Summer Times

9:10 Six60 announce fifth studio album 

Few bands have soundtracked life in Aotearoa quite like Six60, who went from jamming in Dunedin flats to becoming one of the country's biggest live draws.

Today they’ve announced their fifth studio album Right Here Right Now, recorded live across three days - a deliberate step back toward the raw, in-the-room energy that first put them on the map. 

Frontman Matiu Walters and guitarist Ji Fraser join Anna. 

9:25 Welcome Rock Ultra: The Southland high country adventure race

Reckon you have what it takes to complete a 200 kilometre adventure race through Southland high country?

As we speak, a group of adventure runners traverse the gruelling course of the Welcome Rock Ultra. Competitors have 60 hours to complete it and little time to rest. 

Race director Chris Sanson joins Anna. 

9:45 Ōkarito: The remote West Coast settlement home to 30

The remote community of Ōkarito is situated on the South Island’s West Coast, 30 kilometres north of Franz Josef. 

The beautiful settlement is home to just 30. For its residents, life revolves around the campsite. 

Ōkarito made a name for itself when it was home to Booker Prize-winning author Kerrie Hulme, but for many, the settlement tends to fly under the radar.

Anna is joined by residents Robyn Jepson and Barry Hughes. 

9:55 Geo Jumble 

Each 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 correct answers is entered in a weekly prize draw. 

Text in your answer to 2101. 

10:10 Road Trip: Barnaby Weir 

Barnaby Weir, founding member of bands Fly My Pretties and the Black Seeds, joins Anna to soundtrack his perfect road trip and tells her what’s in store for 2026. 

Barnaby is the penner of Kiwi summer classics like ‘So True’ and ‘Cool Me Down’. He’s spent the last 24 years as a tour de force on the New Zealand music scene. 

The Black Seeds are one of the headliners at the Manuka Phuel Synthony Festival in Auckland this March. 

11:10 Museum Stop: Woolshed Museum 

For many years New Zealand was said to ‘live off the sheep’s back’. Our museum stop today takes us to the heart of the Wairarapa to the Wool Shed Museum in Masterton to find out all about the country's sheep farming and shearing history. 

President of the museum and the Shear History Trust, Roger Barton, joins Anna. 

11:25 New Zealand's first stone-skimming championship

Richie Laming is an experience and education manager at Lake Hāwea station. He's also a seasoned stone skimmer. 

Richie is involved in the organisation of New Zealand's first national stone-skimming championship, taking place at Lake Hāwea this May.

The event is inspired by Scotland's long-running world championships and aims to raise money and awareness for Melonoma New Zealand. 

He joins Anna to chat over the fine art of stone-skimming and the recipe for a perfect skim (it's actually quite complex).

11:40 Podcast review with Tessa Guest

Tessa joins Anna once more to review a fresh batch of podcasts. Among them is Cross Party Lines, a new weekly political podcast hosted by former cabinet ministers Chris Finlayson (National), Phil Goff (Labour) and Sam Collins (producer). 

Tessa also reviews Not Built for This, a mini-series by 99% Invisible that explores how climate change lays bare the vulnerabilities in an American-built environment.