Conversations With Wāhine

Following hot on the heels of her previous Live Harder single releases ‘Good Enough’ and ‘Twelve Feet Under’, latest stand-out track ‘Dizzying’ captures the emotional tension between both wanting and fearing love. A reflection of the courage it takes to open your heart when faced with the thrill of a new, exciting connection, while feeling paralysed by past relationships and unhealed wounds
“For me, ‘Dizzying’ is about being fearless and open to the thrill of experiencing love again, even though you’re still nursing raw, residual pain. It’s an emotional tug-of-war when you’re feeling swept up in something new, but still wary due to past lessons”, says Zoë.
A widely relatable track, ‘Dizzying’ masterfully pairs a vibrant, upbeat melody with sharp moments of introspective tension. Known for her lyrical honesty, raw vulnerability and emotive vocals, it’s through her music that Zoë cathartically explores themes of resilience, identity and growth.
Her soon to be released EP, Live Harder, produced by highly respected, multi-talented musician Danny McCrum, delves into her experience with trauma and the journey of rebuilding her life, which allows her to draw on a profound well of strength and survival to inform her lyricism.
Zoë is set to further build on the widespread radio and industry acclaim received to date from previous tracks which have already received international and local airplay on numerous radio stations, including a highly coveted debut interview with powerhouse broadcaster The Hits.
With a sound that leans into musicality, sophistication and creative substance setting her apart from predictable pop genre conventions, Zoë Vera is an exciting new presence on the New Zealand music scene, and has quickly become an artist to watch.
Wrap your ears around ‘Dizzying’ and 'Live Harder' now!

Aisling Waldron is a Senior policy Advisor at Family Violence and Sexual Violence Prevention Center and serves on the Governance Board of ECPAT Child Alert. She previously led Prevention and Education initiatives at the Department of Internal Affairs tackling online harms, including child sexual exploitation and terrorist and violent extremist material online. In 2025 she accepted a role as Global Director of Monitoring for Cybersmarties, an Irish based education social media platform. After failing to be paid for 6 months, Aisling resigned and is now one of the key whistleblowers against CyberSmarties Ltd and its founder Diarmuid Hudner, acting on behalf of a victim group spanning multiple countries. 

Shari Brewer is an Australian based content strategist with a background in education and digital business development. She has built and managed multiple online platforms across content marketing and e-learning, with a strong focus on supporting small business owners with their authentic voice in an AI-centric world. In 2024 she and a business partner invested their savings in an Australian Cybersmarties franchise to introduce the platform into Queensland schools. Things did not go to plan, and despite a signed contract guaranteeing the return of their deposit and countless empty promises to return the funds, she remains out of pocket more than 12 months later. 

Together Aisling and Shari are pressing the authorities to investigate the company and founder. They have secured a front page story in the NZ Herald as well as in the Irish Mail on Sunday formal investigation and accountability. They continue to work tirelessly to ensure that companies and systems set up to protect children are themselves held to account.

They are continuing to raise funds for their legal case in the Irish courts, which has the extra layer of challenges since Aisling and Shari don't live in Ireland. Every donation and share helps bring them one step closer to justice:
https://www.gofundme.com/f/justice-should-be-within-everyones-reach-fairness-matters

Content Warning: sexual themes, including rough sex and strangulation/choking. 
Award winning educator and researcher, Samantha's research interests are in gender-based violence and abuse, and she is an internationally recognised expert on pornography, ‘rough sex’ and sexual choking/strangulation. She is the author of 'Pornography, rough sex and gendered harm: Just sex on screen?'.

Bryn &Ku’s Singles Club returns for season 2 bringing with it, new relationships, big milestones, but with the same heartfelt friendship and comedy that got the first season of the docuseries nominated for Best Factual Series, and winner of Best Presenter: Entertainment at the NZ Screen Awards in 2025.
After a groundbreaking first season that captured the hearts and laughs of audiences across the nation, two of our best comedy talents; Billy T James award-winning comedians Brynley Stent and Kura Forrester, navigate the hilarious, and honest reality of life after their quest for love,facing the truth when you find it, and what happens after you do. Bryn & Ku’s Singles Club is created, hosted, produced and directed by a creative team of women, which includes Director and Co-Creator Sophie Dowson and Producer Jin Fellet alongside Stent and Forrester, premiering on July 7th, on The Spinoff and YouTube.
While last season focused on the unified single journey and the search for connection, the stakes have changed; season 2 finds Bryn and Ku navigating their different life stages, and once again, travelling across Aotearoa, exploring the evolving dynamics of love, community, and the relatable pressure of “happily ever after”.
Kura has traded the city for Muriwai with her partner Mark and is navigating the daunting, exciting journey of impending parenthood whilst still adapting to being in a serious adult relationship. Meanwhile, Bryn is facing her own crossroads; at 36, she’s at the start of a relationship with a younger partner and the looming expiry date of her UK visa. From freezing eggs to deciding where in the world she truly belongs, Bryn’s journey is a transparent look at the big life questions many Kiwi face.
Director and Co-Creator of the series Sophie Dowson, comments, “Bryn and Ku have an authentic comedic chemistry that is rare to find. After the incredible response to the first season, it’s been a joy to dive back into their lives. This season isn’t just a copy of the first; it’s an evolution and shows us the many pathways that life can take us. We’re capturing the honest reality of what it is to be in a relationship in Aotearoa today—a topic that is just as relatable, and perhaps even more complex, than being single.” 
While the series remains firmly rooted in comedy, it continues to shine a light on the human need for connection. Bryn and Ku aim to empower the show’s audience—whether single, partnered, or somewhere in between—by showing that the journey toward self-discovery never truly ends.
The series is produced by The Spinoff and is made with the support of NZ On Air.
Bryn & Ku’s Singles Club Season 2 will release all 6 episodes on Tuesday, July 7th, on The Spinoff website and YouTube, with weekly releases following on Instagram and Facebook.
 
Brynley Stent is an award-winning comedian and actor based in Tāmaki Makaurau, best known for her offbeat, absurdist character comedy. Since graduating from Toi Whakaari: NZ Drama School in 2013, she’s worked across theatre, TV, and live performance – collaborating with professional theatre companies, creating original work, and writing for some of New Zealand’s biggest comedy shows.
Her TV writing credits include Jono and Ben, Funny Girls, Golden Boy, The Vloggingtons, and My Favourite Dead Person. As a performer, she’s appeared in series like Creamerie, Funny Girls, Golden Boy, and played Kelly-Anne Johnson on Shortland Street.
Brynley’s also a familiar face in NZ comedy, with regular appearances on Taskmaster NZ, Celebrity Treasure Island, 7 Days, Have You Been Paying Attention NZ, and Guy Montgomery’s Guy Mont-Spelling Bee. Her solo shows at the NZ International Comedy Festival have been critically acclaimed, and in 2021, she won the Billy T Award for her show Soft Carnage.
 
Kura Forrester (Ngāti Porou) is a distinguished actress, comedian, and writer with over 20 years experience in Aotearoa and internationally.
In 2019, Kura won the prestigious Billy T Award for her stand up comedy show “Kura Shoulda Woulda”.  Her most recent hour, “Here if you Need” has aired as a special on TV3, and earned Kura a nomination for Best Newcomer at the 2025 Melbourne International Comedy Festival.
 
Kura has made significant contributions to stage and screen as an actor and improviser, with memorable appearances in New Zealand series, Shortland Street, Double Parked, Taskmaster NZ and Educators.
Kura also works as a theatre practitioner and has performed in multiple renowned shows throughout the country, most notably Camping Half of the Sky and Perplex.
Most recently, Kura wrote and presented the TVNZ series Appropriation Nation.

Harita and Haley interview Wellington filmmaker Isabel Corfiatis ahead of the Doc Edge Film Festival 2026 about her debut feature documentary "Music and the Mystical Experience", screening in Auckland from 24 June to 12 July and Wellington from 15 to 26 July.

The film follows musician and sound engineer Michael Sutherland and a collective of more than twenty New Zealand artists collaborating on a six hour musical work designed for use in psychedelic therapy. Filmed primarily in Wellington over three years, it explores creativity, healing, collaboration, and the role music can play in therapeutic settings.
 
This is Isabel’s first feature and first documentary, and she’s taken on an incredibly hands on role across directing, cinematography, editing, and co producing. The project originally began as a short before naturally growing into a feature as the team realised there was simply too much story, process, and conversation to contain in fifteen minutes.
 
The documentary was inspired after Michael completed the six hour composition and, through an APRA mentorship with Tiki Taane, was encouraged to document both the music and the wider creative process behind it. Isabel then came on board and helped shape it into a feature focused on collaboration, process, and the human stories behind the work.
 
She speaks really thoughtfully about making ambitious independent work with a tiny crew, Wellington’s creative community and why the city became such an important backdrop for the story, and approaching a topic that some people still see as controversial through a deeply human lens.
Screening dates:
Auckland: Takapuna Beachside Cinemas Sun 12 Jul 1:15 PM 

Wellington: The Roxy Cinema - Sat 18 Jul 5:45 PM (nearly sold out!)

Christchurch: Sat 1 Aug 8:15 PM - Jack Mann Theatre, Koawa Studios, Canterbury University 
It'll also be available on the Doc Edge website (Doc Edge) from 27th July-10th Aug.