The Front Page: Herald daily news podcasts - Recapping the first week of stories

It was a big week for the Herald's podcasting team.

We've introduced a daily podcast, hosted by senior journalist Damien Venuto, and it's quickly moved into the top five podcasts on the Apple app.

The first four episodes have already covered a swathe of topics, ranging from the war in Ukraine, the impact of living with Covid, the Government's massive debt load, and the water failures in Wellington and Auckland.

It offers an opportunity to hear directly from the journalists, who are on the ground reporting on the biggest issues in the country.

The week started with a discussion on the realities of living with Covid. Senior journalist Derek Cheng essentially gave us a preview on the changes that would finally be announced on Wednesday, confirming the end of vaccine passes and mandates.

We then Zoomed into Ukraine to chat with a Kiwi war journalist, who is on the ground in the country, reporting on the ongoing conflict.

His observations on the state of the city of Kharkiv continue to linger in the mind.

"The city has been absolutely wasted," he said.

"This looks like Bosnia in 1995, Aleppo in 2017. God, it looks like Warsaw in 1944. When you walk around the city, it feels like you're in World War II or something."

Next, we spoke to Wellington senior journalist Georgina Campbell about the various water issues affecting the country and the sobering revelation that some parts of Wellington have not had fluoride in their water since last year.

Campbell didn't mince her words: "This is a scandal and it is outrageous. It is seriously in a league of its own, in terms of any other water issue I have reported on over the years, and I have reported on a lot."

Rounding out the week, we had Liam Dann delve into the levels of Government spending amid Covid-19 and the war in Ukraine.

Dann explains the tight balancing act the Government faces in terms of keeping inflation in check, while also ensuring that we don't head into a recession or see a sharp increase in unemployment.

• The Front Page is a daily news podcast from the New Zealand Herald, that is available to listen to every week day from 5am.

• You can follow the podcast at nzherald.co.nz, iHeartRadio, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.