Down to Earth Conversations

Gen Mora is a survivor.  She has battled with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, eating disorders, and anxiety, but is now living a vibrant and happy life where she looks to help others who are fighting their own battles.  Along with her good friend Jazz Thornton, Gen founded Voices of Hope - a not for profit that advocates for, and encourages, those who are fighting to be mentally well.   Gen shares...

Matt Renata has been a youth worker for many years and is now studying Christian theology through an indigenous lens - specifically a Māori and Pasifika lens. We talk about his years working with youth - how and why he got into it and what he learned about himself along the way. We talk about his exploration of his whakapapa (ancestry), and what a difference that has made to his life. And we dive...

Olivia Shivas is a journalist, podcaster and disability advocate.  Working for Stuff, Olivia's own experience of disability has shaped her passions and areas of focus in her media role, including the podcast she co-hosted in 2021 about disability that won her an award. During the conversation we also touch on faith, and her roles with various trusts and charities, including her voluntary role as a...

In this episode I had the privilege of sitting down with lawyer, writer and podcaster Steven Moe.  Steven is someone whose life reflects his desire to see change in the world.  He loves to support other change makers, as well as role modelling fresh ways of approaching situations. We talk about his podcast, The Seeds, and he shares how and why it came about. We also explore how he functions as a l...

Counsellor, mum, and all around good sort Charlotte Cummings takes over the episode putting Andy in the hot seat.  She asks Andy about his journey with redundancy, parenting challenges and joys, his experience of depression and anxiety and subsequent experience of counselling, and where he sees the podcast going in the future.  Connect with Charlotte at charlottecummings.com To give a little to su...

Jeff Chu is a New York Times best selling author, a reporter, and an editor. He is the co-curator and co-host of Evolving Faith - a conference, community, and now a podcast. And he's the teacher in residence at Crosspointe Church.  We talk about how he became a writer, what he loves about journalism, and his book "Does Jesus Really Love Me? A gay Christian's pilgrimage in search of God in America....

Since debuting on national television on IceTV in the mid-nineties, Petra Bagust has been a staple of New Zealand television and radio. She has brought us many iconic moments, including hosting breakfast after the tragedy of the fatal Christchurch earthquake.  Throughout her media career Petra has always managed to find ways alongside her paid roles to make meaningful contributions to society, to...

Jay Geldard is a big man with an even bigger heart.  He has spent years of his life dedicated to seeing young people thrive, first as a 24-7 youth worker, and then as the national director of 24-7. Now he has now picked a fight with Tall Poppy Syndrome, trying to change the way New Zealanders see themselves and others, in an effort to reduce suicide rates and see people be all they can be. This ne...

Sarah West is an Anglican priest in Auckland, tasked with being a chaplain to young adults as part of a community called Ordinary Saints.  She is active in matters of justice, including attending protests and organising action around issues she cares about. As well as that she is a fantastic artist and is a wife and mum too.  We talk about being a priest, attending protests, embracing those of oth...

Dylan Jones from For Good Media joins me to talk about how he is using his film and production skillset to support others who are doing good in the world.  To tell important stories with good quality video. We talk about his journey into film. How the company came about and what it's been like to forge this path in a fairly cut throat industry.  We talk fear, creativity, storytelling, holy moments...

Mataio Faafetai Malietoa Brown - a.k.a. Matt Brown - is known for his business, My Fathers Barbers, and for the global movement that he started with his wife Sarah, She is Not Your Rehab, inviting men into a journey of healing and wholeness.  Matt and Sarah recently released the best selling book, She is Not Your Rehab, unpacking the kaupapa of the movement with insights from Matt's journey and th...

Courtney Manu is your typical mum, wife, and business owner who just happens to have 13,000 Instagram followers.  She built the following around helping people become aware of ways to become financially confident, beginning by sharing her and her husband's own journey out of debt. We talk about social media, debt, vulnerability, investment, generosity, and how family fits into all of this. Follow...

Today we hear from Dietrich Soakai.  A beautiful man with a huge heart, especially for rangatahi, or young people. Currently working for Voyce Whakarongo Mai in youth advocacy, Dietrich has spent a lot of time with young people helping them feel heard. We talk about growing up in New Zealand as a Pacific Islander, how he discovered poetry and got into youth work and what he saw when those two thin...

James Harris is passionate about people and has given his life to helping those less privileged than himself.  This has led him around the world to a number of places that many of us would never dream of going.  We talk about his passion for youth work, justice, and doing good in the world, and hear how this has been outworked while living and working in Nauru with those in Australian detention ce...

Today's guest is Lis Rate-Smith from Drug-Arm, who heads up their Art East initiative.   Lis is an amazing human being who is using art to help people with addictions and/or poor mental health, and to support and upskill men in prison.  Art East recently received the Creative Space Award at the Te Putanga Toi Arts Access Awards, recognising the way that creativity is being used to make a differenc...

Joel McKerrow is an award winning writer, speaker, educator, artist, and one of Australia’s most successful, internationally touring, performance poets. He is the artist ambassador for Tearfund Australia, and a big part of The Justice Conference in Australia. In this conversation we talk about his creativity, how that connects with his spirituality which has changed over the years, how he got invo...

Naomi Nicholas works for Karuwhā Trust.  She is part of helping facilitate learning and understanding about Te Tiriti o Waitangi, a.k.a. the Treaty of Waitangi, particularly amongst non-Māori. For those of you overseas and unfamiliar with it, Te Tiriti is the treaty that was signed between the indigenous people of Aotearoa New Zealand, and the British Crown in 1840.  It is also a treaty that was t...

Shane Claiborne is such a beautiful human being and it was a privilege to speak to him.  As you will hear in the conversation he has his finger in many interlinking pies.  Shane is just so humble and relatable - just an ordinary guy - yet he has learned that his life can make a difference and has given himself to that.   Some of you will have listened to episode 17 with Caz Tod-Pearson from the Si...

As an 18 year old, fresh out of school, April McLennan formed a charitable trust called Limitless to assist teenagers in finding a career path that fits their strengths and values.  A few years in, four conferences down and she has learnt a lot.  It was a privilege to hear some of that journey.  We talk about how and why it started, what opportunities or barriers being 18 was to getting it going,...

I am so excited to bring to you a conversation with my mum and dad, Les and Alan Dickson. Having this kōrero with them was very moving for me, but also was a huge reminder that they are a really big part of why I value what I value.  Their commitment to people and love for all is clear throughout the discussion.  And while they see themselves as nothing special, they are involved in so much goodne...

Alanna Chapman and her husband Pete are the owners of the wine label 27 Seconds.  100% of the profit from 27 Seconds goes to support survivors of slavery.  100%!  It is a fantastic story of business and justice colliding and becoming something beautifully unique.   We hear from Alanna about how she and Pete ended up selling wine to support slavery survivors - how they got into the wine business, h...

Andrew Gardener is a fantastic communicator and a great thinker.  So we get in deep in this episode, going well beyond small talk to some really vulnerable and personal spaces.  We talk about his passions for storytelling and creativity, his journey into being an advocate for justice and the search for living a just life, and his exploration of the connection between faith and suffering, including...

In this episode I talk to Lady Ranapiri Kupa of Prison Fellowship Aotearoa, aka He Korowai Whakapono.  Lady oversees people and programmes that really get alongside families of people who have experienced prison to help to break the generational cycle of imprisonment.  We talk about the tamariki and whānau, about mana, dignity, shame, restoration, and seeing people as people. We look at the progra...

The nakedpastor, David Hayward, joins me to talk about his cartoons, his changing faith, his purpose, not to mention his name!  Having been a pastor for 30 years David left and forged a career as an artist, drawing cartoons, painting watercolours, writing books, and leading online communities and courses for those processing faith.  We talk about all of that and more.  You can find (and purchase)...

Hannah Sheath is a paramedic.  We talk about what the job entails, what keeps Hannah doing it, what brings her joy in the midst of all the hurt, some lighter, more humorous moments in her career, and her empathy towards her patients through having had her own trauma through her pregnancies. We cover the Christchurch earthquakes and Mosque shootings, and Whakaari (white Island) eruption as well and...