Nights for Friday 29 August 2025

8:10 Warriors play their last home game of the season 

Chasing a top four spot, the NZ Warriors take on the Parramatta Eels at Go Media Stadium in Auckland tonight in front of a sell-out crowd. 

Mark Leishman speaks to RNZ sports journalist and Nights' very own sporting expert Jamie Wall just before kick-off.

8:20 Extra funding to help save New Zealand's rail heritage

Dotted across New Zealand are remnants of our rail history: station buildings that were once the heart of thriving communities, which now sit empty, and a little worse for wear.

Yesterday, Rail Minister Winston Peters announced a major funding boost for the Rail Heritage Trust of New Zealand, which looks after the conservation, preservation and maintenance of these historic buildings. 

Their funding will jump from $125,000 to $500,000 a year.

To explain just how significant Mark Leishman speaks to the trust's chairman Dr Murray King.

8:30 The Big Sing finale in Dunedin

The Big Sing is an annual, nationwide secondary schools choral festival, involving around 8,000 students from over 200 schools.

The festival is New Zealand's largest choral event and has been going for well over 30 years, with singers entering regional competitions held in around the county.

And it's Big Sing Finale time again, which this year is being held down in Dunedin and RNZ's own Bryan Crump is the MC for tomorrow night's Gala Concert. 

8:40 Short-Cuts with Dan Slevin

Nights' resident screen critic joins Mark Leishman to review action-packed crime thriller Caught Stealing, the biggest film in the world last weekend K Pop Demon Hunters and the classic cult film The Toxic Avenger.

Dan also speaks about the legacy of producer John Barnett had on New Zealand's film and television industry.

9:05 Nights Quiz

Do you know your stuff? Come on the air and be grilled by Mark Leishman 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 Out Lately with Finn Johansson

He's back, and no doubt ready to inform, educate and entertain us with an array of eclectic music.

Featuring:

• Stardust by Anna von Hausswolff 
• Tourmaline by Earl Sweatshirt
• Nurses by Dick Move

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.

Follow this podcast

10:17 The Detail

Tonight on The Detail - AI-hallucinated scientific research and legal precedents are making their way into academic papers and court cases, highlighting AI's real-world impact

Follow this podcast

10:45 Focus on Politics

In Focus on Politics, and it's the last week of the Tāmaki Makaurau by-election. Lillian Hanly meets the front-runners in the race for the Māori seat, Labour's Peeni Henare and Te Pāti Māori's Oriini Kaipara.

11:07 RNZ Music: Anthonie Tonnon at WOMAD 2024 

WOMAD 2024 features live recordings from a selection of International and local musicians captured by the RNZ Music team at WOMAD Taranaki.

Today's programme features Anthonie Tonnon, a singer-songwriter known for his captivating storytelling and fusion of pop, folk, and electronic sounds