Afternoons

When John Fugelsang was growing up, his parents and his church taught him that Christianity was about kindness, forgiveness, and helping your neighbor. But he says somewhere along the way between the televangelists, the politicians, and the endless culture wars, Christianity got hijacked. He says he's watching in disbelief as people use Jesus as a campaign slogan while promoting laws that seem more judgmental than Christian. A comedian, radio host, and actor who was in the film Coyote Ugly, Fugelsang challenges Christian nationalism and the politicians and influencers who he says promote the wrong answer to the question; What Would Jesus Do? His new book, Separation of Church and Hate: A Sane Person's Guide to Taking Back the Bible from Fundamentalists, Fascists, and Flock-Fleecing Frauds.

Jesse catches up with Brad Foster about the news across the Tasman. Today he'll chat about The Liberal Party's decision to abandon net zero by 2050 climate target; where Australia is at with the play sand recall and the latest in sport.

Catherine Ross, the Director of Library at Auckland Grammar School and creator of the blog 'The School Book Wizard' joins me with some recommendations that would make good Christmas presents. For Ages 10-12+ The Grimmelings by Rachael King (Aotearoa Author) Published in 2024 Wolf Road (#1 in series) by Alice Roberts Published in 2023 For Ages 13/14+ Best of all Worlds by Kenneth Oppel Published in 2025 For everyone and anyone (over the age of 11/12 depending on their reading maturity!) Alanna: The First Adventure (Book 1 in the Song of the Lioness Quartet) By Tamora Pierce Anniversary Edition published 2025

It feels like every day there is something new to be across when it comes to artificial intelligence and keeping across the hype and the fear is rather daunting. Fortunately like most things now, there's a podcast that has you covered! It's called The Last Invention and our podcast critic Ximena Smith tell Jesse whether it's good or not.

A Taranaki programme which provides training and pathways into work has won an environmental award. Tupu a Nuku is delivered by local iwi Ngati Maru and helps rangatahi develop conservation skills. The programme has won the Taranaki Regional Council's Environmental Action in the Community award for 2025. The judges said Tupu a Nuku exemplifies excellence in hands-on, culturally grounded conservation education and the programme's work will have inter-generational impacts. Jayden Waiwiri from the Tupu a Nuku team joins Jesse.

Last night at Parliament the Prime Minister's Space Prizes were presented. These prizes were established to recognise the talented people working in space and aviation and also to inspire younger people to get into the industry. And it seems like it's working, Sophie Ineson, a Year 12 student from Southland Girls' High School won the prize for Student Endeavour, for her project to design better wound care for astronauts. Sophie's prize is NZ$50,000 for tertiary study; she tells Jesse what she plans to do with it!

The Hawke's Bay East Coast Branch Construction Awards celebrates outstanding infrastructure achievements... and we reckon infrastructure in Hawkes Bay, post cyclone Gabrielle, is something we should all be excited about. Jesse talks to one of the judges Greg Lumsden.

A new report by Netsafe and the global anti scam alliance shows that New Zealand lost a record $3 billion to scams this year, which is up 30 percent from the prior year. In response the Government says it is taking action with a planned law change that it says will see potentially fraudulent ads being taken offline quicker. But is that enough? Jesse talks to former scam victim turned scam rescue adviser Glenn Baker.

It's time for our expert feature and today we're talking about navigating divorce & separation Alongside the death of a loved one, separation and divorce can be one of the most painful and difficult periods of someone's life. Divorce and separation coach Kimberlee Sweeney joins Jesse for the next 30 minutes to answer all your questions

You know it when you see it. An email from a co-worker or marketing pitch from a company that lands in your inbox, but you know it was written by artificial intelligence. AI promised to make work faster, smarter, and more efficient, but sometimes those emails take time to unpick and fix. There's a word for that, "workslop". It's content that masquerades as meaningful but requires others to interpret. Dr. Kate Niederhoffer is a social psychologist and vice president of BetterUp Labs. She co-authored a new study and says workslop is becoming a growing source of frustration in the workplace. Link to the survey here!