Nights for Wednesday 18 March 2026
8:10 Do have too many regional airports?
It is a tough time to be running a regional airport in New Zealand.
Just last week, Air New Zealand announced it was cancelling 1,100 flights due to rising fuel costs, many of them to airports outside the main centres. Over the past few years, flights and seat availability to regions outside our major cities have steadily declined as the cost of flying to the regions has increased.
So, is it time to reconsider how many airports we actually have and instead focus on a smaller, more financially resilient network? That is something Shamubeel Eaqub, chief economist at Simplicity, has been thinking about, and he Emile for a chat.
Invercargill Airport's terminal is set for a name change in honour of eight-term former mayor Sir Tim Shadbolt. Photo: Matthew Rosenberg/LDR
8.25 Is there a wrong way to cut a feijoa?
It's March, so that means it's one of the greatest times in the kiwi calendar - Feijoa season.
But, recent Feijoa-related post on the New Zealand Reddit page has kiwis up in arms.
It's an innocent enough question, from someone new to New Zealand, "what is the correct way to cut a feijoa" ... the traditional crossways ... or, cue the shock and horror ... lengthwise. Commenters have called the latter, "a crime against humanity" "abhorrent" and "just awful."
But is there really a correct way to cut a feijoa?
Joining Emile is a person who knows a thing or two about this magnificent fruit - Author of FEIJOA: A story of obsession and belonging, it's Kate Evans.
This year's feijoa harvest is off to an early start. Photo: Supplied
8:40 Midweek Mediawatch
Colin Peacock joins Emile Donovan to debrief the week in media news.
Photo: RNZ / Jeff McEwan
9:06 Nights Riddle
Tune in throughout the night for a series of riddle clues.
Be the first to text in the right answer and win a Nights mug.
CLUE 1: I am modern: everything, everywhere, all at once.
Yet I am also ancient: forever burdened with that which I cannot keep.
You can see me; you may touch me
but never as I am - only what I will be.
CLUE 2: I am the reason you’re here - whether or not you perceive me.
Civilizations rise as I fall, and fall as I leave.
I was there in the beginning: when I am gone so too shall the world return to dust.
I am the constant: whatever form I take, I am never lost—only changed.
CLUE 3: I am the result of the second step in the cycle.
You CAN be on me - or at least ONE of me - but only metaphorically, and only if you’re suitably euphoric.
I can be fluffy. I can be wispy. I can stretch across the sky and block your vitamin D.
I give Zeus his voice and his weapon.
ANSWER: Cloud/clouds
9:10 What are fauxpologies?
Nights' resident sociolinguist Julia de Bres joins Emile -- associate professor at Massey University.
Tonight's chat is all about apologising ... when you don't really mean it
We're talking Fauxpologies.
Photo: 123RF
9:25 Paul Bremer's Iraq Emails
It’s been more than 20 years since the invasion of Iraq by the ‘coalition of the willing’, led by the United States. While the country is no longer at war and has clawed back some semblance of stability, the shadows of a nine-year conflict still linger.
One of the key figures in post-Saddam Hussein Iraq was the American diplomat Paul Bremer, who effectively ran the country during the occupation. His tenure ended abruptly in June 2004, leaving behind a controversial legacy that still shapes Iraq today.
Now, Bremer’s time in charge is back in the spotlight thanks to a Cambridge University student Nick Davis, who discovered a tranche of private emails between Bremer and his wife stored at Yale University. Those letters have formed the basis of a longform article in The Times.
Nick joins Emile to talk about what he found.
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
This morning on The Detail - America's war in Iran has hit global markets, but after a tough five years for the New Zealand Stock Exchange, things here may finally be looking up.
NZX sign Photo: RNZ / Angus Dreaver
10:45 The Reading
In our reading today here's Ray Henwood with 'An Exhibition Of Oneself' - the first story in the series 'Men Behaving Sadly' by David Hill.
11:07 A History of Student Radio
A five-part journey through 50 years of student radio - the stars and bands who got their breaks, the politics, the music, the piracy and the 'No. 8 wire', sink or swim mentality.
In part three: Student radio's value is skyrocketing in the 90s as mainstream advertisers clamber for the youth dollar. Refusing to sell out, the stations continue to push the freshest musical trends with content so edgy it sometimes borders on 'too cool for school'…
