Shower Thoughts: How do we name drugs?
How do drugs get their names? Emile is joined by Dr Krishan Thiru, Medical Director for Pfizer Australia and New Zealand, to delve into the details.
Aug 12, 2025•7 min
Nights
Tune in to Nights with Emile Donovan every weekday from 8pm to midnight for a delectable buffet of creative ideas, open-minded conversations, music, musings and daily stimulation.
Last refreshed: ⓘ
Follow this podcast in the Metacast mobile app to refresh it and see new episodes.
Podcasts are better in Metacast mobile app
Don't just listen to podcasts. Learn from them with transcripts, summaries, and chapters for every episode. Skim, search, and bookmark insights. Learn more
Episodes
Te Papa's colossal squid turns one hundred
Te Papa's colossal squid turns one hundred this year. Te Papa curator and resident squid expert Kerry Walton joins Emile Donovan to mull it over.
Aug 12, 2025•13 min
Palestine: The road to statehood
Dr Martin Kear joins Emile Donovan to discuss increasing calls for a two-state solution in the Middle East.
Aug 12, 2025•16 min
Unlocking the secret world of hormones
Emile Donovan speaks to Dr Rachael Sumner, senior research fellow at the University of Auckland, about the poorly-understood role that hormones play in women's health, from epilepsy to premenstrual dysphoric disorder and beyond.
Aug 11, 2025•21 min
BBC World Service Lookahead with Jonathan Frewin
Emile speaks to Jonathan Frewin from the BBC World Service to take a look at some of the events making headlines internationally.
Aug 11, 2025•8 min
Sports with Jamie Wall
RNZ sports whiz Jamie Wall joins Emile Donovan to debrief the week that was in sport.
Aug 11, 2025•11 min
Where have all the volunteers gone?
Volunteers are the heart and soul of any community sporting organisation - but the number of people putting their hands up to help out at the local rugby ground or table tennis club is on the decline. Coaching roles, so often filled by volunteers, are increasingly vacant or stretched, with one estimate being a loss of forty percent of volunteers in the past few years. Still, there are people out there giving their time and energy to the sports and communities they love. Emile speaks to Ailsa Car...
Aug 11, 2025•5 min
Why rising underutilisation of the workforce is cause for concern
Emile Donovan speaks to Shamubeel Eaqub, Chief Economist at Simplicity.
Aug 11, 2025•20 min
The Quiz Appendix: Women's words and men's words
Nights producer Bonnie Harrison revisits the week in quizzes, and looks at why some words are better known to some people than others.
Aug 08, 2025•9 min
What makes a great building?
Craig is director of Moller Architects which has been in practice since 1969 and has designed the likes of the Sky Tower and ASB Waterfront Theatre in Auckland. He tells Emile what he thinks makes a great building.
Aug 08, 2025•16 min
Aaron Smith: The Psychology of Sports Fans
Professor Aaron Smith from the University of Canberra and Loughborough University is the author of The Psychology of Sports Fans and Football on The Brain: Why Minds Love Sport, which looks at the cognitive science of sports fandom and faith.
Aug 07, 2025•15 min
Vintage rugby jersey pops up in high-end London fashion label
A shirt strikingly similar to the one worn by Canterbury in the 2001 NPC championship is now being sold by London-based Palace Skateboards, a brand beloved by celebrities like Justin Bieber, Seth Rogen and Kylie Jenner.
Aug 07, 2025•4 min
Looking back at the wellbeing era
Political scientist Natalia Albert joins Emile Donovan to revisit what New Zealand's 'wellbeing era' of governance got right, and got wrong.
Aug 07, 2025•22 min
Loosening the jar lid - who's the real hero?
When we fail to open a jar, and we pass it to our spouse who opens it without breaking a sweat, have we helped to loosen it or not? Richard Easther, professor of physics at the University of Auckland, explains.
Aug 07, 2025•10 min
Is New Zealand's relationship with Australia better than ever?
Ahead of a bilateral summit this weekend, director of the centre for strategic studies at Victoria University of Wellington David Capie joins Emile Donovan.
Aug 07, 2025•10 min
Science and God: The Pope's Astronomer on why science and religion are not opposing forces
Brother Guy is currently on a speaking tour of New Zealand and joins Emile Donovan to talk about faith, science and whether he would baptise aliens.
Aug 06, 2025•18 min
‘Lost’ Frances Hodgkins painting valued at $112,000
The unsigned artwork was verified during an episode of the BBC television programme Fake or Fortune by our very own Mary Kisler. She joins Emile Donovan
Aug 06, 2025•8 min
Biggest overhaul of road funding in half a century on its way
Under the new system, road users would pay road user charges online, similar to a power bill. Senior fellow at Motu Economic and Public Policy Research Stuart Donovan joins Nights to discuss.
Aug 06, 2025•17 min
Greg Broadmore: The wonderful world of graphic novels
Wellington artist Greg Boardmore helped establish the Wētā Game Studio, but says nothing compares to the power and purity of making comics. He joins Mark Leishman.
Aug 05, 2025•22 min
Shower Thoughts: Who edits Wikipedia?
Avid editor Marshall Clark (who penned the Wikipedia page for RNZer Bryan Crump), also a committee member for Wikimedia Aotearoa New Zealand, joins Mark Leishman to explain.
Aug 05, 2025•18 min
European correspondent Christian Smith
Christian Smith joins Mark Leishman to discuss a fraught immigration climate in the UK, pressure on for Russia to agree to peace talks with Ukraine, and a Kiwi performer at the Edinburgh Fringe festival who's making headlines for his ability to fold a fitted sheet.
Aug 05, 2025•12 min
Landmark new report into community sport
Sport clubs across New Zealand are struggling as they face a double whammy of increasing costs and decreasing number of volunteers. Report project lead Dr Mel Johnston joins Mark Leishman.
Aug 05, 2025•14 min
The potential for poo transplants to cure bipolar
A Gut Mood Solution is by Gordon Parker, a professor of psychiatry at the University of New South Wales. He speaks to Mark Leishman about a novel way to treat bipolar disorder.
Aug 04, 2025•22 min
BBC World Service Lookahead with Jonathan Frewin
BBC World Service journalist Jonathan Frewin joins Mark Leishman to take a look at events making international headlines, including a global plastics treaty being negotiated in Geneva, the Moscow trial over the attacks at Crocus City Hall last year, and Poland's new president is sworn in this week.
Aug 04, 2025•7 min
Sports with Jamie Wall
RNZ sports journalist Jamie Wall joins Mark Leishman to debrief the weekend of sport.
Aug 04, 2025•18 min
What Christchurch's poor air quality means for our health
Overnight, the air quality in parts of Canterbury was rated as 'unhealthy' using the air quality index. Environmental epidemiologist Professor Simon Hales explains what that means.
Aug 04, 2025•10 min
NCEA changes on the way
Dr Michael Johnston is a senior research fellow at The New Zealand Initiative who led the government's Curriculum Refresh Ministerial Advisory Group. He has long called for an overhaul of NCEA .
Aug 04, 2025•10 min
The Quiz Appendix: Cousins and councils
Nights producer Bonnie Harrison joins Emile Donovan to review the week in quiztastic glory.
Aug 01, 2025•9 min
This Weekend: 10 years of Vogelmorn Bowling Club
Vogelmorn Bowling Club trustee Bronnie Wilde joins Emile Donovan to reflect on the club's 10th anniversary.
Aug 01, 2025•6 min
Local body elections with Jonathan Milne
Local body elections are officially underway, with nominations closing at midday today. Jonathan Milne, managing editor of Newsroom Pro, joins Emile Donovan to chew over the shape of the next few months as prospective councillors, chairs and mayors gear up for a long campaign
Aug 01, 2025•17 min
For the best experience, listen in Metacast app for iOS or Android