Nights for Monday 2 September 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

We continue David Hill's story of music, love and consequences. Tonight, part 13 of Duet.

9:05 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 Whakataukī of the Week with Te Aorangi Murphy-Fell

Every Monday here on Nights, to set the tone for the week ahead, we have a guest on to share a whakataukī - a Māori proverb - that's meaningful to them.

Te Aorangi Murphy-Fell. is a Maori langauge and education consultant, and has just released a new te reo Māori guide, co-authoring 'Nga Hapa Reo, Common Maori Language Errors.' 

He joins Emile Donovan to talk about his whakataukī:

Kaua mā te waewae tūtuki, engari mā te upoko pakaru 

(Don't turn back because of stumbling feet, but only for a broken head). 

9:30 The science of supercentenarians​

Last month, the world's oldest person died. Spanish woman Maria Branyas Morera was one hundred and seventeen years old. She lived through two pandemics, two world wars, and the Spanish Civil War.

She was what's known as a supercentenarian - someone over the age of one hundred and ten. And the number of supercentenarians globally is growing.

Professor Perminder Sachdev is world-leading expert on aging. Trained here in New Zealand, he is now a professor of Neuropsychiatry at the University of New South Wales

He joins Emile Donovan.

10:17 When does spring officially start?

Always a subject of much debate at the office, was yesterday, the first day of September, the first day of spring?

Or does spring start on September 23 - the perfect middle point between the winter and summer equinox?

Alternatively, is spring a state of mind?

To get the definitive answer principal scientist at NIWA Chris Brandolino joins Emile Donovan.

10:30 Sports with Bryan Waddle

Nights' sports correspondent Bryan Waddle joins Emile Donovan to discuss whether the rugby championship South Africa's to lose, Shaun Johnson ends the Warriors season on winning note, a tough challenge for the Black Caps and Team New Zealand boat mishap at the Americas Cup.

10:45 BBC World Lookahead with Rob Hugh-Jones

BBC World's Pete Ross joins Emile Donovan to look at the events making headlines internationally, including the huge logistics exercise in Gaza, why there is interest in regional elections in Germany and the debate in Serbia over whether the country's reserves of lithium should be mined, or not.

11:07 Nashville Babylon

Mark Rogers presents the very best in country, soul and rock 'n' roll.

On this week's show there's birthday tunes for Van Morrison, blues from Big Joe Turner and the Fabulous Thunderbirds plus a gospel twist on a Rolling Stones classic courtesy of the Blind Boys of Alabama.