RNZ: Afternoons with Jesse Mulligan

The show within a show, the little show that could, call it what you will, Wallace Chapman and Jesse Mulligan will attempt to make you smile as they preview tonight's edition of The Panel. [picture id="4K9B613_Wallace_jpg" crop="16x10" layout="full"]

NZ octopuses have a reputation: stealing GoPros, climbing onto boats, even escaping aquariums. But one of our most mysterious species, the Chatham Roughy Octopus, lives far below the drama, drifting quietly in the deep. Nicola Toki chats to Jesse about this magical creature. [picture id="4JOL9QU_Opisthoteuthis_chathamensis_jpg" crop="16x10" layout="full"]

Rachael Quinn from The Housekeeper talks Jesse through the most efficient way of cleaning your oven. [picture id="4MT6JOX_copyright_image_231020" crop="16x10" layout="full"]

Martin Bosley from Yellow Brick Road joins Jesse to share a recipe for a divine sounding chocolate cake. [picture id="4JOLI4O_Martin_Bosley_Recipe_Fallen_Chocolate_Macademia_Cake_754x1024_jpg" crop="16x10" layout="full"]

Afternoons Film Critic Kate Rodger is with Jesse to review Mother Mary and Caterpillar. [picture id="4JP5J4D_Caterpillar_jpg" crop="16x10" layout="full"]

We do a quick whip around the country to highlight some of the events on this weekend Lots of comedy options thanks to the International NZ Comedy Festival, check out your local venues to find some laughs near you, and also lots of music gigs being NZ Music month - there is heaps to get amongst this weekend! [picture id="4K597WE_alex_bracken_RzULPgwqcuE_unsplash_jpg" crop="16x10" layout="full"]

Your chance to share the unexplainable! We've had ghost encounters, UFO sightings, people hearing voices. If you've got a spooky story we'd love to hear from you - email jesse@rnz.co.nz or text 2101. This week we're joined by Marcus. [picture id="4JUCJCT_afternoons_spooky_thumbnail_png" crop="16x10" layout="full"]

On Monday's show, Bryce Edwards from The Democracy Project joined us to discuss The Opportunity Party. He said one of the biggest challenges smaller parties face is the 'wasted vote' trap. Under New Zealand's electoral system, a party must win at least 5% of the party vote to gain list seats in Parliament. That means voters can be reluctant to back smaller parties because, if they miss the threshold, those votes don't translate into representation. The Electoral Commission recommended lowering the threshold to 4% in 2012 to help address the problem. But Ed Hitchcock, the man behind the On the Threshold website, has a very different solution. [picture id="4JOLCP4_Ed_Hitchcock_jpg" crop="16x10" layout="full"]

Weddings and funerals are two of the biggest life events for most of us, but it all gets taken up a notch in Pacific cultures. A new TVNZ show '400 Weddings & and a Funeral' explores the traditions, expectations and emotions behind the celebrations. It premieres at 9:35 Saturday night on TVNZ 1 and will be on TVNZ+. Hosts Bella Kalolo- Suraj & Haanz Fa'avae-Jackson join Jesse to let you know what to expect! [picture id="4JR07Q5_400WAF_Bella_and_Haanz_jpg" crop="16x10" layout="full"]

Banking reform activist Kent Duston says he plans to nominate Roger Beaumont, the Chief Executive of the New Zealand Banking Association, for Australia's top honour, "Australian of the Year" It's a tongue in cheek move than Kent Duston says is due to Beaumont's successful lobbying on behalf of Australian-owned banks that generate billions in profits for Australian shareholders. Kent is the Convener of the Banking Reform Coalition, which is campaigning for structural separation within the banking industry and a break-up of the Australian-owned banks operating in Aotearoa. He chats to Jesse. [picture id="4JOLE9R_Roger_Beaumont_jfif" crop="16x10" layout="full"]

The show within a show, the little show that could, call it what you will, Wallace Chapman and Jesse Mulligan will attempt to make you smile as they preview tonight's edition of The Panel.

A couple of years ago we spoke with Grant Leach from the Vertical Farming company 26 Seasons At the time they were growing strawberries in Foxton and selling them to foodstuffs. Two years on and a lot has changed. The Foxton operation has closed down and instead they're doing a deal with Emirates and looking to expand into the Middle East. Chief Executive Grant Leach joins Jesse from Dubai.

Mary Holm joins Jesse to talk about personal finance, this week she's asking whether you making the most of bank deposit insurance? Mary discusses: What is covered and what not? How to make the most of it Use a higher-risk deposit taker to get more interest? [picture id="4KS75N7_your_money_cover_external_png" crop="16x10" layout="full"]

Time for NZ Sport History where we revisit some of the great names and moments in New Zealand sport. This week we're joined by an Olympic gold medallist, double world champion rower, America's Cup yachtsman, and former Chef de Mission for the Olympic and Commonwealth Games, Rob Waddell. Rob Waddell is also an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit and a triple New Zealand Supreme 'Halberg Awards' Sportsperson of the year winner from 1998 to 2000. Rob Waddell chats to Jesse. [picture id="4NX3MOR_image_crop_54534" crop="16x10" layout="full"]

It's time to talk relationships because no matter if it is friends, colleagues, partners or family members, relationship troubles are everywhere! Jesse is joined by Professor Kirsty Ross from Massey University's School of Psychology Please let me know if there are any topics you would like Kirsty and me to cover at afternoons@rnz.co.nz. [picture id="4JUCJCT_afternoons_relationships_thumbnail_png" crop="16x10" layout="full"]

Welcome to Afternoons' first convening of the politics group chat - a chance for three interesting people to say what they're thinking out loud. Joining Jesse in Auckland is comedian and commentator Tim Batt. In Wellington it's former TOP candidate and writer of the Substack Less Certain Natalia Albert, and representing Feilding it's podcaster and free speech advocate Dane Giraud. [picture id="4K9TUCD_poll_party_leaders_jpg" crop="16x10" layout="full"]  

He Puawai, A Natural History of New Zealand Flowers by Emeritus Professor of Botany Philip Garnock Jones won the Judith Binney Prize for Illustrated Non-Fiction at the Ockham New Zealand Book Awards. It is a stunning book documenting 100 of the at least 2200 native flowers we have in New Zealand. Philip joins Jesse. [picture id="4JOOMV3_He_Puawai_100_native_flowers_in_3_D_by_Philip_Garnock_Jones_jpg" crop="16x10" layout="full"]

During yesterday's show we spoke about book clubs, that led Karen to get in touch about her club, which has been running since 1972. That's 54 years of talking books! is this New Zealand's longest running book club? Karen joins Jesse.  [picture id="4JOZTP4_45eeb597_db7c_42e2_a701_23a327eab430_jpg" crop="16x10" layout="full"]

Home schooling is in the headlines today after the New Zealand Herald revealed that the Ministry of Education granted Marokopa father Tom Phillips permission to homeschool his three children before the family disappeared in 2021. What surprised us was that it seems no ministry officials visited Phillips to assess his suitability, or what the children were learning, that's after regular in-person reviews of homeschooling households were scaled back in 2010. So this afternoon, we wanted to take a closer look at how homeschooling works in New Zealand. Todd Roughton is a former principal who left the mainstream education system to homeschool his four children. He's now the Principal Emeritus of Home Schooling New Zealand.  [picture id="4MTAVAN_copyright_image_230834" crop="16x10" layout="full"]

The show within a show, the little show that could, call it what you will, Wallace Chapman and Jesse Mulligan will attempt to make you smile as they preview tonight's edition of The Panel. [picture id="4K9B613_Wallace_jpg" crop="16x10" layout="full"]

Extreme weather keeps getting more extreme. Once-in-a-century flooding is starting to feel routine here, while wildfires and major disasters devastate communities around the world. The Atlantic hurricane season is just weeks away and the financial stakes are about to get very real. The Earthquake Commission covers some disaster damage in New Zealand, but someone still has to pay for the rest. That's where catastrophe bonds come in. They're a strange financial product where investors make money betting on whether disaster will strike. Jeff Guo is a host of NPR's Planet Money, and he explains how catastrophe bonds work, why they're spreading, and what it means when climate risk becomes an investment. [picture id="4JOP05Z_jeff_guo_jpeg" crop="16x10" layout="full"]

Wednesday is Easy Eats, a chance for us to share a recipe that tastes delicious and doesn't take forever to make. This week Kelly Gibney shares her recipe for chorizo, white bean and spinach soup. [picture id="4JOV7D3_RNZ_Chorizo_white_bean_spinach_soup_2_jpg" crop="16x10" layout="full"]

Heading Off is our weekly travel segment where we go on adventures. We'd love to hear from you if you've got a travel yarn you'd like to share - text us 2101 or email us on afternoons@rnz.co.nz Today we jet off to Yunnan, a mountainous province in Southwest China with author and blogger Dunc Wilson,

Claire Concannon, host of Our Changing World joins Jesse. [picture id="4JOT0LJ_Huhu_A3_2_jpg" crop="16x10" layout="full"]

Sir Richard Faull is one of New Zealand's most respected neuroscientists, he's well known for his work on diseases like Huntington's, Parkinson's & Alzheimer's. He founded the University of Auckland's Centre for Brain Research in 2009 and now for the first time, you can get a front row seat to what kind of discoveries they are making. A new podcast series - Brainstorming - is bringing the centre's research directly to your ears, Sir Richard Faull chats to Jesse. [picture id="4OEN7FC_richard_faull_knight_1600_JPG" crop="16x10" layout="full"]

Hunters Gold was a 1970s children's TV show, which seems to have come along at a seminal moment in New Zealand screen history At the time of its launch it was the most expensive local TV drama, with a budget of $326,000 excluding staff costs! Hunter's Gold came up on Monday's show and lots of you sent in your fond memories of it. Including Max Quinn who got in touch to tell us the show kickstarted his screen career. [picture id="4JOP5NH_Outlook_MaxQuinnDo_jpg" crop="16x10" layout="full"]

The Others Way Festival, one of New Zealand's independent music festivals won't be back next year, and organisers say there are no plans for it to return in the future. The eclectic music festival has run for the past 10 years along Karangahape Road in central Auckland, featuring a mix of local and international acts. While it might have been your cup of tea - it is the latest in string of local festivals forced to say farewell. Which got us wondering, what does society look like without gigs? Or are live music events becoming luxuries only the wealthy can afford? The Others Way Festival director Reuben Bonner joins Jesse. [picture id="4KFVUZE_OthersWay24_chontallemusson_14_jpg" crop="16x10" layout="thumbnail"]

National has confirmed it will campaign on lifting the retirement age, with leader Christopher Luxon saying the current system is "unworkable and unaffordable." But any changes will need bipartisan support, and currently that isn't looking likely. Treasury's December forecasts estimated the annual cost of superannuation will hit $30 billion by the end of the decade, so if the age isn't changed, what can be done to make sure superannuation remains affordable? Miles Workman is a senior economist at ANZ, he chats to Jesse. [picture id="4JSJ8GV_matt_bennett_78hTqvjYMS4_unsplash_jpg" crop="16x10" layout="full"]

The show within a show, the little show that could, call it what you will, Wallace Chapman and Jesse Mulligan will attempt to make you smile as they preview tonight's edition of The Panel. [picture id="4K9B613_Wallace_jpg" crop="16x10" layout="full"]

Australia's ban on social media for anyone under 16 isn't working. It's not even close says world renowned behavioral economist and Harvard Law School professor Dr Cass Sunstein. He's one of the authors of a new working paper that argues compliance has to reach a tipping point for the ban to work, a point when not going on TikTok and Instagram and all the other apps is the new normal and that's not happening. Dr Sunstein is also part of a team of researchers examining the link between social media and wellbeing in the World Happiness Report. Just like Australian teenagers, many of us use social media even though we know it's not good for us, because everyone else is. He explains what he calls the "product trap", the way certain platforms are designed to pull us in, and we let them, even when we suspect we'd be happier without them. [picture id="4JOQUPV_CASS_SUNSTEIN_png" crop="16x10" layout="full"]

Tim Batt is with Jesse to talk about what's been happening in the world of technology; today he'll bring us up to speed on a local data breach and why Amazon is abandoning plans for a local data centre. [picture id="4KBP4NB_78600356_l_jpg" crop="16x10" layout="full"]

Afternoons book critic Lisa Glass joins Jesse to share her thoughts on the following books: Rejection by Tony Tulathimutte Eurotrash by Christian Kracht Slags by Emma Jane Unsworth [picture id="4JOQOOU_rejection_tony_tulathimutte_jpg" crop="16x10" layout="full"]

It's time for Mayoral minutes, each week 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 Gisborne District on the stunning east coast from where Mayor Rehette Stolz joins Jesse. [picture id="4JR4AKI_Desk_photo_jpg" crop="16x10" layout="full"]

A recently published study from West China Hospital and Monash University has the potential to upend our understanding of ADHD For decades ADHD has been diagnosed by using behavior-based questionnaires to understand the symptoms, not the underlying brain activity. The new study turned this on its head analysing over 1,000 brain scans from children and teenagers with ADHD It's challenging the idea that ADHD is just one condition. Child & Adolescent Clinical Psychologist and founder of Totally Psyched, Dr Sarah Watson chats to Jesse. [picture id="4M3ZZ9N_image_crop_130436" crop="16x10" layout="full"]

For the first time in almost 15 years there are more business deaths than births here in Aotearoa New Zealand. And of those business failures, the vast majority are solo business operators. We know a lot of you listening run your own businesses, so do let us know if this conversation resonates. In a new research paper "Built on Assumptions" our next guest argues that with more support these businesses could be thriving instead of failing. Sarah Davies from Sweet Spot business coaching talks to Jesse.  [picture id="4K68AJT_Sarah_Davies2_jpg" crop="16x10" layout="full"]

David Hill is the co-founder and Executive Director at a startup called Toha Network. In October 2024 they launched an environmental restoration project in Tairawhiti on the East Coast. Landowners are paid to regenerate native forests and wetlands using a digital funding system based on tokens called MAHI. He chats to Jesse. [picture id="4OXSBZ6_copyright_image_65588" crop="16x10" layout="full"]

This morning the Government announced it's changing the law to prevent companies from being sued over climate change related harm caused by green house gases We'll get reaction to that news in a moment, but we also want to talk about nature credits, voluntary biodiversity credit schemes that could mean more investment in nature restoration. Scott Burnett is the climate spokesperson for Forest and Bird and talks about both issues with Jesse. [picture id="4L5U3HU_forest_jpg" crop="16x10" layout="full"]

The show within a show, the little show that could, call it what you will, Wallace Chapman and Jesse Mulligan will always make you smile as they preview tonight's edition of The Panel.

Life can start to feel like a numbers game with everyone chasing likes and followers, and productivity stats that measure our steps. It seems like there's a number for everything even parenting and relationships. But at some point, the numbers stop measuring us and start controlling us. Philosopher C. Thi Nguyen says modern life is increasingly built around scoring systems that quietly shape what we value and how we see ourselves. And once you start chasing points, whether it's money, status, or approval, it gets harder to tell what you actually want. He unpacks these invisible games we play in his new book, The Score: How to Stop Playing Someone Else's Game.

Afternoons TV critic Caitlin Cherry shares what she's been watching: The Newsreader (Netflix) The Miniature Wife (TVNZ+). [picture id="4JOSNOU_the_newsreader_jfif" crop="16x10" layout="full"]

It's time for our expert feature where we tackle a topic and put your questions to the people who know it best Today we're talking about a relatively hot topic, tenancy. Whether you're a tenant or a landlord - everybody has questions about their rights in a rental situation. Please send yours through to 2101. Our expert today is Sarina Gibbon. Sarina is the founder and director of Tenancy Advisory and was previously general manager of the Auckland Property Investors Association.

Every Monday we head across the Tasman to discuss the big stories with our correspondent Brad Foster.  [picture id="4JOZLU7_AFP__20180831__18Q8D1__v1__HighRes__RacingAus_jpg" crop="16x10" layout="full"]