Originally started by Peter Furler and George Perdikis in 1985, Newsboys are such an enduring mainstay of Christian rock that the band is still going strong absent any of the original members. Over that 40 year career, their sound has changed so drastically that if you say that you either love or hate Newsboys, the only logical response is "which Newsboys?" In addition, if you are a Kiwi or Aussie of approximately my vintage, you probably know their song "Take Me To Your Leader" which was a brief crossover hit here, and will earworm you for weeks if you go and look it up.

For my first new episode of 2026, I'm joined by the illustrious Josh Boerman from Worst Of All Possible Worlds and Ill Conceived, who grew up in the evangelical world that spawned and nurtured this strange (and now kind of evil) band so that he can explain The Phenomenon.

Produced by Manawatū People's Radio with the support of New Zealand On Air.