Nights for Thursday 5 September 2024

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, a satirical fantasy set in a medieval English court where the whim of a duke can be the making . . .or the undoing . . .of anyone, even a subject who once saved his life.

Michael Wilson performs the short story, Pendragon - a tasteful piece of Medieval  hoonery by Owen Marshall

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.

9:15 Philosophy Now: Does it matter if our experiences are based in factual reality or not?

We all have a life, but what should we do with it?

Dan Weijers is a senior lecturer in philosophy at the University of Waikato. 

Every month on Nights, he unpacks some of life's big issues, whether it's love, death, happiness, or whether it's morally right to keep a pet goldfish.

Tonight Dan is exploring the 'experience machine.'

If you could hook yourself up to a machine and be happy all the time would you? 

9:35 Rutene Spooner: On Billy T James and Māori showmanship

It's over 30 years since comedy legend Billy T James died but his signature charm continues to inspire the next generation.

Rutene Spooner is touring New Zealand with his one-man cabaret show Be Like Billy?

The new show is a tribute to Māori showmanship, and tussles with the complicated past and future of Māori in entertainment. 

Emile Donovan talks to Rutene about all things Billy.

10:17 How is the government's diplomacy being received in South Korea? 

The Prime Minister has spent two days in South Korea for a summit with President Yoon Suk Yeol.

In a joint statement, they pledged to build upon a longstanding "comprehensive strategic partnership" between the two nations.

To explain the shared history of the two nations and explore where relations could go, associate professor Stephen Epstein, the Director of the Asian Languages and Cultures Programme at Victoria University, joins Emile Donovan 

10:30 What a swab from a tuatara's guts can tell you

You think getting your housecat to take worming tablets is hard. Try swabbing the guts of an ancient reptile,

Carmen Hoffback has tried it - in fact, it's her job.

Carmen is a microbiologist at the University of Auckland specialising in the gut microbiome of the mighty tuatara.

She joins Emile Donovan.

10:45 Raw milk: Social media fad or superfood? 

We talk to agriculture sector analyst Julia Jones about the raw milk trend. 

11:07 The Mixtape

Our guest picking the music tonight is one of the most powerful voices in the music industry.  New York-based music journalist Puja Patel was the editor-in-chief of Pitchfork, a hugely influential music publication. 

Previous to that, Puja was the editor of SPIN, the culture editor of Deadspin and has written for Rolling Stone, Washington Post, VICE, FADER and local NY rag The Village Voice.

Charlotte Ryan talks music with Puja Patel.