Afternoons for Tuesday 5 August 2025

 

1:10 Bringing some Disney magic to the ice

How do you make Disney magic even more magical? You put it on ice of course. 

The famous Disney on Ice production is coming back to New Zealand this month with its show 'Find Your Hero.'

We wanted to learn a bit more about the inner workings, so it's a pleasure to welcome Sarah Santee who performs as Ariel in the show. She spoke to Emile.

1:20 The Wellington surfer making her mark in and out of the water

New Zealand Fashion Week's 'Future of Fashion' showcase is coming to Auckland on the 28th of August, and for surfwear designer Gemma Wagstaff, it'll be particularly meaningful. 

Two years ago, Gemma had to hit pause after a serious surfing accident. 

She's now fully recovered, recharged, and ready to debut a new 'Gemma Lee' collection for Fashion Week. 

1:35 Harricado - a new varietal of avocado, grown in Nelson

Depending on where you shop, avocados are generally cheaper than tomatoes but pricier than apples so it makes sense to grow your own if you can.

Imagine then being lucky enough to not only buy a property with an established tree but to discover that it was a little bit ... well ... special.

Harry Pearson has since lent his name to the fruit borne from this tree - the Harricado - and has worked with the New Zealand Tree Crops Association to make it more widely available.  

1:45 Tech Tuesday with Tim Batt: YouTube using AI to check users age

Tech giant Google is taking action to verify how old YouTube users are.
It says it will use AI to estimate the age of users and then show them age appropriate content. 
The move comes after Australia confirmed it would ban children under 16 from using YouTube. 

Tim shares details with Emile.

2:10 Book Critic: Julia Alvarez & Josephine Baker

Book critic Bill Hastings gives his latest recommendations; Julia Alvarez, The Cemetery of Untold Stories (Little Brown, 2025) and Josephine Baker, Fearless and Free - A Memoir (Penguin Random House, 2025) trans. Anam Zafar and Sophie Lewis. 

2:20 Update on Oz with Brad Foster

Adding to the trans-Tasman rivalry, two New Zealanders won at Australia's TV Awards, the Logies.

Sam Neill and Guy Montgomery were winners on the night.

2:30 Music feature: 'Songs from the Shaky Isles: A Short History of Popular Music in NZ"

For today's music feature we're joined by Gareth Shute

His musical pedigree includes touring internationally with bands & helping run record labels. 

Now he's written a new book, 'Songs from the shaky isles: A short history of popular music in New Zealand' was released yesterday.

3:10 Dishing the Dirt with Alan Niven, the New Zealand born manager of Guns n Roses

Kiwi born Alan Niven helped shape one of the most explosive, chaotic, and mythic rises in rock history as the manager of Guns n Roses from 1986 through 1991.  
He got the job, he says, because nobody else wanted it. 
He wasn't the bottom of the barrel; he was under the barrel. 
Guns N Roses had a reputation for drug use and handling the notoriously brilliant and volatile lead singer Axl Rose was practically pure torture.  

He spoke to Emile.

3:30 Spoken Feature: Thrift - the Savvy Students and their award-winning garden

It's time for Thrift and today we've got part two of our savvy students series.

Katy Gosset visits an award-winning student flat garden that might just be the best in Dunedin.

3:45 The pre-Panel

Wallace Chapman previews tonight's instalment of The Panel.