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 time now for a new segment we're trying out, it's called Political Group Chat and it's where we look back on some of the big issues over the past week. Joining Jesse in Auckland is comedian and commentator Tim Batt. And in Feilding, screenwriter, podcaster and free speech advocate Dane Giraud.

There has been a lot of chatter this week about US and NZ relations with regard to military spending so our favourite historian Dr Grant Morris thought it was a good time to look back at the history of our two countries in times of war.

We like to think of ourselves as solution focused here on Afternoons so every couple weeks, we chat about some of the world's problems and how to solve them. Steve Wyn Harris joins me to chat about El Nino and Wool prices.

NZ Sport History looks back at the people and moments that have changed the game one way or another. This week Kieran Read joins Jesse. Kieran has done it all - he won two rugby world cups, played 127 tests for the All Blacks, 52 of them as captain and racked up 157 Super appearances for the Crusaders. He's regarded as one of the greatest No. 8s to wear the black jersey.

Winter sports are well under way, which means stories about poor sideline behaviour are back in the headlines. Things got so bad in Waikato a few weeks ago that all junior rugby league matches were cancelled. Sport Waikato says not only is the behaviour inappropriate, but it can actually have a detrimental effect on a kid's enthusiasm for sport. Sport Waikato CEO Matthew Cooper is with me now.

Possums remain one of the biggest threats to our native species, with an estimated 30 million of them roaming around. Predator Free NZ has a great library of guides and resources to help gear towards our Predator Free 2050 goal. And their latest advice is think of it as a party! Yes, actually. To explain Jesse is joined by Pest Free Banks Peninsula operations coordinator Ollie Rutland-Sims.

Over the last couple of weeks there has been a spate of metal thefts in the Wellington region First the EV chargers at Avalon Park were cut. Then on Tuesday evening ChargeNet reported that five of their charging locations across the region had also been hit. This fits with what we are seeing in the rest of the country. A 2025 police report found that metal thefts have almost tripled in the last three years. Vice president of the 'Association of Metal Recyclers' and Macaulay Metals operations manager Glen Jacobs talks to Jesse.

Oreti Beach is one of Southland's most iconic stretches of coastline, 26 kilometres in length, the bay lies between the town of Riverton and the outflow of the Aparima River. It's a place made famous by motorcycling legend Burt Munro who used it as his personal speedway while training to set his land speed records. Records that still stand to this day But now there's a growing debate about its future, with locals calling for the beach to be closed at night because of dangerous driving, fires, vandalism and other antisocial behaviour. Local Joyce Kolk joins us to explain what's going on.

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.