Afternoons

We're back for a new season of A-Z of Aotearoa and today we're heading to a beautiful part of the country - Akaroa The small seaside town on Banks Peninsula ... about one hour and twenty minutes from Christchurch.. is often referred to as "New Zealand's French town". But it is so much more than that! We learn all about it with local guide Marie Haley.

We're influenced by the stories we hear and see every day without even realizing it. And the stuff we see on social media is not content that inspires us to be better people says writer and sociologist Kathryn Jezer-Morton. She says social media has gone far beyond concerns about the impact it has on attention spans or mental health. Our lives aren't just experiences anymore, they're stories we pa...

Our next guest loves skinks .. in fact he loves them so much he's known affectionately as Napier's local "skink guy." Joe Woolcott is the acting manager of the National Aquarium .. located on Marine Parade ... but he also takes care of the skink sanctuary you'll find just down the road. Joe is here to tell us why.

George Snook is one of New Zealand's top young kayakers. In 2025 he was crowned the Men's Extreme Kayak World Champion after winning the Devils Race in the Czech Republic. But recently those skills on the water landed him a pretty unusual side gig - working with the stunt team on Brad Pitt's new film Heart of the Beast. George is with us to tell us all about it.

The median age on the West Coast is just over 48 years old .. that's a full decade older than the national average. So, Development West Coast decided to do something to try and keep younger locals. Five years ago it launched a scholarship scheme - up to $32,500 of value - including a guaranteed job - to six graudates who commit to returning to the Coast after university. This year saw the scheme'...

Wallace Chapman and Jesse Mulligan 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.

Group Chat on Afternoons is our chance to talk about the stories that are making the coffee queue or school pick up fly by. Jesse is joined by Kate Rodger, host of Saturday morning this week, Perlina Lau, host of Culture 101 and Afternoons Senior Producer Olivia Wilson to share what's been filling up their group chats.

Wednesdays on Afternoons means Easy Eats - that's when Kelly Gibney joins me to share a recipe that is heavy on flavour but light on time.

It's time for Heading Off - our weekly travel segment here on Afternoons where we share your adventures without leaving our homes. If you have a trip that you'd like to chat about, please get in touch on 2101 or email Jesse at jesse@afternoons.co.nz Today we're heading off with Candra to the Camino de Santiago.

This week host Claire Concannon joins Jesse to discuss whether GLP1-RA weight loss drugs are worth the hype.

Have authors of children's picture books gone too far in trying to please parents? Our next guest thinks so. LA journalist Jacob Savage recently wrote a piece, How Grown-Ups Ruined Picture Books in which he says, increasingly adults are becoming the target audience for kids' books. To discuss whether we've lost sight of why we read to our kids in the first place Jacob Savage joins Jesse.

Yesterday on the show we chatted to a Christchurch company doing exciting things in the battery world .. today we're keen to talk about another Christchurch based firm .. this one's developed an AI equipped drone. SPS Automation is behind the BFD 70. BFD stands for "Big Friendly Drone", which makes sense, because it is 4.5 metres long. To find out what its going to be used for Jesse is joined by S...

The 2026 Rugby League World Cup kicks off tomorrow evening in Sydney The first match reignites one of sports great rivalries when New Zealand takes on Australia. The Aussies are defending men's and women's champions, having won every tournament since 2008, but the Kiwis and the Kiwi Ferns look strong and there are some good looking challengers from the Pacific nations. With Jesse to explain everyt...

This morning Earth Sciences New Zealand published the 2026/27 Tropical Cyclone outlook. It predicts that the Southwest Pacific could experience at least four category 3 tropical cyclones this season. That's in addition to a number of smaller storms New Zealand is expected to see the greatest risk in late summer and autumn. To find out what that looks like and why, Earth Sciences NZ's chief Scienti...

Wallace Chapman and Jesse Mulligan 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 going to take a revolution to fix our biggest problems and create a sustainable future. A boring revolution says Indy Johar, an architect, Member of the Order of the British Empire and co-founder of Dark Matter Labs. He says we need to transform the systems we barely notice, but shape almost everything about our lives like bureaucracy, governance and the principles of democracy. Johar believe...

Tuesdays are when we play You're the Judge - you send us a dilemma, and we try to help resolve it. We love getting your reckons on what the right, or wrong, course of action is. This week the focus is on whether you should tell a friend their partner is cheating on them. Text 2101 or email afternoons@rnz.co.nz

Every fortnight we like to chat podcasts with our wonderful reviewers .. and we're thrilled that RNZ's Senior Podcast Producer Justine Murray is joining us to share what she's enjoying. Justine is responsible for some of RNZ's top rating podcasts so knows a good thing when she hears it. This week she's reviewing - Your Mama's Kitchen and The Book Review (by the New York Times)

Let's chat books now .. critic Bill Hastings is with Jesse to discuss what he's been reading .. which includes Dame Silvia Cartwright's memoir. That Woman: A Memoir by Silvia Cartwright (Allen & Unwin, 2026) Nigh Night Fawn by Jordy Rosenberg (Penguin, 2026)

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 a stunning part of the country, the Mackenzie District, where you'll find Aoraki Mount Cook, Lake Tekapo and Pukaki and Mayor Scott Aronsen!

One of New Zealand's quirkiest literary awards is back! It's the Surrey Hotel Writers Residency Award - now in its tenth year - but this year it's a little different, writer Steve Braunias is here to explain.

Many of you might be familiar with having an empty nest ... your children have grown up and left the family home .. but new data suggests the nest is getting harder to leave for good. Record numbers of young adult New Zealanders are moving back in with their parents. Census data suggests that 247,000 people in New Zealand aged 18 to 29 live with their parents - a growth of almost 25 per cent since...

Three Westport teenagers set themselves a pretty ambitous challenge over the school holidays. The plan? Tackle four big New Zealand routes - the Heaphy Track, the Paparoa Track, the Old Ghost Road and the Kawatiri Coastal Trail. That's over 250 kilometres, on bikes, with lots of hills and challenges along the way. Teenager Lily Rossiter chats to Jesse about why.

We're going to start today's show focusing on a New Zealand company doing great things on the world stage. You might remember in 2024 here on Afternoons, we spoke to Christchurch company ArcActive about the development of a battery system for affordable home storage. At the time, it was preparing to take its lead-acid battery technology into commerical production. Well, fast forward two years and...

Wallace Chapman and Jesse Mulligan 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.