Real Life With John Cowan

Sequoia Schmidt is a celebrated author, adventurer, and speaker renowned for her compelling personal resilience and exploration narratives. Her debut book, "Journey of Heart: A Sojourn to K2," garnered acclaim as a finalist in the 2016 International Book Awards. This poignant memoir traces Sequoia's journey to K2 in Pakistan, a mountain that holds deep emotional significance as it tragically claim...

Wayne Brown is a seasoned leader with experience in business and public service, from steering large New Zealand businesses to serving as Mayor of New Zealand’s largest city. But beyond the boardroom and council chambers, Wayne is a keen surfer. He spends his spare time riding the swells and advocating for the protection of our marine environment, all while enjoying the company of his wife, Toni a...

Sunday the 9th of June marked a big milestone for John Cowan as he reached 20 years of hosting Real Life on Newstalk ZB! Over 963 shows, John has spoken to 835 different guests in an effort to find out what makes each one of them tick. Listen back to the celebration of John's 20 years on Real Life. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Ben grew up in Otaki and went to Paraparaumu College. He is a self-taught computer coder and at the age of 12 those skills saw him inventing a GPS wristband that allowed hospitals and visitors to trace patients. This invention won him the youth category of Wellingtonian of the Year in 2016. After a gap year in Canada he launched his own company "Random42 Limited". The company dealt with water-moni...

A popular contestant on Have You Been Paying Attention, comedian Melanie Bracewell has also appeared on The Project, Triple J, and Thank God You're Here. She was a contestant on the fourth series of Taskmaster NZ. Melanie has contributed as a writer to 7 Days, Have You Been Paying Attention, Wellington Paranormal, and Mean Mums. She is also an experienced radio announcer and has worked as a produc...

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This week John's guest will be Peter Beck. Peter is a Kiwi entrepreneur who founded the aerospace manufacturer and launch service provider Rocket Lab.  Peter grew up in Invercargill, born into a family who loved machines. A toolmaking apprenticeship at Fisher & Paykel gave him hands-on engineering skills and access to top-of-the-line machinery and materials after hours. Peter began building ro...

Marty Donoghue, based in Wellington, has been Chief Executive of the Royal New Zealand Returned and Services Association (RNZRSA) since October 2020. Marty has a 35-year track record of transformational leadership, successfully building and managing teams and mobilising volunteers in New Zealand and internationally across defence, sport, science, and the not-for-profit sector. Marty served in the...

Judy joined the New Zealand Broadcasting Corporation in 1971, working as a reporter on news and current affairs programmes. She presented the regional news with John Hawkesby for Auckland from 1980 to 1987 in the programme Top Half . Judy went on to front ONE News , the highest-rated evening television news programme in New Zealand, for twenty-six years. On leaving TVNZ, she presented Māori Televi...

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Graeme has recently retired as the New Zealand director of Mercy Ships, an international faith-based organisation that operates hospital ships that sail worldwide and deliver free healthcare to countries with little or no access to safe surgical care. Graeme began at Mercy Ships in 1983 initially taught the crew's children on board the ships, working his way up to executive leadership roles, going...

Archdeacon of Tamaki Makaurau Until 2010, Dr Lyndon Drake was a Vice President at Barclays Capital, trading government bonds and interest-rate derivatives. Since then, he has served as pastor of Auckland Baptist Tabernacle, taught theology of work at seminaries, served in regional and international church leadership, and has served on a number of boards, including chairing Te Whare Ruruhau o Meri...

Nelson MP Rachel Boyack says she “nearly ended up in a cult” as a teenager, but escaped after just a few weeks after growing suspicious with the group’s “dodgy” behaviour. The Labour politician was briefly a member of the International Church of Christ, a religious sect known for its aggressive proselytising, while attending Auckland University in 1998. In an interview with Newstalk ZB’s Real Life...

Comedian Guy Montgomery was born and raised in Christchurch and went on to study at Victoria University of Wellington. He moved to Canada in 2010 to start his comedy career. He then returned home (partly to co-host  Late U)  before moving to New York City. Together with Tim Blatt, Guy is co-host of the podcasts  Worst Idea of All Time ,  Friendzone , and  'Til Death Do Us Blart . Guy won the Billy...

Italian-Kiwi Vince worked as a civil engineer from 1990 to 2000 before developing his IT company, Cocurullo’s Ltd, which still operates today. In 2005 Vince became very ill with what turned out to be mercury poisoning from amalgam fillings in his teeth. As a result of this, he experienced a very personal reality check that became the catalyst for his decision to enter local government and help mak...

Tommy was born in New South Wales, Australia. He received his first guitar in 1959 (at age four) and was taught by his mother to accompany her, playing lap steel guitar. By age six, he was a working professional musician after his father created a family band, sold their home, and took his family on the road. Tommy would go on tour with country music star Buddy Williams and record several albums w...

Gary Chapman, born in a small town in North Carolina, USA, has become widely known for his work in the realm of relationships, particularly in marriage and family counselling. He has written more than forty books with  The 5 Love Languages , one of his most popular titles, topping various bestseller charts for years. He also hosts radio programmes  A Love Language Minute  and  Building Relationshi...

As a child, acclaimed illusionist and mentalist Scott revelled in mystery. Born and raised in Glasgow, he found a mentor in the owner of a magic shop in Glasgow. As a teenager, he took a hypnosis course in Milan and went on to study drama and performance at the University of Edinburgh. Scott is making his New Zealand debut in March 2024 at the Auckland Arts Festival with his show ‘Wonders’ playing...

After working as an English teacher and then as an Anglican clergyman near Liverpool, UK, Peter and his wife Miranda moved to Portugal in 1983 to establish and run A Rocha, a global family of conservation organisations working together to live out God’s calling to care for creation ​and equip others to do likewise, and the first field study centre and bird observatory were established. In 1995, th...

Dave Brebner grew up with undiagnosed and debilitating Tourette Syndrome. Despite the hardships of his teenage years, as a person who was not going to fit the mould of a standard high school education without difficulty, he has gone on to complete an electrical trade qualification, a Bachelor's Degree of Education in Adult Vocational and Workplace Training, and two Master's Degrees in Educational...

Ella Harris is a 25-year-old New Zealand professional cyclist, currently riding for UCI Women's Continental Team Lifeplus Wahoo. She won the Zwift global stationary trainer competition in 2018, which earned her a contract with Women's World Tour's Canyon SRAM team. At home, she won the national under-23 time trial in 2020 and has earned a number of heralded performances internationally. Ella start...

Educated in Sri Lanka, Selina Kumar went on to study in the Philippines and the United States. She then returned to Sri Lanka to work with underprivileged children. After a 26-year civil war in Sri Lanka left thousands widowed, homeless and without livelihoods, Selina wanted to help smallholder dairy farmers out of poverty. She created something sustainable that would help her community, and her j...

Mikey Havoc first became a DJ on the University of Auckland's 95bFM radio station in the early 1990s. He was on the breakfast show from 1996 to 2002, winning Best New Broadcaster at the 1997 New Zealand Radio Awards and later moved to the afternoon-evening "Drive" show. He once again took over as the breakfast show host in 2006. In 2010 Havoc returned to his Drive slot and in 2012 joined rock stat...

Dr Claire Achmad is an advocate for children, having worked in various areas relating to children's rights. She was appointed as the Deputy Chair of the Children and Young People's Commission in July 2023 and, from November 1st, took up the role of Chief Children's Commissioner and Chair of the Commission for a five-year term. From 2021 to 2023, Claire served as Chief Executive Officer of Social S...

Shane Hales, known by the stage name Shane, grew up in Surrey, England, before moving to Australia and then New Zealand. He started his career in 1966 as a member of the Australian band The Pleazers before forming his own band, Shane. He became a regular singer on the television pop programme C'mon and was part of the C'mon 1968 national tour. His cover of Terry Knight's Saint Paul flew to the top...