RNZ: Afternoons with Jesse Mulligan

Wallace Chapman previews tonight's instalment of The Panel.

Love them or hate them - it seems like cicadas are very busy, and very loud right now. But are they actually? To help find out, and answer any questions you might have, Te Papa's lead curator of invertebrates Julia Kasper is with Jesse.

Tony Murrell of Murrell Gardens is with Jesse to offer some gardening tips and tricks, including why you should leave your lawn long in the warm temperatures.

Gretchen Lowe joins me to share a stunning sounding dish and some exciting news about her cookbook My Weekend Table. Recipe is here!

Time for our weekly showcase of Aotearoa's best musical talent, that's right, it's NZ Live. Today we're joined by a band that have been playing together since 2019 - when they formed with the lofty goal of creating the country's best bluegrass band. They went on to be a finalist for Best Folk band at the Aotearoa music awards just three years later. Their third album Midnight was released a few weeks ago, and today they're with us to play some songs from it. Here is You, Me, Everybody with their NZ Live debut.

Australian Sarah Gibbs has been an avid hiker all her life. Recently she decided to head off for her first multi-night solo trek and film it to show that such an experience could be safe for a young woman. She walked about 160 kilometres on the famed Goldfields Track in Victoria, and that's when things took a turn for the worst. Sarah Gibbs shares the rest of her story with Jesse.

Nearly one in three of us will develop an abnormal heart rhythm issue in our lifetime. While there is widespread awareness about heart attacks and strokes, cardiac arrhythmias, or irregular heartbeat rhythms are less talked about. A conference this weekend in Auckland and an awareness day on Sunday is hoping to change that. Martin Stiles is a cardiologist at Waikato Hospital, a Professor of Medicine at Auckland University, and chair of the Cardiac Society of New Zealand, he talks to Jesse

The 50th anniversary of the Rocky Horror Picture Show last year reignited everyone's nostagia for the classic zany musical. And that's just as well, because now the stage production is returning, too. The international production featuring a West End cast will be running in Auckland, Christchurch and Wellington from now unil the end of March. To celebrate, one very special member of the Rocky Horror family is here, Nell Campbell, the original Columbia is in New Zealand and joins Jesse.

The United States has deployed its largest military build-up in the Middle East since 2003, including two aircraft carriers and thousands of additional troops President Trump has said a diplomatic solution remains his preference, but he has also indicated he's considering a limited strike to send a message. Iran for its part has signalled it will not bow to pressure and insists its nuclear activities are for peaceful purposes. With the threat of war escalating in the Middle East, we want to examine how prepared New Zealand would be if military conflict does eventuate. Retired Major General John Howard, the former New Zealand Chief of Defence Intelligence is with Jesse.

It's been quite the time for coaches in New Zealand; All Blacks coach Scott Robertson was shown the door in January and over the weekend Wellington Phoenix FC Manager Giancarlo Italiano resigned after a huge loss to Auckland FC. Dr Grant Morris is with Jesse to look back at some other dramatic endings to coaches' careers.

It's time to solve some world problems now; this is our regular segment where we talk through possible solutions to the issues irking our guests.

Time for sporting history, our chance to look back at some of the big moments in sport and celebrate some of the New Zealanders who have changed the game. Lisa Allpress is a four-time winner of the NZ Jockey Premiership, first woman to win 1,000 races (and she's nearly hit two thousand now) plus she's the first woman to win a horse race in Saudi Arabia. Lisa chats to Jesse.

Time for Group Chat now, where we discuss the stories that won't lead news bulletins but will fill up your social media feed, the news that's distracting you from your to do list and helps make school pick up chat flow. This week film critic Kate Rodger and Afternoons Senior Producer Olivia Wilson join Jesse to discuss the Baftas, micro dramas (also known as vertical dramas) and are DVDs making a comeback?

Deputy Prime Minister David Seymour has renewed his call for the government to sell its shares in the Air New Zealand arguing that owning the airline does not represent good value for taxpayers Today the national carrier reported a loss before tax of $59 million for the first half of the 2026 financial year. To explain the challenges the airline, and the aviation industry more broadly is facing, aviation commentator Irene King is with Jesse.

If you have kids that love to play video games but you're worried about them withdrawing or disappearing behind a screen and headset - you're not alone. In fact, our next guest had similar concerns - but things began to change when instead of asking his son to log-off, he decided to log on with him. Author, teacher educator, and dad to a teenage son, Dr Phill Simpson chats to Jesse.

Turning to health issues now, and some experts are calling for additional vaccine funding to protect older New Zealanders from shingles. Currently the shingles vaccine is funded for the 12 months after a person's 65th birthday, but many clinicians say that isn't long enough. University of Auckland Associate Professor and Vaccinologist Helen Petousis-Harris is with Jesse to discuss.

Time is running out to eradicate the Yellow Legged Hornet; that's according to an expert who spoke to Morning Report today. Yellow legged hornets go after honey bees, but they also threaten our butterfly population. And as we spoke about last week, monarch butterfly numbers are in sharp decline globally, populations in the United States dropping by as much as 96 percent. Fortunately, here in New Zealand there are some amazing people stepping up to help. Jacqui Knight, founding trustee and secretary of the Moths and Butterflies of New Zealand Trust is with Jesse.

We might squabble with Australia over who invented the pavlova and whether Crowded House is a Kiwi or Aussie band, but we are definitely claiming our next guest. University of Queensland's Associate Professor Roma Forbes has just been named the Australian University Teacher of the Year for 2025 and she's from New Zealand! Roma joins Jesse now from Queensland.

Last year, the law of the jungle ruled the world. 2026 marks a tipping point says Ian Bremmer, president of a leading global research and advisory firm, Eurasia Group and GZERO Media. Each year, Ian Bremmer puts together a list of the greatest risks we will face in the year ahead. He says the United States was the country that wrote the rules for global order but now operates with what seems like no rules at all. He shares his thoughts about President Trump, tariffs and technology and the risks the world faces in 2026.

Time for Bookmarks, that's our weekly feature where we spend some time chatting to interesting people about what interests them. Today Cass Avery is going to share what she likes to listen to, watch and read. Cass is a film and TV producer of more that 25 years; specialising in documentary projects, Cass was behind the 2016 Richie McCaw documentary 'Chasing Great' and the recently released Prime Minister - charting Jacinda Ardern's tenure as PM.

Today's recipe is chicken summer tray bake with courgettes, cherry tomatoes and chickpeas. Click here for the recipe.

Time for Heading Off, our segment where listeners share their travel adventures. This week we are visiting Paris, with Gregor Thompson. Gregor's love affair with the country started when he was 19, he ended up living in Paris, doing a master's degree there and working for one of the country's top news channels. We'd love to hear from you if you have a travel experience to share, text us 2101 or email us afternoons@rnz.co.nz

Intermittent fasting has become a bit of a health trend, with many people using it as a way to lose weight or improve their wellbeing. But new research suggests an eating plan that switches between fasting and eating on a regular schedule, might not be all it's cracked up to be. Registered dietician Rachael Wilson chats to Jesse.

Wellington has had a tough ten days, the capital got hit with one of its strongest storms in decades, causing damage and power outages. And then there was the sewage leak at Moa Point which made the city's southern beaches un-usable. Some good news there though as about an hour ago, Wellington Mayor Andrew Little announced the coast is open and swimmers are welcome to go back in the water, but at their own risk. Back on land, one of the places still dealing with the fallout from the storm is Zealandia, the 225 hectare ecosanctuary in Karori. Staff and volunteers are busy at work to bring the place back to its former glory, Jesse is joined by Dr Daniella Shanahan, the Chief Executive at Zealandia.

The internationally recognised Whangamarino Wetland in north Waikato is in decline, with a new report stating that "active intervention is critical" and a turnaround will likely take considerable time The wetland has faced mounting pressure for decades but back -to -back disasters over the past five years have made the situation significantly worse During the summer of 22-23, more than 1500 dead birds were collected alongside death fish following an avian botulism event and a year later, a man-made fire burnt over a thousand hectares of raised bog. Hugh Robertson, the Principal Science Advisor Freshwater at the Department of Conservation chats to Jesse.

As you'll have heard in the news, another New Zealand medical data platform has been hit by hackers ... just two months after patient portal 'Manage My Health' was breached MediMap is used by health providers in some aged care, disability services, and hospice to record and manage patients' medication doses. The breach has led to staff at multiple facilities discovering that some patients were incorrectly marked as deceased. Others had their names changed to "Charlie Kirk", with ages altered and, in some cases, patients reassigned to different facilities. So, are our systems seen as weak and ripe for hacking? And if not for money, why are these platforms being hijjacked? Paul Spain, Futurist and chief executive of Gorilla Technology talks to Jesse.

Optimism can feel like a radical act these days. For Kevin Kelly, a positive outlook is not optional. The co-founder and senior maverick at tech magazine Wired has long argued that our capacity to fix our problems is greater than we imagine. He makes the case for evidence-based optimism, not wishful thinking, but informed possibility, in a new podcast called Best Case Scenario. Kelly teams up with best selling psychology and behavior author Daniel Pink to ask experts to give their best possible good news scenario in the next 25 years on the topics like transportation, energy and human health.

Afternoons podcast critic Ximena Smith joins Jesse to review 'Ransom Man' and 'The Walkers: The Real Salt Path'

Afternoons book critic Anna Rankin joins Jesse to talk about The Chronology of Water by Lidia Yuknavitch. It came out in 2011, but the film version is about to be released so we're taking this opportunity to discuss the memoir.

It's time for Mayoral minutes, our new segment 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 the Waikato District and Mayor Aksel Bech.

"Meno-divorce" is a term that is trending on the internet right now. It's used to describe a divorce that coincides with women experiencing menopause. But how did it come about and is it really fair? Author of multiple books on menopause, Niki Bezzant, chats to Jesse.

There's a movement happening in the hunting community that sees surplus wild venison turned into meals for families who need some help. The West Coast initiative is called Game 2 Give, and it was launched last year by the Hokitika-based food bank Kai Puku. It's fair to say that since then it's really caught on - several local organisations have jumped on board to help out, and now even the Department of Conservation. Kai Puku lead co-ordinator Christine Barton joins Jesse.

Nowadays it seems it's far more common for young people to stay at home long past the age of 18. This could be due to the cost of living, the cost of tuition, or lack of job opportunities. But then the question becomes how long is too long, and is it fair to charge them rent? Sheridan Eketone is a coach at The Parenting Place and she joins Jesse to chat through the do's and don'ts.

New Zealand Parliament announced late last week that it will no longer post updates on the social media platform X - formerly known as Twitter. The move comes amid growing international backlash against the Elon Musk owned platform, after thousands of sexualised deepfake images mainly of women and children, were generated using the social media site's AI chatbot 'Grok' Foreign Minister Winston Peters has since criticised the decision, writing on X that "This is how freedoms are lost - by unilateral decision-making being made by moral virtue signalling - where someone seeks to do one thing but causes damage to other freedoms." So is he right? To discuss the issue, Free Speech Union Chief Executive Jillaine Heather joins Jesse now.

Hearing a bird sing, a dog bark, an orca squeal has led so many of us to wonder if might be possible to talk to animals. Aza Raskin wants to listen to them. He's the co-founder and CEO of the Earth Species Project, which uses artificial intelligence to decode the sounds and signals of other species. The aim isn't just translation; it's understanding. Early breakthroughs from studying highly intelligent crows to other vocal animals suggest we're beginning to hear patterns that were once invisible to us. Raskin believes that learning to truly listen to animals could transform how we see and treat each other and the rest of life on Earth.

Hearing a bird sing, a dog bark, an orca squeal has led so many of us to wonder if might be possible to talk to animals. Aza Raskin wants to listen to them. He's the co-founder and CEO of the Earth Species Project, which uses artificial intelligence to decode the sounds and signals of other species. The aim isn't just translation; it's understanding. Early breakthroughs from studying highly intelligent crows to other vocal animals suggest we're beginning to hear patterns that were once invisible to us. Raskin believes that learning to truly listen to animals could transform how we see and treat each other and the rest of life on Earth.

Caitlin Cherry reviews: Younger (Netflix) The Lincoln Lawyer Season 4 (Netflix)

Today we're exploring the world of Birding - otherwise known as Birdwatching - with Rick Szabo. Rick has been birding for more than 14 years and observed over 1600 different species. He also guides tours for fellow bird enthusiasts in Texas, California, Ontario, Saskatchewan and Costa Rica.

Monday means Jesse hits the clubs. If you've got a club you'd like him to visit, please text us 2101 or email us afternoons@rnz.co.nz. Today Jesse is chatting to Daryl Purdie from Auckland's Pinball Club.

Brad Foster joins Jesse to discuss the latest developments across the Tasman. Today, he's talking about the return of the so-called ISIS brides, who are seeking to come back to Australia from Syria.

In 2024, the Ministry of Education released guidelines for the use of AI tools in the classroom. The guidance stated that generative AI should be used to "improve teaching and learning, supporting knowledgeable and skilled teachers." However, many of the most widely used AI tools, such as OpenAI, Google, and Anthropic, are developed and based in the United States. That raises an important question, how well do these tools understand our national curriculum? And if their knowledge is limited, how effective can they really be in a New Zealand classroom? Australian education technology company CurricuLLM has been looking into this. Founder Dan Hart spoke to Jesse.

Dr Jess Robertson, National Manager of Advanced Technology at Earth Sciences New Zealand joined Jesse to speak about New Zealand's most impressive supercomputer.