Listen: Highlights from our 2025 Easter broadcast

L to R: Producers Phil Guyan and Sam Donkin with announcers Sam Bloore and Grace McArthur

From 6am-6pm on Good Friday and 6-8pm on Easter Sunday, our team of announcers brought the hope of the Easter story to over 300,000 Newstalk ZB listeners. We received more positive feedback from listeners than ever before.

“This programme is just wonderful. In this increasingly faithless world, it is so good to hear a programme focusing on the true meaning of Easter.”

“I listened to you on Friday and afterwards started reciting the Jesus prayer. I have to say, I am feeling a lot better about life.”

A few highlights

Note: Please bear in mind that these programmes are designed specifically for mainstream/general audiences, who may know very little about the Christian faith

Newstalk 33AD

This year, we brought back our award-winning Newstalk 33AD series that reimagines how a Newstalk station might have covered the biggest story in history - the crucifixion of ‘rock-star rabbi’ Jesus of Nazareth.

Think breaking news, dramatic eyewitness reports and exclusive interviews - all delivered in classic Newstalk ZB style, every hour. We hear the story unfolding in real time across the day as we transport listeners back through time and space to the chaos of that very first Good Friday.

We were delighted to have Wendy Petrie as our newsreader and Joy Reid as our live reporter at the scene. Listeners on the day loved it too! Here is some feedback we received -

“I've just heard the news from Jesus' time that you put on and I think it is really really good and maybe if a lot more people heard this this way, we could understand a lot more.”

“Very very clever work with the travel back to Biblical times. Really enjoyed it. Brilliant.”

“Congratulations on your ‘news bulletin’ from 33AD. A brilliant recreation of events on the day of Jesus’ crucifixion! Thanks to all involved.”