RNZ - All Programmes

Is diversity a good or bad thing for New Zealand? It was a question posed at TVNZ's multiparty debate last night, and four of the five leaders agreed it was good. NZ First leader Winston Peters did not. New Zealand First's policy is to hold a referendum on a legislated annual cap on the number of residents visas. Massey Emeritus professor and social scientist Paul Spoonley spoke to Lisa Owen.

All the top stories and other headlines from the day

A year long battle for information has revealed NZ Food Safety knew there were high levels of toxic pesticides on food samples, despite saying there was no risk to the public. Internal documents released to Greenpeace under the Official Information Act said New Zealand Food Safety couldn't exclude health risks from the pesticide breach. Reporter Keiller MacDuff has been investigating and joins Lis...

Most people have had the irritating experience of talking to a chatbot, but could you guess every time whether you are chatting with AI or an actual human? Canterbury University researchers have been investigating using the Turing test. It has been claimed that generative AI has already passed the Turing test, but NZ researchers have different takes. Professor of Philosophy at Canterbury Universit...

While many of us assume we'll outlive our pets, what happens when they outlive us? A Public Trust survey finds that pets are increasingly being put in wills. Sammy Carter reports.

Three All Whites club sides have been caught up in ugly scenes in football's English Championship today. The match between Swansea City and Milwall was paused while officials dealt with racist chanting. Sports reporter Felicity Reid spoke to Lisa Owen.

The Green Party is backing a bed levy, and says it will give councils the tool they need to charge visitors spending the night so regions can fund infrastructure. The party is also promising to set-up a national Airbnb register to help council's identify and charge short term rentals too. Green Party co-leader, Chloe Swarbrick spoke to Lisa Owen.

Middle East correspondent Madeline Croad spoke to Lisa Owen about revelations that Saudi Arabia's public warning system was essentially switched off prior to a series of fatal airport attacks launched by Yemen's Houthis, as well as a Saudi national who has been charged with planting a recording device in an office at the headquarters of ChatGPT owner OpenAI.

Proposed changes to animal welfare rules could mean the end of some rodeo events. The National Animal Welfare Advisory Committee is considering new roping rules and more stringent requirements for training animals and competitors. Vet and Chair of the Committee, Matthew Stone spoke to Lisa Owen.

The latest RNZ Pacific news.

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.

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.

The latest RNZ Pacific news.

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.

The latest RNZ Pacific news.

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...

Today: Tax cuts for landlords or rent relief for renters. David Seymour says a $300 million promise to give tax breaks to property investors will help keep rents down. Guyon Espiner asked him if it's borrowing for tax cuts. New Zealand is one of just one five countries not to sign up to a pandemic preparedness plan at the UN. Guyon Espinder spoke to international law expert professor Al Gillespie...

An update on the latest news and results from RNZ's sports team.

New Zealand has slipped out of the top 20 in the world press freedom rankings for the first time. In the 2026 Reporters Without Borders index we've fallen six places to 22nd out of 180 countries. Media expert Gavin Ellis talks to Guyon Espiner