Show Notes
Former McGillicuddy Serious leader Graeme Cairns now divides his time between penny farthings, medical training and street theatre, and his latest endeavour, "doing pennants," features a bicycle-powered sewing machine. Graeme founded the McGillicuddy Serious Party - to contest the 1984 election with its campaign plank of the Great Leap Backwards. It predicted upheaval, chaos and the breakdown of society as we know it and a plan to insulate New Zealand from the worst excesses of the future. Despite a defence policy of removing New Zealand from all world maps, its political ambitions came to nought, and Graeme threw in the towel in 2000. Now known as the ‘Laird of Hamilton’, he is also a musician, a founding member of the Big Muffin Serious Band and an actor. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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He was the man who put the "pace" in New Zealand paceman. At his peak, Shane Bond was terrifyingly fast, clocking a blistering 156.4 km/h at the 2003 World Cup and dismantling the world’s best batsmen. Widely regarded as our greatest fast bowler since Sir Richard Hadlee, Shane’s career was a thrilling rollercoaster of immense triumph and devastating, career-threatening injuries. But his story is much more than just cricket statistics, it's a masterclass in resilience.
Before scaling the world's most unforgiving peaks—from Antarctica to the Andes and the Himalayas—Sir Graeme was a "painfully shy" child growing up in Gisborne who was afraid of everything. His life transformed when he discovered the outdoors, leading to historic feats like the first-ever winter traverse of the Southern Alps in 1971.But his greatest legacy isn't written in the snow. Spurred by a challenge to "do good for others", Sir Graeme co-founded the Outdoor Pursuits Centre (now Hillary Outdoors) and established the Graeme Dingle Foundation, which has empowered over 400,000 young Kiwis over the last 30 years. Recently awarded the prestigious global Order of Magellan for his lifetime achievements in exploration and youth advocacy, Sir Graeme joins John for an unscripted look at his extraordinary life, his worldview, and his latest mission to "move mountains" for the next generation of New Zealanders. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
This Sunday on Real Life with John Cowan, anything goes as we welcome one of New Zealand's most authentic, straight-talking leaders: Hon Shane Jones.
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