Nights for Friday 12 December 2025
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Out Lately with Finn Johansson
9:25 PM.Featuring new music from Western Vinyl, Begging Dog, and Martin Sagadin. Read more Audio
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Short-Cuts with Dan Slevin
8:40 PM.Nights’ resident screen critic joins Emile Donovan to look at what’s new on the big screen as well as a few things worth watching from the comfort of your couch. Read more Audio
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Can an octopus really play the piano?
8:30 PM.An octopus named Takoyaki or Tako, for short, has become an internet sensation after Swedish YouTuber Mattias Krantz rescued him from a fish market and then, incredibly, taught him to play the piano… Read more Audio
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Christchurch welcomes big new sports and aquatic centre
Emile Donovan speaks to Warren and Mahoney architect Brett Diprose about what it takes to design and build such a colossal community asset. Read more Audio
8:10 The largest indoor sports and aquatics centre in the Southern Hemisphere opens its doors
The Southern Hemisphere’s largest indoor sport and aquatics centre opens to the public in Christchurch this Wednesday.
At 32,000 square metres, Parakiore boasts a 50-metre competition pool, dive pool, five hydroslides, a large recreational pool and a sensory aqua centre, as well as nine indoor courts, fitness studios and a High Performance Sport New Zealand training base.
Emile Donovan speaks to Warren and Mahoney architect Brett Diprose about what it takes to design and build such a colossal community asset.
Swimming facilities at Christchurch's new 'Parakiore' multisport complex. Photo: RNZ/Nathan Mckinnon
8:25 The House
Tonight, on The House, Louis Collins looks at the two most controversial bills in a week of urgency.
8:30 Can an octopus really play the piano?
When we talk about what's uniquely human, the ability to make music usually ranks pretty high. But are we really the only species that can learn to put a tune together?
An octopus named Takoyaki or Tako, for short, has become an internet sensation after Swedish YouTuber Mattias Krantz rescued him from a fish market and then, incredibly, taught him to play the piano.
But beneath the viral video lies a much bigger question: Is Tako actually making music, or are we just projecting our own ideas about art onto an animal doing something unexpected?
Well, to help answer that, Emile speaks to Northwestern University's Shawn Simpson.
Photo:
8:40 Short-Cuts with Dan Slevin
Nights’ resident screen critic joins Emile Donovan to look at what’s new on the big screen as well as a few things worth watching from the comfort of your couch.
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 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:
Photo: Finn Johansson
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.
10:17 The Detail
Tonight on The Detail - The news year, unpacked, by five divas with microphones
10:45 Focus on Politics
In Focus on Politics, RNZ's political team sits down with the leaders of the two major parties - National's Christopher Luxon and Labour's Chris Hipkins - to reflect on 2025 and look forward to the election year.
11:07 The Logg Cabin
Clear away the coffee table and bust out your dancing shoes for this week's Logg Cabin.
