The Featherston Booktown Podcast

How does a nation confront the wrongs of the past? Can the weight of colonisation and its effects ever truly be measured? How do we create paths forward that allow people to flourish and ensure the crimes of the past are not repeated? Former Minister and Treaty Negotiator Paul Swain chaired a Trans-Tasman panel of experts to wrestle with these issues, featuring former MP and Treaty claims consultant Mahara Okeroa, Māori and government adviser Traci Houpapa, and celebrated Indigenous Australian academic Professor Barry Judd.This episode was recorded at the 2026 Featherston Booktown Karukatea Festival.https://www.booktown.org.nz/

As we find ourselves in the throes of an election year, in an increasingly crowded attention economy, at a time when the very notion of truth is constantly called into question, Aotearoa's media landscape is more crucial than ever. To parse that landscape, TVNZ's Māori Affairs Correspondent Te Aniwa Hurihanganui,  The Spinoff founder Duncan Greive and former Newshub anchor and NBR Te Ao Māori Editor Mike McRoberts joined journalist Michelle Duff for a conversation that was as revealing as it was electric.This episode was recorded at the 2026 Featherston Booktown Karukatea Festival.https://www.booktown.org.nz/

2017-2023 was one of the most momentous and unpredictable periods in our country's history - between Covid, the Christchurch terrorist attack, Jacindamania, He Puapua, the National Party's implosion, an unprecedented MMP victory, and more. How have those years shaped us? Moderated by Toby Manhire (The Spinoff), a panel comprising former National Party Minister Chris Finlayson, Former Speaker of the House Sir Trevor Mallard and political journalists Te Aniwa Hurihanganui (TVNZ) (Te Arawa, Rangitāne, Ngāti Porou) and Henry Cooke (Stuff) discussed how where we've been informs where we're going.This episode was recorded at the 2026 Featherston Booktown Karukatea Festival.https://www.booktown.org.nz/

Triplets, amusement parks, and controversial scientists are at the heart of two Aotearoa novels longlisted for the Ockham New Zealand Book Awards. Just one of these overlapping elements would have been an amazing coincidence, but all three is nothing short of astonishing. Mary McCallum talked to Catherine Chidgey and Tracy Farr about The Book of Guilt and Wonderland and attempted to unearth what feeds the fertile imaginations that dream up such wonders. Recorded at the 2026 Featherston Booktown Karukatea Festival. https://www.booktown.org.nz/

Visionary psychological coach Gilbert Enoka changed the way the All Blacks played. Having the highest winning record of any professional sports team in history is only possible because they leave nothing to chance. Their winning mindset and resilience are as important as their training, and Gilbert Enoka was their secret weapon. Bob Francis joined Gilbert on the couch to discuss his new book, Become Unstoppable, reflect on his unparalleled career, and distil his essential lessons so that we can all learn to win the All Blacks way.This episode was recorded at the 2026 Featherston Booktown Karukatea Festival.https://www.booktown.org.nz/

A small book called Imagining Decolonisation has been a notable bestseller in New Zealand. People want to know more about decolonisation and colonisation, but often don’t know where to start. Our expert panel came together for a fascinating kōrero on this topic: Papawai Marae Kaumātua Paora Ammunson (Ngāti Moe, Ngāti Kahungunu ki Wairarapa, Rangitāne, Te Arawa); writer and Te Tiriti o Waitangi policy advisor Tῑhema Baker (Raukawa te Au ki te Tonga, Ātiawa ki Whakarongotai, Ngāti ToaRangatira); writer, advocate and researcher Tina Ngata (Ngāti Porou); award-winning Irish author, playwright, journalist and farmer John Connell; and celebrated historian and author James Belich. John Campbell was the moderator.Recorded at the 2025 Featherston Booktown Karukatea Festival.https://www.booktown.org.nz/

One of New Zealand’s biggest constitutional issues is how state law and tikanga Māori intersect. Join tikanga expert and lawyer Te Raumawhitu Kupenga as he unpacks this with a distinguished panel: former High Court Judge, Māori Land Court Chief Judge and longtime Waitangi Tribunal Chair Tā Edward Taihakurei Durie; Māori rights champion, Treaty expert and lawyer Annette Sykes; Treaty and public law expert and barrister Natalie Coates; and lawyer, mana whenua and Papawai Marae chair Herewini Ammunson).Recorded at the 2025 Featherston Booktown Karukatea Festival.https://www.booktown.org.nz/

Vincent O’Malley writes that war in the Waikato between July 1863 and April 1864 ‘goes to the very core of who we are as a nation’. The crippling legacy was loss of life, economic and cultural deprivation, land confiscation and over 150 years of ignored hurt and anguish. This kōrero – featuring historians and academics Tom Roa (Waikato, Ngāti Maniapoto), Joanna Kidman (Ngāti Maniapoto, Ngāti Raukawa), James Belich, Vincent O’Malley and moderator Peter Biggs – shared perspectives on the Waikato War and the way its consequences continue today. The discussion was opened & closed by Paora Ammunson.Recorded at the 2025 Featherston Booktown Karukatea Festival.https://www.booktown.org.nz/

Norwegian author Lars Mytting’s book Norwegian Wood – the definitive woodcutter’s bible to preparing firewood – spread like wildfire around the world. No wonder, when our relationship with fire is ancient and universal and the age-old rituals around chopping and stacking wood continue to be a part of 21st-century life. Lars Mytting was in conversation with John Campbell.Recorded at the 2025 Featherston Booktown Karukatea Festival.Thanks to the Nordic Council of Ministers and Auckland Writers Festival Waituhi o Tāmaki.https://www.booktown.org.nz/

Today’s episode was recorded at a special event at The Royal Hotel in Featherston in November 2025, where journalist and author Ali Mau was in conversation with fellow journalist Melody Thomas. It was a fascinating discussion that was equal parts provocative, honest, and amusing. Ali’s memoir, No Words for This, is powerful, raw and beautifully written.Many thanks to our partners Hedley’s Books & Harper Collins Publishers.Please note that this episode contains depictions of abuse and sexual assault.https://www.booktown.org.nz/