Afternoons for Wednesday 19 February 2025

1:15 Batteries - how to make them last longer

From massive power grids to tiny medical implants that keep our hearts beating, batteries are the backbone of modern technology.

But how do we ensure they remain reliable, efficient and long-lasting?

A research team at the University of Waikato's Battery Group has developed advanced technology to improve the way we monitor battery health and charge states - an innovation that could have wide-ranging impacts across multiple industries.

Leading the application of this breakthrough is seasoned engineer and business strategist Godfey Bridger who joins Jesse to discuss how batteries work and how to make them last longer.

Godfrey Bridger's live webinar on Battery Management Improvement is on tonight thanks to ESR, Engineers for Social Responsibility. Watch it here.

ESR

1:25 Translating Te Matatini

The world's biggest Kapa Haka festival, Te Matatini is kicking off next week in New Plymouth.

Te Matatini has been going for over 50 years now, and for the first time live English translations of haka performances will be available exclusively through the Te Matatini app.

A team of 12 translators will provide real-time interpretations of performances, making the festival more accessible than ever. 

Leading the project is Erana Fenton, station manager of Ngāti Hine FM and producer of Haka Translate.

She joins Jesse to explain how it all works and why this initiative is so important.

1:35 A situation report on climate change

The past 25 months have shown alarming signs that a dramatic period of climate change is imminent...

Global temperatures over the past 25 months om August 2023 to July 2024 were 1.64°C above pre-industrial levels... 

Despite predictions of cooling in 2024 due to La Niña, temperatures soared.

Professor Tim Flannery is one of Australia's leading writers and communicators on climate change and was named Australian of the Year in 2007 for his environmental work. 

He has a very clear message: we need to reduce emissions by whatever means possible ... now

1:45 Heading Off: behind the scenes at Spookers

Today we're heading to the place of nightmares. Spookers is Auckland's premier horror experience and this summer the infamous CornEvil cornfields are again open to the public.

Spookers actor Mars Rumbold joins Jesse in the studio to talk about what it takes to scare the socks off people. 

2.12 Music Critic: The Delines

Dianne Swann introduces us to country soul band The Delines. Hailing from Portland, Oregan, the band is known for their character-rich storytelling and soulful Americana sound. Dianne plays two tracks from their new album, Mr. Luck & Ms. Doom.

2:20 Easy Eats with Kelly Gibney: Orecchiette with almond-mint pesto and garlic fried courgettes

This bright and zingy pasta dish from Kelly is a tasty way to use up the courgette glut of late summer. Get the recipe here.

2:30 Bookmarks with Acushla-Tara Kupe

today's guest, Acushla-Tara Kupe, has gradually made herself a mainstay of our screens and stages over the past five years or so. 

You're likely to know her best as Bonnie from 'Shortland Street' and Detective Sergeant Diana Huia from 'The Gone', which won the 2023 New Zealand Television Award for Best Drama. 

She's also graced stages all over the motu, most recently leading The Court Theatre's production of 'A Doll's House'. 

And podcast fans will know her voice from 'Sherlock & Co', one of the most popular podcasts in the UK. 

Acushla's picks:
Auē by Becky Manawatū
The Dictionary of Lost Words by Pip Williams

The Courage to be Disliked by Ichiro Kishimi and Fumitake Koga

On Beauty by Zadie Smith

The Collected Works of Kahlil Gibran

3:10 Feature interview: the problem with 'wokeness' 

Talk is cheap. And nowhere is that more corrosive and more disturbing than when well-meaning people talk about social justice and inequality but actually make problems worse says sociologist Musa al-Gharbi .  

He takes aim at people who talk about being "woke" to the suffering of others but actually benefit from and even perpetuate the inequality they condemn. His new book calls out the cheap talk in favour of doing things that are more useful to people who really need help. It's called We Have Never Been Woke: The Cultural Contradictions of a New Elite.

3:35 Stories from Our Changing World

On Our Changing World, Claire Concannon heads to Waikereru Ecosanctuary, a privately owned conservation project on the lands of Professor Dame Anne Salmond.

New Zealander of the year in 2013, she's most widely known for her writings and work as a Professor of Māori studies at the University of Auckland.

But when she and her husband bought land a couple of kilometres outside Gisborne twenty-five years ago, it was the start of their conservation journey.

Today the ecosanctuary encompasses an education space for school groups, a harakeke collection, a living library of rare local plants called the 1769 seed archive, a small patch of bush open to the public called Longbush Reserve and one hundred hectares of steep-sided hills.

When they first bought the land, these hills were bare.

Dame Anne Salmond explains to Claire Concannon how they've gone about revegetating them, including recruiting the local manu to help.

3:45 The pre-Panel

Wallace Chapman previews tonight's installment of The Panel. He is joined in the bather and 'bantz' by producer Tom Riste-Smith.