Ngā Here - The Many Connections

In this special one-off episode, James Beck travels to Tirohanga, a name meaning "place of vision," to sit down with Selwyn Yeoman. Selwyn is a retired Presbyterian minister, conservationist, and theologian whose life’s work has been reclaiming the biblical vision of human "dominion" not as a license to exploit, but as a high calling of responsibility and care. Walking through...

Season Four draws to a close in Makarora, surrounded by mountains, glaciers, and braided rivers — landscapes breathtaking in beauty yet marked by the realities of climate change and human impact. James, Waiora, and Andrew reflect on the Noah story one final time, reading the covenant passage of Genesis 8–9 against the backdrop of melting glaciers and disappearing habitats. What does it mean that G...

On the road through Central Otago, the team makes a series of unexpected stops — not just at lizard sanctuaries, but at cemeteries. James takes Waiora and Andrew on a tour of his own whakapapa in Naseby, Hamiltons, and St Bathans, telling stories of ancestors who left famine in Ireland, sought gold in Otago, and carried both hope and hardship into a new land. Standing among the headstones, they re...

We ended the last episode talking about hope — God’s refusal to give up on creation, and the possibility of sanctuaries that protect life. But hope is only real when it sits alongside grief, and in this episode the team wrestles with how to hold both. Back with Anna Yeoman at Mokomoko Dryland Sanctuary, James, Waiora, and Andrew explore Noah’s obedience, the audacity of building an ark, and what i...

In Central Otago, James, Waiora, and Andrew meet Anna Yeoman, a writer and conservationist whose unexpected love for geckos and skinks grew into years of volunteering, research, and eventually a book. Together they visit Mokomoko Dryland Sanctuary near Alexandra, a predator-free haven where endangered lizards have a fighting chance at survival. Anna introduces them to some Otago skinks and then th...

In this episode of Ngā Here, the team travels into the breathtaking Makarora Valley. Along the way, they reflect on stories of ancestral journeys, and the impacts of human land modification — from Foulden Maar to the Clyde Dam. James, Waiora, and Andrew then turn to the story of Noah in Genesis 6–9 and ask what it has to say about our world today. Together they wrestle with the uncomfortable parts...

We kick off Season Four of Ngā Here in Ōtepoti Dunedin – and our first stop takes us deep into the earth’s memory. James, Waiora, and Andrew sit down with Professor Daphne Lee, a geologist whose work with ancient fossil forests and sites like Foulden Maar has revealed extraordinary stories from millions of years ago. Together we explore deep time, wonder, and whakapapa – from fossilised leaves tha...

Before we launch into season four of Ngā Here, we’re pausing to reflect with this special episode. James sits down with Associate Professor John Stenhouse in his office at Ōtakou Whakaihu Waka - The University of Otago for a wide-ranging kōrero about science, settlers, and how those things are connected to colonisation in Aotearoa. From Darwin’s Origin of Species arriving just as the New Zealand W...

E aku nui, e aku rahi, e aku rau rangatira mā, tēnā rā tatou katoa, and welcome to the sixth episode of season three of Ngā Here. For the first couple of seasons of Ngā Here, we went to a secluded hut on Te Pataka o Rakaihautū -  Banks Peninsular so that we could be surrounded by ngahere to talk about Ngā Here - the many connections and the many questions that so many of us have.  Questions like w...

E aku nui, e aku rahi, e aku rau rangatira mā, tēnā rā tatou katoa, and welcome to the final episode of season three of Ngā Here. For the first couple of seasons of Ngā Here, we went to a secluded hut on Te Pataka o Rakaihautū -  Banks Peninsular so that we could be surrounded by ngahere to talk about Ngā Here - the many connections and the many questions that so many of us have.  Questions like w...

E aku nui, e aku rahi, e aku rau rangatira mā, tēnā rā tatou katoa, and welcome to the first episode of season three of Ngā Here. For the first couple of seasons of Ngā Here, we went to a secluded hut on Te Pataka o Rakaihautū -  Banks Peninsular so that we could be surrounded by ngahere to talk about Ngā Here - the many connections and the many questions that so many of us have.  Questions like w...

E aku nui, e aku rahi, e aku rau rangatira mā, tēnā rā tatou katoa, and welcome to the second episode of season three of Ngā Here. For the first couple of seasons of Ngā Here, we went to a secluded hut on Te Pataka o Rakaihautū -  Banks Peninsular so that we could be surrounded by ngahere to talk about Ngā Here - the many connections and the many questions that so many of us have.  Questions like...

E aku nui, e aku rahi, e aku rau rangatira mā, tēnā rā tatou katoa, and welcome to the third episode of season three of Ngā Here. For the first couple of seasons of Ngā Here, we went to a secluded hut on Te Pataka o Rakaihautū -  Banks Peninsular so that we could be surrounded by ngahere to talk about Ngā Here - the many connections and the many questions that so many of us have.  Questions like w...

E aku nui, e aku rahi, e aku rau rangatira mā, tēnā rā tatou katoa, and welcome to the forth episode of season three of Ngā Here. For the first couple of seasons of Ngā Here, we went to a secluded hut on Te Pataka o Rakaihautū -  Banks Peninsular so that we could be surrounded by ngahere to talk about Ngā Here - the many connections and the many questions that so many of us have.  Questions like w...

E aku nui, e aku rahi, e aku rau rangatira mā, tēnā rā tatou katoa, and welcome to the fith episode of season three of Ngā Here. For the first couple of seasons of Ngā Here, we went to a secluded hut on Te Pataka o Rakaihautū -  Banks Peninsular so that we could be surrounded by ngahere to talk about Ngā Here - the many connections and the many questions that so many of us have.  Questions like wh...

E ngā maunga whakahī o te motu, tena rā tatou katoa, Ko James Beck tēni I’m James Beck. And welcome to this one-off episode of Ngā Here. If you have listened to Ngā Here before, you will know that usually, I take a couple of people to some remote location, to discuss what the bible might have to say about the state of our planet, about living in a country which is working through the impacts of co...

E ngā maunga whakahī o te motu, tena rā tatou katoa, Ko James Beck tēni I’m James Beck. And welcome to this one-off episode of Ngā Here. If you have listened to Ngā Here before, you will know that usually, I take a couple of people to some remote location, to discuss what the bible might have to say about the state of our planet, about living in a country which is working through the impacts of co...

E aku nui, e aku rahi, e aku rau rangatira mā, tēnā rā tatou katoa, and welcome to episode six of the second season of Ngā Here. In the last episode, we discussed proximity and relationship and how the human vocation depends on partnership. We pick up in this episode by jumping into Genesis 3. We also have a kōrero with Ricky Ehau from Wai-Ora Trust. Wai-Ora Trust is a faith-based community organi...

E aku nui, e aku rahi, e aku rau rangatira mā, tēnā rā tatou katoa,  and welcome to episode four of the second season of Ngā Here. In the last episode, we discussed our relationship with the whenua, and what it might mean for us to see God as a gardener. We pick up in this episode by discussing what it might mean for humans to be wise stewards of God's good creation. We also have a kōrero wit...

E aku nui, e aku rahi, e aku rau rangatira mā, tēnā rā tatou katoa, and welcome to episode five of the second season of Ngā Here. In the last episode, we discussed what the abundant life is really about, and what it might mean for us to change the way we engage with our stuff. We pick up in this episode by talking about the story of the human naming the animals in Genesis 2. We also have a kōrero...

E ngā maunga whakahī o te motu, tena rā tatou katoa, welcome to season two of Ngā Here. Now just to recap In our first season of Nga Here, I came up with this crazy plan.  I was looking at the health of our planet and the wellbeing of the people who live in Aotearoa - and I had some pretty big questions. Questions about what our faith and what the Bible might have to say about the way that we live...

E aku nui, e aku rahi, e aku rau rangatira mā, tēnā rā tatou katoa. W elcome to episode two of the second season of Ngā Here. Last time on Ngā Here, we had just got the team back together. We went to a local reserve and planted a few native plants and had a whole bunch of conversations about how we locate and connect ourselves and what happens when we are in a relationship with a place.  Since las...

E ngā mana, e ngā reo, e ngā rau rangatira mā, tēnā rā tatou katoa, and welcome to episode three of the second season of Ngā Here. Nau mai, tauti mai, piki mai rā. Last time on Ngā Here we had a deep conversation about the disconnection that many of us feel as a result of the many changes that have taken place in our world over the past 100 years. We also talked about how the Bible helps us to und...

E te tī, e te tā, tēnā koutou katoa. Ko James Beck tēnei, I’m James Beck and welcome to episode 1 of Ngā Here. Over the years I’ve noticed that there are a lot of us who can see that our planet is a bit broken and that how we live as a people in Aotearoa is a bit broken too - and we’ve got some pretty big questions. Questions about what the Bible might have to say about the way we live and care fo...

E rere atu ngā hau o mihi, tēnā koutou katoa. Ko james Beck tēnei, I’m James Beck and welcome to episode 2 of Ngā Here. Over the years I’ve noticed that there are a lot of us who can see that our planet is a bit broken and that how we live as a people in Aotearoa is a bit broken too - and we’ve got some pretty big questions. Questions about what the Bible might have to say about the way we live an...