Nights

December 11 has been identified as the most-likely day for people to call it quits on their relationship. The date, falling just two weeks ahead of Christmas and the busy holiday season, is singled out as the point at which couples' issues can reach boiling point, without being seen as too close to the festive period. Mark Leishman is joined by Auckland-based divorce mediator and relationship coach Bridgette Jackson, who explains the most common reasons relationships don't work out.

This week in sport, the Black Caps' against-the-odds test win in Dhaka, both of New Zealand's Sevens teams scraping short of the Cape Town final, and Japanese baseballer Shohei Ohtani's record-breaking $700 million deal with the LA Dodgers. Bryan Waddle joins Mark Leishman.

For those familiar with the topography of Dunedin, Mt Cargill stands high above the Southern city. A group of hardy souls took off from Bethunes Gully at the bottom of the peak on Friday in a new race called the Crush the Cargill 100 Miler. The aim is to complete 19 laps, which is 100 miles or 161km, up and down summit in 36 hours. Not to be out-done another group will set off at 10am tomorrow morning for the 24-hour challenge, aiming to complete as many laps as possible. And who is the brain behind this madness - that would be Steve Tripp, Dunedin ultra-runner extortioner, who chatted to Nights.

Night's resident screen critic Dan Slevin is back. This week he's got three watches for us, including a surprise final film from the Japanese Studio Ghibli master, A animated batman Christmas special and a new comedy series from the creator of Community.

On Sunday what is possibly the Southern Hemisphere's largest playground will be officially unveiled. And no it's not in Sydney or Melbourne and not even Auckland - - It will take pride of place in Timaru's Caroline Bay. It's been a long time coming but the $3 million new state-of-the-art, CPlay will be celebrated by the community with a community family fun day. So to take us on the journey from brainstorm to completion, Todd Zaner talks to the project chair Owen Jackson.

For one last time with her podcast picks on nights, here's Lynn Freeman. She's put together a bumper list for her final review of the year.

Picture this: it's 5 o'clock, Friday evening, you've just finished work for the day. You head outside to where you parked your bike up. But... there's nothing there. Nothing except the 10-dollar lock you picked up at KMart, SLICED IN TWO Anyone who's been through anything resembling this knows that having your bike stolen is one of the MOST frustrating experiences a person can have. This happens quite a bit in New Zealand - more than 400 times a year, and that's just those that are actually reported to police - the real number might well be much higher. But there ARE ways to help cyclists keep their precious vehicles safe. Gabriel Gati, a board member for Bike Auckland joins us...

Golf's governing bodies have announced a change to the rules that govern golf ball design. The new rules are designed to combat the games ever increasing hitting distance. To find out how the changes are going to impact the game, and what they might mean for you Mark is joined by former professional golfer and superstar coach Marcus Wheelhouse...

Most people have a family heirloom they've been trusted to look after for future generation. Very few heirlooms will be 150 year-old submarines. But that's the exact situation Pete Sparrow has found himself in. Pete has been involved in the restoration of a 10m-long, iron-plate Platypus submarine, which was built by his great-grandfather Joseph Sparrow in 1873. The partially restored sub will be unveiled in its new enclosure in Middlemarch, about an hour from Dunedin, this weekend. Pete joins Mark Leishman on Nights.

Former MetService Severe Weather Meteorologist, Erick Brenstrum, joins us from the RNZ Wellington Studio to talk about what the weather events making an impact across the word.