Afternoons for Tuesday 13 August 2024

1:15 A New Zealand electricity market explainer 

Electricity retailer Electric Kiwi has stopped taking new clients, pulp and timber mills are temporarily shutting because of high power prices - are we “sleepwalking into an energy crisis”? 

BusinessDesk's Ian Lewellyn talks to Jesse about why our power market is the way it is, how high power prices work and what the future may hold. 

1:25 New Zealand Sommelier of the Year 2024

Suraj GC was raised in Nepal and came to New Zealand as an international student. He soon developed a love of wine, and is now head sommelier at the Park Hyatt Hotel in Auckland. Suraj is also the toast of the hospitality sector after being crowned New Zealand Sommelier of the Year 2024.

1:35 Cartographic Aotearoa

The Atlas of Design is a collection of some of the world's most beautiful cartography. It covers all parts of the world, as well as the planet Mars - and even imaginary places. Volume 7 is set to be published in October, and will include a newly produced map of New Zealand.

The map is the work of Wellington geospatial developer Ian Reese, who won placement in the collection. View his awesome map here.

1:45 Tech Tuesday: Google's anti-trust case, tri-folding phones and what the heck is happening with Intel?

Tim Batt is in the studio to get us up to date on the latest news and reviews in the tech world. 

2:10 Book Critic: the best non-fiction for kids

Library director at Auckland Grammar School Catherine Ross has a bevy of awesome non-narrative non-fiction books for ages 10 to 14. Her picks include: 

For Ages: 10+ Years

• Unstoppable Us: How Humans Took Over the World By Yuvel Noah Hurari 

For Ages: 11+ Years    

• Adventures in Time: Alexander the Great by Dominic Sandbrook

For Ages: 12+ Years

• The Rest is History by Tom Holland (not THAT Tom Holland!) and Dominic Sandbrook 
• The Twenty-Ninth Day by Alex Messenger

For Ages 13/14+

• Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood by Trevor Noah 
• How War Begins: Dispatches from the Ukrainian Invasion By Igort 

2:20 Update on Oz: Ausie Olympics haul, Raygun, Cairns Crash 

Our favourite ocker Brad Foster is back to update the goings on across the ditch. Brad also needs recommendations for an imminent South Island trip, so get in touch! 

2:30 Music feature: the absurd world of funny songs online and off

Comedian Brendon Green takes us on a journey of discovery as he walks us through a personal essay on the world of people being funny via song. He discusses the short, viral hits of Carter Vail and Tom Cardy. He also gets historical an examines the appeal and work of Flight of the Conchords and Bo Burnham. 

3:10 Feature interview: the 'boy' problem  

Boys are in trouble with soaring rates of depression, anxiety and loneliness.  This is what the statistics tell us time and again.  NYU professor of developmental psychology Niobe Way sees it a little differently.  We don't just have a 'boy problem' , we have a human problem. Dr Way argues we have created a  culture that tells boys to lean in to masculine attributes like stoicism over vulnerability, the hard over the soft.  Boys tend to lose close friendships  in adolescence, leading to a crisis of connection. Dr Way makes a plea for more curiosity to break down stereotypes and see the humanity in each other.  Her new book is called, Rebels with a Cause: Reimagining Boys, Ourselves, and Our Culture.

3:30 Thrift

In anticipation of the new season of Katy Gosset's money saving podcast Thrift, we replay one of the most popular episodes. In this episode, student nurse, Jordyn Hammond, talks Katy through how she plans her meals -  getting by on just 40 dollars per person, a week.

3:45 The pre-Panel