The Talk Sessions: Recent Episodes
Rhema Media
Talkback where current events intersect with life and faith. Hosted by Nerida Ashcroft and Andrew Curtis. Broadcast on New Zealand Radio Life FM & Rhema.
JP and Craig Gemmell Counsellor discuss the difficulties of relationships around Christmas time and the season of reflection.
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He's a former professional baseball player, the founder of the Orlando Magic Basketball Team, an author with over 100 books, the father of 19 kids (14 adopted) a cancer survivor, a man who loves Jesus and this is an interview about a single verse of scripture that will feed your soul and you will not want to miss.
www.patwilliams.com
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Sunday evening we talk to Kiwi born Brother Peter Bray the Vice Chancellor at Bethlehem University in the Holy land about his work among both Christian and Muslim students in Palestine and about his international award for services to Education.
We also chat with Mena Antonio the CEO of Caritas.org the Catholic agency for Peace, Justice and Development, the second largest NGO in the world.
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Bob Freytag is a former US Navy Leadership expert who loves Jesus and is a Senior Consulting Partner with the Ken Blanchard Companies. We discuss how we can lead without ego and with huge impact in people outcomes in faith, business and in our personal lives.
www.kenblanchard.com
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More stories of bad leadership in the faith and the secular world are appearing daily.
JP discusses the poor standard of leadership in the legal industry with Steph Dyhrberg of Dyhrberg Drayton Employment lawyers from Wellington about the need to care for employees and change leadership behavior.
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/law-society-president-jacque-lethbridge-resigns-after-critical-culture-review-report/SJSEA6SJ3FCIAAE7A7TQ6NDE6M/
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https://www.nzinitiative.org.nz/about-us/
Sunday evening I discuss a damning report on NZ Education with Olliver Hartwich, the Executive Director of The New Zealand Initiative.
We are receiving daily reports about low academic outcomes, increasing rates of absenteeism and an ever-increasing rate of student mental health crisis.
ON a world stage. we are dropping like a stone.
Join me for a vital conversation about the future of education in NZ.
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Dr George Simons work is around how we influence and change people's behaviour.
As an author and psychotherapist, he specialises in anxiety and anger management, comprehensive personality assessments, mental health professional training, and consultation to businesses and organizations on how to deal with problem characters.
As a man of faith, he shares a simple but profound truth about how to dynamically impact the people we want to help move forward in faith, life and mental health.
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https://orama.nz
Orama on the Great Barrier Island in the Hauraki Gulf carries a significant spiritual legacy in NZ as a place of rest, restoration, connection, and prophetic vision
Dean McQuaid and the leadership team at Orama have cast a new vision for 2023 that has a deep connection to the original vision from 1963 and a fresh perspective for the future. Dean discusses the new Discipleship school, the art and creative worship focus, and the opportunities to serve in a practical servant ministry and simply the opportunity to come and rest and recover among some of the most exquisite landscapes in the country.
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Frances Tagaloa is a lawyer, the Global Chief of Staff for Campus Crusade for Christ and a survivor of abuse within the church.
She has been making submissions to the Royal Commission of Inquiry into the Abuse in Care in the Church and now sits as an advocate for survivors of abuse and a courageous voice for the thousands of Kiwis who have suffered sexual abuse under the care of Christian leaders from across nearly all denominations.
https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:6987649680805355520/
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A small group of Australian Anglicans including the former Anglican Archbishop of Sydney Glenn Davies have split and formed their own new denomination.
Rev Dr. Mark Durie from the Melbourne School of Theology and I discuss the implications of when we stray from the teachings and create our own theology.
Also, I chat with Nigel Dixon the Vicar of Holy Trinity in Tauranga about the need to build an authentic community and stay in the center of Jesus' teaching.
https://www.mst.edu.au/faculty/mark-durie/
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How did we get to the place where schools were becoming the default parents for our children being involved in teaching subjects that belong firmly at home with the care of parents? Have we abdicated our responsibility? Are schools picking on our moral failure?
JP Chats with Dr. Tim Hawkes the recently retired long-serving Principal of The King's School in Paramatta, Sydney. In. the Anglican tradition, Australia's oldest independent school was founded in 1831 by the command of King William IV of England.
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Marina Cantacuzino is a British journalist and storyteller, she is the founder of The Forgiveness Project and discusses with me the power and process of forgiveness in the face of tragedy and injustice. How do we restore those who have been imprisoned for crimes against humanity? What does the bible say about forgiving those who have committed sin against the community? Forgiveness is at the very heart of who we are in the Christian faith, but do we really forgive each other or do we hold fast to shame?
https://www.theforgivenessproject.com
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John Peachey talks with Becky Starkenburg, Dean of Students at Hope College in Holland, Michigan and Aaron Kuecker President of Trinity Christian College in Chicago Illinois about the idea of Radical Generosity we have been called to in living out the gospel.
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One child every five weeks is killed in this country in domestic violence. JP Talks to Jane Searl the CEO of Child Matters a Kiwi Not for Profit that serves the needs of children and who has become a voice for voiceless children who suffer at the hands of violent parents and caregivers.
We also talk with Dave Atkinson the CEO of Parting Place who offers care, support, and training for parents struggling in 2022. We discuss how Prevention is better than cure.
If you think this matters, join JP on Sunday evening at 8.00 pm
https://www.childmatters.org.nz
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John Peachey talks with Donald McMenamin a Professional Teaching Fellow of Counselling in the School of Social Practice at Laidlaw College about Narrative Therapy and the power of the stories that form us. And I discuss the career choice of Counselling with Lisa Spriggens head of Counselling at Laidlaw College.
https://www.twoislandsandaboat.com
https://www.laidlaw.ac.nz/staff/donald-mcmenamin/
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This week we are talking Christian leadership in the secular world.
Michael Easley was the CEO of a large American Not for Profit for 22 years and shares his journey, mistakes, and successes as he discovered and applied how servant leadership and the intersection of self-awareness and empathy impacted in a non-Christan context.
Michael discusses his book "The No O's Of Leadership" and how this model fits across, faith, business, and not-for-profit leadership.
https://noosofleadership.com
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This week we are talking Christian leadership in the secular world.
Michael Easley was the CEO of a large American Not for Profit for 22 years and shares his journey, mistakes, and successes as he discovered and applied how servant leadership and the intersection of self-awareness and empathy impacted in a non-Christan context.
Michael discusses his book "The No O's Of Leadership" and how this model fits across, faith, business, and not-for-profit leadership.
https://noosofleadership.com
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This Sunday evening I talked with Dale Ahlquist the President of the G. K. Chesterton Society of America.
Chesterton was a prolific author, theologian, poet, crime writer, and author of over 5000 broadly published articles on faith and biblical morality though sadly, hardly known in 2022 to the wider Christian audience.
Gilbert Keith Chesterton whose writing was the single biggest influence in C.S. Lewis's conversion from atheist to a Christian believer. J R R Tolkien. and T S Eliot became disciples of this mans thinking and perspective on faith.
https://www.chesterton.org
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This Sunday evening I talked with Dale Ahlquist the President of the G. K. Chesterton Society of America.
Chesterton was a prolific author, theologian, poet, crime writer, and author of over 5000 broadly published articles on faith and biblical morality though sadly, hardly known in 2022 to the wider Christian audience.
Gilbert Keith Chesterton whose writing was the single biggest influence in C.S. Lewis's conversion from atheist to a Christian believer. J R R Tolkien. and T S Eliot became disciples of this mans thinking and perspective on faith.
https://www.chesterton.org
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Join JP and Ty Benbow, Associate Professor at Warner University to discuss the theology and practice of generosity in our Christian walk. We are called to be radically generous with our resources, our influence, and our time. Why do we live in scarcity when one of the biblical themes is generosity and abundance?
https://warner.edu/christianity-and-the-call-to-generosity/
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Join JP and Ty Benbow, Associate Professor at Warner University to discuss the theology and practice of generosity in our Christian walk. We are called to be radically generous with our resources, our influence, and our time. Why do we live in scarcity when one of the biblical themes is generosity and abundance?
https://warner.edu/christianity-and-the-call-to-generosity/
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Sunday evening bible teacher, missions trainer and pastor Michelle Hoverson and I have a deep conversation about the person, personality and work of The Holy Spirit.
https://aboveandbeyondmissions.org
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Sunday evening bible teacher, missions trainer and pastor Michelle Hoverson and I have a deep conversation about the person, personality and work of The Holy Spirit.
https://aboveandbeyondmissions.org
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The topic for this week's Talk Session with JP is about the RNZ article on deliverance and the harm being done by the Celebration Centre in CHCH https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/in-depth/472109/ex-celebration-church-members-believe-deliverance-harmed-them
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John Peachey chats with Alex Vesley who is the grandson of Jewish psychologists Viktor Frankl. Frankl, one of the most influential psychologists of the 20th century and whose influence remains as vital today as was his most famous work 'Mans Search for Meaning written 75 years ago. Alex Vesley tells stories about his grandfather, a holocaust survivor and disruptive thinker and we discuss how Frankl's work continues to have a direct impact on today's poor mental health epidemic.
https://viktorfranklamerica.com/vfia-films/
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Tracey Crouch was appointed in 2017 as the first British Cabinet Minister of Loneliness. It is estimated that up to 10 million Britons experience little or no human connection on a daily basis. We discuss the issue of being alone in a connected world and the work she is involved in to change the lives of ordinary Britons.
https://www.traceycrouch.org.uk
Ruth Lawson-McConnell is a highly skilled and sought-after counsellor working in the specific area of attachment. How attachment drives our relationships and mental health and what the model of the Godhead, The Trinity tells us about connection.
https://ruthmcconnell.com
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JP talks with Nigel Dixon Author, a Church Growth consultant and the Vicar and Pastor of HolyTrinity Anglican Church in Tauranga about building community when your church is in decline and creating "profound belonging".
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John Peachey chats with Sue O’Callaghan from ImpACT.
For more information about ImpACT visit: impact-mentalhealth.com/about-us/
Also a helpful resource about teenage trauma: teenagetoolbox.com
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John Peachey talks with The Rev. Dr. William H. Willimon and discusses "Why leaders are a pain - telling the truth in the parish". The true role of Pastors the church has forgotten about.
https://divinity.duke.edu/faculty/william-willimon
https://willwillimon.com
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Joined with author and Pastor Howard Webb about his organisation "Love your neighbour". We need a new model of church in 2022.
What would you like the church to look like and feel like so that you can feel at home inviting friends, family, and other communities inside?
Is partying part of your church culture and who are you inviting to the feast?
Michael Rhodes is an Old Testament Theologian at Carey Baptist College who lives among poorer communities he has a deep passion for what God has encouraged us to do for the poor and that includes feasting!
As a Christian is the Jewish culture relevant to you? Are the practices a part of your Christianity? What is the relevance for you of Jewish culture, festivals and understanding in modern Christian theology and practice? John talks with Michael Thomas, who's been involved in Messianic ministry for nearly 20 yrs. https://celebratemessiah.co.nz/.../michael-teresa-thomas/
Why do so many church leaders fall from grace? Why is spiritual abuse becoming a far too common conversation? How do we keep our leaders and our congregations safe?
How are we treating the treaty when it comes to matters of faith?
John Peachey talked with author of Bible and Treaty Keith Newman.
Listen to the interview here!
Where do you feel like your real spiritual growth comes from? In a small group, sitting in the congregation, with a mentor who is personally discipling you, or in your own private space alone?
What really is the role of the church in 2022? We all know it's about spirituality, right? Well, maybe yes, maybe no...
This Sunday evening on The Talk Sessions, we ask a single question. What do you really want from church? It could be a controversial question. It might be an easy question to answer.
What does God say about who we are in all our mess and confusion? Compassion in Medicine and Compassion Fatigue- who loves the lovers of people? Who cares for the carers?
This Sunday we are discussing the long tradition of a famous NZ School who has produced some of NZ finest athletes and is steeped in Methodist tradition of service.
How is the school managing to hold to its tradition in 2022 and how has the transition to coed education affected that tradition?
Are Christian values set still applicable for today's youth?
How do you maintain values in world that is pressing down on you at every corner?
Join John Peachey from 7-9pm this Sunday evening on The Talk Sessions as we discuss Christian values in today's youth
Do we really believe the church is being persecuted? All this and more in this week's Talk Session!
We talked about debt and how easy it is to fall into it. We started by talking with Christians Against Poverty CEO Sam Garaway about strategies to combat the debt trap.
Is it fair for an employer to expect staff to have a vaccination? We chatted with employment lawyer Alistair Espie from Duncan Cotterill who set us straight with the legalities and the conversation went from there.
We talked about change. It's the only thing that is constant in our lives so how comfortable are you with it? We asked what is the biggest life change you've experienced recently and how did you get through it? Do you think a lot of change is healthy or unhealthy for a person? We spoke with speaker, author and mentor Tanya Unkovich.
This week we took a deep dive into the intriguing world of conspiracy theories. They've been around since the beginning of time, why are they so alluring despite a raft of factual information from many credible sources, why is it that so many Christians are susceptible? At the moment it seems like there's a conspiracy around every corner with Q-Anon to 5G towers, vaccinations to the One World Government. How do you identify a conspiracy theory? What information can we trust from the media? We're chatted with Sheridan Voysey a writer, speaker and broadcaster who has does extensive research on this and then heard all sorts of different opinions from callers.
We talked about Dads and how their role has changed over the years. We started by chatting with Clint aka Randall from The Edge who has two littlies with his thoughts on being a Dad along with his struggles and highlights. There were some great thoughts on the importance of Dads place in the family and lovely reflections on childhoods.
We talked about success and what is it? How do we define success? How has this changed over time?
Is there a Christian definition of success?
We chatted with businessman Murray Thom who left school at 15 with no qualifications. By the age of 23 he was Managing Director of CBS Records New Zealand, the youngest Managing Director of that group in the world. He's responsible for the Great New Zealand Songbook, The Great Australian Songbook also The Great New Zealand Cookbook, The Offerings and so many other initiatives.
We take it for granted that church consists of the usual components, worship, sermon, prayer, cuppa tea.
But why and where did this become the norm? And is the sermon a necessary part of it? There were all sorts of thoughts and opinions, have a listen.
We had an open mic night but the topic quickly moved to tattoos and whether they're good or bad. All sorts of different opinions came through.
Friendships are on the decline in some parts of the world with busyness and mobility cited as reasons. In America people reported having less close friends than in previous years, with roughly half citing three or fewer. We asked listeners whether friendships changed over the years and do you agree that it's harder to maintain friendships?
The Government recently published a discussion paper on criminalising hate speech. We asked whether it needs further legislating and how do you find the balance between freedom of speech and protection.
We chatted with the Hon Kris Faafoi who explained the intention behind it and also lawyer Liam Hare who has concerns with it.
The possibility of alien life has captivated the human imagination for decades, recently astronomers identified planets where aliens could be looking at us here on earth. On the Talk Sessions we asked are we alone in the universe?
We started talking about the America's Cup - do you think the Government and Akld council made the right call capping their offer at $99 mil? We then tacked to the topic of electric vehicles? The Government announced its Clean Car Package trying to incentivise New Zealanders to go electric by offering discounts for both new and used EV's - while imposing a fee on newly imported, higher-emitting vehicles from January 2022. We chatted with marketing professor Bodo Lang from Akld University about the AmCup and Simon Douglas National Manager Policy & Research at AA about EV's touching on whether there are other options and the environmental impact of the batteries.
With Queens birthday holiday just gone we’re asking is it time to breakaway from the Monarchy?
Do NZer's want it, are we ready for change? Is there a desire for NZ to become a republic? And of course what does this mean for the Treaty?
We started by talking with a constitutional law expert Graeme Edgeler.
We talked about Life-Changing moments. That moment when one small action has changed your life for the better, one small off the cuff decision that you thought nothing of, impacted your life forever for good.
We started by talking with Dr Deborah Bower from Soul Care talking about the importance of taking action and the barriers that hold us back.
We talked about evangelism and had evangelist Daz Chettle in studio for the whole night. He has so many inspiring stories and loves to share his faith.
The conflict between Israel and Palestinian groups has been escalating over the past week. We looked at why it has happened, who is involved and how it compares to previous flash points in the history of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, we also look at the churches response to the conflict. We started by chatting with Matt Perry from FEBC (Far East Broadcasting Company) who's spent years living in the area, he's also studied missiology and anthropology, has a Masters Degree in Theology and Intercultural Studies and very interested in the Arab world.
We talked about being lost and found again. There were lots of prodigal son stories and encouraging testimonies of how others came to their faith.
It was Open Mic night. We talked about all sorts of things from housing to icecream, God's will, social media, news consumption, maths in school, selling the All Blacks and sugar - wow! Quite a list.
We talked about burnout - emotional, physical, and mental exhaustion caused by prolonged stress.
The line between work and home has become blurry with technology enabling us to connect out of hours, but it's become even more blurry over the past 12 months with lockdowns meaning more people working from home.
Do you find it hard to separate yourself from work? Are you working more than you should? Have you ever suffered burnout?
We started by chatting with lead pastor of Windsor Park Baptist who had some great thoughts around the topic.
We talked about money specifically the tension between wealth and greed.
As a christian how do you find the line between accumulating wealth and getting to the point where enough is enough. We chatted with Pastor of Life Church Paul DeJong and also author of God, Money and Me.
We talked about the churches attitude towards alcohol. 20yrs ago you would never hear a pastor admitting to drinking wine! Now it's not uncommon for church groups to meet over a beer at a pub, is this a good or bad thing how does this factor into the Bible telling us to not cause a brother to tumble etc We chatted with church historian Prof Peter Lineham from Massey University about this and then opened up the phones.
We talked about bouncing back from a setback, or what we might consider a failure.
We've all had our moments, whether it's a failure of epic proportions or something not so dramatic asked how did you deal with it?
They say failure is the greatest teacher, so what did you learn and what would you say to others?
We've all been there, you're having a nice conversation with a friend or family member and then you hit on a subject that you disagree on.....awkward!
How do you work your way around the topic and still retain the good relationship?
How do you agree to disagree and move on?
Why do we feel so offended when someone doesn't share the same viewpoint?
We started by talking with Tim Wilson the executive director of Maxim Institute about the art of debate.
We talked about Martial Arts as a form of exercise and defence and asked "as someone of faith is it ok to take up Judo, Kung fu, Karate, Muay Thai et al given that a lot of these have their roots in different religions, Hinduism, Budism.
In this day and age in NZ are these practises spiritually neutral or as Christians should we be steering clear? Where's the line?
We started by chatting with a theologian, Dr Christa McKirland from Carey Baptist and had a variety of opinions after that.
We talked about the Pfizer vaccine that is now being rolled out in NZ and asked whether you'll be getting it. We started by talking to Prof Chris Bullen from Auckland University from the School of Population Health and then heard from a variety of people with differing views.
The topic was the choice of listeners this week. We covered a diverse range of topics from climate change to alcohol addiction, farming practices, the appropriate age to go flatting, volunteering, 12 step programmes and a couple of theological questions thrown in as well.
We talked about counselling and asked is it really helping us? Do we just need a friend to talk too? Have you had counselling and did you find it helpful? How do you spot a good counsellor from a bad one? We started by talking with Aaron Ironside a counsellor who had great stuff to say.
What rules or guidelines have you found helpful – or unhelpful when it comes to dating? Do we make it too complicated as Christians?
Have you used online dating sites? What is the goal of dating? We started by talking with Belinda Stott who has been counselling young adults for about 12 yrs, she runs marriage retreats along with her husband, she's an author and they both run Soul Tour. She had some excellent advice and we heard from all sorts of people with different experiences.
It's exam time so we asked are exams the best way to measure a young person's intellect and capabilities? Is there a better way of gauging a person's skill level? Does our education system need an overhaul? We had a great convo with loads of differing opinions.
Bullies are everywhere and learning how to deal with them is something we need to come to terms with. We talked about emotional resilience and started the night by talking with motivational youth speaker Jonny Shannon. we had great calls from listeners who used to be bullies and those that have had to deal with being bullied. There's some great advice in here.
We talked about the upcoming American election specifically Donald Trump. He has been one of the most controversial presidents in US history, and he may well be re-elected. Love him or loathe him he really is a polarizing figure. We heard from listeners their thoughts on Donald Trump. We started the night by talking with ex-TVNZ journalist and US correspondent Tim Wilson.
Labour had a massive victory winning 64 seats in the election which marked an historic first. 2020 will go down as the first New Zealand election under MMP where a single party has more than half of all the seats in Parliament. We opened the phone lines and heard from people with all sorts of views. We started by talking with commentator Liam Hehir with his thoughts.
The school holidays have wrapped up which got us thinking about who's at home looking after the kids? We talked about roles within the house.
We tend to think we're progressive as a society challenging the stereotypical gender roles. Men are at home with the kids as much as women are. But are they really?
We asked how do things work in your house?
In light of the recent presidential debates and our own leaders' debates do we now care more about entertainment than we do about substance and details? Luke and Andrew talked about engagement and are we actually engaged as a society? How do people absorb political information now?
Mental Health is a topic we're all a lot more comfortable with now. We talked with various people with their different stories and started the night chatting with Mick Andrews who hosts 'Are You Mental' podcast and we also talked with communicator and musician Strahan with his thoughts on how Christianity intersects with mental health.
On the Talk Sessions we talked marriage proposal stories and heard everything from a man proposing in a letter to his penpal on the other side of the world without ever meeting, to the proposal lasered into snow in Lake Tekapo NZ. So many amazing different stories. Have a listen, warning - it might make you feel all gooey.
We talked about the prevalence of fake news, a phrase we've only really heard recently with the prevalence of social media and the ease which stories can be shared. So in this age of social media how do you work out what's real and what's fake? Where do you go to get your news from and how do you know it's reliable? Are you someone that fact-checks a social media post before you repost, do you think it's your responsibility to do that?
We chatted with CEO of Netsafe Martin Cocker about their role and got some tips on how to distinguish what's real and what isn't and heard from a variety of people with different thoughts around news.
Dad's play an important role in society but what happens when he's not there?
We talked with listeners who had great dads and also those that didn't have a Dad in their life and the hole that it left.
We started by talking with Leanne Ryburn the Development Manager for Pillars, a great organisation that works with children who have a parent in prison.
New rules have come in requiring passengers on public transport to use a face covering or a mask, what's not so clear is the expectation around mask-wearing in other public places. It's up to the individual to make the decision.
We asked whether wearing a mask should be mandatory? We heard from loads of callers all with very different views on both sides of the argument. We started by talking with ethicist from Massey University Dr Elspith Tilley.
Voting is a privilege right? We asked if you're going to vote this year and had a bunch of interesting calls come in. We also chatted with political commentator Brigitte Morten and the editor of The Civilian Ben Uffindell.
Us Kiwi's are known for being able to do anything with a piece of number 8 wire! We talked about innovation and inventions, esp the Kiwi way.
Dr Keith Alexander came up with the Springfree tramp so we chatted with hime first about the process of developing an idea and then we talked with Clint Randell who hosted the TV show Let's Get Inventin' the show where kids could get their amazing ideas created.
We heard from Gailene who had ideas on utilising methane gas and using the energy from moving cars, Chris who loves to draw and an app for mental health.
We talked about toxic workplaces sparked by the allegations against Ellen DeGeneres who has been accused of having a toxic work environment by Hollywood stars and employees.
We're started by talking with corporate anthropologist Michael Henderson from Cultures At Work he has 35 yrs experience transforming over 300 workplace cultures and had some great calls after that.
New Zealanders are generally known as friendly, hardworking and laid back. But we also have a bad habit of criticising one another. It ranges from good-natured ribbing to nastiness on social media and everything in between. We tend to pull others down when we perceive them to be above their station, known as Tall Poppy Syndrome.
We chatted with TV presenter and broadcaster Petra Bagust with her thoughts and also Jay Geldard from E Tu Tangata about their work with young people.
It was open mic on the Talk Sessions with anything goes as the topic. We talked about tenants and landlords but the hot topic was the COVID 19 quanrantine hotel escapees.
We talked about weddings and marriage, and we also played matchmaker with a couple of listeners - can't wait to see what happens!
During the night we asked what would be your piece of advice for someone thinking about organising a wedding? Did you love your wedding, if you could do it all over again would you change anything? Are professional photos money well spent?
There can be a fine line between have a laugh and causing offence, it seems that these days it's very easy to cause offence, so are we in danger of becoming too serious.
We started by talking with Dr Joe Guse a former comedian in Chicago and now a psychologist in NZ with his thoughts on humour and finding the line.
We also talked with the Content Director of Life FM and Rhema Luke Weston with his thoughts on navigating through political correctness and comedy...... you can imagine that managing a Christian radio station means he's having to work that out regularly, so what does he weigh up when it comes to humour in-air?
In the upcoming election in September there will be a non-binding referendum on the 'Cannabis Legalisation and Control' bill.
The bills purpose is to reduce cannabis-related harm to individuals, families and communities. It's not about medicinal cannabis which came into effect in April this year, but about recreational use.
We wanted to hear from bothe sides of the debate starting with Ross Bell the executive director from the Drug Foundation and then Aaron Ironside the spokesperson for Say Nope to Dope.
We talked about protesting on the Talk Sessions. The Black Lives Matter protests have garnered attention around the world and NZ. So, we asked what would compel you to protest? What does a good protest look like? Have you ever protested and do you feel it was worthwhile? Do you believe that protests lead to change? We started by talking with well-known poltical activist John Minto about his experiences.
On the Talk Sessions we talked about diversity and how important is it really?
This was after Todd Muller facing criticism for the lack of diversity on the front bench.
We asked how important is diversity on a board, within management, in church leadership?
If you were in charge would you be looking for the most qualified person for the job or would you be looking for diversity in terms of gender, race, age, religion at the expense of job experience?
What does diversity bring? Are you someone in a management position that is diverse, have you faced any criticism, defiance or worse? Are you someone that wants to go further up the ladder but feels they don't fit the mold?
Off the back of two polls that came out recently we chatted about the upcoming election and asked listeners what their prediction is. We started by talking a Brigette Morton a political commentator with her thoughts.
It feels like the country has sprung back into life with more cars on the road, people out and about, queues at K-mart and school starting.
What expectations did you have of yourself going into the lockdown? What surprised you about yourself? Now that we're nearly out the other side what wisdom have you picked up? What would you tell yourself 6 weeks ago?
Did you learn a new language, get fit, write a book or lie on the courch and watch netflix....no judgement, we're all different and experienced something pretty unique.
We started by talking with Shaun Robinson the CEO of the Mental Health Foundation.
We celebrated Mums by giving away chocolates and hearing some great stories from listeners. We also chatted with singer/songwriter Julia Grace who had us in fits of laughter with stories of her Mum.
On the Talk Sessions we talked about social media, how it has changed and evolved over time, how its use has developed during this lockdown period, influencers and their role, the Dr Ashley Bloomfield and Sousxie Wiles phenomenon and the future of social media.
We started by talking with Aki Ang from @thesleekavenue about her journey to becoming an influencer and where that has led her. We also chatted with social media commentator Dr Gavin Ellis with his thoughts as well.
We commemorated ANZAC day recently and we want to keep the memories alive. On the Talk Sessions we asked for your family war stories.
We asked what have your parents or Grandparents told you about their experience of war. We also asked if you would sign up if our country faced a threat?
We started the night by talking with BJ Clark the National President of the RSA.
On the Talk Sessions we talked about the time we first decided to say Yes to Jesus. It's Easter Sunday the biggest day on the Christian calendar, it's the day Jesus rose giving us eternal life, a new beginning.
We chatted with a few well known New Zealanders with their story, starting with Petra Bagust, Murray Thom, Clint Randall, Tim Wilson and Sophie Gray.
Four days into a four week lockdown.....we asked how is everyone going? Let's share ideas of things we can do. We started by chatting with Rosie Devery who is the school of worship leading-coordinator for Pathways College in Tauranga and we asked about worship, specifically what is it?
A special show remembering the mosque terror attacks a year on. Nerida, Andrew and Luke chatted with Mayor Liane Dalziel, Executive Pastor Sarah-Jane Peez and Bishop Peter Carroll. We also talked about the effects of COVID-19.
This week we talked about charitable giving. What are the factors that motivate you to give your hard-earned money to an organisation? We started by chatting with Sue McCabe the Chief Exec of Philanthropy NZ and then heard from some great callers.
Is Freedom of Speech under threat? What implications does that have for the christian community? This is in light of the Hannah Tamaki and the DWS drama, and also after a professor of philosophy who is coming to NZ in June. He was going to be presenting at SkyCity but they've just pulled the plug on hosting him after there were strong objections to his views this all raises a conversation about what's ok to say and what's not.
Open-line talk, we went with whatever listeners wanted to talk about. We chatted about everything from the demise of Holden in NZ to how to make the right decision, sex education, drinking alcohol, climate change and marjiuana phew! We talk about a lot of different topics, so take your pick.
We started by chatting with Souxsie Wiles, microbiologist from Auckland University and had some great calls. Hear what it's like to be in lockdown in China, a missionary who's just come back from China and from a logging business owner in NZ, plus many more calls.
Waitangi Day in the past has often been full of tension, so much so that a lot of us perhaps tuned out.
But has the tide has turned? It was said that this is "the Waitangi Day the Nation has been waiting for".
We talked with Luke Weston one of the hosts of Shine TV about the general feeling at the Waitangi grounds and chatted with listeners about their feelings towards the day.
We started by chatting with Hannah Tamaki from Vision NZ and the Hon Alfred Ngaro from The National party about their aspirations and thoughts on Christians in politics and then heard from some great callers.
We talked Christmas memories and all sorts of other Christmassey things. We also chatted with Aimee Mai from CAP about managing finances.
After the eruption of Whakaari/White Island and 16 people that have lost their lives it got us thinking about grief and loss. It's a normal part of life, but that doesn't mean it's easy.
We asked about experiences of going through seasons of grief and what was helpful at the time. We started by talking with grief counsellor Val Leveson from the Grief Centre.
The measles outbreak in Samoa is heart-breaking with 65 deaths to date, and our hearts go out to those affected.
It got us thinking about whether the Government should make vaccinations compulsory. On the Talk Sesssions we heard from many listeners with different opinions.
Thanksgiving Day was Thursday, an American holiday but what's not to love about it? We talked about the year past and what we're grateful/thankful for even amongst difficult circumstances.
Millennial, generation Z, baby boomers, nowadays every generation has a defining label, and a set of stereotypical attributes attached. Millennials are often arguably regarded as 'snowflakes'. We asked if that was justified? Andrew and Nerida chatted about the defining moments that make a generation and asked what are the best things about each one.
We talked about equality and what exactly it is. We asked how do we embrace the differences that both genders bring in a workplace?
Are women in leadership/management treated with the same respect and have the same opportunities?
Should there be quotas to equalise a workforce or should men/women be employed on their own merit?
We started by talking with Jane Kennelly from Frog Recruitment about the job market, then chatted about whether a degree is still the best way to go.
Should places at universities be restricted according to the availability of jobs?
The monetization of a higher education, is it ethical?
Do you feel your degree prepared you for your job?
Vocational degrees vs Classics (literature, languages, art, history, science, technology, religion, and philosophy)
One-in-three university students don’t complete their degrees, was that you? What are you doing now?
What advice would you give to someone wanting to get into your line of work?
Kanye West is one of the most influential rappers of the last two decades. He has just released his ninth album, “Jesus Is King.”
Regardless of how we all interpret his newfound passion for God, his sudden change has captured our collective attention.
We had a great discussion with callers around this.
Prof Peter Lineham explains the origins of Halloween and we heard from listeners with all sorts of responses to the night.
Like it or not Social Media is here to stay. There’s some great things about it and not so great. We talked about them all, starting with Ekant Veer from Canterbury University.
We’ve all been there, prayed for healing and it doesn’t happen. Sometimes God heals and sometimes He doesn’t. Theology expert Myk Habet talks to Nerida Ashcroft and Luke Weston about God, Faith and Healing. We also hear some amazing first hand stories from radio listeners about their healing experiences.
David Seymour and Chris Penk had completely different views on assisted dying, and listeners chipped in with their thoughts and experiences on Euthanasia. Hosted by Nerida Ashcroft and Andrew Curtis
NZ is the 2nd worst in the developed world. Allan Halse, Expert on workplace bullying from CulturesafeNZ shares his thoughts and listeners call in with their experiences.