Afternoons for Friday 22 February 2019

1:10 First song

1:15 Fears sex offender tutored kids at Wellington music centre

RNZ is reporting this morning that a sex offender who was recently jailed for several years for serious sexual offending against teen girls was allowed to tutor children at a Wellington school, as he had not been background checked.

Richard Aston is the former chief executive of the Big Buddy group and has previously spoken out against lax attitudes towards background checks.

He joins us to talk about the background checking process, and how something like this could slip past an organisation that works with children.

1:25 Scar and nipple tattooing to help breast cancer survivors

Six years ago, tattoo artist Debbie Casson had her right breast removed due to breast cancer.

Now she's founded a tattoo business aimed at giving new hope and confidence to people in her position.

Ms Casson tattoos realistic nipples and areolae onto reconstructed breasts, helping people who've had mastectomies to feel normal and complete again.

She joins us to explain how the idea came about, and why she does what she does.

1:35 The Book of Cohen: Leonard, through a Kiwi lens

To many people Leonard Cohen is the classic brooding artist: a thoughtful, grave poet and musician, haunted by his demons, yet accepting of them - and writer of some of the great songs of the 20th century.

But he's been a figure of fascination for another Cohen, living on the other side of the world. Wellington author and journalist David Cohen.

The Kiwi Cohen has just finished a book about his Canadian namesake and joins us to explain more.

1:40 Great album

2:10 Film Review with Richard Swainson

Richard reviews Stan & Ollie and Colette

2:20 NZ Live: Tiny Ruins

It's just a couple of weeks since Tiny Ruins released their third album, Olympic Girls. Hollie Fulbrook and her band are in the studio to play tracks and chat about the critical acclaim the album has already received. Produced by bandmate Tom Healy at The Lab in Auckland, it's being described as an album confident in its vulnerability and luxuriating in a bigger sound.

3:10 Food with Ed Verner of Pasture

Ed Verner from Pasture restaurant in Auckland is our food guest today. The restaurant recently changed to be a chef run restaurant which seats just 6 people and has no front of house staff - just 3 chefs!

He has a recipe where the main ingredient is just a tomato - called Tomato over embers

3:20 Treating plants mean to keep them keen

Gardening expert Lynda Hallinan has good news for people who reckon they can't keep anything alive: being mean to your plants can actually make them perform better... and, if you're saving seeds, it can make future generations of those plants perform better.

3:25 Critter of the Week The Horrid Stick Insect

The Horrid Stick Insect is a member of the phasmatidae family, which contains some of the largest insects in existence, some being up to 30cm long. This particular species of stick insect is the largest in NZ.

If discovered stick insects will sway gently like a twig in the breeze, or drop comatose to the ground where they can lay immobile for up to half an hour before reviving and climbing a tree again.

DoC's Threatened Species Ambassador tell us all about Argosarchus horridus which are commonly found on hoheria but also eat a variety of other native plants as well as introduced rubus species like raspberries and blackberries.

3:45 The Pre-Panel Story of the Day and One Quick Question

4:05 The Panel with Hayden Donnell and Jacquie Nairn