Afternoons

Afternoons critic Ximena Smith joins Emile to share what she's been listening to: I'm Grand Mam The Last 12 Weeks. [picture id="4JLV9DP_im_grand_mam_webp" crop="16x10" layout="full"]

Each Tuesday we play You're the Judge - your chance to chime in to someone's dilemma. This week it's all about how much training is too much, especially when you're in a new relationship. Text 2101 or [email protected] with your thoughts! [picture id="4JM2AOV_sporlab_XiZ7pRvCzro_unsplash_jpg" crop="16x10" layout="full"]

Gorillaz is a virtual cartoon-band that began as an experiment for Blur frontman Damon Albarn and artist Jamie Hewlett in the early 2000s and quickly became a phenomenon. They've won BRIT and Grammy awards, they've got singles and music videos with streams in the billions, and to date they've put out nine albums, with three of those going to number one including their latest release just this year, 'The Mountain'. To talk all things Gorillaz, Emile is joined by Afternoons producer Sam Hollis.

It's time for Mayoral Minutes where we speak with a local mayor about the challenges they're facing, how they're working to solve them... and what makes their community special. Today we're heading to the jewel in our tourism crown - the spectacular Queenstown Lakes District where Mayor John Glover joins us. [picture id="4JX3C1X_251218_Queenstown_01_jpg" crop="16x10" layout="full"]

For more than 20 years Ruben Miller worked alongside police as a forensic scientist and frontline crime scene investigator, attending homicides, suspicious deaths and major investigations throughout New Zealand. Earlier this year he released a memoir, 'The Blood Says Otherwise.' It's about forensic science and crime scenes, but it's also focusses on the trauma, empathy, and human behaviour behind it all. Ruben chats to Emile. [picture id="4JN9Q8K_ACP_7927_jpg" crop="16x10" layout="full"]

Wallace Chapman and Emile Donovan 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.

It's time to talk conservation because every Friday we talk about a critter that is endemic to New Zealand and endangered with Nikola Toki. The bignose galaxias is one of Aotearoa's rarest freshwater fish - a small, secretive, non-migratory galaxiid living only in a handful of streams in the upper Waitaki River catchment, Mackenzie Basin.

Interior design guru Sylvia Sanford joins Emile and this week she's turning her attention to chairs. Exploring the value of chairs: vintage, folding, kitchen, dining, desk, wooden, plastic, upholstered, painted, wicker, cane, steel, reclining.

Sally Round, host and producer of Country Life, joins Emile to talk about what's on the show. This week Country Life is at a locust farm where the insects are bred for petfood and human snacks and joins a drone pilot on a farm in Canterbury.

Shared Kitchen's Julie Biuso is here to share a delicious sounding recipe for Spanish Eggs. Click HERE for the recipe

Afternoons Film Critic Dominic Corry joins us to discuss what's on the big screen. This week: Jackass: Best and Last - In cinemas Over Your Dead Body - Prime Video

Time for Freaky Friday. Our home for your spooky tales. It's one of our favourite moments of the show, but it only works because you have been so generous in sharing your stories with us. Whether that be ghosts, a seance, freaky serendipity, or something else entirely. If you've got a freaky story to share, then get in touch. It's 2101 on the text or [email protected] via email.

The Royal New Zealand Air Force is generally associated with daring aviation feats and providing aid and assistance when called upon, but it also produces some incredible music. So, when we saw a job ad for a new Director of Music for the Royal New Zealand Air Force Band, we wanted to find out more. Joining us now is someone who held the role for 8 and a 1/2 years - outgoing Band Director, David Gallaher.

Nelson arborist and tree consultant Brad Cadwallader has spent much of his life working with trees, hunting for some of Aotearoa's biggest and most remarkable specimens and helping to tell their stories - hence one of his many job titles is "tree hunter." Brad is also curator of the New Zealand Tree Register and one of the organisers of the Tree of the Year competition, which celebrates some of the country's most notable native and exotic trees. Voting is open now for the 2026 competition, and you can head to treeoftheyear.co.nz to cast your vote. Brad Cadwallader chats to Emile.

The All Blacks are taking on France tomorrow in their first test of the year. It's the opening game of the inagural Nations Championship and will be in front of a sold-out crowd at Christchurch's new stadium. It's the team's first outing under their new head Coach Dave Rennie who unveiled his team yesterday. Jeff McTainsh is calling the game tomorrow, he chats to Emile.

ACT says its policy would help tackle that crime .. and fill the gap from an overstretched police force. But it also raises questions about training, safety, legal protections, and whether private security staff have the know-how to recognise when force is appropriate. Gary Morrison is the CEO of the New Zealand Security Association, and he's been calling for clearer rules and better training for the security industry. Gary chats to Emile.

Our chance to dive into the issues that have been hitting the headlines the past week. Dr Lara Greaves and Dane Giraud join Emile to say what they're thinking out loud. The group discuss school lunches, MMP and whether it is fit for purpose and lobbying - how does NZ stack up compared to the rest of the world?

Time to talk history with Dr Grant Morris and this week after seeing some of the latest polling, he's keen to look into the history of small centrist political parties. The Opportunities Party is currently nearing 5% in the political polls. It is arguably a centrist party and could go with either Labour or National. In the 2002 election, Peter Dunne and his centrist party United Future experienced a large surge. In the 2017 election, Winston Peters and centrist NZ First held the balance of power. What examples do we have from our history of small centrist parties playing a key role in elections?

Every second Thursday we try to solve some of the world's problems - this week writer Verity Johnson is with Emile to talk about how we could revive our cities.

Righto, it's time to chat about the issues that might not make the news bulletins but could be filling up your social media feeds .. we call it group chat .. and joining Emile in the Auckland studio are Kate Rodger, Culture 101's Perlina Lau and Afternoons Senior Producer Olivia Wilson

Time for NZ Sport History - our chance to look back at the people and the moments that have changed the game. Today we're joined by former All Black lock - the legendary Ian Jones. Ian played 105 games for the All Blacks including 79 tests and three Rugby World Cups. He's also still involved with the team's legacy, now running the official All Blacks experience in Auckland

Tell you something else that can help keep your brain sharp ... learning a language. What better time to try and get to grips with Chinese than during New Zealand Chinese Language Week for 2026? Held each year since 2014 - the week is a celebration of Chinese language, culture, and getting kiwis to give the language a try. Alongside events and ambassadors - the week also has seven language superstars who are sharing their personal learning journeys. Joining Emile now is one of these superstars, Kien Ngo

The benefits of eating a healthy diet are well known to us all ... but new research reveals that it's not just physical health that responds to a good diet .. it's also your mental health. A study that followed nearly 1,900 Swedes aged over 60 for more than eight years. has found eating an anti-inflammatory diet can reduce the risk of developing dementia - even in people with early biological signs of Alzheimer's disease. To tell us more about it, registered dietitian and co-founder of The Food Tree Rachael Wilson chats to Emile.

Here on Afternoons we like to celebrate New Zealanders doing great things - and our next guest very much fits that bill. Aaron Henare - better known in the ring as Henare - is a Kiwi who's been lighting up New Japan Pro Wrestling, winning an impressive two world titles in the last there months. He's back in New Zealand for the upcoming Matariki Rumble this weekend in Pakuranga - where he'll challenge for the Aotearoa New Zealand Heavyweight Championship. Henare - welcome to the show!

Weight-loss drugs like Ozempic have become some of the most talked-about medicines in the world. They were originally developed to help people with type 2 diabetes, before becoming widely known for their effect on appetite and weight loss. But researchers are now asking whether they could also help with something else, addiction. Dr Robert Munn is a neuroscientist at the University of Otago, and he's written about how these drugs may affect the brain's reward system.

Wallace Chapman and Perlina Lau 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.

Time to catch up with Our Changing World's Claire Concannon. Claire's been chatting to some of the winners from the Prime Minister's Science Awards.

The Prime Minister's Science Prizes have just been awarded for another year and boy - does our future look bright. Among the winners is Jesse Rumball-Smith, who's picked up the Prime Minister's Future Scientist Prize, for his "Better Backseat Driver" app. Tackling the lack of safety features in older cars, the app brings together modern technology and behavioural psychology, to make our roads safer. Jesse chats to Perlina.

Afternoons critic Catherine Robertson joins Perlina to share what she's been reading: The Things We Never Say by Elizabeth Strout (Viking) Three Reasons for Revenge by Dervla McTiernan (Harper Collins) Night, Ma by Elizabeth Knox (THWUP)

It's time for Mayoral minutes .. where we speak with a local mayor about the challenges they're facing ... how they're working to solve them... and what makes their community special. Today we're heading to sunny Nelson from where Mayor Nick Smith joins us.

The town of Rakaia has a population just shy of seventeen hundred people. Nestled in the vast Canterbury plains, it's flanked by the Southern Alps, with a stunning braided river and a very long bridge, But what's the story of the name Rakaia? Let's find out with RNZ Producer Justine Murray and this week's episode of the podcast NAU MAI TOWN.

When you think of walking sticks or canes - generally quite functional images come to mind. But walking sticks can be so much more than utilitarian. Our next guest certainly thinks so. Renowned furniture and industrial designer Keiji Takeuchi - who is Japanese-born, Milan-Based, New Zealand bred and Paris educated - has brought together nineteen examples of walking sticks and canes, all made by leading designers for a new exhibition at Auckland's Object Space. The exhibition, which runs until the 30th of August, is all about broadening our awareness of this essential and expressive tool.

We're going to talk pay equity now, because a new podcast is looking into the Government's controversial decision to overhaul the pay equity regime. As a result of that decision, dozens of active pay equity claims were cancelled. Labour has said, if elected, the pay equity conversation will be back on the table, so it seems this issue might not be going away anytime soon. Shortchanged is a four-part podcast trying to make a serious issue entertaining and educational. Project Gender's Ange Meyer is gender equity specialist and hosts Shortchanged joins Perlina.

Tomorrow the cost of posting a letter will shoot up yet again. NZ Post is increasing standard mail letter prices by 70 cents, meaning a medium-sized letter will cost $3.60, a large letter $4.90, and an oversize letter $6.20. NZ Post says it's facing rising costs and needs to keep their services reliable, but critics say the price rises are coming at the same time as postal services are becoming less accessible, especially for rural communities. We'd love to know what you think about the price rises, but also how often you post mail, 2101 on the text machine. To tell us how the price changes impact those who live and work rurally, Perlina is joined by Sandra Kirby, Chief Executive of Rural Women New Zealand.

Olympian, former Auckland mayor and founder of Les Mills gyms, Les Mills Snr has died aged 91. We talk to his son Phillip Mills about the legacy he leaves behind.

There's no doubt it is hard work owning and running a restaurant, the recent spate of hospitality closures are a very bleak reminder of that. So how do you make it work in 2026 when more people than ever seem unable to make ends meet? We chat to Sean Yarborough from Auckland's Broke Boy Taco.

Afternoons TV critic Caitlin Cherry is with Emile to share what she's been watching: Stalked (Neon) Pernille (Netflix) 5 Seasons

It's time for our weekly expert feature where we select a subject and put your questions to the people who know it best. Today we're talking about flowers - specifically the native flowers of Aotearoa. We're lucky enough to have so many beautiful native species in New Zealand, in fact our guest today reckons there's approximately 2200 of them. It's Victoria University Emeritus Professor of Botany Philip Garnock-Jones, author of the Ockham Award-winning book "He Puawai: A Natural History of New Zealand Flowers". If you have questions for Philip send them through to 2101.

Grab your shades and a pack of gum, because it's time for our Monday afternoon clubbing session. Each week we visit a club or society around the country. If you have one that you think Emile should join, then please do get in touch. 2101 on text or [email protected]. This week Emile is joined by Chantelle Gerrard from the NZ branch of the SCA.

Our favourite Australian Brad Foster is with Emile to share what's hitting the headlines across the Tasman. This week he chats about NSW Government's decision around shark prevention and what on earth is going on at Channel Nine?

Wallace Chapman and Emile Donovan 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.

Nicola Toki and Emile chat all things Critter of the Week! Today's critter is a freshwater flounder that looks like it's been painted with red and black flames, the black flounder, one of Aotearoa's most colourful native fish.

Tony Murrell from Murrell Gardening is with Emile to share some tips and tricks to making roses bloom.

Fridays mean food here on Afternoons. Hospitality extraordinaire and Auckland Council's Kitchen Project Manager Connie Clarkson is here with me to share a delicious recipe. 

The Veils - fronted by Finn Andrews join Emile.

Afternoons critic Kate Rodger is with Emile in the Auckland studio with some school holiday films to review. Minions versus Monsters Super Girl

Sandi from Auckland shares her spooky story with Emile.

Dr Malcolm Jorgensen Macolm is from the Max Planck Institute for Comparative Public Law and International Law in Heidelberg Germany, and he chats to Emile.

Self-confessed cycling fanatic and Army veteran Clive Phillips joins Emile.

Two fans on the ground in Vancouver join Emile Donovan- to tell us what it's like to be there and their reckons ahead of kick off tomorrow.