Features

The Podcast Hour - People still derive pleasure from the simple act of using a broom, poet Imtiaz Dharker explores the spiritual importance in many cultures behind this commonplace activity. Audio

Listen: Nick Tipping plays jazz standards with identical or near-identical names, including two ‘Moanin’s, two ‘Milestones’, a ‘Lazy Bird’ and ‘Lady Bird’, and ‘Sunday’ alongside ‘Come Sunday’. Audio

Opinion - The UK Brexit votes this week are defeats for Theresa May personally and her government, and clear signs she has lost control of events, writes David Townsend.

The annual opera gala in support of the German AIDS Foundation provides a one-stop listen to the new generation of vocalists shaking up Europe's opera houses.

"If we’re not risking it we’re not doing it right,” says co-director Jeffrey Beecher of the adventurous cross-cultural Silk Road Ensemble who are in Auckland and Taranaki this week. Video, Audio

Analysis - Like Sonny Bill, the defensive game from Shane Jones has been aggressive and entertaining although he sometimes plays the man rather than the ball, writes Guyon Espiner.

We all have regrets. We all think about what might have been, or the one that got away, but the author of a new study says we can learn to live with regret and benefit from it. Audio

Hear new music from Townes Van Zandt, Tami Neilson, Tom Russell and the Willard Grant Conspiracy. There's classic jazz from Herbie Hancock, and a track to mark Alejandro Escovedo's NZ dates. Audio

Pick and Mix with Eva Radich brings you accordion music from Greece, Acadia, Mongolia and the world via the Silk Road Ensemble.

American musician Neko Case talks to Elliott Childs about the creation of her latest album Hell-On, learning to write for her voice and finding comfort after the devastation of a house fire. Video, Audio

What is believed to be the first recording of David Bowie's1972 hit song 'Starman' will be put up for auction in the UK this week. The demo also contains recordings of Bowie songs 'Moonage Daydream' and 'Hang Onto Yourself'.

Physicist Brian Cox believes life to be common across the universe and that we could discover it in our lifetime, he brings his  Universal World Tour to New Zealand in June. Video, Audio

A dawn-to-dusk climbing trip in the Bavarian mountains is depicted by Richard Strauss but there are also other layers of meaning here. Audio

Parliament can be boring so here's a special parliament themed bingo to help you through.

An outbreak of measles in Canterbury has prompted huge demand for vaccinations, but what is the disease and how serious is it really? Russell Palmer explains.

Widescreen - Isabelle Huppert brings her ‘A’ game to a B-movie in Neil Jordan's thriller Greta, reports Dan Slevin.

According to a new book, In The Closet of the Vatican: Power, Homosexuality, Hypocrisy, the hypocrisy of the top echelon of the Catholic Church knows no bounds. Audio

The RNZ Music team are loving Solange’s misty eyed tribute to her hometown of Houston, as well as new music from Four Tet, Helado Negro, Stella Donnelly and more. See what you think: Video, Audio

The concert opens with still, echoing by Dame Gillian Whitehead, a piece that evokes the ebb and flow of wave and tide. Kathryn Stott plays a major piano sonata by Dutilleux and finally they combine again for Dvorak's tuneful Quintet.

Opinion - Many young athletes have promise, but few go on to deliver the way Ross Taylor has, writes Hamish Bidwell.

How to Take Off Your Clothes is a poetry collection by Hadassah Grace, a former stripper who's also written about sex work and acted for the Auckland Theatre Company. Video, Audio

Research shows that putting a name to a feeling helps manage it. In this episode, three BANG! listeners talk about things they've struggled with and the steps they've taken to deal with them, Audio

Tongan R'n'B soul singer Emily Muli has just released her debut song 'Rhythm and Truth'. In her young life she’s rubbed shoulders with the British royal family, and gone viral on YouTube.She spoke to Yadana Saw about her success, and the 1970s immigration raids that left a mark on local Pacific communities - including her own family. Video, Audio

The new French Film Festival may have a leaner organisation but it has made no sacrifices in its programme, says Dan Slevin.