About this episode

Whaia discusses the responsibility of representing water and her role as a Māori vocalist and cultural producer.

Who has the right to speak on behalf of water? Who carries that responsibility? Drawing on her lineage of wayfinders and traditional music makers, Whaia regularly takes the stage of international political gatherings – like the United Nations Climate Summit – to invoke the voice of water. She is a Māori vocalist, surfer, multi-instrumentalist, and cultural producer whose work moves between the sacred and the political, the intimate and the global. Born on the East Coast of Aotearo...

People in this episode

Hosts: Lauren L. Hill, Dave Rastovich

Guest: Whaia

Topics covered

• water rights
• Māori culture
• climate change
• political activism
• music

Keywords

• water
• Māori
• climate summit
• wayfinding
• surfing
• politics
• music

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: United Nations

Places: Aotearoa

More episodes of Waterpeople

• Shaun Tomson: Age of Acceleration · September 10, 2026 · 1h 35m
• Laura Crane: Befriending Fear · August 27, 2026 · 1h 9m
• Jon Swift: Making Friends with the Cosmos · July 29, 2026 · 1h 28m

Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the Waterpeople podcast page.