8:10 How has the MMP voting system held up after 30 years?
It’s been thirty years since the introduction of the MMP voting system in this country.
Mixed Member Proportional was first used in the 1996 general election.
It aimed to provide fairer representation for both large and small parties.
So has it been successful? Or has it not delivered the results it promised?
Jonathan Boston is Emeritus Professor of Public Policy at Victoria University, and co-author of the book New Zealand Under MMP. He joins Emile Donovan on the show tonight.
Photo: RNZ
8:25 To tree or not to tree
If you’re a bit of a tree enthusiast, then this interview is right up your alley.
It’s that time of year again when New Zealand crowns its Tree of the Year.
Past winners have included a stunning beachside pōhutukawa, a northern rātā known as the “walking tree”, and a macrocarpa carefully trimmed into the shape of a chicken.
This year’s competition features six finalists, including a towering mataī down in Dunedin, nominated by Nine to Noon producer and trained arborist Jacob McSweeney.
But since earning its place on the shortlist, the mighty mataī has run into a spot of trouble.
Jacob joins the show tonight to discuss.
The Walking Tree, winner of the 2024 Tree of the Year award, is located near Karamea cemetery on the West Coast of the South Island.
Photo: Supplied / Gareth Andrews
8:30 Midweek Mediawatch
Colin Peacock joins Emile Donovan to debrief the week in media news.
Tonight: Developments on the TVNZ defamation case, Metro Mag has changed hands again, and New Zealand’s most talkative MPs.
Photo: RNZ / Michelle Tiang
9:06 Nights Riddle
Tune in throughout the night for a series of riddle clues.
Be the first to text in the right answer and win a Nights mug.
Text 2101 or email nights@rnz.co.nz
Clue #1: I am a subject of great fascination, the topic of many, many experiments. There are a LOT more of me now than at any other time in human history. I have real potential for mischief: in the right situation I’m impossible to detect; in the WRONG situation, I’m hard NOT to detect. I come in many varieties – some rarer than others.
Clue #2: I am … unique, of course I am. But I’m also kinda not – all part of the fun. I founded cities, I saved the galaxy, I freaked you out during a stay at a certain hotel. You are probably one in eight-billion; we are one in forty-two.
Clue #3: I am a famous Kiefer, a more famous Scarlett. I am two towering, yodelling taonga of rural New Zealand. I am the one that became two – and, in a way, I am two who are one.
9:10 Julia de Bres on graphic novels
It’s time for our fortnightly chat with Nights’ resident sociolinguist, associate professor Julia de Bres.
Tonight, we’re talking about graphic novels.
Graphic from Julia de Bres’ protectvillageaotearoa.
Photo: Julia de Bres
9:25 The best and the worst of FIFA World Cup songs
We are just days away from the 2026 FIFA World Cup. For more than 30 years, FIFA has tried to soundtrack the world’s biggest sporting event.
We’ve seen everyone from Shakira and Ricky Martin to Pitbull and Will Smith.
The results have been… mixed.
RNZ Music’s Zen Yates-Fill joins Emile Donovan on the show tonight to take us through the good, the bad and the ugly.
Photo: PABLO PORCIUNCULA
9:45 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.
10:17 The Detail
Tonight on The Detail – A new report spells out just how serious a toll AI is taking on the environment, but some experts say actually, New Zealand could be the right place to develop AI infrastructure.
A new UN report says that by 2030, the water used by Artificial Intelligence is expected to equal the needs of 1.3 billion people.
Photo: 123rf
10:45 The Reading: All Who Live on Islands Episode 6
We’re featuring individual essays from Wellington based writer, Rose Lu, who came with her family to Aotearoa from China as a 5-year-old.
What was that rating thing they used to do on Outward Bound? Hold up your fingers – left hand for physical health, right hand for mental? Its episode 6 of Rose Lu.
11:07 Postcards
Maggie Tweedie hosts this new series of Postcards, a trip overseas unearthing musical discoveries from New Zealander’s tracing their musical life abroad.
Kava McIntyre is a DJ and taste maker from Aotearoa who has his finger on the pulse of night club culture.
Now based in Germany with his wife and daughter he is immersed in Europe’s musical epicentre, Berlin.
Featuring Napoli boogie and dub reworks to German Balearic this is a postcard from the underground a slice of DJ Kava’s musical life in Berlin.
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