RNZ: Afternoons with Jesse Mulligan

What better way to end your working week than listening to Jesse chat critters with one of our country's most passionate conservationists, Nicola Toki. Meet the New Zealand King Shag (Leucocarbo carunculatus), a majestic, rare seabird endemic strictly to the rugged, ocean-swept outer Marlborough Sounds. Dressed to impress in a sleek black-and-white tuxedo, bright pink feet, a striking cobalt-blue eye ring, and vibrant orange-yellow facial warts (caruncles), this coastal diving master doesn't mess around when it comes to fishing - plummeting into deep, turbulent waters for bottom-dwelling delicacies.

Now those of you who are regular listeners will know that we're running the great Afternoons Kiwi Cover Song Contest. That's right, we're looking for the best version of a New Zealand song. All the details for our competition are on our website .. rnz.co.nz/afternoons .. or text COVER to 2101 and you'll get the link .. you have until Sunday to get the song to us. To celebrate the songs that are coming in thick and fast, we've put together a wee highlights package!

Fridays means food here on Afternoons .. hospitality legend Connie Clarkson is with Jesse .. she's currently the manager at Auckland Council's Kitchen Project making sure the future of hospitality is bright! Her recipe for egg drop soup can be found HERE

Last year, acclaimed singer-songwriter Ebony Lamb and her partner, fellow musician Gram Antler, packed up and moved to Japan for a three-year stint. A real loss for the New Zealand music scene... but fortunately they're back home on a nationwide tour. The tour also celebrates Gram Antler's debut album - 'Novel Lover', with the pair sharing the stage for a show that blends songs from both of their catalogues. And that's exactly what they're bringing us today for NZ Live... a selection of songs from Ebony Lamb and Gram Antler.

Afternoons movie critic Dominic Corry gives his takes on NZ film, Big Girls Don't Cry - on now at the NZIFF and Spider Man: Brand New Day - in theatres now.

It's time for Freaky Friday, your home for the spooky and the unexplained. We've had UFO sightings, ghostly encounters, eerie coincidences. If you've got a spooky story to share ... we'd love to hear from you - email afternoons@rnz.co.nz or text 2101. Today Jesse is joined by Anne.

Our next guest has been described as the MacGyver of atmospheric conditions. Which is quite some reputation .. Mark Bart's company Metris provides real-time forecast alarms for around 250 clients .. that involves hundreds of weather stations and more than 5,000 sensors. What does that all mean? Well, for example, if there is a heavy frost hitting .. growers will be woken up so they can act to protect their crops. Metris Chief Executive Mark Bart chats to Jesse.

The NZ International Film Festival has opened in Auckland .. one of the local films on offer is called Uncle. It tells the story of a man caring for his best friend's three-year-old son, Buddy .. after an accident. The film's director Ryan Alexander Lloyd is in the studio with Jesse. Ryan's films have been seen at international film festivals in Toronto, New York, Berlin, Melbourne and in Austin. Uncle premieres at the NZIFF on Saturday night.

There's some exciting health news today, with an update from a team of New Zealand scientists working on a new cancer drug. While it's early days, laboratory tests are looking very positive. University of Auckland Associate Professor Jeff Smaill is one of the researchers and chats to Jesse.

The cost of electricity seems to be affecting loads of you this winter ... actually not only the cost .. many of you were told to conserve power this week after the cold weather almost overloaded the grid. It certainly seems like something has to give. A just released report shows expansion of flexible electricity use and batteries could deliver some hefty energy savings. EECA and the BusinessNZ Energy Council have been crunching the numbers, using an internationally recognised modelling platform. They say these savings could be between $5.4 and $20.8 billion through to 2050. Mike Casey, Chief Executive of Rewiring Aotearoa, joins Jesse to discuss.

Welcome to the Politics Group Chat. In Auckland, it's commentator and comedian Tim Batt and political scientist Dr Lara Greaves. Dane Giraud is away sick this week. This week Jesse, Tim and Lara discuss who's going to win the election, why National has ruled out the Opportunity Party, the slogan "For All of Us" and vaccine politics.

Christopher Nolan's version of the Odyssey has got lots of you talking about the Homer classic again .. which is quite astonishing given it was written around the 8th century. But as our resident historian Dr Grant Morris is keen to explain .. this isn't the first time Homer's timeless works have been giving the pop culture treatment.

Every second Thursday we try to wrong some rights and solve some of the world's problems .. only every second Thursday mind .. Dave Armstrong joins Jesse to discuss some happenings in Wellington and what he thinks about them.

Crimes NZ is one of our favourite segments and we are so pleased we are back with another series of it. Over the next few weeks we'll be looking at some high-profile cases. The title kind of hints at this - but just a warning that this interview deals with some of New Zealand's most serious crimes... murder, kidnapping, sexual abuse... so please take care about who's listening around you... and if you need to talk to someone - there are free, trained counsellors at Helpline. Just call or text 1737. In this episode of Crimes NZ, we're looking at the murder of 79-year-old grandmother Helen Gregory by her daughter Julia DeLuney, with RNZ reporter Kate Green.

Afternoons Group Chat is when we discuss the topics that might not make the news bulletins but could be in your WhatsApp groups. With Jesse is National Content Director Ali Ventura, Afternoons critic Kate Rodger and Culture 101's Perlina Lau. Today they are looking at Amanda Knox's new foray into standup comedy, the Australian netball team uniform for Commonwealth Games and the new doll that comes with a baby in a realistic amniotic sac.

A collective dedicated to bringing back North Island Kokako to our forests swooped into Rotorua last weekend. The group discussed new research, conservation efforts and ongoing threats to the species. Attendees included DoC staff, scientists, and volunteers from across the North Island. As well as enjoying the meet up, they got to view a yet unreleased Kokako documentary which traces decades of conservation efforts. Department of Conservation's Rhys Burns is the leader of the Kokako Recovery Group, he joins Jesse.

Nathan Villars is Campus Principal of ACG Sunderland in Auckland and he is keen to discuss whether we are doing right by our children. He believes struggling isn't a sign of failure, and sometimes we need to let our kids fail in order to grow. Nathan chats to Jesse.

We're starting today's show talking about fireworks, because the Government has decided not to ban their public sale. It comes after Parliament's Petition Committee recommended a ban after considering three petitions with around 93 thousand signatures between them. The decision not to ban private use of fireworks has left animal welfare groups deeply disappointed .. and it's fair to say, a little baffled. We'd love to know what you think about this .. do you think some crackers on the lawn is a bit of fun or well past its used by date? Dr Arnja Dale is SPCA chief scientific officer and chats to Jesse.

Australia became the first to pass laws keeping kids off platforms like TikTok and Instagram. France has now followed, and 25 other countries including New Zealand are considering doing the same. Bad idea says Dr Candice Odgers. She's an expert in adolescent mental health at the University of California and says governments are backing the wrong solution. She argues the evidence doesn't support social media bans as a fix for teen mental health and says young people will simply find ways around them. Instead, she believes investment should go into digital literacy, mental health services, teachers and safe spaces for teenagers. Dr Candice Odgers joins me now.

Kelly Gibney shares a delicious sounding recipe that doubles as a great way to use leftovers!

Time for our weekly travel segment Heading Off, your chance to experience some amazing adventures without leaving the comfort of your home. We'd love to hear from you if you have a great travel story to share. It doesn't need to be particularly exotic, just memorable. Today we're heading off to Nepal with listener Blair Hiscoke, who spent five weeks travelling through the Himalayas, walking to Makalu Base Camp, crossing three high-altitude passes, and eventually making his way into the Everest Valley.

RNZ podcast Our Changing World looks at what's going on in the world of science and discovery .. each week host Claire Concannon investigates people and places doing innovative and interesting things .. and she also joins Jesse to chat about it. This week we're looking into the future of flight.

A collective of charity op shops has banded together to shout about their significance to New Zealand. ReUse Aotearoa was launched last night at Parliament. Habitat for Humanity, Hato Hone St John, Hospice NZ, Red Cross, Salvation Army, SPCA and St Vincent de Paul are all involved. Their aim is to highlight their impact on the economy, community and environment. Gareth Marshall is the ReUse Aotearoa collective chairperson, he's also The Salvation Army Family Store's National Manager, he chats to Jesse.

Sticking with strange occurrings .. residents of an Auckland suburb had an unwelcome surprise this week when a large sinkhole appeared in a their street. The area in St Marys Bay had been badly damaged in the 2023 Auckland anniversary weekend floods and has been covered by a steel plate since then. But it got us thinking - what exactly is a sinkhole? what causes them and how can you fix them? Dr Sally Dellow is an engineering geologist with Earth Sciences New Zealand, she joins Jesse to answer those questions and more.

A flashing fiery object was seen racing across the sky last night at around 1030pm. Which was perfect timing for Fireballs Aotearoa director Steve Wyn-Harris who was in his spa star gazing at the time. He joins Jesse to talk about what it was, and where it might have landed.

Emile Donovan and Jesse Mulligan star in the shortest show on radio, where they show they really can make something out of nothing, join them to be part of their delight, or to simply despair. Emile will also preview what's on The Panel tonight.

According to our next guest, sometimes we are our own worst enemies. We create our own suffering by thinking the things we believe about ourselves are actually true and as a result the way we see the world often becomes the world we live in, says behavioral design expert Nir Eyal. He uses data and research to explain how to challenge the stories we tell ourselves so we can reach our goals . He also explains why everyone, even atheists, should pray in his new book, Beyond Belief: The Science-Backed Way to Stop Limiting Yourself and Achieve Breakthrough Results.

Tuesdays are when we play You're the Judge - you send us a problem and we get the audience's help in resolving it - today the focus is cleanliness, specifically how often should you shower? Text 2101.

Our tech expert Tim Batt joins Jesse to chat about what's big in the tech world this week, he'll be looking at Samsung's new folds, SpaceX stock and data centres.

Afternoons critic, founder of Verb Wellington and author Claire Mabey joins me to share what she's been reading: Salt Quilt by Airini Beautrais (poetry); Sophie, Standing There by Meg Mason (novel); One Year Out by Charlotte Bell (memoir).

It's time for Mayoral minutes - where we speak with a local mayor about the challenges they're facing, how they're working to solve them and what makes their community special. This week we're heading to Waimate, which is 45 kms south of Timaru in the Canterbury region where Mayor Craig Rowley.

A musical production inspired by Alice's Adventures in Wonderland is coming to Auckland. Cirque Alice blends Lewis Carroll's classic adventure with acrobatics, songs, dance and a dose of magic. And of course, audiences will get to meet Alice, the Mad Hatter, the White Rabbit, and the Queen of Hearts Australian performer Layla Schillert stars as Alice in the production and is with me now.

With deer numbers on the rise, ecologists are calling for a national deer management strategy and say we are sleepwalking our way to a native forest catastrophe. University of Canterbury Emeritus Professor David Norton joins Jesse.

We understand it is winter, but we've all been talking about the freezing temperatures this week. Yesterday Christchurch was -4.7 and Taupo fell to -5.6 While this morning Hamilton Airport was -3.2 .. their coldest temperature measured this year. Even Aucklanders have been shivering into their lattes with temperatures in the low single digits. Heather Keats is Head of Weather News at MetService, she chats to Jesse.

'She'll be right' - is a classic kiwi idiom, however a new book says that kind of traditional, laid back optimism is no longer adequate to the challenges facing New Zealand. Facing Up to Our Future: Challenges and Choices for New Zealand brings together 21 of the country's leading thinkers. It looks at many of the big challenges facing our country and sets out practical ways of dealing with them. "Facing Up to Our Future" has just been published and is now available at helenclark.foundation. It's been published by the Helen Clark Foundation. The foundation's patron, former Prime Minister the Right Honourable Helen Clark joins Jesse.

We're taught to look for happiness in big moments and major life achievements. But according to cultural critic, game designer and Atlantic writer Dr Ian Bogost, we may be looking in the wrong place. He argues that some of life's richest pleasures are hiding in experiences we barely notice like the feel of a key turning in a lock, the physical satisfaction of operating a machine, or simply paying attention to the world around us. As technology removes more and more of those tactile experiences, we are also losing something about how we experience being alive. Bogost's new book is an argument for slowing down and rediscovering the value of the small, ordinary things we usually overlook. It's called The Small Stuff: How to Lead a More Gratifying Life.

Afternoons critic Caitlin Cherry joins Jesse to share what she's been watching: The Witness (Netflix) and The Burroughs (Netflix)

Dog Behavioural Consultant and Trainer Selina McIntyre answers your questions.

Jesse speaks to Evan More from the NZ Rocketry Association.

Brad Foster, our man on the ground in Australia, joins Jesse to discuss what's hitting the headlines there.

A new $100,000 Pamona Street playground in Invercargill has shaped through community consultation and input from local schoolchildren, giving young people a real say in what they wanted The project was led by the council's play advocate Dr Damien Puddle - AKA Dr Play - he joins Jesse.

A small brewery running out of an old farmhouse in the Waikato has been crowned overall champion brewery at this year's New Zealand Beer Awards held in Dunedin. Brewer Daryl Bryant is behind Karamu Barrelworks