Rnz: Afternoons With Jesse Mulligan

Culture 101 host Perlina Lau and Afternoons Senior Producer Olivia Wilson talk to Jesse about how you maintain a family brand, why you can't fire your siblings and why actors keep getting plastic surgery.

The Grammy winning music producer talks to Jesse about a fundraiser for not-for-profit initiative Big Fan.

Chef Darren Jarrett reveals he's much more than that in his soon-to-be-released cookbook.

Andrew Patterson is a Professional Teaching Fellow in the Department of Management and International Business at the University of Auckland. He chats to Jesse.

Self-help isn't helping one of the biggest problems of our time: we've forgotten how to come together. Priya Parker has written a Substack guide on the lost art of coming together.

It's Wednesday which means time to talk Easy Eat, where we share a recipe that delivers on taste without demanding too much time. 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 on the show we're heading off to Southeast Asia - not Vietnam, not Thailand, but the quieter, lesser-known neighbour. Laos is the only landlocked country in Southeast Asia, home to the Mekong River, French-style baguettes, and some of the most laid-back people you'll meet. Travel writer Jane Daniell has written a four-part series about travelling there on her website My Travel Room.

A new photography book has captured the incredible hidden world of New Zealand fungi Paula Vigus provided the acclaimed photography for the best-selling book - 'Fungi of Aotearoa: A curious forager's field guide' and she's back with her own book 'A Hidden World - Discovering the Beauty of New Zealand Fungi' Paula Vigus joins Jesse.

The Food Factory in Stoke is an initiative that's helped out dozens of small food businesses over the past five years. But now, due to rising costs and less demand, it's shutting up shop. Pic's Peanut Butter founder Pic Picot started The Food Factory. He chats to Jesse.

This year marks the 30th anniversary of Shakti NZ - an organisation that's transformed the lives of thousands of migrant and refugee women and children. Founded by Farida Sultana it provides a culturally aware space for women and children experiencing domestic violence Today they are celebrating with an event at parliament, but Farida has taken some time out to come and talk to us.

If you thought yesterday's wind was bad, with gusts well over 110Km/h in parts of the country, well brace yourselves for tomorrow. The MetService says winds could reach up to 150 km an hour, issuing red strong wind warnings for parts of the country, red warnings are the most severe. Adding to that, we've seen wildfires popping up in many regions, which could only get worse with high winds. So how do you prepare for high winds? And wildfires?

The Pre-Panel for October 21, 2025

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 - it's about being late, and whether it is okay to be told the wrong time to make sure you are on time!

History shows that civilizations succeed in many different ways, but they tend to fail in strikingly similar ones. Again and again, societies rise, overextend themselves, and ultimately unravel says Dr Luke Kemp. He's a research affiliate at the Center for Study of Existential Risk at Darwin College at the University of Cambridge. He argues that societal collapse has not only defined our past but will shape our future. He lays out the urgent lessons our perilous century must learn before it's too late. It's called Goliath's Curse: The History and Future of Societal Collapse.

Australia Prime Minister Anthony Albanese had to wait ten months for an in person bilateral meeting with US President Donald Trump, but it looks like it was worth the wait. Here to tell us what happened and what the meeting means for Australia is our friend from across the Tasman, TVNZ's 1News Australia Correspondent Jacob Johnson.

Last week we were hit with the news Former Prime Minister Jim Bolger had died aged 90. The eagle eyed amongst you probably noticed that this was accompanied by the New Zealand flag moving to half mast around the country. A fitting tribute, but one that left us with some questions about flags...like who decides when they go half mast? Jesse is joined by Dr Malcolm Mulholland, PhD in 'flags and national identity'

We're talking podcasts now and our regular critic Jemima Huston has picked a couple of really interesting looking ones for us. Who Killed Emma? BBC Scotland Dancing with Shadows Stak.

Remember the good old days when you could pop into your local video store to rent the latest movie on DVD? It's a distant memory for most of us since streaming giants changed the way we watch things. But did we ditch DVDs too quickly? Peter Tonks co-owns Christchurch-based Alice In Videoland, which is a DVD rental store that also has a national mail-out service.

It is often said that there is no better education than travel. Being able to see different places and people is one of the best ways to truly understand other cultures or ways of the world. But travel is expensive - even within our own country. Fortunately, our kids can go on virtual field trips which means they don't have to miss out. LEARNZ Field trip Kaiarahia Andrew Penny joins Jesse to explain how.

As you no doubt have seen in the news, eight priceless Napoleonic jewels were stolen from the Louvre. The burglary is like something out of a movie; the thieves brought their own lift .. rode it up to window .. stole the jewels and escaped .. all in broad daylight. We have been gripped by this story .. because if this can happen at the world's most popular museum .. could it happen here? Jesse talks to investigative crime writer and heist expert Scott Bainbridge.