Grey Areas with Petra Bagust

Kia ora! Petra here and we’re getting ready for Season 5! 5 feels like a milestone… off to school and all that, growing up literally - thanks for coming on this journey with me - hasn’t it been fun and also fascinating!?!  We have built up quite the collection of stories and questions to travel with us into our next season - hopefully with more compassion, humour and  courageous can-do. Let’s keep...

Film reviewer extraordinaire Kate Rodger joins Grey Areas for another laugh-filled chat about stepping outside of her ‘lane’, dealing with feelings of overwhelm, and the progress she's making on her personal goals. Kate brings her trademark humour and wildly generous way with words to a conversation about new challenges, making time for what’s important, and never being afraid to have a good ol’ c...

Iconic broadcaster Robert Rakete returns to Grey Areas, joining Petra for a candid and uplifting kōrero. Robert has been discovering more of his whakapapa as he continues to learn Te Reo Māori, and shares his love of embracing the beginner's mind, facing fears and embracing failure. Plus Robert catches Petra up on his recent prostate check-up! 👀 If you want to hear more scintillating stories from...

Two years on from her first Grey Areas appearance, Petra catches up with journalist and TVNZ's Sunday host Miriama Kamo as she's rounded out her fifth decade. Turning 50 can invite introspection and casting new vision for your life. Miriama grabs this opportunity with both hands sharing the raft of intentions she has for this season from getting braces to studying te reo Māori. In the midst of goa...

Annie Crummer and Betty-Anne Monga along with Julia Deans and Boh Runga will be forming a powerhouse ensemble at this year's Auckland Arts Festival performance, Hear Me Roar! on March 8. Annie and Betty-Anne joined me for a korero all about creativity, collaboration and purpose. We riff on the power of music to accompany us through every season - the summers and winters of life. Music offers us a...

Add to your kete of understanding our bone health with this kōrero with Christine Gill, Executive Director of Osteoporosis New Zealand.  The life cycle of these living tissues from birth to menopause and beyond is fascinating. Christine talks us through the process of bone turnover, the often misunderstood osteoporosis, the importance of achieving maximum bone strength by age 30, and the myriad fa...

The magic of female friendships is pretty undeniable - as is the role they play in shaping us. Join us for an inspiring kōrero with long-time BFFs, broadcaster Stacey Morrison and fashion designer Kiri Nathan, who have been the epitome of friendship for over 25 years. From their first meeting at the Smoke-Free Fashion Awards to navigating marriages, children, and their respective careers, their jo...

What does it take to become a legendary netball player? What's the journey like, and how does finding a new identity in a foreign land shape your life and an illustrious sporting career spanning over 20 years? Join me this episode for a kōrero with iconic netballer and Silver Fern, Irene Van Dyk. We hear about her experience as an immigrant athlete in New Zealand, her experience with the media, an...

Here's something a little special - a crossover episode with Charlotte Cook of RNZ's Hair and Loathing! Join us as we embark on a head to toe exploration of our relationships with hair - both on our heads and our bodies. Charlotte and I take a visit to Stephen Marr's salon for a kōrero over haircuts, we chat at my whare, and we also catch up with a few of you out on the streets of Tāmaki Makaurau...

Ready for a hearty conversation with a trailblazer in women's sports journalism? We welcome Suzanne McFadden, an acclaimed sports journalist who's been championing women's sports in a male-dominated field. Suzanne's grit and determination have not only helped her break barriers but also led her to establish Locker Room, a platform dedicated to showcasing women's sports. She's also a Silver Sister...

Ever wondered if you need to see your GP because you're experiencing discomfort or itching on your vulva? You're not alone. It turns out that vulval skin conditions are incredibly common and women in Aotearoa New Zealand suffer for an average of 10 years before working up the courage to see a doctor. We've got to change that! After all, skin is skin. So let's yarn about vulval skin health. The kno...

Family grief, the devastation of divorce, cross-generational friendships, learning Te Reo Māori and more - we talk about it all with Stuff journalist, Paula Penfold. We also discuss the challenges of the media world, the aftermath of job redundancy, and the importance of self-care in such a fast-paced profession. Paula opens up about her experience with perimenopause (and that one conversation we...

It's Mental Health Awareness Week here in Aotearoa New Zealand so we chat with mental health speaker and educator and Tui-award winning artist, the talented Julia Grace. In this conversation, Julia openly shares her struggles with heartbreak and its accompanying disorientation, depression, and anxiety. We chat about recognising our coping mechanisms and the importance of compassion when looking ba...

It's Mental Health Awareness Week here in Aotearoa, New Zealand and so I'd like to take the opportunity to introduce you to a podcast called A Moment With. A Moment With is hosted by my friend Gen Mora, Co-Founder and General Manager of Voices of Hope, a not-for-profit organisation aimed to break the stigma around mental illness. In this podcast, Gen sits down with incredible individuals who have...

In this episode, we have a kōrero with squash champion and former Race Relations Commissioner, Dame Susan Devoy (also of Celebrity Treasure Island fame!). We discuss her fight against stereotypes, the complexities of gender dynamics, and also touch on the influence of sports as a universal language and a powerful tool for fostering greater cultural understanding. Susan is a tenacious leader! But t...

Welcome to our brand new season of Grey Areas! Can you believe we're already at Season 4?! And who better to kick it off with than the multi-talented, one and only Anika Moa. She's a māmā, a singer/songwriter, television presenter, radio host, all-round resilient wahine toa. Join us as we delve into Anika's world as she openly discusses her struggles with type 1 diabetes, depression, and the impac...

Kia ora. Petra Bagust here, and I have been thinking a bit about what makes up the ‘grey areas’ of our lives, because I think that’s a huge part of why this podcast works. To me, a ‘grey area’ is a tricky space. A delicate space. A space that can bring, maybe discomfort or discouragement, or cause isolation. Maybe a 'grey area' is something that has been talked about using ‘you should’ or ‘you oug...

Kia ora! I hope you are going well. Don't panic - Season 04 of Grey Areas is on the way (I promise!)  While we are between seasons, I want to share another episode from my other podcast, Sunday Sanctuary.  This one is called The Miracle of the Mundane and it's all about finding joy and wonder within the everyday-ness of life. If this is something you'd like to hear more of, join the Sunday Sanctua...

Join me for the final episode of Grey Areas Season 03, where I am joined by renowned actress Jennifer Ward-Lealand, as we traverse her four-decade long journey in the world of theatre, film, and TV. Jennifer shares with us how a series of epiphanies and following her heart set her firmly on her path to becoming an actor. Listen in as Jennifer takes us on her personal journey of learning and commit...

I sat down with the incredible Lotta Dann to unpick the tangled web of our relationship with alcohol. From the tricky task of moderation to the deeper complexities of addiction, Lotta and I unshroud the often unspoken battle with the bottle. As we both navigate the challenging season of perimenopause, we reflect on the importance of mindfulness and finding the ‘sweet spot’ when it comes to content...

Broadcaster, entertainer and my brother-from-another-mother Pio Terei joins me for a conversation about the privilege it is to age - because not everyone gets to. We talk about where he's at with his journey of grief following the loss of his son Teina in 2016, the role curiosity plays in ageing well, as well as swap stories on our intergenerational living set-ups. As serious as we tried to be, pl...

Netball legend Dame Noeline Taurua is an absolute wahine toa. Dame Noeline's been a member of the Silver Ferns since the 90s - first as a player, then again as assistant coach and now as head coach since 2018. She is widely recognised as one of the greatest coaches of the sport. Dame Noeline joins Petra for a look back at the triumphs and tricky parts of her life and career that have brought her t...

Brazilian-born actor and playwright Tatiana Hotere joins Petra Bagust for a poignant conversation about navigating the sudden loss of her husband Jason six years ago.  Tatiana shares how debilitating her grief could be at times, a profound way she discovered to navigate those waves of grief, and the complications of grieving in community. Tatiana's play Skin Hunger was written as a way to process...

Broadcaster, radio host and Sky Sport presenter Laura McGoldrick joins me for a conversation about loving the bodies we have.  When she was a young girl, Laura tragically lost her cousin to a rare form of skin cancer, and years later her father-in-law, Peter Guptill, also passed away from melanoma. In this episode Laura and I talk about caring for our miraculous and marvellous skin, but then we go...

Michele Wilson (Tainui, Ngāti Paoa) is the founder and CEO of AWWA Period Care, a female-founded indigenous-owned business providing washable, reusable period underwear. While the business was born out of traditional Māori wisdom and practices surrounding ikura (periods), Michele did not grow up having an understanding of these. In this kōrero Michele talks about her journey to embrace and reclaim...