Jono, Ben & Megan - The Podcast - FULL SHOW: Suzy Cato Reads Our Stroy!

Episode Date: December 12, 2024

ON THE SHOW TODAY We complete our version of The Night Before Christmas! "Santa can I show you my slideshow" Wellness hack? Or fail... Taylor Swift AUT course! Best Weekend! South island vs Stewart island! We NAIL the NZ Herald quiz! Can you? Facebook: The Hits Breakfast with Jono and Ben Instagram: THEHITSBREAKFAST See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is Jono and Ben podcast. Hey, that's us. Brought to you by HelloFresh, the experts and tastes that Kiwis love. Welcome to the podcast on a Friday and we're going to start with something that we've been working on all week with your help. And it's actually really, really fun. One of the most enjoyable things I think I've done on radio in the last few months. Yeah, I reckon. It's been really cool. So we started on Monday and to be honest, as we said on Monday, we weren't sure if this idea was going to fly. You were like, this is high concept stuff. I don't know if we can pull it off. You actually said, look, if it doesn't work, we'll just can it.

Yeah. I did. I did. I honestly did. I was like, hey, so what we thought we'd do is write a new version of the night before Christmas, make it a little bit more Kiwi. We threw out the first line and I was like, oh, maybe people might text back with the next line afterwards. We got so many texts each day.

So creative. Yeah. And it was so hard to pick the lines. Yeah, we picked our favorite line and, yeah, but we could have picked probably 20 or 30 each day. Yeah. That was still all incredible. And so each day we built on it and then we'd put another line out

and then people would respond. It was really, really fun. And today we wrapped with the final line and we put it out there to a beloved kiwi celebrity if she could read the whole thing from start to finish yeah again we put it out there and we weren't sure if it was going to happen but suzy kato came through for us it was a really really cool and to hear suzy read it it's just it's such a calming voice she's just so soothing so at ease but afterwards we're like're like, you should do some audio books or ASMR.

ASMR. Yeah, do something because it's just really calming. Yeah, it was beautiful. Thanks, Susie, for doing that. You'll hear that. You'll hear the version with all the listeners that came up with the best lines. And then straight afterwards, you'll hear Susie Cato today on the podcast. We're getting pretty close to December now, right?

We're definitely inside the two-week window. 12 days to Christmas. Yeah, 12 days to Christmas. There's a quick mass on the fly. It's an exciting time of year. It's an awesome time of year. And we thought, though, the night before Christmas, which is the book that my wife and I read to our kids,

which I know why we read them. I find that really surprising because your girls, Andy's 13 today. Happy birthday, Andy. Yeah, so they can definitely read it. She's reading far more advanced books than that. But it's cute that you read it to them still. Yeah, so eventually it'll be a bit weird,

you know, when they're like 25 and they're like, I want to read you the story again. I'm like, dude, they're already doing that to me. But yeah, so we thought we'd update it a little bit, make it a bit more New Zealand.

So with your help all week, we've put out the first line and then you've responded with a rhyme that to me but but yeah so we thought we'd update it a little bit make it a bit more New Zealand so with your help all week we've put out the first line and then you've responded with a rhyme and back and forth it's gone and we've actually created a really cool story yeah a Kiwi story a little bit silly but kind of lots of fun shout out to Wendy Wendy Dylan and Anthony who have contributed lines so far but this is what we've got and I'll include at the end the line that you need to rhyme with today because Because we kind of want to wrap it up. Being a Friday, we'll wrap it up. This will be the final line.

You will be responsible for the final line. Okay, what have we got so far? It was the night before Christmas and all through the land, Dave Dobbin was starting to warm up the band. Pab's in the oven, we're prepping the kai, doing a manu from up really high. Dad's gone to the shops in a mad Christmas dash. I really hope the cops don't find my stash. Yeah, that's your line.

Okay, so Santa's done a burnout right through the sky. Because we suddenly got to it yesterday and we're like, we need to kind of conclude it. We need to kind of have Santa arriving and stuff. So we're like, Kiwi fire, Santa's done a burnout, great, right through the sky, and then you've got some options at the end to go afterwards. He's hoping the house prices aren't too high.

Most of the toys are made in Shanghai. You know, like Megan got, from Daycare, Megan got pink eye. You know like Megan got From Daycare Megan got pink eye You know those are some options Oh yeah that's standard I got gastro for Christmas last year So those are some options But I think you can do better than our options

What about car pie? Oh car pie is good You've got good buys You've got car pie So we'll leave it to you Blow on the pie Yes But it is the final line.

Final line. It needs to kind of give it some sort of conclusion. Yeah. All right. Four, four, eight, seven on the text. And thanks to the warehouse. They've got the dazzling Christmas deals at the warehouse. Daily dazzling deal to the 20th of December.

Big savings for the big day. The hits. The Jono and Ben podcast. We've been trying to write a new version of the night before Christmas. Make it a little Kiwi. It's been really fun each day. We throw out a line, you respond back with something to rhyme it, and then we keep adding to our story, choosing our favourites.

It's been so hard to choose favourites. Yeah, there's so many good ones. Everyone's a poet, and it's, yeah, we've managed to get through it. So I can read it, and we'll land on the line that you need to rhyme with. Yeah. Okay, so here's where we're at so far. It was the night before Christmas Christmas and all through the land, Dave Dobbin was starting to warm up the band. Pab's

in the oven, we're prepping the kai, doing a manu from up really high. Dad's gone to the shops in a mad Christmas dash. I really hope the cops don't find my stash. There's treats up for Santa, some bickies and beer. The in-laws are knocking, pretend we're not here. Santa's done a burnout

Right through the sky This is where you come in So sky Up through the sky We've got Hopefully you'll have a seatbelt on Or he'll die It's a

Grim But also safety See this is the last line I don't feel like we can end on that Delivering presents So the kids don't cry As another text has come through Oh that's good

Wishing you a merry Christmas Goodbye Port Pye Very New Zealand Get your sunscreen so the kids don't cry is another text that's come through. Oh, that's good. Wishing you a Merry Christmas. Goodbye, Port Pie. Very New Zealand. Get your sunscreen on so you don't fry. Good. He did find my stash. That's why he's so high. Don't forget to always blow on the pie. Oh, that's good. Oh, that's good. Just caught my brother alone with the pie is another one. And we've all

over eased in and just want to die. I mean, there's so many great options. Oh, I like that one. There are so many. And the texts keep flooding through. Thank you so much to everyone that's text. But I think we've found someone. We have. Good morning, Hayley. Good morning.

This is a prestigious spot. You are wrapping up the night before Christmas. Okay. So what we're going to do is Megan's going to read out again, and we'll play the bits of audio from everyone contributing. From Wendy, Wendy, Dylan and Anthony and then at the end Hayley you're going to drop in your

deliver your line. Your last line. One shot, one opportunity like Eminem in a rap club okay. Alright you got this? I've got it. Have I got this? Here's our new version of A Night Before Christmas. Alright take it away, Megan. It was the night before Christmas and all through the land.

Dave Dobbin was starting to warm up the band. Pav's in the oven. We're prepping the kai. Doing a manu from up really high. Dad's gone to the shops in a mad Christmas dash. I sure hope the cops don't find my stash. There's treats up for Santa, some bickies and beer. The in-laws are knocking, pretend we're not here.

Santa's done a burnout right through the sky. Saying Merry Christmas to all and to all, ka pai. Oh, that's beautiful, beautiful. Well, we're going to hook you up with $50 to spend at the warehouse. Thank you for bringing such a lovely last line to our little story. No problem. Nailed it, Hayley. Have yourself a Merry Christmas

and thanks to the warehouse. They've got their dazzling deals. You can go check it out. 50% today off Maybelline Cosmetics, L'Oreal Skincare and High Smile, but not for Megan, the wrinkle expert. Sorry, mate.

Speak for yourself, babes. You'll have to pay full price for that one today at the warehouse. The Hits, the Jono and Ben podcast. Very excited about this. All this week we've been writing with your help a Kiwi version of The Night Before Christmas going line by line.

We throw out a line and then you respond on the text machine with suggestions for the other, for the rhyming, the next line and we've created a full story Megan. Yeah, a full Kiwi version of Twas The Night Before Christmas and thanks to the help of you guys, we did add in our own

version, our own lines. For example, it starts with, it was the night before Christmas, and all through the land Wendy came through with this. Day double, we're starting to warm up the band. Pab's in the oven, we're prepping the kai. Doing a manu from up really high. And it goes on. So we like the

Kiwi anglele tour. And Susie Cato joins us in the studio. Good morning, Susie. Kia ora, talofa. Great to have you here. Now, we asked yesterday if you could maybe come through. I mean, you're so nice. You don't have to do this.

But so awesome that you've come in to read out our finished version of the book. Hey, very, very special to be asked to read a story to everybody. So it's not quite the same when you're on the phone, is it? No. So lovely to be in the studio with you. Oh, it's lovely to have you. And, you know, we teased that we were hoping to get our beloved Kiwi in to read it, and people said on the text machine, I hope it's who's read it. They did.

Oh, seriously? Yeah. Oh, I'm honoured. Thank you. I know. You're just such a big part of so many Kiwis' lives. It must be so special. Oh, yeah.

It's an absolute honour. Absolute honour. And to think how many years that programme, You and Me, was on our screens. It's only about 30 years ago I started making that. Gosh, I find your voice comforting.

I know it is. Really? So if I start reading the story like this, it's not really going to work. No, it's not going to work so much. You must find it hard because you are so lovely. You're a lovely person.

But if you say you get a parking ticket or something like that, I mean, Susie. Oh, look, we all have bad hair days. Okay, okay. But in those days, I sent my husband out. Have you ever gotten off anything because the police officer was like, oh my gosh, Susie Caddo, I can't ticket you. Megan, can you imagine me doing anything wrong? Well, yeah, there's that too.

That's right. That's why. All right. So Susie's going to read it out, which is awesome. As created by everyone listening right now. And Susie, I think it's pretty good for you to read out too, right? There's only one semi-dodgy line. It could be anything too.

Anything at all. Leave it up to your imagination. Okay. So here it is, A Night Before Christmas. I read it by Susie Cato for you. Here you go. It was the night before Christmas, and all through the land, Dave Dobbin was starting to warm up the band.

Pav's in the oven, we're prepping the kai, doing a manu from up really high. Dad's gone to the shops in a mad Christmas dash. I really hope the cops don't find my stash. There's treats out for Santa. Some bickies and beer. The in-laws are knocking. Pretend we're not here.

Santa's done a burnout right through the sky, saying Merry Christmas to all and to all ka pai. Oh, that's beautiful. That's a lovely story. You guys are amazing. You make everything sound so good. It was like the coolest thing I've ever done on radio. Next time I get a rejection letter for a TV show I pitch,

I'll get you to read it back to me so it sounds a lot better. I'll change a few of the words. You'll be like, oh, they found it lovely. Oh, they did, didn't they? It was really good. Merry Christmas, Susie. You looking forward to Christmas? Yeah, looking forward to it.

It's going to be wonderful. Do you have any traditions that you do as a family? Do you have anything that you do every year? Yeah, putting up the Christmas tree with the Christmas music blaring and all those sorts of things. Yeah, a little bit different now that the kids are a little older. And, you know, they're off to work and things like that. So we have to fit in around them now. But yeah, no, it's great.

Do you set up the Christmas tree at a certain time every year? The idea, yeah, no, it's great. Do you set up the Christmas tree at a certain time every year? The idea, yeah, no. Because I do the 1st of November and everyone says that's too early. She goes quite early. 1st of November. Yeah, that's pretty early. Oh, okay, Susie Kato thinks that's too early. Oh, my goodness.

Not even the 1st of December. It's the 1st of November. Now, that is a real passion for Christmas. And then I take it down at the end of January. Just open up for a quarter of the year. Open up all year. You might as well. Well, Susie, thank you so much for coming in. And then I take it down at the end of January. Just live it up for a quarter of the year. Live it up all year. You might as well. Well, Susie, thank you so much for coming in.

That is so awesome to have you here. Thank you for inviting me. Merry Christmas. See you, see you later. It's time to say goodbye. Merry Christmas, everyone. Oh, beautiful. The Hits, the Jono and Ben podcast.

Selena Gomez has been engaged. She got engaged yesterday to Benny Blanco and a beautiful big ring. And she posted it and said, forever begins now. Top comment, Taylor Swift, yes, I will be the flower girl. Next comment, Justin Bieber going, how permanent is this? But she had a picnic and on the picnic blanket is Taco Bell. Yeah, Taco Bell. Apparently she's a huge fan of Taco Bell, which is great.

I love Taco Bell. So it's really kind of cool to see them do that. It's great for Taco Bell. Yeah, Taco Bell. Apparently she's a huge fan of Taco Bell, which is great. I love Taco Bell, so it's really kind of cool to see them do that. It's great for Taco Bell. Yeah, exactly. Now it's my daughter Indy's birthday today. Happy birthday, Indy. Youngest daughter, Indy, 13. Very, very proud of her. It's both my daughters.

And I was saying last night, I was also quite tired. I wrote the card to her and then my wife was like, you signed it, Ben. Love, Ben. I ben love ben oh my god i'm just not even thinking i've wrote a lovely message saying how proud i was you know because she's so smart she's so kind she's like caring she's really loving uh loving little girl and i'm very proud of her we've always been really grown up too which is one of the things she is very mature yeah even you know for the last couple of years like we'll be watching a movie and she'll

be like right i'm going to bed and you'll be like what it's fine i know she said yeah i'm tired you know i really love that about her she kind of knows what she wants and i hope that continues you know even with you know sometimes she likes to do stuff filming as well and other times i'm like do you want to be in this thing she's like no i'm fine and that's cool that's cool i kind of like the fact that she likes she's got a good sense of self yeah and she's one like she'll bake by herself and make things by herself. I'm like, yeah, cool. She does the oven.

She knows I'm like, and he'll turn it off. And he's got, it's like, she's the adult sometimes and I'm the kid. Yeah. You're more immature than your daughters. I know, yeah. And she's super organized, which is something I really love as well, because I'm, I like being super organized as well. And she's taken on board a Google doc.

She loves a document, you know, writing lists and stuff as well. I'm like, jamming, you're making me proud doing this. Of all the things you've done and achieved, this Google Doc is. Oh, yeah, we go away on holiday. She's like, I've made a list of the stuff we need. And we're like, that's great. You know, like. Oh, my God.

Yeah. And then, you know, what she, ideas for Christmas or birthday. She's like, I don't, you don't have to get me everything. And it starts from something a little like a pack of Maltesers to go up to something like shoes. You know, she gives you options. She's like, I know a lot of money. And she thinks about all those things, which is really cool, actually. Went to Santa once at the mall.

And a few years ago, she was quite little. And Santa was like, what do you want for Christmas? And she's like, I've got a Google Doc. I can share you in on that and he's like i have no idea what you're talking about yeah so it's a confused santa but the the google doc you showed me she includes images yeah and then she does it's an order of price from lowest to highest yeah she gives a breakdown of like what it is where you can get it it's like it's almost like a pdf yeah or like a powerpoint presentation yeah there's lots of

options it's great it's really great so you're like okay she wants this she wants a car you know you're going through but you're saying it's not just any of that stuff no apparently a lot of kids these days are doing it my niece and nephew have seen through a whatsapp message we have a special group and they've seen through the same thing a list of what they want and then links to it. And it's kind of an order of preference. Like this is what I really like, but I understand like it's a lot of money. So maybe cash towards it. Not a gift card because I need to use it for cash with this.

It's very specific. And I'm kind of like, okay, great. It's like a registry for kids, you know, like for the wedding. They kind of like put their stuff there and then you've got options. But then I'm like, can I stray from the list and get you something off the cuff? Oh, you can. I mean, you can. And then you're like, oh, dumb.

But, you know, I mean, I guess it gives you ideas of what they're into too. Yeah. You know, like so if they wanted something, Paw Patrol, for example, I don't know how old they are, 15, probably not. But then at least you go, okay, they're into that and you might see something else. And, hey, they're learning how to do presentations. Yeah. You're putting as much effort into your schoolwork as you are this PowerPoint presentation.

Probably more sometimes as well. So yeah. So there you go. Google Docs. The kids, Google Slides, Google Images, they're all doing it. Maybe that's a new thing we just got to jump on board for. The Hits, the Jono and Ben podcast. Of course.

But we wanted to know, have you ever taken part in, or, you know, sort of wellness or fitness things that may be, you know, unusual for some people. Sometimes they go great for people, and other times you go, oh, what was that? It's such a big trend at the moment, and I think especially this time of the year, going into summer, people freak out. All you need for a beach body is a body. Just remember that.

But, like, you know, people try different things and get your eating back on track and all of that kind of stuff. I remember many years ago I was filming a TV show and we were doing some interviews with some people. And our camera guy, who was a Kiwi guy living in America, he was on an all-meat diet. He just started that. Remember Bryn who reads the news?

He did that. The carnival diet. So he was pretty that. Remember Bryn, who reads the news? He did that. The carnival diet. So he was allowed egg. He was pretty much eating eggs and steak. Yeah. And so, and I was interviewing

one of the guys from the Black Eyed Peas. Sorry, I'm not going to do a name job, but in the middle of the interview. Which one? Apple Diet. Taboo.

Taboo for the Black Eyed Peas. And midway through the interview, he just stopped and I was like, what's going on? And he looked over and he's like, sorry,

he's like, what's up with your camera guy? And we looked in the corner and he just stopped. And I was like, what's going on? And he looked over and he's like, sorry. He's like, what's up with your camera guy? And we looked in the corner and he was just like dripping in sweat, like he'd been under a shower. It was just like, he's on an all-meat diet. He's got the meat sweats. Yeah. Literally.

Literally. The rest of us was like, I think air conditioning, we're on. But he was just so sweaty. These are the trends and things that people do that make doctors cringe. They're all like, please don't do that. So we wanted to know this morning, have you ever taken part in one? Because we were talking to Shelton, who's from Kiwi bands like Blindspot. Made you look.

Really talented drummer. Now he goes to like a retreat almost where you just don't talk for pretty much two weeks. Yeah, this is him explaining it. You've been studying meditation. Yeah. And you'll go to these camps and you won't say a word for how many days? Yes, 10 to 12 days. So it's silent.

It's like a course. People say it's a retreat, but it's not really that comfortable. It sounds a bit creepy because there's no eye contact or no talking or anything like that. But that's mainly just designed so that you kind of go in instead of being distracted by anything external. So you don't talk for like, what, 10 to 12 days? 12 days, yeah. No eye contact.

No eye contact. You're only allowed two meals a day, so last meal's at 11 in the morning. And then he said the biggest thing he noticed was like when you drive, when you leave there and you drive, everything external, like all of these things rushing past you are suddenly quite overwhelming. I imagine so. Because you completely slow and you drive, everything external, like all of these things rushing past you are suddenly quite overwhelming. I imagine so.

Because you completely slow down and take in everything around you. Not talking to anyone, and then suddenly you've got traffic and cars and noise and all sorts. That would be your worst nightmare. Oh, yeah. Being alone with my thoughts.

And not being able to knock on your phone. Knock on the phone. No eye contact. Like to-do lists. I'm not listed today. I'm not doing anything. Knock on the phone. No eye contact. Like to-do lists. So I'm not listed today. I'm not doing anything. I'm just meditating. Wow.

Can you imagine how isolating that is? Pretty impressive. So we wanted to know, oh, 800 the hits, 4487. Have you done anything like that in the wellness space? And has it worked? I mean, it might have worked like that. Shelton loves it and swears by it. Something like the meat sweat diet that you're like, you know,

or the meat diet that you're like, well, that wasn't so good. And I'm going to do this. We're going to put people in the draw for Gold Coast, Megan. Okay. If you get on the air. All right. No, I don't know if I'm allowed to do that, but I'm going to do it anyway. Yeah, no.

I've said it now. So, yeah, I said before it was one of your final chances. We're right now 0800 The Hits. If you've done anything like that. The Hits, the Jono and Ben podcast. We wanted to talk about wellness trends. Feels like this is the time of the year that people jump on board these. But Shelton from Blindspot, you might know his band or Major Look.

He was telling us that he goes on a silent retreat for almost two weeks. No talking, no eye contact, two meals a day. And so you're basically, it's kind of like solitary confinement. Yeah, pretty incredible but he swears by it he loves it mine must go to some interesting places it'd be ben's worst nightmare it would it would be my social media maybe it would be good for me you know that's the thing uh we worked with someone who was on an all potato diet at one stage didn't last long but everything was potato orientated i did the lemon detox diet

which i don't think anyone does anymore it is lemon juice water cayenne pepper and honey or maple syrup so you did what drink a lot of that yeah i was like three liters a day and nothing else nothing else i remember i was uh working in radio and i I was it's really hard to go to the toilet because we only have a song. Yeah. So I was missing a lot of air time because I was spending a lot of time in the toilet. I think I lasted a day and a half and I was like

I can't do this. You're flushing your system. It's all coming out. It's grim. Alright well what have you got involved in? We'll put you in the draw for the Gold Coast as well. Good morning Sarah. What did you, what wellness trend have you got on board with? Oh, me? Sorry. Yeah. Good morning. So a friend and I decided to do like a green juice diet. So it was like 48 hours and it was like kale and like cucumber and just like horrible yeah um so we took ourselves away for the weekend because we were like we can't have any temptation

um and then on the way home we just went to mcdonald's and like bought hunger busters because we were just so hungry did you um without getting too graphic end up like me with the the drinking diet that i? Did you spend a lot of time in the bathroom? No. Like, yeah, it was horrible. It was like really gluggy and just like, yeah, it was just not a nice time. Why do we do this to ourselves? Yeah.

Pretend it never happened. I love it how quickly people move on from those things. They're like, that's a great idea. And you're like, no, this sucks. It sucks. So thank you. You're in the draw for the Gold Coast. Good, that's a great idea. And you're like, no, this sucks. It sucks. So thank you. You're in the jaw for the Gold Coast. Good luck.

Have a great weekend. And Christmas. Thanks, babe. Thanks, Sarah. Chris, good morning. Did you do a wellness trend? Yes, yes, I did. What was it?

Well, I got diagnosed with type 2 diabetes a couple of years ago. Okay. And HbA1c, which is the test they're measuring blood sugars on, was 84, and the normal range is about 40. Right, okay. I was well over, and I did a whole lot of research around it, and found like a high-neat, high-protein diet, but really low carbs. So 30 grams of carbs was my range for the day of daily.

Zero sugars. Um, wow. Yeah. And I've lost 35 kg. Jeez. Yeah. Yeah.

And my HbA1c is down to 38 now. So I've reversed it. So that's impressive. Do you feel, do you feel better? Like. Sorry, my kidney cares as well. Sorry, not caring about weight.

Every two years for my job, I have to do a fitness test and an obstacle course. It takes about two and a half minutes to do it. And I used to struggle on that, but this time, last time I did it, it was a breeze. Oh, awesome. Is that like you're not allowed to eat any treats either? No.

There are some things you can get, like sugar-free lollies and dark chocolate, which is really low on sugars and things like that. You can kind of get away with a little bit of a treat every now and then. Good on you. You have more willpower than me. Yeah, well, great. It's working out for you, and it's working out for you to maybe go to the Gold Coast as well. Thanks for your call.

Thank you. I'll go to do a shout-out to my wife. She's probably listening. Oh, yeah. The Hits, the Jono and Ben podcast. The Swifts Errors Tour wrapped up this week. It's been an amazing day. Such a huge thing to have lived through in our lives.

It's just such a big thing in the entertainment world that we'll probably never see again. And from it, there's been so many things that's happened in the world, but including something here in New Zealand, they've started an AUT course on Taylor Swift. There would be a lot to study. Yeah, which is really, really interesting. Even business, you know, business stuff. Maybe I need to take the course.

I think it sounds like you definitely do. We wanted to know more about this Taylor Swift course you can take at AUT. And joining us right now is the lecturer of the course from AUT. It's Rebecca. Kia ora. Kia ora. How are you? Kia ora.

Yeah, we're doing well. Lovely. Thank you so much for joining us. That's very exciting. Australasia's first ever Taylor Swift-inspired course. So where did this all come from? Well, it's kind of a little bit of me because when I've been teaching at AUT I'm always using Taylor Swift as an example to teach theory because

everyone recognizes her. Everyone knows what I'm referring to when I talk about an event of Taylor. So I've naturally been talking about Taylor a lot but then we had the concert in Melbourne in February this year and our school of communication studies was one of six universities that put together the Swiftposium so that was an academic conference where we had three days we had 120 academics around the world come and talk about Taylor Swift specifically. And then that kind of justified that Taylor Swift is really important in academia. And so we've been able to create this new course at AUT. How many people are doing the course? Oh, we have a full class.

We have about 25 enrolled, which is fantastic. What kind of things is it studying her? She's obviously a very successful businesswoman. What particularly things are you going to learn in the class well we have six different majors in the bachelor of communication studies so we've been able to see in each of those majors how swift uses the principles of that field in her everyday experiences of her career. So it might be the digital communication major where Swift started off with her own webpage and was blogging to her fans.

And then she went to MySpace and then she had Tumblr. And then now she's using her social media platforms for political statements. So we can see how she's doing the skills that we ask of our students. And so it's just a matter of exploring how we can see those in action and then breaking down how it's being done. Has she enrolled in the course?

Unfortunately, no. Unless she's under like a pseudonym, she's not in this course. Do you know if she has any idea about the course? I think she knows that well she definitely knows there are courses about her the first one was at nyu back in 2022 where she's got the phd from that university so i think that one might have been the most applicable one that she would have actually attended uh but i know there's at least 40 different versions of Taylor Swift courses globally at university. So we're the first in Australasia, but not the first in the world.

So if everyone there, it might be a dumb question, but are they all Swifties? Or are some people just there because they admire what she does and want to learn from it? There's actually a great range. So there are definitely Swifties, which is fantastic because it means I'm getting to learn elements of Swift that I just don't know because I haven't invested 18 years of my life in. Good investment, though. Good investment, those 18 years.

It is. An investment in their knowledge. But we also have students who are interested to see how Swift as a topic could be interesting. But we also have students that might just be like, hey, I want to do a summer school course and this seems the most fun out of all of them. That's really fascinating.

So can people sign up? Is this something that will continue? Well, it's too late now for this version of the course, but we'll have to announce when it's opening up again. They're going to do another era. It's really cool for people to have a passion, something you're into, you know, whether it's a sports team, whether it's a celebrity, whatever it is, it can be anything, a hobby, but when you're passionate about it, it gives you something else in your life and something like this has led to amazing courses at university. It's incredible.

Yeah, and I love the fact that as like a young teenage girl where it's so easy to be dismissed that you're just a fan of something and it's just a relevant knowledge that you have about a pop star, hopefully young girls and teens out there realizing that university is a place to go to actually study something they already know incredibly well. And it can be fun. And your knowledge is actually prioritised here at AUT.

I appreciate your time. And congratulations on what you're doing. It's really awesome. It's getting towards the end of the year. Christmas functions are going on. You attended something last night. A little bit late, I guess, in some ways, Megan. Yeah, me and producer Ali went along.

It was like a lot of girls from the from the radio industry yeah and um we were like we'll just stay for a little bit i probably went to bed at 11 o'clock and when your alarm goes off at 3 45 i'm like oh no yeah people who are listening right now will probably understand that you know at the end of a busy busy year a busy week and you know you're you're just getting angry whilst making me laugh because you've got your phone on, which I don't actually use. Don't you? No. So it's like facial recognition on your phone, right?

Yeah, so it unlocks when it sees my face. But you're getting salty with your phone because you're like, no, it's my face. Because it's like, no, face recognition, try again, try again, put in your passcode. I was like, I don't look that tired. Good Lord. Doesn't even recognize me this morning. It is one of those, you know, one of those times of the year where you're like, whew, you know, everyone feels like they need a bit of a break.

Last night, that's because my daughter's Indy. It's her birthday today. Oh, happy birthday, Indy. Yeah, happy birthday. Yeah, she won't be. She's not up for sure. She'll probably be up very shortly. She's very up and at them.

But whether she'll be listening to the radio, that's another story. No, but yeah, so I was signing your card last night and again, very tired. And I just signed a card and gave it to my wife, Amanda. She was going to sign it. And then she's like, you signed it, Ben. And I was like, oh. Yeah, she wants my autograph. I'm so used to signing autographs.

Weird. That's so weird. And then I'm like, do I scribble it out? Or like, so I was going to put dad slash bed. Like she didn't know who dad was. signing autographs weird that's so weird and then i like do i scribble it out or like so i just kind of put dad slash bed like she didn't know who dad was i'm like oh that's such a weird thing to do just you when you're an autopilot you're not really thinking you write a note and then you're like ben love ben they shouldn't write jono and do and Ben, you know, so Jono can just run the Jono part. So, yeah, it's definitely getting to the time of year.

She had a dance recital last night too, which was really cool to go along. Her first year of sort of dancing and it was cool to see. But by the end of it, jeez, it was hot in the theatre. Just with so many bodies and, you know, summertime, but also just all the dancing going on. Oh, yeah. I was sweating, like watching.

Where was the air con? I don't know. I don't think there was any. By the end of it, I was like, summertime, but also just all the dancing going on. Oh, yeah. I was sweating, like, watching. Where was the air con? I don't know. I don't think there was any. By the end of it, I was like, well, Phil, I've been dancing for, like, an hour and a half. It was so hot. Also, yesterday was very sticky. You know, muggy, and you went to a dance with someone.

You don't want to be sticky at a dance with someone, that's for sure, especially as a grown man. Yeah. The Hits, the Jono and Ben podcast. We like to find out which island's having the best weekend. And when we do the best weekend, Megan. Who's having the best weekend? It's normally a very hard fort out on the pitch.

The battle is intense. And joining us today, well, currently, just Connor from the south. Now, Connor, I don't know. She might be a landslide. She might be running scared, you know. There's been some victories of late for you. I've taken Hayley's phone away from her. I've managed to get some operatives in Wellington,

and her phone has been destroyed. Okay, so let's get your South Island propaganda out there right now. Okay, what's happening in the South? Well, these legends, there are a couple in Christchurch who have started a business called Aqualand Wipeout. Now, this is a massive inflatable wipeout. You know the TV show Wipeout? Remember that show?

Yeah. Essentially, it's that. Awesome. But safer for kids. And this weekend, they're running a competition where everyone can come across. There's a bunch of prizes to be won for all ages. You can jump on the red big bouncy balls.

There's the slide. There's all this stuff going on in Kaipoi. So a Wipeout challenge this weekend in Klaipoi. That sounds cool. That sounds so much fun. You kind of want an adults-only time out there as well, I imagine, too. It would be amazing. I think they do run sessions like that, too.

Thought of it, Ben. They've thought of it. They're all over it. They don't need suggestions from me. They're all over it. What else in the south? Well, there are Olympians in your hometown, Nelson, this weekend, Megan, for the brand-new spectacle.

It's a brand-new running challenge. They've got road, trail runs, and the Elite Mile, the Elite Mile is where the likes of Sam Tanner and all those Olympians will be racing around, so that'll be awesome for Nelson. I'm actually heading up doing the 21K trail run tomorrow morning, which I am dreading because I have not trained at all enough for that. This was you just getting on a humble brag, eh? Oh, I'm actually up going, doing

what, 21Ks? I don't know if you guys know this, but I'm really fit. I'm really athletic. Exactly. But I can't believe this. The biggest event they have is the 100 mile. A 160 kilometre single track

forestry road, sweat, dust, dirt trail run. That sounds insane. Well, Connor, we've got a wee surprise for you right now because we can't get hold of Hayley from the North Islands, but there's been a bit of controversy over our best weekend because we put the two islands up against each other. We never focus

on Stewart Island. There's actually three islands in Aotearoa. So we've got Skylar on right now, I think, from Stewart Island. Good morning actually three islands in Aotearoa. So we've got Skylar on right now, I think, from Stewart Island. Good morning. Good morning, Skylar. Good morning. How are you guys? We're doing alright. How dare we forget you? I'm so sorry about that. What is happening in Stewart Island

this weekend? This weekend? Wow, you know, from the pub's point of view, I work at the pub. Oh, nice. There'll be, you know, quite a bit of booze happening, I guess. You'll be coming in for a few drinks. Yeah, I love it. I love it.

I'm already sold. You can't beat that, Connor. You can't beat that. No, you can't beat that. A lot of fishing, obviously. Fishing Island. I'm looking at organising our staff do, so we'll get all the staff out, go fishing, go check some cray pots,

you know, have a good feed after as well. Oh, awesome. Because there's only about 400 people, I think, that live in Stewart Island. Yep. Do you know pretty much, you must pretty much know everyone. Yeah, yeah, I don't know if I don't know any others,

you know, there's 400. I either see them at the pub or run into them in the shop, you know? Is there, you see the pub, is there one pub? Yeah, we're the only pub. Okay. It's got accommodation at the pub as well, too.

It's the one that I think, did Prince Harry go and do a quiz, a pub quiz at your pub? Yeah, we've had Prince Harry. I hosted for David Hasselhoff not too long ago. Wow. Yeah, so we get a few stars down here. Beavies, Craypots, Prince Harry.

You guys have missed an island as well. You've missed an island. What, what? Don't bring Chathams into this, mate. Chatham Island. Chatham Island. Great barriers on the phone too. They want to get on board.

All right, well, we need to make it. I'm going to give it to Stuart Island. They'll be the best weekend. That's where I want to be. Connor thought he had a victory. No, Hayley. I'm going to give it to Stuart Island. They're having the best weekend. That's where I want to be. Connor thought he had a victory. No, Hayley. We surprised him with Skylar from Stuart Island. Hey, Stuart Island wins this weekend.

Skylar, so lovely to talk to you. We'd love to come visit Stuart Island one day. It looks like such an amazing place you live in. So thank you so much for your time. The Hits, the Jono and Ben podcast. Start the day with a New Zealand Herald Daily Quiz. Well, I say we like to start. Well, maybe we don't. This week has been a shocker. We have not

done that well at the Daily Quiz, so producer Ellie's in to read some questions, and she reckons you haven't looked at the answers, Jenny, but you've looked at the first question. You reckon you know it, so hopefully we do. We're going to get one right, I think, if I can even plan on, because again, I haven't looked at it, so I'm coming in blind as well, all right?

So, question number one. Kratos is the main character of what video game series? Assassin's Creed, Red Dead Redemption, or God of War? Kratos. Yeah, so you're the video game person. Yeah, I can answer that right, because I don't know the answer. Am I just Jono today? Yeah, coming hot with a big arm. Yeah, coming hot. God of War. Guys, I reckon it that right because I don't know the answer. Am I just Jono today? Should I come in hot with a big arm?

Yeah, come in hot. God of War. Guys, I reckon it's God of War. Oh, is it? Oh, God of War. Yeah, yeah. Nice. You're done.

God of War. Megan got that right, actually. There we go, Megan. Yay. All right, question number two. What is the name for a seven-sided figure? Is it a heptagon, a heptadecagon, or a hexagon? All right, question number two. What is the name for a seven-sided figure? Is it a heptagon, a heptadecagon, or a hexagon?

Hexagon six, isn't it? Yes, I think you're right. What's the last one? Hexagon. Now, my sister used to be a heptathlete, which was seven events. So is it heptagon? Yeah. That's my guess, but I don't actually know. Yeah, well that sounds good.

Heptagon. Let's go with Heptagon. In memory of your sister and her athletic career. I repeat. She's doing well? You're like, no, she's at the Olympics, you idiot. Is she? Is she or not? Nah, she quit when she was like 20 but she's actually getting back into it. So we'll see. We'll see. Yeah, there you go. That was correct.

I only want to know the seven events now, but that's not, that's not, we'll worry about that later. Yeah, I'll tell you what, it's not important. All right. Question number three.

What does the term, oh no, preta porta refer to in fashion design? Oh, Megan. Yeah. Megan, nodding. Is it hort couture collections,

ready to wear clothing? Ready to wear. Yeah? Ready to wear. All right. That is correct. Yay! Nice.

Was that the first one? A horse or something? I was like, oh, jeez. Which one? A horse couture. I can't remember what it was, and it's gone now. Okay. Question number four.

We're at four. Oh, my gosh. That's a personal best for the week. Yeah. Well done. Okay. In 1973, which Canterbury town recorded the highest temperature ever in New Zealand of 42.4 degrees Celsius?

Jeez. Was it Geraldine, Rangiora, or Rolleston? And we're worried about climate change now. That 42, when was this? That was in 1973. Jeez. That's crazy. Okay.

Rangiora, I reckon. You reckon? Geraldine or... Yeah, Geraldine, Rangiora, or Rolleston. Should we throw it at the text machine? I think we should. I feel like at this point we're doing okay. So, yeah, let's not blow it.

So the question again, 1970... In 1973, which Canterbury town recorded the highest temperature ever in New Zealand of 42.4 degrees Celsius? Was it Geraldine, Rangiora or Rolleston? All right, let's throw it to the text machine. If you can help us out, We can go to the text machine once We haven't used it this week There's probably a half hour down We haven't gone that far

Just looking at a photo of Taylor Swift How she gets to her Errors tour When they sneak her into the stage Is it like a dowel? When they put her in a suitcase? Yeah well it's like They call it like a cleaning cart She calls it

Yeah so it's like a big sort of Black sort of case Yeah so a box And they sort of wheel it in But, she calls it. Yeah, so it's like a big sort of black sort of case. Yeah, so a box and they sort of wheel it in. But she's got it decked out quite nice. She's got a few pictures up of her cats, like frame pictures on there. I think some people are like, oh, she's got a picture of someplace in Wales. So maybe she put a local picture up as well. She's sort of sitting there as well as they sort of wheel her up to the stage.

It's kind of cool, though. Yeah, I love that all these secrets will be revealed now that it's over. Yeah, it doesn't matter now, right? But it's kind of cool. She's got framed pictures of her cats. But anyway, we're in the middle of today's New Zealand Herald Daily Quiz. Doing okay today, guys. Doing okay.

We are. We are. We're at question number five. All right. For our readers out there, who wrote the Jack Ryan series of novels? Was it Frederick Forsyth, Jack Higgins, or Tom Clancy? It's Tom Clancy, isn't it? Yeah, I think it is.

That was my gut too. Yeah. Correct. Well done. Well done. Oh, my God. Six. Okay.

Question number six. Which country is the easternmost on the African mainland? Yeah, which country is the easternmost on the African mainland? Never eat soggy Weet-Bix. It's to the right. Yeah, nice. Okay, so the options. I was doing the

Weet-Bix one. The options are Somalia, Ethiopia, or Kenya. This is hard. I'm bad at geography. I'm, wait, hang on, just got my African map. Somalia, Kenya, and Ethiopia. It's not Kenya.

Okay. It's not Kenya. Okay. Okay. All right. Where's Kenya? How do you know that? Isn't it down there? Okay.

And we're talking here. Okay. East. Love it. I'm going to trust you because I don't know. I don't know. Somalia. Do we – should we try Somalia? Should we just go on hot? Because I don't know. I don't know. Do we –

Should we try Somalia? Should we just go on hot? Because I don't actually know. Yeah, okay. Okay. That's correct. Oh, my goodness. Oh, my goodness.

Told you it wasn't Kenya. Well done. I mean, really, yeah, we guessed our way through, but it's all right. That's okay. Well, we did it. Okay, so question number seven. Brown sugar is made from refined sugar with the addition of what substance? Molasses, honey, or caramel?

Caramel. Yeah, is it caramel? Yeah. Correct. Well done, Megan. You already come to your own in the cooking sort of ones, don't you? Yeah. Cooking and fashion.

Yeah. You're right. And some sports sometimes, actually. Okay, question number eight. I reckon we can get this as well. Which actress plays giselle the main character in the 2007 film enchanted amy adams oh my god oh my god we're coming through on a friday okay all right massey university this

question number nine massey university has through has campuses in which three cities is it deneden wellington palmy a yeah that's that's what i was going to say it is an option Campuses in which three cities? Is it Dunedin? Auckland, Wellington, Parmy, eh? Yeah. That's what I was going to say. It is an option as well. There's Auckland. Yeah, there is one in Auckland, isn't there? There is. And what was the other?

Wellington. Should we go through the options? Yeah, so that's the first option, which you've said. Or there's Palmerston North, Auckland, Hamilton. Or there's Dunedin, Wellington, Palmerston North. No. So it's not that one, because we know there's a little campus in Auckland, right? There is one.

Yeah. North Shore, I think. Yes, yes. Okay. So it's not that one because we know there's a little campus in Auckland, right? There is one. Yeah. North Shore, I think. Yes. Yes. Okay. Auckland, Wellington, Palmy. Okay. Do you agree?

That's my gut. Do we agree Auckland and Palmy? Yeah. Let's go with number one. Okay. Yeah. It's definitely not on Hamilton, eh? No.

That's the one I'm not sure about. Yeah. No, I don't think so. All right. We're going to go with the Wellington one. That's correct. Oh. Well done.

We're at question number 10, guys. Why does this always happen on a Friday? Do they make them easy on a Friday? Maybe. Let's not ask them that, though. Okay, last question. Here we go. Okay, which singer first recorded Don't Cry For Me, Argentina?

It wasn't Madonna. No, but she did the cover, didn't she? Okay, so that's an option. So it's not Madonna. Is it Julie Covington or Barbara Streisand? There's only two options. Or Madonna, but it's not Madonna. So it's not Madonna. Is it Julie Covington or Barbara Streisand? There's only two options. Or Madonna, but it's not Madonna. Sorry, yeah, sorry.

Don't cry for me, I didn't mean all this. Surely Barbara did the cover. I remember my mum had the Evita and they had it on there, but I don't think there must be another cover as well. That would be the original Evita singing it, right? Yeah, like Barbara. Yeah, I feel like, I don't know, but I feel like you're right, that Barbara and Madonna would have done covers,

and Julie Covington, who I've never heard of before. Probably played the role in the musical. Yeah, sounds like something Julie would do. This is for the win, guys. All right, let's lock in Julie. Okay, guys, all right, we're locking it in. That is correct! Nice!

Terrible week to pull it back in the end.