Rnz: Afternoons With Jesse Mulligan

Emile Donovan steps in for Wallace Chapman to co-star with Jesse Mulligan star in the shortest show on radio. They show they really can make something out of nothing. Join them to be part of their delight, or to simply despair.

We hear it all the time, that the secret to creativity and innovation is the ability to think outside the box. We live in a culture built around endless choice and the idea that the perfect one is out there if we just keep searching long enough. But all that searching can come at a cost. Science writer and journalist David Epstein says more and more research is showing that too much freedom can be well, too much and guardrails are essential for success. In his new book, Epstein highlights the unexpected creative power of boundaries, ordinary ambitions, and the obstacles we usually try to avoid. The book is called Inside the Box: How Constraints Make Us Better.

Every Tuesday here on Afternoons we play You're the Judge - we put an issue to you, our listeners, and get your help in resolving it. This week we're asking whether different ideologies should mean the end of friendship. We love your thoughts on 2101 or afternoons@rnz.co.nz

Tuesdays are when we talk tech. Our expert Tim Batt is here to share what's happening in the world of technology and today he's turning his attention to AI which is back in the headlines thanks to Pope Leo's first major teaching document and the Government's proposed job cuts in the public sector.

Afternoons Book Critic Catherine Ross (who's the Director of Library at Auckland Grammar School) joins us with her suggestions for younger readers: For Ages 6-11+ The Enchanted Wood (The Far Away Tree Book 1) by Enid Blyton Published in 1939 (!!) For Ages 11/12+ Small Wonder by Ross Montgomery Published in 2026 For Ages 13+ A Deadly Education (The Scholomance Book 1) by Naomi Novik Published in 2020 For Ages 14-16+ The Poppy Wars (Book 1 of a Trilogy) by R.F. Kuang Published in 2018

Christchurch City Councillors have this morning agreed to contribute an extra 15 million dollars to the rebuild of the Christ Church cathedral. The rebuild of the earthquake-damaged cathedral has been on hold since 2024 because of a funding shortfall of around 45 million dollars. The fate of the cathedral has divided opinion across the city and beyond for a long time, some believe it should be restored, saying it's an important part of the city's history, while others say it's a waste of money and resources. Joining Jesse with the latest is Mark Stewart, Director of the Christ Church Cathedral Reinstatement.

It's time for Mayoral minutes our regular 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 the capital Wellington, from where Mayor Andrew Little joins Jesse.

A short intervention that has proven effective in robust trials overseas for post-traumatic stress disorder is now available in New Zealand. Written Exposure Therapy involves only five 30-minute sessions of writing about the traumatic experience with supervision of a trained professional, says lead researcher Professor Bruce Arroll. He explains to Jesse why this is a big deal.

The news that a surf photographer at Raglan had been nibbled by a sea creature, led me to ask you on the show yesterday, what have you been bitten by. Well, it turns out lots of you have been bitten by lots of things we got inundated with your stories, we had tiger bites, sea lions, weta, scorpions, monkeys, the list goes on and on. So today we thought we should talk to an expert about bites, Infectious Disease and Travel Health specialist Dr Marc Shaw chats to Jesse.

Creative New Zealand has announced sweeping changes to the way arts funding will be distributed around the country, a move some people are calling the biggest shake-up to the sector in decades. The organisation says their new regional partnerships model will create stronger local arts networks and improve access to funding, particularly outside the main centres. But critics fear the move could make funding less accessible for independent artists and smaller organisations and create uncertainty across an already stretched sector. To help explain the changes, Jesse is joined by arts journalist and commentator Mark Amery.

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.

Women carry most of the mental load at home, the remembering, planning, organizing, and anticipating everyone else's needs. For years, Sociologist Dr Leah Ruppanner from the University of Melbourne has researched the invisible work that keeps family life running. She says the endless to-do list is not the heaviest part, it's the emotional thinking and constant effort to make sure everyone is happy and able to follow their dreams that takes its toll. Dr Ruppanner helps women understand where their time and attention is really going and offers practical ways to ease the constant pressure in her new book, Drained: Reduce Your Mental Load To Do Less And Be More.

Afternoons Critic Dominic Corry shares what he's been watching: Widow's Bay (Apple TV) Hacks - final season (Hayu) Malcolm in the Middle (Disney+)

Earlier this year we were joined by University of Auckland cognitive neuroscientist Professor Paul Corballis. He answered your questions on perception and how our brains work, which is such a big subject we barely scratched the surface in that session. So we've invited him back, but this time the focus is on phantom sensations .. like why amputees feel pain, and why we sometimes feel out phone vibrate in our pocket, even when it's not there. Get your questions in to 2101 or Jesse@rnz.co.nz

Brad Foster is our man in Australia and he joins Jesse to talk about what's hitting the headlines over there.

For 20 years, all from the comfort of a makeshift desk at her Doubtless Bay cottage, Annette Hall has been keeping boaties in the Far North safe. Last week, the volunteer radio operator signed off for the last time, and we wanted to meet the woman affectionally known as "Mum" by the boaties.

These awards have been running since 1994, and they're considered one of the highest forms of recognition in the Kiwi technology industry. Tim Young is the founder of Access Quest, and he's been at work finding newer, safer, more accessible means of travel for people with disabilities. He chats to Tim.

The World Surf League's New Zealand Pro event in Raglan was put on hold this morning after a photographer was attacked while in the water. The photographer is okay, they're reported to be in "good spirits" and is being treated for small puncture wounds at the hospital. We wanted to learn a bit more about the conditions in Raglan and how safe it is to go in the water, so Jese is joined by environmental scientist and eCoast managing director Dr Shaw Mead.

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.

Nicola Toki joins Jesse to talk about this week's critter of the week - net-building caddisfly. New Zealand has a little over 200 known species of caddisflies, which create filter-feeding nets out of silk to catch their food.