Afternoons for Wednesday 29 October 2025

 

1:15 Is this wild weather the new normal?

Some parts of Southland are still without power after last week's wild weather, and there hasn't been much of a respite this week with temperatures that have felt more like winter than spring, along with cold winds, heavy rain and even snow!

So is this an indication of what we can expect in the future - big weather events becoming more regular and normalised? And what part does climate change play in all this?

2024 New Zealander of the year Dr Jim Salinger has spent almost 50 years advancing climate science; he is recognised as one of the first scientists to address global warming. He joins Jesse.

1:25 The surprising, and exciting, discovery by NZ scientists

It’s not often you get to say you’ve found 40 new species in one go — but that’s exactly what a group of Kiwi scientists has done in Fiordland with the discovery of new marine sponges.  

The finding came as a huge surprise to Professor James Bell, a marine biologist from Victoria University, who says the results exceeded all expectations. 

He joins Jesse. 

1:35 The Kiwi teenagers taking on Godzone

Towards the end of November, the 12th iteration of the 'Godzone' adventure race will take place. 

It involves up to 100 teams of four who have to navigate about 600 kilometres of terrain by hiking, biking, kayaking and packrafting.

People from around the world travel here to compete, but this year a team from Kaikoura will become the youngest ever to take part. 

17-year-old Isabelle Schwarzenbach is one of them, she chats to Jesse.

1:45 Heading Off to Egypt

Today we're going to Egypt as a project over 30 years in the making is about to be completed. 

It's the brand-new Grand Egyptian Museum in Giza. 

It was announced in 1992, construction began in 2005, and 20 years and 1 billion dollars later, it's finally ready to be opened to the public. 

Robyn Galloway is managing director of Innovative Travel, and she's just returned from Cairo. 

2.12 Music Critic: New tunes by Earth Tongue and Mary Lattimore

This evening will see some of our finest musicians gathering in Christchurch for the 2025 Silver Scrolls - a chance to celebrate all that's great about the local music scene. 

Our music critic Zac Arnold is in Ōtautahi for the awards, but before he gets his glad rags on, he's joined me to share some new music. 

Earth Tongue - Ritual

Mary Lattimore - Melted Moon

2:20 Easy Eats: Olivia Galletly aka The Hungry Cook

Our regular Easy Eats contributor Kelly Gibney is away so we've got the talented Olivia Galletly also known as The Hungry Cook, joining us.

Today she's sharing her recipe for Cheats Ricotta & Leek Soufflé
Fluffy and cheesy with tender and sweet leeks, this baked ricotta dish almost feels like a soufflé - without all the work. Great for a summer lunch or weeknight dinner. I like to serve it with a punchy green salad and grilled toast or boiled new potatoes. 

Recipe is here

2:30 Bookmarks with Dr Jeremy Tātere MacLeod.

Time for bookmarks and today we're joined by Dr Jeremy Tātere MacLeod.

He's the deputy chair of Te Taura Whiri i te Reo Māori (the Māori Language Commission) and founder of indigenous language festival Toitū Te Reo

This year's festival takes place in Heretaunga Hastings in a couple of weeks.

3:10 Feature interview: Could AI end up killing us?

One sentence sums up what Nate Soares thinks about artificial intelligence. If anyone builds it, everyone dies. Soares is the President of the Machine Intelligence Research Institute and has worked as an engineer at Microsoft and Google. He says it’s a good bet that someone born today has a better chance of dying from something AI does rather than finishing high school. Soares is convinced that once AI exceeds human intelligence, it will not be controllable, and the unintended consequences could be catastrophic. Soares is the co-author of a book that explains why he is firmly on the side of the AI doomsayers. It’s called, If Anybody Builds It, Everyone Dies: Why Superhuman AI Would Kill Us All.

3:35 Stories from Our Changing World

It's time to talk science with Our Changing World host Claire Concannon. 
Claire follows scientists into the bush, over rivers, back to their labs and many places in-between to cover the most fascinating research.
This week she’s been talking to a team developing a device to help with search and rescue.

3:45 The pre-Panel

Wallace Chapman previews tonight's instalment of The Panel.