Nights for Wednesday 26 June 2024

8:10 The House

Today on our Parliament programme - The House - Phil Smith outlines a week of urgency and a week of bills - including five requesting public input.  

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 Nights Jukebox

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

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

8:45 The Reading

Tonight, the third episode of 'Rocking Horse Road', written by Carl Nixon and read by Jason Whyte.

After her violent death on the beach at the end of Rocking Horse Road, Lucy Asher takes on the status of a deity for a group of boys in the school. Their collective imagination makes her into something apart, special and, almost because of her very unassailability, a goddess.  As her high priests they must revenge her murder....it's part 4

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.

9:20 Hamilton Gardens fundraising campaign gets underway

If you've ever visited Hamilton or just know someone who has, it's likely you're aware of the award-winning gardens, which are the pride of joy of the river city.

While tens of thousands of people visit the city's most popular attraction each year, the gardens themselves are still a work in progress.

So a fundraising campaign has just been launched to help raise $300,000 needed to complete the new medieval themed space.

Emile Donovan founding director and visionary designer of the gardens Peter Sergel.

9:30 Midweek Mediawatch

Hayden Donnell talks to Emile Donovan about the big stories in the news this week including how the media covered the Government's Pharmac funding announcement, why the Daily Mail published a highly questionable AI article and Stuff closes two newspapers in Northland.

10:17 Does our hatred toward possums need a rethink?

Possums have been public enemy number one in the conservation scene for years.

They eat native birds and plants, and can spread disease on our farms.

But our next guest says the violent way New Zealand targets possums, including school hunting events, may be doing more harm than good to society.

Dr Emily Major is a researcher and conservation advocate based in Christchurch and she joins Emile Donovan.

10:30 Yvonne Lorkin: Twenty years of wine writing in New Zealand

Wine writer, competition judge and businesswoman Yvonne Lorkin joins Emile Donovan to reflect on her career in all things fermented.

10:45 Australia's possible nuclear future: Path to net zero or political gamble?

The main opposition party in Australia is thinking of taking the nuclear option as the country looks to pivot away from coal-fired power generation.

Does it make sense from a climate point of view - or an economic point of view? And would the Australian people ever approve such a move?

Tony Irwin is a nuclear engineer and an honourary associate professor at Australian National University. He joins Emile Donovan.

11:07 Pocket Edition

On this week's Pocket Edition Maggie Tweedie debuts a fresh single from Marlins Dreaming and Aotearoa Hip Hop collective SWIDT return with a stellar new album to share.