Rnz: Afternoons With Jesse Mulligan

It's time for Heading Off, our weekly travel segment where we jet around the world gathering tips and tricks for your future holidays. Do let us know if you've been on an interesting journey recently, we'd love to hear from you, 2101. Today we're keeping it in the family with host of RNZ's award-winning podcast The Detail, Amanda Gillies. Amanda has been on a cruise. 14 family members, all ages, one ship - what could possibly go wrong?

Our Changing World's Claire Concannon chats to Jesse with the latest on the Kakapo Files plus she explains what e-textiles and sensing materials are and how they could change the fashion industry.

Flooding, landslides, wild winds, these extreme weather events can leave many of you feeling overwhelmed about the state of our climate and what we could be facing in the future. But help could be at hand. The Climatics is a new people-powered climate fund that says it'll offer a practical way to take action by pooling money from everyday Kiwis and directing those funds to the climate groups doing systems-change work in Aotearoa. The Climatics co-founders Pip Wheaton and MJ Bethell chat to Jesse.

Globally, Monarch butterfly numbers are in sharp decline with populations in the United States dropping by as much as 96 percent. The outlook isn't good for Monarchs in New Zealand either. fortunately there are New Zealanders keen to change that. Franklin Farm in Auckland's Waimauku has been growing celery for nearly 120 years. When the team began noticing fewer butterflies in their fields they decided to transform part of the farm into a dedicated butterfly breeding programme Jasmine Franklin helps run Franklin Farm, she chats to Jesse.

How we shop could be about to change dramatically, thanks to an AI innovation. Agentic AI can give recommendations and complete commercial transactions on your behalf - without you ever having to visit a business website directly. Here to explain how it could work is Stuff Money Editor, Damien Venuto

We're going to start today's show discussing New Zealand's dog problem and what can be done about it. The death of a Northland women after a fatal dog attack is the latest in a long list of dog-related incidents around the country So how did we get here and what needs to change so these attacks don't become more commonplace?

Spymaster George Smiley was at the breakfast-table for Nick Harkaway growing up. His father, John le Carré, born David Cornwell, would draft the Circus's latest intrigues on scraps of paper at dawn and read them aloud over tea and toast. It was an apprenticeship in spymasters and writing. Five years after le Carré's death, Smiley lives on in a play on London's West End and in new novels written by Harkaway himself including a 2024 revival with another on the way.

Tuesdays means our regular weekly segment 'You're the Judge' where we read out an irk and get your feedback on it. Today's question is about proposals - and whether our correspondent Scott should propose to his girlfriend at their friends' wedding. Text 2101 with yes, no or just to let us know what you think!

Tim Batt is with Jesse to discuss what's got people talking in the tech world, today he's looking into advancements in batteries and the new incoming low cost MacBook.

Claire Mabey joins Jesse to review the following books: Stepping Up by David Hill Lyrical Ballads by Bill Manhire What to Wear by Jenny Bornholdt

It's time for Mayoral minutes, our weekly segment 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 Jesse's home town, the beautiful Kirikiriroa Hamilton and Mayor Tim Macindoe.

Happy Lunar New Year! Yes, billions of people around the world are welcoming the Lunar New Year from today. This year is Year of the Horse, but 2026 is also the Year of the Fire Horse. To explain what that means and what festivities are planned, RNZ Asia's Ruth Kuo chats to Jesse.

For decades, researchers have noted that Alzheimer's disease and cancer rarely occur in the same person, sparking speculation that one may protect against the other Now, scientists have identified a protein produced by cancer cells that appears to shield the brain from Alzheimer's, at least in mice, offering new clues to the link between the two diseases. Dr Donald Weaver is a Professor of Chemistry and Senior Scientist of the Krembil Research Institute. He chats to Jesse

New Zealand teen running prodigy Sam Ruthe is living proof that athletic talent can run deep in the family At just 16 Sam has been in the news lots for his talent after smashing the under 18 indoor mile world record, but he's not the only star in his household... Sam's younger sister Daisy, age 14, won the NZ women's under-20 3000m race at the Porritt Classic over the weekend. Sam and Daisy's parents and grandparents are no strangers to success on the track either. So how much of their success is down to genetics? To find out Sam and Daisy's dad Ben Ruthe joins Jesse Mulligan

A new report that sets out an "affordable" plan to tackle New Zealand's infrastructure has just been released. It was written by the Infrastructure Commission, and it covers all aspects of infrastructure from water pipes, roads, power lines, hospitals and schools to courts. In the 200 plus page report, there are 16 recommendations and 10 priorities for the next ten years. RNZ Political reporter Anneke Smith joins Jesse to discuss it.

The wild weather that caused chaos in the North Island has turned its attention South and Banks Peninsula seems to be bearing the brunt. A Local State of Emergency has been declared there but widespread flooding and gusts over 100km/h have been reported in Canterbury. We go to Wainui, a small settlement in Banks Peninsula where local resident Lawrence Smith is locate

Long before we know what social status is, we know how it works. There's always a popular crowd from the playground to the office and everyone knows who's in and who is out. Toby Stuart is a Professor of Business Administration at University of California, Berkeley. He argues that instinct about social status never leaves us. It becomes the invisible architecture of adult life directing attention, opportunity, and reward in ways that have little to do with fairness or talent. It shapes what we admire, what we buy, even what we believe is good. But as algorithms increasingly rank, rate, and recommend on our behalf, the old status ladders may be wobbling. His latest book explores how power and prestige really work and what happens when the system starts to shift. It's called Anointed: The Extraordinary Effects of Social Status in a Winner-Take-Most World,

Afternoons TV Critic Dominic Corry reviews: Small Town Scandal - Sky/NEON The Beauty - Disney+

But is the space in space infinite? What happens when satellites stop working? As the saying goes, what goes up, must come down, so will we see more space junk landing on earth? Here to help answer those questions and more, Jesse is joined by Dr Samantha Lawler, professor of astronomy at the University of Regina in Canada, and Erskine Fellow for the University of Canterbury.

Brad Foster joins Jesse to talk about what's going on across the Tasman. Today he's looking at the news that State of Origin is coming to Auckland plus other stories of interest.