ReadswithRosa Podcast

| | Revive. Maintain. Preserve. | | This week on Episode 143 of the #ReadswithRosaPodcast, I sit down and talanoa with Tau’ili’ili Alpha Maiava, a storyteller and entrepreneur of Samoan and Niuean ancestry. He’s a music composer, vocalist, a content creator with an emphasis on Tagata Moana cultural revival and preservation, and the host and co-producer of the award winning podcast series ‘Sounds o...

| | Tui Pea Luva - 'weave than gift' | | This week on Episode 142 of the #readswithrosapodcast, I sit down and talanoa with Tongan author Mele Tonga-Grant, who recently released her debut poetry collection ᴛᴜɪ ᴘᴇᴀ ʟᴜᴠᴀ, meaning ‘ᴡᴇᴀᴠᴇ ᴛʜᴀɴ ɢɪꜰᴛ’. Born and bred in Te Awa Kairangi, Aotearoa, Mele is passionate about working with the youth. We chat about her writing journey and honoring the stories o...

| | Finding a Point of Connection | | This week in Episode 141 of the #ReadswithRosaPodcast, I sit down for a korero with Māori Writer and Educator, Tina Makereti. We chat about her new book The Mires, which is officially out in the world TODAY! Happy Pub Day!!  We share laughs and chat about many things related to identity, writing and educator life. Tina also gives her flowers to the authors of...

| |  The Heart of a Warrior | | This week on the #ReadswithRosaPodcast, I sit down to talanoa with Samoan writer and motivational speaker Fa'apepele Hunkin, known as 'Pele' to many. She has become a beacon of hope, inspiration and strength, sharing her journey of resilience with others. She is the Author of, "HEART OF A WARRIOR, The Humble Journey of a Samoan Warrior," and ha...

|| Identity Talk 4 Educators || This week on the #ReadswithRosaPodcast I welcome to the show, Ghanaian/American Educator, Kwame Sarfo-Mensah. He's the Founder & CEO of Identity Talk Consulting, an Author, and the Host of 'Identity Talk 4 Educators Live' Podcast. He's an inspirational ambassador & revolutionary leader in the field of education, and a staunch advocate for tea...

|| My Nana’s my motivation in everything I do || This is our final installment of a special podcast series that we’ve been running throughout the Month of May, Celebrating Pasifika Women and honoring the work they are doing in their respective communities. Episode 138 coincides with Samoan Language Week and Samoa Independence Day, and marks the end of the Pasifika Readathon Challenge. This week on...

Ia Orana✨. This week on Episode 137 of the #ReadswithRosaPodcast, we are continuing with our special series for the month of May, where we #CelebratePasifikaWomen. Tuatini Manate is a Tahitian Clothing Designer who has been living in Japan since 2020. She designs custom made dresses, costumes for Tahitian Dance Groups, and she proudly promotes her Tahitian culture through her creative works. Tune...

This week we continue with our special series for the month of May, where we #CelebratePasifikaWomen, and in Episode 136, we are also celebrating #RotumanLanguageWeek. Ruby Macomber is an award-winning poet, essayist, researcher, and creative non-fiction writer, with Rotuman, Taveuni, Ngā Puhi and Scottish roots. She has been published in Landfall, Kate Books, Metro, Awa Waine and Starling, and in...

|| Liberation is a Journey || This week on Episode 135 of the #ReadswithRosaPodcast, we continue with our special series for the month of May, where we #CelebratePasifikaWomen.  ‘Alisi Tulua migrated with her family from the Kingdom of Tonga to the U.S., when she was 13 years old. She has 15 years of experience in community-based work across non-profit spaces, advocating for advancing the rights o...

|| Moving culture forward, creating cultural impact. || This week on Episode 134 of the #ReadswithRosaPodcast, I talanoa with Lani Tuitasi, a Sāmoan-American living in London. Lani is a ‘Cultural Strategist’ and the Director of Cultural Innovation at Cashmere Agency. Cashmere is the world’s first culture agency and they specialize in creative solutions that are rooted in culture, helping brands to...

| | The Evolution of Teaching and Learning | | This week on Episode 133 of the #ReadswithRosaPodcast, I catch up with a fellow educator from Aotearoa New Zealand, who is currently teaching in Hanoi, Vietnam. Adika Crémet is a Grade Level Team Leader for Early Years, and she is a huge advocate for children’s rights and education. She shares her teaching journey both in New Zealand and abroad, we ch...

| | The Longest Wait - An Asylum Journey | | In Episode 132 of the #ReadswithRosaPodcast , I sit down to talanoa with Kiribati author, Grace James. In her first podcast interview, Grace shares her book, ‘The Longest Wait’, based on her experiences as a detainee at an immigration detention center, in the US. She has not seen her family back in her homeland of Kiribati in almost 10 years, and she is...

| | Learning Together in a Wananga Setting | | This week on the #ReadswithRosaPodcast I sit down for a korero with Māori artist and carver Ngaroma Riley. I met Nga here in Japan when I joined the Nga Hau e Wha kapahaka group, so this was a pretty special episode! It was so good to reconnect, and an honor to have her on the show to share her story. Ngaroma began her carving journey making buddhist...

| | The Life of Snare | | This week, as we count down to 3 years of the #ReadswithRosaPodcast, we celebrate the 130th episode with Sāmoan hiphop artist, Pacific musician and songwriter, Jerry Seve aka SNARE.  We chat about the Sāmoan language & culture and how it influences his music, his writing & creative process as a bilingual artist, working alongside and learning from award-winning So...

| | I always choose to be excited about what’s to come | | This week on Episode 129 of the #ReadswithRosaPodcast, I sit down and talanoa with an amazing sister, mum, lawyer and woman of faith. Kitty Opetaia is a single mum of 4 and an inspirational role model. She reflects on ‘having a solid why’, shares teachings from her parents and her learning steps & hard truths as a single parent, the ma...

| | Taking Pacific Art into the Community | | This week on Episode 128 of the #ReadswithRosaPodcast, I finally get an opportunity to sit down with Sāmoan artist & print maker, Noelle, the owner and creator behind small business @ulaandherbrothers. Her products are 100% hand-carved + handmade, and are available on her Etsy store.  You only need to read the reviews to understand her customers ap...

| |  Pacific Islanders in Publishing | | This week on Episode 127 of the #ReadswithRosaPodcast, I sit down to talanoa with the team from Pacific Islanders in Publishing, an organization that was created to amplify the many cultures and peoples across Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia. Prior to their launch late last year, Kanaka Maoli writer Keala Kendall, Mā’ohi writer & researcher Manuia...

| |  Being a published author is also a business  | | Hafa Adai. 🇬🇺 This week on Episode 126 of the #ReadswithRosaPodcast, I sit down and talanoa with Pacific Island writer, Cathy Payne. She is the author of 𝙰 𝙿𝚎𝚊𝚛𝚕 𝚒𝚗 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝙽𝚒𝚐𝚑𝚝, 𝚃𝚎𝚗 𝙻𝚒𝚝𝚝𝚕𝚎 𝚂𝚞𝚛𝚏𝚎𝚛𝚜 𝚒𝚗 𝙷𝚊𝚠𝚊𝚒’𝚒, 𝙲𝚑𝚎𝚙𝚌𝚑𝚘𝚙 𝚄𝚗𝚊𝚒, 𝚃𝚑𝚎𝚜𝚎 𝙻𝚒𝚝𝚝𝚕𝚎 𝙺𝚒𝚝𝚝𝚎𝚗𝚜 𝚒𝚗 𝙷𝚊𝚠𝚊𝚒’𝚒, and 𝙸 𝙻𝚊𝚕𝚊𝚒 𝚒 𝙱𝚒𝚕𝚎𝚖𝚋𝚊𝚘𝚝𝚞𝚢𝚊𝚗. Her latest picture book 𝙼𝚘𝚕𝚎 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚃𝚎𝚕𝚕, is the first installmen...

| |  I'm never going to stop being a fan  | | This week on Episode 125 of the #ReadswithRosaPodcast, I sit down and talanoa with Sāmoan musician, Josh Mase. You may know him as the lead guitarist of Three Houses Down, or perhaps you’ve seen him playing for other artists such as Mr Cowboy, Punialava’a, and Ozki. However, he is also part of a team doing vital work to support and educate our Pasi...

| | Manifest Your Destiny | | This week on the #readswithrosapodcast Insitndown for a talanoa with Saale Ilaua, co-founder of Auckland based Pacific Production Company, #StrictlyBrown. He is a father and a creative of Tongan and Samoan descent, who up until last year was a High School Drama Teacher. This year alongside fellow co-founder Leki Jackson-Bourke, they are embarking on a new journey and...

||   Behind the Lavalava Podcast  || This week on Episode 123 of the #ReadswithRosaPodcast, I am  highlighting a Pasifika Business Podcast based in the US and hosted by a group of Sāmoan veterans. They are doing some fantastic work around amplifying the voices and stories of our people, building community, putting the spotlight on small businesses, and tackling hard to talk about topics about cult...

||  For My Father’s Kingdom  || This week on Episode 122 of the #ReadswithRosaPodcast I sit down for a talanoa with Vea Mafile’o. She is a freelance film director / producer, production designer and artist, of Tongan, English, Scottish and Māori ancestry who has filmed and exhibited extensively throughout the Pacific. Her debut feature For My Father’s Kingdom made its World Premiere in the Berlin...

||  A Multicultural Nest  || This week on Episode 121 of the #ReadswithRosaPodcast I sit down and talanoa with Christine Afoa, a Sāmoan writer who was born and raised in the Bankstown area of Western Sydney, Australia. She currently works as the project officer for UTS Pasifika programs and is the secretary of the Australian Pasifika Educators Network. She is passionate about storytelling and has...

|| Homeschooling with Inventus Learning || Mālō e lelei. 🇹🇴 This week on Episode 120 of the #ReadswithRosaPodcast, I sit down and talanoa with Elizabeth Agemotu, founder and owner of Inventus Learning, an educational site that inspires you to holistically approach learning with wonder, passion and confidence. She is a mother, a blogger, and a former public school educator who is sharing her journe...

||  Beyond Samoan Shores  || This week on Episode 119 of the #ReadswithRosaPodcast, I sit down and talanoa with Natalia Te’o of @natalia_media_samoa. She is a tama’ita’i Sāmoa, a woman of faith, and an artist and creative who has her own multimedia company. She is also the face behind @natalia_creates and @beyond_Samoan_shores. Natalia is currently studying at the School of International Liberal S...