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Afternoons for Thursday 2 February 2023

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1:15 Mystery of bleached sea sponges investigated

A marine heatwave in Fiordland is thought to be responsible for the bleaching of millions of sea sponges.

It was first discovered in May last year, but Marine biologist Professor at Victoria University of Wellington, James Bell led a return trip to Fiordland this summer to investigate what had happened to the sponges.

James Bell talks to Jesse about what they've found.

Unbleached and bleached sponges seen side-by-side.

Photo: Dr Valerio Micaroni and Francesca Strano / Victoria University of Wellington

1:25 New Wellington based show Not Even released this weekend

There's a new show hitting our screens this Sunday.

Set in Wellington, the comedy-drama follows a group of 20-somethings navigating city life, and taha Māori (Māori identity).

It's written by Dana Leaming, who co-directed the show alongside Ainsley Gardiner - known for her work on Cousins.

You can watch Not Even from this Sunday 5 Feb 8.30pm on Prime, and Monday 6 Feb on NEON.

Dana talks to Jesse about the series and where the idea came from.

Dana Leaming (left), with her Not Even colleague Ainsley Gardiner

Dana Leaming (left), with her Not Even colleague Ainsley Gardiner Photo: supplied

1:35 Open Farms day back for 2023

Farmers are being encouraged to open the gates and let the public in on Open Farms Day coming up in March.

The idea behind the day is to allow urban residents to connect with farmers and understand how they work. 

Open Farms founder Daniel Eb talks to Jesse about the initiative and the feedback from previous years.

Freshly shorn sheep at George Tatham's farm.

Freshly shorn sheep. Photo: RNZ / Alexa Cook

1:45 Great album: Working Title by Soaked Oats

Today's winner of link 3 will get a signed copy of Working Title by Soaked Oats.

The album was released last November and the band is about to go on tour here and in Australia.

New Zealand dates are: March 24 at Loons Club in Christchurch, March 25 at Mayfair Theatre in Dunedin, March 31 at San Fran in Wellington and April 1 at Hollywood Avondale in Auckland.

Soaked Oats album

Soaked Oats album Photo: supplied

2:10 Music Critic: Colin Morris

Today Colin Morris talks to Jesse about Paul Carrack track Don't Wait Too Long and looks behind the scenes at a Gregory Porter song, Black is the Colour.

2:25 NZ Sporting History: Dame Lois Muir

Today's guest on NZ Sporting History is an integral part of the frabic of New Zealand netball.

Dame Lois Muir was a star defender for the Silver Ferns from 1960 to 1963 before she went on to become one of the teams most successful coaches.

She led the team to victory at both the 1979 and 1987 Netball World Champs, and was still coaching in Otago as recently as 2005.

She was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire for services to netball in 1984 and was designated a Dame Companion in 2009.

Dame Lois Muir coaching in 2002.

Photo: Photosport

3:10 Link 3

3:15 Your Money with Mary Holm 

For her first chat of 2023 with Jesse, Mary Holm talks about some positive financial issues.

She has a list of spending that makes people happy, including paying off debt, paying for travel and events, as well as beautifying homes with plants and art.

Commercial airline. Passenger plane landing at airport with beautiful sunset sky and clouds. Arrival flight. Airplane flying in a line for landing. Aircraft open light in the evening flight.

Photo: 123rf.com

3:35 Spoken Feature: BBC Witness

Professor Karlheinz Brandenburg from Germany spent more than a decade developing MP3 technology, which was developed to convert audio into digital form.

He had been working on it since 1982. It compressed music into a file size that made it easier to transmit, leading to the first MP3 players and fast music sharing.

Laura Jones speaks to Professor Brandenburg.

Professor Karlheinz Brandenburg

Professor Karlheinz Brandenburg Photo: bbc.co.uk