Nights for Tuesday 9 September 2025

8:10 Why are we apathetic about local body elections?

Local body election voting opens today, and despite the huge role local councils play in our daily lives a lot of us cannot muster the enthusiasm to vote

Forty percent of New Zealanders voted in the last local body election in 2022.

Ollie Neas is the co-founder of website Policy.nz, a tool you can use to find out just who is running in your area and what they stand for.  He joins Emile Donovan. 

8:25 The House

Tonight on our Parliament show - The House - Phil Smith considers the ways that Parliament's Select Committees are being squeezed. 

8:35 The case for a national Covid memorial 

Most small towns have some sort of dedication to those who lost their lives in the First or Second World War as well as monuments to different tragedies, successes and moments in our history.

So is it time for a memorial dedicated to those who died during the Covid-19 pandemic? 

Dunedin writer and novelist Fiona Farrell thinks so and has written an opinion piece on Newsroom.co.nz putting forward her argument for one here in Aotearoa. She joins Emile Donovan.

8:45 Shower Thoughts: How to become a jack of all trades?

We find an expert to answer curious questions about the world and how it works.

Tonight, what should go in a toolkit? How do I become a jack of all trades? What are the basic tools one should invest in?

To answer those questions, Operations Manager at the Auckland Library of Tools, Tom Greer, joins Emile Donovan.

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 What sparrows can teach us about humans

The European house sparrow is quite possibly the least glamorous, and least beloved of our birdlife here in New Zealand, besides pigeons.

But scientists are discovering that sparrows, who are our constant companions in city life, could tell us a lot about humans. 

New research from Australia shows that the health of sparrows in an urban area can indicate pollution such as from mining, aluminium smelters, or even lead exposure. Harms which might be present, yet unidentified, in humans.

Simon Griffith is a professor of avian behavioural ecology at Macquarie University in Australia, and he joins Emile Donovan.

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

Tonight on The Detail - Economists are starting to talk about the demise of American exceptionalism.

The Detail looks at what that term means, and what effect it has on your KiwiSaver.

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10:45 The Reading

This Week, our story is a salute to the renowned story-teller Margaret Mahy, who passed away in 2012.

In part two of 'The Devil and the Corner Grocer', dramatised for radio by Margaret Burnett, a mysterious hunchback arrives to talk to Mr Philpott.

11:07 Worlds of Music

Trevor Reekie hosts a weekly music programme celebrating an eclectic mix of trans global music, fusion and folk roots.