Sunday Sanctuary with Petra Bagust

We don't need to do everything by ourselves. Especially when life gets hard, it is super important to let others in to carry the weight of things together. To guide us in how we might do that, Petra first talks to Irish author and documentary producer Kevin Toolis about his book My Father's Wake. As it turns out, the Irish grieving ritual is packed with moments where people gather around the bereaved. In the second half, we bring back a conversation with former producer Grace McArthur from our 2024 episode on confession. She lays out Brené Brown's wisdom around vulnerability, a key ingredient in sharing the load with others.
A list of bookstores selling Kevin Toolis' book can be found here
Sacred Texts:
Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom
The film Living, directed by Oliver Hermanus and starring Bill Nighy and Aimee Lou Wood
Music:
FTA by Whitney
Ocean City by Gunn-Truscinski Duo
The Weight by The Band
Innerspace by The Apples in Stereo
One by U2
Pray for Me by SAULT
Equipoise by Max Roach

In a world of contant busyness and rushing around, it can be really hard to wait. In this episode, producer Sam unpacks his own difficult relationship with waiting and lands on a few questions to help guide his patience. Later on, Petra talks with Nathan McLellan, the CEO of Venn Foundation, about the different scales of waiting and how the biggest, most existential kind of waiting can guide our everday need for patience.
Sacred Texts:
Oh The Places You'll Go by Dr Seuss
What it Means to Wait by John Dennison
Music:
Rock & Roll by The Velvet Underground
Caja de la Sala by Khruangbin
The Guitar is Dead 3 by Horsegirl
Ya Ya Breathe by Bruno Pernadas
It's Going to Take Some Time by Carole King
A Calf Born in Winter by Khruangbin
If Only I Could Wait by Bon Iver and Danielle Haim
Exchange by Massive Attack

What does it mean to be a caregiver? Where does the beauty hide, and how do we manage the difficulty? In this episode, Petra talks with her neighbour, Nick, and Andrea Page, the director of the Salvation Army's Epsom Lodge here in Auckland. Producer Sam also pays a visit to musician C. Zukey to ask about the story behind his 2024 album Stone Fruut.
The hope is that this episode helps caregivers to feel seen and encouraged, as well as building understanding of what it is like in those who aren't caregivers.
Music:
Space 7 by Nala Sinephro
Interlude by Julie Byrne
Statue of a Woman by Novo Amor
Who Knows Where the Time Goes? by Fairport Convention
New Grass by Talk Talk
Water Temple by C. Zukey
Ocean City by Gunn - Truscinski Duo

Petra's full conversation with Pádraig Ó Tuama, from the episode Peace within Chaos.

When everything feels a bit much, how do we find peace within the chaos? In this episode of Sunday Sanctuary, Petra Bagust finally gets a chance to talk with Irish poet Pádraig Ó Tuama about how his history of mediation and writing poetry informs how he looks for peace. Second up is Christchurch-based counsellor Charlotte Cummings. Both Pádraig and Charlotte bring thoughtful, if very different, perspectives on looking for peace within chaos.
Charlotte's podcast, Feel Better, can be found here
Read more of Pádraig's poetry here
Sacred texts:
Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom
Lessons on Living by Nigel Latta
Practices for Embodied Living by Dr Hillary McBride
Music:
You are the Gold by Terrible Sons
By the Sleepy Lagoon by Eric Coates
East Cape by Headland
The News by Paramore
Walk Alone to Hear Thoughts of Your Own by Laura Misch
Spirit 2.0 by Sampha
Peace Piece by the Bill Evans Trio
Niueans of Ariki Street - Ariki Street - 04 by Hanisi Garue