Nights for Monday 14 July 2025

8:10 What's behind the surge in support for our minor parties?

Polling numbers show support for New Zealand First, ACT, the Greens, and TPM is strong while National and Labour are facing historically low numbers. 

By the last TPU poll, minor parties in parliament collectively have as much support as the Labour Party. 

Gareth Hughes, former Green MP joins Emile Donovan to discuss why this might be.

8:20 Sports with Jamie Wall

RNZ sports whiz Jamie Wall joins Emile Donovan to debrief the weekend of sport, including wins for the All Blacks and Black Ferns, and a high-octane final at Wimbledon.

8:40 Could a 'breed to eat' programme save the kererū?

The native kererū are called the gardeners of the sky because of the vital role they play in keeping our forests alive and thriving.

Considered a taonga to the Māori people, the kererū was historically a major food source, but hunting them has been illegal for more than a century.

Sadly, habitat destruction, illegal hunting, and egg thieves like cats, possums, rats and stoats means the native pigeon is in decline and hunting is illegal. 

But could putting in place a breeding programme which would allow the eating of kererū again actually save them?

Dr Madeline Shelling of Ngāti Porou holds a PhD in Māori health from the University of Auckland and joins Emile Donovan to explain.

8:50 BBC World Service with Rob Hugh Jones

We cross to our friends at the BBC World Service to take a look at some of the events making headlines internationally. 

Tonight, Rob Hugh Jones covers the Australia's Prime Minister's six-day visit to China, a high-profile court case in Germany where a doctor has been charged with the murder of 15 patients, an international conference on migration, and the world's coldest running event the 'North Pole Marathon' where runners have to battle freezing temperatures and potential polar bear encounters,

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 'Awokenings' through history

Who and what is 'woke' is a new frontier of the culture wars, with New Zealand politicians like Winston Peters avowedly against anything that could be given the name. 

It's a term that's hard to define, but is often used to refer to identitarian or social justice messages, or as a shorthand for left-wing views.

Professor Musa al-Gharbi is an American sociologist and assistant professor at Stony Brook University’s School of Communication and Journalism in the US.

He is visiting New Zealand this week as a guest of the Free Speech Union New Zealand to discuss his new book We Have Never Been Woke: The Cultural Contradictions of a New Elite and joins Emile Donovan.

Musa is visiting Wellington, Christchurch and Dunedin. Find Musa's book tour schedule here.

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.

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10:17 The Detail: Death without a will, and the mess left behind

There are some horror stories about the wreckage left behind when people die without leaving a will, but now something watertight is easier to draw up than ever before. Alexia Russell reports.

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10:45 The Reading

John Bluck left a busy working life in cities up and down the country and moved to a village north of Auckland. 

At this time for the next few days, we will feature a series of short talks in which he describes his attempts to learn the art of living rurally.

Tonight, episode one of Gone Country.

11:07 Nashville Babylon

Mark Rogers presents the very best in country, soul and rock 'n' roll.

On this week's show there's blues from Lightnin' Hopkins and John Mayall, soul courtesy of Candi Staton, ska from the Specials plus classic country from Johnny Paycheck.