Afternoons for Thursday 20 November 2025

1:10 Butter prices are falling at global auction - so why not in our shops too?

Dairy prices fell for the 7th time in a row at last night's Global Dairy Auction with butter - a hot topic of conversation this year - falling 7.6%. When prices were on the up a few months ago, the talk was all about how our prices move in line with global prices.

So now that they're heading down - so should the price of butter in the shops right? NZX Head Of Dairy Insights Cristina Alvarado chats to Jesse.

1.15 Ultra Processed Foods: What are they and what should we be eating instead?

Yesterday on the show we started a conversation with Professor Boyd Swinburn about ultra processed foods, and new research he has been part of that shows just how damaging these foods are.

Lots of you got in touch to say you want to know more about what constitutes as ultra processed and what we should be eating in its place. 

So today Jesse is joined by registered dietitian and co-founder of The Food Tree Rachael Wilson.

1:25 What exactly is a water crematorium?

When we talked about how the country is running out of cemetery space last week we were inundated with your messages. So when we saw that the NZ's first water crematorium, which was opened earlier this year, is proving a popular option for people, we wanted to know more. Also called Alkaline Hydrolysis, the process claims to be gentler on people and the environment. Debbie Richards started Christchurch Water Crematorium back in June, and she joins Jesse.

Recently on the show we've been talking a bit about Genetic Modification, and the Gene Technology bill currently in front of Parliament. So far, we've mostly focused on food. The pros, cons and issues with labelling. You can listen to all of those via the afternoons page on the RNZ website.

Today we're looking at another application of the technology - helping us meet our predator free 2050 goal.

To that end, Professor Peter Dearden is leading a research project at the university of Otago to create genetically modified wasps. He talks to Jesse.

1:45 Great album: Em with Move

Thursday means a chance to show off your smarts and win an album. Today's lucky link three winner will get a copy of 'Em' aka Auckland based music producer Emily Wheatcroft-Snape's album 'MOVE'. Emily is an audio engineer and producer who has worked with some of New Zealand's biggest names like Teeks, Lorde and Tiny Ruins. This is her first venture into releasing her own music.

2:10 Group Chat: An opportunity to talk about the issues filling up your feeds

It's time now for group chat, a chance for us to talk about the topics filling up your phone, distracting you from work or helping pass the time while you wait for coffee.

Culture 101's Perlina Lau and Afternoons Senior Producer Olivia Wilson join Jesse to talk about Tom Cruise's Oscar win and whether honorary titles and awards actually devalue the prestige, plus if smoking cigarettes is back in vogue.

2:30 NZ Sporting History: The one and only Barry McGee

It's time for NZ Sporting History, and today Jesse is joined by our oldest living Olympic medalist Barry McGee. 

Barry is best remembered for taking home Bronze in the 1960 Rome Olympic marathon.

In 1961 he led the world 10,000m rankings and was part of New Zealand's world-record-breaking 4 × 1 mile relay team. 

After retiring from international running in 1965, Barry moved into coaching, where he became one of the country's most influential distance running coaches. 

 

3:15 Your Money with Mary Holm 

It's time to talk about your money now, personal finance whizz Mary Holm joins Jesse and today she's going to address some of your feedback. Focusing on home ownership versus renting and investment strategies. 

3:35 Spoken Feature BBC Witness

Thunderbirds are GO! But how did they get to the launchpad?

In 1965, a groundbreaking children's show using cutting-edge puppets first blast onto television screens.

Thunderbirds was set in 2065 and followed the antics of secret organisation ‘International Rescue’. It was created by husband and wife Gerry and Sylvia Anderson, who used supermarionation, a pioneering technique with thin wires which controlled the puppets' movements.

Their daughter Dee Anderson speaks to Reena Stanton-Sharma from BBC Witness.

3:45 The pre-Panel 

Wallace Chapman previews tonight's instalment of The Panel.