Afternoons for Wednesday 31 August 2022

1:15 Crafting constable invents a game to help traumatised Tamariki

A Southland police officer has created a board game to help tamariki who have gone through the trauma of a road accident.

Invercargill Senior Constable Rosie Marchant has put together 100 road safety activity packs herself and she is with us on the line.

Rosie speaks to Jesse about how the game can help and how she came up with the idea.

1:25 South Waikato auditioning in Parliament for a funding boost

The South Waikato District is showcasing itself  in Wellington this evening in Parliament's Grand Hall.

The council,  local iwi Raukawa, community and business representatives are seeking co-investment from the Government to address multi-generational inequalities.

South Waikato Mayor, Jenny Shattock talks to Jesse about why they need more government funds for the district.

1:35 Orangutan whisperer visiting Aotearoa

The founder of the Orangutan Project, Leif Cocks is heading to Auckland next week to raise awareness about the conservation of these amazing animals.

He's been dubbed the Orangutan whisperer and talks to Jesse about how he came to work with the endangered apes and how people can help.

1:45 Black hawk operation in Nelson over the coming days

Following on from heavy rain and devastated flooding, Nelson residents might be wondering why they can hear the sound of a military grade helicopter buzzing across their city today.

It's not the start of any war, but there to help clear trees and large boulders washed onto properties and roads during the recent weather event.

Alec Louverdis, the Nelson Tasman Civil Defence Controller, talks to Jesse about the chopper's assistance with their clean up and how its caused a fair bit of excitement among aviation enthusiasts.

2.12 Podcast Critic: Elliott Childs

Today RNZ's Operations team leader, Elliott Childs talks to Jesse about two podcasts he's been listening to. He tells us about That's How I Remember it / Object of Sound and a child friendly production, The Curious Kid Podcast.

2:25 Bookmarks with Richard von Sturmer

Today's Bookmarks guest is Kiwi punk rocker, poet and author Richard von Sturmer.

Best known for writing the lyrics to Blam Blam Blam's song "There is no Depression in New Zealand", Richard is making his debut at the Auckland Fringe Festival with his show Strange Ancestors, (Aug 30 - Sept 3 AT Q Theatre) which he has written with his band Floral Clocks.

He talks to Jesse about what he reads, watches and listens to in his spare time.

3:10 The eternal pursuit of being content

Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Somewhere along the line, the pursuit became the point and happiness got lost say professors Benjamin and Jenna Storey. They see a deep sense of restlessness among many of their political science students at Furman University. Distraction, they say,  has replaced self-reflection about what's important in our lives. The Storeys look to the past to explain the present and what we can do to replace busy with happy. Their book is called  "Why We Are Restless: On the Modern Quest for Contentment."

3:35 Stories from Our Changing World

Coming up on Our Changing World: Orange-fronted parakeets, or kākāriki karaka, have a new home in Nelson's Brook Waimarama fenced sanctuary - and they are already firm favourites with some of the sanctuary's conservation volunteers.

3:45 The Panel with Alexia Russell and Guy Williams