Afternoons

Dr James Rilling is a neuroscientist and a father himself whose been studying the biology and evolution of fatherhood for 15 years.

Our Aussie correspondent looks at the fallout from the social media ban and there's an update in the Molly the Magpie saga.

Anna Rankin reviews Caroline Crampton's new book, a fascinating mix of memoir, history and literary criticism.

Vertech managing director Dan Watson has had enough of rubbish Christmas gifts.

Jesse chats to Tourism Ireland Executive Vice President Alison Metcalfe about Ireland as a travel destination.

Global sales have slowed, and recently prices for new EVs have been slashed again and again after sales fell off a cliff at the start of the year.

It's been a dream start for Auckland FC.

This week on Here Now, Kadambari Raghukumar talks to artist Valle around his connection with Papua New Guinea and how it continues to impact his life.

There is real art in capturing a life in one thousand words. For more than 20 years, that's what Ann Wroe has done for The Economist magazine as the obituary editor.

Kathryn Burnett is an award-winning screen writer based in Tamaki Makaurau. She answers audience questions about screen writing.

Every week we call a random Information center in New Zealand Aotearoa.

Brooks Alexander joins Jesse to discuss and review the latest TV out there. He also talks about Silo and Arcane.

A survey conducted by Public Trust has found that 57% of Kiwis are uncomfortable, fearful, or reluctant to talk about death.

The University of Auckland and two Chinese universities have begun a three-year collaboration on caring for coastal wetlands as sea levels rise.

The celebrated photographer has a new book called Woolsheds.

Today on the pre-panel, Wallace Chapman and Jesse Mulligan preview tonight's show. Also, producer Jose Barbosa joins the panel to discuss whether you can trademark a vibe.

This week's critter is one of the most intelligent animals in the ocean. Te whai rahi, the giant oceanic manta ray, has a brain to body mass ratio similar to our own and is one of the only fish that can recognise itself in the mirror. Te whai rahi are long-lived, slow to breed, and only give birth to a single pup every 2-5 years. This slow and steady approach means they struggle to recover from the impact of fishing and are now listed as an endangered species on the IUCN Red List.

Are you looking at the garden and thinking 'I need to get stuck into that'? And is it so daunting a task, that you don;t know where to start? Well, relax. Gardening expert Lynda Hallinan is here to help out.

This delicious salad is straight from Nic's new restaurant, Canting in Commercial Bay, Auckland. It's a fresh, modern Chinese inspired salad. Get the recipe here.

The Queen of Hollywood is in to review satirical Italian film There's Still Tomorrow and the sequel to Disney's mega hit Moana.

Spooky stories from our listeners. Have you seen a ghost? Seen a UFO? Or experience the supernatural? Let just know either via text on 2101 or by email on afternoons@rnz.co.nz and your tale of terror could appear on our next Freaky Friday.

A TikTok clip has garnered millions of views. It features a woman, claiming to have bought a curse from an online witch. The online witchcraft industry is booming. A quick glance at one online marketplace shows love spells, Spells for career success, curses on your enemies. Even a death spell. They range from a few dollars - like the girl in the video - up to almost $40k. Some estimated put it at a $2bn industry! Nicole Lenoir-Jourdan is an expert in Witch Commerce and a PhD candidate at Western Sydney university.

As summer approaches, the strawberries are starting the ripen, blueberries are on the way soon. Even the first flush of cherries are here. Soon these early pickings will spill over into an insurmountable pile of tasty morsels. Which is where preservation comes in, namely Jam. Traditionally Jam is a 1 to one ratio of fruit to sugar.... But that was too much for Great Barrier Island Resident Gregory who's found another way.

It might not have been what Jonny Cash had in mind, but walking the like has become something of an internet craze. It involves walking across the country in a totally straight line. On Monday three friends set out from Baylys Beach heading - in a straight line - towards One Tree Point. A journey of just 60km. They were scheduled to finish today, but now it's looking like tomorrow.

Nunuku's peace pact is a 600-year-old policy instituted by Moriori chief Nunuku-whenua. It still stands to this day, likely making it the world's longest standing peace covenant It's a commitment to non violence so strong that in 1835 - when their Rekohu home was invaded by Maori - the Moriori refused to fight back. Their population collapsed from 1,800 to 100, yet they still refused to choose violence Now Nunuku's pact has been recognised internationally by the World Future Council. Chairman of the Moriori Imi Settlement Trust Maui Solomon joins us.

Today on the pre-panel producer Olivia Wilson joins Wallace Chapman & Jesse Mulligan to preview tonight's show.

Today Mary looks at what happens to your Kiwisaver when you go through a relationship break up.

Sean Becker has 'curled' for New Zealand in 5 men's world championships, won three Pacific champs and represented New Zealand at the 2006 Olympics.

Adam Burns discusses the latest season of Guilt and reviews a new documentary series about football hooliganism.

45 years ago, today New Zealand suffered its worst aviation accident in history.

In an episode of Grand Designs, Buddy made his cameo as a two-day old lamb that had been rejected by his mother.

Jesse talks to Katie Rood, she's a professional football player who's just returned from COP29.

Today on the pre-panel Wallace Chapman and Jesse Mulligan previews tonight's show. Also producer Sam Hollis joins to discuss the trend of car manufacterers retuning simpler designs, buttons and knobs included.

Today we have an episode from the ABC series Pacific Scientific.   The series travels across the Pacific to meet researchers tackling different problems – from climate change to protecting baby turtles.   In this episode Samoan reporter Adel Fruean is in her hometown to visit a secretive lab at the Scientific Research Organisation of Samoa where scientists are unlocking the power of plants.

Technology is now all over our homes, with cameras on door bells, and refrigerators that keep shopping lists. Our homes may be getting smarter, but are we asks trend forecaster and author Karen Rosenkranz. She says all these automated, artificial intelligence guided appliances are actually disempowering. A little bit of discomfort rather than just convenience, can actually strengthen our resilience. She makes the case for getting smarter about smart homes.

This gorgeous (almost foolproof) tart is an easy weeknight dinner but will also shine for summer lunches and picnics. Using a mixture of different coloured cherry tomatoes will add extra visual appeal. Get the recipe here.

It's been called one of the world's most scenic and shortest car races. Winding up the ski access road of Coronet Peak it measures just 2.7kims long. With this year's race upon us Jesse talks to Vice President of the Queenstown Car Club Matty Pester.

"The media sector is now forecasting its own death". "For the first time, I'm looking at the future with genuine concern." That's direct quote from NZ Geographic owner James Frankham. He wrote those words a month ago. They sit right at the top of an article about why the publisher has opened its finances to the public. Jesse asks James if the bid to bring in more money and convert subscribers to stakeholders has worked.

Our cultural relationship without the USA usually flows in one direction, from them to us. But for some things they are looking to us, here in Aotearoa. Caroline Klibanoff is currently visiting on an Eisenhower fellowship. Her aim - to learn how we incorporate youth into civic life and set up a similar system back home.

A Taupo-based company is working to reduce New Zealand's reliance on imported packaging Following the single-use-plastic ban in 2019 two childhood friends looked into who was manufacturing paper locally and discovered that much of the paper produced here was exported to Asia, converted into paper bags, and then sent back to New Zealand The friends then set up 'Gratpak' and began manufacturing bags here. They now supply 25 to 30 million bags a year to Foodstuffs. 'Gratpak General Manager Stephen Folcarelli talks to Jesse.

What did you learn about money from your family? And how does that fit with your partner's financial values? Trying to trim costs only works when everyone in your household is on the same page. Katy Gosset looks at financial literacy for the whole family.

The birthrate is dropping all over the world which means fewer parents become grandparents.

Our Australian correspondent Brad gives us the latest on the methanol poisoning in Laos and there's new efforts in household recycling in Sydney.

Claire Mabey discusses the latest from the NZ writer Damien Wilkins. She also looks at The Hotel Balzaar by acclaimed children's novelist Kate DiCamillo and The Haunted Wood, a history of children's literature by Sam Leith.

Freelance journalist Nikki Bezant recently wrote an opinion piece bemoaning the difficulty in finding swimwear that fits for a wide range of body types

In July this year, twenty-two businesses were told they had to move out of Nelson's Morrison Square, but Italian restaurant Babagatto is still holding on.

A groundbreaking automated road cone machine, developed in Stratford, Taranaki, is set to transform roadwork safety.

Failure can be fascinating and when Hollywood produces a box office flop, it can often happen in spectacular fashion. Tm Robey is a film critic for the Daily Telegraph and tells the stories of 26 film flops who he says often come from out-of-control white male genius who were often given budgets to match their egos. He offers the lessons flops like Rex Harrison's Dr Dolittle and the star studded musical Cats in his new book, Box Office Poison: Hollywood's Story in a Century of Flops.

It's the time of year when a lot of us are thinking about summer and pool owners are looking at whipping their pools into shape, so the kids - and neighbours - can enjoy them. So how do you turn a green pool into something inviting and sparkling? Jesse talks to pool cleaning and maintenance expert Ally Boggs from Pool Water Specialists.

Every week Jesse calls an iSite somewhere in the country purely at random and chaos (or just a nice chat ensues). This week he tries giving Tirau a bell.

Pratik Navani reviews a new sitcom that follows a teacher in a Texan school and explores some of the amazing TV in Japan.

It's the type of crime that many of us don't want to read or speak about - the content is often too disturbing to comprehend. But the sharing of child sex abuse material has skyrocketed both internationally and here in New Zealand NZME Journalist Jared Savage was given unprecedented access to NZ Customs' Child Exploitation Operations Team, an investigative unit working tirelessly to rescue children from exploitation "Unmasking the Monsters," is a must-watch for every parent and screens tonight at 7.30 on TVNZ Chief Customs Officer Simon Peterson and NZME Journalist Jared Savage joins Jesse to talk about the documentary and their work.

New Zealand fashion legend Liz Mitchell has teamed up with Wanaka fashion brand 'Precious Collaborative' to create a limited edition woollen coat. The coat is made of a "kiwi version" of tweed hand-spun on 100-year-old Hattersley looms by boutique weaving company McLean & Co in Oamaru The coat will be sold at auction with the proceeds going toward funding a collection of wool and hemp streetwear Jesse talks to Sue McLean of McLean and Co.

The National Pub quiz championship was held on Saturday. The event - which crows the nation's best team - saw 560 participants go head-to-head. They battled it out over Sports, Science, TV, Geography, and of course beers. This year the trophy was taken home by "Eddie's Back, Don't Call" Team captain Kelvin Lange joins Jesse to talk about the win.

Today on the pre-panel producer Carol Stiles joins Wallace Chapman & Jesse Mulligan to preview tonight's show.

Have you ever wondered what critter creates those large horizontal webs in our native forests? This week, Forest & Bird CEO Nicola Toki will introduce you to the creator behind the webs, the New Zealand sheetweb spider, Cambridgea foliata. It's the largest of our sheetweb spiders and can craft a web up to 1 m in diameter!

Gardening expert Kate Hillier has some expert advice for keeping those nasty pests away from your precious plants.

Julie Biuso brings Italy to the show with a dish from her late mother-in-law Mamma Rosa.

Dom Corry is in the studio to talk what's on in the theatres. He reviews Heretic, starring Hugh Grant; a Lucy Lawless directed documentary Never Look Away and the drama Memory, featuring Peter Sarsgaard.

Listener Rick explains how his life has been marked by incredible coincidences.

A couple of months ago there was a campaign for Hamilton to redesign its coat of arms... Spoiler alert - The mayor said it's not going to happen. But that got us thinking.... Why do our cities even have Coats of Arms? And are they actually any good? Or could some cities do with a bit of a rebrand? So to answer that question - and come up with a distinctly un-comprehensive - regional coat of arms ranking... We're joined by David Jack & Dick Frizzell David is an expert in all things Coats Of Arms and Dick is an internationally famous artist.

Yesterday Steve Gurney joined us for Sporting History. You can still listen to that conversation with the nine-time Coast to Cost race champion on the RNZ website Near the end of our conversation he mentioned a charity project he's involved with - the Coast To Coast Rangers. We ran out of time to talk much about it, but our interest was piqued.

Human or Horse? Who would win a 40 km race? It sounds like the kind of question you'd toss around after a few too many beers at the pub... and that is exactly where the idea for 'The Only Fools and Horses Race' came to life. Runners and horses will go head-to-head in a race through rugged terrain in central Otago While horses can average speeds of up to 40km/h, Humans typically run at around 10km/h ... but who have the endurance to go all the way? 'The Only Fools and Horses Race' coordinator Steve Tripp joins Jese to explain why this is happening.

Today on the pre-panel producer Carol Stiles joins Wallace Chapman & Jesse Mulligan to preview tonight's show.

Dr Grant from Victoria University looks at the history of mass protests in New Zealand and how they stack up against Tuesday's hikoi to Wellington.

Publicist Ali Jones says she has the answer to poor health outcomes for mothers and newborns: a health system where midwives are front and center. It's an approach advocated for by the WHO in a new report. But there is one place where a system like this is already implemented: Aotearoa/New Zealand. but is it appropriately funded?

Adventure racer and multisport triathlete Steve Gurney joins us for this week's NZ Sporting History. Steve is most well-known for winning the 243km Coast to Coast race a record 9 times and representing New Zealand at two Mountain bike world championships.

RNZ News reader Evie Ashton reviews an eclectic bunch of podcasts that can help send you off to sleep.

Staff at an Upper Hutt Wildlife reserve are devastated after the alleged theft of its "loving and talkative" Cockatoo 'Pepper' Staglands staff believe the 6-year-old sulphur crested cockatoo was taken from her aviary on Sunday and are now asking the public and police for help getting her back... Stagland's general manager Sarah Purdy talks to Jesse about Pepper and the alleged abduction.

For over a decade, an irreplaceable ring laser has been trapped in a cavern 30m below Christchurch port hills. The Carl Zeiss laser was installed in an old World War Two bunker in 1997 until a rockfall after the 2011 Christchurch earthquake sealed the cavern. But now it's been rescued and is fully operational. Professor Jon-Paul Wells is the principal investigator on the ring laser project.

Beef cattle account for roughly 10% of Aotearoa New Zealand's total greenhouse gas emissions. There's plenty of research looking into methods to reduce emissions - vaccines, seaweed-based feed, and selective breeding programs are all being explored. But according to a new AgResearch study there could be a simpler way.

A new study has found that native plants in Tongariro National Park are being hit hard by the spread of invasive heather, with a 40 to 50 percent decline in native species in some areas. Dr Julie Deslippe, a senior lecturer in biological sciences at Te Herenga Waka-Victoria University of Wellington joined Jesse.

Today on the pre-panel producer Carol Stiles joins Wallace Chapman & Jesse Mulligan to preview tonight's show.

Our Changing World goes in search of one of Aotearoa’s rarest plants – the stunning kakabeak, or ngutukākā.  Its clusters of bright red blooms, each shaped like a parrot’s beak, make it a popular garden plant. But in the wild, ngutukākā is barely holding on. Considered “nationally critical” by the Department of Conservation, only about 100 individual ngutukākā plants survive, clinging to exposed steep bluffs where goats and rabbits can’t get to them. But now, locals along the East Coast, the kakabeak’s last stronghold, are determined to reverse its march towards extinction by propagating wild plants to turn State Highway 35 into a crimson highway. Veronika Meduna joins them for the inaugural Ngutukākā Festival.

Data is more than numbers on a chart according to graphic designer Dr Giorgia Lupi. Data is a way to tell stories.

This recipe loosely steals its inspiration for the classic French salad. Get the recipe here.

Jesse talks to the authors of Pilgrimage Aotearoa, a guidebook outlining a New Zealand route for Pilgrims.

While you're enjoying the summer this year, a group of student scientists will spend it checking for E. coli and enterococci.

Wellington's first 6 Green Star building - 8 Willis St - has been lauded both here and overseas.

Why do crowd estimates differ so much? And how do experts accurately measure crowd sizes?

"We only deserve it if we share it." This was the unwritten rule in the home where food writer and entrepreneur Lola Millholland grew up. Her parents always welcomed exchange students, friends, artists and just about anyone who needed a place to stay. While the communal house may have been chaotic and messy, Millholland says she discovered that friendships and non-romantic relationships can provide stability and security that's undervalued. She's written a book about some of the many meals and gatherings in the home where caring for each other is an essential ingredient. The book is called Group Living and Other Recipes.

Back on the job Brad Foster talks about what's happening in Australia. The big news is broadcaster Alan Jones' arrest due to allegations of indecent assault and a high-profile manslaughter trial around the tasing of a 95-year-old.

Pip Adams makes some personal recommendations around books and writing that she found useful when formulating her thoughts around the debate around the bill.

Our technology expert Dan Watson has just come back from a 5-day tramp in the South Island, and he runs through some of the aps and tools he's used on the journey.

We check in with reporter Layla Bailey-McDowell who is deep in the crowd amassing at Parliament today.

Our grandparents used to do the washing once a week. Now New Zealanders use billions of litres of water every year, just on laundry. Katy Gosset looks at whether we're washing our clothes too often.

Every now and again we receive an email from a listener suggesting we speak to a particular person - someone with an impressive story to tell. That's how we came to be in touch with Fergus Morunga. Fergus is 18 years old and is the out-going head prefect at Hastings' Lindisfarne College - among other things he's a film maker, a pipe major, a fundraising champion, a good scholar, an accomplished sportsman and a respected young leader.

On the 3rd Monday of November Timaru echoes with the sound of horns. So much so the first time it happened the police received multiple complaints. But now, 17 years on, the whole community are behind the wee scamps Its Toot for Tucker. The project, organised by the lions club is a collection for local foodbanks Founding member Lynette Doggett joins Afternoons.

10 years ago, four friends working as Stephen Fry's fact "elves" started a podcast called No Such Thing As a Fish.

The humble root vegetable has grown to be part of our national identity. Our expert today is Ruawai kumara grower Warwick Simpson.

So far Jesse has called Whakatane, Motueka and Kurow to name just a few. Where will my producer send him next? Let's find out.

Caitlin Cherry reviews two new TVNZ shows, Matlock and A Remarkable Place to Die.

Craft Gin is experiencing a surge in popularity across New Zealand.

13-year-old Elly Grady's debut children's book is an oral history of her Kereru, Hawkes Bay community.

For the past 20 years hundreds of Kiwi teachers have taken part in a programme that's allowed them to experience life in a Samoan village.

This week's critter is a curious and cryptic insect you've probably never heard of. The native thread-legged bug, Empicorus seorsus, is unique to Aotearoa and is one of only four thread-legged bugs found here. It looks a bit like a moth crossed with a daddy-long leg and a praying mantis. Don't be fooled by its delicate-looking legs because this critter is a powerful predator.

Any and all DIY or building questions will be answered by Stan Scott, builder and solid dude.

Gretchen Lowe has a perfect Friday night mix-up on a pizza. Get the recipe here.

Kate Rodger gives her verdict on the sequel to Ridley Scott's classic Gladiator.