Afternoons for Monday 15 December 2025

Does this photo contain a UFO? You be the judge.

1:10 Bondi Shooting: How locals are reacting

Australian officials are describing the deadly attack at Sydney's Bondi Beach as a targeted, antisemitic terror attack. 

Police say the two people behind the shooting were father and son. The father has died, the son is in critical condition in hospital. 

Vigils are being held around the world to pay tribute to the victims, who range in age from 10 to 87. 

Friend of the show Brad Foster lives in Sydney, he chats to Jesse about how locals are reacting. 

1:15 Celebrating the New Zealanders who run towards danger

There is remarkable video footage of an Australian man tackling one of the Bondi shooters you can watch it on rnz.co.nz

His act of bravery is being lauded right across the world and quite rightly. 

People who risk their lives to help others are a special breed.

Over the weekend, 10 such New Zealanders received Bravery Awards for their acts of heroism. 

One of them was 23-year-old Hamiltonian Hayden Paul Cornwall, he joins me now. 

1.25 The marine scientist fighting misinformation over ocean issues

Marine scientists say New Zealanders want to engage with ocean issues but doing that is getting harder. 

Knowing what information to trust online is getting more difficult, and that’s why Veronica Rotman has established NZ Ocean News. 

Veronica is a marine scientist and PhD candidate at the University of Auckland; she joins Jesse to explain what NZ Ocean News is and how you can access it. 

1.35 How do we know what supplements we actually need?

From multivitamin gummies to creatine and collagen powders... it can feel like we’re being bombarded with products that promise more energy, better sleep, and glowing skin

But are these supplements actually worth taking or are they a waste of money?

We've asked Dr Prabani Wood, Medical Director at The Royal NZ College of General Practitioners and Hamilton GP to break it down for us.

1:45 One long song: David Bowie's Blackstar

2:10 Television Critic: Pluribus and Malice

Our telly critic Dominic Corry is here with me to share his picks:

Pluribus - Apple TV
Malice - Prime Video

2:20 Jesse Goes Clubbing

Monday is club day here at Afternoons, because the team is determined Jesse hits the clubs. 
If you have a club you'd like me to join for the day please get in touch .. we'd love to hear from you..  afternoons@rnz.co.nz

Today we're talking to Catherine McDonald from Christchurch Quilters. 

2.30 Reaction to the Bondi Beach terrorist attack

Vigils are being held around the world to pay tribute to the victims of the Bondi Beach attack - who range in age from 10 to 87. 

15 people were killed after two gunmen opened fire at an event to mark the start of Hanukkah, a Jewish holiday. 

One of the alleged gunman was also killed, while the other alleged gunman is in a critical but stable condition in hospital. 

Australian officials are describing it as a targeted, antisemitic terror attack. 

Australian Darren Isenberg, a director, self-described positive influencer and a member of the Jewish community, joins Jesse.

2.40 Expert Feature: You Must Not Pass Go!

We've covered scrabble, we've covered chess, today in our expert feature we're looking at Monopoly!

Are some properties better buys than others? Should we spend up large or conserve capital? Is a niche family rule a good addition? How can you stop players stealing from the bank?

Get your strategy questions to us on 2101.

Jesse is joined by former Monopoly world number two player Geoff 'The Nimble Thimble' Christopher.

3:10 Feature: Why we shouldn't be so quick to dismiss non-human intelligent life

For years, it was easy to dismiss talk of UAPs, Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena, formerly known as UFOs. But director and producer Dan Farah argues that moment is over. In his new documentary, The Age of Disclosure, he speaks with 34 high-level figures from the U.S. government, military, and intelligence world who say non-human intelligent life has already made contact, and a global race is underway to reverse engineer the technology involved. The film makes clear this isn’t the age of fringe speculation anymore; it’s a turning point. The Age of Disclosure is available to rent or purchase on Prime Video.
 

3:35 Here Now

Here Now is an RNZ podcast hosted by Kadambari Raghukumar, it focuses on the journeys people make to New Zealand, their identities and perspectives, and how that shapes their lives here. In this week's edition, Kadambari reflects on some of Here Now's best conversations in 2025.

3:45 The pre-Panel

Wallace Chapman previews tonight's instalment of The Panel.