Afternoons for Thursday 19 December 2024

1:15 New Jersey drones: a spiral of information. 

You may have heard about the mystery surrounding sightings in the sky in the US state of New Jersey.

Members of the public have reported thousands of drone sightings in the last month.

Officials haven't been able to confirm what they are, and the lack of concrete answers has lead to an explosion of conspiracy theories and panic among locals.

Foreign interference and local military exercises are among popular theories, both of which have been disregarded by authorities.

Maddy Kearns is an associate editor at an outlet called The Free Press. She's been looking at the spiral of information over the last response, and the communication strategy from officials.

1:25 Free Period Products at Rhythm and Vines

Festival season is quickly approaching with major local and international acts due to hit the big stages over the next few weeks.

Attendees at this year's Rhythm and Vines will receive the bonus of free period products.

A new initiative called Ads on Pads will be stocking up portaloos, funded through printing ads on the packaging.

Ads on Pads founder Aditi Gorasia talks to Jesse about the initiative. 

1:35 Zoe George's Year of Sports In Review

2024 has been a massive year in the world of women's sport.

New Zealand took home 20 medals at the Paris Olympics, the White Ferns sealed an historic T20 World Cup win against South Africa, and the list goes on.

1:45 Great album: Kingmaker by Tami Neilson 

Released in 2022 this was the album that won Tami best country artist, best solo artist and best producer at the Aotearoa music awards the same year. 

Influences for the album include Nancy Sinatra, Ennio Morricone and Willie Nelson - who features in the song Beyond the Stars. 

2:10 Podcast Critic: Gone South

Elliott Childs reviews crime podcast Gone South, which focuses on crimes in the southern states of the US. 

He also reviews some terrible podcast ads! 

2:30 NZ Sporting History: Anna Simcic

If you were paying attention to Olympic sports in the 90s, you'll have fond memories of swimmer Anna Simcic-Forrest. 

At the age of 15, she missed out on qualifying for the 1988 Seoul Olympics by just 0.2 seconds. 

Two years later she burst into the spotlight when she won two medals at the Auckland Commonwealth Games. 

Anna is a two-time Olympian having competed at the Barcelona games in 1992, and the Atlanta games in 96. 

Since leaving competition behind she's supported the next generation of athletes working with High Performance Sport NZ, the Performance Wellbeing Group, and the NZ Netball Players Association. 

3:15 Solving the World's Problems

Retired farmer and commentator Steve Wyn-Harris joins Jesse to talk about his latest meteorite adventures (pic below) and the pressures the Christmas period puts on farmers.  

3:20 History with Dr Grant Morris

Dr Grant Morris from Victoria University has been our guide through history this year. And for his final segment for 2024 he's asking a big question: where do we come from?

3:35 BBC Witness History

The Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard spoke out in October 2012 in the country's parliament. In her impromptu speech she explained the misogyny she had endured for years.

3:45 The pre-Panel 

Wallace Chapman and producer Tom Riste-Smith join JesSe to preview tonight's instalment of The Panel.