Rnz: Afternoons With Jesse Mulligan

The menu has been reimagined through the contemporary lens that head chef Max Gordy has become known for. He spoke to Jesse.

Associate Professor Laura Revell spoke to Jesse about the research.

Critter of the week is the New Zealand Backswimmer! This week's critter is a common inhabitant of ponds. You may have seen them before, swimming under the surface upside down! The New Zealand backswimmer is cute little bug shaped like a boat with oars for legs. They are voracious predators, eating anything they can get their straw like mouthpart in to suck up the juicy insides. Males will court females by singing to them, using a special part of the foreleg which they drag on a part of their mouth to create a chirping noise. How romantic!

Gardening guru Lynda Hallinan brings along some tips for being outdoors this weekend.

Alice Taylor is a trained pastry chef & former Masterchef contestant. She shares her Nana's recipe for Fijian Chicken Curry.

Our film regular Dom Corry reviews Australian shark and serial killer thriller Dangerous Animals, romantic drama Materialists starring Dakota Johnson, Chris Evans and Pedro Pascal, and live action remake How to Train Your Dragon, all three of which are new in theatres this week.

Each week, we ask you the listeners to tell us about your strange, unexplainable, and coincidental experiences. 2101 is the text number if you have a story of your own, or if it requires a bit more detail you can email afternoons@rnz.co.nz. Today stand-up host Perlina Lau speaks to John who has a friend that relayed a strange night in the Otago town of Saint Bathans.

Who knew that the world's only artificial gut manufacturer was based in Auckland? When we found out, we just had to learn more. Garth Sutherland is CEO at The Insides Company and tells Perlina Lau all about prosthetic intestines.

Daniel Rankin runs one of New Zealand's most successful baking Instagram pages - Man Can Cook. He takes an Only Fans approach...Mixing recipes with shirtess photos, pouring stuff over his abs, and cute photos of his pug Fraser. And for the next month he's bringing those skills to the Starship Hospital's Big Bakeoff. Daniel speaks to Perlina.

Sixteen-year-old Tyler Parkinson was always going to be a firefighter. Throughout his childhood, Tyler would spend time admiring his firefighter parents Nicole and Tony and their colleagues at Taradale Fire Station in Napier. Since qualifying in March, year 12-student Tyler has already attended to emergencies with his parents. Tyler and Nicole Parkinson speak to Perlina Lau.

Since the launch of ChatGPT in November 2022, artificial intelligence has gone from strength to strength. We are now at the point where it is threatening to displace whole occupations and take over many tasks from humans. But how did we get to this point? Today, Jesse and Grant discuss the history of AI.

It's another instalment of Solving the World's Problems, where Dave Armstrong gives their reckons on the issues of the day in today's edition.

New Zealand rugby lost another great this week with Stu Wilson dying at the age of 70. For most of his career, Stu served as a winger, playing 85 games for the All Blacks and almost 200 for Wellington. He scored 19 test tries in that time. Off the field he was known for his colourful sense of humour and was later praised for his match commentary. Following his death, Stu's one-time teammate Murray Mexted said he "lived life with a smile on his face". Sports journalist and broadcaster Phil Gifford joins Jesse to look back at Stu Wilson's career.

RNZ newsreader reviews Lost Boys and Bush Deep!

Rather than being cognitive extensions of our minds, our smartphones are parasites devices designed to steal our, money and data - says a team of Australian philosophers. A recent paper in the Australasian Journal of Philosophy argues smartphones pose unique societal risks to humanity - all while benefiting technology companies and advertisers. Rachael Brown Director is Associate Professor of Philosophy at Australian National University. She co-authored the research and says when viewed through the lens of evolution, our phones aren't much different to head lice, ticks, fleas and tapeworms.

South Westland Salmon Farm on State Highway 6 is surrounded by mountains, rivers and valleys. Whoever buys the farm from the Monk family will get an off-the-shelf salmon farm business complete with cafe with a commercial kitchen, gift shop and office space. The current owner is Ben Monk and he joins Jesse.

Yesterday morning, the National Library of New Zealand began the process of destroying half a million books and says they're going to be shredded and fed back into the recycling system. The library claims they've been trying to re-home them since 2018, that there's no demand, and that most haven't been requested in decades. Book dealer and Hard To Find Books owner Warwick Jordan disputes this. There is a demand, he says. In fact, he wants them himself, and says he's already made several offers. Warwick Jordan and National Library director of content services Mark Crookston speak to Jesse.

Late last year an unprecedented number of green sea turtles, or honu, washed up on New Zealand’s coastline. Many were nursed back to health and released back into the wild – and some were returned carrying special hardware that could help change the way we care for these ocean taonga On Our Changing World today, Liz Garton meets with the people behind the project…

Revenge is front and center in American politics as the world witnesses the bitter break up of Elon Musk and US President Trump. Revenge is an addiction says Dr. James Kimmel Jr who knows the impulse to get your own back having spent 20 years in what he calls the business of revenge as a lawyer. Now as a professor in psychiatry at the Yale School of Medicine, he studies revenge and his new book The Science of Revenge: Understanding the World's Deadliest Addiction and How to Overcome It is out now. James Kimmel Jr speaks to Jesse. [picture id="4K5ZDLC_e1e279ca_608f_48b9_b22e_478faf771983_jfif" crop="16x10" layout="full"]

Violinist and musical director Peau Halapua talks to Jesse about her life, career, and favourite things.