Afternoons with Jesse Mulligan

1:10 First song: Shonen Knife

Japanese pop-punk trio Shonen Knife have just landed in Wellington ahead of their three date tour which begins tonight at San Fran.

They're in the country to promote their latest album Sweet Candy Power which was released earlier this year and to treat fans to some of the favourite songs that have stood the test of time since the band first formed in 1981. They join us today for First Song.

1:17 Combating "contract cheating" at tertiary institutions

At this very moment, thousands of tertiary students around the country are busy swotting up for their end-of-year exams.

But some students are less honest than others ... and this is proving a big issue for universities and polytechs to deal with

Dr Myra Williamson is senior lecturer of Law and convenor of the BA in law at the University of Waikato, and she recently published a paper looking at "contract cheating"

She joins us to explain more

1:27 New Zealand entering lucrative saffron market

A single kilogram of saffron will set you back a cool $10,000 - but historically the market has been dominated by growers in the Middle East, particularly in Iran.

But Geoff and Jude Slater think New Zealand could be a good place to start up a boutique industry, so they've set up shop on their four-hectare property in Eyrewell in Canterbury.

1:35 Simon Gault's summer BBQ's

Celebrity chef Simon Gault has released his first cookbook in six years - just in time for summer. There are plenty of tasty recipes that everyone from the home cook to the more seasoned chef can create. His new book is simply called Summer.

1:50 He Kākano Ahau: Mana Whenua

How many of us really know the history of the places that we live in every day? Kahu Kutia heads to Takaparawhau to find some of the deeper stories from the land beneath Auckland city.

 All episodes in the He Kākano Ahau series are here

2:10 Book Critic: Lisa Glass

Lisa Glass looks today at three very different books featuring twin sisters: 

The Grammarians by Cathleen Schine
The Less You know the Sounder You Sleep by Juliet Butler
Beside Myself by Ann Morgan

2:20 Researchers zero in on cause of vaping deaths

In the United States the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is honing in on vitamin E acetate as a likely cause of vaping illnesses and deaths. To date 39 people have died and there are more than 2050 sufferers. Dr Kelly Burrowes from the Auckland Bioengineering Institute at the University of Auckland has been looking at the evidence out of the US.

2:30 Music Feature: The EELMan​ story

In the 1980s the independent music scene was taking off in New Zealand. The DIY ethos saw a boom of homegrown record labels, such as Flying Nun, Propellor and Bunk records.  And among them was EELman - a Wellington-based label that stood out for its humour, funk and bold aesthetics.

John Niland from EELMan is here today to tell us the story of the label - and also play some of the songs from across the back catalogue, which has just been re-issued digitally.
 

3:10 How to build empathy and kindness in a fractured world​

Nice guys don't always finish last. Stanford University psychologist Jamil Zaki says nice people, people who help others are happier, healthier and more effective at work. And yet he says research shows empathy is on the decline around the world. Dr Zaki explains how we can develop empathy like a muscle in his new book, The War for Kindness: Building Empathy in a Fractured World.
 

3:30 Spoken Feature: Elemental Palladium

RNZ's Elemental podcast is celebrating one hundred and fifty years of the periodic table of elements. Science producer Alison Ballance and chemistry professor Allan Blackman look today at Palladium.
 
Palladium is a pricey precious metal that is one of a group of metals known as platinum group metals. It is useful for cleaning up your car's exhaust, says Prof Allan Blackman from AUT in Elemental.

3:45 The Pre-Panel Story of the Day and One Quick Question

4:05 The Panel with Julia Whaipooti and Chester Borrows