RNZ: Afternoons with Jesse Mulligan

Lila Byock is a mum who got mad about how much time her young son was spending on an iPad in the classroom. He was a math whiz with traditional teaching, and then his ability and his enthusiasm for numbers tanked. But she didn't just get mad, she got organized. Lila Byock is an Emmy award-winning writer and producer behind shows like HBO's "Watchmen" and "The Leftovers". She founded a grassroots coalition of parents and teachers called Schools Beyond Screens to rein in excessive device use and advocate for policies that put face-to-face learning at the center of teaching.

Fables is led by Auckland musician Jess Bailey, who garnered a lot of buzz with her debut EP and the singles that have teased the upcoming album. It's called 'Change Is A Slow Moving Beast', and music critic Matthew Crawley is with Jesse.

Every Wednesday we share an Easy Eats recipe - something that's light on time but heavy on taste - Kelly Gibney is with Jesse.

Time for heading off, our weekly travel segment and this week we're heading to the stans, that is Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Kazakhstan. They fill in the gap between Iran, China and Russia. But to take us there - Jesse is joined by Kay Garton

The news follows struggles with funding and form. Veteran commentator, Tony Johnson joins Jesse to discuss.

This week on Our Changing World - Claire Concannon learns about a New Zealand-developed ketamine tablet aimed at helping those with treatment-resistant depression.

Starboard Maritime Intelligence is a Kiwi company that uses technology to track marine vessel activity around the world. They're all about safeguarding oceans, trade, infrastructure and strengthening defence. Moritz Lehmann is a Senior Oceanographer with the company - he chats to Jesse.

For the first time, World War One soldiers who died by suicide will be recognised as casualties of war during this year's Anzac commemorations. This afternoon in Wellington descendants of the New Zealand Tunnelling Company will come together at Pukeahu National War Memorial Park to mark the 110th anniversary of the Company's arrival on the Western Front. Event organiser Sue Baker Wilson joins Jesse alongside Retired Major General and friend of the show John Howard.

Each week we take a situation and get your take on how it can be resolved - this week we're looking at whether children should pay rent if they are living at home as adults. Let us know your thoughts on 2101 or afternoons@rnz.co.nz

There is a lot going on in the world of tech, and not much of it good, our technology expert Tim Batt is here with the latest on leading AI company Anthropic's new AI tool that is apparently too dangerous to release.

Afternoons book critic Anna Rankin joins me to share what she's been reading. Transcription, by Ben Lerner Childish Palate, by Shariff Burke, a debut short story collection from Tender Press, a New Zealand independent press.

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. Today we're heading to the Thames-Coromandel District from where Peter Revell joins Jesse.

People are having less sex. It's a trend across much of the modern world. Intimacy and desire are shifting, especially among younger generations, for reasons that go far beyond morality or busy schedules. Dr Debra Soh is a writer and a neuroscientist who specializes in human sexuality. She investigates what's behind this quiet sexual recession, from technology and porn to mental health, hormones, and cultural anxiety and what it could mean for the future of human connection. Her new book is called, Sextinction: The Decline of Sex and the Future of Intimacy. Here is a link to her book. Here is a link to the study she mentioned.

David Lomas has been reuniting Kiwis with their loved ones for years - and now he's back with a brand new series. Debuting tonight, David Lomas Breakthrough, sees him tackle those impossible cases, where a search has seemingly hit a dead end.

When Coromandel teenager Roman Carley was doing beach clean-up, he noticed there was a type of rubbish that kept appearing. Plastic ice bags. So, he decided to take action, Roman Carley joins Jesse to tell us all about it.

The US began a blockade of all ships entering and exiting Iranian ports this morning - warning that all vessels - regardless of flag could be intercepted or captured Traffic through the Strait has come to a near standstill, analysts estimate that around 800 ships have been stuck in the Gulf since the war began To explain the blockade, Jesse is joined by Jennifer Parker, Jen is a naval expert who served 20 years with the Royal Australian Navy. Her last appointment was as Director of Operations in Bahrain of the Combined Maritime Forces, a 47-nation coalition promoting maritime security in the Middle East and Indian Ocean region

Christopher Beha didn't lose his faith because a prayer went unanswered. He lost the Catholic faith he practiced his whole life because a prayer was answered. After his twin brother survived a devastating traffic accident, Beha found himself shaken not into belief, but out of it. The former Harper's magazine editor expected atheism to bring clarity, but instead it left him facing the same brutal questions, why suffering exists, what meaning looks like, but now without God. Beha traces his return to Catholicism not as a comforting certainty, but as a way of living with doubt, mystery, and moral responsibility in his new book, Why I Am Not an Atheist: The Confessions of a Skeptical Believer.

Afternoons TV Critic and actor Claire Chitham shares what she's been watching: DTF St Louis

Each Monday we are joined by an expert. Today it's Nic Randall - he's an anaesthetist based at Middlemore Hospital in Auckland and an expert on intensive care units. Nic joins Jesse to talk about ICUs in New Zealand. How many do we have in the country? What is the busiest one? And what does a typical day in the ICU look like? If you have any questions for Nic, text them to 2101 and we'll do our best to answer them.

Each Monday Jesse hits the clubs - best time of the week to be there and meet some fellow clubbers. If you've got a club you'd like Jesse to join get in touch 2101 or jesse@rnz.co.nz This week Jesse joins the Hamlug Club.

We take ten minutes to catch up on what's hitting the headlines in Australia. Our man on the ground, Brad Foster joins Jesse.

We talk a lot about electric cars, especially with fuel prices so high - but we're also a coastal nation that loves being out on the boat. New Zealand has around 250,000 3-6 metre boats, the majority of these have 2-stroke motors and are some of the most polluting vehicles in New Zealand. When two water skiing cousins couldn't find an electric boat on the market they took up the challenge of electrifying recreational boats and have proven it's possible for roughly the same price as replacing a 4-stroke outboard. E-Stroke co-founder Jeff Smit joins Jesse.

When Dylan Beca was 13 he found himself stuck on the couch with two broken collarbones, so he put the time to good use, teaching himself how to use product development and bike design software He never thought he'd actually build his own bike till his dad challenged him to. Fast forward a few years and Dylan has not only built a bike; he won the U17 NZ National Enduro Champs on a bike he built. Dylan chats to Jesse.

While all eyes are on Iran and USA negotiations: Israel and Lebanon are still attacking one another, to find out what is happening there, and why, we're joined by New Zealand journalist Anna Fifield. Anna is the former Asia-Pacific Editor and Beijing Bureau Chief for The Washington Post; Anna writes the World Bulletin Weekly for the Spinoff and the author of the Between Giants foreign affairs newsletter.

Nicola Toki and Jesse discuss the Moehau stag beetle as this week's critter of the week. These beetles measure between 2.1 to 2.7 cm, with males reaching 2.7 cm while the females top out at 2.3 cm. They are black in colour, which can be glossy or dull. Their exoskeleton has tiny indentations which makes them appear pitted.

We talk about all things doors with the wonderful design guru Sylvia Sanford.

Connie Clarkson shares a cracker recipe which she says can become so many things to so many people for so many occasions - entrée, canape, lunch box filler, can also be turned into a burger! Cooked in a pan, in air fryer, on the BBQ.

Kate Rodger is with Jesse to share what's on at the cinema. She'll chat about The Drama and do a roundup of school holiday films - GOAT, Super Mario Galaxy and Hoppers.

It's the home for all of your terrifying tales, occult occurrences, and spooky stories. So if you've got a haunting, a UFO, or maybe a seance gone wrong we want to hear from you. Text 2010 or email Jesse@ afternoons.co.nz Today we join Pip in Featherstone.

We first brought you the story of the Okarito Gorsebusters six years ago. That's when the call out went out for volunteers to help clear gorse along a lagoon in the area, in return for their help they would get a six-day kayaking adventure, free food and accommodation. Fast forward to 2026 and now the event has grown from a small working bee with mates, into a major event, in fact this year, organisers had to turn people away Okarito Gorsebusters organiser Baz Hughes chats to Jesse.

We need to talk about the cars on our roads or more specifically the utes. Utes are brilliant vehicles for the farm, for tradespeople and for people who actually need the space - but more and more they seem to be the vehicle of choice for people who live in a city. In fact new research shows 66 percent of trips by double-cab utes are made in urban areas. So what's the appeal and how can we convince people to move to vehicles more fitting to their needs? University of Auckland Professor of Epidemiology and Biostatistics Alistair Woodward joins Jesse.

Auckland has signed a landmark deal with the Government promising infrastructure investment, housing, transport and economic development. There is even talk of the bed tax that Mayor Wayne Brown has long been calling for. Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Mayor Brown are both calling this a major win that will mean greater co-operation. Joining Jesse with his reaction to the deal is Karl Budge, former Chief Executive of the ASB Classic and newly appointed Chief Executive of the Blues.

Recently we spoke to playwright Fiona Samuel about her new work 'Helen Clark in 6 Outfits' which opened this week at the Auckland Theatre Company. When we asked Fiona if the Right Honourable Helen Clark would be going to the play, she said she and the cast didn't want to know. Well, on Tuesday night the Former Prime Minister did go to the play, and Jesse got to talk to her about it afterwards.

This week on Artemis II humans have gone further into space than ever before, the last time we even came close was more than 50 years ago when we landed on the moon during "the golden age of space exploration." Here to tell us about those years and the effect they had on New Zealand is historian Dr Grant Morris.

Thursday afternoons are when we solve some of the world's problems and this week Steve Wyn-Harris is turning his attention to what happens to the farmers, growers, land and machinery when Heinz Watties shuts up shop.

Time for sporting history and today Jesse is joined by Brett Fairweather You'll might know Brett as the founder and face of Jump Jam, but he is also one of the world's most successful competitive aerobics performers. He won the inaugural World Aerobics Championship in 1990 and defended that title the following year!

Kate Rodger and Afternoons Senior Producer Olivia Wilson join Jesse to discuss the stories that might not make the news but usually make your social media feeds.

The second-hand fashion market is booming - from op shops to clothes swaps to resale apps - buying pre-loved clothing is increasingly being embraced by the younger generation. Yet despite its growing popularity, New Zealanders are still throwing away an alarming amount of clothing. Around 180,000 tonnes of textile waste are sent to landfill each year - that's roughly 34 kilograms per person Upcycling expert Bea Lorimer and founder of Heke Design joins Jesse to explain why and has some tips on how to upcycle successfully.

Most people achieve their masters degrees by going to university, studying long and hard hours but a few select people are gifted them through making exceptional contributions to their field. That's the case with our next guest. Unitec have awarded an honorary master's degree in applied science to Tamsin Orr-Walker MNZM, co-founder of Kea Conservation Trust

It might feel like the days of Covid are well behind most of us, but six years on from the initial outbreak, around 200 thousand New Zealanders are still dealing with it because they have Long Covid. So should more be done for those suffering the symptoms? We discuss that with Amanda Kvalsvig, Research Associate Professor of Public Health at the University of Otago. But first Jesse talks to Esther, a Wellington-based freelance journalist who can share what it's like to have Long Covid.

Autism rates are soaring around the world. It's a trend that troubles Dame Uta Frith who has been studying the disorder for more than six decades. She says the idea of autism on a spectrum has expanded so much it's starting to lose any meaning at all. More and more, the diagnosis is being used to describe people with all kinds of social challenges or sensory issues. She worries that some people are self-identifying as autistic, even glamourizing it, fueled by social media instead of a specific clinical diagnosis. Dame Frith is an Emeritus Professor at University College London and says questions need to be asked to ensure autism research is robust and support is given appropriately.

Kelly Gibney shares a delicious sounding recipe. Click here for the recipe