Afternoons

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.

Sally Round, host and producer of Country Life, joins Emile to talk about what's on the show. This week Country Life is at a locust farm where the insects are bred for petfood and human snacks and joins a drone pilot on a farm in Canterbury.

Shared Kitchen's Julie Biuso is here to share a delicious sounding recipe for Spanish Eggs. Click HERE for the recipe

Afternoons Film Critic Dominic Corry joins us to discuss what's on the big screen. This week: Jackass: Best and Last - In cinemas Over Your Dead Body - Prime Video

Time for Freaky Friday. Our home for your spooky tales. It's one of our favourite moments of the show, but it only works because you have been so generous in sharing your stories with us. Whether that be ghosts, a seance, freaky serendipity, or something else entirely. If you've got a freaky story to share, then get in touch. It's 2101 on the text or Afternoons@RNZ.co.nz via email.

The Royal New Zealand Air Force is generally associated with daring aviation feats and providing aid and assistance when called upon, but it also produces some incredible music. So, when we saw a job ad for a new Director of Music for the Royal New Zealand Air Force Band, we wanted to find out more. Joining us now is someone who held the role for 8 and a 1/2 years - outgoing Band Director, David G...

Nelson arborist and tree consultant Brad Cadwallader has spent much of his life working with trees, hunting for some of Aotearoa's biggest and most remarkable specimens and helping to tell their stories - hence one of his many job titles is "tree hunter." Brad is also curator of the New Zealand Tree Register and one of the organisers of the Tree of the Year competition, which celebrates some of th...

The All Blacks are taking on France tomorrow in their first test of the year. It's the opening game of the inagural Nations Championship and will be in front of a sold-out crowd at Christchurch's new stadium. It's the team's first outing under their new head Coach Dave Rennie who unveiled his team yesterday. Jeff McTainsh is calling the game tomorrow, he chats to Emile.

ACT says its policy would help tackle that crime .. and fill the gap from an overstretched police force. But it also raises questions about training, safety, legal protections, and whether private security staff have the know-how to recognise when force is appropriate. Gary Morrison is the CEO of the New Zealand Security Association, and he's been calling for clearer rules and better training for...

Our chance to dive into the issues that have been hitting the headlines the past week. Dr Lara Greaves and Dane Giraud join Emile to say what they're thinking out loud. The group discuss school lunches, MMP and whether it is fit for purpose and lobbying - how does NZ stack up compared to the rest of the world?

Time to talk history with Dr Grant Morris and this week after seeing some of the latest polling, he's keen to look into the history of small centrist political parties. The Opportunities Party is currently nearing 5% in the political polls. It is arguably a centrist party and could go with either Labour or National. In the 2002 election, Peter Dunne and his centrist party United Future experienced...

Every second Thursday we try to solve some of the world's problems - this week writer Verity Johnson is with Emile to talk about how we could revive our cities.

Righto, it's time to chat about the issues that might not make the news bulletins but could be filling up your social media feeds .. we call it group chat .. and joining Emile in the Auckland studio are Kate Rodger, Culture 101's Perlina Lau and Afternoons Senior Producer Olivia Wilson

Time for NZ Sport History - our chance to look back at the people and the moments that have changed the game. Today we're joined by former All Black lock - the legendary Ian Jones. Ian played 105 games for the All Blacks including 79 tests and three Rugby World Cups. He's also still involved with the team's legacy, now running the official All Blacks experience in Auckland

Here on Afternoons we like to celebrate New Zealanders doing great things - and our next guest very much fits that bill. Aaron Henare - better known in the ring as Henare - is a Kiwi who's been lighting up New Japan Pro Wrestling, winning an impressive two world titles in the last there months. He's back in New Zealand for the upcoming Matariki Rumble this weekend in Pakuranga - where he'll challe...

The benefits of eating a healthy diet are well known to us all ... but new research reveals that it's not just physical health that responds to a good diet .. it's also your mental health. A study that followed nearly 1,900 Swedes aged over 60 for more than eight years. has found eating an anti-inflammatory diet can reduce the risk of developing dementia - even in people with early biological sign...

Tell you something else that can help keep your brain sharp ... learning a language. What better time to try and get to grips with Chinese than during New Zealand Chinese Language Week for 2026? Held each year since 2014 - the week is a celebration of Chinese language, culture, and getting kiwis to give the language a try. Alongside events and ambassadors - the week also has seven language superst...

Weight-loss drugs like Ozempic have become some of the most talked-about medicines in the world. They were originally developed to help people with type 2 diabetes, before becoming widely known for their effect on appetite and weight loss. But researchers are now asking whether they could also help with something else, addiction. Dr Robert Munn is a neuroscientist at the University of Otago, and h...