Julia Grace talked to us last time about her journey with mental health, the work she was doing speaking into that space, and her recognition that there isn't a line separating well and unwell, but that we're all on a continuum of mental health. It's a profound and fun kōrero and definitely worth a listen. Julia joins me on Catching Up With to talk about how the journey of speaking in the mental health space is going, her recent appointment as president of the Professional Speakers Association o...
Nov 25, 2023•21 min
Steff Fenton (they/them) is a trans Christian speaker, writer, educator, and advocate who publicly shares the intersections of queerness and faith. Steff is passionate about creating safe spiritual spaces for LGBTIQA+ people and helping others cultivate a more equitable and expansive faith. I asked Steff on the podcast because they get in the way of all the prejudice I was taught in the faith culture I grew up in. Steff is transgender and is not only Christian, but has co-founded and co-pastored...
Nov 19, 2023•56 min
Lisa Maathuis is the General Manager of Dignity - an organisation whose mission is to make period products accessible to everyone who needs them, so no one misses out on work, education, sport, or anything else in life. You may have never thought about that, but the more I've learned about period poverty and period equity, the more I have realised this needs to be something that we are talking about more openly so we can fix the issues together. I talk with Lisa about what period poverty is, and...
Nov 05, 2023•45 min
Sarah Page is the founder and Executive Director of the Kindness Collective Foundation. When events in life led her to see the inequalities of life clearly for the first time Sarah knew it was time to do something about it. So she started by getting friends to donate things for those she was connected to who were in need. Ten years on and the Kindness Collective is a thriving network of thousands of ordinary New Zealanders who are getting alongside those in need, and they are partnered with some...
Oct 22, 2023•47 min
'Catching Up With' is the new side project here on Down to Earth Conversations. These are short episodes with former Down to Earth Conversations guest about new and interesting things they've been up to since I last talked to them. In this first episode we are Catching up with Te Karere Whitiao Scarborough who featured way back on episode 10. Te Karere joins me on Catching Up With to talk about an exciting new educational pathway in Aotearoa, Te Wānanga Ihorangi, which he is involved in shaping ...
Oct 14, 2023•19 min
Bruce Pilbrow is a CEO who has worked across business and not-for-profits. He loves working in spaces that have a positive impact on the world, and he has become a bit of a transformation specialist, helping organisations change and adapt to better fulfil their mission. We talk about disrupting the status quo, building culture, and doing it with empathy. We hear how Bruce's role as a CEO is about discovering talent and harnessing it to allow both the people and the organisation to flourish. We h...
Oct 08, 2023•51 min
Liz Cooledge Jenkins and I follow each other on Instagram, and neither of us remember how she and I connected, but when she let me know about a book she has coming out this December I had to get her on the podcast. The book is called Nice Churchy Patriarchy, and is a combination of Liz's experiences in, and working for, various American evangelical churches, and her deep thinking and research around the attitudes and impacts of patriarchy, even in those spaces that claim to see all people as equ...
Sep 24, 2023•51 min
Meg Cowan is a sex and intimacy coach. After sex became a problem part of her own marriage, Meg and her husband sought help. Through that experience Meg opened up to her friends and found that the need to be talking about this was great. So she set about doing some study and now helps hundreds of people heal from hurts, and progress to loving themselves and having a more fulfilling sex life. We talk about Meg's journey into this work. The unhelpful advice she was given along the way, especially ...
Sep 10, 2023•48 min
Recently I was privileged, along with former guest Michael Frost, to be on a panel at a workshop about rethinking our beliefs regarding sexuality and gender. The main speaker that day was Amanda Pilbrow from Already Enough, and we took the opportunity to sit down together afterwards to debrief the day. It doesn't matter if you weren't there. We give a brief overview of what was covered in the workshop, and people's reactions to them. We discuss the idea of questions about faith as holy invitatio...
Aug 27, 2023•59 min
Bethel Church is a charismatic evangelical church in Redding, California. It is famous for the church music it pumps out prolifically, and it has a Bethel School of Supernatural Ministry which hosts over 2,000 students annually from over 60 countries. Mike Maeshiro worked for Bethel coordinating events (which they do on a huge scale and frequency), travelled the world preaching, and was a teacher of spiritual discernment at the School of Supernatural Ministry until coming out as gay just a coupl...
Aug 13, 2023•51 min
I met Amelie Coggan at Voices of Hope's (featured on episode 46) event, 'It's Not Weak to Speak'. When I found out she had her own mental health challenges but that she was also, as a teenager, the owner of a business making products to support the mental health of others, I knew I had to get her on the podcast. Amelie Coggan is the founder of Little Joys - a business creating products to support people in their mental health journey. We talk about Little Joys and how it came that an 18 year old...
Jul 30, 2023•38 min
Nick Allwright is a funeral director. It is his job to walk alongside grieving family members and friends as they deal with the loss of their loved one. As we will hear from Nick, sometimes this is a glorious time, and sometimes it is anything but. Sometimes it is a celebration, and sometimes it is a symbol of all that is wrong with the world. Nick shares about how he got into this profession, what is involved in his role, how he interacts with families, how he looks after himself when dealing w...
Jul 09, 2023•42 min
Cathy and Steven of The Changes Ahead take over the episode putting me in the hot seat. This interview originally appeared on The Changes Ahead podcast back in March. We talk about creativity, being right, being just, and the shifting of our faith as we grow. If you enjoy this check out the many other fantastic conversations on The Changes Ahead - here's how they describe the heart of their podcast: "It is no secret that the church in the West is in decline and there seems to have been unending ...
Jun 25, 2023•46 min
James Beck, is a speaker, facilitator, pastor, podcaster, author and eco-warrior. We talk about the years James spent working with Attitude, helping shape the wellbeing of teenagers throughout Aotearoa, and his time at the Parenting Place. We also talk about James' passion for the environment and how that is impacting his work, his church, and his spirituality, as well as his own Podcast, Ngā Here, that brings the environment, the bible, and te ao Māori, the world of Māori, together. Check out t...
Jun 11, 2023•57 min
Heather Roberts is the founder of the initiative Just Kai - an organisation looking to aid consumers in buying food products free from slavery or child labour. Heather shares with me her prolonged journey of chronic fatigue and how that impacted life for her for many years. We hear about how it rapidly arrived and then rapidly improved years later like the flicking of a switch. She shares about things that got her through that time, including relationships and connection, her amazingly supportiv...
May 28, 2023•52 min
Nigel Yeoh is a medical doctor, a GP, who also works as a Police Medical Officer for the Police in Ōtautahi-Christchurch. In this conversation we talk about what it's like journeying with people through their physical and mental struggles, but also seeing patients overcome illnesses and challenges. I ask how the system could be better to allow the most disadvantaged to gain support, and about how Nigel cares for those accused of heinous crimes. Ultimately, this is a conversation about how Nigel'...
May 14, 2023•48 min
Aotearoa New Zealand theologian Michael Frost (not to be confused with Australian theologian Michael Frost...who is also worth a follow on your socials) has a PhD in theology, an honours degree in Science, is a lecturer and pastor, and is a well respected host of the podcast In the Shift, 'for when life and faith go off script.' Our kōrero takes many twists and turns as we talk about science and faith, Michael and his wife's 10 year journey to become parents, suffering and theology, changing bel...
Apr 30, 2023•56 min
Katy Rowden is the General Manager of Good Bitches Baking, a small charity here in Aotearoa with a big impact in the lives of so many through the art of baking. We talk about how the organisation started, how it got it's name and why they're sticking with it, how they are using baking as a vehicle to share kindness, and how that kindness actually breeds more kindness. We hear some of the feedback that their Good Bitches have received in thanks for their baking, and we see that one simple act can...
Apr 09, 2023•46 min
Kath Bee is one of New Zealand's top children's music writers and performers, with a tonne of accolades under her belt and an infectiously positive outlook on life. Kath had quite a late start into music, which allowed for some great discussion about life before music, including how being a teacher aide shaped her as she learnt from those who others called disabled. We also discuss why she likes to write songs that teach positive messages about life to children, and how her collaboration with E ...
Mar 26, 2023•38 min
I asked Keren Maxwell to come on the podcast because an often overlooked way of doing good in the world is simply raising children. Keren and her husband Glen have 4 children and celebrate them so well. Keren hasn't come on as a parenting expert, but simply to share her journey of celebrating and loving her children through whatever comes, including the many curve balls that are part and parcel of parenting. In this conversation Keren and I talk about journeying with one of her children in the a...
Mar 12, 2023•54 min
Corinne Haines is the current Christchurch City Missioner - or CEO of the City Mission. Corinne is a successful business leader, a wife and mother, a Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit, and a generous and caring person. We talk about her journey into business and then leading in business, particularly through adversity such as the Christchurch Earthquakes and an office fire that came soon after. We talk about how her journey has taken her to the Ministry of Defence and the regeneration ...
Feb 26, 2023•56 min
In this episode I bring together poetry and song from former guests of the podcast as a Christmas gift to you all. The episode features music from Juliagrace (ep.5) and Music with Michal (ep.50), as well as poetry from Te Karere Whitiao Scarborough (ep.10), Dietrich Soakai (ep.34), Mohamed Hassan (ep.59), Joel McKerrow (ep.31), and myself. And to finish the episode I bring you the audio version of my kids book - Three Things to Know: An E Tū Tāngata Story - read by tamariki (children). Find Juli...
Dec 19, 2022•32 min
My whānau (family) join me for today's episode, sharing their thoughts about kindness, generosity, creativity, making the world a better place, and making someone's day. The episode is laid out in three short interviews. First, I talk to Sophia and Mackenzie together, then a brief chat with our four year old Korah, before rounding off the episode with a kōrero with Beks around creativity, generosity, and inclusion. Find Sugar Lips on Facebook, Instagram, or our website. And learn about our commi...
Dec 11, 2022•36 min
Naomi Toilalo is a wife, mum, tv presenter, reality TV contestant, and a baker. She runs the Instagram page Whānau Kai and has just released her first cook book of the same name, which is in both te reo Māori and English. We talk māoritanga, Māori television, family, generosity, and what led to the creation of Whānau Kai. Check out Whānau Kai on Instagram or Facebook. You can also find Whānau Kai: the Giving Series on YouTube. Check out Naomi's cook book online or wherever good books are sold. D...
Nov 27, 2022•54 min
Scottie Reeve is the author of the book, '21 Elephants', and co-hosts the podcast of the same name with the Reverend Spanky Moore (featured on episode 12). Scottie is also passionate about living in community with others, about caring for those who are neglected, or even cast aside, by society, and about how the church can make a real difference in the world We talk about his time working for the Youth organisation, Zeal, the intentional communities he has lived in, including how they held him i...
Nov 13, 2022•58 min
This is a very special episode as we prepare to remember the crown invasion of Parihaka on November 5th, 1881. If you don't know the story of Parihaka, you may wish to pause the episode and follow the links below to read a little about what happened. But the short of it was that the Crown ordered troops to invade Parihaka in response to the people of Parihaka showing active non-violent resistance to the confiscation of their lands, and the response of the people of Parihaka was kindness and inte...
Oct 31, 2022•51 min
Mohamed is a former NZ Poetry Slam Champion who represented New Zealand in the World Individual Poetry Slam in 2016. Mohamed has also worked in television and radio journalism in New Zealand and abroad over the last decade, and has produced some quality podcast series for Radio New Zealand. Most recently he is the author of the recently released, "How to Be a Bad Muslim, and other Essays". We talk about the power of words and storytelling. We hear about some of his experiences as a journalist, i...
Oct 16, 2022•57 min
Dr Amy Kenny is an amazing human being who has recently released a book titled "My Body is Not a Prayer Request: Disability Justice in the Church." In the book, and in our conversation, Amy shares her experiences of living in a world that is not designed with disability in mind. Sadly, her experience is that it is actually worse in the church than elsewhere. We talk about her role teaching Shakespeare, her book and how it came about, and we tackle issues such as using disability as a metaphor, h...
Oct 02, 2022•46 min
This being my birthday, I decided to give you a bit of me as a gift from me to you. So I invited the incredible Tash McGill to take over the episode and put me in the hot seat, taking it wherever she wanted to take it. And she does just that. Tash is a broadcaster, podcaster, creative, storyteller, writer, and strategist. She works in business transformation, especially within the food, beverage and hospitality industries. She is chairperson of the New Zealand Whisky association and has recently...
Sep 18, 2022•58 min
I spend a lot of time talking to people doing amazing things in the world. But today we get to hear about being, noticing, listening, and knowing our worth outside of what we do. Donald Scott is a former shearer and pastor, and is now a spiritual director. He has been on a journey of learning to be, for many years. And he takes us on that journey with him today. It's deeply beautiful and deeply challenging. We talk about his passion of ornithology (birds), his relatively recent embrace of length...
Sep 04, 2022•54 min
