The Department of Conversation with Pat Brittenden

David Hayward is a pastor turned artist painting, drawing, and thinking about what it takes to be free to be you. If you’re interested in deconstruction, spiritual journeying, freedom of thought, or looking for your authentic self, you’re welcome to join him while he searches too.

Pat has been sharing David's art, especially the art that challenges the church on their LGTB opinions, since Posie Parker came to NZ and was promptly sent packing.

Today we talk rights for vulnerable groups, was Jesus political and why the church seems to be so inwardly looking, other than when it's ready to tell someone off, which seems to be the opposite of what it was designed to be 2,000 years ago.

Raf is a multi-disciplinarian with a background in finance, governance, strategy, policy and risk.

Raf has worked in banking, finance, governance, strategy, and policy and risk. He’s worked for start-ups, not-for-profits, and government, bringing a variety of perspectives to his role as the leader of The Opportunities Party (TOP).

Raf spent two terms as a Christchurch City Councillor from 2013 to 2019. Since leaving Council, he has worked with the Human Rights Commission and the NZ Police Assurance and Risk committee.

Raf has a degree in Economics from the University of Manchester, a Graduate Diploma in Political Science, and a Masters Degree in International Law and Politics from the University of Canterbury.

He has spent many years examining the friction between the public and private space, and is especially interested in the reform of our monetary, welfare and tax systems, as well as our political, administrative, and constitutional arrangements.

Raf is looking to take TOP into parliament in 2023 by winning the seat of Ilam in Christchurch and hopefully taking one or two other TOP MPs with him on the list.

Grant Duncan PhD is a political commentator, academic, and non-fiction writer from Auckland, New Zealand. Grant is an Associate Professor in Politics at Massey University.

We have a chat today about the political scene in NZ, why Christopher Luxon is not trusted and is media creating the narrative or reporting on it?

Tony Sutorius runs Porirua-based company Unreal Films. Sutorius first made his mark as a filmmaker with Campaign, a 1999 documentary about an election campaign. Since then his company has won a reputation as the company to call for films about elections, from training videos for electoral staff, to films promoting voting and explaining how it works.

His latest project, Elements of Truth follows former National MP Jami-Lee Ross as he seeks to restore his political fortunes by joining forces with conspiracy theorist Billy Te Kahika Jr. ahead of the 2020 election. 

We're back baby for 2023 and this year we have pivoted slightly into focusing on political conversations.

Simon Wilson is a senior writer with the New Zealand Herald. He is a former editor of Metro, Cuisine and Consumer magazines, and has also been chief subeditor for the New Zealand Listener and a commissioning editor for book publisher AH & AW Reed. He is the winner of many journalism awards, both as a writer and an editor, including magazine of the year (for both Cuisine and Metro), feature writer of the year (twice), first-person essayist of the year, opinion writer of the year and reviewer of the year. He is a recipient of a President’s Award and the Auckland Cup from Te Kāhui Whaihanga New Zealand Institute of Architects.

In the late 1960s David Fenton was a photojournalist, for Liberation News Service while also publishing in the NY Times, Life, Newsweek and others.

In 1978 David was the director of Public Relations at Rolling Stone magazine. He was co-producer of the "No Nukes" concerts with Jackson Browne, Bruce Springsteen, Bonnie Raitt, James Taylor and many others in New York City, 1979.

In 1982 David founded Fenton Communications to promote issue-oriented public relations campaigns focusing on the environment, public health and human rights. Since founding the company, he pioneered the use of professional P.R. and advertising techniques by not-for-profit public interest groups in the United States and around the world

David also co-founded three independent not-for-profit organizations including the Death Penalty Information Center, which helps journalists cover evidence of innocence and racial bias in the death penalty system.

David has just released his latest publication "The Activist’s Media Handbook, Lessons From Fifty Years as a Progressive Agitator" which discusses how to organize social media campaigns

Mike Rinder is an Australian-American former senior executive of the Church of Scientology who has recently written about his experiences in the church publishing a memoir A Billion Years: My Escape From a Life in the Highest Ranks of Scientology.

Mike joins Pat to talk cricket, billion-year contracts, rugby league, Xenu, dogs, South Park and any question Pat has about Scientology which he has been obsessed with for more than a decade. 

Don McGlashan is a New Zealand composer, singer and multi-instrumentalist who Is best known for membership in the bands Blam Blam Blam, The Front Lawn, and The Mutton Birds, before going solo. He has also composed for cinema and television. Among other instruments, McGlashan has played guitar, drums, euphonium and French horn.

Don is about to embark on a nationwide tour and joins us to talk about life, the universe, music, his career and everything