Media Releases
Monthly Highlights: April
Released at 10:20 am on 25 March 2025
New content
30 with Guyon Espiner | Video series, Podcast
Launches tomorrow
Current affairs, interview
RNZ’s video-led current affairs programme 30 with Guyon Espiner is back for another season continuing its focus on interesting topics with influential people – in uncut 30-minute interviews. This season launches with Jordan O’Brien, Kiwi soldier on Ukraine’s frontline with his take on Russian tactics in the ongoing war. Upcoming guests include acting legend and winemaker Sam Neill, a gang boss on the power of the patch and whether boot camps can turn young criminal’s lives around, and former All Black and Rhodes scholar David Kirk on his new role at NZ Rugby.
A new episode is released every Wednesday on rnz.co.nz/guyon, RNZ’s YouTube channel and TVNZ+, with highlights posted on social media and the audio released on podcast apps and broadcast on RNZ National at 5pm on Sundays.
The Stolen Children of Aotearoa | Podcast
Monday 7 April
Current affairs, documentary
This podcast is about a gang whānau and their journey to speak out about the abuse they experienced as children in our state care system.
Available at rnz.co.nz/podcasts and podcast platforms. Made with support from Te Māngai Pāho, NZ On Air and Whakaata Māori.
Thrift | Podcast
Tuesday 8 April
Life, budgeting
Thrift is back with for 2025 with more tips to help keep money in your pocket. Season four looks at how to keep fit for free, the best ways to get the most out of a subscription vege box, and how to clean your house for less than a dollar by making your own cleaning products. The series also unpicks some of the deep-seated factors that drive our extra spending. Host Katy Gosset talks to a consumer behaviourist and embarks on a personal challenge to tackle her own triggers. But will it work? Weekly episodes available at rnz.co.nz/podcasts and podcast apps and on RNZ National on Tuesdays at 3:30pm.
Radio Highlights
Listen to RNZ National and RNZ Concert on radio, at rnz.co.nz or on the RNZ app.
Morning Report turns 50
Tuesday 1 April, 6-9am | RNZ National
RNZ National’s flagship news programme Morning Report turns 50 on Tuesday 1 April. Tune in for a special broadcast celebrating this milestone and featuring a look back to some of biggest news stories over the years, insights into how the show is put together and special guests who’ll be very familiar to listeners. Speaking of birthdays, RNZ is celebrating its 100th in 2025, more details on how we are sharing this celebration with our audience are coming soon.
Easter Programming
Easter Sunday
This year’s Easter service is from Mary of the Angels Church in Wellington. The celebrant is Fr Kevin Mowbray SM, William McElwee is Music Director, and the organist is Donald Trott. The mass will be broadcast on RNZ National at 7am and 11pm and RNZ Concert at 11am and also be available at rnz.co.nz/concert.
Easter Monday
Paddy Gower will host RNZ National on Easter Monday from 8am-midday, and Matinee Idle will broadcast music and chit chat from midday-5pm.
Anzac Day
Friday 25 April
RNZ National
Anzac Morning with Stacey Morrison will broadcast on RNZ National from 5:55am with coverage of the National dawn service, crosses to other events around the motu, as well as features, music and interviews. Susana Leia’taua will host RNZ National from 10am-midday, followed by On the Air with Mark Williams and Kara Rickard from midday to 5pm.
RNZ Concert
Anzac Sonic Tonic: RNZ Concert host Bryan Crump digs into the archives, as well as the station’s record collection to bring you an hour of music and voices revolving around our national experience of war, and aspiration for peace. 4pm on RNZ Concert.
Back to Timor | Video, Audio
Twenty-five years on, four former Kiwi soldiers return to East Timor to see whether their time there as peacekeepers made a difference. It was an emotional journey for one in particular - the platoon he commanded was ambushed by enemy militia and a patrolman killed. He needed to return for final peace of mind. Journalist Mike McRoberts and two camera crews went along with the group and made some surprising discoveries.
Released on Anzac Day, the documentary will be broadcast on RNZ National at 7am, with the video version available on rnz.co.nz/video
School Holidays
Suzy & Friends | Podcast
Mondays
These school holidays, let Suzy Cato entertain the kids with the Suzy & Friends podcast – now available on YouTube! There are stories, children chatting, fun facts, brain teasers, kids telling jokes and the game ‘What’s that Sound?’. New eps drop weekly, and there’s over a year’s worth of episodes available, providing hours of screen-free fun! Join Suzy Cato and co-host Trevor Plant for Suzy & Friends at rnz.co.nz/podcasts, YouTube or on podcast platforms.
What Will I Be Today | Video
14 April
Join your new friends Kauri, Esera and Wing Gai as they go on imaginative adventures to solve everyday problems. What Will I Be Today? is a vibrant, imaginative pre-school series that celebrates curiosity, creativity and cultural diversity. Each episode invites viewers to step into the whimsical world of six-year-old characters who explore the boundless possibilities of who – or what – they can become. What Will I Be Today? is a celebration of dreaming boldly and finding joy in the everyday adventures of childhood. Watch at rnz.co.nz/video.
Recent releases
Voice of the Sea Ice | Podcast
Thursdays
Science, Conservation
Step out onto a frozen landscape with New Zealand researchers investigating the future of Antarctica. Each winter the sea ice that forms around Antarctica effectively doubles the size of this massive continent. It’s one of the biggest annual global changes and reflects sunlight, drives ocean currents and is home to a host of critters key to the Antarctic food web. But the last few years have seen unusually low sea ice extents in Antarctica, and scientists are sounding the alarm. Is this a blip, or a trend? Claire Concannon travels to the frozen continent to find out and learns that for all the fears that stem from what climate science is telling us, there’s also room for hope and joy. Out weekly on Thursdays at rnz.co.nz/podcasts or on podcast apps.
Introducing rnz.co.nz/life
Lifestyle, Entertainment
Lifestyle and entertainment content on rnz.co.nz is now easier to find and navigate with RNZ’s new Tauoranga Life section. From wellness to people and relationships to food, arts and culture, Life is full of content that’s long been part of RNZ but now has its own home and a sleek new look. Explore the new section at rnz.co.nz/life
