Nights for Monday 10 March 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 Wikipedia needs you! 

How often do you use Wikipedia?

This weekend, Auckland Museum is holding a Wikipedia edit-a-thon, teaching people how to go about making and editing pages on the online, people-powered encylopedia, and filling some big gaps in the record of life in New Zealand.

Anjuli Selvadurai is Auckland Museum's Wikimedian-in-Residence, and she joins Emile Donovan.

8:45 The Reading: Five of the Family 

Becka doesn’t want to be at the stone-setting ceremony... She thinks she’ll be expected to babysit and do other boring stuff... But things look up when Alan tells her she’s beautiful.

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 into the draw for a weekly prize.

9:25 Whakataukī of the Week with Tūranga Morgan-Edmonds

Every Monday on Nights, we invite a guest to share a whakataukī—a Māori proverb—that's meaningful to them.

Tonight, we're chatting with Tūranga Morgan-Edmonds (Ngāti Rārua, Ngāpuhi, Ngātiwai, Ngāti Hine), better known as Tū to his more than half a million followers on social media.

As an online cultural teacher, Tū answers questions ranging from how to pronounce his name to whether permission is needed from elders before someone gets a moko.

He is also the bass player for the award-winning heavy metal band Alien Weaponry, who have just returned from touring North America.

9:35 The science of swells

You might have seen some of the absolute chaos across the ditch caused by Cyclone Alfred, the first tropical cyclone to make landfall in Queensland in 50 years.

Australia’s east coast beaches have been battered by huge swells, and some towns are still underwater as heavy rain settles in.

To wade into the science of cyclones, Emile Donovan speaks to Professor Steve Turton, a professor of environmental geography at CQ University in Brisbane.

10:17 Is it time to tax charities that make a profit?

About $2 billion is generated by the charitable sector each year — and it’s all untaxed.

Many charitable organisations, such as private schools, universities and churches also run commercial businesses that turn a tidy profit.

As charities, they are entitled to tax breaks and exemptions not available to other businesses, creating what some say is an unfair tax structure.

Many tax experts and politicians believe these exemptions have been applied too liberally. Now, the government is asking for public feedback on proposals to reform the tax system as it applies to charities.

Dr. Michael Gousmett from Canterbury University’s Business School has long advocated for change, and he speaks to Emile Donovan.

10:30 Sports with Jamie Wall

RNZ digital sports reporter Jamie Wall joins Emile Donovan in the studio to talk about the weekend of sport.

10:45 BBC World Lookahead with Jonathan Frewin

Nights speaks to BBC World senior journalist Jonathan Frewin about the global stories making headlines.

Tonight: Canada has a new Prime Minister who isn’t even a sitting MP, US and Ukrainian officials are set to meet in Saudi Arabia to discuss a framework for peace between Ukraine and Russia and It’s been five years since the World Health Organization declared Covid-19 a pandemic.

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 blues from Big Maybelle, classic ska from Prince Buster, soul courtesy of Wilson Pickett, plus a brand new track from the Altons.