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RNZ National broadcasts 24 hours a day, featuring the best in news, current affairs, Māori programming, series, readings and music – plus podcasts, a live audio feed and on-demand programmes.
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All Night Programme
There is something for everyone in the wee small hours of a brand new day, every day, on our All Night Programme, a live-hosted programme of features, music, news and weather.
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BBC Witness History
Featured stories
Summer encore: Bodies of Water - Don McGlashan
Watch / Listen / Read: New Zealand music icon Don McGlashan (The Mutton Birds, The Front Lawn, Blam Blam Blam) talks about how rivers, lakes, inlets, and seas have shaped him and his career as an artist in this charming Lilburn Lecture. Video, Audio
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The story behind ‘Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star’
1 Jan 2026One of the most recognizable lullabies, ‘Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star’ has been adapted and performed by parents and professional musicians including Nicki Minaj, DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince, The Supremes and Louis Armstrong.
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Summer encore: The Big Sing Finale
29 Dec 2025One of the highlights of 2025, the Big Sing Finale brought together 24 top secondary school choirs, with nearly 1000 young singers gathering in Dunedin to sing their hearts out. Catch up on the performances here.
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Christmas Day Church Service
25 Dec 2025Celebrate Christmas Day with an ecumenical service of readings, reflections and prayers brought to you by representatives of some of Wellington's central city churches, and carols sung by Porirua choir Pacific Connection. Video, Audio
Programmes
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Afternoons
Jesse Mulligan presents an upbeat mix of the curious and the compelling, ranging from the stories of the day to the great questions of our time.
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Checkpoint
Checkpoint with Lisa Owen is RNZ’s weekday drive-time news programme, Our people, stories and breaking news and interviews from 4-6pm.
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Nashville Babylon
The very best in Americana, alt country and blues music, hosted by Mark Rogers.
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Spectrum at War
World War One treasures from deep in the archives of Spectrum.
Presenters
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Nathan Rarere
Station: National
Programme: First Up
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Jim Mora
Station: National
Programme: Sunday Morning
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Perlina Lau
Station: National
Programme: Culture 101
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Lisa Owen
Station: National
Programme: Checkpoint
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Maggie Tweedie
Station: National
Programme: On the Air - Mā runga iarere
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Sarah Bradley
Station: National
Programme: News
Popular audio
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Māori likely first humans to see Antarctica - study
9 Jun 2021A new study has concluded that Māori were likely the first humans to set eyes on Antartic waters and even the continent itself.
Researchers from Manaaki Whenua Landcare Research and Te Rūnanga o Ngāi… Audio
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Professor Phil Hansbro: What to eat to keep inflammation under control
12 Feb 2023Professor Phil Hansbro is the depute director of Australia's Centenary Research Institute and director of the Centre for Inflammation at Sydney's University of Technology. He's internationally… Audio
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Automated online RNZ Concert not enough - Helen Clark
12 Feb 2020RNZ's chief executive Paul Thompson was asked a blunt question yesterday: had he bungled announcements about the future of RNZ Concert and a new music channel for young listeners?
Not at all, he… Audio
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Peter O'Connor - the arts in healing
25 Dec 2016Catriona speaks with Professor Peter O'Connor, an internationally recognised expert in theatre and drama education who believes the arts can provide people with a way to deal with traumatic and… Audio
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Never too old: Dr Te Piere Warahi and his journey to obtaining a PhD at 73
Dr Warahi (Ngāti Maniapoto) has just recently completed his studies at the University of Auckland on the experiences of Māori caregivers. Audio
Latest audio
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Erny Belle Live at the Leigh Sawmill Cafe
20 Jan 2026Ngapuhi singer-songwriter Erny Belle, known for her debut alt-folk/country and Pacific pop-tinged album 'Venus Is Home', preforms live at the Leigh Sawmill Cafe. Audio
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HALFQUEEN reminisces about Splore through music
Shaquille Wasasala, also known as HALFQUEEN joins Maggie Tweedie and Mark Williams to talk about this year's finale of Splore, and all the great moments from the historic festival, with a selection of… Audio
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What to see at the Dowse Art Museum this year
Dr Chelsea Nicholls takes Maggie Tweedie and Mark Williams on a tour of the latest exhibitions at The Dowse Art Museum. Audio
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Kadambari Raghukumar takes us international through music
20 Jan 2026Kadambari Raghukumar takes Maggie Tweedie and Mark Williams across the globe to Sudan, The Democratic Republic of Congo and India, with stories from her podcast 'Here Now'. Audio
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Louis Baker celebrates summer and teases new music
20 Jan 2026Soul singer Louis Baker sits down with Maggie Tweedie and Mark Williams to talk about his incredibly busy summer, and his highly anticipated new music. Audio
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Book review with Bonnie Harrison
20 Jan 2026Bonnie Harrison joins Anna to review Hoods Landing (Aporo Press), the debut novel of Laura Vincent. Audio
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Great Rides: Chris Cameron
20 Jan 2026Time to hit the trails - on two wheels, that is. New Zealand has a network of amazing bike rides around the country and Chris Cameron is on a mission to tick them all off. Chris is a keen cyclist and… Audio
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Museum Stop: Clapham Clock Museum
20 Jan 2026Today we're off to a place where time definitely doesn't stand still. The Clapham Clock Museum in Whangarei is home to over 1700 clocks and timepieces and is one of the largest collections of clocks… Audio
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Road Trip: Dawn Freshwater
20 Jan 2026Our road trip guest today grew up in a working-class mining family in Nottingham and left school at 15. She trained and worked as a nurse before moving into academia. Five years ago, she took up the… Audio
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Geo Jumble
20 Jan 2026Each day Summer Times hosts the Geo Jumble quiz, in which listeners are asked to unscramble the letters within given words to spell out New Zealand towns and cities. The first to text in all three… Audio
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The crucial brain health research done in Aotearoa
20 Jan 2026At no other point in human history have we known more about how to keep our brains healthy. It's a rapidly expanding area of research on the global stage, but some crucial research is done right here… Audio
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Cornwall Park named garden of national significance
20 Jan 2026Cornwall Park is one of New Zealand's biggest, busiest and beloved city parks, spanning 78 hectares in the middle of urban Auckland. The New Zealand Gardens Trust has just awarded Cornwall Park 5… Audio
Today’s Schedule
12:00 AM. All Night Programme
A selection of the best RNZ National interviews and features.
6:10 AM. BBC Witness History
Witness History takes you back to moments which have shaped our world.
6:20 AM. The Best of the Detail
A selection of the best Detail episodes from 2025
7:00 AM. Morning Report - Summer Edition
Presented by Melissa Chan-Green and Lauren Crimp
9:06 AM. Summer Times with Anna Thomas
Noon On the Air
Maggie Tweedie and Mark Williams (MC Slave) host an afternoon of music
5:00 PM. Hi Viz Manaaki: Māori Wardens
A Māori and a migrant explore the heart, history and future of Māori Wardens - Aotearoa's hi viz kaitiaki of aroha, manaaki, and mana motuhake.
6:00 PM. Feature Programming - BBC's the Conversation
7:10 PM. The Best of the Detail
A selection of the best Detail episodes from 2025
8:15 PM. Writers Write, Actors Read
10:00 PM. News at Ten
A roundup of today's news and sport
10:15 PM. Feature Programming - BBC Doc
11:06 PM. Feature Programming - ENZology
The story of New Zealand's most iconic band - Split Enz.
