Nights

A Christchurch boy, Phil Keoghan presented That's Fairly Interesting before jetting off to the US and landing the role of a lifetime: hosting The Amazing Race.

Hayden Donnell and Colin Peacock joined Mark Leishman to hand out Mediawatch's annual awards - including worst media cliche, most shameless ripoff, best media drama and media over-reaction of the year.

RNZ's Leonard Powell joins Mark Leishman from the Auckland Town Hall to give an update on student radio station 95bFM's all-star fundraising concert.

For most families, turkey is wheeled out once a year on Christmas Day - an American tradition we've adopted. But where do New Zealand turkeys even come from? How do you pick a good bird? And how do you avoid a dry turkey? Canter Valley farm is a poultry producer and supplier and has been raising turkeys in North Canterbury for years. Kathy Guard co-owns Canter Valley with her husband Lachlan Dick and she joins Mark Leishman to talk turkey.

WIth summer's arrival, tens of thousands of teenagers are itching to descend on holiday locations up and down the country. While it's no doubt a time of excitement for those young people, it's also a busy time for our emergency services and can be nerve-wracking for parents. But there is a group of people who will be out and about making sure everyone is keeping safe while they're out partying. The Red Frogs are a voluntary outfit who play a role in looking after young people in alcohol-fuelled environments. Red Frogs Central Otago and Queenstown Coordinator and spokesperson Shannon Thomson joins Mark Leishman.

Pope Francis has approved a major shift in Vatican policy allowing priests to administer blessings to same-sex couples as 'a sign that God welcomes all'. However, it stops short of the Church allowing priests to perform marriage rites for same-sex couples. This is the latest in a series of moves that indicate the Church may be moving in a more liberal direction, which has caused some conflict between the liberal and conservative adherents of Catholicism. Catholicism remains the single largest religious group in New Zealand, with nearly 500,000 people identifying as Catholic in the 2018 Census. Mark Leishman discusses the development with Peter Lineham, a retired professor of history who specialises in religion.

A new enclosure at Hamilton Zoo has opened - but it isn't for tigers, elephants or crocodiles. The Zoo will be home to three wild ferrets, categorised as an introduced pest in New Zealand, which will be used to underline the importance of managing pests to protect native species. Hamilton Zoo director Dr Baird Fleming joins Mark Leishman.

Many of us will be gearing up to spend quality time with family and friends over the Christmas period. But there are those who find this time of year clouded by loneliness and grief after losing their loved ones. Christchurch grief coach Sarah Robb knows that the holiday season can be challenging: when she was 20, her father died in a sudden accident. Six years later, her mother died from a brain aneurysm. Robb is the founder of Christmas Connection, an initiative that helps people remember their deceased loved ones around the holiday season. She joins Mark Leishman.

The BBC's Sarika Unadkat joins Nights with a wrap of news making the headlines around the world.

It was a big week last week in the world of E-Sport That's because it was the week of the 2023 Microsoft Excel World Championships - the World Cup of Spreadsheets Nick Boberg is a financial modeller by day - but in his spare time he's also a spreadsheet enthusiast, one of New Zealand's top-ranked Excel Athletes, and a commentator on Spreadsheet Battles. He talks to Mark Leishman about what makes his chosen sport so enthralling for it's many fans.