Afternoons

Let's talk about what's got your group chats lighting up now .. Jesse is joined by this weekend's Saturday morning host Kate Rodger, Sunday's culture 101 host Perlina Lau and Afternoons' senior producer Olivia Wilson .. to talk about the stories that are perfect water cooler fodder. This week they chat about Superbowl half time shows, Junior MasterChef and Meghan Markle, plus advice on how to resp...

Kelly Gibney is with Jesse to share a delicious recipe. This week is asparagus, courgette, bacon and walnut galette.

Time for Heading Off, our weekly travel segment where you share your adventures .. and inspire others to do the same! Today we're heading off to Maui in Hawaii with travel writer Megan Singleton, who has just returned from the island and put together what she calls a perfect 10-hour day trip.

It's time for Our Changing World - and this week we're heading out in the field with producer Liz Garton - to learn more about tara-iti, the New Zealand fairy tern. The Kakapo, as our kind of poster child for rare birds, has a population of more than 300 now, while the tara-iti population sits at fewer than 50 birds. But a lot of work is going into changing that!

Ai generated music is flooding streaming platforms everywhere .. but many music fans would have no idea of knowing if the content they're listening to was made by AI Last year the EU announced they were introducing rules to tag AI generated tracks ... but there are currently no laws in place here A couple of local Kiwi music professionals have launched Original Machine ... which checks submissions...

COP 17 is about to wrap up in Armenia where the spotlight has been on our progress with '30 by 30' ... that's the collective goal to protect 30% of land and freshwater by 2030 in an attempt to halt and even reverse biodiversity loss. We're now at the half way point, and spoiler alert - we're not on track to make the goal. To talk about happens now, Jesse is joined by Dr Jonathan Tonkin, a Quantita...

Lots of policies and promises have been bandied around this campaign season - but there's one idea that seems to have support right across the political spectrum. And that is a future generations law - a legal requirement that Governments consider the impact of their decisions on future generations. In a new poll by the Wellbeing Economy Alliance, more than 80% of Greens, ACT, NZ First, Labour and...

Protecting our kids from technology is a struggle for everyone, including extended members of the British royal family. Sophie Winkleman, known as Lady Frederick Windsor, is an actor whose credits include Peep Show and Two and a Half Men. She's also an education campaigner, warning that a new flank has opened up in the struggle with technology and our kids and it's happening in the classroom. She...

On Tuesdays we play You're the Judge here on Afternoons .. we read out a dilemma, and you get to weigh in on who is right and who isn't. This week we're looking at past actions and whether trying to apologise for them years later is right, or wrong. To chime in text 2101!

RNZ Wellington Operations Team Leader Elliot Childs is with Jesse to share what he's been listening to: The Gaza Chef and Song Navigator. Both available wherever you get your podcasts!

Let's talk books, Claire Mabey, children's writer and books editor for The Spinoff is with Jesse to share what she's been reading: The Beaded Curtain by lloyd Jones Gloria of Greymouth by Sam Duckor Jones The Witches of Winderry Spires by Karen Foxlee

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 Hauraki District in Waikato ... where you'll find .. Paeroa, Ngatea, Waihi and the Karangahake Gorge. Mayor Toby Adams chats to Jesse.

There's a push to bring debating to more schools across the country... particularly those in lower-decile communities that haven't traditionally had the same access to it. It's widely believed that debating helps young people build confidence in public speaking, develop critical thinking skills and learn to see things from different perspectives. Acting President of the NZ schools Debating Council...

Nature isn't just something you find in the bush, at the beach or in a wildlife park. It's in our backyards, on our windowsills, and growing in the cracks in the footpath. But often - in our urban bubbles - we don't stop to notice. Rachel Haydon is a scientist, author and current Chief Executive of Orana Wildlife Park. Her latest book - The Urban Activity Book - is about helping kids discover natu...

As we get closer to Election Day, the noise around the potential make up of the next Government is getting louder and louder. University of Otago election law professor & constitutional theory expert Andrew Geddis joins Jesse to look at the various options at play and what they mean.

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.

Every Friday Jesse chats critters with passionate conservationist Nicola Toki. This week they are talking about the Ngahere Gecko. Found across the lower-to-eastern North Island, ranging from East Cape down through the Wairarapa and into the Wellington region, these guys are playing the long game-they can live for decades (up to 30+ years)!

October is the time to be proactive in your garden .. with the days growing longer and the soil warming up, plants grow faster. Gardening guru Lynda Hallinan is with Jesse to share what you should be focusing on in your garden.

Hospitality legend, and manager of Auckland Council's The Kitchen Project, Connie Clarkson is with Jesse to share a recipe for miso snapper rice bowl. As summer peaks around the corner, this is one for our boaties and fisherfolk! You've GOT to love a good fish head to pile on the umami, nutrients and cut down on food waste while you are at it.

Time for NZ Live. Your weekly live music showcase. A private gig to play you into the weekend. Today's artist has become one of the country's most successful musicians with 100s of millions of streams across 7 albums. His latest 'Real Fruit Ice Cream' was released back in August. We last spoke in 2021 - that's four albums ago! - so we're delighted to welcome Eddie Johnson A.K.A Lontalius to NZ Liv...

Afternoons critic Dominic Corry is with Jesse in the Auckland studio to share the movies he's been watching: Clayface (in cinemas) Wildwood (in cinemas)

As you know just before 2pm each Friday we like to leave you with a spooky story to take into the weekend. We call it Freaky Friday... it can be the unexplained .. the unknown or the unusual. We love it all! Do get in touch if you've got a story to share - 2101 or afternoons@rnz.co.nz [picture id="4OFO8JG_copyright_image_105527" crop="16x10" layout="full"]

Wild Matata also known as fernbirds have been spotted at Lake Kohangatera in the Wellington region for the first time in 70 years. The Matata - which is classified as "At Risk" - depends on healthy wetlands for its survival. To find out more Jesse is joined by 'Greater Wellington's Jack Mace. [picture id="4L3070L_M_t_t_NZ_Fern_bird_jpg" crop="16x10" layout="full"]

2026 has seen a lot of anti Indian rhetoric in New Zealand ... a quick search online brings up pretty confronting headlines .. including the "butter chicken tsunami" comments from NZ First's Shane Jones. Earlier this week Brian Tamaki appeared in Auckland's Manukau District Court, where he denied claims he incited rational disharmony that's after he accused India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi of...

TIME magazine recently released its list of the 300 best inventions for 2026 and two New Zealand companies have made the cut. Palmerston North Agritech company BioLumic and Leaft - a Canterbury based food company Leift - set up by Synlait Milk founder John Penno and his wife Maury Leyland-Penno - developed a process for extracting protein from Lucerne leaves. Something that previously involved a c...