Afternoons for Tuesday 26 November 2024

1:15 The machine that places road cones

A groundbreaking automated road cone machine, developed in Stratford, Taranaki, is set to transform roadwork safety, promising to save both money and lives.

Currently, the task of placing road cones is done manually by workers harnessed to the back of trucks, putting them at risk of falling or being struck by passing vehicles. Safety officers estimate that replacing manual coning could reduce serious injuries by 43%. 

Nic Burroughs, Service Manager at Fieldtorque Taranaki Limited, talks to Jesse about their amazing machine. 

1:25 Raffaello vs ACC

In July this year, twenty-two businesses were told they had to move out of Nelson's Morrison Square.

ACC - which owns the buildings - reported uncovering a serious cladding fault. Most of the Tennants have moved out, but Italian restaurant Babagatto is still holding on.

Owner Raffaello Sirri has his own independent report indicating his building is not clad in the same way He's asking ACC to let him get through the busy summer period before moving.

1:35 Why is it so hard to find a good pair of togs?

Freelance journalist Nikki Bezant recently wrote an opinion piece bemoaning the difficulty in finding swimwear that fits for a wide range of body types. Looking into it she found an industry that trends towards skimpy over comfortable and asked: why?

1:45 Feature Album: Transformer

This week Jesse plays tracks from the seminal Lou Reed album, Transformer. 

2:10 Book Critic:  Delirious by Damien Wilkins 

Claire Mabey discusses the latest from the NZ writer Damien Wilkins. She also looks at The Hotel Balzaar by acclaimed children's novelist Kate DiCamillo and The Haunted Wood, a history of children's literature by Sam Leith. 

2:20 Update on Oz with Brad Foster

Our Australian correspondent Brad gives us the latest on the methanol poisoning in Laos and there's new efforts in household recycling in Sydney. 

2:30 Music feature: Frank Zappa

Elliott Childs offers up 101 on the enigmatic Frank Zappa and his music. 

3:10 Feature interview: why you might never be a grandparent

The birthrate is dropping all over the world.  Most of the conversation about population decline centers on the economic consequences when fewer people are having babies. But there is another side effect, fewer parents become grandparents. . When the New York Times recently did a story about the grief some parents feel about never becoming grandparents, it set off a firestorm of comments with one side accusing childless adults of being selfish and the other telling wannabe grandparents they are genetic narcissists.   Dr Maggie Mulqueen is a psychologist in Boston and has counseled patients who long for grandchildren they will never have and offers advice about talking about the topic of children who don't have children without judgement.   

3:30 Thrift: Financial literacy for the whole family

Trying to cut costs only works when everyone in your household sticks to the same plan.

3:45 The pre-Panel

Wallace Chapman joins Jesse to preview the upcoming Panel. They are joined by producer Sam Hollis with some interesting news from the day.