Nights for Tuesday 18 February 2025

8:10 The House

Tonight on our Parliament show - The House - Louis Collins speaks to Marama Davidson who is back at Parliament and already busy with a members bill.

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 The art of the 'blurb'

One of the bigger publishing houses in the world, Simon and Schuster has announced they will no longer require blurbs -and that's not blurbs as in the short summary on the back.

That's the quotes on the cover saying, "this book changed my life!" and "I couldn't put it down!"

Claire Mabey is the founder of literary festival Verb Wellington, and The Spinoff's books editor- and has been thinking about the art of the blurb 

8:45 The Reading

Coming up with a name for your child can be a bit of a "head scratcher", it turns out it's not much easier with dogs as you will hear in today's reading.

Part two of How to Walk a Dog is written and read by Mike White.

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.

9:25 Tech Talk with Finn Hogan

We're joined by Nights' resident tech correspondent, Finn Hogan.

Tonight he looks at the call by US President, Donald Trump for the world's most important chip maker to take control of US giant Intel, asks are we running out of time to keep up with AI and Sam Altman's plan for the long awaited GPT5

9:35 Shower Thoughts: Why do different countries use different shaped electrical sockets?

We answer some of your curious questions about the world and how it works -- the sorts of curious questions that only emerge in the serene calm of the shower.

Tonight something that has vexed anyone who has ever travelled internationally. Why do different countries use different shaped electrical sockets? Why are plugs different in New Zealand and the UK? Or anywhere?

Master Electricians senior technical tutor Raymond Tancrel joins Emile Donovan to explain.

10:17 How a 'managed retreat' could be the answer to Kumeū's flooding woes 

A proposal to shift Kumeū's town centre over a number of years was revealed to the community by the Auckland Council on Monday night.

The Kumeū and Huapai area, twenty-five kilometres north of Auckland, has a repeated history of flooding 

Professor Jonathan Boston is Chair of the School of Government at Victoria University of Wellington and has written extensively on the looming threat of managed retreat.

He joins Emile Donovon to talk about what's involved.

10:30 Who were the big winners at the Halberg Awards?

Outstanding achievements in New Zealand sport are being recognised tonight at the annual Halberg Awards.

Sports journalist Richard Irvine joins Emile Donovan to talk about the big winners of the night.

10:45 Exhibition focuses on four generations of women photographers

A new exhibition at Te Uru gallery in Auckland is highlighting women photographers of the past sixty years 

Photosynthesisers: Women and lens is an exhibition of photographs and videos by 41 women artists and collectives from Aotearoa and Australia, including fa`afafine1, queer, and trans women, and those with ancestral ties to Aboriginal, Māori, and diasporic communities. 

Produced between the 1960s and 2024 by four generations of artists, exhibited works collectively offer cross-cultural and intergenerational perspectives on the social, political, and cultural conditions that impelled their capture. 

Curator James Gatt joins Emile Donovan.

11:07 Worlds of Music

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