Jono, Ben & Megan - The Podcast - FULL SHOW: We chat to Taylor Swift! Well her tribute artist...

Episode Date: May 6, 2025

  How old does Megan actually look? Our royal correspondent on what's happening with Prince Harry? Jazz Thornton on what a social ban for under 16s would actually affect Why Ben has a new go-to is the exotic caramel macchiato coffee... Why Jono is sorting his Christmas presents already! Facebook: The Hits Breakfast with Jono, Ben & Megan Instagram: THEHITSBREAKFAST  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is the Jono, Ben and Megan podcast, thanks to HelloFresh, your home advantage for delicious midweek dinners that everyone will love. Welcome to the podcast. We just got back into the studio for after the show. Megan, you had to walk stairs, which is like your mortal arch nemesis. I am wearing semi flats today, so it was fine. But we walked down the dizzying heights of the management label and you guys were like taking us around a corner and you're like, we've gone too far. So we had to go back up again. Turns out. We hadn't gone too far.

We just got to another stairwell, hadn't we? So we had to go back down again. You're taking me up and down and up and down. For someone who hates stairs, that was probably the worst stair experience you've got to be. I'm sorry. And that was, we're a bit lost, weren't we? So, but stairs, I don't enjoy stairs. Have you got the option?

Oh no, I'd take the stairs if I got the option. Do you? Yeah. I always find it's quicker. Of course he does. I find it's quicker. I find that people generally, and a lot of people, I get it, they like to be closer to the thing.

If you go over a car park further away, you always find a car park. Yes, you have to walk a bit further. Same with stairs. It's like, you get in and out. Otherwise, you lift, you're faffing about, you're doing all sorts of stuff. You're trapping, you're right. Andy, my daughter and I, we're always stairs, and then my other daughter and wife, they're always lift.

And we're like, oh, sweet, we'll see you up there. And sometimes we meet them, sometimes we don't. Which daughter is Sienna the stairs? Yeah, no, she's lift. She's lift. Her and Amanda definitely lift all day. So in a car park building, you're level 11. I'll go wherever.

Yeah, Amanda will always go around the front, drive and try to get a part. Here you come, here you go. I'm just like, just get out of the rat race. So would you walk 11 flights of stairs and now catch the lift? Yeah, well, yeah. I mean, sometimes if it's big buildings, I wouldn't, but yeah. But if I got the opportunity. Yeah, like.

Like a sky tower. Oh my god, next time they do that fireman's race where they wear all the hair. That would be hard though. There you go, that's you. Couple levels, you know, couple levels I'll do it. But if not, you know. I mean, it's good for you, isn't it?

It sucks though. Especially at this job, we don't move much. Yeah. I sit down for three hours. It'd be good if you could burn calories with your mouth moving. Yeah, true. We do a lot of that. Actually, we start things off because someone's mouth got away with themselves. They. Yeah, true. We do a lot of that. Actually, we start things off

because someone's mouth got away with themselves. They're calling Megan 19. I thought you were going to say me. I was like, no, someone else called me 19. No, someone else did call you 19. Said I looked 19. From a particular photo shoot that we had, we get into that at the start.

You do look younger in this photo. I'll give you that. It is the lighting. He'll give you that, but he'll also mock you for the next six minutes of the podcast. And if you keep taking the stairs, you could look like that every day, all right? Enjoy the lighting. He'll give you that, but he'll also mock you for the next six minutes of the podcast. And if you keep taking the stairs, you could look like that every day, all right? Enjoy the podcast.

John O'Benn and Megan. The podcast. The hits. Now, a little bit of a back story, okay? Around the country at the moment, you might see the odd poster of the show, John O'Benn and Megan. Now, in order for us to capture those images, we had to have a photo shoot, Ben.

Yeah, we did. And it's quite a close-up photo shoot. The full faces of us. Have you seen them around? Quite distinctive. They were in the close. Yeah, they weren't cut together. We actually had to be

that close together. I don't think in any other environment my cheeks would be pressed so hard against Megan's cheeks. And your cheeks too, Ben. I know, and your wife was there too. And they're like, get a bit closer. Touch her.

I'm like, I don't want to touch him. No one wants to touch me. The only way I get touched is ordering photo shoots. But anyway, this is by the by. Something was said to Megan that she's really hung on to. There was wonderful lighting. You've hung on to it. I have not brought it up again.

And you heard it too. I didn't say anything. She brought it up again. And you heard it too. I didn't say anything. She said it to me and you heard it. And straight away, didn't even give me a moment to bask in the glory. Ben's like, ugh. Yeah, okay. Well, it was an outrageous claim. It was an outrageous claim.

Yeah. She was a lovely, lovely person as well. So you took some selfies while the lighting was really good. And you can vouch for this, Ben. The lighting was incredible. It was soft, beautiful. It smoothed everything out. It was amazing lighting.

Yeah, it's a photo studio. It looked great. You're right. The lighting's set. Ben and I were like, we're going to take advantage of this lighting. We're going to take some selfies, as we did. And they took some photos of us individually, and they pop up on our computer screen.

And that's when our makeup artist turned to me and was like, you look 19. 19! You look so great. 19! I was like, oh my God. And then I think I just looked at you two and was like, 19!

Yeah, she overshot the mark a little bit. She did. Before the shoot, she's like, oh, did I tell you I'm actually medically diagnosed with glaucoma? She just chucked that into conversation. 19. She was doing makeup on my knee, into my face. So that's how her eyesight was bad. I mean, yes, it is smoothing lines on my face.

But I reckon I could pass a 19. If Sydney makes you look younger, I'll give you that. I would say 33. I'll give you that. I would say 33. I'll give you a 33. We'll put the photo up on Instagram. On our social media. Yeah, on the social media. I'm asking myself to get bullied now.

But we're going to put this to the test. Not for the young people. They can't get on and bully you. 16 plus though. But keep in mind, I didn't say it. This was something someone said to me. I designed a series of experiments that we're going to take part in. Send you out into the wild to test your age.

Like, you know, going to purchase alcohol. Will you be ID'd? I do get ID'd sometimes. Do you? Yes. And I always tell you about it. Okay. But right now, you know, sound of a voice is pretty hard to tell someone's age.

It deepens as you get older. It gets, like, a voice is pretty hard to tell someone's age. Yeah. It deepens as you get older. It gets, like, slightly deeper. You're trying to talk hard now. Okay, so we're going to play a game as we go on this journey to see how young Megan really is in the public's eye. You call us up, and we want to try and guess your age just by your voice. This could cause high offence. But this could be something people have said to you before.

Maybe you sound older or maybe you have a real childlike voice. Yeah, can you trick us? Jono, Ben and Megan. The podcast. The hits. Well, there was a claim made that Megan under the lighting looked what? 19. 19.

Not by me. The makeup artist who did an amazing job. We love her. She gave me a compliment and said I look like a man particular photo we put on the hits breakfast Instagram

but if you want to see the link you can text Megan to 4487 and text us back with what you think text us back some honest feedback

of what age bracket do you think if she was filling out a census what bracket she would fall into definitely make sure younger

yeah it's all the lighting and it was that particular you know that particular shoot. Now, listen, I'm aging like bloody avocados in the sun. There's nothing that lighting could do for me. One day you're nice and green, next day you're brown. Yeah.

So we are going to try and just put this to the test. Does Megan look like a teenager? Does Megan look like we could ban her from social media? You could have just let me have the compliment. No, no. Straight away, Ben's like, oh. Well, no, it's also peppered with she'll ban her from social media. You could have just let me have the compliment. No, no. Straight away, Ben's like, oh. Well, no, it's also peppered with, she'll come back from the weekend,

she'll be like, just got ID'd for buying a bottle of salve. You know, so we're just collating all this information. We're just going to put it to the test. Just put it to bed. Put this issue to bed. We actually want to know on 0800 the hits. We want you to phone up, and we're going to try and guess your age.

We did put this to the test during the ad break with Baker's Delight where we got the poor Baker, very confused Baker, to try and figure out which one of us sounded the youngest.

Yep. Okay. Hi, I'm Megan Peppers. Okay. Hello, my name is Jono. And hello, my name is Ben. Who sounds the youngest? Megan.

There's one on the board. She's got runs on the board What did she have? Why did she sound youngest? I don't know It's just her voice She put on a voice She put on a voice You put on a voice

She went higher Than she normally does Okay so you look the youngest You sound the youngest I also am the youngest By the way So far So far

So far Things have far, so far. Things have started to sway your way. By like birthday. Listen, we're going to try and guess your age, Jan. Tell us a little bit about yourself. Tell us what year you were born in. No, don't. I can't tell you that.

I'm 27. Oh, you just told us your age. I'm guessing Jan's 27 or she's bluffing. And I work in an office. Yeah, now the age, the whole format of the age game is weird to guess the age. Well, you did say tell us your birthday, so you kind of bamboozled her. Are you 27? You sound a lot younger, Jan, if you don't mind me saying.

I would have said 18. Do you get that a lot when you're on the phone? Yeah, I feel like I do sound quite young. Yeah. Very hard to pick sometimes, isn't it? What do you do, little child? What do you do for a job? You have yourself a great day, Jan.

We appreciate you calling up this morning. We'll find you something. Do appreciate it. Okay, James, try not to tell us your age. Tell us what you do for a job First thing up I want to tell Megan You shouldn't listen to Ben

Take the compliment And run with it Oh thank you James Have you seen the photo No have you seen the photo James No I haven't seen the photo Yeah you need to judge for yourself Now having talked to James

I'm going to go Should we go 36 Okay 36 Alright you happy with that Megan I would have said a bit younger, maybe. Oh, okay. Okay, well, what do you want to go?

34. Okay, 34. Okay. James? I had 10 years for that, Megan. Thanks for the comment today. Oh, well, there we go. Couldn't guess your age, James.

You're going to win. You have a great day. We appreciate you listening to the show as always, James. Let's do one more quickly. Patrick, how do you get talking? Hello. How are you all? He's 22.

That is a 22-year-old. Why are you dragging it out? Hello. Like you're in a hallway. Yeah, I think he's younger. I think. Yeah, he's trying to throw us off the scent. You do have a deep voice, though.

Should we go early 20s? 22. All right. I'm 16. Oh, wow. Okay. You do have a deep voice though. Should we go early 20s? 22. Alright. I'm 16. Oh wow, okay. You fooled us, Patrick. How do you have a deeper voice than me? You've mistaken me for being like 21 or 28 years old. Okay, now you're talking

you sound like you're 30. Yeah, wow. That's impressive. Goodness me. Gee whiz, so you can really fool people on the phone. I don't know. Would that bring you any joy? I don't know. I've fooled my brother a couple of times on the phone. Jeez, you can really fool people on the phone. I don't know. Would that bring you any joy? I don't know. I've fooled my brother a couple of times on the phone. Jeez, you have a deep voice.

How many times have you gone through? Anyway. That's OK, then. I appreciate your call. We'll find something for you. Jono, Ben and Megan. The podcast. The hits.

Now, big news, Harry. He's upset. He's been trying to get the UK courts to give him the royal security that he was used to when he was a working royal. And they've said no, no, no, no, no. And here to add a touch of British sophistication to this shabby operation we are running. Even your laugh sounds majestic. Gavin Gray, our UK correspondent. How are you, old chum?

What an introduction. Very well. How are you, old chum? What an introduction. Very well. How are you guys? We're good. Doing all right. But we wanted to talk to you about a couple of things, particularly Prince Harry. Now, he's just done another interview,

and it's, like with a lot of things, it's probably polarised some people watching it. It sure has, because the rift which we've seen and talked about before appears as wide and as sore as ever. And if he keeps saying, you know, I'm ready for reconciliation. But those two words, I'm sorry, still haven't come out of his lips. Instead, he thinks they should be saying that, the rest of the royals. And I don't think that's going to happen anytime soon.

So I'm afraid, yeah, this interview potentially meant to try and bury the hatchet has I think made it worse so he lost a court ruling to get security from the royal family he's after you know like a private security service that the royal family get when he comes to the UK the courts have said no this was the appeal to so he's had two no's. But he still wants it. He's putting his foot down and saying he's not coming back to the UK unless he gets the security. He's just not ever going to see his dad again, potentially. I think that could be the case, actually, Megan.

He just says he doesn't feel that the country and the security that's being offered to him is enough. Of course, what happened when he stepped down and moved to America in 2020 was that the committee that decides on security for the royals, and they don't all have the same security, of course. The king and queen get a lot tighter security than, say, Prince Edward and Sophie. The committee called RABEC met and decided that Prince Harry should get no extra benefits. Each visit that he made to the UK, the security would be assessed per visit.

He said that's not fair. I've received all kinds of awful threats. I am still a member of the royal family. And, you know, I just think I deserve more. Well, he lost the first case, as you say, went to appeal. He's lost the appeal. He's now saying he won't appeal again. Now, do you think the situation would be different? Obviously, following his departure, there was the Netflix doco, there was the book, there were podcasts. If that was handled differently,

would you think the security would still be on offer? Well, and that's kind of what he's saying, that they haven't made the decision based on the facts. He said at no point was he allowed to put his point of view to the committee called Ravik. And he said, I should have been. He's called it an establishment stitch up, blamed the royal household for influencing the decision to reduce his security. Quite simply, he is no longer a working royal. So he's not entitled to that measure his security. Quite simply, he is no longer a working royal, so he's not entitled to that measure of security, and neither, should some say,

is he sort of that important a person anymore in terms of society. Now, of course, when you're dealing about a person who lost his mother to being hounded by the press, of course, and you're talking about others thinking, well, if he has received all these death threats, perhaps they should be taking it more seriously. But either way, I'm afraid things really, really sore between the royals at the moment. I think that for me,

the word that is the stickler is working royal. He's still a royal. So he is still the king's son. He is still someone that they could do something to, and he was born into it. So, for example, presidents get security after their four years of service for life. He was born into it. He's done years of service, and he has stepped away from working,

but he is still a royal. So in my mind, I think he should still get the security. Well, Megan, you have absolutely encapsulated, in fact, better than Prince Harry himself as to the arguments that, you know, he could afford. You should be in a court of law. Yeah, he should have given you a bloody text. Yeah, because Megan's very

and I get why you're passionate about it. But no, but there are other people then that say, well, hang on a minute. Originally he offered to pay for his own security. But quite simply, that isn't working. You can't start to bring in people carrying guns into the UK and say, well, they're my security. They're my security.

Nobody can do that. Yeah, it is really sad. At the end of the day, it's sad that the whole fracture with their relationship. And it's sad. You do feel for him what he's been through. But then I guess, and to counter what Megan's great point, I was kind of like, it's like if i left work and then i wanted to use my car park and they're like well hang on that's part in a way it's a little and i know it's not as black and white as that but i do feel like there is a little bit of like you chose to leave so maybe there are some consequences but hey i don't know

i'm not part of it and he's not being left short of money either so it's not like he was cut off without a penny yeah well it is it's sad we mentioned uh before you know money either so it's not like he was cut off without a penny yeah well it is it's sad we mentioned uh before you know it's just it's just a family at the end of the day when you take it all away it's a family yeah came a thrones came a thrones that's why it's such a great series isn't it yeah the crown this is gonna be great for the crowd you're right i don't know how many dragons are flying around buckingham Palace. Jono, Ben and Megan. The podcast. The hits.

The weather, because it's looking a little rough today. Speaking of rough, Megan. The feedback. Oh, it's on. The feedback. It could be rough.

It could be rough. The feedback. Sorry, Megan, I shouldn't have paused so much there. The feedback on your photo that you said claimed could be 19. Now, admittedly, you do look young.

The makeup artist said I looked 19 in this photo from our photo shoot and we've put it on our social media for everyone to judge. Be kind.

We've been mocking Megan ever since. So, Producer Grace, another person very close to your age range there, Megan. How old are you, Grace? I'm 23.

You're actually younger than Grace. You're younger than me Megan that's crazy what are they saying online of this photo you can go check it out on the hits breakfast

so they're being a bit brutal we've got it is rough we've got 54 no I'm joking we've got 19 25 24

20 24 it's all in the 20s oh are you joking? yeah I was totally joking I was just trying to be mean like that thank you

alright so people are saying 20s. You do look younger in that photo. I would, yeah, radio banter aside, I'd say 20s. If I looked at that photo, I'd say 20s. Yeah, okay. But I'd also say enhanced. Yeah, I was like, oh, she's photoshopped or had work done. That's what I'd be thinking.

Oh, Jesus. So do me and Megan look the same age in this photo? Yeah. Oh, bless you. That is... It's a photo. Should I be offended? Ben keeps having these little jabs.

Okay, I get it. Looking at me in real life, I don't look like that. Total disclaimer, that's lighting and makeup and everything. Anyway, tomorrow we're going to put you to the test. We're going to send you into an alcohol shop to see if you get ID. You and Grace. Can we have that lighting? We'll just fling you around with two ring lights.

Jono, Ben and Megan, the podcast. The hits. As you would have heard in the news, the New Zealand government proposing legislation to ban children under 16 from using social media platforms. Most tend to agree that maybe restricting social media for under 16s is a good idea, but is a blanket ban actually going to work?

And what the heck is it? How does that work? And joining us right now, Jaz Thornton. She's got a big social media following. She's amazing for mental health here in New Zealand, around the world. She's also amazing for me as a social media sort of helpline for things. Tells me about emojis and all sorts of stuff, don't you, Jazz?

I do indeed. Well, that's nice of you to do that for your granddad, Jazz. Do you literally teach him about emojis? Oh, different meaning. There's a whole other meaning. Oh,

that's sweet that you would miss that. Sinister meanings that as parents you wouldn't know about. That's adolescence. You were just like,

shall we have eggplant for dinner, darling? The whole time. Now, Jess, listen, it's lovely to have you on and this has

obviously been bubbling away for a while now. Yesterday, the government came out with a proposed plan. And our afternoon show spoke to Catherine, who is the MP back in this. I just strongly believe that parents should be better supported in protecting their children from online harm. I am living and breathing the negative impacts of social media every day. I'm seeing it and I'm regularly hearing from parents

and principals who are just worried about these negative impacts. And then, of course, there's the concerns about anxiety and mental health and we just really need to do more to protect the wellbeing of our children. Now, I don't think anyone's disagreeing with her there. But, Jazz, you spoke at Parliament yesterday and just raised some concerns about the government's proposal.

Yeah, I just feel like a blanket ban is not going to do what we believe it's going to do. Like, for example, the phone ban, which I've seen Luxon kind of refer to being like, this has been so effective. I just got off the back of a school's tour in 30 schools within two weeks and every single school,

the kids had their phones in their pockets. And so they're just doing it. Just don't tell him that though. It's bloody roaring success. Oh, roaring success. Honestly, take one look at my social media and you'll see the kids on tour all taking selfies and stuff.

Like, it's just, it's ridiculous. But the thing is, is that a lot of the issues that I'm seeing, the crew that are trying to get this ban across, are all issues that exist outside of social media. Social media is just another way in which kids are accessing it, which, yes, is terrifying. But what I'm not seeing is any form of way that the government or the people lobbying this are planning to help create education around those specific issues that are also existing outside of social media. So I think a blanket ban is just going to push the kids into silence and do it in secrecy.

They're already faking their ages on social media and also you've got all of the content from TikTok and Reels is all on YouTube as well. So where does the ban stop? And also, yeah, how do we create education for kids and parents around how to safely use it rather than just a blanket ban that's just going to put kids in secrecy? Given that you are cool with the kids and you've been touring around

and you've been talking to kids in schools, how do you propose that we would go about educating them? Because I feel like you just tell them of a generation of the, gosh, which I hate that I also am, but in the millennials, for example, we kind of grew up with social media evolving. And there's this kind of gap, I think, between those that are parents and teenagers of not actually knowing what's fully happening on social media. And I think that there has been a lot, and I'm talking like, I'm pretty sure in the millions of dollars behind this campaign of banning social media, there's not a lot of access to that kind of funds for education that can be developed. There's still a lot of research out there as well around, you know, especially with bullying. We do a lot of that in schools with our bullying talks as well. But one of the things that I saw this group doing was like one of the biggest things was TikTok's going, how to lose weight fast.

And I'm like, that's literally on the cover of every single magazine as well. And so that's, you know, that kind of thing is what I'm talking about. There's so many different things that are affecting our kids that they're also seeing online. But without, you know, directing the root cause, we're not going to see a lot of change. It's yeah, that's an interesting one. I think everyone agrees something needs to be done education might be the key i know the times that we've literally gone to our kids you're not on your phones for the next day or so you actually see a noticeable change in their behavior so i think if we can create an environment where they

can self-regulate and they're like i've had had enough, I need some time out, then maybe that is a solution. Yeah, I don't think anyone is saying that social media is like a 100% good thing at all. When I first heard about the ban, I was like, yes, sounds great. But yeah, I think when you kind of dive further into it, I just don't think it's going to solve what they think it's going to solve. And so, yeah, I think there's going to be other ways. It's just trying to figure out what those are. Oh, well, Jaz, thank you so much for your time, as always, and no doubt we'll be bugging you, or I'll be bugging you soon for some emoji helplines.

I look forward to it. And what do you think about, I was just pitching, and also a ban for another age bracket, the over 60s on social as well, a government ban. All for it, yes, do that. I'll get that campaign off the ground. Jono, Ben and Megan. The podcast.

The hits. It's Alex Warren Jono, Ben and Megan. The podcast. The hits. It's Alex Warren. Kerry, you're home. It's 8.21 on a Wednesday morning. As we mentioned before, the government proposing legislation to ban children under 16 from using social media platforms.

ACT Party not supporting it, which means we've discovered it goes into a thing called the Biccy Bin. The Biscuit Bin. Yeah. It seems like something that someone in the workplace would create for brainstorm sessions and they'll be like

hey we'll chuck that idea, no idea's a bad idea but we'll chuck that one in the bicky bin and then you're like whatever happened to my idea about you know everyone has to hold their breath when they're going driving across bridges in New Zealand oh that's still in the bicky bin we're going to try and put that to the parlor.

When they propose it they tell everyone and then they put it in the biscuit tin bin. We're going to try and put that to the palm. So they do pull some out. When they propose it, they tell everyone, and then they put it in the biscuit tin, and then you pull out bills from the biscuit tin. So it may never get pulled. Or it may get pulled out soon. Who knows? I hope it really is legitimately like an old-school Griffin's biscuit. It might have been where it came from.

So I guess most people in general support some sort of restrictions across social media. I know a lot of parents on the text machine are particularly thinking that way. But I think there's a lot of question marks on how the heck is this actually going to work? And you're looking at Instagram, TikTok, and the companies like that. They do have restrictions for teenagers if they enter in their age correctly. They do get restricted.

You just scroll a few years and change it, right? That's probably where the workarounds come from teenagers. Then we're talking about alcohol delivery. Supermarkets deliver now. Click and collect. And when you go to those websites, it's like, are you over 18? Yeah, of course I am. I love the trust level.

I love how much trust they're putting in us. But teens have always had workarounds. Look at people trying to buy alcohol over the years, the fake IDs and things like that. You just used to have to sift outside the bloody, hey, mate, can you just go and get us a, and then some sort of, Ben Boyce would go in and buy alcohol for you,

only because he wouldn't want to look like a bad guy, you know? I'm not buying alcohol for underage people. If I was a teenager, I'd be like, hey, old man, you'd be like, yeah, can you go and get us a bloody $10 bottle of vodka a teenager, I'd be like, hey old man, you'd be like, yeah, I'll keep going and get us a bloody $10 bottle of vodka.

Oh, no, I can't do it. Oh, you used to be cool. All right then. No, no, I wouldn't. All right, so we're going to go to the phones here. Oh, 800, that hits.

Do you think it is going to work, Melinda, an outright ban on under-16s on social? I'm not sure how they'll monitor it, to be honest. Seems to be the common feedback.

I just don't get how they're going to monitor it. Yeah, absolutely. You've got a unique angle with your kids. Yeah, I've got five children. I've seen the effects on my oldest kid, actually, and it was more sort of inappropriate videos being sent by a boy through social media.

So with my other children, I offered them $3,000 not to get social media until they were 17. I've got a 15-year-old who has not ever had social media and a 13-year-old who also hasn't had social media, and the other two are primary school, so they don't really, so they're not that age yet. But it's good when it comes to having conversations with peers because you can get bullied for not having Snapchat or Facebook or Instagram. So they get a little bit of mixed response from it. Some kids are like, if my mum gave me three grand,

I wouldn't have social media either. And some kids are like, nah, I'd still have it. So what are you doing? You're doing the KiwiSaver option. Once as soon as they turn that age, they get the $3,000. Yeah, not KiwiSaver, but yeah, pretty much a savings account. And when they turn 17, if they haven't had social media, they get three grand.

And the way we sort of looked at it, by the time you're 17, you should have your licence. So they'll be buying a car that saves me driving them around everywhere. Good on you. Win-win. Have you noticed a difference between your oldest one who had social media and then the two that don't? Yeah, the oldest one was a girl with the other two a boy, so girls are a lot more, I think, emotionally unstable teenagers.

But there was a lot of hiding and a lot of deceitful things going on. I had to hack into a computer to find out what was actually happening and found, yeah, there's really inappropriate things being said to her. Yeah, and that's frightening. That is frightening. And do you think that the kids that haven't been on social, they're suffering or losing out on interaction? Sometimes. They're heavily involved in sports um and they do have chats i just found out um group chats with their teams

where they've ended up meeting up and going out places where my kids have kind of missed out on that sometimes so it is a bit of a you feel bad as a parent Having these restrictions But on the whole I think There are probably going to be Better humans for it They know how to have a conversation With an adult They know how to interact

We don't have the hassle of Worrying what's going on What they're saying What they're sending What they're involved in Well thanks so much For sharing with us I really appreciate it

Getting this coming through Good $3000 bribery system Going on there Maybe that's what the government Could do Every teenager in New Zealand gets three grand. Maybe that's how they do it. You're right.

My work. 4, 4, 8, 7 on the text. That is going to sink the economy, Ben, but good idea. Jono, Ben and Megan. The podcast. The hat. Of course, yesterday, Megan loves it. Didn't you?

All the flashy outfits. Yeah, I did love it. There was... Did anyone turn up Wearing the skin Of their Uber driver Or anything? No there's a theme

Oh there's a theme Just borrowed this guy's skin He dropped me off And that does not fit The theme of yesterday Okay what was the theme yesterday? It was Tailoring black style

Oh yeah And Lorde was there She was wearing Tom Brown She looked fantastic Sabrina Carpenter Looked great Lorde had there she was wearing Tom Brown she looked fantastic Sabrina Carpenter looked great Lorde had a top on but it had no

like attachment parts no sides no back no sort of stomach no anything yeah like gravity I don't know how it was working there

some serious tape super glue adhesive yeah but anyway there you go a lot of rich and famous people doing rich and famous things

exactly pretty much poor losers look at them and go oh oh, yeah, that looks nice. Must be nice. Must be nice. Now, you know, I don't like to make a fuss. It's not really my thing. You wouldn't turn up to the Met Gala and make a fuss, would you?

No, I don't like to make a fuss, you know, particularly. I'm like, I'm very awkward if someone ever sends anything back. Like, I don't know. I know you're within your rights to do it, but I just find that it can be awkward. There are some confident people that sit around the dinner table. Some people do it nicely and do it well, and I respect that,

but other people can be kind of like, ooh, okay. Would you complain about it to other people and be like, oh, I went there and that was yuck and I didn't like it? Behind their back, you'd say something. Yeah, see, maybe. Coming from being an owner of a cafe in the past,

I would much rather you say something to me so I could fix it. So you then didn't go on and say something bad. And I'll be really apologetic about, hey, sorry. I always feel like it's my fault or something. But, you know, you don't want to. Or you do a lot of whispering at the table. It's like, I can't believe they gave me, you know, having a little gossip behind the waiter's back.

Yeah. Well, yesterday I was out with my wife in the afternoon. We just thought we'd pull off for a hot drink. And, you know, while we were out running some errands and stuff. And we made our order. A drink, not food. Because yesterday you said you were cracking down on your... Two of us together.

So I was like, we're in a sweet spot. So it's okay. Yeah, we are meant to be trying to save money here and there. But two of us. Two days, two occasions of whether we'd be spending money. Yeah, true. Is that when you're like, should we get a coffee? What do you reckon?

Where can we get a coffee? What do you reckon? How can we get a coffee? What do you reckon? This campaign has not started well. No, it hasn't started well. And we made our joint orders, and then the person brought it over here. My wife got her one, and then they went to me, here's your caramel macchiato. And I was like, oh, I didn't order.

What did you order? In my head, it was just like a standard. You're a flat white guy. Yeah, it was a flat white. In my head, I was like, oh a flat white guy and in my head i was like oh and then i was like oh but i was like oh but then i didn't want to say anything i was straight away why not i was but then that is so far removed from what you got yeah it was quite far removed but then i went in my head i was like well maybe i should try this because this sounds exotic and i tried it it was delicious and i. And I'm like, well, maybe this is my thing. Maybe this is the universe telling me that, you know,

to be open to other things. Because you get so set in your ways and when someone presents you something, you're like. Are you trying to take a learning lesson out of you not complaining? Yeah, I was. Is that what you're trying to say here? Because when I say it, I just go up there and get a change. I'm like, no, I like it.

It's my new thing. So now you're going to, oh, when someone asks you, what's your coffee? You're going to be like I want a caramel Well maybe not all the time That sounds a little pretentious Like I should be at the Met Gala

But Even if he was drinking A hot cup of cyanide He'd be like Oh that's like Maybe you know Spread my wings So yeah

If you're a people You know people pleaser You'll understand But if not Then you know When you're people pleasing though Inside are you just like Have you got the conflict

Inside of going Of just raging silently? And just saying, hey, that's all okay. It's not that you're not pleasing them. You're just like too scared to upset anyone. Not wanting to make a fuss. You're right. I mean, his worst night would be someone filming on their cell phone going, look at this guy.

Yeah, yeah. Kicking off about his macchiato. Throwing coffee in the face. You know, that would be. Yeah, yeah. Kicking off about his macchiato. Throwing coffee in the face. You know, that would be. Yeah, you're right. That's my worst nightmare. But what about the poor person who that caramel macchiato was meant for? That's a good point.

Uh-oh. Now he's not going to sleep tonight. Oh, no. Oh, no. Now we're kicking off. I heard they were in a wheelchair. John O'Bannon Megan. The podcast.

The hits. To have a bit of a query for the both of you. Christmas was, what are we talking, nearly five months ago? God. Long time ago. Yeah, it's five months. We're almost halfway through the year, guys. Yeah.

And you know you've got people that you hang out with and you exchange presents. Yep, that's how Christmas works. Thank you for mansplaining Christmas to us all. Okay, yeah, okay. Oh, great. Did you get that, Megan? Yeahaining Christmas to us all. Tell us more. Okay, yeah, okay. Oh, great. Did you get that, Megan? Yeah, I did, okay. Tell me more.

Has everyone got their head around Christmas? Thank you. If we haven't, you've got a good, like, what, half a year before you get back into it again. It's a complex time of year. Are we talking about Christmas now? Now, my issue is I've got presents that I had meant to give to some friends of ours in December. Now, I looked the other day. These presents are still sitting in my wardrobe.

And we catch this, hey, must get those presents to you. Must get those presents to you. They've got presents for us as well. Now, we're reaching nearly halfway through the year. My question is, where's the threshold? Where's the line where I'm like like these are now presents for 2025's Christmas not 2024's Christmas. Because we can carry these bad boys over.

You need to have like a midwinter Christmas Yeah you could do that. Like dinner. Yeah have a dinner, bring them over, open Christmas. Or you can just have a laugh and say to them well they've got presents for you. Let's just hold on to them. Yeah I think we need to come to some it's either midwinter Christmas or we come to some sort of arrangement Like, okay

Too much water's under the bridge Yeah Let's wait till this December How good of friends are they If you're buying them presents But you haven't seen them No, I have seen them For six months

I have seen them But then I I have seen them But we've seen them, you know Out in the wild Alright So I know I've forgotten to take the presents They've forgotten to bring them

And also sometimes you don't want to bring a present To somebody else You're like, oh thanks for bringing me this present Now they're gonna We haven't gone to each We present to something else. You're like, oh, thanks for bringing me this present now. We haven't gone to each other. We haven't me-casted, me-casted. Right. Will they still be relevant at the end of this year, the presents?

No, because they're for children, and the children are growing very quickly. Yeah, no, you need to do something now, don't you? Midwinter Christmas. Or just drop them at the doorstep. That's what I'm like. Just get admin done. Imagine if that was on his to-do list for six months.

It'd be something that'd end up in my wife's car, and I'd be like, I'll just drop it, and I'll get the car, and I'll drop it, and I'll take it over, and it'd be done. You're making his eye twitch. I am making his eye twitch. Get it done. Get it done. Clear it off your conscience.

Give it to Ben. He'll take it to your friend. I don't even know who they are. I'll bring it over there. Just to get it off. Merry Christmas. Here you go. This is from Jono.

These are for you, kids. Kids, enjoy it. Love it. Nerf gun. Not into it. Who cares? Don't worry. Take it off you, kids. Kids, enjoy it. Love it. Nerf gun. Not into it. Who cares? Don't worry. Take it off.

All right. Well, there we go. He hasn't even seen my 18,000 unread emails as well. I can really make him have a nervous breakdown this morning. Jono, Ben and Megan. The podcast. The hits. A Taylor Swift tribute show is travelling right around the North and the South Island

at the moment. It's called Taylor's Story. You can get all the info. We'll put it at the hits.co.nz. Yeah, we just heard the ads Island at the moment. It's called Taylor's Story. You can get all the info. We'll put it at the hitstock.co.nz. Yeah, we just heard the ads playing on the show. We've got to speak. We've got to speak to this Taylor Swift. We've got to speak now.

Yeah, and Shannon. That's a great reference there. Shannon is the impersonator, and she joins us on the phone now. How are you finding the guts and the bowels of our country, Shannon? Honestly, I'm loving it. This is my first time here, and it's been great so far. And we're only like halfway through the tour, so it's been good. You don't have to say you're loving everywhere.

We know we've got some shabby parts. Well, we're stoked to have you in the country. Number one Taylor Swift impersonator around the world. Eight cities, or eight places you you go into in New Zealand. Now, we're looking into you. You've got a degree in criminal psychology. So how did that lead you to becoming a Taylor Swift impersonator? You know what?

School was always the plan B. I've always been singing and writing music. Music has always been the passion and the goal. So when I got asked to do this Taylor tribute, obviously I love Taylor Swift's music, so it was kind of an easy yes. It's worked out. That degree was very expensive and it turns out I didn't need it.

Well, the good thing is too, if you come across any criminals, you can analyse them along the way on the tour. Exactly, exactly. Have you heard from Taylor or from Taylor's team? No, not exactly. I you heard from Taylor or from Taylor's team? No, not exactly. I had heard from Taylor herself, but her management reached out to us basically just to say, hey, it's cool that you're doing this, but just don't go saying you're directly affiliated with us. That's basically what they said, which is great because they could have just shut the whole thing down.

What's it like to be Taylor Swift on stage? I mean, you don't have the NFL boyfriend, I understand, you know. No. But what's it like to be like her for maybe 90 minutes? You know, it's really fun. I think people realize that I'm not actually her, but for 90 minutes they're pretty convinced that I could be, and we're all just there to enjoy her music together

and sing and dance and exchange bracelets. And it's been really fun. It's been honestly such a joy. I imagine the tickets are going gangbusters, are they? They're going pretty well, yeah. I think obviously because we're going to a lot of places that wouldn't have gotten the air tours, so that's been kind of fun to see.

I can see you going to Ben's hometown of Masterton. You're going to Masterton now. Well, look at your tour schedule. You're going to Masterton. When is that? On Thursday night. What can Shannon do in Masterton, Ben? Well, you're staying at the best, well, I presume you're staying at the best place. You're performing at the Copthorne Hotel and Resort Solway Park. I mean, we've

stayed there, John. It's the nicest place in town. Shannon, we have stayed at the highs and lows of New Zealand accommodation, mate. We'll give you and lows of New Zealand accommodation, mate We'll give you a review Yeah, no, that's good to cop film there I don't think you're ready for the Wadded Upper Swifties, alright? That's happening, that's happening Thursday

Well, the Swifties are quite passionate So what are they like, what are the Kiwi Swifties like at your shows? Are they coming dressed up, full outfits and everything? Oh my gosh, yeah, everyone's wearing glitter Everyone's wearing face, everyone's wearing face paint or like jewels in their hair on their face and it's so much fun. Even the dads are getting into it.

It's really, really fun. I understand you've been recognised now and again, or some people have thought maybe you were Taylor Swift. Was it a baseball game or something? Yeah, I was at a Toronto Blue Jays game and I had just gotten my hair done, so my bangs are down. I wasn't even wearing red lipstick, I was wearing pink lipstick but Jays game and I had just gotten my hair done, my bangs are down. I wasn't even wearing red lipstick.

I was wearing pink lipstick, but I guess that was good enough to have people kind of do a double take. I probably like, oh my gosh, if I had a dime for every time someone was like, oh my God, you look like Taylor Swift. Or like some of the security guards wanted photos with me and stuff. Oh, really? Yeah, it was really weird. Have people stopped you in the streets here and like, hey mate, what are you doing in bloody Flexman? They haven't actually, which I guess is kind of a good thing.

Yeah, we have a thing here in New Zealand where we're quite shy, so we won't come up and harass you, but be aware that we're probably taking a photo of you from a distance. Good to know, good to know. We're like whispering to our friends. I'll make sure that I make eye contact with everyone then. You know who we saw in the airport on the way over here, actually? We were in Vancouver Airport waiting for our flight to Auckland,

and we stand in line to get into this restaurant behind these two guys who were very nicely dressed, and their physique was very nice, and I made some kind of joke under my breath like, oh, is that Superman? And then I'm looking, and his boarding pass was sticking out of his back pocket and this guy had kind of a like round booty so I'm like look I'm not looking at his butt but it looked like I was looking at his butt but I'm looking at it and his boarding pass said Henry Cavill and I was like, it is Superman. It is Superman. He's a good looking guy. Yeah, so we had a good chat with him.

He's having his round booty. You're like, I was definitely just checking out your ass, Henry. Was he nice? He was so nice. He was so sweet. We didn't get a picture. We wanted to respect his face. We didn't want to cause a scene or anything.

He was probably saying, I probably don't want to interrupt Taylor's day. Yeah, he's more like, I just met Taylor Swift, guys. It's awesome to have you in the country, Shannon. Thank you. Thank you so much. It was really nice chatting with you guys. If you want to go along and see Shannon do the tribute show around the North and South Island, look up Taylor's story online. Great to have her in the country.

I mentioned last week that my daughter Poppy competed in the school cross country And really does not like it Has not liked it since primary school Has not liked it since the first time The first one she didn't know what she was in for You're like get out there, have fun About three minutes into that she's like this is not the sport for me

And the problem is with school You've got that cross country cloud hanging over you Until at least I reckon you're 14, 15. They don't kind of make it you do it after 15. I couldn't remember doing any. I did it all the way through high school. Did you run to the end? Everyone had to do it.

You just had to do it. Yeah, you had to do it. Get it done. I can't pinpoint what I hate about it. I think it's the fact that I'm not as fast as everyone else, so you are going to be one of the ones that finish last. Yeah, last. Yeah, last.

Everyone's like, lose hope. You come out muddy, sweaty, and especially if you're last place. It's degrading. I get it. But we bribed her with a backpack. She wanted this backpack. And I was like, okay, we'll get you this backpack. And I'm reading the description of this backpack.

And it's just a run-of-the-mill sort of $30 backpack sort of thing. But, jeez, they've done a bang-up job of selling this backpack, and it's just a run-of-the-mill sort of $30 backpack sort of thing, but jeez, they have done a bang-up job of selling this backpack. Limited edition backpack. They only made a few of these. Oh, wow. Lightweight, vegan-friendly. Oh, vegan-friendly.

Vegan-friendly backpack. What does that mean? Does it look like it's leather? But it's not. Does it? Oh, maybe. Yeah, does it look like it's leather, but it's not? Does it? Oh, maybe. Yeah, gotcha. So it's not leather, yeah.

So faux leather. Yeah, right, that makes sense. Otherwise, is it made out of vegetables? Or, yeah, I don't know. It's for the vegans who want to look like an animal who's still perished, but don't want animals to perish. Yeah. I get it.

Okay, it also features rose gold detailing. Oh, nice detailing Adjustable straps Every backpack's got adjustable straps But I guess they've got to say that though, right? Yeah, over 12 compartments for organisation Oh, lovely It's water resistant 50% of the time So I don't know what that

Isn't that water resistant just in general? Yeah, or maybe if you spill your drink bottle inside the vegan-friendly bag, it might not be able to. It also has a stay. I don't know what this technology is, but this is groundbreaking. A stay-open top for easy packing. A stay-open top? Stay-open top.

Isn't that just when you unzip it? That's what I thought. It'll stay open. You just pull the bag apart. Yeah. Finally, a bag. You can take this. Off the description

She could fly to space With Katy Perry With this backpack And be good as gold And then I went on to Timu And you can buy Exactly the same backpack For like five bucks

So what's she getting The one she wants On the table Yeah She's not going to know But then The Timu one's a bit more basic In it's description

Like bag with two straps Is it vegan friendly I don't know Yeah no Many things perish For The Timu one's a bit more basic in its description. Like bag with two straps. Is it vegan friendly? I don't know if it is. Yeah, no, many things perish for that Timu backpack. They do a good sale online, don't they, sometimes? Yeah.

I know you purchased some stuff, wedding suits, didn't you, for you and your groomsmen. They sold you on... It looked a lot better in the photo than it did when it arrived. That's for sure. That's the problem.

Sometimes when you do buy online, you're like, these guys look handsome walking on the beach. I like yes that's what i want to look like and then or full full white linen too yeah white linen top uh tan linen pants they look great what was wrong with them like see-through just oversized and just oh like all the measurements i got from it just was just yeah yeah. It was like pyjamas. If you imagine we're just all walking along wearing pyjamas, we're like, we can't do this. Vegan-friendly linen, though? Oh, I think it might have been vegan-friendly. Yeah, you're right.

No animals died, but children, they worked very hard. John O'Benn and Megan. The podcast. The hits. Time for the New Zealand Herald Daily Quiz. Very excited about this. I've just lost my... Can you do some padding for me, guys?

Oh, we'll get into the New Zealand Herald Daily Quiz with Producer Grace, who comes on in to read the questions this morning. We went 10 out of 10 yesterday, Grace, and you said maybe it won't be repeated today. Yeah, I don't think it's achievable today, unfortunately. Yeah, we are feeling pretty good

after our steaming hot victory yesterday. But let's have confidence. Come on with confidence. Yeah, you can do it. I believe in you. You ready for question one? We've got one lifeline. We're so ready. Here we go.

A courier dale is a breed of what? Deer? Don't know. Sheep? Cat? Sounds like a deer. A courier dale. It's C-O-R-R-I-E, dale.

We had a sheep question yesterday. They're not going to go back to back sheep questions. Tell me about a blonde sheep. Oh, don't they? Oh yeah. A courier dale. Yeah, a courier dale is a breed of what? Deer? Sheep? Cat? Deer? What did you say? I'm feeling like a deer. Okay. Yeah. Are we going with deer?

Yeah, looking deer. Okay. That's incorrect. Why don't we go lifeline? Who dares wins? Not today. Don't say it's a sheep. Hi, hi. I think it was a sheep. What do you mean you think it was a sheep? I have to go back and then click again.

I forget the answers, guys, if I'm being honest. What was the name? Corrie Dale. Hold on. You're the quiz queen who forgets the answers. Am I meant to remember them? I don't have that brain capacity. It was just on your screen.

Well, it's not there anymore, so I don't remember. It's a breed of sheep. Yeah. Oh, awkward. Oh because I don't remember. Yeah, it's a breed of sheep. Oh, awkward. Oh, they did go back to make sheep. New Zealand breed of sheep. There we go. Sorry, farmers.

Breed from about 1882 in the South Island. A cross-beared merino with a Lincoln long-wool sheep. There you go. So it's even a New Zealand sheep. The architect of the Herald Daily Quiz

has definitely gone to a sheep hole, didn't they? Yeah, that's true. Yeah. Okay, Grace, can I just reiterate too that the core role of the quiz queen is to a sheep hole. Yeah, that's true. Grace, can I just reiterate too the core role of the

quiz queen is to remember the answers. I thought it was to read the answers. Why do I have to remember them? Well, read the question and remember the answers. Probably the two highlights, would you say, of that job description? Well, I just want to say I have no signed contract, so I can do this job however I want. And I choose this way. Well, Ben.