The Democrats have taken control of the House of Representatives and the US government shutdown shows no sign of ending. Our Washington correspondent Simon Marks joins us now.

After a 10 hour standoff, a knife-wielding man was finally coaxed down from piping over the Terrace Tunnel on Thursday night.

The patient at the troubled Hillmorton Hospital in Christchurch was reported missing just before Christmas and was found two days later in the shed.

RNZ Summer Report presenters Chris Bramwell and Craig McCulloch sample a different beer every day with Steph Coutts from Craft Beer College in Wellington. Today's tipple: Fugazi, by Garage Project.

After the Silver Ferns experienced it's most disappointing international result at the beginning of 2018, the long-awaited appointment of Silver Ferns head coach Noeline Taurua gave signs of hope heading into this years World Cup in Liverpool. But how has she found the job, and the pressure? Netball reporter Ravinder Hunia sat down with Noeline to see if it was everything she expected it to be.

A 2007 study found that 88% of people who make an annual pledge fail. Victoria University Psychology Professor, Marc Wilson, explains why people make resolutions in the first place.

A New Zealand scientist has embarked on a plan to make leopard seals New Zealand citizens. Owha, the female leopard seal who's relocated herself away from the Antarctic to the warmer waters of Auckland, has prompted Krista Hupman to campaign for a change to their status.

The Trade Minister is praising the newly-enacted Trans Pacific Partnership as the most important new trade deal in the world, with its influence tipped to rise further later this year. The revised version of the controversial agreement took effect on Sunday after more than a decade of negotiations.

RNZ's Shannon Haunui-Thompson teaches us some summer phrases in te reo Maori.

Music 101's producer Yadana Saw discusses the resurgence of hiphop.