Nights

If there's one thing New Zealand seemingly loves ... it's a hotly-contested public vote for our favourite native species. Of course, this year's Bird of the Century competition was in the spotlight given the involvement and possible voter fraud committed by US talk show host John Oliver. But, over the next couple of weeks, a similarly bitter competition is unfolding online to decide our favourite native PLANT The Favourite Native Plant competition, is run by the New Zealand Plant Conservation Network. The orgenisations president Jesse Bythell joins Mark.

Dr Eric Crampton is the chief economist at free-market think-tank the New Zealand Initiative, and a regular economic pundit on Nights. Tonight he joins Mark Leishman to explore some of the less-well cavassed aspects of the new Government's coalition agreements.

The Booker Prize was announced earlier this week - it went to Irish writer Paul Lynch for his dystopian novel "Prophet Song" - but Paul Lynch wasn't the only Irish writer shortlisted for the award. In fact, he wasn't even the only Irish writer named Paul to make the shortlist - The Bee Sting, by Paul Murray, was also on there. Two other Irish writers made the Booker LONG-list. And that's quite apart from other writers like Sally Rooney, who's pulling up trees wherever she goes Of course, Ireland has an incredibly rich literary tradition - from George Bernard Shaw to James Joyce, to Oscar Wilde, Samuel Beckett and WB Yeats, to name but a few. So what is it about this little island nation north-west of Europe that allows it to produce such lyrical, erudite authors? Matthew Ryan is an expert in Irish Literature at the Australian Catholic University in Melbourne.

There are, I'd venture to say, two types of people in the mornings: those who snooze through alarms, and those who don't. And it's probably fair to say that society is a bit rough on snoozers. They are often characterised as lazy and undisciplined - bad sleep hygiene, if you will. But is that UNFAIR? Could hitting the snooze button on your alarm clock in fact be beneficial? A new study published in the Journal of Sleep Research suggests just that - the study's lead author is Tina Sundelin, a sleep researcher from Stockholm University.

What should you do if you find an abandoned turtle? No, don't name it after a renaissance painter and throw it down the sewer with a slice of pizza.... I promise you it won't turn into a crime fighting ninja... Instead call the SPCA who are likely to send it to Turtle Rescue. Turtle Rescue is run and funded by just one woman - Donna Moot. She operates it out of her Christchurch home. Donna explains to explain why we're about to hit peak season for abandoned turtles, and how you can get your hands on one.

The BBC's Rob Hugh-Jones runs through the latest world news, including: COP28, Green Aviation, Flight MH370 compensation, Ukraine & Sudan.

Teo Reo Maori has become a normal part of our everyday interactions here in Aotearoa/New Zealand. But one of our native languages, Ta re Moriori, has no native speakers and could face possible extinction without an effort to revive it. A project between the University of Auckland and the Hokeotehi Moriori Trust hopes to be part of that effort. Linguist John Middleton is part of the project to revitalise the language, both on the Chatham Islands and here on the mainland.

Invercargill cyclist Hannah Pascoe has become the first blind woman to cycle the length of the country. The 19 day trip started at Cape Reinga on November the 8th, and wound up yesterday afternoon in Bluff. Along the way Hannah also raised a huge $25,000 which is going to support other blind athletes. She joins Mark Leishman on Nights...

While most of the major tournaments New Zealand were competing in have come and gone there's still plenty of sport around. Bryan Waddle joins Mark Leishman to discuss the young driver making a splash this Supercar season, transfer moves at the Warriors, the Blackcaps, and the Olympic climbing squad.

Finn Johansson has four records for us from: Francisca Griffin and the Bus Shelter Boys, Pink Pantheress, Memory Foam, Andre 3000.

It's been a huge 2023 for Trade Aid. They celebrate their 50th birthday, and last night they won the 'Good Food' category at the Sustainable Business Awards. You probably know their distinctive red shops... But that's a relatively small part of their business.... Almost a side hustle! Like the rest of us their mostly powered by caffeine... Over the last 20 years they've grown from a tiny importer of green coffee beans, to dominating over 20% of the market. All while remaining committed to the principals of Fair Trade There's a good chance you've drunk their beans today... Chief Executive Geoff White joins Mark...

This week Dan's got 3 movies for us including a dystopian future comedy, a focused on the biggest star on television in the 1970s and the the original documentary that inspired Taika Waititi's new feature comedy.

Aotearoa's first Mental Health Film Festival is currently touring the country. It's had stops in Auckland & Christchurch, with events in Wellington, Hamilton, Napier & Tauranga still to come. The event is put on by the Mental Health foundation with the aim to "shift perspectives one frame at a time". The screenings consist of nine short films including 'Fred Is Cold' - an animated epic about a lonely fridge. Co-writer and director Ben Wilson joins Mark Leishman...

Lynn Freeman joins Mark Leishman to review the pick of the podcasts. This week she's sharing her pick of science podcasts. Featuring: Ologies, The Naked Scientists, Inside Science & NASAs Curious Universe.

A new play set to premiere this Saturday at Wellington's Circa Theatre tackles a subject tackles that often bothers many people: "Is life worth living after 90?" That's the core question at the centre of playwright Rachel's McAlpine's new play The Secret Lives of Extremely Old People. One of the stars of the show will be familiar to many RNZ listeners. Former overnight host and actor, the magnanimous Lloyd Scott is returning to the stage. And our Wellington studio... He joins us fresh from rehearsal.

At this point it's almost impossible to avoid the Black Friday advertising with plastered across our screens. Instead of getting caught up in the hype one Wellington business has decided to give it's staff a day off instead. Tomorrow will be "Slack Friday" for Bicycle Junction and instead of sales and consumerism instead of celebrating consumerism staff will be enjoying a day of riding bikes, camping and enjoying nature. So to explain his thought process owner Dan Mikkelsen talks to Mark Leishman.

Would you rather amputate your dominant hand or have the reputation of being a paedophile? That's the kind of hypothetical question award-winning social psychology researcher Dr Andrew Vonasch asks people to study the power of reputation.

Angelman syndrome is a rare genetic condition that affects the nervous system and causes severe physical and learning disabilities. The Chairperson for The Angelman Network Ursula Christel's adult son has the syndrome. Ursula joins us...

Mark and Colin discuss coalition government talks, WeetBix, Rugby and the closure of Southland's best known store 'H and J Smith'.

Unless you've been living up a tree you'll know that the decadent Puteketeke was recently crowned bird of the century. This years vote has already helped Forest & Bird raise $600,000... Metal Birds - an auckland based company is helping them push that even higher. They make... you guessed it, metal bird silhouettes. For the last few years they've released a Bird Of The Year model, with 30% of the sale going to Forest & Bird. This year it comes with a little extra - a bonus John Oliver silhouette... And as with everything the John Oliver effect touches, this years sales have been the biggest yet... Metal Birds founder Phil Walters joins us.