Rnz: Afternoons With Jesse Mulligan

Country music star Aly Cook takes us on a journey through the songs of American singer-songwriter Lucinda WIlliams.

Brad calls in with news about the Australian Government taking legal action against misleading pricing in supermarkets; the latest in NRL games lined up this weekend and the 20th anniversary of Oz Harvest.

Claire Mabey discusses 'the perfect Sunday read' from David Nicholls. She also recommends Commune: Chasing a utopian dream in Aotearoa by Olive Jones and a deep dive into evolution: Eve: How the Female Body Drove 200 Million Years of Human Evolution by Cat Bohannon.

Tim Batt tells Jesse about the latest events in the tech world, including an incredible blow to the Internet Archive; Sony's $400m failure; and a new Nintendo that may be on the horizon.

If you've looked for a house recently, you might have heard - you can't build them for what you can buy them at the moment. With construction prices up by as much as 40 percent - combined with land values - there's not much incentive to build your own home. But in the US state of Texas, the world's biggest 3D printed housing neighbourhood has just opened. Experts reckon it's something we should be looking at down under. Associate Professor M Hank Haeusler from Australia's Centre for Next-Generation Architectural Manufacturing speaks to Jesse.

It may feel too soon to be eating asparagus with two months of spring still to go, but the end of September means the harvest is well underway. Growers are relieved to be getting their product on the market, but are also nervous about pricing with an abundance of cheap green vegetables already available. Jesse talks to Horowhenua based asparagus grower Catherine Lewis about how the harvest is going.

Today on the pre-Panel, Wallace Chapman previews tonight's show with Jesse Mulligan. Plus producer Tom Riste-Smith joins them with a rant about what he calls "whinging" Wellington business owners.

Late bloomers are people who find a way to be successful when no one expects them too. Henry Oliver is a writer who finds inspiration in people who were living one kind of life and then said perhaps I can try something different. His new book tells the stories of accomplished people who he says demonstrate that not only is being late better than never finding hidden talents or an ideal career path, often being late is better than being early. It's called Second Act What Late Bloomers Can Tell You About Success and Reinventing Your Life.

Today's guest SallyAnn Harbison has been working in the field for over 30 years. She's the Director of Auckland Universities' Forensic science programme, and leads the forensic biology team at ESR. Have you ever wondered if it's really possible to use DNA to track bank notes? Or maybe your more interested in whether the mud on your shoe gives away your movements? Jesse puts that to SallyAnn and the listener questions.

For Made In NZ today we're taking a trip to the Rangitikei, specifically Marton, And a company called P. E. C. who have been designing and making petrol pumps since 1939. They claim to be the first to put microprocessors in pumps and they are moving into hydrogen. Jesse learns more about that and a lot more with CEO Richard Coxon.

Claire Chitham reviews a swath of new TV shows to put on your must watch list.

A kiwi company has taken out a string of top awards at the international Biophilic Design Awards. If you've never heard of biophlic design - it's greenscaping at scale, bringing nature inside by incorporating plants and natural environments in indoor spaces. Jesse talks to Outside In co-founder and creative director Ryan McQuerry.

Pie lovers on the West Coast are about to get a chance to put their tastebuds to the test. The West Coast Pie of the Year Challenge kicks off today with local businesses putting together teams to pitch their "dream pie". Local "pie lady" Emily Lucas from the West Coast Pie Company says competition could be fierce!

Take, make, dispose. That's how our current linear economy is described.

This week's critter is the prickly shark (Echinorhinus cookie), an uncommon species of deep-sea shark that lives throughout the Pacific Ocean. All sharks have rough skin, but this shark has particularly prickly skin. They are described as 'stocky, dark coloured' with a 'flabby and cylindrical body.'

Lynda Hallinan has all the tips you need for a weekend spent in the garden.

Charlotte Ryan, host of Music 101 here on RNZ each Saturday afternoon from 1pm talks about 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.

Martin Bosley sets up the weekend right with this twist on a classic risotto.

Violet hails from Otago and began releasing her brand of indie-folksy tunes about five years ago. Last year she released her debut LP 'Donegal' and she plays NZ Live in our in Tamaki Makaurau studio.

Afternoons producer and ace film reviewer Sam Hollis reviews kiwi body-horror Grafted and a new documentary on Disney+ The Contestant.