Kiwi Yarns

Almost everyone has an opinion on Paul Henry. Good or bad, people have certainly made up their minds about one of the country’s best-known broadcasters. But should we pump the brakes on always thinking about his time on Breakfast? Is there more to Paul Henry than those controversial one-liners from way back when? The new The Chase New Zealand host sits down to chat about all the other things that...

Claire Turnbull is a nutritionist, best-selling author and professional well-being speaker. What makes Claire so powerful is her lived experience. This isn’t some self-proclaimed “guru” pushing an agenda - Claire cuts through the shit and tells it like it is. She cares because she’s been through it too: navigating disordered eating, dyslexia, depression, anxiety, postnatal psychosis, a brain injur...

René Heyde left his 14th school in Year 12 after a teacher told him he was “useless”. He wasn’t. He was a kid surviving a traumatic childhood, just trying to find his way. A few years later, after a chance ride through the streets of Christchurch, René was wearing a New Zealand jersey at the 1974 Commonwealth Games - and bringing home a bronze medal. At the closing ceremony, he and a team-mate eve...

She never set out to be the greatest rugby player of all time - she was just a little girl who loved sport. We’re lucky that girl was Portia Woodman-Wickliffe - a trailblazer for women’s rugby here in Aotearoa and across the world. At 34, she’s the top try-scorer in New Zealand rugby history, but that’s never been her “why”. We talk equality in sport, media coverage (or lack of it), and the future...

Award-winning journalist Lisette Reymer is Stuff’s senior correspondent and author of No, I Don’t Get Danger Money. Lisette spent three years as Newshub’s Europe Correspondent - and it’s fair to say what she witnessed and covered during that time is almost hard to comprehend. Eight trips to Ukraine during the war, Donald Trump’s indictment, the October 7 attacks on Israel and the ensuing war in Ga...

Sara Qasem is a Palestinian teacher and writer who immigrated to Aotearoa at a young age and is now based in Ōtautahi. In 2019, Sara lost her father, Abdelfattah, who was killed at the Al Noor Mosque by an Australian far-right terrorist who opened fire on two mosques in Christchurch - killing 51 people and injuring dozens more. Through spoken word poetry, Sara advocates for and raises awareness of...

For more than five decades, Tāme Iti has been at the forefront of the pursuit of Māori rights in Aotearoa. From being silenced from speaking te reo as a child, to finding strength in protest and tackling challenges head-on in remarkable ways, he has never stopped questioning the status quo. Tāme is as well known and respected for his art as for his activism, and says the former saved his life and...

I hope Jon Bridges takes this the right way when he reads it - he’s genuinely one of the good guys in New Zealand media. With a television career spanning more than three decades, the comedian-turned-producer of some of the country’s biggest shows says it’s largely down to him saying “yes” to the jobs people ask him to do. And who in the Gen-X/elder millennial age bracket could forget Bridges’ lus...

Today’s guest shares an incredible story of never giving up on what you love. Rebecca Nelson is practically on speaking terms with King Charles, having wowed him with her singing voice five times. Most of her gigs - from performing the national anthem at Gallipoli to entertaining a sell-out, rugby-mad crowd at Twickenham - grew out of her time busking on the streets. Rebecca now serves in the Roya...

This week, we meet tech entrepreneur and philanthropist Annette Presley. Annette started her first business at 24, co-founded one of New Zealand’s earliest internet providers, Slingshot, took on Telecom in the early 2000s (and won), and was made an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to business and women. Her latest mission? To support women and children through health, educati...

Today’s guest is probably the most famous fisherman in all of Aotearoa. Matt Watson only ever wanted to fish, and the kid who used to drag his dinghy up a steep boat ramp for the hour-long walk home has turned his passion into a remarkable career. Matt is such a brilliant storyteller that you’ll be hooked on this one (see what I did there). But truly - what a guy! Learn more about your ad choices....

It's taken seven years of asking (I'm very patient), but I finally get to sit down with our 40th Prime Minister, Dame Jacinda Ardern. She's beaming in from the other side of the world, but we manage to squeeze in just under an hour to discuss her book, A Different Kind of Power, which is enjoying success across the globe. We discuss her leadership and having no regrets about departing when she did...

When you talk about (or even Google) celebrated athletes in this country, rugby players usually come up first. But I want you to meet New Zealand’s most-capped athlete, who has played an astonishing 667 international matches for her country. She is Val Smith, one of New Zealand’s most successful lawn bowls athletes. She’s a two-time world champion and has another nine world championship medals to...

This week, we're with the trailblazing drum and bass star, award-winning vocalist, MC, producer, composer, music mentor and author - MC Tali, aka Natalia Sheppard. The girl from rural Taranaki became Aotearoa’s - and one of the world’s - first drum and bass MCs, despite coming up against an industry and people who told her she couldn’t. We will probably all learn a thing or two about how hard it i...

Dame Julie Christie remembers the first show she made back in 1988 as if it were yesterday. Her passion for making television is just as strong 300-odd shows later. Her eyes nearly roll to the back of her head when we mention the title "reality TV queen" that’s often thrown around to describe her, but there’s no denying Dame Julie was a global leader in the genre. We discuss the decline of televis...

Morgan Penn is the guest I've been most intimate with (you’ll find out how and why - how’s that for a teaser?). A lot has happened since we last spoke, but Morgan is still out there, openly sharing her journey and educating others. She believes we were never properly taught to value our bodies - and that feeling comfortable in your own skin is one of life’s greatest gifts. As host of the hugely su...

Tami Neilson’s just back from touring the US with her now-dear friend Willie Nelson - and Bob Dylan (yes, you’ll get the tea on what that was like...). She’s also released her latest album, Neon Cowgirl, and shares some truly stunning stories about how it came together - particularly how she’s recently learned to carry both joy and sorrow, in life and in music. Tami doesn’t shy away from a powerfu...

Guy Montgomery has absolutely nailed it. The Billy T and Fred Award-winning, Logie-nominated comedian, writer, and television host is responsible for making spelling bees funny, doing podcasts long before most (and doing them well), and cracking into Aussie television. He's one of Aotearoa’s most internationally successful comedians, but he's back home with his latest stand-up show, I've Noticed S...

Today’s guest is Malindi MacLean, the first woman to lead Outward Bound as CEO. She took on the role while seven and a half months pregnant - and shares the many challenges that came with it. Malindi is also the co-founder of B416, a movement calling for a minimum age of 16 for social media in Aotearoa. Remarkably, she’s never had social media herself - and is determined to help shift our habits a...

EJ Barnes is the proud daughter of Australian rock legend Jimmy Barnes. In this fascinating episode, she reflects on growing up in a family where music always came first - joining her first band with her siblings at just six years old. And what was it really like having Jimmy Barnes as your dad during the wild years of the ’80s and ’90s? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoic...

Russel Norman left politics when he stepped down as Green Party co-leader ten years ago - but he still has plenty of skin in the game. In this wide-ranging discussion covering democracy, neoliberalism, the political spectrum, climate change and billionaires, we explore the state of the world - and what Russel believes must happen if the planet is to survive. The introverted kid from Brisbane, who...

Six60 have been soundtracking Kiwi summers since ages ago - and they’ve got the accolades to prove it. The lads have spent a staggering 586 weeks on the New Zealand Singles Chart and a massive 1,232 weeks on the Albums Chart. In this episode, Chris Mac - the wildly talented, theatrical bassist - shares how five very different musicians (and personalities) have become one of the most successful ban...

This week’s guest is a little bit special. Actually - she’s very special. My mum swam the Cook Strait at 40, has completed multiple marathons and Ironman events, and now, as she nears 70, she’s preparing for yet another epic physical challenge. And she did it all while raising my brother and me. In this episode, the lines blur a bit over who’s interviewing whom, as we chat about our endurance achi...

Theo Dāvid is currently deep in rehearsals for Auckland Theatre Company’s Romeo and Juliet - and even if you’re not a Shakespeare geek, he shares some beautiful insights into why this 400-year-old writer and his works are still so relevant today. A proud Samoan who grew up in South Auckland, Theo now lives in Mission Bay (his mates give him plenty of stick for that) with his beautiful partner and...

Tanita Garnett is 22 years old and has already beaten cancer twice. She picked up a rugby ball at 14, and by 16, she’d made the Tasman Mako training squad. Now recovering from a tough ACL injury, Tanita opens up about the physical and mental challenges of rehab - and what keeps her going. She’s also a qualified joiner, choosing a trade to support herself while chasing her rugby dreams. Tanita is a...