Afternoons

Three reports have been released today analysing the breach of Health New Zealand's patient portal Manage My Health. In December, hundreds of thousands of medical files were stolen in a cyber-attack which is being described as one of the country's biggest cyber security incidents. Reports into the breach found a litany of issues were responsible, including a lack of security, lack of independent checks and a lack of any privacy or security specialists. Which all sounds quite, well, lacking. So we wanted to find out how you can trust your data is safe. Frith Tweedie, a partner at SimplyPrivacy, an online privacy and AI governance consultancy, chats to Jesse.

An article in The Press today caught our eye, it looks at whether foreign drivers are always to blame for our worst crashes. According to the most recent data from the Ministry of Transport, 18 of New Zealand's 292 road deaths in 2024 occurred in crashes involving overseas drivers. They were involved in 105 of the country's 2461 serious injury crashes that year, and 534 of the 10,977 crashes that caused minor injuries. So it is fair to blame international drivers? James Dalglish, acting Chief Executive of the Rental Vehicle Association, joins us to tell us what he's observed.

Emile Donovan steps in for Wallace Chapman to co-star with Jesse Mulligan star in the shortest show on radio. They show they really can make something out of nothing. Join them to be part of their delight, or to simply despair.

We hear it all the time, that the secret to creativity and innovation is the ability to think outside the box. We live in a culture built around endless choice and the idea that the perfect one is out there if we just keep searching long enough. But all that searching can come at a cost. Science writer and journalist David Epstein says more and more research is showing that too much freedom can be well, too much and guardrails are essential for success. In his new book, Epstein highlights the unexpected creative power of boundaries, ordinary ambitions, and the obstacles we usually try to avoid. The book is called Inside the Box: How Constraints Make Us Better.

Every Tuesday here on Afternoons we play You're the Judge - we put an issue to you, our listeners, and get your help in resolving it. This week we're asking whether different ideologies should mean the end of friendship. We love your thoughts on 2101 or [email protected]

Tuesdays are when we talk tech. Our expert Tim Batt is here to share what's happening in the world of technology and today he's turning his attention to AI which is back in the headlines thanks to Pope Leo's first major teaching document and the Government's proposed job cuts in the public sector.

Afternoons Book Critic Catherine Ross (who's the Director of Library at Auckland Grammar School) joins us with her suggestions for younger readers: For Ages 6-11+ The Enchanted Wood (The Far Away Tree Book 1) by Enid Blyton Published in 1939 (!!) For Ages 11/12+ Small Wonder by Ross Montgomery Published in 2026 For Ages 13+ A Deadly Education (The Scholomance Book 1) by Naomi Novik Published in 2020 For Ages 14-16+ The Poppy Wars (Book 1 of a Trilogy) by R.F. Kuang Published in 2018

Christchurch City Councillors have this morning agreed to contribute an extra 15 million dollars to the rebuild of the Christ Church cathedral. The rebuild of the earthquake-damaged cathedral has been on hold since 2024 because of a funding shortfall of around 45 million dollars. The fate of the cathedral has divided opinion across the city and beyond for a long time, some believe it should be restored, saying it's an important part of the city's history, while others say it's a waste of money and resources. Joining Jesse with the latest is Mark Stewart, Director of the Christ Church Cathedral Reinstatement.

It's time for Mayoral minutes our regular weekly segment 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 capital Wellington, from where Mayor Andrew Little joins Jesse.

A short intervention that has proven effective in robust trials overseas for post-traumatic stress disorder is now available in New Zealand. Written Exposure Therapy involves only five 30-minute sessions of writing about the traumatic experience with supervision of a trained professional, says lead researcher Professor Bruce Arroll. He explains to Jesse why this is a big deal.