Afternoons

There's less than a month left to enrol to vote and the number of 18 to 24 year olds signed up is pretty dismal at just under 61 percent. It's an issue that we discussed in our Politics Group Chat yesterday .. you can find that conversation on the Afternoons website if you want to take a listen .. and led to a lot of feedback from many of you. So we thought it would be worth talking to someone actually in that age bracket to find out what can be done to lift the number of young voters. Caeden Tipler is a student activist, journalist and was the previous co-director of the organisation Make it 16 - they join Jesse to discuss.

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.

Personal finance whizz Mary Holm is in the Auckland studio with Jesse to chat about health insurance. She looks at whether you should have health insurance and how to keep costs down if you do.

It's time for A- Z of Aotearoa ... We've been making our way through the alphabet covering the iconic people, places and moments that make up this beautiful country of ours ....and we've made it all the way to Z! We've covered Aviation, Fish and Chips, Charles Upham, The Great Walks, The Māori Battalion and many more If you'd like to listen to any of our previous episodes you can find them on our Afternoons page at rnz.co.nz Today for Z.. we'll be discussing the world's first fully fenced ecosanctuary today ... Zealandia Te Mara a Tane! Located just 2.5 kilometres from Wellington's central business district, Time magazine named it one of the 100 greatest places in the world The Zealandia team have reintroduced 23 native species into the region, some of which were absent from mainland Aotearoa New Zealand for more than 100 years. To discuss this incredible place .. we'll be chatting to one of Zealandia's dedicated volunteers shortly .. but first we welcome Dr Danielle Shanahan the Chief Executive of Zealandia Te Mara a Tane.

No one likes to be criticized. Nobody likes to be rejected. For some people, criticism doesn't just sting, it can set off a whole chain reaction of embarrassment, self-doubt, overthinking and even physical pain. Psychiatrist and ADHD expert Dr Sasha Hamdani says that may have less to do with how thick your skin is and more to do with how your brain is wired. She knows it firsthand. She's highly sensitive herself. In her new book Hamdani argues that sensitivity isn't a flaw that needs fixing. It can shape the way you experience the world bringing challenges, but also some unexpected strengths. The book is called Too Sensitive: How to Stop Overthinking, Overreacting, and Getting Hurt.

Thursdays are when we have our politics group chat .. our chance to discuss some of the issues that have hit the headlines over the past week. Jesse is joined by comedian and commentator Tim Batt, screenwriter and FSU member Dane Giraud and former TOP candidate and author of the Substack Less Certain Natalia Albert.

As AI has grown more and more sophisticated, schools and universities have had to rethink what a student assessment should actually prove. This is what's led University of Auckland engineering lecturer Dr Thomas Loho to try something new. He joins Jesse to discuss.

At just 10 years old, Hastings Central School student Renee Kundu is already a national speech champion after winning the Year 5 and Year 6 category of this year's GreatTalk National Speech Competition. She is with Jesse to tell him all about it.

Celebrations are underway across the country this week as loads of university students graduate. But many of them say excitement is muted because it is so hard to find a job in New Zealand. One telling RNZ that "no-one's even sending rejections, they're just leaving you empty". According to employment website Seek, advertisements for graduate jobs made up just over 2 percent of the overall share of jobs on the site last month. Louise Saviker is the chief executive of Student Job Search - she joins Jesse to discuss.

It's time for Bookmarks where we invite an interesting person on the show to discuss some of their favourite books...films .. music and more. Today we're joined by outgoing National MP and former Minister Chris Penk. Chris has spent the past 9 years as an MP representing Auckland's Helensville. In August he made headlines when he was stripped of his ministerial portfolios over a failed leadership challenge on Prime Minister Christopher Luxon. Chris joins Jesse in the Auckland studio.