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Nights for Tuesday 9 April 2024

8:10 The House

Phil Smith reviews Question Time today, and the Speaker's steer ministerial answers away from attacks and towards answers.

Gerry Brownlee in the Chair as Speaker.

Gerry Brownlee in the Chair as Speaker. Photo: VNP / Phil Smith

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

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, episode five 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 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 Shower Thoughts: What's the difference between hand soap and dish soap?

Have you ever been standing in the shower, when suddenly, the noise in your brain clears and in its place appears the perfect thought?

That's a Shower Thought, and Nights is aiming to answer those unshakeable questions lurking in the back of your mind.

Tonight's question: Why does hand soap feel so different to dish soap, and laundry soap?

Auckland University of Technology chemistry professor Allan Blackman joins Emile Donovan to explain.

Bar of wet white soap

Photo: Picture Partners

9:30 Politics by Night with Amelia Wade

Newshub political journalist Amelia Wade joins Emile Donovan to dig into MP pay rises, minister for foreign affairs Winston Peters' trip to the United Nations, and Christopher Luxon's nine-point-plan to be in effect by 2030.

9:50 Mystery and death in New Zealand's Southern Alps

A new crime novel foregrounds New Zealand's pioneering women mountaineers.

'Girl of the Mountains' is Wellington-based archivist and former journalist Trish McCormack's fourth book. 

Crossing time periods and families, the book is a mystery set around the remote and treacherous Southern Alps - a place to which author Trish is no stranger, growing up in the foothills of Franz Josef.

She joins Emile Donovan.

A book cover. It shows a stylised relief of a woman's face, backgrounded by an image of snow-capped mountains. The title is "GIRL OF THE MOUNTAINS".

'Girl of the Mountains' is archivist and former journalist Trish McCormack's fourth novel, set against the backdrop of the Southern Alps. Photo: Supplied

10:17 TVNZ confirms shuttering of Fair Go, Midday and Tonight

The tranche of job cuts at TVNZ reached a milestone today with confirmation that programmes Fair Go, Midday and Tonight would all be cut from mid-May.

In early March the broadcaster announced it was proposing to disestablish 68 roles across the organisation in the wake of financial difficulties.

Final decisions on cuts to Sunday and Re:News are yet to come, and there is a suggestion that Fair Go may continue in some form.

Mediawatcher Hayden Donnell joins Emile Donovan for a mini Midweek Mediawatch.

TVNZ building in Auckland.

Photo: RNZ/Marika Khabazi

10:30 Horror icon Carrie celebrates 50 blood-soaked years

It's been 50 years since writer Stephen King released his debut novel Carrie, and forever changed the landscape of horror fiction.

The novel, following a bullied teenage girl with supernatural powers, would go on to become a cult classic film, catapult King into his eventual title of the king of horror, and lead to an impressive catalogue of published books and short stories.

King superfan Elizabeth Knox, one of New Zealand's most celebrated writers, with twelve novels and many more essays to her name, joins Emile Donovan to review Carrie's legacy.

Elizabeth Knox

Elizabeth Knox Photo: Grant Maiden

10:45 The rubbish rubbishing New Zealand's waste disposal

Last week, after a cricket game at Hagley Oval in Christchurch, fan Sue Craig-Stewart spotted something fishy going on with the grounds' rubbish bins.

While people were sorting their waste into rubbish and recycling bins, once the bin bags were taken away, they were all chucked in the same skip, destined for landfill, she told Checkpoint.

Nelson Harper is the CEO of Precycle NZ, a waste minimisation group in Palmerston North. He says the scenes at Hagley Park are completely avoidable with the right manpower.

He joins Emile Donovan.

Two people in hi-vis jackets stand under a gazebo sorting through rubbish bags by hand.

Precycle NZ sort through rubbish from big events to separate out items that can be recycled or composted. Photo: Supplied

11:07 Worlds of Music

Trevor Reekie hosts a weekly music programme celebrating an eclectic mix of 'world' music, fusion and folk roots.