Afternoons

The RNZ podcast Country Life celebrates all things rural, speaking to the New Zealanders who live and work in some of the most beautiful parts of our country. You can hear these stories on RNZ National every Friday night at 7pm, and Saturday morning at 7am and of course wherever you get your podcasts. Here to tell us what's on their show this week is producer Anisha Satya.

Martin Bosley joins Emile to share this recipe. You can replace the prunes with fresh dates if you wish, just make sure both have been pitted before using them. You will need a pie dish with a removable base about 20cm in diameter. Recipe below! Prune and Mascarpone Tart with Port Syrup Serves 12 600g Prunes or dates, pitted 100g Raw sugar 750ml Port 500g Sweet Pastry - store-bought is fine 60g Caster sugar 4 lemons, for the juice 600g Mascarpone 600ml Cream Put the pitted dates or prunes, the juice of 3 lemons, the raw sugar and port into a saucepan and pace over the heat. Bring to a simmer and cook for about 10 minutes. Remove from the heat and strain the dates from the syrup and set aside to cool. Place the syrup back in the saucepan and simmer until thick. Heat the oven to 200C. Rollout the pastry into a circle larger than the pie plate, leaving enough pastry to fold up around the edges. Carefully lift the pastry up and onto the pie plate, patching it up if required. Leave the excess pastry hanging over the edges. Line the pastry case with foil or baking paper, filled with baking beans or rice. Leave to chill in the fridge for 20 minutes. Bake the pastry case for 20 minutes, lift out the parcel of beans and return the pastry shell to the oven for another 10 minutes until pale gold in colour and dry to the touch. Beat the caster sugar, juice of one lemon, the mascarpone and cream until firm. Chop one third of the drained marinated prunes into the mascarpone mixture and combine together. Fill the tarts with the mascarpone and arrange the remaining prunes across the top. Pour the reduced syrup over the top just before serving.

Afternoons film critic Dominic Corry is with Emile to share what's on at the cinema (all of which are new in theatres this week): The Death of Robin Hood Glenrothan Toy Story 5

It's time for Freaky Friday, the home for all your spooky and unexplainable stories. We've had UFO sightings, ghostly encounters, eerie coincidences. If you've got a spooky story we'd love to hear from you - email [email protected] or text 2101. Today we're speaking with Jenny

For most Aucklanders, the natural disaster fear that's front of mind is a tsunami or volcano awakening...but actually it's earthquakes that should top those worries. That's because recently, a faultline close to Auckland was found to be more active than previously thought .. and could in fact, create a magnitude 6.8 earthquake if it ruptured. Here to discuss this and other earthquake related discoveries is Newsroom journalist and earthquake specialist Fox Meyer.

A quickly spreading, destructive exotic seaweed was found off the coast of Whangarei for the first time this month. It's the latest battle in a war that's been going on since caulerpa was first found in New Zealand waters five years ago. Here to find out how that fight is going is Barb, a trustee for Northland's Conquer Caulerpa.

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Another popular Auckland music venue is closing - struggling to continue in the current economic downturn Despite sold out shows - 'Neck of the Woods' on Auckland's iconic Karangahape Road ...will close its doors next week after 11 years It's the latest blow for Auckland's music scene, independent record store Flying Out, just off Karangahape Road, has also announced its shutting up shop. Director at Fuzen Entertainment Limited, Gareth Popham joins us now.

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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.

A chance for a balanced discussion about the week that was.

Jesse is joined by Tim Batt, Dane Giraud and Dr Lara Greaves. This week they look at Matthew Hooton's appointment at The Post, if politicians have the right to humiliate critics in their Facebook comments, whether the media loves TOP so much they are over-covering them and is there too much "cultural correctness" at New Zealand events?

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Today Dr Grant Morris looks at the real history behind the NZ honours system. Monday 1 June was King's Birthday which means the announcement of honours. But where does NZ's system of honours come from?

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