Media Releases
Monthly highlights: February
Released at 11:08 am on 29 January 2026
29 January 2026
Waitangi Day
Waitangi Day on RNZ National will begin with a live feed of the Dawn Service from 5-6am. From 6-8am, Mihingarangi Forbes will broadcast live from the Waitangi Treaty Grounds, and Stacey Morrison will present more Waitangi Day programming from 8am-midday. Listen live on RNZ National.
New this week
PODCAST | HISTORY
Out today
Meet the gutsy characters that steered their iwi through a minefield of complex treaty settlement negotiations. How do ordinary individuals cope with the weight of collective expectation as they come face to face with the formidable might of the Crown? For many New Zealanders, Treaty settlements are an aspect of history that is shrouded in mystery and misunderstanding. Take a closer look at the conversation through seven of the lead negotiators. Listen to the podcast of the Whakaata Māori series at rnz.co.nz/podcasts or on all podcast platforms. Made with support from NZ on Air.
VIDEO | SPORTS, COMEDY
Monday 16 February
Out of My League is a new video series featuring popular digital creator How to DAD. Where some people wonder ‘Wow, imagine trying to sprint 400 metres!’ How to DAD is lacing up his shoes ready to give it a crack at taking on wāhine toa athletes in their sporting disciplines. I mean, how good would the Olympics have been with an ‘Average Joe’ lane, so you could really grasp how extraordinary our athletes truly are? How to DAD is your Joe. Stream at rnz.co.nz/video from Monday 16 February.
PODCAST | MĀORI, ARTS & CULTURE
Pūtātara: Revolutions of Māori Art
Thursday 23 February
Matariki Williams (Ngāi Tūhoe, Ngāti Hauiti, Taranaki, Ngāti Whakaue, Te Atihaunui-a-Pāpārangi) and Jamie Tahana (Te Arawa: Ngāti Pikiao, Ngāti Makino, Tapuika) transport listeners to the moments and movements around which Māori art has evolved and revolved, opening with the first Ngā Puna Waihanga hui in Te Kaha in 1973 and taking us right up to today. Listen at rnz.co.nz/podcasts or on podcast apps.
This is one of three arts and culture podcasts commissioned through a Creative New Zealand, NZ On Air and RNZ co-fund, in response to the New Mirrors research that focused on strengthening arts and culture media for Aotearoa New Zealand.
Radio highlights
RNZ NATIONAL | MIDDAY REPORT
Guyon Espiner back on air with Midday Report
Celebrated journalist and broadcaster Guyon Espiner returns to a regular slot on RNZ National, fronting a revamped Midday Report, where his interviewing skills will be put to daily use. The programme will include regular local and international correspondents including a weekly politics segment with Paddy Gower on Fridays. Espiner will continue to work on other projects across RNZ including his successful multi-media programme 30 with Guyon Espiner. Listen live on RNZ National, Monday to Friday, Midday - 1pm.
RNZ CONCERT | LIVE BROADCAST
Auckland Philharmonia: Gavrylyuk & Rach 3
Thursday 12 February, 7:30pm
Hear two lush Romantic works live-to-air from the Auckland Town Hall. Pianist Alexander Gavrylyuk returns to perform Rachmaninov’s demanding Third Piano Concerto. The programme concludes with Alexander von Zemlinsky’s opulent tone poem The Mermaid, a work depicting the sea and the story of the Little Mermaid. Conducted by Giordano Bellincampi. Listen live on RNZ Concert.
RNZ CONCERT | VALENTINE’S DAY SPECIAL
Love Songs till Midnight
Saturday 14 February, 7pm-midnight
RNZ Concert are turning the lights down low and the romance right up. Join RNZ Concert hosts Clarissa Dunn and Miru Shimaoka for Love Songs till Midnight - a celebration of the greatest love stories ever told through music. From passionate arias to smoldering serenades and sweeping symphonic declarations. Listen live on RNZ Concert.
RNZ CONCERT | LIVE BROADCAST
Auckland Philharmonia: Best of Brahms
Thursday 19 February, 7:30pm
In this live-to-air all-Brahms performance, Giordano Bellincampi leads the orchestra through three of the composer’s major works. Concertmaster Andrew Beer and Principal Cello Ashley Brown feature as soloists in the Double Concerto. The evening also includes the spirited Academic Festival Overture and concludes with the profound Symphony No. 4. Listen live on RNZ Concert.
Out now
PODCAST | ARTS & CULTURE
Orators Anonymous
Join Coco Solid, Falesā 'Mush' Iosefo, and Manu Vaea on Orators Anonymous, a Māori Pasifika queer-coded podcast covering pop culture, indigenous knowledge, and laidback land back chit-chat.
Listen now on rnz.co.nz/podcasts or on podcast apps.
This is one of three arts and culture podcasts commissioned through a Creative New Zealand, NZ On Air and RNZ co-fund, in response to the New Mirrors research that focused on strengthening arts and culture media for Aotearoa New Zealand.
Regular podcasts back for 2026
No Stupid Questions with Susan Edmunds
RNZ money correspondent Susan Edmunds wants to demystify money and personal finance. Listen at rnz.co.nz/podcasts and on all podcast platforms. Also broadcast on RNZ National, Mondays 7:30pm.
Here Now is about the journeys people make to New Zealand. Hosted and produced by Kadambari Raghukumar. Listen at rnz.co.nz/podcasts or on podcast apps. Played on RNZ National, Mondays, 3:30pm.
Dr Claire Concannon follows scientists to cover the most fascinating research being done in Aotearoa New Zealand. Listen at rnz.co.nz/podcasts or on podcast apps. Played on RNZ National, Tuesdays at 7:30pm, encore on Sundays at 1:15am.
Join award winning podcast The Detail six days a week as they make sense of the big stories with the country’s best journalists and experts. Listen at rnz.co.nz/thedetail and on all podcast platforms and 4:30am and 10:15pm weekdays on RNZ National, with a weekend episode at 6:30am on Saturdays. A Newsroom production with support from RNZ & NZ On Air.
An in-depth podcast hosted by Mihingarangi Forbes, where Māori newsmakers and commentators unpack the latest political issues impacting Aotearoa. Back from Thursday 5 February for a Waitangi Day special. Listen at rnz.co.nz/podcasts, episodes released fortnightly. Also played on RNZ National, Thursdays 7:30pm.
ENDS
