Nights for Tuesday 9 July 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 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: Hand Me Down World by Lloyd Jones

The fifth episode of a 12 part series with Ziyande Matshe and Brian Sergent reading the 'Hand Me Down World' by Lloyd Jones.

An African woman becomes pregnant while working as a cleaner in a Tunisian hotel but, just weeks after the birth, her baby is stolen away by the father. Her journey to find him relies on the barest of resources as she tracks him across continents.

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: Why are our voices different?

It's in peaceful places like the warm steam of the shower where the noise in your brain clears and, in its place, appears the perfect thought.

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

Tonight's question: Why do humans' voices all sound different - and what determines how we sound?

To help us with the conundrum Nights is joined by Sasha Calhoun, an associate professor at Victoria University of Wellington's School of Linguistics and Applied Language Studies

9:30 Politics by Night with Thomas Coughlan

NZ Herald deputy political editor Thomas Coughlan joins Emile Donovan to cover the latest on the Darleen Tana saga and the government's plans to flood the housing market.

10:17 The implications of the Siouxsie Wiles employment case

The Employment Court yesterday found University of Auckland breached its contractual obligations to protect the health and safety of microbiologist Dr Siouxsie Wiles.

Dr Wiles alleged the university failed to protect her from a "tsunami of threats" she received for her public commentary on the Covid-19 pandemic.

Emile Donovan speaks to leading employment lawyer Barbara Buckett who explains the ins and outs of the case and talks about the ramifications of the ruling.

10:30 New literacy standards, are coming but what about conversational development?

Improving the reading and writing skills of Aotearoa's school children is a massive focus of the government which is introducing a structured literacy approach for all state schools from 2025.

Some argue the focus on structured literacy and phonics testing is putting the cart before the horse, with many five-year-olds arriving at school without the skills needed to communicate.

Soon children aged three to six in the Nelson region will be given the chance to take part in a pilot programme which covers the skills involved in talking, using words and conversing with others.

To find out more Emile Donovan speaks to Oracy Aotearoa New Zealand spokesperson Mary Ellen O'Connor.

10:45 Why do men think it's masculine to sit in silence on long-haul flights?

It's time to talk about a new trend that has jumped the gated walls of social media and is now making waves in the mainstream conversation.

Tonight we're going to look at the rise in the number of men - it's almost exclusively men - spending the entirety of a long-haul flight not using any entertainment or distractions outside of the journey map.

Emile Donovan speaks to RNZ's Nicky Park about the latest social media manosphere craze "raw-dogging".

11:07 Worlds of Music

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