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.
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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.
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.
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.
Did you know that one of our giant weta species is a burrowing specialist? As their name suggest, the giant mole weta dig subterranean burrows in which they live. These burrows can extend under the peaty soil up to 30 cm in length! No other giant weta does this! Jesse and Forest and Bird Chief Executive Nicola Toki chat about this week's critter of the week - the giant mole weta
We're about halfway through November and things are starting to get busy .. the last four weeks before Christmas are often the most stressful and frantic time of the year for many of us, juggling school, exams, work, social life and chores Here with tips and tricks to getting organised is Rachael Quin from The Housekeeper.
Gretchen Lowe shares her recipe for snapper, agria, lemon & tarragon croquettes. These crispy morsels are full of fresh snapper, lemon and licorice-like tarragon. Serve with good aioli.
If you have one you'd like to share please reach out via text - 2101 - or you can email us, afternoons@rnz.co.nz. Today Tim joins Jesse to share his spooky tale.
A dubious honour for New Zealand this week. The country received the 'Dirty Ashtray' award at a WHO tobacco control conference, and that followed the news that we've fallen from second to 53rd in the global tobacco industry interference index. That's on top of news that the tobacco black market in Australia is doing a raging trade right now. All of this has had us thinking about smoking rates, reputation, vaping and the black market here in New Zealand. Professor Janet Hoek is co-director at ASPIRE Aotearoa, a University of Otago research centre, she joins Jesse.
The tv programme A Dog's Show ran from 1977 to 1992. It seems slightly bonkers in 2025, but for those of you who don't remember it, it was a show about sheepdogs wrangling sheep and for many it was must watch tv. Now a new feature film inspired by A Dogs Show is in production, due for release late next year.
Black Friday traditionally marks the start of the Christmas shopping season in the US and is the busiest shopping day of the year there. Over the years, retailers here have embraced the promotion, and we are now bombarded by offers of specials and discounts for Black Friday. But are these discounts really specials? And what do we need to look out to make sure we don't get end up getting sucked into the hype. Abby Damen from Consumer NZ chats to Jesse.
We want to start the show with some good news; Black Sticks' Grace O'Hanlon has been awarded goalkeeper of the year by the International Hockey Federation. It's the first time a New Zealander has won the prestigious award. Grace O'Hanlon joins Jesse.
It's time to talk about your money now, personal finance whizz Mary Holm joins Jesse and today she's going to address some of your feedback. Focusing on home ownership versus renting and investment strategies.
It's time for NZ Sporting History, and today Jesse is joined by our oldest living Olympic medalist Barry Magee. Barry is best remembered for taking home Bronze in the 1960 Rome Olympic marathon. In 1961 he led the world 10,000m rankings and was part of New Zealand's world-record-breaking 4 × 1 mile relay team. After retiring from international running in 1965, Barry moved into coaching, where he became one of the country's most influential distance running coaches.
It's time now for group chat, a chance for us to talk about the topics filling up your phone, distracting you from work or helping pass the time while you wait for coffee. Culture 101's Perlina Lau and Afternoons Senior Producer Olivia Wilson join Jesse to talk about Tom Cruise's Oscar win and whether honorary titles and awards actually devalue the prestige, plus if smoking cigarettes is back in vogue.
Recently on the show we've been talking a bit about Genetic Modification, and the Gene Technology bill currently in front of Parliament. So far, we've mostly focused on food. The pros, cons and issues with labelling. You can listen to all of those via the afternoons page on the RNZ website. Today we're looking at another application of the technology - helping us meet our predator free 2050 goal. To that end, Professor Peter Dearden is leading a research project at the university of Otago to create genetically modified wasps. He talks 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.
