Kiwi Yarns

Have you ever thought about quitting your secure day job to become your own boss? This week, I yarn with Allie Hemmings, the former primary school teacher who did exactly that. Allie created ButterLuxe Co and won the 2025 New World Emerge startup award. After discovering her son had a nut allergy, Allie set out to create a delicious, nut-free alternative. Through plenty of kitchen trials and sheer determination, Oaty Butter was born. Allie shares her open and honest journey as a neurodivergent founder, explaining how her ability to hyperfocus helped her master the complex science of food technology and commercial manufacturing. She shares how she built a nut-free oaty spread for her son and what it takes to get onto supermarket shelves. This episode was brought to you by New World Emerge. New World Emerge is a national initiative, backed by Foodstuffs, to support new and emerging suppliers onto supermarket shelves. Find out more at newworld.co.nz/who-we-are/foodstuffs-emerge Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ash London is an Australian broadcaster who now calls New Zealand home, and works at The Edge Radio Station, on a show that is literally her name - that’s how good she is. Not only is she good, the talented broadcaster talks about why she sees it as her duty to protect the radio industry for future generations, making sure she helps the young women who will eventually replace her. How refreshing is that?! Ash talks about losing her dad at a young age, and why therapy has been a huge part of her life, learning to hold onto grief and joy at the same time. And, being daughter of an immigrant, Ash uses her platform to spread awareness and discuss injustices in the world. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What do you do when you're staring down a $700,000 mortgage and suddenly lose your job? For beloved broadcaster Brodie Kane, redundancy at the start of the pandemic was the push she needed to build her own media empire. We talk about the reality of being your own boss, redefining home ownership by buying with her mum, and why she still identifies as a girl from Waikuku Beach. This episode was made possible thanks to our friends at enable.me. Financial coaching and strategic advice. Pay down debt. Grow wealth. Retire well. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

From growing up in South Auckland to performing on the world’s biggest opera stages, Pene Pati shares a wonderful yarn of the long road (including all the speed bumps) that got him there. His is a story about resilience, family, identity, and the challenges he still faces before he walks out infront of an audience. He opens up about the pressure of the industry, the reality of rejection, and why he still sometimes feels like an outsider in the traditionally European opera world. Let's not forget the great joy he brings us with being one-third of our beloved Sol3 Mio! We talk the sacrifices that come with living overseas, and the big dreams he still carries. One day, he hopes the world’s biggest opera houses will be singing Māori and Samoan songs too. Tenor: My Name is Pati is out now in New Zealand cinemas. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The media landscape in Aotearoa is changing at breakneck speed and we’re all feeling the noise. Brodie sits down with The Spinoff’s Toby Manhire to talk about the reality of the newsroom today. From the closure of Newshub to the rise of AI, Toby shares why he’s still optimistic about journalism in an election year. Plus, he gives us his personal plan for avoiding total news burnout. Find out more about Toby's upcoming event, 'Breakfast with Papers' here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Hello there beautiful listeners! Brodie, Gracie and Tegan here with some exciting news to share and, we wanted you to be the first to hear it from us.This year, we're bringing you Let Her Finish. The podcast will appear right here, so nothing for you to do. We cannot wait to see you all in a couple of weeks xxx Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week we're joined by Olympic gold winning coach Bev Priestman for a deeply personal conversation. Bev opens up about the 'survival mode' she had to endure following the Canadian football team drone scandal at the Paris Olympics. We talk about finding peace in North Canterbury, the challenge of leading our Wellington Phoenix, and why she’s ready to earn back the trust of the game she loves. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What a year it’s been. A huge thank you to all our incredible guests for joining us and sharing their stories. The kōrero throughout 2025 has been raw, real, uplifting, entertaining and inspiring. In this bonus Best of episode, we revisit some of our favourite moments from the past year, featuring Samantha Hayes, Matt Watson, Tami Neilson, Eru Kapa-Kingi, Martin Guptill, Sara Qasem, Jo Kane, Russel Norman, Portia Woodman-Wickliffe and Paul Henry. We can’t wait for more outstanding yarns in 2026. Mā te wā. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices