Afternoons for Wednesday 13 July 2022

1.10 First song: Annie Crummer

Annie Crummer's in the studio to talk about two special performances she's part of. Together with Laughton Kora and Matthew Pike the trio sing some of the Beatles best known tracks with the APO providing music for the All You Need is Love tour.

1:15 NASA images being used to study dusty stars at Auckland University

"Images of an unseen universe" have been released by NASA today and yesterday.

The images are taken by the James Webb Space Telescope and give the sharpest and deepest detail we've ever had.

The latest picture reveals previously invisible areas of star birth. Jan Elderidge is head of the Physics Department at the University of Auckland. She talks to Jesse about how she's using the data.

1:25 Y25 recipients announced by YWCA

Y25 shines a spotlight on 25 women and non-binary people under the age of 25 doing extraordinary things.

They've just announced the 25 people they're celebrating this year, and we're going to be talking to a couple of them this week.

15-year-old Spirit & Soul founder Jaskiran Kaur Rahi is among the winners, she talks to Jesse about being included on the list.

1:35 Youthtown turns 90!

Youthtown's renowned before and after school and holiday programmes are part of the fabric of growing up in New Zealand.

They've been out there supporting and empowering kids since 1932, which means they're turning 90 this year.

To reflect on the the organisation's decades of work,  by Youthtown Chief Executive Fay Amaral talks to Jesse.

1:45 A Pasifika feast at Elemental Auckland

This year's Elemental Festival in Tāmaki Makaurau includes an amazing production all about food.

Wallace Frost is the chef behind Takurau - Nafanua, War Goddess production which weaves together the threads of hospitality, theatre and dance.

Wallace talks to Jesse about coming back to Aotearoa and being part of the Samoan cultural celebration after a successful career in Europe.

2.12 Podcast Critic: Paul Bushnell

Today Paul Bushnell talks about history podcasts that use different styles to attract and keep their audience. The history podcasts Wild Boys and Bad Gays have contrasting styles which are closely linked to the breadth of their intended audiences

2:25 Bookmarks with Phoebe Harrop

Today on Bookmarks we're joined by someone attempting to change the way New Zealand invests in technological innovators.

31-year-old Phoebe Harrop is the principal at Blackbird Aotearoa, a technology venture capital company.

They've invested in innovative startups including Canva, Halter, and Mint Innovation.

She joins us today to tell us a bit more about why she does what she does along with some of her favourite things.

3:10 Sarah Polley on her acting childhood

Former child actor Sarah Polley talks about some tough times on the set of films like The Adventures of Baron Munchausen and the TV series Road to Avonlea. Her credits include  6 years in the TV series, Road to Avonlea, a turn as Ramona the Pest and a scary experience with Monty Python alums in The Adventures of Baron Munchausen.  Now an Oscar nominated writer and director she talks about the carnage of being a child actor, losing her mother to cancer, her own health scares and a sexual assault that she kept to herself for decades.  

3:35 Stories from Our Changing World

Coming up on Our Changing World - we join PhD student Luna Thomas on a nighttime beetle hunt in Rakiura Stewart Island.

For her PhD in Zoology Luna is studying the behaviour of the endemic Helm’s stag beetle. But as well as the beetles, she is also coming across grizzly indicators of the impacts predators are having.

3:45 The Panel with Anna Dean and Peter Field