In this special one-off episode, James Beck travels to Tirohanga, a name meaning "place of vision," to sit down with Selwyn Yeoman. Selwyn is a retired Presbyterian minister, conservationist, and theologian whose life’s work has been reclaiming the biblical vision of human "dominion" not as a license to exploit, but as a high calling of responsibility and care. Walking through native regeneration projects, Selwyn shares stories from his childhood in Napier to his time ministering in rural Sou...
Feb 26
44 min
Season Four draws to a close in Makarora, surrounded by mountains, glaciers, and braided rivers — landscapes breathtaking in beauty yet marked by the realities of climate change and human impact. James, Waiora, and Andrew reflect on the Noah story one final time, reading the covenant passage of Genesis 8–9 against the backdrop of melting glaciers and disappearing habitats. What does it mean that God remembers, that he binds himself not only to humanity but to every living creature? What does ...
Aug 31, 2025
43 min
On the road through Central Otago, the team makes a series of unexpected stops — not just at lizard sanctuaries, but at cemeteries. James takes Waiora and Andrew on a tour of his own whakapapa in Naseby, Hamiltons, and St Bathans, telling stories of ancestors who left famine in Ireland, sought gold in Otago, and carried both hope and hardship into a new land. Standing among the headstones, they reflect on the Noah story once more — the grief of loss, the chaos of flood, and the small but prof...
Aug 30, 2025
49 min
We ended the last episode talking about hope — God’s refusal to give up on creation, and the possibility of sanctuaries that protect life. But hope is only real when it sits alongside grief, and in this episode the team wrestles with how to hold both. Back with Anna Yeoman at Mokomoko Dryland Sanctuary, James, Waiora, and Andrew explore Noah’s obedience, the audacity of building an ark, and what it means to nurture hope in a world unravelling. Anna shares her own story of falling in love with...
Aug 30, 2025
29 min
In Central Otago, James, Waiora, and Andrew meet Anna Yeoman, a writer and conservationist whose unexpected love for geckos and skinks grew into years of volunteering, research, and eventually a book. Together they visit Mokomoko Dryland Sanctuary near Alexandra, a predator-free haven where endangered lizards have a fighting chance at survival. Anna introduces them to some Otago skinks and then the team reflect on the story of Noah’s ark and God’s ongoing commitment to life and flourishing. E...
Aug 30, 2025
38 min
In this episode of Ngā Here, the team travels into the breathtaking Makarora Valley. Along the way, they reflect on stories of ancestral journeys, and the impacts of human land modification — from Foulden Maar to the Clyde Dam. James, Waiora, and Andrew then turn to the story of Noah in Genesis 6–9 and ask what it has to say about our world today. Together they wrestle with the uncomfortable parts of the text — God’s grief, human violence, and the flood — and explore what it means to desecrat...
Aug 30, 2025
57 min
We kick off Season Four of Ngā Here in Ōtepoti Dunedin – and our first stop takes us deep into the earth’s memory. James, Waiora, and Andrew sit down with Professor Daphne Lee, a geologist whose work with ancient fossil forests and sites like Foulden Maar has revealed extraordinary stories from millions of years ago. Together we explore deep time, wonder, and whakapapa – from fossilised leaves that tell the story of past climates, to the hope and responsibility we carry as stewards of creatio...
Aug 30, 2025
43 min
Before we launch into season four of Ngā Here, we’re pausing to reflect with this special episode. James sits down with Associate Professor John Stenhouse in his office at Ōtakou Whakaihu Waka - The University of Otago for a wide-ranging kōrero about science, settlers, and how those things are connected to colonisation in Aotearoa. From Darwin’s Origin of Species arriving just as the New Zealand Wars erupted, to the way “progress” became a powerful myth shaping land use and politics, John tra...
Aug 26, 2025
39 min
E aku nui, e aku rahi, e aku rau rangatira mā, tēnā rā tatou katoa, and welcome to the final episode of season three of Ngā Here. For the first couple of seasons of Ngā Here, we went to a secluded hut on Te Pataka o Rakaihautū - Banks Peninsular so that we could be surrounded by ngahere to talk about Ngā Here - the many connections and the many questions that so many of us have. Questions like what does the bible have to say about the state of our planet? How do we live faithfull...
Sep 10, 2024
24 min
E aku nui, e aku rahi, e aku rau rangatira mā, tēnā rā tatou katoa, and welcome to the sixth episode of season three of Ngā Here. For the first couple of seasons of Ngā Here, we went to a secluded hut on Te Pataka o Rakaihautū - Banks Peninsular so that we could be surrounded by ngahere to talk about Ngā Here - the many connections and the many questions that so many of us have. Questions like what does the bible have to say about the state of our planet? How do we live faithfull...
Sep 10, 2024
47 min
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