RNZ: Afternoons with Jesse Mulligan

Jesse chats to Forest and Bird Chief Executive about this week's critter. Huberia striata belongs to the only fully New Zealand endemic genus of ant. Widespread throughout Aotearoa, they nest underground in native bush. Like other ant species, they are known to farm plant hoppers and scale insects by keeping them safe in their nest and then milking them for their sweet honeydew secretions. Their name comes from the fact that their body is covered in long thin lines (striations), making them look wrinkly!

Auckland Council's The Kitchen Project manager Connie Clarkson joins Jesse to chat food. Today her recipe is gado gado with peanut sauce. Gado Gado means "mix mix" in Indonesian Gado-gado is a traditional Indonesian salad made of a medley of cooked or raw vegetables, hard-boiled eggs, fried tofu, all brought together with a rich peanut sauce. The name literally translates to "mix-mix," So versatile: use any combination of vegetables - waxy potatoes, kumara, beans, asparagus, - great for leftovers.

Film critic Kate Rodger joins us to share her film recommendations. Predator Badlands - in cinemas TOITU: Visual Sovereignty - go here to see venues

Time for Freaky Friday. Our home for your spooky stories, terrifying tales and eerie encounters If you have a story to share, be that a ghost, a UFO, or something else unexplained we want to hear from you. Send us a brief outline of your tale to 2101 and we'll add it to the list. After last week's Halloween special, we're taking a step away from ghosts and going for something a bit different this week. And for that Margaret from Makorori joins Jesse.

A new six-part video series that dives into the world of perfumery in Aotearoa kicks off on Monday. Journey of Scent is billed as a sensory adventure that takes us into a world that we rarely get to see. It stars Nathan Taare and Whitney Steel who join me now.

Canterbury nursery manager Jake Linklater has won the prestigious Young Horticulturist of the Year trophy. He won the title last night after an intensive two-day competition. Jake also took out the Best Practice Award and the Sustainability Award, he joins Jesse.

Changes to our genetic modification laws have our scientists and politicians struggling to agree on a way forward. Over the last few weeks we have been discussing various aspects of the gene tech bill which has stalled in Parliament. We've spoken to Professor Andrew Allan and Professor Jack Heinemann for their take on the issue. Today... we want to delve into the labelling of food... because how would we know if the food we're eating is genetically modified? Emily King is a food systems expert and the author of Re-food - she is urging caution over changes to our GM laws and labelling.

Big news for the film industry today, with the Government announcing a major boost to the screen production rebate scheme. The rebate allows film companies and producers to receive cash back from money spent here during production. The main changes revealed this morning are that the current rebate could go from 20 to 25 percent, the minimum spend for feature films to qualify for the rebate will be lowered, and the threshold for productions to access the extra 5% will drop ... to help attract more bid budget productions. It's hoped that changes - that come into force from January - will lift our competitiveness against other countries around the world. Kelly Martin is the CEO of South Pacific Pictures and talks to Jesse.

It seems our children aren't so engaged with locally made content. That's according to new research which has also revealed that parents don't know where to find local shows. The survey - commissioned by NZ On Air - has prompted the agency to launch a dedicated hub on YouTube for our kids. To find out more about this NZ On Air's head of funding Amie Mills is with Jesse.

Today the focus is on debt and diversification.

It's Melbourne Cup week and we're thrilled to have trainer Sheila Laxon with us. In 2001, Sheila was the first female trainer to win the Melbourne Cup, with a horse named Ethereal. Last year she became the first woman to win it twice when Knight's Choice crossed the line first. The success doesn't stop there, earlier this year she was honored at the NZ Thoroughbred Racing Awards. Sheila chats to Jesse.

Time now to talk through the content filling up your group chats, the conversation fodder distracting you from the task at hand. Joining Jesse is film critic and friend of the show Kate Rodger and Senior Producer Lucy Walker.

If you're in Invercargill on a Friday or Saturday night you might catch the bright lights and booming sound of a karaoke taxi. Josh Coats created Super Ridez just five months ago - and it's already proving a popular option for party goers.

Two of New Zealand's most well-known and celebrated creative voices have come together for a new staging of the iconic play Woman Far Walking. Written by Witi Ihimaera and directed by Katie Wolfe, the play follows the life of a Maori woman born in 1840, the year the treaty of Waitangi was signed, as she travels through our history. This version of the play is called Tiri: Te Araroa Woman Far Walking, and it has an updated script with English and te reo Maori weaved together. Katie Wolfe chats to Jesse.

We're want to talk about climate change, and more specifically whether policy makers are throwing in the towel on the climate battle. It's a question we're asking because Climate Change Minister Simon Watts has announced changes to the Climate Change Response Act. The biggest amendment seems to be the proposal to end the current requirement for the Climate Change Commission to advise the Government on the country's emissions reduction plans. It would also mean the public would no longer be consulted on national emissions budgets. Across the ditch, Australia's conservative political parties are looking at dropping their commitment to hit net zero emissions by 2050. These changes got us wondering whether our individual actions can still make a difference.

Susana catches up with Our Changing World's Claire Concannon, who has recently travelled to the Waikato to learn more about the gold clam.

On the outskirts of Malawi's commercial capital in South East Africa, two of the world's most vulnerable groups, children and wildlife, were being exploited at an orphanage established by a Taiwanese monk. Behind its walls, children were being groomed to take part in an international wildlife trafficking network in ivory, rhino horn, lions' teeth, shark fins and pangolins. For more than a decade, journalist Rachel Nuwer has investigated the illegal trade in endangered animals, often putting herself in danger undercover to expose their methods. Her latest story in The Economist raises urgent questions about exploitation, faith, and the hidden forces driving the illegal wildlife trade. It's called The School for Wildlife Traffickers.

Our regular Easy Eats contributor Kelly Gibney is back from her holiday and joins Susana to share this recipe.

Time for heading off. It's the moment in the show when we take you travelling to locations you might always have wondered about. We love hearing about your adventures, so if you have one you'd like to share, please email us afternoons@rnz.co.nz Today we're going with Afternoons listener Frida Harper to Kazakhstan, Kyrgistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan.

On the world's classical music stage, Jess Gillam is making a big splash. It's 20 years since Jess first found a saxophone in her hometown of Ulverston, Cumbria in England's northwest. Jess is on her way to perform with the NZSO this month and when we caught up between rehearsals

This week we've been delving into the impact that phones are having on us. And while the focus is often on young people, there are actually many more who are impacted. Yesterday, Jesse interviewed Canterbury University's Dr Miriam McCaleb about high screen time for new mums. Today we are continuing the conversation to look at the impact of cell phone use on seniors. Otago University's Dr Edmond Fehoko chats to Susana.

If you're just about to pop a Panadol tablet - you may want to pause first. New research by Auckland University shows many of us are taking too much paracetamol. It found a third of us commonly take more than the recommended dose of two painkiller tablets at once. Meanwhile 11 percent of us commonly exceed the daily limit of eight tablets a day. To talk about this more - chair of General Practitioners Aotearoa Dr Buzz Burrell is with Susana.

We've got a newish 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. If you've got an irk you'd like resolved, please do email me jesse@afternoons.co.nz

It was a bargain with the devil they couldn't refuse. A group of women prisoners in Auschwitz were offered a slim chance at survival in exchange for playing music. They played as inmates got off the trains. They played as prisoners marched for roll call. They played as ash from the crematoriums rained down on them. Historian and biographer Anne Sebba tells the story of the only female orchestra in the camps, exploring not only the moral dilemmas they faced, but the impact their music had on other prisoners. Anne Sebba is on tour around New Zealand to talk about her new book, The Women's Orchestra of Auschwitz: A story of survival. She joins Jesse in our Auckland studio.

It's Melbourne Cup day! We talk to Brad about the issues that have got Australians talking. Today we're looking at a new public register of child sex abusers, head knocks in the NRL, abandoning Australia's emissions reduction target of net zero and of course Melbourne Cup.

Author Catherine Robertson joins Jesse to chat about books she thinks are worth reading: The Rose Field: The Book of Dust Volume 3 by Philip Pullman (David Fickling Books) 1985 by Dominic Hoey (Penguin) James by Percival Everett (Mantle)

Evie Ashton is here to talk podcasts, and she's got two pretty different offerings this week, one based on history, while the other is more about feminism - and not strictly speaking a podcast. Noble Blood - wherever you get your podcasts Lily Allen - West End Girl

Despite having the technology to connect to friends and family 24/7 - social isolation and loneliness are issues that are becoming more prominent .. not just for the elderly - but also for young people. So Melinda Wong has come up with a solution.. friend making events .. hosted get togethers where strangers can meet and get to know one another in a safe environment. Melinda runs Time & Place .. organising private dinners and public picnics in an effort to help people connect.

The conversation around phone screen time - and how much is too much - usually centres around children and teens. But new research has highlighted the impact of phone use by another group - new mums. Any tired parent will tell you that screen time can be a welcome source of distraction, but it turns out it can also interfere with parent/child bonding and a baby's development. Dr Miriam McCaleb from the University of Canterbury is lead researcher on the study, she talks to Jesse.

From today, Wellington City Council will start to remove the temporary fencing around the waterfront. The fencing was put up in 2023, after a death in the harbour.. that was the seventh drowning since 2006. A coroner's report in March called for urgent action in high risk areas of the waterfront .. but in August, Wellington council voted against a proposal to put up permanent fences. For more on this Wellington Mayor Andrew Little speaks to Jesse.

The owners of a well-known Hamilton shoe shop are hanging up their boots after 43 years. Ann and Grant Collins have been running Collins Footwear since 1982... serving generations of customers. They'll be finishing up at the shop - that has a big orange boot on top of its shopfront - next month.

The Pre Panel for 3 November 2025

Every family has its own way of talking. They share weird phrases, inside jokes, and made-up words that no one else would understand. Georgetown linguistics professor Cynthia Gordon has spent over 20 years studying how families actually talk to each other. She asked them to record ordinary moments, dinner conversations, car rides, chores and found something she calls "familylect": the secret language that makes a family feel like a family. Share your own familylect by texting 2101 or emailing us at afternoons@rnz.co.nz

Today in our expert feature we're talking to Master Builders. We'll cover choosing a builder, going through the process, what happens if you're not happy afterwards and anything else you want to know. So, get your questions into 2101. Even if it's one of those questions that's "more of a comment" we want to hear from you. To answer them - Jesse is joined by Ankit Sharma from Master Builders.

Let's talk about what's good to watch on the small screen now, TV critic Dominic Corry is with me and has two very different shows to recommend: I Love LA - Sky/Neon The Last Frontier - Apple TV+

You know you've done well with a school project when one of the country's major local sports clubs takes notice. Dhriti Girish was 13 years old when she came up with the idea for her 'Young Leaders' initiative. It's designed to support girls in cricket, encouraging them in the sport and helping develop their leadership potential. What began as a year-10 student project was later adopted as a fully-fledged programme by Cricket Wellington, and then it won the prize for Best Female Engagement Strategy at the ANZ National New Zealand Cricket Awards. Dhriti is now in her second year of university and the 'Young Leaders' programme is still going strong. She chats to Jesse.

Ten migrants are finishing up a ten-week bilingual course in te reo Maori and English that is believed to be the first of its kind in New Zealand. The pilot programme, based in Rotorua, has helped them build confidence in speaking, presenting and connecting through both languages. It's a collaboration between Speech New Zealand, Te Tatau o Te Arawa and the Rotorua Multicultural Council with funding covered by Immigration New Zealand. Paz Coloma, who is from Chile, has completed the course and joins Jesse.

Since June, Biosecurity New Zealand has confirmed five yellow-legged hornets have been detected in Auckland, and they're asking locals to be on the lookout. But what do you do if you come across one and what does it mean for our honey and wild bee populations? Ruud Kleinpaste, better known as 'The Bug Man' talks to Jesse.

If you're stuck for a Halloween costume, this week's critter could be a source of inspiration… or not! Meet the bird-dropping spiders (Celaenia species) Extra extra! Join Forest & Bird CEO Nicola Toki and RNZ's Jesse Mulligan for a special live event marking ten years (and more than 300 Critters!) of storytelling, laughter, and love for nature. The event will be held at Pocket Bar, Auckland, on Tuesday 11 November, from 5:30 pm – 7:30 pm. Limited in person tickets.  Livestream tickets are available for those who can't be there in person. tickets on sale from today! Go here for tickets or https://events.humanitix.com/critter if link doesn't work! [picture id="4JYOCTZ_Critter_event_banner_4_jpg" crop="16x10" layout="full"]

Mitre 10's Stan Smith joins Jesse to answer all your DIY questions.

Spring might be a challenging season in terms of the weather, but how good is it for fruit and veges?! Asparagus is back on the shelves which makes us feel like summer is getting ever closer. Here to share a recipe that makes asparagus sing is Gretchen Lowe.

Kate Rodger joins Jesse to review Pike River and Good Fortune. Both in cinemas now.