Nights for Thursday 18 September 2025

8:10 To greener pastures?

With 200 people leaving the country daily, mostly to Australia, Stuff.co.nz columnists Verity Johnson and Ben Kepes join Emile Donovan to discuss New Zealand's weak economic state, and whether young people should see it as worth sticking around for things to get better.

8:20 The House

Louis Collins looks at the increased use of te reo Māori in the House during Māori language week.

8:25 Myth Takes: Roman satire

Classics educator and enthusiast Ben Jackson takes Emile Donovan on a tour of ancient Rome's great satirists.

8:40 New maps reveal New Zealand's network of paper roads

Herenga ā Nuku, the Outdoor Access Commission, has just made a major upgrade to its mapping which for the first time identifies the full extent of New Zealand's so-called paper roads: all 55,000 kilometres.

To explain how we ended up with so many, and what rights the public have to use them, field adviser David Barnes from the Outdoor Access Commission 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 New Zealand's new generation of donor-conceived children

The first generation of donor-conceived children born under New Zealand's landmark 2006 reproductive legal framework came of age last year, meaning they were able to access information about their donor - either sperm, egg, or embryo - by right, if they chose to. Records before 2006 are patchy and some New Zealanders will have no way to track down a donor parent, besides trying the route of genealogy tests.

New research has found that 86 percent of families of the post-2006 cohort have told their child that they were donor-conceived. This rate was even higher among single-parent and same-sex families.

Delaying telling a child about their origins risks a bad reaction: a child may feel lied to, or feel confused about their identity and belonging.

Professor of Obstetrics and Gynaecology Cindy Farquhar from the University of Auckland 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

BRICS is shifting the weight of global power, and one expert says it may be time New Zealand changes alliances. Amanda Gillies reports.

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10:45 The Reading

Tonight, the third and final episode of the award-winning story 'The Road to Tokomairiro' by Lawrence Patchett.

11:07 The Mixtape

Lukas Mayo has released four albums of bedroom pop under the name Pickle Darling. Working from a home studio in Otautahi Christchurch, they've received increasing critical acclaim, from local outlets as well as international. Lukas joins Tony Stamp to share some songs that influenced Pickle Darling's latest, Bots.