Nights

This Friday the country will pause and look up as we mark Matariki. Matariki is the Maori name for the cluster of stars that rises at this time of year, signalling the Maori new year. Ayla Hoeta, Matariki is just one part of a much wider system of knowledge known as maramataka. Ayla is a maramataka practitioner, lecturer and first-year doctoral candidate at the University of Auckland's Faculty of...

If you have a love of shoes - or you've been scrolling social media - you're not imagining things if you've seen more extreme footwear than usual. Yes, strange shoes are trending - and as one outlet put it, 'ridiculous shoes are everywhere.' Some examples include: A pump that sculpts the foot into a cloven pig's hoof, sandals that support the heel and nothing else, a beam of light for a heel ... n...

It's Kiribati Language Week and Roi Burnett, a Pacific Studies doctoral candidate at the University of Auckland, is hoping that we'll all use this week as a chance to go beyond familiar narratives and delve into this rich culture - Roi joins Susana for a chat.

Well, it was a sports bonanza over the weekend. Here to run us through some of the most interesting, important and downright wild storylines is Nights own sports correspondent - Ben Strang.

Every Monday night around this time we take a moment to look back 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. This week Emma is talking about the history of zoos in Aotearoa.

It's that time of year. The temperature drops into single digits. The days get shorter. Sometimes it feels like you don't see the sun for days. And before long your mind starts wandering somewhere warmer. Maybe it's a beach in Fiji. Maybe it's Europe in summer. Maybe it's anywhere but here. But before you book those flights, it's worth asking a question. Is there such a thing as sustainable touris...

He's back, and no doubt ready to inform, educate and entertain us with an array of eclectic music.

Nights' resident screen critic Dan Slevin joins Susana Lei'ataua to review: Kiki's Delivery Service (In Cinemas), Mel Brooks: The 99 Year Old Man (HBO max), and Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory (Three Now). 

As host of one of the world's biggest history podcasts, he has spent more than 600 episodes exploring everything from Ancient Greece to the Neanderthals,

Six players could make their NRL Women's debut this weekend as the Wāhine Warriors start the new season. 

Vea Mafile’o has spent years putting Pasifika stories on the big screen. Now, she's one of 529 film professionals invited the Academy this year.

The history of the meal is more interesting than you might have ever considered. 

Tonight, we're talking about a book which unearths the forgotten stories of the women who shaped New Zealand's goldfields. 

It's time for our weekly politics catch-up with political scientist, writer, and former deputy leader of The Opportunities Party, Natalia Albert.

The new series, Please Don’t Break Anything: The First Night, lands on TVNZ+ this Friday.

Christian Smith dials in from London with news from the other side of the world.

This week Emma is talking about NZ's chaotic first attempt at a Parliament. 

When a tree falls, council often turn them into woodchips, firewood, or mulch for public parks. But should this approach be reconsidered?

The aim is help recognise and preserve both Māori and European histories for future generations.

Tigilau Ness says the project represents another wave of displacement for Māori and Pasifika whānau in Auckland's central suburbs.

Specifically, we’re looking at what it sounds like to Mandarin speakers.

To answer this and resulting questions, Susana is joined by University of Auckland astro-physicist Professor Jan Eldridge.

University of Auckland PhD student Justine Skilling has been investigating what’s really standing in the way of creating greener suburbs.

A very special event took place in Levin over the weekend. After six decades, one of New Zealand's pioneering military nurses has finally been given the full recognition she earned. A restored headstone for Sister Ethel Maude Thomas was unveiled at Levin's Old Cemetery on Saturday, with previously omitted First World War honours now finally included. The work was led by the New Zealand Remembrance...

There are now tens of thousands of satellites orbiting Earth and New Plymouth photographer Brendan Larsen wanted to capture just how much they are affecting our view of the universe. He set up a time lapse of the snow-capped Mt Taranaki beneath the night sky, but when the final image emerged, he was stunned to see hundreds of satellites criss-crossing the sky above the mountain. Brendan speaks wit...