RNZ: Afternoons with Jesse Mulligan

It's time for our expert feature and today we're talking about navigating divorce & separation Alongside the death of a loved one, separation and divorce can be one of the most painful and difficult periods of someone's life. Divorce and separation coach Kimberlee Sweeney joins Jesse for the next 30 minutes to answer all your questions

You know it when you see it. An email from a co-worker or marketing pitch from a company that lands in your inbox, but you know it was written by artificial intelligence. AI promised to make work faster, smarter, and more efficient, but sometimes those emails take time to unpick and fix. There's a word for that, "workslop". It's content that masquerades as meaningful but requires others to interpret. Dr. Kate Niederhoffer is a social psychologist and vice president of BetterUp Labs. She co-authored a new study and says workslop is becoming a growing source of frustration in the workplace. Link to the survey here!

We're trying something new here on Afternoons, we've decided Monday is club day, a chance for Jesse to hit the clubs. If you have a club you'd like Jesse to join for the day please get in touch at afternoons@rnz.co.nz Today, we're starting Jesse's clubbing adventure with Barbara Preston from Auckland based choir Stimmung.

Let's talk what to watch on the box now and who better to tell us what's good right now, than actor Michelle Langstone. Film Club (Three Now) Educators - Season Four (TVNZ)

Mimiro is an ancient Maori building technique that sees wooden supports fastened together using joints similar to tongue and groove and then the whole structure is fastened to the ground with rope. It's an example of building techniques that architect and academic Professor Anthony Hoete says could and should be used more in construction. He speaks to Jesse.

Last week we spotted an invitation to an event in Hamilton that had us intrigued; it was a conversation about how artificial intelligence can help identify the birds singing around us. We hear so much about how terrible AI is, we wanted to learn about how it could be used for good. Dr Andrew Lensen certainly thinks it can be, he's a computer scientist leading MBIE-funded "AI for good" work, including using computer vision to recognise individual kaka and related projects on kiwi call recognition.

Concern is sweeping the country admid a possible asbestos contamination of coloured play sands, with 120 schools and early play centers having contacted the Ministry of Education on this issue. Asbestos expert and co-director of the Environmental Innovation Centre Professor Terri-Ann Berry spoke with Jesse Mulligan on just how worried the public should be.

We all know the climate is in strife, and something needs to change. We've talked at length on Afternoons about Government, council and individual action and how it can make a difference, but what about our diets? In his Climate Matters Substack, Lindsay Wood posed the question: "would we all be better off eating horse instead of beef or lamb?" He joins Jesse to discuss.

On Tuesday night we held a Critter of the Week live event to celebrate ten years of talking endangered species. Nicola Toki Forest and Bird's Chief Executive and I chatted in front of a live audience, but we didn't want you to miss out - so we're playing some of the conversation for you today. We've heard about the grossest critters which were like something out of a horror film, so to cleanse our palettes, Jesse also asked Forest and Bird CEO Nicola Toki about the most beautiful ones.

Earlier this week we held a special event in Auckland celebrating a decade of Critter of the Week. Forest and Bird Chief Executive Nicola Toki and Jesse sat in front of a live audience to chat about critters and conservation. We so appreciate the people who took part - in person or watching via the livestream - and it was such a terrific evening we thought we should share it with our radio audience too.

Julie Biuso has just got back from Greece and she's brought with her some summer food inspiration for us all. Julie shares what makes a Greek salad sing - what should, and what shouldn't, be in one?! Keep ingredients in chunks or thick slices - this is not meant to be a dainty salad. Don't toss and mess it up. Keep the feta whole and break it apart with a fork and spoon as you serve the salad. Do not use fresh oregano in place of dried. For a bright note, replace half a tablespoon of vinegar with a few squirts of lemon juice.

The Running Man Now You See Me: Now You Don't Keeper All in cinemas now.

Time for Freaky Friday, our home for your spooky stories, terrifying tales and eerie encounters If you have a story to share, we want to hear from you. Send us a brief outline of your tale to 2101 and we'll add it to the list. Mark joins Jesse to talk about his brush with death on Mount Everest.

There are over 7000 bus drivers across the country - and this Sunday is a day all about them. To show our appreciation, Jesse chats to kinetic bus driver Peter Smith from Wellington.

The Coromandel is growing in reputation as a centre for adventure, thanks in a large part to Andy Reid. Andy co-founded Adventure Racing Coromandel with his mate Keith Stephenson, creating lots of events including the K2 bike race and the Kauri Run. Now Andy has written a book taking us behind the scenes of 20 years of Adventure Races. It's called 'Are You Trying to Kill Us?' He talks to Jesse.

December will see police beginning roadside drug driving testing in Wellington before rolling it out to the rest of the country. According to Transport Minister Chris Bishop "around 30% of all road deaths now involve an impairing drug". We wanted to know what the testing will look like ... how it works and how reliable it will be. Here to share his thoughts is Hayden Eastmond-Mein from the Drug Foundation.

We're going to start today's show talking about the Regulatory Standards Bill -which has now passed its third reading in Parliament. Despite more than 98% of public submissions opposing the bill, it sailed through with the backing of all three coalition parties. That means it's now set to be signed in to law by the Governor-General. But what actually is the regulatory standards bill? It feels like there has been a lot of commentary from people for and against the bill .. but we wondered how many of you actually know what it will do? RNZ Political Reporter Russell Palmer joins Jesse.

Wallace Chapman and producer José Barbosa preview tonight's instalment of The Panel.

Health15, a new workplace initiative developed by some of the country's leading health charities, will provide thousands of workers with 15-minute on-site workplace health and wellbeing checks The programme hopes to help those who put off vital health checks while also helping employers reduce the costs of absenteeism. Project Director, Stroke Aotearoa NZ Board Member Jamie Summers joins Jesse.

Dr Grant Morris is here to talk all things history, and this week he's turning his attention to languages, specifically the history of official languages in New Zealand.

Time to solve the world's problems now and who better to do that than Ali Jones, and today her focus is on driving electric vehicles in the South Island.

Time for the latest installment of our A-Z of Aotearoa and today it is L for Lamb. From humble beginnings as a new immigrant in the 1800's, at one point there were more than 20 per capita! Robert Peden spent 25 years as a shepherd, before completing a PhD in history at the University of Otago He's also the author of "Making Sheep Country", he chats to Jesse. From their peak at over 70 million in 1982, ewe numbers are now down to around 25 million...but thanks to advances in technology and genetic improvements the yield per sheep has almost tripled. Matt Holden is a sheep and lamb farmer in Central Hawkes Bay and partner in Kelso genetics, he also chats to Jesse.

It's time for our relationships segment - Professor Kirsty Ross from Massey University's School of Psychology joins us fortnightly to share her advice on how to navigate some of life's trickier moments. Today we look at rebuilding trust after it's been badly broken, navigating a friend group after a divorce and the psychology of relationships.

The Wilson family has been part of Abel Tasman National Park since 1841. That's when some their ancestors arrived as part of some of the first British settlers to Nelson. Forty years ago John Wilson set up a tour operating company called Wilsons Abel Tasman. And now, his granddaughter Amy, has returned to the park to join the family business. She chats to Jesse.

There's a call for our councils to be more proactive and strategic when it comes to creating cemetery space. It follows concerns that burial spaces are running out - particularly in our urban areas. The Cemeteries and Crematoria Collective says councils must act now to secure land for their communities. Chair Daniel Chrisp is with me now.

From 2026 prescriptions are changing from three months to twelve months. The rule change means that patients on some long-term medications won't have to return to the GP every 12 weeks as they do currently. While patients will still have to pay the $5 prescription charge every 3 months, it's estimated some could save up to $105 in doctors' fees annually. This all sounds pretty good really but this morning a GP got in touch with us to say it isn't that simple. Here to share why some doctors are concerned is Christchurch GP and chair of the General Practice Owners Association Dr Angus Chambers.

Time now for Our Changing World, and this week we're catching up with William Ray who has been out in the bush around Wellington with a crew of conservationists looking to bring a rare native plant back from the brink of extinction.

Here's a simple idea that explains a lot about how the world works: "I know that you know that I know." It might sound complicated, but it's the reason we stop at red lights or believe money has value says Harvard psychologist Steven Pinker. But when people start to have their own truths, when facts are not shared, we can get in to trouble. Dr Pinker unravels this idea that makes in the world go round in his new book, When Everyone Knows That Everyone Knows: Common Knowledge and the Mysteries of Money, Power, and Everyday Life. Dr. Pinker is coming to New Zealand in February for an evening of smart, stimulating conversation. Tickets are available here.

Eggs are an easy dinner option midweek. Here they create a savoury spin on French toast, This is a flavour-packed version where eggs are whisked together with parsley, ham, cheese and a little mustard. Thick slices of bread are then soaked briefly before being pan-fried. A very simple little tomato salad makes for a lovely topping.

Time for our weekly travel segment Heading Off. Many of you will have been on holiday and been desperate to stay longer than planned - usually logistics and life get in the way. But that wasn't the case for our next guest, Alex Bell has just returned home after 18 months of travelling, originally he planned to be gone for only three.

In some exciting news for their fans, or anyone who wants to relive the 90s, Push Push is reuniting to celebrate 35 years of that hit single. I'm joined by the band's frontman, the one and only Mikey Havoc.

Aucklanders, this is news you need to know, congestion charging is coming. A Government bill to bring it in passed its third reading in parliament, and that means it will pass into law. Congestion charging is already seen in cities like London, Singapore and New York City, and usually involves charging motorists to enter the central city at peak times. Auckland will be the first city of the ranks - then it could be rolled out in other cities. To tell us what it might look like here, Matt Lowrie from transport think tank 'Greater Auckland' joins Jesse.

If you've heard any news at all today, you'll be aware the Independent Police Conduct Authority has released a report into the Police's handling of complaints about former Deputy Commissioner Jevon McSkimming McSkimming hit the news earlier this year when he resigned from his post. At the time Police Minister Mark Mitchell said the allegations against him were "of a very serious nature". McSkimming was subsequently charged and pleaded guilty to possessing objectionable material on his work laptop. But it turns out there was much more to this story, and the investigation into McSkimming, than that. Here to explain all the ins and outs of this case is RNZ political reporter Giles Dexter.

It's time now for a new season of the RNZ podcast Thrift and this week host Katy Gossett investigates some cheap tweaks that can help turn your rental property into a home. Today we meet an expert renter and op-shopping queen whose homely hacks won't stretch the budget.

We've got a weekly segment called 'You're the Judge' where we present an issue that's been sent in by one of our listeners, and you, our audience, decide what the right course of action is.

"Just be yourself" is one of the worst pieces of advice out there says Psychologist Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic. Authenticity and some diversity programs that encourage people to 'be themselves' often lead to failure he says. Dr Chamorro-Premuzic explains that the most successful people aren't intensely authentic, they're experts at reading a room, adapting, and understanding where the right to be yourself ends and our obligation to others begins. His new book is called Don't Be Yourself: Why Authenticity Is Overrated.

Let's find out what's happening in Australia now Brad Foster is with us now to tell us what everyone is talking about across the Tasman. Today's topics - How a Neo-Nazi rally in Sydney on Saturday got permission to be held and why tobacco sales are soaring on the Australian black market.

A few weeks ago Pip Adam was lucky enough to be part of the launch of Laura Vincent's new novel Hoods Landing. Today she chats to Jesse about three book things related to Hood's Landing. Overseas Experience by Nicola Andrews (Aporo Press, 2025) local loser podcast with host Damien Levi The Whitireia Publishing Course - Aotearoa New Zealand's only full-time industry-led qualification in book publishing.

Tim Batt joins Jesse to explain why he hates smart devices. This is off the back of Google no longer supporting some of its smart thermostats in the United States.

Sir Ernest Shackleton's Trans-Antarctica Expedition - between 1914 and 1917 - has been described as one of the greatest adventures of all time. While photos were taken during the expedition - the full voyage hasn't been documented visually, until now. Antarctic and maritime artist Sean Garwood has spent years compiling photographs and studying accounts of the expedition and has now brought the story to life through oil paintings.

Nearly 3,000 hectares of Tongariro National Park have been turned to ash by fires that started on Saturday. That's about three thousand full size rugby pitches of old growth and native plants burnt - some completely. As the ash starts to settle, the process of understanding what has been lost is being revealed, Jesse is joined by Project Tongariro Chief Executive Kiri Te Wano.

An article by RNZ journalist Gaurav Sharma takes readers behind the scenes of the Indian business community in the Auckland suburb of Papatoetoe and reveals the lengths many shop owners are going to in order to stay safe. Along with fog cannons, bollards and security doors, some jewellery retailers have installed cages within their stores, protecting them and their products. Gurdeep Singh, owner of Pooja Jewellers, talks to Jesse.