Podcasts about life and society

We're trying something new here on Afternoons, we've decided Monday is club day, a chance for Jesse to hit the clubs. If you have a club you'd like Jesse to join for the day please get in touch at afternoons@rnz.co.nz Today, we're starting Jesse's clubbing adventure with Barbara Preston from Auckland based choir Stimmung.

You know it when you see it. An email from a co-worker or marketing pitch from a company that lands in your inbox, but you know it was written by artificial intelligence. AI promised to make work faster, smarter, and more efficient, but sometimes those emails take time to unpick and fix. There's a word for that, "workslop". It's content that masquerades as meaningful but requires others to interpret. Dr. Kate Niederhoffer is a social psychologist and vice president of BetterUp Labs. She co-authored a new study and says workslop is becoming a growing source of frustration in the workplace. Link to the survey here!

It's time for our expert feature and today we're talking about navigating divorce & separation Alongside the death of a loved one, separation and divorce can be one of the most painful and difficult periods of someone's life. Divorce and separation coach Kimberlee Sweeney joins Jesse for the next 30 minutes to answer all your questions

In part two, a listener shares her view that truck drivers aren't sharing the road safely. Then, the annual Southern Artisan Christmas Fete of on this weekend to offer an alternative to end-of-year shopping chaos.

For people pleasers who say "yes" too often, setting boundaries can be really hard. 

Time for Freaky Friday, our home for your spooky stories, terrifying tales and eerie encounters If you have a story to share, we want to hear from you. Send us a brief outline of your tale to 2101 and we'll add it to the list. Mark joins Jesse to talk about his brush with death on Mount Everest.

There are over 7000 bus drivers across the country - and this Sunday is a day all about them. To show our appreciation, Jesse chats to kinetic bus driver Peter Smith from Wellington.

Wallace Chapman and Tessa Guest preview tonight's instalment of The Panel.

The Wairarapa Walking Festival is already underway, running through to Sunday 23 November. The festival takes in the region's varied urban and rural geography with a varied programme. To tell us more, organiser Celia Wade-Brown speaks to Emile Donovan. 

A short-lived night market in Lower Hutt has the local MP blaming bureaucracy gone mad, but the council says safety and compliance measures need to be met. Mary Argue reports.

A British pub in Greater Manchester has solved what it's called the crime of the century, a quiz team consistently winning through cheating. Quiz master and head sleuth Bobby Bruen spoke to Ingrid Hipkiss from Manchester.

Stats NZ latest data shows nearly 73,000 New Zealanders left the country in the past year, while only 26,000 returned. Among those who believe the grass is greener there is Sean Collier, a 27-year-old lawyer and stand-up comedian from Whangarei who moved to Melbourne two years ago.

There's a call for our councils to be more proactive and strategic when it comes to creating cemetery space. It follows concerns that burial spaces are running out - particularly in our urban areas. The Cemeteries and Crematoria Collective says councils must act now to secure land for their communities. Chair Daniel Chrisp is with me now.

It's time for our relationships segment - Professor Kirsty Ross from Massey University's School of Psychology joins us fortnightly to share her advice on how to navigate some of life's trickier moments. Today we look at rebuilding trust after it's been badly broken, navigating a friend group after a divorce and the psychology of relationships.

Wallace Chapman and producer José Barbosa preview tonight's instalment of The Panel.

Wairoa Boxing Club is devastated police have declined the permit for a fund-raising fight night, in the week leading up to the event. Bill Hickman reports.

Here's a simple idea that explains a lot about how the world works: "I know that you know that I know." It might sound complicated, but it's the reason we stop at red lights or believe money has value says Harvard psychologist Steven Pinker. But when people start to have their own truths, when facts are not shared, we can get in to trouble. Dr Pinker unravels this idea that makes in the world go round in his new book, When Everyone Knows That Everyone Knows: Common Knowledge and the Mysteries of Money, Power, and Everyday Life. Dr. Pinker is coming to New Zealand in February for an evening of smart, stimulating conversation. Tickets are available here.

Wallace Chapman and producer Tessa Guest preview tonight's instalment of The Panel.

We've got a weekly 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.

It's time now for a new season of the RNZ podcast Thrift and this week host Katy Gossett investigates some cheap tweaks that can help turn your rental property into a home. Today we meet an expert renter and op-shopping queen whose homely hacks won't stretch the budget.

"Just be yourself" is one of the worst pieces of advice out there says Psychologist Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic. Authenticity and some diversity programs that encourage people to 'be themselves' often lead to failure he says. Dr Chamorro-Premuzic explains that the most successful people aren't intensely authentic, they're experts at reading a room, adapting, and understanding where the right to be yourself ends and our obligation to others begins. His new book is called Don't Be Yourself: Why Authenticity Is Overrated.

Wallace Chapman and producer José Barbosa preview tonight's instalment of The Panel.

Dan Baumgardt is from the University of Bristol's Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, and is also a Traitors megafan. He joins Emile Donovan.

RNZ's executive editor of specialist news Jeremy Rees has read the shortlist. Is Flesh a worthy winner? 

Traffic control and a shortage of volunteers have officially grounded Santa's sleigh in the small town of Piopio in the Waitomo District. At the Christmas eve parade Santa would normally float in via SH3, however the rising cost of closing the highway and managing traffic means Santa will instead park-up on a side street near the village with other floats. Chair of the Project Pio Pio Trust Melanie Simpson spoke to Lisa Owen.

Blanket bans on pets in rental properties won't be allowed from next month, but there are concerns that landlords will find a work around. Tenants will still need to get their landlords consent to keep a pet at the property, but new rental rules mean from December there has to be a reasonable justification to say no. Andrew Nicol from property investment firm Opes Partners spoke to Lisa Owen.

It might be time to get back on your duolingo streak - a new study has found speaking more than one language helps the aging brain. Professor Stephen May from the School of Maori and Indigenous Education at the University of Auckland spoke to Ingrid Hipkiss.

The country's oldest tattoo studio has had a major facelift, which aims to honour its founder, the late Roger Ingerton. Reporter Bill Hickman went under the tattooist's needle to find out more.

Wallace Chapman and Tessa Guest... preview tonight's instalment of The Panel.

Emma runs Small Histories of New Zealand, where she digs up curious stories, funny articles, and lost treasures from our past and shares them on social media. Tonight's topic is ghosts. 

He joins Emile Donovan to discuss his new book How They Get You, a guide to hanging on to your hard-earned cash and spotting the tricks designed to make you spend it.

The Arrowtown Backyard Ultra sees competitors tackling the same course once an hour until they can't go any further. Katie Todd reports.

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.

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!

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.

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.

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.

Tonight, on The Panel, Wallace Chapman is joined by panellists Lizzie Marvelly and Ben Thomas. First up, free cervical cancer screening for everyone is the next plank laid in Labour's plan to get elected in 2026. Public health advocates and professionals say they are excited, including the director of the National Centre for Women's Health, Bev Lawton. Then, how did New York's incoming Mayor, Zohran Mamdani, manage to defeat the old political guard? History lecturer Chip Van Dyk explains.

An extra half hour of The Panel with Wallace Chapman, where to begin, he's joined by Nights host Emile Donovan. Then: a government inquiry in New South Wales into the impacts of pornography has some surprising new findings. Edith Cowan University researcher Giselle Woodley looks at the findings.

In part two, a 120-year-old kauri villa once home to writer Robin Hyde is set for demolition - but some literary heavyweights have signed a petition to see the building moved, rather than demolished. Then, a little Māori Anglican church with a big history has just opened it's doors after a nearly two-year restoration process. It was a major job after being torn up by floodwaters during Cyclone Gabrielle.

Scouts in an upmarket Auckland suburb are fed up with freedom campers clogging up a public carpark. Melanie Earley reports.

Business owners are welcoming news that the government plans to act on homelessness in Auckland's CBD. Heart of the City chief executive Viv Beck spoke to Corin Dann.

Auckland's rough sleepers could soon be forcibly moved out of the central city, with ministers confirming they are considering taking action. Auckland's City Missioner Helen Robinson spoke to Ingrid Hipkiss.

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.

A steady stream of rough sleepers is taking advantage of a recently-opened night shelter in New Plymouth. Taranaki Whanganui reporter, Robin Martin reports.

A young woman who was homeless and at rock bottom says appearing in a therapeutic court helped her turn away from petty crime and find stable housing. Amy Williams reports.

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.

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.

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

The SPCA is renewing its call for a nationwide ban on the private sale and use of fireworks, ahead of Guy Fawkes tomorrow. Scientific Officer Alison Vaughan spoke to Corin Dann.