Afternoons for Wednesday 24 July 2024

 

1:15 Lore Olympus - NZ's webcomic phenomenon 

It's possible that artist Rachel Smythe is New Zealand's most read author. After 8 years of writing and illustrating her online comic Lore Olympus, she can boast 6.5 million subscribers, and 1.7 billion views. It's a retelling The Abduction of Persephone from greek myth and it's very modern, very sexy and very popular. The printed collections of the comic have hit the top of the New York Times bestseller list multiple times ... and there's even a TV show in the making.

1:25  Helping cancer patients get the therapy they need

Around 700 New Zealanders are diagnosed with pancreatic cancer each year. It's one of the hardest cancers to spot, and even if it is caught early, the 5 year survival rate is still only 5 percent. But, there is a drug therapy available called PERT - pancreatic enzyme replacement therapy. The problem is there seems to be a lack of awareness of it by both doctors and patients. That's why ASPERT, the Aotearoa Australia Pancreatic Enzyme Replacement Therapy research group, has launched a patient registry on social media to guide more people towards the medication. The team is led by Dr Amanda Landers, a palliative cate physician and Head of the Department of Medicine at the University of Otago.

1:35 Clutha District mayor Bryan Cagodan on nabbing NZ's biggest band

Balclutha has declared itself as the biggest fans of Six60. Whangārei, Rotorua, Palmerston North, Raglan and Balclutha were all in the running to host the band for an encore show to end their New Zealand tour. Bryan is fizzing about coming out on top and chats with Jesse about how the community mobilsed and came out on top.

1:45 Heading Off: Wānaka Green Steam

Today we're going to take a closer look at the Wānaka Green Steam. This is an annual event where adventurers gather to cycle from the Wanaka township out to Treble Cone Ski Field and back. It's a zero-carbon event, and its he purpose is to raise awareness about the climate impact that comes with travelling and adventuring. Photographer and filmmaker Chris Chase documented the event last year in his short film 'The Annual Greensteam', which won the Special Jury Award at the NZ Mountain Film Festival. 

2.10 Podcast Critic: Matt Heath

Today Matt chats about some podcasts he's been loving. They include a spooky and personal investigation called Ghost Story  and the Jason Bateman and Will Arnett fronted Smartless. 

2:20 Easy Eats with Sam Parish: Buttery Gochujang Noodles

Today Sam shares a recipe using a very much 'in' ingredient right now, gochujang paste.

She's using the rich flavour packed Korean fermented condiment to make a tasty noodle dish.

You can find out how to make this dish at home here.

2:30 Bookmarks with Benee

Today's Bookmarks guest is beaming in from LA to speak to Jesse. But the reality is she grew up not far from where he currently lives in Grey Lynn Auckland.

Stella Rose Bennett A.K.A popstar Benee is our guest today, she talks about branching out from music to film and her favourite reads, movies and music.

3:10 The American political landscape, Bakari Sellers view

It's chaos, political malpractice but the right thing to do for US president Joe Biden to end his re-election campaign says Bakari Sellers, CNN political analyst and former co-chair for the Kamala Harris primary campaign for president in 2020.

Sellers says Harris is going to need support from people of color, but motivating voters to get off the couch will be an issue for both sides.

The son of a civil rights leader, he says men like his father believe things are worse for African Americans now than they were in 1954, in terms of metrics of success and that disillusionment can turn into voter apathy.  

We'll talk about the US election as well as his book, The Moment - Thoughts on the Race Reckoning That Wasn't and How We All Can Move Forward Now.

3:35 Stories from Our Changing World

Coming up on Our Changing World - Claire Concannon heads to a food lab in Auckland University of Technology to try a new snack that contains an unusual ingredient.  

3:45 The pre-Panel