Rnz: Afternoons With Jesse Mulligan

Time for heading off, our weekly travel segment where we hear from you - our afternoons listeners - about some of your amazing adventures. We've travelled the silk road, motorbiked around the world, and kayaked the Yukon. It's been a while since we've had a local adventure though, maybe you are an expert in exploring the West Coast cave systems or a Northland beach aficionado. Whether local or abroad if you've got a story to share, we'd love to hear from you Afternoons@rnz.co.nz. Today we're heading to the Autonomous Region of Bougainville. It's an area of Papua New Guinea that Sarah Togher became very familiar with whilst stationed there with VSA.

Every year the New Zealand Society of Authors gives out the President of Honour award. The award is to recognise contributions to writing and to the NZ literary scene. This year's recipient is child & young adult author Fleur Beale. Fleur has written more than 50 books, including I am not Esther, Juno of Taris and End of the Alphabet. Fleur chats to Jesse.

We have 55 thousand kilometres of paper roads across New Zealand. But in our team meeting we discovered that there was confusion about what paper roads are, and why they are important. To help give us the answers is Dot Dalziell, who's a regional field adviser with Herenga a Nuku Aotearoa - otherwise known as the Outdoor Access Commission.

A large study into avoidant and restrictive eating (which is an extreme form of picky eating) in children shows the issue is much more common than we thought. About 6% of children have ongoing restrictive eating patterns, and 2-3% meet the level of clinical concern. A cohort study of over 35 thousand children in Norway also found links between restrictive eating patterns and developmental & emotional difficulties. So how can parents tell the difference between relatively typical fussy eating and something more serious? And how can parents help their children develop healthy eating habits at a young age? Registered dietitian and co-founder of The Food Tree Rachael Wilson has developed a treatment model for children with avoidant and restrictive eating and chats to Jesse.

The pre-Panel Wallace Chapman previews tonight's instalment of The Panel.

Interesting people make interesting music. Warren Ellis is in a class of his own. He's a composer, multi-instrumentalist and longtime creative partner of gothic rock poet laureate Nick Cave. For more than 40 years Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds have challenged us with narrative-driven music that touches on love, death, and religion. Ellis is also the co-founder of Ellis Park, a sanctuary for wounded animals in Sumatra. He saves the animals, and he says, they saved him. The spirit of transformation runs through the band's latest album, Wild God. Ellis will be back in New Zealand with Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds for the first time since 2017 with The Wild God Tour as part of the Aotearoa New Zealand Festival of the Arts. They'll be performing two shows in Wellington at the TSB Arena February 5th and 6th.

Brad Foster joins Jesse to talk about the latest news from Australia. Today he is talking about Meta reacting to the social media ban for under 16-year-olds; Pauline Hansen's latest stunt in Parliament and a teenager who has been charged with murdering another teen.

Book critic Bill Hastings reviews: Lea Ypi, Indignity: A Life Reimagined (Allen Lane Penguin, 2025), Daniel Kalderimis, Zest: Climbing from Depression to Philosophy (Ugly Hill Press, 2024).

Could we do better when it comes to how we manage our prison populations? That's what a Canterbury University political science researcher has been looking into as part of her studies into justice policy and its intergenerational impacts. Dr Lin Mussell's work on this issue has won her an award, ahead of her publishing a book on it early next year.

New Zealand artist Fred Graham is recognised as a pioneer in the contemporary Maori art movement. Now two exhibitions at Pataka Art and Museum in Wellington will pay tribute to his work, after his death this year at the age of 96. His son Brett Graham is a prominent artist in his own right and chats to Jesse about his father's legacy.

A new report has found a large increase in the number of university students receiving A grades. The think-tank 'The New Zealand Initiative' has analysed grade data from New Zealand's eight universities and found a 64 percent increase in the number of students earning 'A's' in 2024 compared to 2006. Victoria University of Wellington Students' Association Academic Vice-President Ethan Rogacion chats to Jesse.

The days of regional councils could soon be over. It's understood the Government will announce a proposal for a local government shake-up later this afternoon. It comes after Prime Minister Christopher Luxon hinted on Sunday that a major reform is coming. Earlier this year, regional development minister and New Zealand First deputy leader Shane Jones told a forum there was "less and less of a justifiable purpose" for keeping regional government once the RMA reforms went through. Which got us thinking about regional councils and their purpose... To help explain that and what today's announcement could be, political reporter Russell Palmer joins me.

Our tech guy Tim Batt shares the latest goings on in the world of technology, and today he's looking into X, formerly known as Twitter, introducing a tool to aid transparency only to then remove it when it revealed a little too much. Plus his tech tip is that it might actually be a good idea to buy a computer or console during Black Friday sales.

Bee Trudgeon currently writes for Audioculture Iwi Waiata and Muzic NZ. She was working for 'RipItUp' magazine back in 1995 when Post came out and interviewed Bjork for this album. Bee chats to Jesse.

Real men read books. For Dr. Shilo Brooks books, not barbells at the gym or bros on social media, shaped the kind of man he wanted to be. After a rough childhood, his second stepfather showed him that great literature can build strength, depth, and character. Now a former Princeton professor and the President and CEO of the George W. Bush Presidential Center, he argues that the drop in boys' mental health mirrors the drop in boys reading. His new podcast, Old School, invites well-known men to share the books that shaped them, and encourages everyone to read.

Wedding season is well underway and while weddings can be one of the happiest days of a couples' life ... it can also be one of the most stressful. How do you avoid blowing your budget? How do you manage your in-laws expectations? And how much should you spend on the gift? Whether you're newly engaged, about to tie the knot, or you're attending a wedding as a guest in the coming months, fire through your questions. Lisa Langsford is a celebrant and wedding planner at 'With love weddings' and joins Jesse.

Our critic Linda Burgess joins me now with her recommendations: Happiness - TV3. The Celebrity Traitors - ThreeNow

Five hundred toxicologists from around the world have converged on Auckland for their annual meeting. They're sharing their world-leading work in what is an ever-evolving toxicology environment. To talk more about this and the fascinating world of forensic toxicology - Matthew Hosking from PHF Science is the meeting chair and Associate Professor Jennifer Schumann who is the Head of the Drug Intelligence Unit at the Victorian Institute of Forensic Medicine and Monash University's Department of Forensic Medicine. They join Jesse.

That's what a couple of Kiwi filmmakers have done with "Notes from a Fish" which hits cinemas next month. Co-directors Tom Levesque and Romy Hooper are with Jesse.

Building and Construction minister Chris Penk has announced some proposed changes to the Building Act which will shake up who is liable for defective building work. For years, all parties involved in a build have been jointly liable for problems - but now the Government wants to see only those responsible pay out. And that's not all it is keen to introduce mandatory building warranties for new homes or major renovations plus the maximum penalties builders face are going up. To help us understand the proposal Jesse is joined by Master Builder Chief Exec Ankit Sharma.