. We are still playing higher and lower, which means we're really starting to narrow this down. Now, what I hope is whoever does win this magnificent motor vehicle, Ben, is that they have to leave the signage on it. And that some poor schmuck has to drive around with us creepily slapped on the side of it, smiling like maniacs and holding counterfeit cash. And Ben's got his mouth wide open going, look at all this counterfeit cash.

I hope the people have to drive. And I'm not sure you're looking. We're looking at the photo right now. No, no, no. A little cross-eyed. One eye that way, one eye the other way. I look like I'm seeing a camera for the first time. And it's surprising me.

Oh, what's this piece of technology? All right, well, let's give someone a chance to win that amazing car and all that cash in the back of the car. Handing it over to you, Cash Keeper Alex. Well, she doesn't know who she's talking to. I'm not handing it to her. She's the cash keeper.

She knows all. Alex, over to you. You don't know any details, but over to you. We've got Denise. Oh, she does know details. She's across everything. Denise, are you there? Good morning.

Yes, I'm here, Jono and Ben and Alex. How are you guys? Oh, lovely to meet you. Thank you for saying all of our names responsibly, Denise. How's Hastings this morning? A little bit foggy. Very, very foggy this morning. Oh, is this?

I've got nothing else to add to that, but I hope the fog clears for you. What are you going to do with this car? I should do. I would love to gift it to my mum and dad. Oh, Denise, you're melting hearts here, babes. It's lovely. Well, I just hope I've got the right figure. I hope you have too.

Well, now we'll hand you over to Cash Keeper Alex. Now we've done the formalities, Ben. Okay, none of those jumping straight ahead to over to you, Cash Keeper Alex. Well, I thought she could do some of that, but hey, over to you, Cash Keeper Alex. Just another job to add to my bloody pool. I hope to end it for you, Alex. Yes, please do. Let's job to add to my bloody pool of cash. I hope to end it for you Alex. Yes please do let's get this card to your parents. So

Denise from Hastings what is your guess? $19,661.12 $19,661.12 $19,661.12 So $19,661.12 Honestly thank you for clarifying that for me, because when I start writing them down, it's a tough job. All right, so Denise from Hastings with a guess of $19,661.12.

It is incorrect, and it is lower. Lower. Oh, no. Denise. Incorrect. Bummer. Yeah, lower than being catfishing a single elderly woman on the internet. Okay.

That's how low we're talking. Denise, you've been an absolute treasure. Thank you. Good luck. You're going to have another chance to play again. Go to the iHeartRadio app, and you can have your next chance to play at 11 o'clock today. So it's lower than that $19,000 figure that Easter said, and it's

also higher than $17,000 010.00. It's very hard to say. Yeah, you know, you don't want to get into just the digital. I can see why that confuses you, Ellis. Yeah, yeah. Yeah, too many numbers. Too many numbers coming at you. But that's why you're the best cashkeeper in the game, goddammit.

Breakfast with Jono and Ben. Now, the four-day working week. I discovered on the internet there was some misinformation that all of New Zealand enjoys the fruits of a four-day working week. Absolute lies. So that's what we set out to do this week, was to right those wrongs, Ben. But it has transpired that there are some companies, particularly one who was the first in the world to do it,

the four-day working week, is in New Zealand. And the boss of that company is currently in Brussels. His name is Andrew Barnes from Perpetual Guardian. Good morning. Good morning. How are you both? Lovely to have you on from Perpetual Guardian. You're in Brussels at the moment. We are indeed in Brussels.

Been listening to the European Economic Forum talking about the four-day week. Oh, right. So there's the whole forum going on about it. Yeah, there was a debate on it this afternoon. It's really becoming quite mainstream in Europe. Well, we couldn't have got you at a better time. You're at a forum in Brussels, and I kind of know where that is.

Now, Andrew, you're Perpetual Garden. You've been running the four-day work week for your company for how long? Four years now. We started at the beginning of 2018. So how have you found it? Obviously, it's been going well because you've continued to do it. We found it very good. But it's not something that you just click a switch and turn on.

We've had to work on it a bit over the years. And I have to say the pandemic made it a little interesting. But we've been very pleased about how it's gone. And not just from a company perspective, but critically because of the impact that it's had on our employees and their lives. Do you notice a drop in productivity? No, no, no. We talk about this thing called the 180-100 rule. 100% pay, 80% of the time, provided we get 100% productivity. And we saw actually an uplift in productivity. And all the companies that we've been talking to

and helping around the world to implement a four-day week, they've also seen a rise in productivity. So there you are. People working less time, working smarter, delivering more for the company. Well, because I suppose you were like, well, come on, mate, we've got to get that Friday off. And so just the structure of your one day that you, or the fifth day, for example, have you still got some team members on and there's kind of a roster system as to who's got the day off?

Yeah, look, in our company, we do a very flexible structure. So it's really reduced our work. Some people will take a day off. Some people may take two half days. And then working parents often want to work five days, but, of course, they can come in late, go home early, and that means they can drop the kids off at school and pick them up at the end of the day, which works really well.

Oh, so you can choose. Oh, mate, are you the boss of the century, Andrew? I'd like to think so, but sadly not. I might print you out a bloody Microsoft clip art certificate you can put on your fridge. Boss of the century. I can imagine people would want to work for your company knowing that this is part of what you do.

Yeah, we'd like to think that that's happening. And I think, again, if you look around the world, this whole thing that that's that's happening and i think again if you look around the world this whole thing that you've heard of the great resignation where large numbers of people are saying they're going to change jobs in the next you know 12 months a lot of this is about the power has now moved from the employer to the employee we're all chasing talent and people are saying you know i don't want to work the way I used to work. So offering things like the four-day week is very attractive, especially to the millennial. What's your, because lockdown forced a lot of businesses and probably those in management who had preconceived ideas about employees coming into the office and, you know, productivity, etc.

What are your thoughts about people being allowed to work from home? Well, look, it's a slightly different thing. And in fact, one of the pieces of evidence here is that when people work from home, they actually work longer hours, which is a bad thing because they substitute the time they would have spent travelling

for going on the internet, doing a few emails. So what we're saying is it doesn't matter where you work. The big issue here is we've got to reduce the number of hours that we've worked. After all, there hasn't been a change in the working week for 100 years. And over that period of time, productivity has gone up seven, eight, ninefold. Do you know you're in very good company? And you probably do know this, Andrew Barnes.

You've taken it from a five to a four. But back in 1926, Henry Ford from the Henry Ford Motor Company, they were working seven days back in the 20s. He took it from a seven to a fiver. Yeah, he did. And he did it for the same reasons. You know, he did it, one, because he felt his business was going to be more productive. And interesting, because he developed the Model T,

what he thought was if he gave his workers a weekend off, they'd buy his cars because they'd want to be able to go off and do things. Oh, smart. They'll go off to their burnout competitions or whatever those bogans are doing in their Fords. Oh, that's going to be a really, really fascinating talk to you. And you're in the middle of a forum over there in Brussels. That's incredible.

Well, great timing. And I would like to think that this is going to be the big change that's going to occur over the next four or five years. And it's come a long way from our little experiment in New Zealand in 2018. That's amazing. I was actually thinking of experiments. Jono, next we're going to get you to call our boss here and see if you can get four days' work for us.

Or maybe just for you. I'll say five. You just see if you can knock off a day. You're going to call Emily, our boss, next, and we'll see how it goes where you say you want to work one less day. Alright, Andrew. Thanks for coming in here with your big ideas.

Risking my employment. Give me her number and I'll call her on you. Oh, good on you, Andrew. There you go. Andrew Barnes, Perpetual Guardian. They've got a four-day working week. He's leading the way. He's at a forum in Europe. Are you saying every business in New Zealand should do it, Andrew? It's the best thing I've ever done in business, and I

really suggest that every employer thinks about how they could introduce it in their business, because the impact is quite dramatic. It's Jono and Ben, but FYI, Ben is open to other options. Jono and Ben, on the hits. Jono, we just spoke to Andrew

from Perpetual Guardian, and they are big ambassadors for a four day working week, and so are you it seems over the last couple of days. And I don't know why. I don't know why. I mean, I got lost in an article that said New Zealand is a four day working week country, and my main drive was to

recorrect the misinformation that's out there on the internet about this country. And I can now see what the government was dealing with with those pesky protesters on the front lawn misinformation misinformation that was my main drive and now as the weeks progressed i've become a four day a week yeah now you want to do four days a week here you want to pitch this idea to our boss emily um but i'm like radio doesn't work it doesn't work if i'm doing the show and you're not there and you're like well i'll just record some stuff and you can play it and no one will know the difference.

Yeah, like, for example, I would record laughs and I would record, that's right, Ben, and I would record coming up later on. Well, I wanted to actually put that to the test. So we're going to call Emily the boss here, and you're going to pitch your working only four days a week idea to her. Okay. But the whole idea is you're not here pitch your working only four days a week idea to it okay but the whole idea is you're not here you know so why don't you record something now the whole phone

conversation you go stand in the corner and I'll play it to her you've got to leave gaps in between and if you can if it convinces her if she's convinced that she's talking to you you get you get Fridays then I've convinced her that I can pretend to be here without being here yeah okay so do I have to record the parts in now? Yeah, so you do. So you record it. I'll shut up, and you record the gaps how long you want. Then we'll call Emily, our boss, and we'll play the whole thing out.

Okay. This is a fun game. Okay, go. So it's a good – it's a good ring, ring. She answers. She'll say, hello, Emily speaking, and you go, oh, hey, Emily. I'm good, thanks. It's just Jono.

Yeah. I'm good thanks it's just Jono yeah how's the how's the family yeah yeah mine too mine too hey just a bit of a favour I was hoping To start working

A four day working week So taking Fridays off Yep Yep Yeah, yeah Yeah Okay, cool You're cool with that? Thanks

Bye Oh, you left some good little gaps there a couple of risky moves with the laughter like the timing of that could be a little off so that's it we recorded that there and now we'll play that back when she answers you can't you can't talk i won't talk it'll be it'll be jono from the previous Jono you just heard with those gaps calling. I love this. This is high concept stuff here, isn't it?

Okay, wish me luck. All right. Hello, Emily speaking. Oh, hey, Emily. Hi. I'm good, thanks. You're good? It's just Jono. I know. Just Jono. You're just good, thanks. You're good? It's just Jono.

I know, just Jono. You're just good. Yeah. How's the family? Family? Good, thank you. Yeah, mine too, mine too. Hey, just a bit of a favour. Yeah? I was hoping to start working a four-day working week,

so taking Fridays off. Yeah. Yeah. Why? Yeah, yeah. And you're supposed to be on air five days. Okay, cool. One day to Friday.

You cool with that? Thanks. No. Bye. No. Friday. You cool with that? Thanks. No. Bye. No. No. Where are you going? Emily, it's Jono and Ben here.

Actually, okay. So what we've done is we've recorded Jono to see what it would be like as an experiment to be what it would be like if he wasn't here because he wanted to record himself. So that was Jono. I'd said that whole conversation beforehand and we just played it out. He left gaps't here because he wanted to record himself. So that was, John O'Neill had said that whole conversation beforehand and we just played it out.

He left gaps in everything. Jeez, it was awkward. It was quite awkward, but also, I mean, not too bad in terms of getting to the point. You actually could do some conversations and you're actually not there. It felt like we were one question disconnected from the conversation, both of us. So definitely I don't... And I hung up on her. Oh, there's your result.

Rise and shine, time to start the... Who are we kidding? We're not the boss of you. Jono and Ben on the hits. The budget out today from the government with the cost of living being high. We'll wonder if there'll be anything to remedy that. A block of cheese. A tasty cheese just a couple of days

ago. $21.50 at the supermarket. Jeez, we love zeroing in on the cheese, don't we? There are other blocks. You don't have to buy tasty. Well, I reckon the most stressful part of running for Parliament would be in the debates where you're like, dear God, they're going to ask me about the price of cheese. Yeah.

How much does a block of Edam? Mainland Edam. Yeah, because I mean, cheese does vary. It does vary a lot. It does vary. I mean, I'm sure Jacinda Ardern and Luxon, if you're listening to this, during your study in preparation for the next election, just go around the supermarket remembering prices of cheeses.

Chesdales. Exactly. You know, that nice little cow cheese, you know, the one that comes in triangles. Remember that as well? Yeah. Lock them all away. Now, my mum was staying a couple of days ago,

and she's from up north, and she doesn't have this thing in her part of the country. But she wanted to get somewhere. And then she was like, hey, we'll book a Uber. And I was like, what? A Uber? A Uber. We'll book a Uber.

It'll be fun. We can book a Uber. And I was like, oh, that Yuba? We'll book a, it'll be fun, we can book a Yuba And I was like, oh that's the most adorable way of saying it I've never heard it pronounced Yuba before Well she has approached the pronunciation of Yuba with the unicorn effect She's gone to Yuba Which I mean, you can be a confusing one You can say it a couple of ways But I like it, I like Yuba

It reminded me a lot of your mum when she goes to order domino's pizza isn't it domino's she says domino's should we have domino's jonathan she's fancied it up sounds like an upmarket italian restaurant domino's but i'm always like mum here's what you need to do listen to how other people say it and say it like that yeah it's kind of the same with uber but i quite like yuba or a yuba i for many many years i did i'd never drank it but i would see people drinking water that was called antipodes and i was oh you're having a bottle of antipodes for years yeah until someone pulled me aside i think it was jesse mulligan very educated man jesse mulligan on the project and rnz you know

he's a finer class of broadcaster. And he's like, just so you know, it's Antipodes, meaning the Antipodean region of the world, which is what the Brits call Australia and New Zealand. I learned all this from Jesse. You're like Antipodes. I was like, hey, you having a bottle? I think he was drinking a bottle of Antipodes. And he had to set me straight.

And I was like, well, thank you, Jesse Mulligan. See where you're on RNZ. As a kid, I used to call it the chemist. Because the chemist is what it's, yeah. And my daughter a few years ago was, what? She came into the lounge. She's like, what's a puzzly? What's a puzzly?

And I was like, what's a puzzly? And I was like, what? A puzzly? Sounds like a rude body part. And I was like, I honestly don't know what a puzzly is. And I was like, what are you, in relation to what? And she was reading a book and she showed me the word. And she was like, P-U-Z-Z-L-E, puzzly.

And I was like, oh, that's puzzle. It's written down, puzzling word. But English is a tough one like that. You read a word like epitome, like epitome. Many words like that. Yeah, so puzzly and get Uber today. Yeah, catch Uber to play some Puzzly. And the antipode.

The hits. Dancing with the Stars is on TV at the moment. And yesterday evening, there was a bit of a shock announcement. Eric Murray, former rower, has got COVID. And so he's no longer in the competition. And he joins us right now to explain more. Eric Murray, thank you so much for joining us. How are you feeling?

I'm all right. It's actually, I was probably crooker last week than I am this week. Oh really? So yeah, so you're feeling pretty good. You've got a sort of mild strain at the moment. Yeah, so far I've just got a cough and that's about it. Don't feel too bad. So when did you end up testing positive?

Yesterday morning when i went into like to training we always like test before we go in and i was like shit there's a faint line and so then i rang up the producers and they're like right head off to this place and get a supervised throat and nasal test and then they're like yep you got the code oh there's nothing quite like the feeling of when you see that faint line there's a lot of disbelief you don't believe i did about three tests because i was like surely i'm doing this wrong but i just keep coming up that's it yeah no and so like that's the thing man we've been really uh on the ball with uh testing before trainings um every time we go into set uh for the for the studio uh testing testing they've always got health and safety people they're

testing everyone. And yeah, somehow the bloody thing got me somewhere. I've no idea. It does happen though. Like you can keep testing negative, but you've got all the symptoms and you're like, I've definitely got it. But these tests keep saying no.

I feel like that was me last week because I had this horrendous sort of cold last week and I felt like death. It's just like, oh, it must be a cold. Because like like you are you're testing two or three a day I was like burning through bloody rat tests and it's like no can't be no no they tell the truth listen it must be it must be a bit disappointing I know uh as a professional athlete uh you put your all into this you gave it your all to bow out at this point in the competition must be a bit disheartening oh it is a little bit you know because because I sort of feel more sorry for Lauren

because she's put so much work and effort into our choreography and our training and getting old Muppet here to learn how to dance. You were good. You were really good. We did all right, yeah, and it is unfortunate. And as we knew going into it, there were protocols in place that if you got COVID, you'd have a week bye and then come back, but not for the semis.

And I was just like, after we scraped through the dance-off, I was like, yeah, you're good. Here we go. We're in the semis. We could make it to the final. And then a day later, nah, you're not going anywhere, pal. And so Vaz and Brittany, as per the rules, they were the last eliminated. They're back in the

competition, but for them, they've probably only got a really short space of time before they've got to dance in the weekend. Yeah, I don't think it's a huge issue because Tuesday's an absolute faff about anyway because you're basically just getting over the emotions of making it through and you're trying to put some feet in front of another feet for a

dance. So they'll have help. They'll have some choreography help and then they'll be fine. We were having the discussion this morning, Eric, with the current system that's in play. If there is a COVID outbreak, could this work its way all back to Sonia Gray, who just has to, on the final night, step out on the dance floor,

put her hands in the air and take a trophy? Well, yeah. And I'll tell you what, I am super worried that the COVID's got through others. I, yeah, and I'll tell you what, I'm just, I am super worried that COVID's got through others. I don't know, but I sit here going, I hope I wasn't the one that's going to break the show or something. I think, like, touch

wood, touch a big piece of wood, you touch your head right now there, Ben, and we'll be fine. That's the thing though, you have this guilt, but you shouldn't. Yeah, but it is what it is, right, and it's just in the world we live in at the moment. I think we've done a bloody good job with the show. And, you know, they've picked up audience members that have come

that have had COVID and they're like, see you, turn around, go home, thanks. And so they've done a very, very good job with making sure that we're running it safely. How's those audience members? I just came to watch Eric do the cha-cha-cha. Now I've got COVID. Got to go home. Well, Eric, you did such a fantastic job.

I know you'll be gutted. But also, you did such an amazing job for Autism New Zealand, though. Yeah, look, I've had a blast. It's been amazing, you know. I'll be back there for the grand final next week, and it'll just mean I'll be able to sit up at the top and have a few beers. It'll be how it works. Good on you, Eric Murray.

Lovely to hear from you. Undefeated on the dance floor. Undefeated? That's it. I'm going to be, apart from the winner, I'm going to be the only undefeated on the dance floor undefeated that's it that's it I'm going to be apart from the winner I'm going to be the only undefeated person out there

never got sent home by the judges undefeated the great thing about listening to this show is that the day can only get better from here

Jono and Ben on the hits hey tomorrow very exciting we're talking to Andy Sandberg you know him from Brooklyn 999 Lonely Island.

He's in a new movie, A Rescue Ranger. Chip and Dale on Disney Plus tomorrow. A lot of fun chatting to him. Also, Andy watches Lord of the Rings once a year. Do you? That's true. Once a year? Oh, yeah.

My wife and I watch the trilogy pretty much once a year, yeah. Jeez, you have to book a couple of months out for that, wouldn't you? I know. I've got to come out there. I've got to do the Shire tour. Yeah. There you go. Andy Samberg on the show tomorrow. That's going to come out there. I've got to do the Shire tour. Yeah. There you go. Andy Sandberg on the show tomorrow. That's going to be a fun conversation.

A big fan of Lord of the Rings. How cool is that? Still. Yeah, I know. Every year he watches it. That's incredible. We're over it. Have yourself a great Thursday. Enjoy the budget if you're watching. We'll catch you tomorrow. The Hits. For more podcasts from The Hits Network, check out iHeartRadio.co.nz.