Real Life With John Cowan

Willy spent his school years at Auckland Grammar, where he learnt music and classical ballet, then left early to work in a garden centre. While serving as the lead singer of the band Rhythm Method, he decided on a whim to enter a comedy competition hosted by his local bar in 1983. There he met fellow contestants on Dean Butler, Ian Harcourt and Peter Murphy which kick-started his long career in ma...

Born and raised in the Hutt Valley, Chris attended Hutt Valley Memorial College, where he was the Head Boy and went on to complete a Bachelor of Arts majoring in Politics and Criminology at Victoria University. After completing his study, he worked in the industry training sector and worked at parliament, first as Senior Advisor to two Education Ministers and later in the office of former Prime Mi...

At the age three, Julia played the piano and at 12 performed to large crowds. From 2000-2005, she was the lead vocalist for the band   Elevator  before beginning her solo career in songwriting. The release of her self-titled album  juliagrace  on the Parachute Music label in October of that year scored four number one singles in New Zealand. The album received the Tui Award for Best Gospel/Christi...

Patrick grew up in New Plymouth and attended Victoria University where he gained a BA with honours. After finishing his politics degree, he studied journalism at Auckland University of Technology. Patrick started his journalism career working the graveyard shift at   The New Zealand Herald , becoming one of the newspaper's two police reporters. He subsequently moved to the UK and worked at   Jane'...

One of seven children raised in Masterton, Roman Travers graduated from the Wellington based New Zealand Radio Training School in 1995. In 1996 he started as the drive time host on Classic Hits, first in Wanganui and then Hamilton. Over the years, Roman has held many roles within radio, TV, and as a voice over artist. You may have seen Roman hosting the London and Paris editions of 'The Twenty Dol...

After a stellar law career, Clayton Kimpton has been representing New Zealand in Africa, the Middle East and Asia. His most recent role has been as Commissioner-General overseeing New Zealand's participation in the Dubai Expo, the biggest international event to take place during the pandemic. While New Zealand was isolated, the New Zealand pavilion was a hugely valuable 'shopfront' to the world, a...

Erica was born in the East Coast Bays and has lived in the area for over 40 years.  She attended Rangitoto College, then went on to gain a Bachelor of Arts at the University of Auckland.    Erica has worked in export sales as well as producing local television shows. She produced  Last Chance Dogs , reality TV show  Noise Control , and worked on  Piha Rescue  for more than six years. In 2013 Erica...

A born and bred Aucklander, Phil Goff is the Mayor of Auckland, in office since 2016. Representing Mt Roskill for 10 terms of parliament, Phil became New Zealand’s youngest ever cabinet minister in 1984. He was Associate Finance Minister, served as the leader of the Labour Party, Leader of the Opposition and was also Minister of Education, initiating New Zealand’s international education industry....

Born in Auckland, road and track cyclist Aaron Gate joined the national high-performance squad in 2010 and currently rides for UCI Continental team Bolton Equities Black Spoke Pro Cycling. He represented New Zealand country in track cycling at the 2012, 2016 and 2020 Summer Olympics, and the Delhi 2010 and Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games. Aaron recently became the first New Zealand athlete to win...

Brought up in Christchurch’s New Brighton, James began his broadcasting career in his early twenties at community station Radio Caroline in Timaru. He quickly progressed to become the breakfast host at the pop station juggernaut 1323ZM. He left radio in the late 90s, going to university full-time and gaining a Bachelor of Commerce before returning to radio in an on-air and management role as found...

Originally from Minnesota in the United States, Joel attended Gustavus Adolphus College, a small liberal arts university. He then completed his PhD in chemistry at Purdue University. He moved to New Zealand as an ice hockey player in 2017, playing for the Botany Swarm in East Auckland. He applied for a job at the University of Auckland, where he is a Research Fellow based at the School of Chemical...

Born in Upper Hutt, Keri Bloomfield is a kiwi mum living in Denmark with a Dane and their daughters. Keri and her husband moved to Copenhagen, Denmark in 2016. Her book   Nothing Like a Dane  was released in April and is her humorous and heartfelt memoir of navigating her first couple of years living in the Scandinavian country. Before writing  Nothing Like a Dane , Keri created a blog called   Bi...

Born in Rotorua, Susan's family was very involved in the squash community and she started playing when she was young, turning professional at the age of 17. Her first World Open title came in 1985, with subsequent wins in 1987, 1990 and 1992. In 1992, the year of her unexpected retirement, she was the Australian, British, French, Hong Kong, Irish, New Zealand, Scottish, Swedish and World squash ch...

D'Arcy hosts Sportstalk on Newstalk ZB on weekday evenings. He was recently named Best Sportsreader at the annual New Zealand Radio Awards. D'Arcy has an 11-year-old daughter. He loves motorsport and revels in the torment of being both a Warriors and a Black Caps fan. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Claire works work as a NZ Registered Nutritionist and has become a familiar face and trusted voice across New Zealand media speaking on issues of health and wellbeing. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Born in Auckland to a professional boxer father, Monty Betham is a retired professional boxer and former professional rugby league footballer. He played club football for the New Zealand Warriors in the National Rugby League, and for the Wakefield Trinity Wildcats in the Super League. In December 2006, Monty announced his retirement from rugby league in order to pursue a career in boxing. His firs...

Dai studied Theatre and Film at Victoria University of Wellington, before winning 'Best New Face' on TV2's Pulp Comedy in 1999, the Billy T Award in 2002 and the Fred Award in 2007. In 2004 and 2005, he toured the shows The Hot Stepper and Champagne Table Tennis, and performed at the Tokyo Comedy Store and in Melbourne and around Britain. He has performed at the New Zealand International Comedy Fe...

Raised in Christchurch, Mike took a high school journalism course run by the Department of Māori Affairs. In 1984 he won a Radio New Zealand cadetship and six months of journalism training. He was transferred to the sports office, and the longtime longtime rugby fan felt at ease with his subject matter, gaining valuable live experience. By age 24, he was running the sports department and was offer...

Matthew was born in Upper Hutt. His father was of Ngāi Te Rangi from Matakana Island, Tauranga. After living most of his adult life in Australia, Matthew moved home to New Zealand and was appointed to the role of Executive Chairman of the National Māori Authority, Ngā Ngaru Rautahi O Aotearoa in 2017. In 2018 he also became the chair of the Auckland District Māori Council and was elected to the Na...

Kate was born to Kiwi parents in Suva, Fiji and lived there until she was five before moving home to New Zealand. She studied radio at the Christchurch Polytechnic Broadcasting School before getting her first job in Auckland as a producer and announcer, later working at Radio Taranaki, Classic Hits and IRN News. Kate then spent 8 years living in London and New York, holding a number of roles inclu...

Mark Goshe is the Chairman of Kāinga Ora and a Former Labour Cabinet Minister. The first person of Pacific Island descent elected to Cabinet, Mark was a full-time official with the Service & Food Workers Union (SFWU) for 15 years. He was later a union secretary with the SFWU for 7 years, leading him to join the Labour Party in 1981. He was first elected to Parliament as a list MP in the 1996 e...

Jeremy Corbett, Co-Host of The Project and Seven Days, joins John Cowan to talk about his life and what makes him tick. Jeremy was born in Westport, and raised in both England and Palmerston North. He dabbled in comedy and broadcasting while studying at Massey University, before showcasing his stand-up skills on television’s Pulp Comedy. Corbett’s live experience has proven useful in a range of TV...

Tina Cross was the lead vocalist of 1980s pop band, Koo De Tah, and is one-third of the harmony group The Lady Killers along with Jackie Clarke and Suzanne Lynch. She was the voice of the Shortland Street theme song and has enjoyed performances with multiple New Zealand orchestras. In the 2007 Queen's Birthday Honours Tina was named an Officer of the Order Of New Zealand Merit for her services to...

Born in the Netherlands, Yvonne is a former netball coach and representative netball player. She played for the Silver Ferns from 1974 to 1983. She was coach of the Silver Ferns from 1997 to 2001, and coach of the Fijian national team from 2002 to 2003.    In the 2002 Queen's Birthday Honours, Yvonne was appointed an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit, for services to netball, later updated...

A former radio journalist, Tammy started as the face of homeware giant Briscoes in 1989.Tammy lives on the rural outskirts of Christchurch on a property she has called home for almost 40 years. She married her high school sweetheart Michael at 22 and together they have two adult sons. She is often found outside in her gumboots with miniature schnauzer Alby, tending to her gardens and feeding the c...