Rnz: Afternoons With Jesse Mulligan

13-year-old Elly Grady's debut children's book is an oral history of her Kereru, Hawkes Bay community.

For the past 20 years hundreds of Kiwi teachers have taken part in a programme that's allowed them to experience life in a Samoan village.

This week's critter is a curious and cryptic insect you've probably never heard of. The native thread-legged bug, Empicorus seorsus, is unique to Aotearoa and is one of only four thread-legged bugs found here. It looks a bit like a moth crossed with a daddy-long leg and a praying mantis. Don't be fooled by its delicate-looking legs because this critter is a powerful predator.

Any and all DIY or building questions will be answered by Stan Scott, builder and solid dude.

Gretchen Lowe has a perfect Friday night mix-up on a pizza. Get the recipe here.

Kate Rodger gives her verdict on the sequel to Ridley Scott's classic Gladiator.

Today we hear from Margaret and her freaky story.

According to a new report,10,000 properties will become totally uninsurable within the next 25 years.

A couple of weeks ago, you will have heard that Star Jam, the organisation that created dancing and performing opportunities for people with disabilties, came to an abrupt end. For one group - the news the dancing had to stop, came two days before the end of year concert that jammers had spent months preparing for. An Auckland mother is determined that her son, and his friends, will still get the chance to groove and move each week. Jesse talks to Sally Rayner - from Lena's Magic Movers.

When you think of permaculture, you might imagine something very busy and wild, but Amanda Warren is a garden designer and says it doesn't have to be like that.

Today on the pre-panel producer José Barbosa joins Wallace Chapman & Jesse Mulligan to preview tonight's show.

Mary's talked about women investing on International Women's Day, but how about the blokes? Men are open to taking risks in investing, more than women, but can be overconfident and less likely to seek advice. Well guys, we recommend listening to Mary and her advice on this occasion.

Former All Blacks captain Sir Wayne 'Buck' Shelford joins us for this week's Sporting History. Sir Wayne's career in Rugby Union includes joining the New Zealand Cavaliers on their controversial tour of apartheid South Africa and winning the inaugural 1987 Rugby World Cup. He then captained the All Blacks for a three year, 14 game unbeaten streak Buck is also credited with revitalising the Ka Mate haka the All Blacks perform before matched. Teaching the team the correct tikanga. Oh and there's also the infamous "Battle of Nantes" which resulted in Sir Wayne 'Buck' Shelford being knocked out, losing several teeth and a testicle!

Elliott Childs accepts a listener's recommendation and gives a podcast hosted by two marriage celebrants a hoon.

Author Vanessa Robertson joins Jesse to talk us through the process of collecting a family history.

How often do you think about the Roman Empire? If memes are to be believed, men think about it every day. But it's not just the men. University of Canterbury Associate Professor Alison Griffith does too. Alison teaches students about Roman society through a traditional Maori lens. She joins Jesse to explore how we can use that knowledge and apply it to our own society and culture.

Australian redback spiders found their way to New Zealand in the 1980s.   These dangerously venomous spiders are now found in Central Otago and New Plymouth, where they pose a risk to both people and our native endangered species.  To control these invasive spiders, a team of scientists at Plant & Food Research is working on a cunning trap.   It's a targeted, environmentally friendly alternative to pesticides.  But first, to get the trap working, the scientists need to enlist the help of the spiders themselves.  We join Ellen Rykers in the lab as she meets Dr Andrew Twidle and 800 redback spiders. 

The way our immune system fights off malicious bacteria and viruses is pure poetry to John Trowsdale, emeritus professor of immunology at the University of Cambridge.

This isn't your ordinary mac 'n cheese, thanks to a few surprising ingredients. Get the recipe here.

The Sherrif of Sounds himself, Matthew Crawley - is our music reviewer.