Afternoons

Dr Jamie Beaton has turned earning university degrees into something of an endurance sport. He has 12 university qualifications that make the education section on his CV look like a catalogue of some of the world's most prestigious universities including Harvard, Stanford, Yale and Oxford. And he's not done yet. The New York Times recently featured Dr Beaton's many academic achievements. He's also the co-founder Crimson Education, the multi million dollar company that helps students get into top universities around the world. But Beaton's story is about more than collecting qualifications. It's about an almost relentless appetite to learn and what happens when education becomes a lifelong pursuit.

Every Tuesday we put a dilemma to you and get your thoughts on how to solve it. This week we're looking at whether a party planner is too tough on late cancellations. Send your thoughts to 2101 or email us [email protected]

Tim Batt joins Jesse to discuss the latest news from the world of tech. This week he is looking into Samsung Fridges software update fail, consumer purchasable Exo-skeletons, PS5 games on your PC and a new set of laptops from Google called Googlebooks!

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 the Whanganui District, which is located on the west coast of New Zealand's North Island .. from there Mayor Andrew Tripe joins Jesse.

School holidays are the perfect time to get the younger people in your life reading .. here to help with suggestions is the Director of Library at Auckland Grammar School .. Catherine Ross. For Ages 10+ The Wretched Waterpark by Kiersten White For Ages 13+ Hatchet Girls by Diana Wallach It Waits in the Forest by Sarah Dass For All Ages (Non-Fiction) Witches - James I and the English Witch Hunts by Tracy Borman

President Vladimir Putin has been at the centre of power in Russia for more than 25 years. To get a better understanding of who he is, ABC News journalist Riley Stuart pulled together interviews with people who've met, investigated, and studied Putin for an article on the leader. Riley chats to Jesse.

The Pasifika population in the Nelson Tasman region is steadily growing .. so it makes sense the region will play host to an inaugural Pasifika Festival. The festival is happening on Saturday the 17th of October, festival director Nikita Takai is here to tell us all about it.

Tonight we'll see the first leaders debate between National leader Christopher Luxon and Labour leader Chris Hipkins .. it's on TVNZ1 at 7pm and you can also listen to it right here on RNZ .. Jack Tame is the moderator. To get an insider's view on what it's like to be at the podium for these big political events, Paddy Gower is with us. Paddy moderated the Newshub leaders' debates in the 2017, 2020 and 2023 election cycles .. this year he will be back behind the podium when the two Chrises go head to head for the Stuff Leaders' Debate on October 20th. He's also be presenting election night coverage on TV3 on November 7th. Paddy chats to Jesse.

The latest RNZ Reid Research poll once again shows support for the major political parties dropping, and the minor parties becoming increasingly relevant. That got us wondering about whether this is the end of an era for party politics as we know it ... indeed if this is the last election when there will even be major and minor parties and therefore MMP properly and fully realised. Marcus Ganley is a public law specialist with firm Franks Ogilvie but was previously a ministerial adviser to the Clark government and held senior roles in Australian federal politics, he did his thesis on the first MMP election back in 1998. He joins Jesse.

Today we're starting off with the story that's captured international atttention .. the United States says it's keeping a close eye on the death of an employee at a Russian laboratory. According to some media reports, the researcher died from pneumonia of an unknown origin .. others have alleged that a test tube containing a pneumonic-plague-causing-patheogen was broken .. and was the cause. We wanted to get some straight answers .. so who better to ask than Epidemiologist and University of Otago professor Michael Baker.