Ciarán Hinds’ acting pursuits have taken him far from his roots in Northern Ireland.

A quality actor - he lends himself to both villainy and simmering heroics.

His long career has included intimate Shakespearean theatre productions right through to major franchises like Harry Potter, Game of Thrones, Lord of the Rings and the Disney animated film Frozen.

His latest project ‘The Narrow Road to the Deep North’ is an intimate character study on human spirit – the Prime Video series based on the novel by Richard Flanagan.

He told Jack Tame when he was first introduced to the project, he’d heard of the book but never read it.

“They sent me a couple of scripts and I was immediately hooked by the quality of the writing and the story itself,” Hinds said.

“So I went out and got myself the book.”

“Deeply moved, I was, by the savagery, the cruelty, the brutality, the love, the deep passion, the haunting... it’s a huge and hugely emotional read for anybody,” he told Tame.

“And from then, I said I’m very interested in this project, and so we went on from there.”

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In Beirut’s 7th album, Zach Condon returns to a place he had no plans to ever go back to.

‘A Study of Losses’ was commissioned by the Swedish circus troupe Kompani Giraff, and at first he was hesitant to write a soundtrack for a circus, the idea a reminder of a time he’d been pigeonholed, as he says, “as a whimsical circus waif”.

However, videos of the troupe’s performances and an abstract of the work upon which the new project would be based changed his mind.

Estelle Clifford joined Jack Tame to give her thoughts on Beirut’s new album.

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Nine Hidden Lives by Robert Gold

Secrets only survive in the dark

When journalist Ben Harper is asked to help re-examine an unsolved murder case from thirty years ago, he immediately agrees. It's not just that the victim was also a journalist, murdered after she'd published a series of shocking interviews with victims of domestic abuse. It's also that he understands all too well the need of victim's daughter, Doctor Uma Jha, for answers.

But it's not long before their investigation leads to threats being made on Uma's life. Ben needs to unravel this crime before it's too late, but instead he finds himself tangled in a web of lies and deception. After all, a crime like murder has implications for many people.

People who have been keeping secrets for thirty years, and will do whatever it takes to protect them.

Strangers in Time by David Baldacci

Fourteen-year-old Charlie Matters is up to no good, but for a very good reason. Without parents, peerage, or merit, he steals what he needs, living day-to-day until he’s old enough to enlist to fight the Germans. After barely surviving the Blitz, Charlie knows there’s no telling when a falling bomb might end his life.

Fifteen-year-old Molly Wakefield has just returned to a nearly unrecognizable London. One of millions of children to have been evacuated to the countryside Molly has been away from her home for nearly five years. Her return, however, is not the homecoming she’d hoped for as she’s confronted by a devastating reality: neither of her parents are there.

Without guardians and stability, Charlie and Molly find an unexpected ally and protector in Ignatius Oliver, and solace at his bookshop, The Book Keep. Mourning the recent loss of his wife, Ignatius forms a kinship with both children, and in each other they rediscover the spirit of family each has lost.

But Charlie’s escapades in the city have not gone unnoticed, and someone’s been following Molly since she returned to London. And Ignatius is harboring his own secrets, which could have terrible consequences for all of them.

As bombs continue to bear down on the city, Charlie, Molly, and Ignatius learn that while the perils of war rage on, their coming together and trusting one another may be the only way for them to survive.

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Less well known than the days that follow it is Maundy Thursday – the day in which Jesus Christ shared the Last Supper with his 12 apostles.

A theme of the day is humility, and Kevin Milne had a taste of that and a bit of humiliation both earlier on this week.

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On the Saturday Morning with Jack Tame Full Show Podcast for Saturday 19 April 2025, Northern Irish acting legend, Hollywood royalty, and the man who has been in almost every major film franchise of the 21st century, Ciaran Hinds joins Jack to discuss the intimate character study of his new project The Narrow Road to the Deep North.

Jack considers the legacy of the Blue Origin spacecraft against this week's discovery within Earth's very own Big Blue.

Catherine Raynes reviews the latest novel from David Baldacci – the perfect long weekend read.

For those sick of hot cross buns, chef Nici Wickes has an alternative Easter breakfast recipe.

And as Food appreciation month approaches, sustainability expert Kate Hall reframes our view on food scraps.

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

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"You could spill vast rivers of blue Danube ink try to encapsulate the enduring brilliance of Vienna and all that it has lavished on the world. It’s the city that vaulted Mozart, Beethoven, Haydn, Strauss and his waltz into the world’s consciousness. The city that unleashed the genius of Freud, published the world’s first newspaper, conceived the delicious Torte, and was the powerbase for the imperial Hapsburgs. Vienna remains a city of culture, class and beauty; of churches, castles and concert halls."

Read Mike's full article here.

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Food Appreciation Month is coming up, and Kate Hall is thinking about food scraps.

New Zealand households are throwing away over 157,000 tonnes of edible food every year, costing the average household $1,326.

Instead of tossing out your food scraps, Kate has a few tips on how you can reuse them, turning them into ingredients and saving money.

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A week ago I noticed one of those beautiful red toadstools in our garden – the classic red fungus with white dots all over the skin.

Amanita muscaria or Fly agaric – there are a few different sub-species with different colourations (orange-red to yellow, and various colours of the “dots”). This is a Mycorrhizal fungus that is associated with a few common host trees: Birch, beech and pine trees. It’s not very edible – in fact, it’s better not to muck around with. Some young children have ended up being poisoned and some rather risky adults (trying to go on a Hallucinogenic journey) ended up in similar troubles.

But they look great, and this was the first time I saw this species in our front garden, which surprised me. Of course, I never saw the 7-meter tall Betula which really need pruning away from electricity wires…

Many species are doing a great job in recycling dead materials, fallen leaves, and dead branches, and also dead trunks in all shapes and sizes.

These are some examples of fungi doing the recycling job in forests – small and large and colourful.

Ear Fungus is often found on dead trunks of trees.

This is a weird looking, feeling, and tasting mushroom that can hardly be misidentified: It looks like a human ear, it feels like an ear, and it even tastes like an ear!

This edible fungus was the very first export article that was sent from New Zealand to China in the eighteen hundreds. The Chew Chong brothers in Taranaki were the first people to send container loads of these fungi by ship.

Gardeners will encounter fungi that cause all sorts of problems in fruit (fruit rots), in roots (Phytophthora), and in stems and on leaves. Often preventative gardening will reduce the problems developing. Copper sprays tend to protect a plant from Spores settling on the developing fruit.

Brown Rot on Apricot

What I love to see is interaction between fungi and insects. Here is a stinkhorn fungus with a decent amount of smelly, brown liquid. Flies are keen to harvest that brown stinky stuff and in doing so, they get the brown spores on their body. Those spores are distributed through gardens and forests.

Autumn is the time to go for a walk and just look at fungi; I reckon they actually run this planet!

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