Afternoons for Thursday 6 April 2017

Jesse presents today's show from our Napier studio

1:10 First song

Wayne Gillespie is an Aucklander who has been living in Australia for 20 years. Currently he's taking a sabbatical from his regular gig in Sydney and is playing in and around Auckland, including a sold out show at the Mt Eden Village Centre tomorrow night.

1:15 Edgecumbe Evacuation

Police have been evacuating the eastern Bay of Plenty town of Edgecumbe where a river has breached its banks. A state of emergency has been declared while the police and volunteers are going door-to-door to get people out. The rain has caused power cuts, road closures, flooding and slips. Whakatane mayor, Tony Bonne, is in Edgecumbe.

1:25 Death Expands Us

In 2009 Stephanie Harris' brother suddenly and unexpectedly died. Brendon was only 33-years-old. The devastation she felt led her on a new path, to becoming a professional grief coach.

She's put pen to paper and written a book about her experience. It's called Death Expands Us.

1:35 First NZ degree in vegan cuisine

Hugo Hughes is the first graduate from AUT's culinary arts school to specialise in vegan cooking.

As a vegetarian himself and then a vegan, Hugo initially had to cook meat, fish and fowl during his Bachelor of Culinary Arts degree. He found that increasingly difficult to swallow, so he convinced his tutors to let him focus entirely on vegan cooking.

Now he's off to do an internship at Stanford University Catering.

1:45 Favourite Album

2:10 Theatre Critic

Actor, director, writer and dramaturge Alistair Browning reviews Kate McGill's "WEAVE" - Yarns with New Zealanders" in which Kate plays the characters of 20 people she interviewed before writing the piece.  McGill's one person show is on now at Basement Theatre, Auckland - until April 15th.

2:20 Economics with Shamubeel Eaqub

Shamubeel Eaqub tackles the thorny issue of housing affordability

2:30 The history of cross-party support in NZ

There has been a lot of talk recently about cross-party cooperation in NZ politics. However, the reality is that this approach, in relation to major parties working together, is the exception rather than the norm in our history.

Historian, Grant Morris of Victoria University looks back at some examples of cross-party cooperation in our history and questions why it doesn't happen more often. 

3:10 Masterpieces with Michael Fowler

Napier's Art Deco heritage officer Michael Fowler tells us about his favourite art deco buildings

3:25 The Expats: Teaching kids coding in Madagascar

Sam Lucas has been living in Madagascar for the past year, where he has set up a foundation, Onja, to teach kids computer coding, to help them get their families out of poverty.

Sam is trying to raise money for his project through the site generosity

3:30 This Way Up

The Alinker is a radically different kind of mobility device. It's a walking tricycle without pedals- two bigger wheels at the front and a smaller one at the back- and a user sits upright and scoots along using their feet.

This Way Up's Simon Morton meets Christine O'Sullivan, who was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis a decade ago and recently brought her own Alinker into New Zealand.

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

4:05 The Panel with Ellen Read and Garry Moore

Short Story Club

Our short story club is officially launched! and the first story is The Poet's Wife by Bill Manhire. (click on the book title to read the story). We will be discussing it next Thursday the 13th of April after the 3pm news.

Email us your thoughts once you've read it! jesse@radionz.co.nz (Put Short Story Club in the subject line)