Checkpoint Podcast Options

5:15 PM.Teams have spent the day assessing the damage and checking on residents following Sunday morning's devastating tornado in the Northland town of Mangawhai. Northpower said crews today discovered there… Read more Audio

5:08 PM.The Treaty Principles Bill is designed to "subjugate, humiliate, assimilate and oppress iwi Maori" - that's just a taste of the criticism presented to MPs on the justice select committee at today's… Read more Audio

4:47 PM.The government's rolling out the welcome mat to digital nomads, relaxing visa requirements to allow tourists to work remotely while visiting Aotearoa. A visitors visa can be extended for up to nine… Read more Audio

4:43 PM.It's been two years since extreme storms caused devastating floods throughout Auckland, but some residents who's homes were badly damaged say they're still stuck in limbo. There are hundreds of homes… Read more Audio

4:38 PM.Residents in the Northland town of Mangawhai are reeling after the weekend's suspected-tornado that devastated homes and landed two people in hospital. The storm was so powerful that power poles were… Read more Audio

4:30 PM.Italian tennis star Jannik Sinner is starting to look unbeatable after winning back-to-back Australian Open titles. Sinner had an emphatic victory over Alexander Zverev in the men's final last night… Read more Audio

4:24 PM.Thousands of children in Vanuatu will be starting the school year without proper classrooms after December's devastating 7.3 magnitude earthquake destroyed many of them. It's estimated more than a… Read more Audio

4:15 PM.A series of fragile ceasefire agreements are being put to the test on two of Israel's borders - and the US President has weighed in with some suggestions. Middle East correspondent in Doha, Perry… Read more Audio

4:06 PM.A children's charity expects demand for back to school financial assistance to out strip previous years with spiralling costs and growing unemployment. Many parents are struggling with expenses that… Read more Audio

5:50 PM.It's our final Checkpoint programme of the year, we've done 226 shows in 2024, that's close to 500 hours of radio and we've covered a lot of really remarkable stories from Aotearoa and around the… Read more Audio

5:45 PM.Asia correspondent Erin Hale spoke to Lisa Owen about a woman who's just returned home to the Philippines after spending 14 years on death row in Indonesia, China looking to make travel more accesible… Read more Audio

5:37 PM.You wouldn't buy your child a sibling as a present, so don't buy a companion animal without thinking very hard. That's the message from Mini Vadke from Mama Mini's rescue in Palmerston North, who… Read more Audio

5:33 PM.News from the business sector, including a market report Audio

5:28 PM.Game one of the Rose Bowl series against Australia was abandoned and both teams will be hoping for a better weather forecast at the Basin Reserve for game two. Sports reporter Felicity Reid spoke to… Read more Audio

5:24 PM.In a surprise move, the sale of polytechnics will be on the table when the national institute of technology Te Pūkenga is disestablished. Tertiary Education Minister Penny Simmonds today announced the… Read more Audio

5:15 PM.Lavinia Mahit in Port Vila, the acting country director for Save The Children in Vanuatu spoke to Lisa Owen about the 3.7 magnitude earthquake in Vanuatu. Audio

5:08 PM.Search and rescue including a specialist New Zealand team continue to scour rubble in Port Vila, with locals saying there were more than a dozen people were in the Billabong store that pancaked in… Read more Audio

4:48 PM.There's a little bit of a penguin parade going on in Oamaru. They've been wombling around the town and in out of shops in their best all year round tuxedos. A local tourism group is keeping an eye on… Read more Audio

4:42 PM.Hundreds of Manawatu residents at higher risk of developing bowel cancer have been told they won't get their regular check-up colonoscopies for at least six months. Te Whatu Ora MidCentral said it's… Read more Audio

4:32 PM.Being able to swim is often considered a life skill in a country like New Zealand - but tough economic times are forcing many families to pull their children out of swim lessons. A swim school in… Read more Audio

4:28 PM.Lawson will return home to New Zealand over the Christmas period before getting back to work in the simulator in the new year, testing on track in Bahrain in February and getting on the starting grid… Read more Audio

4:25 PM.The popularity of Electric Vehicles in New Zealand has moved into the slow lane. With the end of the clean car discount, introduction of road user charges or new ACC levies - things have kept coming… Read more Audio

4:08 PM.Someone once said a balanced diet is a cookie in each hand, they could have worked for Checkpoint. This week we've had our snouts in the good old fashioned biscuit sampler box that one of our… Read more Audio

5:43 PM.The Australian Government is seeking assurances from Malaysia that two men who took part in the 2002 Bali Bombings, now released from the US military prison at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba, will be kept… Read more Audio

5:36 PM.Minister for Mental Health Matt Doocey didn't make a Budget bid this year for more mental health service beds, despite them being at or over capacity. The Opposition says this is a massive oversight… Read more Audio