Rnz: Afternoons With Jesse Mulligan

Time for Freaky Friday! Because today is the Halloween - the spookiest of all days - we've put together a special treat for you; we've got not one, not two, but three ghost stories coming up across the next couple of hours. Not all the Freaky Friday submissions we get are ghosts, but come on, it's Halloween, how could we not?!

Sid Sahrawat is an award-winning chef behind Cassia and The French Café in Auckland. It's been a big year for Sid. Earlier in the year he hosted a tour to India, and he's already sold out the 2026 tour. Throughout October he's been serving a specially designed menu in celebration of Diwali. Sid Sahrawat joins Jesse to talk all things food and shares this recipe for mango burfi.

A couple of weeks ago we started a conversation about the gene tech bill that it seems scientists and politicians can't agree on. We spoke to Andrew Allan, a Professor at Auckland University's School of Biological Sciences who is also a principal scientist at Plant and Food Research. After our chat we still had questions, and it turns out, so did many of you, Some of you got in touch wanting to know more about the risks and how valid concerns about the bill are. Jack Heinemann is a Professor at Canterbury University's School of Biological Sciences and joins me now.

The royal family has stripped Prince Andrew of his royal titles and ordered him to leave his 30-room residence, after intensifying pressure over his association with disgraced financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. So what happens now and what does this mean for the future of the monarchy? Royal commentator Juliet Rieden talks to Jesse.

A couple of weeks ago we spoke to former firefighter Bevin James about the 2026 edition of the Kiwi Firefighters calendar. But that's not the only firefighting calendar doing the rounds, because this week female career firefighters have launched their own one. It's all in an effort to raise money for the charity, Breast Cancer Cure. Only 6% of New Zealand's career firefighters are female - Samara Pepperall is one of them - and she joins Jesse.

As many of you will know, we're at that time of year where secondary schools appoint their prefects for the coming year. Which got Dr Grant Morris thinking about prefects and how we ended up with the concept in NZ schools.

Steve Wyn-Harris is with Jesse to focus on solving the world's problems, today he's focusing on the positive side of life, because to quote NZ's greatest philosopher, Fred Dagg, "we don't know how lucky we are".

Very few people make it to five Olympic games. Even fewer make it to six. But that's a feat that para-alpine skier Adam Hall is set to achieve next year, when he competes at the 2026 Milano Cortina Paralympic Winter games. Whilst he's there he'll be looking to add to his tally of two Paralympic golds and three bronze. He joins Jesse for Sporting History.

It's time for our relationships segment - Professor Kirsty Ross from Massey University's School of Psychology joins us fortnightly to share her advice on how to navigate some of life's difficult moments. Today we turn our attention to coping with trauma from massive weather events, and what a divorce can mean for a friend group.

On Friday the 28th of November five of our finest chefs will join forces as part of the Chef's Health & Allergy Awareness Kai event. They'll present a six-course Pasifika-inspired, plant-based menu that's designed to raise awareness for health-conscious, allergy-friendly dining. It's all been put together by Ana Ma'ilei Savio, founder of Gia's Grab & Go catering.

A couple of weeks ago Jesse spoke to a woman named Mychelle for our Freaky Friday segment. She shared a story about her Dad, who migrated to New Zealand from Bulgaria post-World War II and wound up in a displaced persons camp. Lots of you got in touch during and after that conversation about displaced persons, so we did a bit more digging. Mychelle is involved with a project called 'Untold Stories', which is slowly bringing together Kiwis with migrant parents who spent time in these camps. Tania Kopytko is the leader on the project, and she chats to Jesse.

New Zealand has signed an agreement to streamline its halal certification processes, aiming to expand exports to Malaysian markets The Prime Minister noted there are opportunities to capitalise on the halal economy beyond the meat industry, highlighting potential growth in halal-compliant areas like cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, speciality ingredients, and tourism services. The global halal market is estimated to be worth more than two trillion US dollars To discuss the halal- economy in more detail, Imraan Ali talks to Jesse. Imraan is the General Manager of FIANZ Business - that's the national body that represents the Muslim community in New Zealand

It's time to talk science with Our Changing World host Claire Concannon. Claire follows scientists into the bush, over rivers, back to their labs and many places in-between to cover the most fascinating research. This week she's been talking to a team developing a device to help with search and rescue.

One sentence sums up what Nate Soares thinks about artificial intelligence. If anyone builds it, everyone dies. Soares is the President of the Machine Intelligence Research Institute and has worked as an engineer at Microsoft and Google. He says it's a good bet that someone born today has a better chance of dying from something AI does rather than finishing high school. Soares is convinced that once AI exceeds human intelligence, it will not be controllable, and the unintended consequences could be catastrophic. Soares is the co-author of a book that explains why he is firmly on the side of the AI doomsayers. It's called, If Anybody Builds It, Everyone Dies: Why Superhuman AI Would Kill Us All.

Our regular Easy Eats contributor Kelly Gibney is away so we've got the talented Olivia Galletly also known as The Hungry Cook, joining us. Today she's sharing her recipe for Cheats Ricotta & Leek Soufflé Fluffy and cheesy with tender and sweet leeks, this baked ricotta dish almost feels like a soufflé - without all the work. Great for a summer lunch or weeknight dinner. I like to serve it with a punchy green salad and grilled toast or boiled new potatoes.

Today we're going to Egypt as a project over 30 years in the making is about to be completed. It's the brand-new Grand Egyptian Museum in Giza. It was announced in 1992, construction began in 2005, and 20 years and 1 billion dollars later, it's finally ready to be opened to the public. Robyn Galloway is managing director of Innovative Travel, and she's just returned from Cairo.

Towards the end of November, the 12th iteration of the 'Godzone' adventure race will take place. It involves up to 100 teams of four who have to navigate about 600 kilometres of terrain by hiking, biking, kayaking and packrafting. People from around the world travel here to compete, but this year a team from Kaikoura will become the youngest ever to take part. 17-year-old Isabelle Schwarzenbach is one of them, she chats to Jesse.

It's not often you get to say you've found 40 new species in one go - but that's exactly what a group of Kiwi scientists has done in Fiordland with the discovery of new marine sponges. The finding came as a huge surprise to Professor James Bell, a marine biologist from Victoria University, who says the results exceeded all expectations. He joins Jesse.

State Highway 73 South of Lake PearsonPhoto: Andrew Johnstone Some parts of Southland are still without power after last week's wild weather, and there hasn't been much of a respite this week with temperatures that have felt more like winter than spring, along with cold winds, heavy rain and even snow! So is this an indication of what we can expect in the future - big weather events becoming more regular and normalised? And what part does climate change play in all this? 2024 New Zealander of the year Dr Jim Salinger has spent almost 50 years advancing climate science; he is recognised as one of the first scientists to address global warming. He joins Jesse.

Okay lovely listeners, it's Tuesday, which means we need your help. You see we've got a new segment called 'You're the Judge' where we present an issue that's been sent in by one of our listeners, and you, our audience, decide what the right course of action is. If you've got an irk you'd like resolved, please do email me jesse@afternoons.co.nz Today's problem is one that we think will resonate with many of you ... is it okay to ask someone where they are from?