Checkpoint Podcast Options

6:17 PM.Eighteen year old Jonathan Lee is a graduate student at Soulsville Foundation. He talked to Bridget Burke about Aretha's legacy. Video, Audio

6:15 PM.Christy Valentine is the head of development at Soulsville Foundation, an academy for singers and musicians in Aretha Franklin's childhood neighbourhood in Memphis Tennessee. She spoke with producer… Read more Video, Audio

6:12 PM.Aretha Franklin's father was a pastor at Detroit's New Bethel Baptist Church for more than three decades. Reverend Robert Smith is Pastor there now. He tells John Campbell Aretha loved the church… Read more Video, Audio

5:51 PM.Hockey New Zealand will take a look at their own structures after a former player claimed she was unhappy with the environment within the Black Sticks setup, and it forced her to end her international… Read more Video, Audio

5:47 PM.Katy Perry tickets have been going for half price via the bargain website GrabOne, leaving fans who paid full price feeling miffed. Read more Audio

5:37 PM.The education sector is facing another strike, this time by specialists who work with special needs children. Video, Audio

5:25 PM.Rangi McLean is a former Māori Party candidate and current chairman of the Manurewa marae. He told reporter John Boynton he supported the media ban. Read more Video, Audio

5:21 PM.Media have been banned from Māori King Tuhetia's koroneihana or coronations at Turangawaewae marae. Te Manu Korihi reporter John Boynton is in Ngaruawahia and explains what would be happening this… Read more Video, Audio

5:18 PM.Lightning in Tokoroa caused a tree to explode, which shattered windows in nearby houses, flattened a ute and damaged another vehicle. It was just one of 8000 lightning strikes recorded overnight. Audio

5:09 PM.She won 14 Grammys, sold 75 million records and gave people goose bumps whenever she sang. Aretha Franklin wasn't just a soul singer - she was the Queen of Soul. John Campbell reports. Video, Audio

6:22 PM.Māori and Pasifika youth in Auckland are fighting to keep open their community centres in the face of threats of closure. Despite bustling with activity, they don't have enough funds to sustain their… Read more Video, Audio

6:18 PM.New Zealand's biggest basketball star Steven Adams is back in the country - with his trio of camps for aspiring junior players getting underway in Auckland this morning. Despite his contribution, the… Read more Video, Audio

6:12 PM.At least 44 MPs own a home in Wellington, but the majority still claim accommodation expenses for when they're staying in the city. Zac Fleming asked National Party MP and whip Barbara Kuriger how the… Read more Audio

6:08 PM.As authorities keep searching through the twisted rubble of the bridge and the buildings it landed on, questions are being asked as to why it was still in use. CNN reporter Ian Lee joins Checkpoint… Read more Audio

5:52 PM.The baristas at the cafe will be former inmates from Arohata women's prison who have completed an eight week training course from in prison. Read more Video, Audio

5:47 PM.Christine Hallquist defeated three other candidates, including a 14-year-old boy, to win the Democratic Party nomination. Ryan Brooks reports. Video, Audio

5:40 PM.The protesters mooed and chanted outside the office of Murray Valentine, who has resource consent to farm up to 5000 dairy cows on his Simons Pass property. Read more Video, Audio

5:34 PM.News from the business sector, including a market report. Audio