Real Life With John Cowan
John Cowan hosts ‘Real Life’, a weekly nationwide chat show on Newstalk ZB featuring a different high-profile guest every week. John talks with them about their life, their upbringing, their passions and their view of the world.
Episodes
Andy Robinson is the Acting Head of Fragile and Developing Contexts, International Partnerships for World Vision New Zealand
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Sam Gibson, better known as Sam the Trap Man, grew up beside the Hamanatua Stream in Tairāwhiti Gisborne. From an early age, the bush was where he truly belonged—hunting, fishing, trapping and living wild.
As a teenager starting to go off the rails, a unique deal betw...
Author, literary advocte and founder of Verb Wellington, joined John on Real Life this week. Claire Mabey won the NZSA Best First Book at the recent New Zealand Book Awards for Children and Young Adults earlier in 2025, and spoke to John from the Edinburgh International Book Festival.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Ian Foster is a New Zealand rugby coach and former fly-half born in Putāruru. He played a record 148 games for Waikato and 28 for the Chiefs, also appearing for the NZRFU President’s XV in 1995.
Foster began coaching with Waikato before joining the All Blacks as assistant coach in 2012, helping win the 2015 Rugby World Cup. He became head coach in 2020, leading New Zealand to multiple Bledisloe Cup, Freedom Cup, and Rugby Champi...
David Squire (MMus (Hons), PGDipMus, BMus, DipTchg) is one of New Zealand’s leading choral conductors and Music Director of the New Zealand Youth Choir. Under his direction, the choir has toured internationally to high acclaim, with standout performances at Notre-Dame in Paris, Walt Disney Concert Hall in LA, and major wins at the International Festiva...
Jared Savage is an investigative reporter for the New Zealand Herald and has won more than a dozen national and international journalism awards, including being named New Zealand’s best reporter twice. He lives in Tauranga with his wife and children.
He began rep...
Fraser Grut is the kiwi filmmaker behind the '10,000 Dreams' project, his plan to record and publish the aspirations of 10,000 individuals. The project started as a bet with a friend, and has now ballooned into a globe-trotting project. At age 27, Fraser was broke and going through a divorce when a call came from The Wiggles asking him to film a music video with them and Richie McCaw. That video led to the chance to make a document...
Nicola Toki is a New Zealand conservationist and Chief Executive of Forest & Bird since 2022. Born in Invercargill, she grew up exploring the South Island, moving often for her father’s work as a ski-plane pilot.
With a background in zoology, ecology, and natural histo...
Miriama Kamo is a Christchurch-born journalist, author, and TV presenter of Ngāi Tahu and Ngāti Mutunga descent. She’s spent over two decades telling powerful stories on Sunday and Marae, earning top awards for her work in current affairs.
She’s also a celeb...
Alan Thorp is the Group Chief Executive Officer of Habitat for Humanity New Zealand, a role he’s held since 2021. With a background as a Chartered Accountant and a Master’s in Theology from Regent College in Vancouver, Alan brings a unique mix of head and heart to his leadership. Since joining Habitat in 2007, he’s taken on key roles including CFO, COO...
Brian Kelly MNZM has been named a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit for his services to broadcasting. Raised in Whanganui, he began his career in 1970 with the New Zealand Broadcasting Corporation, selecting songs for national radio. He later moved into sports journalism and broadcasting, building a career that has spanned 55 years.
Read more
2025 Billy T Award winner Hoani Hotene (Ngāti Hauā) is a comedian from Petone, Lower Hutt. Bursting onto the Wellington comedy scene in 2020, Hoani quickly made a name for himself with his high-energy, alternative style.
He won Best Newcomer at the 2021 Wellington Comedy Awards, took out the 2022 Wellington Raw Quest final, and was crowned Funniest New Comedian of the Year after winning the Raw Comedy National Grand Final.
In 2024,...
Siân Simpson is an award-winning global businesswoman, community builder, and broadcaster. She is a sought-after public speaker and whose online content has received around 10 million views in the past year.
Sian is founder of Public Rally and Bountifull Media.
Public Rally is a community and content agency with globally focused clients i...
Andrew Little was born in New Plymouth in 1965 and attended New Plymouth Boys' High School. He started working young—his first job was digging trenches for a methanol plant as part of the “Think Big” project. He later worked in timber yards and security before heading to Victoria University of Wellington to study law, philosophy, and public policy.
At university, Andrew became active in student politics, campaigni...
Derek Lind has been writing songs and making music since the late 1970s, with seven albums to his name — including his latest, SOLO (2015). His songwriting has earned him two NZ Music Awards and a nomination for the APRA Silver Scroll, thanks to his honest, thoughtful lyrics that connect personal stories with bigger, universal themes. Critics...
Rachel’s debut novel, See How They Fall, will be published this year by Hachette in Australia and New Zealand and by Penzler Publishers in the United States. The screen rights have been optioned by a Hollywood production company, and Rachel is part of the 2024/2025 International Thriller Writers Debut Authors Program.
Read more
Buzz Moller is a New Zealand musician and actor, originally from Upper Hutt. He went to Upper Hutt High School, Rathkeale College and later studied at the University of Auckland. He met longtime collaborator Andrew “Mac” Macaskill, and the pair formed the beginnings of the band Voom after jamming at the Sweetwaters Festival in the early '80s. Since the...
Popular Podcasts
I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!
Gregg Rosenthal and a rotating crew of elite NFL Media co-hosts, including Patrick Claybon, Colleen Wolfe, Steve Wyche, Nick Shook and Jourdan Rodrigue of The Athletic get you caught up daily on all the NFL news and analysis you need to be smarter and funnier than your friends.
The official podcast of comedian Joe Rogan.
Football’s funniest family duo — Jason Kelce of the Philadelphia Eagles and Travis Kelce of the Kansas City Chiefs — team up to provide next-level access to life in the league as it unfolds. The two brothers and Super Bowl champions drop weekly insights about the weekly slate of games and share their INSIDE perspectives on trending NFL news and sports headlines. They also endlessly rag on each other as brothers do, chat the latest in pop culture and welcome some very popular and well-known friends to chat with them. Check out new episodes every Wednesday. Follow New Heights on the Wondery App, YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts. You can listen to new episodes early and ad-free, and get exclusive content on Wondery+. Join Wondery+ in the Wondery App, Apple Podcasts or Spotify. And join our new membership for a unique fan experience by going to the New Heights YouTube channel now!
Listen to 'The Bobby Bones Show' by downloading the daily full replay.