Afternoons

It's Dry July and thousands of New Zealanders are giving up alcohol to raise money. It's a chance to rethink our relationship with drinking, but maybe not in the way you might expect. Drinking is one of humanity's oldest habits. In fact, civilisation itself may never have taken off without alcohol, says Dr Edward Slingerland, a professor of philosophy at the University of British Columbia. Whereve...

If it seems like your power bill is more expensive .. you'd be right. The Electricity Authority says most households have seen an average increase of about eight percent to their bills this winter .. and that's on top of the eight percent rise last year. Afternoons has spoken a lot about Gentailers and network charges - so today we want to turn our attention to what you can do to make sure you're...

The heavy rain that has seen flooding in parts of Kaikoura is moving up the country - leaving behind a huge clean up job for many of you. Those clean up jobs are becoming more regular as weather events hit us more often. So what can we do to be prepared for when really bad weather strikes? And what are some practical tips.  [picture id="4JLX7RF_Image_jfif" crop="16x10" layout="full"]

We're going to start today's show talking about smoking. It's back in the headlines after a recent bust saw more than a million cigarettes seized and five people arrested as part of efforts to crack down on the black-market tobacco trade. And the issue of excise tax is back under the spotlight with Associate Health Minister Casey Costello telling Newstalk ZB she would consider a review of it. She'...

Wallace Chapman and Emile Donovan star in the shortest show on radio, where they show they really can make something out of nothing, join them to be part of their delight, or to simply despair. Wallace will also preview what's on The Panel tonight.

Donald Trump's second presidency isn't just changing policy and relationships with countries like New Zealand; it's changing the presidency itself. That's according to New York Times journalists Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan. In their new book, they go beyond the headlines to examine how power is now exercised inside one of the most secretive White Houses in modern history. They take us inside...

Afternoons critic Ximena Smith joins Emile to share what she's been listening to: I'm Grand Mam The Last 12 Weeks. [picture id="4JLV9DP_im_grand_mam_webp" crop="16x10" layout="full"]

Each Tuesday we play You're the Judge - your chance to chime in to someone's dilemma. This week it's all about how much training is too much, especially when you're in a new relationship. Text 2101 or afternoons@rnz.co.nz with your thoughts! [picture id="4JM2AOV_sporlab_XiZ7pRvCzro_unsplash_jpg" crop="16x10" layout="full"]

Gorillaz is a virtual cartoon-band that began as an experiment for Blur frontman Damon Albarn and artist Jamie Hewlett in the early 2000s and quickly became a phenomenon. They've won BRIT and Grammy awards, they've got singles and music videos with streams in the billions, and to date they've put out nine albums, with three of those going to number one including their latest release just this year...

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 jewel in our tourism crown - the spectacular Queenstown Lakes District where Mayor John Glover joins us. [picture id="4JX3C1X_251218_Queenstown_01_jpg" crop="16x10" layout="full"]

For more than 20 years Ruben Miller worked alongside police as a forensic scientist and frontline crime scene investigator, attending homicides, suspicious deaths and major investigations throughout New Zealand. Earlier this year he released a memoir, 'The Blood Says Otherwise.' It's about forensic science and crime scenes, but it's also focusses on the trauma, empathy, and human behaviour behind...

It's one of the most dramatic - thrilling - devastating occasions in modern sport. The football pentalty shootout. We've already seen a few of them already in this year's FIFA World Cup - most notably - Paraguay booting out Germany. Professor Robbie Wilson is an ecologist from the University of Queensland, who also has an obsessive love of football. He's been writing about the science behind penal...

It's fair to say the action on the pitch at the Football World Cup has been a rollercoaster of emotions. But it's what has happened off the pitch that seems to have got some fans' blood truly boiling. That's because it turns out US President Donald Trump called the FIFA president asking him to review a red card suspension for the USA's breakout star Folarin Balogun. The red card would have seen Ba...

The World Meteorological Organisation has found 2025 was the 2nd-warmest year on record for the South-West Pacific. The higher temperatures came with increased rainfall, marine heatwaves, and sea level rise - and below average amounts of snow on South Island mountains. Professor Nicolas Cullen is a climate scientist at Otago University, he joins Emile. [picture id="4JM7MWX_snow_jpg" crop="16x10" l...

Wallace Chapman and Emile Donovan star in the shortest show on radio, where they show they really can make something out of nothing, join them to be part of their delight, or to simply despair. Wallace will also preview what's on The Panel tonight. [picture id="4JMMNBN_wallace_and_emile_two_jpeg" crop="16x10" layout="full"]

Bill Mumby was 11 when he played Will Robinson in the show Lost in Space, but he was already one of Hollywood's busiest child actors, appearing alongside stars including James Stewart, Judy Garland, and working with Alfred Hitchcock. Unlike many child stars, he went on to build a second career in music, writing and recording with the band America, creating one of MTV's early hit music videos, and...

Afternoons critic Dominic Corry joins Emile to share what he's been watching: Elle - Prime Video Cape Fear TV series - Apple TV. [picture id="4JM6BCW_Elle1_jpg" crop="16x10" layout="full"]

Message us via 2101 on the text or afternoons@rnz.co.nz on email. Today we are joined by Michael Story. Michael is a bassist who plays with the Christchurch Symphony Orchestra He's also a professional music teacher at the ARA institute and runs the NZ Music Teachers Online website. Today he joins us to answer your questions about learning an instrument: How do you pick the right instrument for you...

Monday afternoon is when Emile likes to hit the clubs, so get your comfy shoes on and get ready to shuffle. If you've got a club, or society that you'd like us to visit then drop us a line, 2101 on text or afternoons@rnz.co.nz via email. This week Emile is chatting to Selwyn Maister. [picture id="4JR7SGG_Selwyn_Maister_Tramping_jpg" crop="16x10" layout="full"]

Brad Foster is away on a well-deserved holiday this week, so we're joined by TVNZ's Australia Correspondent Jacob Johnson. [picture id="4JMOMYT_AFP__20260618__B7GG7YH__v1__HighRes__AustraliaPoliticsEconomy_jpg" crop="16x10" layout="full"]

A newly formed group is aiming to look after the future of New Zealand's organic industry. Young Organic Growers Aotearoa is targeting organic growers aged 40 and under, and already it has seventy members including market gardeners, viticulturists, orchard growers, and dairy farmers. The group's first event sold out, with people travelling from all over the North Island to be part of it. Chair of...

International trade deals are under the spotlight right now, with a pre-election announcement from National to prioritise deals with seven countries if returns to power. We wanted to know more .. like why now .. why the countries have been chosen and whether this is even feasible. To help answer these questions and more is former Minister of Trade, and New Zealand's former Ambassador to the United...

Wallace Chapman and Emile Donovan star in the shortest show on radio, where they show they really can make something out of nothing, join them to be part of their delight, or to simply despair. Wallace will also preview what's on The Panel tonight.

It's time to talk conservation because every Friday we talk about a critter that is endemic to New Zealand and endangered with Nikola Toki. The bignose galaxias is one of Aotearoa's rarest freshwater fish - a small, secretive, non-migratory galaxiid living only in a handful of streams in the upper Waitaki River catchment, Mackenzie Basin.

Interior design guru Sylvia Sanford joins Emile and this week she's turning her attention to chairs. Exploring the value of chairs: vintage, folding, kitchen, dining, desk, wooden, plastic, upholstered, painted, wicker, cane, steel, reclining.