Rnz: Afternoons With Jesse Mulligan

At least one in five of us have high blood pressure but most of us don't know we have it. Untreated, it can lead to serious problems like stroke, heart attack and kidney failure. Which makes a new discovery by researchers at Waipapa Taumata Rau, University of Auckland all the more exciting. Professor Julian Paton was involved in the research and spoke to Jesse.

Warning: This conversation covers the issue of suicide. Yesterday we spoke to Laura Reiley, a writer at Cornell University whose only child died by suicide after suffering from anxiety and depression. Laura shared her daughter Sophie's story in an essay for The New York Times because while she had been seeing a human therapist, Sophie had also turned to a therapy chatbot for help between sessions and it was the chatbot that she confided in when she chose to end her life. After that interview, we received an email telling us about ANTSA - a digital tool for mental health professionals that supports clients between sessions. Clinical Psychologist Sally-Anne McCormack is behind this project. Mental health Need to Talk? Free call or text 1737 any time to speak to a trained counsellor, for any reason. Lifeline: 0800 543 354 or text HELP to 4357. Suicide Crisis Helpline: 0508 828 865 / 0508 TAUTOKO. This is a service for people who may be thinking about suicide, or those who are concerned about family or friends. D

Amazon has officially opened its new Auckland data centres today - claiming the move will add 10.8 billion dollars to the economy and mean a thousand full time jobs. Those are some massive numbers, so we wanted to find out more. To understand how significant this deal is Futurist and CEO of Gorilla Technology Paul Spain chats to Jesse.

More and more, people are turning to artificial intelligence for companionship and even therapy. 29-year-old Sophie Rottenberg did. 

After more than nine decades in Auckland's Queens Arcade, Marbecks, one of Aotearoa's most well-known retailers will be closing the doors of its physical store. But it's not saying goodbye. Robert Marbeck chats to Jesse about how the store is evolving.

Each week on a Monday we take a deep dive into an issue with the help of an expert. Today we're talking to Guyon Espiner about political interviews - what is considered a "good" one and how to get the most out of our politicians. Please send in any questions you have for Guyon - 2101.

We love a cold call here on Afternoons, it keeps us, and you, well and truly on our toes. For those keeping track, we've been through all the iSites of New Zealand, a sample of iwi radio stations and today we're going to call a Citizen's Advice Bureau. There are still so many citizen advice bureaus throughout the country - staffed by good people who are keen to help others hopefully they're also keen to help me and chat - let's try Dargaville.

Fans of the Thursday Murder Club books are in for a treat, the movie of the first story has just been released on Netflix. It features a star studded cast Helen Mirren, Pierce Brosnan, Celia Imrie and Ben Kinglsey but does it live up to the books? Our TV critic Linda Burgess reviews that and Love it or List it NZ on TVNZ and TVNZ+.

It's the 1st of September which means Spring has officially sprung! Although we're not sure the weather has caught up with the news. Traditionally spring is all about getting back into the garden and this year the focus seems to be on modern meadow gardens. Mitre 10 Garden Operations Specialist Craig Clancy joins Jesse with tips and tricks.

Here in New Zealand one in 10 of us lives alone. Performer and theatre academic Dr James Wenley is one of them, and he explores the concept of loneliness in an incredibly intimate way in his new one-man show 'a show for when you feel lonely'. It's debuting as part of the biennial TAHI solo-performance festival. You can find all ticket info here.

The Government will provide up to $30 million in loans for struggling regional airlines as it intervenes with a "one-off" move to prevent more air routes from being cut. Carriers including Air Chathams and Sounds Air had been calling for a loan scheme for months amid a period of skyrocketing operating costs. Air Chathams Chief Executive Officer Duane Emeny explains what this will mean for regional airlines, and their passengers.

Critter of the Week merch is back!  THE LINK TO ORDER A BAG, A TEE OR A HOODIE IS HERE! That's right, you can proudly show off your favourite endangered critter. Orders close on October 6th, with delivery in mid-November. THE LINK TO ORDER A BAG, A TEE OR A HOODIE IS HERE Remember to measure your size because this is all about pre-ordering to fit. $5 from every product goes straight to local conservation heroes - together Critter of the Week purchases have already raised an incredible $36,881! Thanks so much to our friends at Joyya for helping make this happen. Joyya is a fair-trade certified factory looking to spark good in places of extreme poverty and modern slavery.

It's a messy looking weekend of weather for most of us so what better time to do some thinking about design and decorating, award winning interior designer - and design teacher - Sylvia Sandford is with me to answer any of your questions.

Kara Rickard host of Music 101 shares what's happening on the music scene over the weekend, what's coming up on her show tomorrow and because Friday is new music day - she'll pick us a track to play.

Yellow Brick Road's Martin Bosley joins Jesse and has a superb recipe to share banana, macadamia and miso cake!

Film critic Dominic Corry is here to tell us about Caught Stealing and Relay, both in cinemas now.

Time for Freaky Friday, our place for your stories of the supernatural. We're talking the unexplained, occult, serendipitous, you get the idea. 

Jill Visser and Eraena Catsburg chat to Jesse about their wetland restoration project.

James Belich ONZM says recent cuts at the Ministry of Culture and Heritage are shortsighted.

Around six thousand babies are born premature each year in New Zealand, of those about one percent are very premature.