Nights for Monday 24 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 Are Otago's couch burning days over?

Despite being famous for debauched O Week antics and extreme flatting rituals, reports of couch burning among the student population at our southernmost university are at an unheard-of zero for 2025.

Is the tide of student culture turning at Otago?

Editor of student magazine Critic Te Ārohi Nina Brown joins Emile Donovan.

Support Critic's centenary book here.

8:45 The Reading

Tonight, part five of 'How to Walk a Dog', written and read by Mike White.

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.

9:25 Whakataukī of the Week with Wharehoka Wano

Every Monday on Nights we invite a guest on the show to share a whakataukī - a Māori proverb - that's meaningful to them.

And with Te Matatini taking place this week, we're joined by a leader in the competition's host region of Taranaki.

Wharehoka Wano, the chief executive of Te Kahui o Taranaki, joins Emile Donovan to share the tears, sweat and determination leading up to Matatini.

9:35 The science of pain

Pain is a very useful sensation for a living creature: it's our brains' way of telling us when we might be in danger, or if something is bad for us.

In extreme circumstances, like in the stress of a warzone, our brains have the ability to temporarily switch off our pain receptors to enable us to survive. On the flip side, millions of people around the world suffer from chronic pain - pain that won't go away.

Dr Dan Baumgardt is a lecturer in neuroscience and physiology at the University of Bristol, with experience working as a general practitioner.

He joins Emile Donovan from the UK to demystify pain.

10:17 Changes to our overseas investment rules, explained

The government is about to flip the script on foreign investment in business, in a reform to the Overseas Investment Act being lead by Associate Finance Minister David Seymour.

Plans announced yesterday would make the default answer 'yes' to any investments, and would condense the application process to 15 days unless they relate to residential land, farm land or fishing quota.

A more targeted change is also taking effect this week, allowing foreign investors to buy build-to-rent developments more easily.

Tara Wylie is a partner at the commercial law firm Simpson Grierson and is a specialist in the Overseas Investment Act. She joins Emile Donovan to explain.

10:30 Sports with Richard Irvine

Nights' sports correspondent Richard Irvine joins Emile Donovan to recap a blistering win by Auckland FC over the Wellington Phoenix, New Zealand high schools' proposal to ban Year 14 students from competitive sport, and the loss of sports writer Chris Rattue as part of the NZME restructure.

10:45 BBC World Lookahead with Rob Hugh-Jones

BBC World's Rob Hugh-Jones joins Emile Donovan to take a look at some of the events making headlines internationally, including the German election result, marking three years since Russia invaded Ukraine, and Pope Francis' stay in hospital with double pneumonia.

11:07 Nashville Babylon

Every week on Nashville Babylon Mark Rogers presents the very best in country, soul and rock 'n' roll.

On this week's show there's classic reggae from Peter Tosh, blues courtesy of Taj Mahal, new music from Brown Horse plus a show favourite from John Prine and the Clean.