Afternoons

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 believes urgently rethinking the rules governing how we work, how decisions get made and how power is distributed will create a world fit for many generations to come.

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 [email protected]

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 2013. To discuss what's driving the trend Jesse is joined by Shamubeel Eaqub. He's Chief Econonomist at investment fund manager, Simplicity, and has been looking into the change.

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 ArActive has installed its first 100 kilowatt-hour commercial system into Melbourne's Deakin University. And that's just the beginning. To tell us more, ArcActive founder Stuart McKenzie joins Jesse.