Nights for Thursday 4 April 2024

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.

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8:30 Jukebox

Mark Leishman 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, episode three of 'The Swing Around' written by Barbara Anderson and read by Miranda Harcourt.

9:07 Nights Quiz

Do you know your stuff? Come on the air and be grilled by Mark Leishman 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 I Was There When: Christchurch held the world's first Gnome Convention

Every Thursday, Nights speak to people who were on the ground when history was made in New Zealand.

This particular event isn't one you'll find in many history books, in Christchurch, back in 1995, the world's first international Gnome Convention was held, with over 10,000 people in attendance.

Steve Farrow and Henry Sunderland were there and they speak to Mark Leishman.

9:35 Speed dating for 45-to-65-year olds in Rolleston

Dating in the modern age can be frustrating at the best of times.

Add to that the challenges of dating in rural New Zealand, and dating in middle age, and Kiwis wouldn't be blamed for thinking they were flat out of luck.

Beaulieu Matthews is the founder of Canterbury speed dating service Instadate. 

This weekend, she's bringing 45 to 65 year olds together in Rolleston over a wine tasting in the hopes of sparking a connection.

She tells Mark Leishman about the event.

9:45 Movies return to Raetihi's beloved Royal Theatre

After forty years since its last screening, the century old Theatre Royal will throw open it's doors again with the world premiere of locally-made documentary. 

As well as being a boon for the small Ruapehu District town, it's also one for the history buffs, as it is thought the Royal is the oldest provincial cinema in New Zealand still in existence.

Gary Griffin-Chappel is the chair of the Theatre Royal Charitable Trust and joins Mark Leishman.

10:17 Who invented the flat white?

It's the most popular cafe order by a country mile, but the actual origins of the flat white are hard to trace.

A historian in Australia thinks he might have cracked the code.

According to University of Newcastle history lecturer Chip Van Dyk, Italian sugar farmers in Queensland may be the missing link to popularising this method of preparing coffee back in the 1980s.

He joins Mark Leishman.

10:30 How to avoid daylight savings wreaking havoc on your sleep cycle

It's a time of year many of us dread.

Twice a year the clocks change by an hour throwing our routines and sleeping patterns into spin.

Associate Professor Guy Warman from the Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences at Auckland University is an expert on our sleep cycle.

He joins Mark Leishman to share a few tips to make those earlier mornings next week a bit more bearable.

10:45 Dunedin man running 600km from Milford Sound to home

Glenn Sutton has run all over the world, pushing his endurance and body to the limits of what's possible.

But the Dunedin man's next challenge has him admitting to being a bit scared. 

Starting in two weeks' time, he's going to try and run non-stop from Milford Sound back home to Dunedin, a journey of 617 kilometres.

He tells Mark Leishman what gives him his drive.

11:07 The Mixtape

Sunday Morning host Jim Mora tells Trevor Reekie about his passion for music and some of his all-time favourite songs.