Nights for Tuesday 20 February 2024
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Musician touring on foot from Puketapu to Wellington
10:50 PM.Kicking off in late February, Samuel R. Saffery will walk over 300 kilometres with his guitar, playing as many shows as he can. Read more Audio
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Mayan tourist train: A 'megaproject of death' or a lifeline?
10:30 PM.The $28 billion Tren Maya will cover 1500 kilometres and funnel cash into struggling Mexican villages. But protesters say the project is exploitative and environmentally destructive. Read more Audio
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Dunedin flat initiations: From daft to dangerous
10:18 PM.Hazing rituals ranging from being pelted with eggs, given creative buzzcuts and vomiting on each other are a Dunedin tradition dating back decades. Read more Audio
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World's first genetically-modified banana approved in Australia
9:30 PM.A disease-resistant Cavendish banana will soon be grown in Queensland, with the hope that this will open the door to more future-proofing of the banana industry. Read more Audio
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Shower Thoughts: Why are phone lines still so scratchy?
9:15 PM.Ella in Queenstown asks: with all the power of modern technology, why don't phone calls sound much better than they did 30 years ago? Read more Audio
7:12 The Sampler
Tony Stamp reviews the final, posthumous album from Jamaican dub legend Lee 'Scratch' Perry, a critically buzzed-about shoegaze outing by American band Hotline TNT, and techno DJ-turned-dream pop musician Avalon Emerson delivers her debut.
7:45 The Reading
Tonight, the third episode of 'Tipface Bunyan' by Susie Pointon, read here by Judith Gibson.
8:15 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.
8:30 BBC Food Chain
Why conversations over dinner matter, with psychotherapist Philippa Perry telling us how to keep the peace with the family over Sunday lunch.
Photo: 123RF
9:07 Nights Daily 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.
The quiz is themed - find out more about tonight's theme on Nights' Facebook page.
9:15 Shower Thoughts: Why are phone lines still so scratchy?
Listener Ella in Queenstown sent in today's ponderous Shower Thought: why, with all the progress of modern technology, do phone lines still sound crackly?
To answer, Ulrich Speidel, a senior lecturer in computer science from the University of Auckland, joins Emile Donovan.
Photo: 123RF
9:30 World's first genetically-modified banana approved in Australia
In a landmark decision, a genetically-modified Cavendish banana has been signed off to be grown in Australia.
The product has been engineered to be nearly immune to Panama Tropical Race 4, a fungal disease that kills banana plants.
James Dale is the leader of the banana biotechnology programme at the Queensland University of Technology and joins Emile Donovan.
Dr Jean-Yves Paul, left, and QUT Distinguished Professor James Dale, right, with a bunch of QCAV-4 bananas, at the trial site in the Northern Territory. Photo: Anthony Weate
10:17 Dunedin's daft and dangerous culture of flat initiations
Across the country this week, New Zealand's student population will be returning to study and moving into their new flats.
But some of them had to earn these flats - and that's more than just paying the bond.
Initiations ranging from being pelted with eggs, given creative buzzcuts, and being made to vomit on each other - and even darker still - are a Dunedin tradition dating back decades.
Fox Meyer is the former editor of Otago University student magazine Critic Te Ārohi and he joins Emile Donovan.
Dunedin's Castle Street is home to many of the more infamous, highly sought-after named flats of the student precinct. Photo: Twitter / @doryrempsey
10:30 Mexico's Tren Maya development: A 'megaproject of death' or a lifeline?
A new $28 billion railway line through ancient Mayan ruins is near to completion.
The 1500 kilometre Tren Maya, servicing tourists and cargo alike, has been more than four years in the making, and is supposed to lift Mexico's south and south-east communities out of poverty.
But protesters have called it a "megaproject of death" for the precious rainforest land that has been bulldozed to make room for it.
Étienne von Bertrab is a lecturer in development and planning at University College London, and the coordinator of a book on the Tren Maya, and he joins Nights to explain the significance of the landmark development.
10:45 Musician touring on foot from Puketapu to Wellington
Being a musician in New Zealand often means finding creative ways to get your music out to the masses.
Indie musician Samuel R. Saffery is doing exactly that.
At the end of this month he will set off on a 300 kilometer journey from Puketapu in Hawkes Bay all the way down to Wellington on foot, and he's hoping to play at as many venues as possible along the way.
He joins Emile Donovan.
Keen to host Samuel for a gig, or offer a roof for a night? Email him at samuelsaffery@gmail.com
Samuel R Saffery's Hard Yards tour kicks off in late February. Photo: Samuel R Saffery
11:07 Worlds of Music
Trevor Reekie hosts a weekly music programme celebrating an eclectic mix of 'world' music, fusion and folk roots.