8:15 Pacific Waves

A daily current affairs programme that delves deeper into the major stories of the week, through a Pacific lens, and shines a light on issues affecting Pacific people wherever they are in the world. Hosted by Susana Suisuiki.

Follow this podcast

8:30 Jukebox

Emile Donovan plays your requests - as long as you've got a compelling reason, or a good story with it.

Send in your requests to nights@rnz.co.nz or text 2101.

8:45 The Reading 

Tonight, the finale of 'The Swing Around' written by Barbara Anderson and read by Miranda Harcourt.

9:05 Nights Quiz

Do you know your stuff? Come on the air and be grilled by Emile Donovan as he dons his quizmaster hat.

If you get an answer right, you move on to the next question. If you get it wrong, your time in the chair is up, and the next caller will be put through. The person with the most correct answers at the end of the run goes in the draw for a weekly prize.

The quiz is themed - find out more about tonight's theme on Nights' Facebook page.

9:15 Whakataukī of the Week with Justine Murray

Every Monday, to set the tone for the week, Nights hears from someone who shares a whakataukī, a piece of Māori wisdom, that's near and dear to their hearts.

Tonight, RNZ senior podcast producer Justine Murray joins Emile Donovan.

Justine has been behind the award-winning docuseries NZ Wars, and tonight she's been celebrating the premiere of a new season with a personal connection, Stories of Tauranga Moana.

Photo: RNZ / Samuel Rillstone

9:30 Nova explosion: The life and death of stars

Star gazers are set for a treat any day now as a star system 3,000 light years away is on the verge of lighting up with a thermonuclear explosion.

Every eighty years, a nova called T Coronae Borealis spectacularly erupts, appearing as a new star in the sky. 

It was first officially recorded in 1866 but could have been observed as far back as 1217.

Emile Donovan speaks to Professor Jan Eldridge, head of physics at the University of Auckland, whose research is focused upon the lives and deaths of stars.

Artist's impression of a white dwarf, G29-38, accreting planetary material from a circumstellar debris disk. When the planetary material hits the white dwarf surface, a plasma is formed and cools via detectable X-ray emission.

Photo: MARK GARLICK/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY

10:17 Lifeline makes crisis call of its own

The mental health hotline Lifeline turns 60 this year and they say financial pressure has never been greater.

Lifeline counsellors are on standby around the clock, answering around 8000 calls a month from New Zealanders in distress or at risk of suicide.

But without government funding to stay steady, Lifeline needs a lifeline of its own.

Bonnie Robinson, the chief executive of Presbyterian Support North Charitable Trust, the parent organisation of Lifeline, joins Emile Donovan.

No caption

Photo: Lifeline

10:30 Sports with Kayla Hodge

Otago Daily Times sports reporter Kayla Hodge joins Emile Donovan to cover the rise in suspensions to start the ANZ netball premiership, the New Zealand Warriors' search for up and coming talent in the deep south, and profile some of New Zealand's most underrated athletes.

New Zealander Hamish Kerr celebrates after winning the men's high jump final during the Indoor World Athletics Championships in Glasgow, Scotland, 2024.

New Zealander Hamish Kerr celebrates after winning the men's high jump final during the Indoor World Athletics Championships in Glasgow, Scotland. Photo: AFP

10:45 BBC World Lookahead with Pete Ross

BBC World reporter Pete Ross joins Emile Donovan to take a look at some of the events making headlines internationally, including local elections in the UK, protests in the former Soviet state of Georgia, and a forthcoming report from a Canadian government inquiry into foreign interference and spying.

Georgian riot police stand outside Georgia's Parliament in Tbilisi early on March 9, 2023 during a rally called by Georgian opposition and civil society groups against a planned "foreign agent" law reminiscent of Russian legislation used to silence critics.

Georgian riot police stand outside Georgia's Parliament in Tbilisi early on March 9, 2023 during a rally called by Georgian opposition and civil society groups against a planned "foreign agent" law reminiscent of Russian legislation used to silence critics. Photo: Vano Shlamov/AFP

11:07 Nashville Babylon

Every week on Nashville Babylon Mark Rogers presents the very best in country, soul and rock 'n' roll.

On this week's Nashville Babylon there's classic blues from Ma Rainey and Freddie King, soul courtesy of Otis Redding and Nina Simone, reggae from Marcia Griiffith plus Cat Power covering Jackson Browne.