Ask Me Anything with Paula Bennett

John Aiken is used to giving advice on Married at First Sight. But when he needed help with his own parenting, he turned to Nigel Latta.
Returning to Ask Me Anything, John joins Paula Bennett to discuss bringing Nigel’s work to the screen in Lessons on Living, coping with grief and the three principles at the heart of the series. They also explore MAFS bad behaviour, modern dating and Paula’s unusually named inner critic.
Hear more about:
• Why “speaking your truth” can cross into disrespect.
• Nigel Latta’s advice on control, resilience and leaning on your team.
• How Paula deals with the voice telling her she’s not good enough.
• The parenting lesson John still uses at home — and on MAFS.
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What makes Chris Hipkins tick away from the political spotlight?
In the first of two conversations with the major party leaders, Paula Bennett asks Hipkins about his Lower Hutt childhood, his student protest days and the unexpected conversation that put him on the path to becoming prime minister.
He also opens up about fatherhood, protecting his children’s privacy, his unplanned election-night relationship announcement and why sausage rolls are off the campaign menu.
Then Hipkins turns the questions on Paula, prompting a candid admission about her biggest political regret.
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Brooke van Velden is preparing to leave Parliament after six years as an MP and three as a Cabinet minister.
At just 33, she could have had decades of political life ahead of her. Instead, van Velden says she wants to find out what else is out there — as she also prepares for another major change, becoming a mother.
She joins Paula Bennett for a candid conversation about growing up shy, finding her way into ACT almost by accident, life as a young woman in Parliament, the compromises that come with Cabinet, why she has no doubts about stepping away, and what happens when being “Minister” simply becomes being Brooke again.
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Former NZSAS soldier Mark Law has lived the kind of life that barely sounds real. He completed SAS selection at just 18, survived a terrifying parachuting accident, worked armed security around diamond operations in Angola, hunted deer from helicopters and nearly died from a flesh-eating disease.
But he is best known for what happened on December 9, 2019. After Whakaari White Island erupted, Mark and his colleagues flew to the island and helped rescue 12 victims as authorities decided no official rescue mission would be sent.
On Ask Me Anything, Mark joins Paula Bennett to reflect on his remarkable life, what happened on Whakaari, the aftermath of the disaster and the lessons he has learnt about risk, resilience and staying calm under pressure.
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Award-winning journalist Charlotte Glennie joins Paula Bennett to reflect on a remarkable career that took her across Asia and into some of the world’s biggest stories.
She opens up about the eight-metre fall in Croatia that nearly killed her, the long recovery that followed, reporting on the aftermath of the Boxing Day tsunami, and why those experiences have stayed with her.
Charlotte also discusses the future of journalism, declining trust in the media, AI, and why she still believes deeply in the power of telling human stories.
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