Pacific Soul Podcast

When Indo-Fijian sociologist Rohini Balram's period came, so did a rule that made no sense: she could no longer enter her own prayer space as a devout Hindu.

Western sporting systems fail to recognise Indigenous forms of movement, physical skill, and cultural expression, one researcher says. 

Māori and Pasifika communities are calling for their traditional performing arts to be formally recognised as sport and active recreation in Aotearoa New Zealand. 

Kanak leaders share their vision for decolonisation beyond politics by freeing the mind, spirit and forging relationships with Indigenous and First Nations group across the region.  

Stan Antas, of roots-reggae band Stan and the Earth Force, grew up with his father playing Bob Marley and asking him to sit with the lyrics.

Stan Antas is a Rastaman from Vanuatu who still goes to church, speaks out on teachers strikes, advocates for West Papua's right to self-determination, and uses his music with Stan and the Earth Force to champion the marginalised across the Pacific. He deliberately keeps the Rasta label out of his music so the message reaches everyone, because livity is about doing good, not belonging to a movement.

Grand Chief Sinewami explains why he stepped away from the Customary Senate and helped establish Inaat Ne Kanaky as a new space to restore genuine Kanak customary authority

Kanak activists say you can’t separate women's safety, autonomy and dignity from the wider struggle against colonial power in New Caledonia. 

Some names carry meaning that can shape how you’re seen and how you see yourself. I think of my aunty Kelera Whiffin, whose maiden name Vakaloloma — meaning pity or sorrow — haunted her until she remarried. 

Fiji pauses to farewell high chief and former President Ratu Epeli Nailatikau in a state funeral that revealed the soul of a nation.

Practical theologian Dr Jill Gowdie has spent her career exploring how faith is lived in everyday life through education, leadership, and personal story. She’s also helping shape the upcoming Waves of Hope conference in Fiji later this year, with papers currently being accepted through April. Ahead of that gathering, she joins Pacific Soul to reflect on lived theology, hope, and what spirituality, or as she says, "God with skin on" looks like in daily life. 

Life can feel fragile and overwhelming when suffering is all around us. Leaders say Easter does not turn away from these realities. 

Dehumanisation is often the first step towards genocide and history shows how quickly it can take hold when it isn’t challenged. 

This season of spiritual reflection is shared by other faith communities too, Muslims observing Ramadan, and Hindus, particularly in places like Fiji, marking festivals like Ram Navami.  

Samoan fa’afafine Manu Solomona and Leota Fagalima Tagaloa are warming up the vocal chords ahead of Easter church performances alongside SolFa Music.

In Lakeland in Queensland's Cape York, Tongan farm workers who have been the backbone of a major banana operation for a decade now gather in a hilltop chapel built just for them

In Samoa, where Christianity shapes nearly every corner of public life, a tiny Muslim community is trying to quietly keep the faith.

Two American women who fled Fiji's Grace Road Church are now prepared to return and give evidence in long-stalled human trafficking investigations. 

Writing in Talanoa ‘o Tonga, he says that as an evangelical Christian and long‑time Republican voter, Trump’s cruelty, narcissism and abuse of power contradicts the teachings of Jesus and the values of Christianity and Republicanism. 

Caroline Hunt spent years carrying anger she didn’t know how to release, watching her children witness her pain, and feeling like she wasn’t enough. Her debut book chronicles the journey. 

Reverend Professor Dr Upolu Luma Vaai says faith at Christmas means standing with those who are wounded and pushed aside.

We’re off to the Hapi Isles Solomon Islands Christmas Concert. There’s music, carols, the whole community… and yes, a 35-kilogram pig ready to be devoured.

In a world wrestling with injustice, division and exhaustion, Reverend Mata Havea Hiliau reminds us that faith is not escape, but a courageous act of hope and radical welcome.

At St Clement's Anglican Church, Gwen Amankwah Toa finds strength and hope in the face of ongoing injustice. 

Pacific churches are taking a look at what the Bible says about men, women, power, and love and it’s shaking up long-held beliefs. 

In the heart of Rome, before tens of thousands gathered in St Peter's Square, the name of Peter To Rot was declared among the saints. This recognition was more than 80 years in the making. From a wartime prison in East New Britain in Papua New Guinea to the grandeur of the Vatican, his story traces a faith lived quietly but courageously. So how did a village catechist become the first Melanesian saint?

With Prophet Russell M Nelson’s passing and Dallin H Oaks now leading the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, members face a period of change.

On any given Sunday in Fiji and Vanuatu, church members gather with Reverend Siera Bird and her husband, Reverend Dr Cliff Bird, to open the Bible in a new way that confronts violence and re-imagines equality. Reverend Siera Bird never planned to pioneer a theology movement; it began with the quiet questions she asked herself after becoming a mother, questions that would grow into a Pacific-born approach to gender equality in faith and family.

Across Vanuatu, nearly 15% of the population are Seventh-day Adventists, a faith that shapes life from childhood. Doroleen Falau from Ambrym grew up with a promise box, a small container filled with handwritten Bible verses or prayers that she continues to draw from each day for guidance and encouragement. Today, Doroleen is a young single mother, balancing the demands of work and raising her daughter while staying grounded in her beliefs.

Across the Pacific, politics and religion are increasingly intertwined. Governments are making moves framed by Christian Zionism, like Fiji opening an embassy in Israel, as if whole nations can be declared supporters of Israel. But who really speaks for the people? Who decides if a country stands with Israel or recognises Palestinian rights? We meet Kristel Whippy, an Indo-Fijian lawyer and activist behind Tracking Democracy in Fiji.

Christian Zionists say the land was promised to the Jews — but what do Jewish people actually believe?

In Vanuatu, a proposed constitutional amendment known as the 'two sexes law' has ignited debate over the rights and recognition of LGBTQIA+ people.

The story of the Pacific is more than one of scattered islands, but the story of great oceanic empires, cosmologies, and networks that connected Moanan peoples long before European arrival. 

Burotukula, the fabled Fijian island said to shimmer into view when the heart is pure, reminds us that Pacific stories are not just myths but living cosmologies. 

When Pastor Susan Kingal's husband died suddenly, she found herself leading the ministry they had built together, a role she calls "pastor by circumstance." In the face of doubt, loss, and a shrinking congregation, she chose faith and perseverance, keeping the doors open and guiding her community for more than a decade.

Before the Bible reached the Pacific, spirituality was already alive in the land, ocean, and sky.

The family of saint-to-be Blessed Peter To Rot is calling on the government to preserve key historical sites connected to his life to honour his legacy and support the expected influx of visitors.

A powerful shift is unfolding on Lakeba, where the installation of Ratu Tevita Uluilakeba Mara marks not only the revival of chiefly power in Fiji but also a historic blending of Christian and iTaukei traditions.

Lefaoali‘i Dr Dion Enari warns that without Pacific research methodologies, we risk being whitewashed and “Margaret Meaded”, meaning spoken over and defined by outsiders, like the early 20th century anthropologist. 

Mal Meninga opens up about what it means to him to be a South Sea Islander, and how his heritage shapes who he is today.

Mal sits down with Imelda Miller for the Say Our Name exhibition at Queensland Museum Kurilpa.

While the church is embraced by Pacific people, the church has not always returned the love. 

In West Papua, faith and the fight for liberation are deeply entwined it's often women who bear the heaviest burden.

Raised in a devout Catholic Samoan family in Logan City, Uta'ileu'o Charlie Palupe shares how Pasifika values can strengthen and transform the public service.

The biblical Jubilee, described in Leviticus 25, is a special year of forgiveness and restoration that occurs every 50 years

In the wake of Pope Francis' death, Australian and Pacific theologians reflect on defining elements of his legacy. 

On its 60th anniversary year, the renowned Pacific Theological College in Suva is launching a university, with a range of new degree courses. 

Dr Vaoiva Natapu-Ponton is helping Pacific students shift their ambitions — from learning trades to leading industries.

Dr Vaoiva Natapu-Ponton's work isn’t just about inclusion in education, but dismantling systems that sideline Pacific knowledge. 

Lent is a time for reflection and renewal, but for Pacific communities on the frontline of climate change, it’s also a call to action.