Ōtautahi in Practice Podcast Show
Ōtautahi in Practice is a podcast where we amplify stories of curiosity, growth, and the transformative power of learning in Ōtautahi Christchurch. Each episode celebrates the unsung heroes of our city — Learning Champions and Ambassadors — who remind us that every lesson learned, big or small, shapes who we are.
We’re here to humanise learning, inspire curiosity, normalise failure, and foster real connection through storytelling.
Whether the story takes place in a school, a community garden, a garage, a boardroom, or under the stars — this show explores what learning looks like in practice.
What’s your learning story? We’d love to hear it. Contact us at stories@learningcitychristchurch.nz and checkout Ako Ōtautahi Learning City Christchurch.
Thanks to Plains Media (for making this a reality), The Response (intro and outtro soundtrack) and Jonny Knopp, Peanut Productions (for the photo).
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Episode #0 - Sam Woolf & Erica Austin
In this pilot episode, cohosts Sam Woolf and Erica Austin introduce the kaupapa behind the podcast and share their own learning stories.
Together, they unpack why learning matters, how curiosity shapes their work, and why they’re choosing to amplify the voices of everyday Learning Champions and Ambassadors across our city. -
Episode #1 - Amy Knudsen
Amy Knudsen (she/her) brings us on her own learning journey, how this has shaped her and her views and approaches to life. Amy's story shows how the people in her life through different stages, events and experiences have been crucial to the work and way of being she holds now. And that the love that Amy holds for people extends to future generations through the work she does with Tokona te Raki.
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Episode #2 - Pia Titus
Pia Titus from PlainsMedia discusses how her past learning experiences with facilitating activity based learning has shaped her approach and ethos when in a people centred environment. We were lucky to be trained by Pia for this podcast show and have her on the show as a guest before she left PlainsMedia, to travel for a couple of months and begin the next chapter of her life.
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Episode #3 - Thomas Blakie
Thomas discusses the impacts of growing up in a recovering city and his experiences post earthquakes that have informed his interests in community development and advocacy.
Join us as we get a glimpse of our city through a young persons lens who is interested in policy and how that's implemented through design.
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Episode #4 - Idoia Alday Gonzalez
Idoia shares her learning experience working with the Young Enterprise Scheme (YES) and how this has opened up pathways of working with her sons school to facilitate creativity in a business context.
Idoia's empathy and passion for encouraging curiosity is highlighted through her story of learning in Ōtautahi Christchurch.
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Episode #5 - Caroline Thalund
Caroline brings a wealth of knowledge regarding sustainability and through her business acumen (Sustainability 360) has been learning how to navigate what it means to run her own business. Charing anecdotes of learning through being a mother, businesswoman, and early education, the picture that Caroline provides is varied and dynamic.
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Episode #6 - Hana Kininmont
Hana is a somewhat recent addition to Ōtautahi Christchurch and she shares her perspective of the cultural differences and approaches that are taken to learning, both in her personal life and in the position she holds at NZ Study Careers. We discuss how learning takes place in her studies at Ara and through her endeavor to understand what it means to have grown up in Japan and now live in Aotearoa New Zealand.