It goes without saying that 2019 will be a year that few Kiwis will forget in a hurry. Author Catherine Robertson and lawyer Stephen Franks join Jim to cover off the highlights and lowlights of what has been a completely unforgettable 12 months in New Zealand, and share their hopes and wishes for 2020 and beyond.

A recent op-ed piece in the South China Morning Post suggested that Hong Kong was descending into terrorism, with protesters now reportedly making homemade bombs. Christine Loh is a former undersecretary for the environment turned scholar. She says more violence is inevitable if dialogue isn't settled on as an alternative.

Dunedin surveyor Toby Stoff recently undertook a fact-finding mission to Wales, where he visited Ffordd Pen Llech in Harlech, which dethroned Dunedin's Baldwin St as the world's steepest street in July. His findings backed up his claim that Baldwin St is steeper than its Welsh rival. Now he's putting together a new application to Guinness World Records.

It's Christmastime and that means the large majority of us will receive gifts we neither wanted nor needed. Writer Livia Gershon has been looking at the history of giving Christmas gifts and what inspired actress Eleanor Robson Belmont and J.P. Morgan's daughter, Anne Morgan to form the Society for the Prevention of Useless Giving (SPUG) in 1912.

She moved her family back to Singapore in the wake of the Christchurch mosque tragedy that claimed the life of her husband, Zekeriya, the 51st and final victim, but Hamimah Tuyan remains committed to 'walking the talk' when it comes to helping Kiwis recover from the deadliest mass shootings in modern New Zealand history.

A new survey shows that lamb has moved ahead of ham as New Zealanders' favourite meat choice on Christmas Day. The poll had lamb closely followed by traditional favourite ham and with beef a very distant third. Chef Vanessa Baxter joins the show with a few expert tips to help make your Christmas meal something to remember.

Temperatures soared throughout Melbourne this week as catastrophic bushfires continue to rage across the country, with the weather bureau bumping up its forecast maximum from 41 degrees to a scorching 43 on Friday. Rebekah Holt will join the show from Melbourne for an update on what is expected to be the city's hottest December on record.

Los Angeles-based illustrator Mauro Gatti was growing sick and tired of the continuous stream of bad news stories and fake news he was reading. So he started putting together a list of the best news stories of the year, paired with his excellent original illustrations. And the response has been phenomenal.

Talkback callers call out plan for 'Bike Force Raptor'; Dan Eaton - former reporter, now author and intelligence bigwig; Bridges and Peters vs media - and the unruly stars of last summer.

It's time we better understand why our bodies flare up more as we get older, says biochemist Judith Campisi.