Rnz: Afternoons With Jesse Mulligan

Star gazers get ready, tomorrow night you'll get a front row seat to a total lunar eclipse, and it'll be your last chance to experience one until 2028. Professor Richard Easther from the University of Auckland's Faculty of Science shares his viewing tips and tricks.

When our next guest Noeleen Tuala had her first grandchild, she found it really hard to find any baby clothing or products that reflected her Pasifika culture and heritage. So she took action and Pele was born. Fast forward three years and Pele is now available in mainstream stores. Self-described Polyreneur, Noeleen Tuala chats to Jesse.

For analysis of the US- Israel strikes and to discuss New Zealand's response, Jesse is joined again by retired Major-General John Howard. Major General John Howard is a former New Zealand Chief of Defence Intelligence and also a former Deputy Director at the US Defence Intelligence Agency in Washington DC

Iranian New Zealand Barrister Samira Taghavi joins Jesse to discuss what the conflict in Iran means to her and what changes she hopes it brings.

Wallace Chapman previews tonight's instalment of The Panel.

Love them or hate them - it seems like cicadas are very busy, and very loud right now. But are they actually? To help find out, and answer any questions you might have, Te Papa's lead curator of invertebrates Julia Kasper is with Jesse.

Tony Murrell of Murrell Gardens is with Jesse to offer some gardening tips and tricks, including why you should leave your lawn long in the warm temperatures.

Gretchen Lowe joins me to share a stunning sounding dish and some exciting news about her cookbook My Weekend Table. Recipe is here!

Time for our weekly showcase of Aotearoa's best musical talent, that's right, it's NZ Live. Today we're joined by a band that have been playing together since 2019 - when they formed with the lofty goal of creating the country's best bluegrass band. They went on to be a finalist for Best Folk band at the Aotearoa music awards just three years later. Their third album Midnight was released a few weeks ago, and today they're with us to play some songs from it. Here is You, Me, Everybody with their NZ Live debut.

Australian Sarah Gibbs has been an avid hiker all her life. Recently she decided to head off for her first multi-night solo trek and film it to show that such an experience could be safe for a young woman. She walked about 160 kilometres on the famed Goldfields Track in Victoria, and that's when things took a turn for the worst. Sarah Gibbs shares the rest of her story with Jesse.

Nearly one in three of us will develop an abnormal heart rhythm issue in our lifetime. While there is widespread awareness about heart attacks and strokes, cardiac arrhythmias, or irregular heartbeat rhythms are less talked about. A conference this weekend in Auckland and an awareness day on Sunday is hoping to change that. Martin Stiles is a cardiologist at Waikato Hospital, a Professor of Medicine at Auckland University, and chair of the Cardiac Society of New Zealand, he talks to Jesse

The 50th anniversary of the Rocky Horror Picture Show last year reignited everyone's nostagia for the classic zany musical. And that's just as well, because now the stage production is returning, too. The international production featuring a West End cast will be running in Auckland, Christchurch and Wellington from now unil the end of March. To celebrate, one very special member of the Rocky Horror family is here, Nell Campbell, the original Columbia is in New Zealand and joins Jesse.

The United States has deployed its largest military build-up in the Middle East since 2003, including two aircraft carriers and thousands of additional troops President Trump has said a diplomatic solution remains his preference, but he has also indicated he's considering a limited strike to send a message. Iran for its part has signalled it will not bow to pressure and insists its nuclear activities are for peaceful purposes. With the threat of war escalating in the Middle East, we want to examine how prepared New Zealand would be if military conflict does eventuate. Retired Major General John Howard, the former New Zealand Chief of Defence Intelligence is with Jesse.

It's been quite the time for coaches in New Zealand; All Blacks coach Scott Robertson was shown the door in January and over the weekend Wellington Phoenix FC Manager Giancarlo Italiano resigned after a huge loss to Auckland FC. Dr Grant Morris is with Jesse to look back at some other dramatic endings to coaches' careers.

It's time to solve some world problems now; this is our regular segment where we talk through possible solutions to the issues irking our guests.

Time for sporting history, our chance to look back at some of the big moments in sport and celebrate some of the New Zealanders who have changed the game. Lisa Allpress is a four-time winner of the NZ Jockey Premiership, first woman to win 1,000 races (and she's nearly hit two thousand now) plus she's the first woman to win a horse race in Saudi Arabia. Lisa chats to Jesse.

Deputy Prime Minister David Seymour has renewed his call for the government to sell its shares in the Air New Zealand arguing that owning the airline does not represent good value for taxpayers Today the national carrier reported a loss before tax of $59 million for the first half of the 2026 financial year. To explain the challenges the airline, and the aviation industry more broadly is facing, aviation commentator Irene King is with Jesse.

Time for Group Chat now, where we discuss the stories that won't lead news bulletins but will fill up your social media feed, the news that's distracting you from your to do list and helps make school pick up chat flow. This week film critic Kate Rodger and Afternoons Senior Producer Olivia Wilson join Jesse to discuss the Baftas, micro dramas (also known as vertical dramas) and are DVDs making a comeback?

If you have kids that love to play video games but you're worried about them withdrawing or disappearing behind a screen and headset - you're not alone. In fact, our next guest had similar concerns - but things began to change when instead of asking his son to log-off, he decided to log on with him. Author, teacher educator, and dad to a teenage son, Dr Phill Simpson chats to Jesse.

Turning to health issues now, and some experts are calling for additional vaccine funding to protect older New Zealanders from shingles. Currently the shingles vaccine is funded for the 12 months after a person's 65th birthday, but many clinicians say that isn't long enough. University of Auckland Associate Professor and Vaccinologist Helen Petousis-Harris is with Jesse to discuss.