RNZ: Afternoons with Jesse Mulligan

Here Now is an RNZ podcast hosted by Kadambari Raghukumar, it focuses on the journeys people make to New Zealand, their identities and perspectives, and how that shapes their lives here. In this week's edition, Kadambari reflects on some of Here Now's best conversations in 2025.

For years, it was easy to dismiss talk of UAPs, Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena, formerly known as UFOs. But director and producer Dan Farah argues that moment is over. In his new documentary, The Age of Disclosure, he speaks with 34 high-level figures from the U.S. government, military, and intelligence world who say non-human intelligent life has already made contact, and a global race is underway to reverse engineer the technology involved. The film makes clear this isn't the age of fringe speculation anymore; it's a turning point. The Age of Disclosure is available to rent or purchase on Prime Video.

Our telly critic Dominic Corry is here with me to share his picks: Pluribus - Apple TV Malice - Prime Video

From multivitamin gummies to creatine and collagen powders... it can feel like we're being bombarded with products that promise more energy, better sleep, and glowing skin But are these supplements actually worth taking or are they a waste of money? We've asked Dr Prabani Wood, Medical Director at The Royal NZ College of General Practitioners and Hamilton GP to break it down for us.

Marine scientists say New Zealanders want to engage with ocean issues but doing that is getting harder. Knowing what information to trust online is getting more difficult, and that's why Veronica Rotman has established NZ Ocean News. Veronica is a marine scientist and PhDcanidate at the Univeristy of Auckland; she joins Jesse to explain what NZ ocean News is and how you can access it.

There is remarkable video footage of an Australian man tackling one of the Bondi shooters you can watch it on rnz.co.nz His act of bravery is being lauded right across the world and quite rightly. People who risk their lives to help others are a special breed. Over the weekend, 10 such New Zealanders received Bravery Awards for their acts of heroism. One of them was 23-year-old Hamiltonian Hayden Paul Cornwall, he joins me now.

Australian officials are describing the deadly attack at Sydney's Bondi Beach as a targeted, antisemitic terror attack. Police say the two people behind the shooting were father and son. The father has died, the son is in critical condition in hospital. Vigils are being held around the world to pay tribute to the victims, who range in age from 10 to 87. Friend of the show Brad Foster lives in Sydney, he chats to Jesse about how locals are reacting.

Jesse and Forest and Bird's Nicola Toki discuss this week's critter of the week is the beautiful and emblematic Turbott's Weevil. These large, flightless and nocturnal weevils were likely once widespread throughout mainland New Zealand but are now confined to predator-free islands like Aorangi Poor Knights Islands. Not much is known about their biology, and their small population means they are considered 'At Risk' in the New Zealand Threat Classification system. They are also one of a handful on invertebrates listed as protected under the Wildlife Act.

It is such a busy time of year; we're well into the festive season; kids are finishing school; there are visitors aplenty and that's before we even get to Christmas Day! So how do you keep your home clean, and fly free, with so much going on? Rachael Quin from The Housekeeper NZ is here to help

Shared Kitchen's Julie Biuso joins Jesse and has a great summery recipe to share, Turkey burgers!

Best of 2025: One Battle After Another; Sinners; Tina What to see next: Avatar; Not Only Fred Dagg; Song Sung Blue; My Brothers Band

Time to get your freak on! Please send us your terrifying tales! It could be something that sounds spooky, a taste of the occult or a bizarre co-incidence. 2101 or afternoons@rnz.co.nz Today we're joined by Erica Hodgson in Auckland.

What do fish and chips, pen and six all have in common? Answer? They're some of the words we New Zealanders get mocked the most for. Some find our accent a delight, others a disaster but how did we come to sound like we do? 

'Lea Tupu'anga/Mother Tongue' is a short film directed by Vea Mafile'o. It stars Lucianne Buchanan in the lead role, who also wrote the script. The film has been shown at 20 international film festivals around the world, and now Buchanan's former co-star Jason Momoa is backing its bid for Oscar glory. Actress Luciane Buchanan joins Jesse from Los Angeles

One of New Zealand's major apple growers, Hawke's Bay's "Yummy Fruit", has stopped shipping to the U-S as a result to President Trump's tariffs. The 15 percent tariff essentially cancelled out their margins, so some growers are shifting their focus to the Asia market ahead of a what's looking like a bumper harvest. Jesse is joined by Danielle Adsett the Market access manager from New Zealand Apples and Pears.

Ardie Savea took out Player of the Year at the NZ Rugby Awards last night, but another big award went to someone who spends 80 minutes trying not to be the centre of attention. Maggie Cogger-Orr was named Referee of the Year, recognised for a career-best season that includes the Women's Rugby World Cup semifinal between England and France.

The Critter of the Week merchandise raised more than four thousand dollars for conservation charities. So we asked our listeners to send us an email with why your community organisation should get some of the funding .. we've had lots of lovely replies. Jesse calls CUE Haven to let them know they've been successful.

New Zealand is the most beautiful country in the world ... that's a phrase that gets used an awful lot ... and whether it is true or not, doesn't seem all that relevant. But how did this ambitious claim come about?

Simon Wilson joins Jesse to right some wrongs - today he looks at an example of democracy in action - because he says he's "seen the future of democracy and it works".

Time for sporting history and today Jesse talks to rugby league legend Mark Graham. Mark started out playing for Otahuhu, then from 1977 to 1988 he played 29 tests for the Kiwis and was captain for 18 of them. He also played in the Australian Rugby League premiership and in the UK as captain of Wakefield Trinity.

Okay it is time to talk relationships; Jesse is joined by Professor Kirsty Ross from Massey University's School of Psychology.

First we needed to worry about cigarettes .. then vapes .. and now nicotine pouches. Nicotine pouches are pretty much what they sound like - a sachet filled with nicotine - either from tobacco or synthetic nicotine. You can't buy them in New Zealand legally, but you can import them for personal use. Experts are now trying to get ahead of the trend, because they say the pouches are really addictive and really appealing to young people. Janet Hoek is a Professor in Public Health at the University of Otago, she chats to Jesse.

An Auckland community is disputing the development of housing on the site of the Sanctuary Mahi Whenua Gardens. The gardens are based on the old Unitec campus site in Mount Albert and have existed for 26 years as a community hub and education tool. In October the Government approved development of hundreds of homes via the fast-track bill, which garden members say flies in the face of the agreement made when the land was purchased by The Crown in 2018. Rohan MacMahon, a representative for the Sanctuary Mahi Whenua Gardens community talks to Jesse.

The process to get into the United States could be changing. Visitors from New Zealand, and other countries like Australia and Europe, have to apply for an Electronic System for Travel Authorisation or ESTA ...currently that asks for your contact details and emergency contacts. But soon it could also ask for your social media accounts.

Biosecurity NZ has now doubled its surveillance zone for the insect on Auckland's North Shore Biosecurity teams will now monitor an 11 km radius across Glenfield and Birkdale as they work to limit the impact the predatory hornet could have on New Zealand's honey-bee populations. 

As the school holidays approach along with the idea of having to entertain kids during the break, Dr Camilo Oritz has one piece of advice. Relax. The secret to parenting, he says, is to do less. Dr Ortiz is a leading voice in child psychology and mental health. He's developed what he calls Independence Therapy, an approach that helps kids become braver, stronger, and more resilient by doing things for themselves and encouraging kids to face the situations that make them anxious instead of steering around them. It also comes with a challenge for parents because sometimes, he says, the best way to support your child is to step back, not step in.

Each week on a Wednesday Kelly Gibney shares a recipe that is delicious and nutritious without being too demanding on time. Today's salad celebrates all the summer produce favourites.

Our chance to travel to places others have explored - this week we are off to China.

Time now for our regular catch up with Claire Concannon for Our Changing World. And this week, she's got a story from RNZ journalist Veronika Meduna, about restoration efforts in Porirua Harbour.

A few years ago, plans to regenerate and restore Wynyard Quarter on Tamaki Makaurau's waterfront were announced. But one of the issues in turning it into an open public space is the soil, which is contaminated. Now, University of Auckland graduate Marissa Porteous has come up with a clever solution that's even won her an award.

This year it's gone to Mark Taylor. Mark has contributed to the Navy for more than 35 years as both a uniformed official and as a civilian. He joins Jesse to tell us more about his life and work.

A power struggle looks to be brewing at NZ Cricket over the future of the domestic game. NZ Cricket chief executive Scott Weenink is understood to be taking a break from his day-to-day duties, ahead of talks about his future in the role. But cricket isn't the only national sport where rumours are swirling, Netball NZ also seems to be in disarray. Publisher of the Bounce Substack newsletter, Dylan Cleaver joins Jesse to discuss.

We're going to start the show with some good news because the latest visitor stats are out and it's looking positive for Kiwi tourist operators. Stats NZ says overseas visitor arrivals were 3.45 million in the October 2025 year, that's an increase of 205,000 from a year before. To discuss what's driving this growth, Jesse is joined by Tourism Industry Aotearoa's Rebecca Ingram.

When filmmaker Dana Conroy's doctor suggested laser eye surgery, or LASIK, to correct her nearsightedness, it seemed like a good idea. With success rates touted near 99% and millions of people getting it done, she expected to throw away her glasses for good. Instead, she found herself battling constant pain, crushing headaches, unrelenting dryness, and eyesight that only got worse. Trying to understand what happened, she put herself behind and in front of the camera, tracking down specialists and others who say they were harmed by a procedure sold as simple and safe. Along the way she met ophthalmologist Dr. Cynthia MacKay, who's been pushing back against LASIK for decades. Dana Conroy's documentary is called Broken Eyes, and a link to it is here. If that doesn't work and you'd like to watch the documentary - go to YouTube and search Broken Eyes documentary. 

Let's find out what's happening in Australia, our man on the ground there is Brad Foster and he joins Jesse. Today he'll talk about the bushfires, why Communications Minister and Minister for Sport Anika Wells is getting some heat, plus new shark detecting technology.

Our critic Catherine Robertson has got some cracking recommendations for you Clown Town by Mick Herron (Baskerville) It's Been Six Weeks Since My Last Confession by Peta Mathias (PM Books) The Last Living Cannibal by Airana Ngarewa (Moa Press)

What do you get when you combine three huge companies, billionaires and the US President? The fascinating story of the attempts to acquire Warner Brothers Discovery. Netflix has made a huge bid for the entertainment company - announcing that it had agreed to buy the studios and streaming operations, but not its tv assets. But now, Paramount Skydance, run by David Ellison - son of Oracle's Larry Ellison, one of the world's richest people and an ally of President Trump - has launched a hostile bid for WBD, offering more money to take the entire company. Tech expert Tim Batt joins Jesse to discuss.

But we've gone from being in the top seven, to 36th in GDP ranking, with countries like Czech Republic, Lithuania and Slovenia surpassing us. So what does this mean in reality? Do we need to adjust our thinking on where we actually sit in the world? Dr Greg Clydesdale is an author who has written several books on this subject, including 'Waves of Prosperity'.

One small request led to dozens and dozens of emails, so it seems that a bad meal sticks in your memory much like a bad smell. We've invited Steve Braunias in today to talk to Jesse about what he uncovered.

Now we don't know about you, but the words Resource Management Act, are quite hard to get enthused about. But we want to be enthused, because we know it is important. Especially given the Government has just announced pretty big changes to it. The RMA will be replaced with be replaced by two new pieces of legislation, one focused on planning and the other focused on protecting the environment. So, to find out what this means, and to get a better understanding of the RMA and what it was meant to achieve, Lauren Wallace chats to Jesse. Lauren Wallace is a partner at Govett Quilliam and leads the firm's Environment and Planning Team She has more than 15 years' experience specialising in resource management, environmental and local government law.

These days it feels like there have never been more wrong ways to eat right. Everywhere you turn there's a new rule, a new label, or some flashy food trend trying to get your attention and your money. Dr. Marion Nestle is the OG of cutting through the trends, calling out an industry that's built to boost profits, not necessarily our health. Twenty years after she wrote the original guide to surviving the supermarket, she's back. And at 89, she's taking on everything from ultra-processed foods to grocery delivery apps in an updated edition of her classic: What to Eat Now: The Indispensable Guide to Good Food, How to Find It, and Why It Matters.

Today we're delving into the great unknown, space, the final frontier. So, if there's anything you've always wanted to know about outer space, rockets, space travel, now's the time. Text us on 2101. Today's expert is Dr Ben Taylor, senior research fellow at the Space Institute and co-founder of Frond Space Systems.