Here Now

To wrap up the year, some of the conversations on the podcast that took us from Trinidad to Spain and Germany to Zimbabwe - some of our fave Here Now episodes from across the year.

Growing up, Ankur Bassi was certain he would one day play cricket for India, and he worked hard every day to get there. But a freak injury meant it would never happen. So, Ankur found a new dream - as a coach - and a new home, too, at Eastern Suburbs Cricket Club in Wellington, New Zealand.

The Dalmatian community in Auckland has embedded itself in Westie Culture, but it wasn’t always so. The Dallies as they call themselves have faced considerable discrimination, bias and resistance - Phil Vine with this episode.

A marathon in its second year brings Kiwis and Afghans together - former refugees, community members, and allies—who are crossing the finish line not just for themselves, but to keep a vital movement alive, celebrating Afghan culture one stride at a time.

Self-published children’s author and a keen student of the local Salsa Club, Argentina-born Adriana Litchfield joins Justine Murray to talk about her culture and creative outlets in a new community.

Today, in Darfur, we are seeing history tragically repeat itself as the RSF carries out atrocities across the region. From afar in NZ, families who once escaped the violence of 2003, share a sense of grief and hope over the current conflict in Sudan.

A Nelson makes cheese the way their family would - in Italy. Flavia and Flavio Spena made a career shift along to bring Italian tradition to the region and have successfully turned their artisan cheese brand into a local hit.

30 years ago a set of instruments from Bali were brought to University of Canterbury and formed the first Gamelan ensemble in Christchurch, under the guidance of Professor Elaine Dobson. Three decades on, after a short period of disuse the ensemble was reestablished in 2017 under Justin DeHart and celebrates a milestone this month.  The podcast features Prof Justin DeHart and I Made Kartawan who's visiting from Bali, where he is faculty at ISI - The Indonesian Institute of Arts. Gamelan is cultural taonga with spiritual roots in the Hindu, Buddhist and Muslim histories of the islands of Bali, Java and Sumatra. With its hypnotic and sometimes haunting sounds, the Gamelan makes for quite a remarkable sight - a set of percussive instruments intricately carved, sometimes painted bright red and gold, and struck with hammer-like mallets. Gamelan is more than just music or entertainment but a seen as a vehicle for spiritual connection and an integral part of rituals, worship and tradition.

Filmmaker Shamin Yazdani tackles a personal dilemma in her latest documentary - to freeze her eggs or not. She chats to Kadambari Raghukumar about the journey she went on as she explores the topic through conversation with some close ones.

A collective of former refugee women come together in Christchurch to share stories, kai and community.

As home-based early childcare picks up in popularity, Barnardos-employed mother and daughter duo Iman and Hanin Taqieh speak about how it helped change their lives as new mums. Making shifts in their careers to become homebased educators was a decision that gave them flexibility and purpose after their family moved here from Jordan. Hanin Taqieh is community coordinator with Barnardos where she leads the home-based portfolio supporting over 40 home-based educators in Auckland – including her own mum Iman, who's herself, been with Barnardos for twenty years as an educator. In this episode - what's the incentive, both for parents and educators?

Last week, New Zealand upped its ante by lowering the cap on Russian crude oil as part of its sanctions, while about 20,000 people rallied in Auckland calling for sanctions against Israel. In this episode, what's the sentiment on the ground when it comes to sanctions against Israel and Russia? Kadambari Raghukumar talks to Alex Kirichuk, Taimor Hazou, Katrina Mitchell Kouttab and Juliet Moses.

Breaking Bread this week features Kadambari Raghukumar in conversation with Agha Naqshbandi and his wife Wahida Niazi, who are mastering with pride, their Afghan skills of breadmaking in the South Island.

The humble pide, is a historic staple from Anatolia and at this bakery in West Auckland, Mustafa Suphy and Anil Ozbal sing praises of their Turkish traditions of baking while enjoying a fresh pide, washing it down with a Turkish coffee.

No Ethiopian meal is complete without this fermented staple accompaniment and in today’s podcast, Kadambari Raghukumar is breaking bread with her Ethiopian friends in West Auckland at Goju, with injera.