Rnz: Afternoons With Jesse Mulligan

A standout on this year's DocEdge Film Festival programme is 'A Quiet Love', which won the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Award at the Cannes Film Festival. The film follows three deaf couples - each from different backgrounds and circumstances - connecting through Irish sign language. The producers of the film Anne Heffernan and Seán Herlihy spoke to Jesse. The DocEdge Documentary Film Festival is underway in Auckland, and it'll be coming to Wellington and Christchurch from the 16th, and the rest of the country from the 28th.

There's a surprising trend gaining popularity in China, young women are hiring female cosplayers to play dream men. Cosplay is short for costume play - where people dress up in costumes and take on the persona of a fictional character. Jesse asks RNZ's digital journalist Yiting Lin why so many women are turning to "fantasy dates".

Emergency call operators have to be prepared for anything. It's an extremely demanding role that requires the steadiest of hands. Gemma Cale certainly has them. She's 30 years old and is coming up on 10 years working for Hato Hone St John. A couple of days ago in the early hours of the morning, Gemma helped a couple deliver their baby down the phone after they dialled 111. But it wasn't the first baby Gemma has helped bring into the worth... it was the 19th!

Today Mary is talking about Kiwisaver and how the Government can either hinder or help the scheme.

Elliot Child joins Jesse to talk about his podcast picks. City Arts & Lectures is a series of conversations in front of an audience which is then broadcast on radio and podcast by KQED in San Francisco. Conspirituality is about dismantling New Age cults, wellness grifters and exposing the overlap between right wing conspiracies and the wellness industry.

Prolific documentary-maker Shirley Horrocks talks to Jesse about her latest work, a documentary on Don McGlashan. Anchor Me - The Don McGlashan Story is the first feature length documentary made about him.

This is our sometimes-regular segment The A-Z of Aotearoa. So far we've covered Aviation & Billy T, so we're up to the letter C. Today we're looking at Captain Charles Hazlitt Upham, the Canterbury man who is New Zealand's most decorated soldier. For his efforts in WW2 he was awarded not one, but two Victoria Crosses, also known as the "VC" and "Bar". He was one of only three people world-wide to achieve the honour, and the only combat soldier.

What good is a Winter Festival without an ice rink? That's what engineer Neil Wilson of Hanmer Springs thought, so, he set about building one himself.

The big question when it comes to protecting our native insects is how to track them? Many of them are barely big enough to spot let alone carry a tracking device, but research from the University of Canterbury might have found the answer in harmonic radar. The project is led by Associate Professor Steve Pawson, he joined Jesse to explain how it could work.

Our Changing World heads to the Mackenzie region in the South Island to meet one of New Zealand’s rarest fish – the lowland longjaw galaxias.   Dean Nelson, a senior biodiversity ranger at the Department of Conservation, has been looking out for these tiny fish for two decades.   Producer Karthic SS has this story, and he joins Dean during one of his monitoring trips at a place called Fraser Stream, near Twizel. 

This is the story of a single flower that took Europe and America by storm. The exceptionally rare orchid, dubbed 'Cattleya labiata', had a striking purple and crimson bloom, and quickly became one of the most coveted flowers in the world. But where did it come from? Sarah Rilston traces the tale of the hunt to find out, highlighting the fragile ecologies on which both humans and plants depended.

David Burton has been writing about food for The Post, Cuisine Magazine and other outlets for over 40 years. He joins Jesse to share his favourite books, music and movies. We also got some restaurant picks out of him!

Wednesday means it's time for Easy Eats and this week Kelly Gibney shares her recipe for chicken and risoni soup with turmeric, lemon and rosemary. Click here for the recipe.

David Lees might not be the first person to ride a motorbike solo through Africa, but he didn't start his adventure until he held a Gold Card! He shares his travel stories with Jesse.

The University of Auckland's Professor Krushil Watene wants to shift the dial on how we measure progress, She says a Nature Relationship Index could concentrate on how well countries care for eco-systems, equitable access to nature and preventing environmental harm. She tells Jesse why it's time to reward positive action, rather than just recording decline.

Cycleways are often a hot button topic, but not in the Auckland district of Rodney, where plans are underway to build a 120k trail from Puhoi to Mangawhai for cycling, walking, running and even horse riding in some areas. Currently there are 23 'Great Rides' around the country, cycle trails that attract cycling tourism and stimulate local economies but none of them are in the Auckland Province. New Zealand marathon great Allison Roe is the founding Chairperson of the Matakana Coast Trail Trust, she spoke to Jesse about the issue.

What is the concert-going experience like for a deaf person? 

Wallace Chapman previews tonight's instalment of The Panel.

Some people are joiners, and some people feel like outsiders their whole lives. We grow up believing that belonging is everything, that happiness depends on finding our people, our tribe, our place in the crowd. But not fitting in is not a flaw says psychiatrist Dr Rami Kaminski. For 40 years he's seen patients who come to him yearning to be like other people, chasing a feeling at odds with their individuality. Dr Kaminksi says it can be a strength to embrace independent thinking and to stand a bit outside of the circle instead of always joining in. His new book is called The Gift of Not Belonging: How Outsiders Thrive in a World of Joiners. Take the quiz here

The NSW State Emergency Service has over 300 volunteers on stand-by around the state with concerns a "bomb cyclone" is intensifying off the coast. Plus, the jury is deliberating in the mushroom murder trial that's been dominating headlines, and news that celebrity chef Rick Stein is opening a new restaurant in Sydney.