Afternoons

Loneliness isn't the urgent crisis we've been led to believe. It's not a new problem. It's not an emergency and it's not beyond our control says psychiatrist and Professor at Trinity College Dublin Brendan Kelly. Almost everyone goes through times when we feel lonely. It's an unchanging part of human life. And while it can be a challenge for many people, Dr Kelly argues that mislabelling loneliness as an epidemic and medicalizing normal human experiences can distract us from long-term solutions. Professor Kelly joins us from Dublin.

Time for our expert feature. Today we're looking at energy. That is electricity, petrol, oil and all the fuels that make the modern word run. The expert we'll be putting talking to is Geoff Bertram. He's an economist and writer with decades of experience looking at the energy sector.

Time now for me to make a cold call, which always adds some spontaneity to my, and hopefully your, Monday. Will they answer? Will they be happy to chat? Today Jesse chances his luck with the Marlborough Citizens Advice Bureau.

This week our tv critic Philippa Rennie reviews Task (Neon) and the latest investigation by John Campbell, Under His Command - Season 2. (TVNZ)

Internationally acclaimed architect, educator, and the 2022 Laureate of the Pritzker Architecture Prize Francis Kéré is currently in the country delivering a series of public lectures in Auckland, Christchurch, and Wellington as part of the 2025 Futuna Lecture Series Francis first gained international recognition with the very first building he designed - a primary school in his home village of Gando, Burkina Faso. Since then, he has gone on to design acclaimed buildings across the globe. He is known for involving community at the heart of his projects drawing inspiration from the natural landscape and using local materials in his projects Francis Kére spoke to Jesse.

As anyone who has ever been to a wedding .. funeral .. or work function knows .. being able to speak eloquently and confidently in front of a crowd, takes talent. Whether really good ... or really bad .. speeches are memorable. Oracy is the ability to express oneself fluently in speech and our next guest is worried that our children are falling behind with their oracy skills. Karena Shannon is from Oracy Aotearoa New Zealand.

There have been a raft of proposed changes to school curriculums announced in the last week .. including agribusiness, agriculture and horticulture science being removed as stand alone subjects and only being taught as a vocational hands-on pathway from 2028. Kerry Allen, is the curriculum director of AgriBusiness in Schools, she joins Jesse to explain why she thinks this is a poor decision.

The critter for this week is rytinotus squamulosus, the debris cloaking bark beetle!

Today, we're discussing knitting.

Gretchen Lowe talks Emile through this delicious sounding recipe from her new book My Weekend Table. Gretchen says this salad goes well with her quick roast chicken recipe; that's also in the book.