Nights for Friday 28 February 2025

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.

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8:30 This Weekend: Newtown Festival

Every Friday, we bring you some of the most interesting events and happening in Aotearoa this weekend.

This week we're heading to the nation's capital for the country's biggest free musical festival and street fair Newtown Festival.

Shaun Blackwell is on the organising team and he speaks to Emile Donovan.

8:35 Tenuous Connections

It's Friday night, so Nights is putting on a playlist of music with a loose theme based off an even looser starting point.

9:07 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.

9:20 Focus on Politics

In Focus on Politics, RNZ's political editor Jo Moir examines New Zealand's relationship with China as three Chinese warships sit off the coast of Australia and the Cook Islands sign new agreements with the superpower without first consulting New Zealand.

9:35 Short-Cuts with Dan Slevin

Nights' resident screen critic is back to review 2025's five Oscar-nominated feature documentaries, and Ricky Jay & His 52 Assistants (1996) streaming for free on the Internet Archive.

10:17 The issues with "green fairies"

Earlier this week, police in Northland raided an illegal growing operation that supplied hundreds of people with black-market medicinal cannabis.

The man behind the operation is 66-year-old Paul "Gandalf" Smith, a well-known 'green fairy' in the region.

Green fairy is a term used to describe those who provide medicinal cannabis outside the legal system.

While medicinal cannabis has been legal in New Zealand since 2020, only doctors can prescribe it-often making legal access difficult for many patients.

Dr. Waseem Alzaher is the chief executive of Cannabis Clinic, a medicinal cannabis business in Auckland, and believes green fairies still have a role to play in the legal medicinal cannabis industry.

He joins Emile Donovan.

10:30 Out Lately with Finn Johansson

He's back, and undoubtedly ready to inform, educate and entertain us with an array of eclectic music.

Tonight, he's got music from Cat Clyde, Cameron McCurdy and Farewell Spit.

11:07 Artist to Artist 

In Artist To Artist Nick Bollinger takes a listen to some of the songs that songwriters have written about other songwriters, and uncovers the stories behind them.

To Listen to this programme again or other shows from Nick Bollinger head to RNZ music