Afternoons for Wednesday 23 April 2025

1:10 how to stop throwing away $1500 every year

Wastebusters is a waste minimisation project. It started 25 years ago after the people of Wanaka banded together to reduce the waste going to landfill. The result was a recycling center. 

1:20 Get this water tower funded!

We love a story with a bit of grassroots hustle and ingenuity. 

The small Orepuki community in Southland have banded together and secured funding to restore the town's railway water tower.

The Orepuki Community Promotions Charitable Trust has been responsible for bringing together the Tuatapere Te Waewae Community Board and Southland District Council to greenlight the project. 

1:35 India and te ao Māori storytelling merge 

The Hawke's Bay Indian Cultural Centre is celebrating their 10th birthday with a brand-new show, 'Wairua Paani'.

The production brings together Indian classical and Bollywood dance with te ao Māori storytelling.

Tickets are available now for the performance this Saturday at the Toitoi Opera House in Hastings. 

1:45 Heading Off: tips for solo women travelers

There has been a 42% increase in solo travel over that last couple of years and of those solo travelers around 8 out of 10 are woman.

This includes our guest Jessica Nabongo - the author behind the book "Catch me if you can: One Woman's journey to every country in the world"

2.12 Music Critic: new music from Neither Do I and Ichiko Aoba

Matthew Crawley has brought two new tracks in his music bag to play for you. New Zealand project Neither Do I and their song Ghost Machine. He also has Lucifèrine by Japanese ethereal folk singer Ichiko Aoba lined up for your ears.

2:20 Easy Eats: Curried Sausages 

Kelly Gibney says curried sausages are a delicious, nostalgic cool-weather dish and who are we to disagree. They're economical, and hugely tasty. This recipe makes a generous amount, so you'll have leftovers for lunch the next day. The curry sauce is really simple to prepare and will work well with either mild curry powder or hot. Use whatever is your preference. Get the recipe here. 

2:30 Bookmarks with Tina Makereti

Today for bookmarks Jesse is joined by novelist, essayist, curator and short fiction writer Tina Makereti. 

She has a PhD and Masters in Creative Writing from the International Institute of Modern Letters.

Tina's novel 'The Mires' was released last year to rave reviews ... she is a finalist in the Jann Medlicott Acorn Prize for Fiction at the Ockham New Zealand Book Awards 2025.

3:10 Feature interview: Seinfeld and Curb Your Enthusiasm writer explains how to tell a joke 

You may not know her name, but chances are Carol Leifer has made you laugh. She's an Emmy and Golden Globe winner for her work as a writer and executive producer on Hacks and her other credits include Seinfeld and Curb Your Enthusiasm. Now Carol Leifer wants to help you crush it and deliver some unforgettably funny lines the next time you're called on to give a speech at any occasion from a wedding to a work event.

She shares her tips as well as stories from inside some of our favorite TV shows.   Her book is called   How to Write a Funny Speech… for a Wedding, Bar Mitzvah, Graduation & Every Other Event You Didn't Want to Go to in the First Place.

3:35 Stories from Our Changing World

3:45 The pre-Panel

Wallace Chapman previews tonight's installment of The Panel.