Here Now

Brain, brawn and technique comes together seamlessly in Kabaddi and Punjabi fans in New Zealand are more hyped than ever for what some call their 'origin sport'.

The beautiful game became an expression for solidarity through World of Cultures' Football Fest this month bringing players together from several diaspora communities in Auckland. Kadambari Raghukumar spoke to some about their memories of Gaza.

Indian classical music is alive and well in Auckland and Ruwani Perera gets to discover how the people behind Migrant Heritage Trust keep the tradition thriving in the diaspora.

Chef and food creative Sam Low talks about finding virtuosity and his life before and after winning Masterchef 2022.

Extolling the virtues of his home country in this episode, Jamaican Honorary Consul Dave Phillips talks about his love for his island in this episode.

Singers from across the world found common ground through their journeys, convening at WOMAD this month. Kadambari Raghukumar speaks to Lady Shaka and Pongo in this episode of Here Now.

Tarik Rahim grew up drawing from a rich pool of cultures and finding expression through surf and music. In this episode, Kadambari Raghukumar talks to him about calling NZ home, for a short while.

Artham Dance Company want to shake up both an ancient text and a revered dance tradition. The company founders tell Justin Gregory they are not afraid of a challenge.

The latest Outward Bound programme saw a whole cross-section of New Zealanders take part and this week we're featuring some of them on Here Now.

Earlier this month, Here Now went live in front of an audience at the Podfest at Q.  Producer and host Kadambari Raghukumar spoke to thespians Jacob Rajan and Pedro Ilgenfritz all about the magic of masks.

MIXIT in Tāmaki Makarau uses drama and dance to help young refugees gain confidence and in this Here Now episode, Phil Vine talks to former graduate Izadine Ahmed Abdallah about his story.

In this third part of the conversation around stereotypes, we're chatting about Mexico. Here Now is produced and presented by Kadambari Raghukumar.

In part two of a series around cultural stereotypes, Kadambari Raghukumar talks South America through the eyes Auckland-based Colombians.

Here Now's first episode for 2024 is all about creatives drawing from or away from cultural stereotypes. Join Kadambari Raghukumar as she talks about some Indian tropes around Mumbai and Delhi.

Djs Banty and Nadine talk to Kadambari Raghukumar in this latest Voices episode on bringing African music to the club scene in Auckland.

Breaking down the background to the idea of 'wokeness' are Ira Munn and Andreea Calude, in this episode of Voices.

Voices this week looks at some December events to look forward to from the south Asian and African diaspora in Auckland.

In this episode of Voices, producer Karthic SS talks to Siddharth Nambiar, a wildlife filmmaker based in Dunedin.

A fire gutted an Auckland sports club and took with it all the instruments of a Caribbean steelpan orchestra that also used the space. In this episode we chat to Camille Nakhid about what next for the 18-year-old cultural group?

New Zealand has one of the world's biggest export-driven wine industries -  that attraction is huge for people from overseas who arrive here exploring opportunities in the industry. In this episode we're talking to two wine professionals from India and France who now call New Zealand home.

In this episode we talk to members from Palestinian and Jewish communities in New Zealand about the attacks on Gaza by Israel.

Each year, a New Zealand social enterprise runs a space research incubator to help explore space-related technologies for climate change. Kadambari Raghukumar talks to the founders of Spacebase.

ACT Party wants to close demographic ministries like the Ministry for Ethnic Communities, and in this episode we're talking to community organizations who are concerned about this possibility and it's potential impact.

It takes a bit of grit to grow veges in the Christchurch winter, but a group of Fijian families are rising to the challenge via a University of Canterbury-led project.

Wellington woman Lalita Kasanji is on a mission to identify the pioneering Indian immigrants depicted in a collection of studio portraits taken on Cuba Street in the early 1900's.

Floods in India claimed hundreds of lives this monsoon season, but an Indian expat in New Zealand is hoping his new invention will help bring the toll down. Produced by William Ray.

Scientists are looking for ways to adapt salmon fisheries for climate change. In this episode we talk to UK-born Dr Jane Symonds about how to save the industry from mass fish die-offs. Produced by Kadambari Raghukumar

Using natural build techniques, a group of Takaka-based social entrepreneurs are excited about getting closer to the finish line of their cohousing project in development. Produced by Kadambari Raghukumar.

A group of South American migrants spoke out recently about allegedly misleading job contracts they signed with the Auckland construction company Buildhub as part of New Zealand's Accredited Employers Work Visa (AEWV) scheme. On Voices, Kadambari Gladding sits down for an exclusive interview with Buildhub's commercial administrator Ricardo Corona-Perez.

Supporting their families back home in Samoa is the main drive of a group of ten young men. Some of them feature in this episode of Voices, produced by Justine Murray.

After a three-year absence, the most powerful images from professional photojournalists across the globe are now showing in Auckland at the World Press Photo Exhibition. RNZ's Justin Gregory speaks to the exhibition’s curator Marika Cukrowski (who is visiting from Amsterdam) and one of the winning contestants, Egyptian photographer Mohamed Mahdy.

Timpanist Steven Logan chats with Voices about his love for classical music, growing up in the US and joining the APO seven years ago.

Sheila Nguyen talks to Kadambari Raghukumar about the focus on sustainability in this FIFA Women's World Cup.

Yoga - when does appreciation become appropriation? In this two-part series, Voices talk to New Zealand practitioners about the commodification of ancient Indian practice.

Yoga - when does appreciation become appropriation? In this two-part series, Voices talk to New Zealand practitioners about the commodification of ancient Indian practice.

Mexico and New Zealand first began bilateral relations in 1973. 50 years on, what does this connection mean to both the diaspora living here in New Zealand and the for Mexico?

Jess Karamjeet talks to Kadambari Raghukumar on finding comedy through her time in New Zealand.

Growing up in Germany, researcher Mirjam Schindler always had an interest in how green spaces shape the way people interact with each other and spaces around them. In this episode, she talks to Kadambari Raghukumar about the future of New Zealand's urban geography.

In the events in the early 1990s after the collapse of Yugoslavia Vukan Cavor's family to fled to Aotearoa. In this Voices episode we meet Vukan about keeping up his connection to his home country of Montenegro.

In Xinjiang, more than a million Uyghurs and Kazakhs have been arbitrarily held in "re-education" camps. In this episode of Voices, Kadambari Raghukumar speaks to people behind a new documentary based on testimony from family members of the detained and survivors of the camps.

In this episode, we look back at the historical ties between tangata whenua and Indian settlers in New Zealand, through NZOM Professor Edwina Pio's latest research.

In this episode, composer and vocalist Briar Prastiti talks about bridging her two worlds through her music - Greece and New Zealand.

In this episode, Labour's Ibrahim Omer talks to Kadambari Raghukumar on what the nomination to contest for Wellington Central means for him.

In this episode, as the conflict in Sudan is driving thousands of people to cross borders, diaspora in New Zealand are trying their level best to help family members reach safety.

In this episode of Voices, Kadambari Raghukumar talks to arts practitioners about the latest New Zealand on Air music fund to support pan-Asian artists and musicians in New Zealand.

Each year, hundreds of high school students compete in New Zealand's Race Unity Speech Awards. For many past winners, the awards have been a career springboard. In this episode of Voices, three past winners talk about how the awards help young Kiwis find their voices.

In this episode of Voices, Filmmaker Hweling Ow talks to Kadambari Raghukumar about her latest play "Not Woman Enough" directed by Sananda Chatterjee.

Nowroz Ali first spoke to Voices from Kabul in 2021, while he waited for one of the evacuation flights operated by New Zealand Defence Force. In this episode Kadambari Raghukumar catches up with him, a year and a half after he arrived in NZ.

The forgotten community of Banaba who were displaced from their homes to the Pacific island of Rabi in 1945, are seeking justice and restoration of their island. Banaba was all but destroyed by over 80 years of phosphate mining by British Phosphate Company (BPC) of which New Zealand was part of. Produced by Kadambari Raghukumar.

In this Voices episode, we're talking to volunteers coming together to help the Hawkes Bay's community back on its feet again after Cyclone Gabrielle.

Professor Bruce Glavovic talks to Kadambari Raghukumar in this episode about natural disasters and why not just a scientific, but a social science perspective is crucial if we are going to adapt and be prepared for more turbulent climate in the years to come.

In this episode, we hear about how a Massey University electronics engineer took his love for robotics to school students in Rotorua. Produced by Kadambari Raghukumar.

How do te reo Maori words find their way in to children's speech in New Zealand and what context do they signify? In a With a new Marsden research grant, two linguists plan to investigate this.

Gaia Dell'Arriccia left the south of France to research seabirds on Auckland's coastal islands.  When Kadambari Raghukumar visits, it's peak breeding season and the Italy-born scientist is busy gathering data about the birds' lives. In this episode of Voices, Gaia tells how life a long way from the Med has been going.