Sunday Sanctuary with Petra Bagust

We're all disciplined at some things and not at others, right? Self-discipline is not a very popular topic to explore, but in this episode we push forward anyway! Producer Sam starts by talking to cook and author Nici Wickes and human behaviour specialist Hayden Brown about the way that the theory of self-discipline translates to reality. Later on, Petra ropes in Frank Ritchie to unpack what it means to be spiritually disciplined, ...

Isn’t having a good old belly laugh just the best thing?! Humour brightens up our lives. It’s fun, frivolous, fanciful, frolicsome, farcical and, well, freakin’ funny. But what if humour is also foundational to our flourishing and fulfilment?

This week we’re taking humour seriously. We talk to psychologist Nettie Cullen about what humour does for us and Petra sits down with her old comedy mate, David Downs, ...

How do you react to being misunderstood? It's pretty rough, right? In this episode of Sunday Sanctuary, Petra Bagust catches up with punk rocker turned Anglican priest, Rev. Spanky Moore, who introduces Petra to an "MRI of the soul" called The Litany of Humility. Sacred texts include works from Eddie Izzard, Nina Simone, Michael Leunig and more. Later in the episode, Petra talks to therapist and author Shirley Pastiroff about where...

In this episode, Petra digs into what it looks like to actively care for the world we live in. First up, producer Sam heads to the mighty Waikato to talk to organic farmers Pauline and Sam Hunt. If you've ever wondered what it means to be an organic farmer or what it looks like to practice conservation on working land, this chat is for you.

Later in the episode, Petra talks to Ed Walker, the Executive Director of A Rocha Internatio...

We don't need to do everything by ourselves. Especially when life gets hard, it is super important to let others in to carry the weight of things together. To guide us in how we might do that, Petra first talks to Irish author and documentary producer Kevin Toolis about his book My Father's Wake. As it turns out, the Irish grieving ritual is packed with moments where people gather around the bereaved. In the second half, we bring b...

In a world of contant busyness and rushing around, it can be really hard to wait. In this episode, producer Sam unpacks his own difficult relationship with waiting and lands on a few questions to help guide his patience. Later on, Petra talks with Nathan McLellan, the CEO of Venn Foundation, about the different scales of waiting and how the biggest, most existential kind of waiting can guide our everday need for patience.

Sacred Te...

What does it mean to be a caregiver? Where does the beauty hide, and how do we manage the difficulty? In this episode, Petra talks with her neighbour, Nick, and Andrea Page, the director of the Salvation Army's Epsom Lodge here in Auckland. Producer Sam also pays a visit to musician C. Zukey to ask about the story behind his 2024 album Stone Fruut.

The hope is that this episode helps caregivers to feel seen and encouraged, as well ...

When everything feels a bit much, how do we find peace within the chaos? In this episode of Sunday Sanctuary, Petra Bagust finally gets a chance to talk with Irish poet Pádraig Ó Tuama about how his history of mediation and writing poetry informs how he looks for peace. Second up is Christchurch-based counsellor Charlotte Cummings. Both Pádraig and Charlotte bring thoughtful, if very different, perspectives on looking for peace wit...

Ohhhh how much more simple life would be if all we had to do was look out for ourselves.... But in a society that encourages insularity, and where its negative consequences can be clearly seen, how do we balance responsibility for ourselves, as well as responsibility for others?

In this episode of Sunday Sanctuary, Petra talks to returning fan favourite Frank Ritchie and the head of the school of psychology at Auckland University, ...

The four themes of the season of Advent in the Christian calendar are hope, peace, joy and love. There are two others that we've noticed, though, which are anticipation and celebration. In this episode, Petra explores how these two things can happen at the same time. First up, Petra and producer Sam talk to a handful of people who are all at different moments of change (graduation, motherhood, marriage etc). Later on Petra talks to...

Sunday the 30th of November marks the start of Advent for 2025, the season of the Christian calendar that leads into Christmas. As Petra and guest producer Mick get into, Advent is all about waiting. In the first half, Mick talks to his close friends Tom and Carly about a long wait they endured in 2021. Later on Petra talks to Rev. Mathew 'Newt' Newton about how faith in God can help us to learn to wait, even when it often feels li...

Why do people still go to church? There are no shortage of reasons why church might seem like an outdated model for collective Christian worship, so why do they hang around? In this collab episode with the In The Shift podcast, Petra and Michael Frost sit down to talk about the societal and spiritual reasons why churches are still worthwhile, in spite of their spotty history.

If you want to find the full discussion that Petra and M...

In this episode of Sunday Sanctuary, what happens when communities are involved in times of death. Petra Bagust talks to Treza Gallogly, a death doula (think death midwife), about why making plans and involving others helps so much when preparing for death. Producer Sam talks to those involved with the community response to the death of baby Anahera in the Auckland suburb or Onehunga.

Treza's website can be found here and is part o...

Most of us think we're pretty good at listening. From kids asked to "whakarongo mai" at school, to a one-on-one catch up with a friend, listening can't be that hard, can it? But what changes when the person speaking feels truly heard or understood? And what similarities are there between listening to others, and listening to God?

In this episode, Petra talks to sexologist and relationship coach Meg Cowan about how we can better lis...

While Sunday Sanctuary is on a break, we want to share episodes from podcasts that we think you'll really like. This week: Makers & Mystics.

This episode is from season 13 of Makers and Mystics, "the podcast for the art-driven, spiritually adventurous seekers of truth and lovers of life." In this episode, Stephen Roach and his guest, John Heers, discuss viewing "hospitality as revolution". Big thanks to Stephen for letting us s...