Afternoons

We often hear about the negative effects of social media, but our next story looks its transformative impact for kaupapa Maori. Its power in connecting with Maori communities was highlighted in the recent Tamaki Makaurau by-election. Te Pati Maori which resoundingly won the seat, ran its campaign almost entirely online. However Labour relied on traditional methods like door-knocking and mainstream media. Auckland University Masters graduate Mia-Mae Taitimu-Stevens has examined this issue.

A report set to be released by the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority has connected hundreds of annual deaths with pollution from gas stoves. Dr Lucy Telfar-Barnard, senior research fellow at Otago University's Housing and Health Research Programme spoke to Jesse.

Five albums in six years. 75 million records sold. Then, just like that, The Police walked away leaving us with songs everyone still knows: "Message in a Bottle," "Don't Stand So Close to Me," "Every Breath You Take." You know there are plenty of stories to tell and drummer and founding member of The Police Stewart Copeland is ready to tell them. Dubbed the "accidental archivist," he spent the years of the rise of The Police jotting down the secrets and surprises of the trio he formed with Sting and Andy Summers. Now, after 18 years away, he's coming back to New Zealand with a spoken world tour called Have I Said Too Much? It's an evening that dives into the wild ride of rock superstardom, the creative sparks and disasters fans never knew about, and the twists that took Copeland from punk-reggae anthems to orchestras and operas. The tour lands here in January. Stewart Copeland spoke to Jesse.

Time to check what's happening in Australia with our correspondent Brad Foster.

Book reviewer Claire Mabey reviews Omnibird by Giselle Clarkson, Secret Art Powers by Jo Randerson, The Last Living Cannibal by Airana Ngawera.

Podcast critic Ximena Smith reviews Noble and Context.

Last week marked the 60th anniversary of the Nga Manu Korero secondary schools' speech competition. It's Aotearoa's most prestigious Maori speech competition designed to celebrate diverse young voices and the enduring power of orators. 14-year-old Pou Ariki Hemara-Daniels was there defending his national title, and once again he won the Sir Turi Carroll junior English category. Pou Ariki spoke to Jesse.

For many of us, watching a movie will usually mean logging on to an on-line platform. However, an initiative in Wairarapa is aiming to rekindle the magic and nostalgia of enjoying classic movies as they were intended, on the big screen. The Wairarapa Cinematheque in Masterton opened its doors this month, screening classic films, Kiwi gems and cult favourites. Jane Ross spoke to Jesse.

In a public announcement this morning, US President Donald Trump claimed there is a link between paracetamol use during pregnancy and increased autism risk. Associate Professor, Dr Scott White, women's health chair for the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RANZCOG).

More than a quarter of a million people have been displaced from Gaza City in the last month, according to figures from the UN, with tens of thousands more forced to flee makeshift homes and shelters daily in the face of a new Israeli offensive.....meanwhile, NZ lowered it's cap on crude oil from Russia...so this week on the Here Now podcast - Sanctions against Israel or Russia - will they work? What do Nzer's think?