A Very Tall Man

Gary reckons a good thriller gets better when it's set just down the road - and The Target ticks that box, with the Picton Ferry, Havelock and Wellington all getting a look in. Author Riley Chance joins him to chat about weaving real New Zealand history (like the 1984 Trades Hall bombing) and current societal issues - unions, surveillance, family violence - into page-turning fiction that quietly gets you thinking.

They get into Orwell, why Riley's ditched social media (turns out helping billionaires get richer wasn't much of a drawcard), and where AI fits for a writer who's very protective of his own creative process. Riley's clear on one thing though: read The Target as a cracking thriller first - if it makes you ask a few uncomfortable questions about NZ society along the way, even better.

Tune into A Very Tall Man from Midnight - 6:00am on the Rhema Media App.
For more from the show, visit the A Very Tall Man page at rhema.co.nz
Produced using AI tools under human supervision.
Support A Very Tall Man: https://donate.rhemamedia.co.nz/?utm_source=omnystudio&utm_medium=link
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Gary sits down around the piano in Belfast with a genuine gospel music legend: Bill Gaither. If you've ever hummed along to "He Touched Me" or "Because He Lives" without knowing who wrote them, well, now you do. Bill unpacks the stories behind his best-loved songs, from Larry Gatlin's "Greatly Blessed, Highly Favoured" to the accidental beginnings of the Homecoming videos, and explains why a good gospel song needs solid theology, poetry and heart in equal measure.

Along the way Bill talks candidly about the songs he wishes more people had heard, working (and gently competing) with wife Gloria's lyrics, and that time Donnie McGuire wrote a better melody than he did in 45 minutes flat. There's talk of loss, perspective, crossing cultures and denominations, and why "most of it's bad" but the good stuff survives — Steve Allen's line, not Gary's. A warm, funny, occasionally moving chat with one of gospel music's true elder statesmen.

Tune into A Very Tall Man from Midnight - 6:00am on the Rhema Media App.
For more from the show, visit the A Very Tall Man page at rhema.co.nz
Produced using AI tools under human supervision.
Support A Very Tall Man: https://donate.rhemamedia.co.nz/?utm_source=omnystudio&utm_medium=link
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Ever wondered if you're actually a leader, or just someone with a fancy title? Gary sits down with Kris Cooper, author of Elegant Leadership, to unpack what leadership really means - and why "elegant" isn't just a fashion word. They natter about humour, courage, forgiveness (yes, forgiveness), and whether Jacinda Ardern counts as an elegant leader (spoiler: it depends who you ask).

From leadership at home with the kids to knowing when it's time to gracefully exit stage left, Kris walks Gary through her A-to-Z of leadership traits - love, laughter, letting go, and a surprising amount of grace. Oh, and there's a poem about smiling that'll get you right in the feels. Stick around for Gary's final, deadly serious question: how do you actually know if you're meant to lead?

Tune into A Very Tall Man from Midnight - 6:00am on the Rhema Media App.
For more from the show, visit the A Very Tall Man page at rhema.co.nz
Produced using AI tools under human supervision.
Support A Very Tall Man: https://donate.rhemamedia.co.nz/?utm_source=omnystudio&utm_medium=link
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Ever wondered who actually brought MMP to New Zealand? Meet Hans Gruber - born in Germany near the end of WWII, lawyer, world traveller, and the bloke with a big hand in giving us the voting system we've got today. Gary sits down with him to unpack MMP versus first-past-the-post, and Hans doesn't hold back on democracy itself (spoiler: he reckons leaving big decisions to "unqualified" voters is a bit mad, and has a few things to say about China's meritocracy too).

The chat gets heavier from there - world wars, Ukraine, Gaza, and Hans's genuine fear of where global tensions are heading, plus his "dying wish" that New Zealand goes fully neutral and stays out of it all. It ends on a softer note, with Hans reflecting on 40 years in New Zealand, no regrets despite the rocky patches, and what it feels like to hear a national anthem that actually moves you to tears.

Tune into A Very Tall Man from Midnight - 6:00am on the Rhema Media App.
For more from the show, visit the A Very Tall Man page at rhema.co.nz
Produced using AI tools under human supervision.
Support A Very Tall Man: https://donate.rhemamedia.co.nz/?utm_source=omnystudio&utm_medium=link
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Remember when we weren't supposed to mention the jab at parties? Well, Gary's going there anyway with physicist Shaun Hendy, one of the scientists who helped steer New Zealand through COVID and copped plenty of hate mail for it. Shaun's written a book about the whole saga - the good calls, the mistakes (like not prioritising vaccines for Māori and Pacific people), and why he reckons misinformation is now scarier than the virus itself.

They get into why NZ actually did remarkably well by global standards, why H5N1 bird flu is the thing keeping scientists up at night, and Shaun's slightly unsettling conclusion: the next pandemic isn't an if, it's a when. Oh, and Gary discovers Shaun thanked his wife last in the book's acknowledgements - not the smoothest move, mate.

Tune into A Very Tall Man from Midnight - 6:00am on the Rhema Media App.
For more from the show, visit the A Very Tall Man page at rhema.co.nz
Produced using AI tools under human supervision.
Support A Very Tall Man: https://donate.rhemamedia.co.nz/?utm_source=omnystudio&utm_medium=link
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.