Down to Earth Conversations

Heather Roberts is the founder of the initiative Just Kai - an organisation looking to aid consumers in buying food products free from slavery or child labour. Heather shares with me her prolonged  journey of chronic fatigue and how that impacted life for her for many years. We hear about how it rapidly arrived and then rapidly improved years later like the flicking of a switch.  She shares about...

Nigel Yeoh is a medical doctor, a GP, who also works as a Police Medical Officer for the Police in Ōtautahi-Christchurch. In this conversation we talk about what it's like journeying with people through their physical and mental struggles, but also seeing patients overcome illnesses and challenges. I ask how the system could be better to allow the most disadvantaged to gain support, and about how...

Aotearoa New Zealand theologian Michael Frost (not to be confused with Australian theologian Michael Frost...who is also worth a follow on your socials) has a PhD in theology, an honours degree in Science, is a lecturer and pastor, and is a well respected host of the podcast In the Shift, 'for when life and faith go off script.' Our kōrero takes many twists and turns as we talk about science and f...

Katy Rowden is the General Manager of Good Bitches Baking, a small charity here in Aotearoa with a big impact in the lives of so many through the art of baking.  We talk about how the organisation started, how it got it's name and why they're sticking with it, how they are using baking as a vehicle to share kindness, and how that kindness actually breeds more kindness. We hear some of the feedback...

Kath Bee is one of New Zealand's top children's music writers and performers, with a tonne of accolades under her belt and an infectiously positive outlook on life. Kath had quite a late start into music, which allowed for some great discussion about life before music, including how being a teacher aide shaped her as she learnt from those who others called disabled. We also discuss why she likes t...

I asked Keren Maxwell to come on the podcast because an often overlooked way of doing good in the world is simply raising children.  Keren and her husband Glen have 4 children and celebrate them so well. Keren hasn't come on as a parenting expert, but simply to share her journey of celebrating and loving her children through whatever comes, including the many curve balls that are part and parcel o...

Corinne Haines is the current Christchurch City Missioner - or CEO of the City Mission.  Corinne is a successful business leader, a wife and mother, a Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit, and a generous and caring person.   We talk about her journey into business and then leading in business, particularly through adversity such as the Christchurch Earthquakes and an office fire that came s...

In this episode I bring together poetry and song from former guests of the podcast as a Christmas gift to you all. The episode features music from Juliagrace (ep.5) and Music with Michal (ep.50), as well as poetry from Te Karere Whitiao Scarborough (ep.10), Dietrich Soakai (ep.34), Mohamed Hassan (ep.59), Joel McKerrow (ep.31), and myself. And to finish the episode I bring you the audio version of...

My whānau (family) join me for today's episode, sharing their thoughts about kindness, generosity, creativity, making the world a better place, and making someone's day. The episode is laid out in three short interviews.  First, I talk to Sophia and Mackenzie together, then a brief chat with our four year old Korah, before rounding off the episode with a kōrero with Beks around creativity, generos...

Naomi Toilalo is a wife, mum, tv presenter, reality TV contestant, and a baker. She runs the Instagram page Whānau Kai and has just released her first cook book of the same name, which is in both te reo Māori and English.  We talk māoritanga, Māori television, family, generosity, and what led to the creation of Whānau Kai.  Check out Whānau Kai on Instagram or Facebook. You can also find Whānau Ka...

Scottie Reeve is the author of the book, '21 Elephants', and co-hosts the podcast of the same name with the Reverend Spanky Moore (featured on episode 12).  Scottie is also passionate about living in community with others, about caring for those who are neglected, or even cast aside, by society, and about how the church can make a real difference in the world We talk about his time working for the...

This is a very special episode as we prepare to remember the crown invasion of Parihaka on November 5th, 1881.  If you don't know the story of Parihaka, you may wish to pause the episode and follow the links below to read a little about what happened.  But the short of it was that the Crown ordered troops to invade Parihaka in response to the people of Parihaka showing active non-violent resistanc...

Mohamed is a former NZ Poetry Slam Champion who represented New Zealand in the World Individual Poetry Slam in 2016. Mohamed has also worked in television and radio journalism in New Zealand and abroad over the last decade, and has produced some quality podcast series for Radio New Zealand. Most recently he is the author of the recently released, "How to Be a Bad Muslim, and other Essays".   We ta...

Dr Amy Kenny is an amazing human being who has recently released a book titled "My Body is Not a Prayer Request: Disability Justice in the Church." In the book, and in our conversation, Amy shares her experiences of living in a world that is not designed with disability in mind. Sadly, her experience is that it is actually worse in the church than elsewhere. We talk about her role teaching Shakesp...

This being my birthday, I decided to give you a bit of me as a gift from me to you. So I invited the incredible Tash McGill to take over the episode and put me in the hot seat, taking it wherever she wanted to take it.  And she does just that. Tash is a broadcaster, podcaster, creative, storyteller, writer, and strategist.  She works in business transformation, especially within the food, beverage...

I spend a lot of time talking to people doing amazing things in the world. But today we get to hear about being, noticing, listening, and knowing our worth outside of what we do.  Donald Scott is a former shearer and pastor, and is now a spiritual director. He has been on a journey of learning to be, for many years. And he takes us on that journey with him today. It's deeply beautiful and deeply c...

Hannah Hardy-Jones has taken the challenges of life and turned them into something that is changing people's lives. Hannah worked in HR until the birth of her first child triggered a manic episode and life changed forever. We talk a little of that journey, however you can hear more of it on episode one of Voices of Hope's podcast, A Moment With.  The focus of our kōrero is what happened from there...

Sel Leigh runs Leigh Development where she gets alongside people wanting to make an impact in the world through business and helps them to achieve that goal.  But if I said this was a conversation about business coaching and mentoring I would be doing Sel a huge disservice. Because what Sel is doing goes so much deeper than that.  We talk about diversity and inclusion, the effects of colonisation...

Jared Byas and his friend, Pete Enns, run a podcast called The Bible for Normal People.  They've been having conversations with all sorts of amazing guests for years, bringing a diverse group of voices together and covering a wide range of content with the aim of helping people explore the Bible.  Jared is also an author, having written books such as Love Matters More, and his latest, Jonah for No...

Alex and Matt Wild are a married with two beautiful tamariki. They are the founders and Directors of Connect Chiropractic in Ōtautahi (Christchurch), but they do far more than just work Chiropractic magic.  They have set up the clinic using a business model that allows anyone who needs their care to be able to afford it, regardless of their financial situation, which has led to people who usually...

Stuart Ennor is a former youth worker who now, alongside his wife Sarah, runs Kairos Food Rescue in Ōtautahi (Christchurch) including the Kairos Free Store. We talk about how Kairos started, how Stuart became involved and how the organisation has changed in it's short life.  Stuart also shares stories of people whose lives have been changed in remarkable ways through this organisation that simply...

We celebrate this 50th episode with someone who knows how to celebrate - someone whose job it is to bring joy and fun into the world - Michal Bush, a.k.a Music with Michal, the recently crowned New Zealand Children's Artist of the Year!  Michal a mother of three who has seen her love for music and her kids become a career.  Her song Brave won the best song at the 2021 New Zealand Children's Music...

If you've spent any amount of time in Christchurch you might well have heard of, or even been to, the Addington Coffee Co-op. A café in Addington, Christchurch, that has developed a great reputation as a café, and also as a business doing good.  So it was there I headed this week to talk to one of the founders, and one of the overseers of the café and it's ever growing associated entities, Age Pal...

Carey Thomas is a teacher who has an interest in helping change the education system to reflect our bicultural nature as a country.  She has recently finished a Masters Thesis looking at what it means to be a Pākehā engaging with te āo Māori (the world of Māori) and what are the barriers that get in the way of that. She particularly looked at past moments in her own life where she felt a resistanc...

Craig Watson has worked in project management for the 2011 Rugby World Cup, the 2012 London Olympics, and also the Christchurch Earthquake Recovery.  We talk about all of that and about how his love of people sits first and foremost in his projects. This is a man who really does care. Craig also shares some of his journey of being gay and Christian, from being raised in the church and fighting wit...