Afternoons

It began with a mother of nine. When she was around 41, her youngest daughter Barb noticed a change in the woman she'd always known as loving and attentive. Her mother descended into alcoholism and depression. Then, one by one, Barb's siblings began to change too. Eventually five of her eight siblings withdrew from their families, their jobs and their lives. Barb suspected this wasn't simply a fam...

Philippa Rennie joins Afternoons to share what she's been enjoying. Youth - HBO Max. Happiness (Season Two) TV3/Sky.

It's time for our expert feature now, and today we're talking ties. How they're made, how to wear them, and frankly, why we wear them. Please send your tie-related questions through to 2101 and I'll put them to our expert John Crompton. John is the fourth generation of his family to run Parisian, an Auckland business that has been making ties for more than a century. [picture id="4JJYN11_rhii_phot...

Monday afternoons are when Jesse hits the clubs!! If you are a member of a club that you think we should know about please get in touch. 2101 on the text of Jesse@rnz.co.nz via email. We love weird niches - lawnmower racing, coffin making, knitting, cosplay - whatever it is, if you fancy a chat let us know. Today we're going to meet Robyn Janes. [picture id="4JUCJCT_afternoons_clubbing_thumbnail_p...

Our guy on the ground in Australia is Brad Foster and each week he joins Jesse to share what's happening across the Tasman. This week Brad discusses the latest in the Erin Patterson case, heightened police presence in Sydney a year on from the Bondi terror attacks. [picture id="4JFYFV1_AFP__20260819__C4YP9ZR__v2__HighRes__AustraliaCrimeCourtMushroomsAppeal_jpg" crop="16x10" layout="full"]

We love celebrating success here on Afternoons, so we're thrilled to be talking to our next guest. Last month, Skye Duncan was named on the TIME100 Next 2026 list, recognising the world's most influential rising stars. Skye and her team at the Global Designing Cities Initiative are on a mission to make our streets safer for everyone. Their Global Street Design Guide has now been translated into ni...

This year marks half a century of the sport of orienteering in Wellington. To celebrate, volunteer group Orienteering Wellington is hosting a birthday party later this month - an orienteering event where anyone can take place. Lachlan McKenzie joined Orienteering Wellington about 10 years ago and currently serve as secretary. He chats to Jesse. [picture id="4JFSTKH_808564730_1420924186808367_75675...

A new research paper has identified strengths and vulnerabilities across every transport mode, whether road, rail or sea, it seems all our networks are fragile. The paper has been produced by engineering and professional services consulting firm WSP and the Helen Clark Foundation, and it is calling for a rethink on how we approach transport networks and what alternatives exist should they fail. Ka...

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.

Jesse chats to passionate conservationist Nicola Toki about a critter she thinks deserves a moment in the spotlight. This week it's native gecko mites (Geckobia species). While many mites are temporary visitors, Geckobia scale mites are lifelong, permanent residents. They spend every single stage of their life cycle-eggs, larvae, nymphs, and adults-clinging tightly directly onto the skin of a geck...

Mitre 10's Stan Scott is with Jesse and is very happy to answer any questions you've got about small or large building projects you've got on the go!

Shared Kitchen's Julie Biuso is with Jesse to share her latest recipe. Spoiler alert = Scrumptious! Maybe it's the tomatoes, the colours, or the bright, fresh flavours. Whatever it is, the crunchy, juicy, sweet tang with a creamy ball of burrata, or with baby spongy balls of mozzarella, is extraordinary. And there is something undeniably summery or festive about it. Just make it.

Afternoons film critic Kate Rodger is with Jesse in the Auckland studio to talk to us about what's on at the movies. This week Kate reviews Prime Time and Pressure (both on in cinemas)

As regular listeners will know just before 2pm each Friday we like to get our spook on ...we call it Freaky Friday... and it's when we dive into the unexplained .. the unusual .. and the downright odd! If you have a strange story we'd love to hear from you, text 2101 or email afternoons@rnz.co.nz Today Jesse is speaking with Susan, an archaeologist whose story takes us to the Middle East in the 19...

Auckland is full of colour right now as the Rugby League World Cup heats up and fans make their allegiances known by proudly flying flags from cars and houses. Sunday night sees fierce rivals Samoa and Tonga go head-to-head in what's been billed as one of the biggest international rugby league clashes in decades .... with a place in the semi-finals potentially up for grabs! The game's taking place...

We all know the iconic Kiwi soft drink Lemon and Paeroa or L&P if you prefer, but did you know there's a rival lemon fizzy drink from the same region? Lemon and Te Aroha or L&T first hit the shelves back in 1887... using water from the Mount Te Aroha spring ... the drink disappeared in the 1970s but now it's making a comeback .. Lemon and Te Aroha director Richard Revell joins Jesse to discuss.

Two Pak'nSave supermarkets have been fined a combined $580,500 for misleading customers over their pricing. The stores, in Silverdale and Hamilton, were found to have breached the Fair Trading Act, including making misleading claims about discounts and special prices. It's not the first time a supermarket has been caught doing this. You might remember the outrage in 2022 when the Commerce Commissi...

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 time for our weekly Political Group Chat - a space for good faith debate and friendly disagreement. Joining Jesse this week, and every week from now on, are Victoria University political scientist Dr Lara Greaves, comedian and political commentator Tim Batt, and screenwriter and Free Speech Union member Dane Giraud.

Let's get into some money matters, personal finance whizz Mary Holm is with Jesse to run through the KiwiSaver changes being proposed by the different political parties.

It's time to return to the A-Z of Aotearoa. We had so much fun the first time round that we've gone back to the beginning of the alphabet, and we've arrived at 'B' today so we're heading to Wellington to visit the Beehive. Jesse will speak to Parliamentary Service Chief Executive Rafael Gonzalez-Montero about what goes on inside and what we can discover on a visit. But we'll start with the buildin...

When Frances Haugen blew the whistle on Facebook in 2021, she exposed how Meta put engagement and profits ahead of the safety and the wellbeing of users. Her story is the subject of The Social Reckoning, Aaron Sorkin's follow-up film to The Social Network. Now she's concerned those problems could return on a much bigger scale as Artificial Intelligence creeps into our lives. Haugen is starting an...

It's Halloween on Saturday and for many of you that will mean kids roaming the streets looking for lollies. Constable Bryan Ward is with Jesse to share some tips on making the 31st fun rather than genuinely frightening for the children in your life.

Much of the conversation around screen time focuses on the risks social media poses to teenagers, but what about our younger children? Research shows screen use in under-twos can cause delays in language development and social skills, as well as problems with sleep and eating ... and almost two -thirds of babies and toddlers in New Zealand exceed recommended screen use So if we know the potential...

There's been some talk this election cycle about the desire to electrify as much transport as possible in Aotearoa ... but the cost of electrifying rail isn't cheap. One Kiwi company Mackwell believes the answer could lie in a modern take on steam. Traditional steam engines are notorious for being dangerous and dirty. but Mackwell says it's developed a combustion system that isn't either of those...