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

Tonight we're beginning a serialised reading of David Hill's story about a teenage musician.

The teenage blues guitarist finds himself invited  to play in a youth orchestra.  And against his better judgement, he goes along as we'll hear in the opening episode of Duet by David Hill read by Kip Chapman.

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 Kommi Tamati

Every Monday on here Nights, to set the tone for the rest of the week, a guest shares a whakataukī - a Māori proverb - that's meaningful to them.

Tonight we're hearing from Kommi Tamati (Kāi Tahu, Te-Āti-Awa) recording and performance collaborator, writer, poet, and also lecturer in Māori and Indigenous Studies and Te Reo Māori.

Kommi Tamati, of Kāi Tahu and Te-Āti-Awa, is a recording and performance collaborator, writer, poet, and also lecturer in Māori and Indigenous Studies and Te Reo Māori. Photo: Paris Baillie

9:30 The science of ferns

They are almost as iconic to New Zealand as the kiwi, our athletes have them on their uniforms, we name sports teams and company after them and we almost had one on our flag.

The humble fern, in particular the ponga silver fern, cover our landscape from the very north to the very south and beyond to the sub Antarctic Islands.
 
A new fern and lycophytes identification guide book has just been published, co-written by Te Papa's botany Curator Leon Perrie and the late New Zealand botanist Patrick Brownsey

Leon Perrie joins Emile Donovan.

Compiled and written by Te Papa’s foremost fern experts, this fully illustrated guide is for anyone wanting to understand, identify and distinguish 201 of the most commonly encountered species of ferns and lycophytes found across Aotearoa. Photo: TE PAPA PRESS

10:17 Tami Neilson on the thrill of writing music for The Sandy Cheeks Movie

The biggest kids movie in the world right now is a Spongebob movie that was soundtracked by our very own Tami Neilson.

'Saving Bikini Bottom: The Sandy Cheeks Movie' grossed number one in the US, getting nearly thirteen million views in its first three days on Netflix.

Tami wrote the theme for the movie, as well as two songs sung by the main character, Sandy Cheeks. She speaks to Emile Donovan.

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Photo: Ashley Church

10:30 Sports with Bryan Waddle

Bryan Waddle chats to Emile Donovan about the big topics in the world of sport, including a look back at the golden Olympics for New Zealand, the All Blacks loss and the Black Caps test team for the sub continent.

Olivia Brett, Dame Lisa Carrington, Alicia Hoskin, Tara Vaughan from New Zealand win gold in the women’s four final. Paris 2024.

Olivia Brett, Dame Lisa Carrington, Alicia Hoskin, Tara Vaughan from New Zealand win gold in the women’s four final. Paris 2024. Photo: PHOTOSPORT

10:45 BBC World Lookahead with Pete Ross

BBC World producer and journalist Pete Ross joins Emile Donovan to take a look at some of the events making headlines internationally, including developments in the Ukraine war, a recent spate of fires involving EVs in South Korea and the latest on two US astronauts stuck on the international space station.

Ukrainian servicemen sit on a self-propelled artillery 2S7 Pion while being carried by a military truck, in the Sumy region, near the border with Russia, on August 11, 2024, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. (Photo by Roman PILIPEY / AFP)

Photo: AFP / ROMAN PILIPEY

11:07 Nashville Babylon

On this week's Nashville Babylon Mark Rogers has blues from Buddy Guy and Junior Wells, reggae courtesy of Culture, a new track from Joe Ely plus Emmylou Harris with a cover of a Beatles classic.