Nights for Thursday 10 July 2025
8:10 Buyouts to end in 20 years, panel recommends
Homeowners whose houses are flooded or damaged by weather events should not expect buy-outs in the future, a panel of experts has recommended to the government.
An independent reference group set up by the Ministry for the Environment released a suite of recommendations on Wednesday to help the government shape climate adaptation legislation.
The group recommended a 20-year transition period, after which homeowners whose houses are flooded or damaged by weather events should not expect buy-outs.
Emile Donovan speaks to Victoria University's chair of the school of government Professor Jonathan Boston about the consequences of any policy change.
Photo: RNZ / Mark Papalii
8:25 Metservice update on heavy rain
Meteorologist Karl Loots joins Emile Donovan for an updated forecast as heavy rain warnings remain for parts of the North and the top of the South Island.
8:30 Dunedin is fast becoming a star on the LGBTQ+ map
The great Southern city of Dunedin has been named as one of the world's up-and-coming travel destinations for the queer community.
Otepoti has the second-largest proportion of LGBTQ+ people in the country, as per our last census, and travel magazine Wanderlust has put it on the map.
Emile Donovan speaks to Meihana Potiki-Grayling, chair of Dunedin Pride.
Photo: 123RF
8:35 How often should you be washing your bedding?
Most of us hopefully know that bed sheets should be washed at least once a week, but what about everything else? Should you be vacuuming your mattress every month or washing your pillows regularly?
To help get to the bottom of this, Emile Donovan is joined by professional housekeeper, cleaner and organiser Rachael Quinn.
Photo: 123rf
8.45 When non-fiction becomes fiction
When does creative nonfiction cross the line into fabrication, and does it matter?
That's the question being asked by many after serious concerns were raised about the bestselling memoir The Salt Path.
The 2018 book, which has sold nearly two million copies worldwide and been adapted into a feature film, tells the story of a couple, Raynor Winn and her husband Moth, who walked Britain's 1,000km South West Coast Path after their home was repossessed.
But an investigation by the Observer newspaper has cast doubt over key parts of the memoir, including how the couple lost their home, the fact that they owned land in France and questions around Moth's terminal diagnosis of a rare disease.
So, what should we expect from a memoir? Should we take everything written as the truth and nothing but the truth? Or is there room for creative embellishment?
To explore the issue, Emile speaks to writer, editor and lecturer at the University of Melbourne, Nicola Redhouse.
The real Raynor Winn, author of The Salt Path. Photo: Winn
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.
9:25 The lost pubs of London
A new book is commemorating the public houses that have shaped the great city, and which are no longer with us. A total of 204 pubs feature in the book, which have since been transformed into convenience stores, doctors' offices, childcare centres, or simply stand empty.
Sam Cullen is the author of London's Lost Pubs and he speaks to Emile Donovan.
Photo: Supplied
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.
10:20 The Detail: A win-win-win over medical waste
There's a second life in single-use medical devices, but getting Pharmac on board with the money-saving venture has been a battle. Amanda Gillies reports.
10:45 The Reading
Tonight's reading is a short story by Breton Dukes from his collection Bird North and Other Stories read by Alex Greig.
11:07 The Mixtape
This week on the Mixtape, writer Alex Casey selects the formative songs to soundtrack her life.
Casey is a senior writer at The Spinoff, having been involved since its inception in 2014.
She writes on a wide range of subjects and enjoys working on long-form investigative pieces, as well as think-pieces on pop culture phenomena or local mysteries.
Casey selected a triptych of song pairs from each decade of her life.
