Afternoons

1:15 Getting lower income communities onto e-bikes 

We all know e-bikes are increasingly popular - but they're not cheap.

Research shows it's financially well-off households which lead the way in e-bike sales.

But three pilot programmes have just wrapped up - looking at how to get more communities charged up and onto a bike.

Dr Caroline Shaw is Associate Professor in the Department of Public Health at the University of Otago in Wellington.

She joins Jesse to talk about the pilots and economics of it all. 

1:25 Limpets are smarter than we might think 

Limpets, which are technically a type of snail, are found on rocks, boat hulls, glued to the side of jetties. 

In spite of - or maybe because of - their ubiquity, we often overlook them in favour of assuming they just sit there doing nothing. 

But it turns out that isn't the case. They're surprisingly active and adaptive. 

Postdoctoral fellow at the University of Canterbury and Limpet expert Dr Spencer Virgin joins Jesse to explain how limpets are adapting to warming seas.

1:35 Will our favourite music artists ever make it to New Zealand? 

Muso and Afternoons regular Chris Schulz says we need big artists, major shows and large-scale touring to return to Aotearoa - immediately.

Recently, the likes of Taylor Swift, Oasis, Billie Eilish, Green Day, The Killers, Katy Perry, Korn and Kylie Minogue have toured the globe extensively, including Australia - but then gave New Zealand a wide berth. 

Xzibit, Nelly, Blink-182, Tenacious D and Public Enemy have announced New Zealand shows and then pulled the plug. 

Festivals Bay Dreams and Splore are on hiatus, while we've already lost Nest Fest, Morningside Bloc Party, Juicy Fest and the Timeless Tour for various reasons.  

Chris has vented his frustration on his Boiler Room blog and joins Jesse for a rant. 

1:45 Great album: 2 by Canadian quintet Foxwarren 

Today we're featuring the new album 2 from band Canadian quintet Foxwarren composed of Andy Shauf, Avery and Darryl Kissick, Dallas Bryson, and Colin Nealis. 

2 is out this Friday on ANTI- records 

2:10 Podcast Critic: Instant Genius and The Economics of Everyday Things

2:30 The A to Z of Aotearoa - A is for Aviation 

This week we're launching a new Thursday feature and each fortnight from today  (alternating with NZ Sporting History) we'll be taking a look at a subject close to our collective kiwi hearts - starting with A and working out way down to Z.

Whether that's Pies, Forestry, xylophone clubs, or Zorbing... which was invented in Rotorua apparently.

Today we're kicking off with A for Avation.

If you've got any ideas, especially for the tricky letters send them to me on 2010 or Afternoons@rnz.co.nz

3:10 Link 3

3:15 Solving the World's Problems/Your Money with Mary Holm 

3:35 Spoken Feature BBC Witness

The Pirate Bay was a hugely popular but controversial file-sharing website based in Sweden, where users accessed pirated music and films for free. In 2006 it was raided by police.

3:45 The pre-Panel 

Wallace Chapman and producer José Barbosa preview tonight's instalment of The Panel.