Portia Woodman-Wickliffe on RWC heartbreak, why the Black Ferns are so special, and what life after rugby might hold - from hairdressing to midwifery and babies
She never set out to be the greatest rugby player of all time - she was just a little girl who loved sport.
We’re lucky that girl was Portia Woodman-Wickliffe - a trailblazer for women’s rugby here in Aotearoa and across the world.
At 34, she’s the top try-scorer in New Zealand rugby history, but that’s never been her “why”.
We talk equality in sport, media coverage (or lack of it), and the future of the game - plus Barbies, babies, curly hair and midwifery.
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How Lisette Reymer became an accidental war correspondent
Award-winning journalist Lisette Reymer is Stuff’s senior correspondent and author of No, I Don’t Get Danger Money.
Lisette spent three years as Newshub’s Europe Correspondent - and it’s fair to say what she witnessed and covered during that time is almost hard to comprehend. Eight trips to Ukraine during the war, Donald Trump’s indictment, the October 7 attacks on Israel and the ensuing war in Gaza, the Queen’s death, the Tokyo Olympics - and that’s just the beginning.
A former Breakfast colleague of mine and a girl who grew up on a Waikato dairy farm, Lisette tells some incredible yarns!
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Teacher and writer Sara Qasem on being Palestinian and living with grief after losing her father in the March 15 terror attacks
Sara Qasem is a Palestinian teacher and writer who immigrated to Aotearoa at a young age and is now based in Ōtautahi.
In 2019, Sara lost her father, Abdelfattah, who was killed at the Al Noor Mosque by an Australian far-right terrorist who opened fire on two mosques in Christchurch - killing 51 people and injuring dozens more.
Through spoken word poetry, Sara advocates for and raises awareness of the Palestinian people.
Her story, words, and perspective are powerful, moving, and not to be missed.
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Veteran activist Tāme Iti on racism, te reo Māori, protesting, and how art saved his life
For more than five decades, Tāme Iti has been at the forefront of the pursuit of Māori rights in Aotearoa.
From being silenced from speaking te reo as a child, to finding strength in protest and tackling challenges head-on in remarkable ways, he has never stopped questioning the status quo.
Tāme is as well known and respected for his art as for his activism, and says the former saved his life and played a vital role in his healing.
This conversation, alongside reading his new memoir Mana, came at an especially meaningful time for me. I hope you enjoy this kōrero.
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Jon Bridges on the rising distrust in the media, being a middle-aged man in lycra, and the correct use of an apostrophe
I hope Jon Bridges takes this the right way when he reads it - he’s genuinely one of the good guys in New Zealand media.
With a television career spanning more than three decades, the comedian-turned-producer of some of the country’s biggest shows says it’s largely down to him saying “yes” to the jobs people ask him to do.
And who in the Gen-X/elder millennial age bracket could forget Bridges’ luscious locks on Ice TV in the late ’90s?
We talk about the dire state of the media and the public’s distrust, his passion for road cycling, fertility, and the proper use of apostrophes.
Welcome to Kiwi Yarns - those yarns you have where you sit down, put the kettle on, pour a whiskey or crack open a beer I honestly don‘t mind. Anyway! We‘re sitting down and we’re yarning to some great New Zealanders, their back stories, their front stories, even stories where they went sideways, we will go there. It’s a place where we celebrate the great people of this glorious nation.
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