Shows / Nights
Nights
Tune in to Nights with Emile Donovan every weekday from 8pm to midnight for a delectable buffet of creative ideas, open-minded conversations, music, musings and daily stimulation.
Episodes
- Nights
Teeth-brushing 101
Less than two thirds of New Zealanders are brushing their teeth twice a day for two minutes. Here to help us brush up on the basics is Dr Mo Amso.
- Nights
Can cosmic rays interfere with computers?
A cosmic ray almost bought down a commercial airliner with 300 people on board last October. Should we be worried?
- Nights
Which way are voters leaning right now?
Is it too late for Labour to turn the tide? Should National be rethinking its alliances?
- Nights
Out Lately with Finn Johansson
He's back, and no doubt ready to inform, educate and entertain us with an array of eclectic music.
- Nights
Jubilation Choir celebrates 25-year anniversary
What better way celebrate than with a birthday party and a release of a new album.
- Nights
How one knitting group got into trouble with the law
It might sound odd - ridiculous even - but it's exactly what happened to Jan Aitken, after she started a small knitting group from home, Crofters Yarn.
- Nights
Ultimate frisbee takes off in NZ
The ultimate frisbee community is celebrating its best-ever results at the recent 2026 World Junior Ultimate Champs in Spain.
- Nights
Is Christchurch's CBD becoming a ghost town?
Nearly 500 new homes have been built in the city centre over the past year, but the catch is - only around 50 new residents have moved in.
- Nights
Who actually counts as the working class in 2026?
And is anyone really speaking for them? To help us answer that, Emile Donovan is joined tonight by Professor Richard Shaw from Massey University.
- Nights
Shortcuts with Dan Slevin
Nights' resident screen critic joins Emile Donovan to review: Savage House (In Cinemas), Deep Water (AroVision), and Meteor (Tubi).
- Nights
Danyl McLauchlan on political novels
Friend of the show, writer and all-round thinker Danyl McLauchlan joins us to explore some of the best political novels of the 21st century.
- Nights
Can the arts survive the cuts?
Government funding cuts are hitting the arts hard, with many organisations saying they're facing some of their toughest years yet.
- Nights
What does the future of content creation look like?
What happens now, in 2026, if you want to become a content creator?
- Nights
The most beautiful word in the world
It's time for our fortnightly chat with Nights' resident sociolinguist, associate professor Julia de Bres.
- Nights
European correspondent Christian Smith
Christian Smith dials in from London with news from the other side of the world.
- Nights
How to deal with differing political views
With election season approaching, politics will start to become a much bigger everyday conversation. So how do we navigate political differences?
- Nights
Fashion to die for
Our guest tonight says current fashion trends are tame in comparison to many of history’s fashion fads — some of which were even lethal.
- Nights
Why are some passports stronger than others?
Each year, the Henley Passport Index reveals a ranking of the strongest passports across the globe - but what does that actually mean?
- Nights
Are we overusing antibiotics?
New Zealand has the fourth-highest rate of antibiotic prescribing in the OECD. So, are we overdoing it?
- Nights
Judging the best pies in Aotearoa
With the 2026 Pie Awards underway, Emile Donovan speaks with chief judge Ian Moore to find out what it takes to judge an award-winning pie
- Nights
Where do we draw the line on political protest?
Did the Migrant Workers Association take it too far by staging a protest where an effigy of the Foreign Minister was symbolically beheaded with a mock…
- Nights
Celebrating 30 years of Pokémon
Nathan Garland is a lecturer in Applied Mathematics at Griffith University in Australia and has been crunching the numbers on collecting all 1000 Pokémon cards.
- Nights
Former coach on sweet success of Silver Ferns gold
Could this gold medal be just what the sport needs to secure a future? Former Silver Ferns Coach Yvonne Willering joins to discuss.
- Nights
Could a tax cut for pubs work in New Zealand?
Economist Cameron Bagrie joins Emile Donovan to discuss the UK's move to a 20 percent cut to business tax rates for pubs, clubs, and live music venues.
- Nights
Long Flight
A Qantas aircraft was recently in the air for a full 24 hours - going from Melbourne to France. The test flight was in anticipation of a new Melbourne to…
- Nights
Cockroaches
Earlier this week, stomachs roiled at the story of a woman having to stomp clusters of roaches in her shower at Auckland Hospital. Even Health NZ says they…
- Nights
NZ skeptics
NZ Skeptics is celebrating 40 years of bring together doctors, scientists, teachers - and even magicians - to put scrutiny on spurious claims of psychic…
- Nights
A New Chapter for Dunedin's University Book Shop
The University Book Shop in Dunedin has announced it's relocating to the University of Otago campus and being reshaped, with a bigger focus on textbooks and…
- Nights
Inside Kiwi Fridges
A survey of more than 1,000 New Zealanders has taken a peek inside our fridges, and it turns out we're a nation of last-minute cooks, half-used condiments…
- Nights
Short-Cuts with Dan Slevin
Nights' resident pop culture expert Dan Slevin joins us to chat about the untimely passing of Irish singer-songwriter Glen Hansard, along with Spider-Man's…
- Nights
Political/Philosophy with Natalia Albert
It's time for our fortnightly politics catch-up with political scientist, writer, thinker and former deputy leader of The Opportunities Party, or TOP as it was…
- Nights
The Economics of Crossing the Ditch
Over the past few years, it seems our mates across the ditch have been attracting more and more Kiwis. Last year alone, over 70,000 New Zealand citizens left…
- Nights
European correspondent Christian Smith
The United Kingdom is bouncing for Burnham and Europe is in flames - Christian Smith joins us to tell us what's going on on the other side of the world.
- Nights
Heading Pacifica
In 1976, a group of Pacific women came together in Auckland to support Pacific women who were newly arrived into New Zealand. 50 years on Pacifica Incorporated…
- Nights
Bowel cancer on the rise for under-50s
For years, bowel cancer rates followed a fairly predictable pattern. the older you got, the greater your risk. But that pattern is changing. Now, more New…
- Nights
Commonwealth games update
RNZ correspondent Adam Burns drops in for a quick chat about the Commonwealth Games from on the ground in Glasgow.
- Nights
Shower Thoughts: How do streets get their numbers
Have you ever been standing in the shower when suddenly the noise in your brain clears and, in its place, appears the perfect thought? That's a Shower Thought…
- Nights
Foreign Affairs with Anna Fifield
Time for our fortnightly Chat with Anna Fifield - experienced journalist, foreign affairs commentator, author and the writer behind the Substack Between…
- Nights
Railway Art
One of Wellington's grandest heritage buildings is about to become one of its biggest creative spaces. Urban Dream Brokerage has unveiled a major programme of…
- Nights
Greyhound racing ban
Greyhound racing in New Zealand is coming to an end, but for hundreds of retired racing dogs, a new chapter is just beginning. Around 1,500 of these dogs will…
- Nights
What happens if we actually discover aliens?
The odds that we’re the only intelligent life out there seem pretty slim. But if we do one day detect an alien civilisation, how would we actually handle it?
- Nights
Sports with Ben Strang
Journalist and commentator Ben Strang joins the show with the latest sports news.
- Nights
Small Histories with Emma Kay
This week Emma is taking a look at the early LQBTQ+ history of New Zealand.
- Nights
The value of public art
Should we be expecting a fiscal return on public art or pieces bequeathed into public collections? Jenny Harper, former director of the Christchurch Art…
- Nights
What's the deal with data centres?
They're mundane in many ways - warehouses built to store digital infrastructure - yet they're quickly becoming a contentious topic.
- Nights
Out Lately with Finn Johansson
He's back, and no doubt ready to inform, educate and entertain us with an array of eclectic music.
- Nights
What would it take to save the Commonwealth Games?
Emile Donovan and Nights executive producer Tim Miller have been tossing around some ideas for giving the Games a new lease on life.
- Nights
On the ground at the Commonwealth Games
The 23rd edition of the Commonwealth Games kicked off this morning. RNZ reporter Adam Burns joins the show live from Glasgow.
- Nights
The 'dopamine sites' letting you shop with no spend
A new viral trend is seeing people use apps to order food and clothes, but the catch is: nothing ever arrives.
- Nights
How one art gallery became part of Sam Neill's legacy
Part of the late beloved Kiwi actor's legacy now hangs on the wall of Gore's Eastern Southland Gallery where he quietly donated artworks from his personal…
- Nights
The ins and outs of naming a baby
We've enlisted the help of name consultant Sonya Prior, also known online to her thousands of followers as "The Baby Namer."
- Nights
Short-Cuts with Dan Slevin
Nights' resident screen critic joins Emile Donovan to review: I, Object (In Cinemas), The Rip (Netflix), and The Day Shall Come (Beamafilm).
- Nights
Are we an urban country with a suburbanised mindset?
By the numbers, we're one of the most urbanised countries in the world. But are we really urbanites? Or are we still holding on to the quarter-acre suburban…
- Nights
Why are we seeing election ads so early?
Turns out, there's a quirk in our election rules that gives good reason for it.
- Nights
The finale of The Good Sex Project
Over the past month or so, journalist and podcaster Melody Thomas has been joining us to unpack season three of her podcast Good Sex.
- Nights
Is gossiping really that bad?
It's time for our fortnightly chat with Nights' resident sociolinguist, associate professor Julia de Bres.