Nights for Wednesday 19 February 2025

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 Remembering the Poly-1 computer

Some 45 years ago, a team of staff and students at Wellington Polytechnic designed and built a desktop computer with an operating system customised for the needs of New Zealand schools.

The Poly-1 was designed in 1980 as a learning device and teacher support tool.

Mark Rickerby is a lecturer at the University of Canterbury's School of Product Design and joins Emile Donovan to discuss what we can learn from the Poly-1.

8:45 The Reading

Dogs that regularly visit the dog park get to make canine buddies as you'll hear in the reading today, their owners it seems mimic the behaviour. 

We have part three of How to Walk a Dog 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 Kiwi artist wins global, AI filmmaking competition

Tim Gibson, who's based in Wellington, entered the advertisement category of the Project Odyssey filmmaking initiative with his short video ad for a fictional perfume, a Cleopatra-inspired scent called ROAR.

Emile Donovan talks to him about how he used AI technology to produce an award-winning ad.

9:35 Midweek Mediawatch

Colin Peacocke joins Emile Donovan to discuss the big media stories of the week.

Tonight, a number of high-profile senior reporters are understood to be among those leaving the New Zealand Herald under its restructure to cut about 30 roles from the newspaper's editorial team, the Vision for Wellington group held its first public meeting tonight with the backing of Stuff in more ways than one, and David Seymour hits back at the media.

10:17 What next for Wellington's iconic Begonia House?

Begonia House is on the chopping block, with a Council repair bill costing up to twenty million dollars.

Built in the sixties, it is a conservatory, that sits within the Wellington Botanic Gardens -- home to large tropical plants.

It's run down, great big panes of glass are cracking or being dislodged, the staff are in danger simply being there...

Wellington's councillors are split about whether repairing it is a good use of ratepayer money.

The Spinoff's Wellington editor, Joel Macmanus joins Emile Donovan.

10:30 eDNA programme to help preserve fish species

A new partnership has been launched to assess the status of over six hundred New Zealand and Australian marine fish species using cutting-edge environmental DNA technology.

The programme is run by Australian philanthropy group the Minderoo Foundation.

Michael Bunce is the director of their ocean research division, Oceanomics, and a world-leading geneticist and he joins Emile Donovan.

10:45 Should we be worried about 3D 'Ghost Guns'? 

With public submissions on the Arms Act closing this month, Professor Al Gillespie says we need to consider the threat of 'ghost guns' 

He says computer-aided manufacture, of which 3D-printing technology is the best-known form, enables manufacture without traditional gunsmithing skills.

 Al Gillespie joins Emile Donovan to explain why he thinks it’s an issue we can’t ignore.

11:07 Pocket Edition with Maggie Tweedie

Get ready for a sonic journey as Maggie Tweedie drops fresh tracks from Nathan Haines, Anna Coddington, and Sharon Van Etten.

Later on Pocket Edition we dive deep into the rhythm of focus and learn how a New Zealand Olympian uses the power of music to sharpen her mind before hitting the velodrome.