Afternoons

It's time for Mayoral minutes, our 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 Jesse's home town, the beautiful Kirikiriroa Hamilton and Mayor Tim Macindoe.

Happy Lunar New Year! Yes, billions of people around the world are welcoming the Lunar New Year from today. This year is Year of the Horse, but 2026 is also the Year of the Fire Horse. To explain what that means and what festivities are planned, RNZ Asia's Ruth Kuo chats to Jesse.

For decades, researchers have noted that Alzheimer's disease and cancer rarely occur in the same person, sparking speculation that one may protect against the other Now, scientists have identified a protein produced by cancer cells that appears to shield the brain from Alzheimer's, at least in mice, offering new clues to the link between the two diseases.Dr. Donald Weaver is a professor of Chemistry, Medicine and Pharmaceutical Science at the University of Toronto, and a Senior Scientist at UHN's Krembil Brain Institute. He chats to Jesse

New Zealand teen running prodigy Sam Ruthe is living proof that athletic talent can run deep in the family At just 16 Sam has been in the news lots for his talent after smashing the under 18 indoor mile world record, but he's not the only star in his household... Sam's younger sister Daisy, age 14, won the NZ women's under-20 3000m race at the Porritt Classic over the weekend. Sam and Daisy's parents and grandparents are no strangers to success on the track either. So how much of their success is down to genetics? To find out Sam and Daisy's dad Ben Ruthe joins Jesse Mulligan

The wild weather that caused chaos in the North Island has turned its attention South and Banks Peninsula seems to be bearing the brunt. A Local State of Emergency has been declared there but widespread flooding and gusts over 100km/h have been reported in Canterbury. We go to Wainui, a small settlement in Banks Peninsula where local resident Lawrence Smith is locate

A new report that sets out an "affordable" plan to tackle New Zealand's infrastructure has just been released. It was written by the Infrastructure Commission, and it covers all aspects of infrastructure from water pipes, roads, power lines, hospitals and schools to courts. In the 200 plus page report, there are 16 recommendations and 10 priorities for the next ten years. RNZ Political reporter Anneke Smith joins Jesse to discuss it.

Long before we know what social status is, we know how it works. There's always a popular crowd from the playground to the office and everyone knows who's in and who is out. Toby Stuart is a Professor of Business Administration at University of California, Berkeley. He argues that instinct about social status never leaves us. It becomes the invisible architecture of adult life directing attention, opportunity, and reward in ways that have little to do with fairness or talent. It shapes what we admire, what we buy, even what we believe is good. But as algorithms increasingly rank, rate, and recommend on our behalf, the old status ladders may be wobbling. His latest book explores how power and prestige really work and what happens when the system starts to shift. It's called Anointed: The Extraordinary Effects of Social Status in a Winner-Take-Most World,

Afternoons TV Critic Dominic Corry reviews: Small Town Scandal - Sky/NEON The Beauty - Disney+

But is the space in space infinite? What happens when satellites stop working? As the saying goes, what goes up, must come down, so will we see more space junk landing on earth? Here to help answer those questions and more, Jesse is joined by Dr Samantha Lawler, professor of astronomy at the University of Regina in Canada, and Erskine Fellow for the University of Canterbury.

Brad Foster joins Jesse to talk about what's going on across the Tasman. Today he's looking at the news that State of Origin is coming to Auckland plus other stories of interest.