Nights for Monday 6 October 2025

8:10 Sunscreens feeling the heat

Sunscreens are under scrutiny for not meeting their SPF protection claims. Dozens of products in Australia have been recalled, paused or are under review.

Some of them are available, or can be purchased online, in New Zealand. So how can we know whether our sunscreen actually works?

Nedeljka Rosic, a Senior Lecturer at the Faculty of Health at Southern Cross University, explains.

8:30 Little History

Every Monday, we take a moment to look into the past with our resident historian Emma Kay.

Emma runs Small Histories of New Zealand, where she digs up curious stories, funny articles, and lost treasures from our past and shares them on social media.

Tonight, she's taking us back to Christchurch in 1888 where a lost child was found through a dream.

8:40 Sport with Jamie Wall

RNZ Sports reporter and Nights' regular Jamie Wall returns to Nights to break down the big sporting news after the weekend. Tonight, he's taking a look at the Rugby Championship, the NRL grand final and why coaches and managers are in the spotlight at the moment.

8:50 BBC World Service

BBC World Service journalist Rob Hugh-Jones joins Emile Donovan for a wrap of world news making international headlines.

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 How hard is it to speak with a New Zealand accent? 

Why are there very few convincing New Zealand accents from people who aren't New Zealanders? 

Some accents may seem easier than others, but is the kiwi twang hard for even some of the world's best actors to get their tongue around?

Emile speaks to Perry Piercy, a voice coach who helps actors develop accents. Her work includes the entire cast of the Luminaries, as well as the great American actor John Lithgow in the Rule of Jenny Pen.

She also designed a made-up language for the film Nude Tuesday,

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

On The Detail today, Taiwanese worry about living costs and their everyday lives while pushing the prospect of action from China to the back of their minds.

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10:45 The Reading

Paul Horan travels to Italy to try to discover the truth about his illustrious and somewhat eccentric ancestor Colonel Peard who was known as Garibaldi's Englishman.

11:07 Nashville Babylon

Every week on Nashville Babylon Mark Rogers presents the very best in country, soul and rock 'n' roll.

On this week's Nashville Babylon there's blues from Freddie King, ska courtesy of Laurel Aitken, a gospel classic from Sam Cooke and The Soul Stirrers, soul from Ann Peebles and ahead of their forthcoming live dates in New Zealand an all-time favourite from the Cowboy Junkies.