Rnz: Afternoons With Jesse Mulligan

You've probably all heard of Bird of the Year, but Bug of the Year might be new to you. Much like the name suggests, it is a competition pitting critters against each other. (Yes, we know the word "bug" only covers one type of insect but the competition organisers think Bug of the Year is way catchier than Invertebrate of the Year.) Joining Jesse to fight for their bug - University of Auckland Microbiologist Dr Siouxsie Wiles and Jonathon Ridden from Canterbury Museum. Click here if you want to vote. Voting closes on February 16th, results will be released on March 20th.

In January 2025, the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment published the Crown's mineral strategy with a goal of doubling our mineral exports to three billion dollars by 2035. On Friday, we learnt that to achieve that goal MBIE is looking to develop a "non-binding critical minerals framework" and has been having discussions with the US on the supply of critical minerals. To explain what this all means, Jesse talks to Sefton Darby, is a former National Minerals manager at MBIE, and now consults on geo-politics and political risk.

Washed up seaweed might look unimportant to us, but rotting seaweed is a crucial haven for animals such as the seaweed darkling beetle. The decaying seaweed provides both shelter and sustenance, allowing them to inhabit a narrow zone of the intertidal environment. This bubble-shaped beetle exists in varying colour morphs, with light colour forms living on white sand beaches, while darker colour forms live on black sand beaches. This cryptic colour match to their sandy substrate allows them to avoid being dinner from predators such as banded dotterels, oyster catchers and gulls!

Gardens really don't take holidays do they? If only you could put the weather on hold for a month, so our gardens stay in a holding pattern too! Lynda has lots of helpful advice for sorting out wild gardens.

Julie Biuso from Shared Kitchen is with me now to talk us through a lovely summery dish. pasta with white beans and roasted tomatoes. Recipe is here

We're kicking off our 21st year of NZ Live and today I'm joined by Theia in Studio B Theia's debut album Girl in a Savage world has received rave reviews, you may remember we gave away her album last year Theia joins us ahead of a limited run of shows here in Aotearoa before she heads off for a tour across North America

Movie critic Dominic Corry joins Jesse in the Auckland studio to review: Send Help - in theatres The Wrecking Crew - Prime Video Marty Supreme - in theatres.

Freaky Friday - that time of the week where we hear your spooky, ghostly or simply unexplainable stories. If you've got one to share, get in touch on 2101 and one of our producers will be in touch.

It feels like every day there is another company going bust, or downsizing, which means lots of you are living in a state of constant change or doing more with fewer staff. Jane Ward runs an HR company called Tomorrow's People, and she wanted to know how such workplace trends affect HR professionals, when she couldn't find the research she wanted, she did it herself.

Whether you love losing yourself to dance - or dancing like no one's watching - for many dance brings joy. But it also keeps people active, provides community spaces and can help young New Zealanders find their tribe if traditional sport isn't their thing. In fact, according to our next guest, more and more kids are choosing to dance. Ash Habgood the owner of Auckland dance studio Neverland talks to Jesse.

Remember when flipping houses seemed like a sure-fire way to make a dollar? Well, it turns out those days might be behind us. New data from TradeMe shows New Zealanders are changing their habits, its survey showed 49 percent of buyers are looking for a house that already feels new, 16 percent looking to build from scratch, and 6 percent looking for a "fixer-upper". Barfoot & Thompson real estate salesperson Rawdon Christie chats to Jesse.