Listen to a podcast, please open Podcast Republic app. Available on Google Play Store and Apple App Store.
If you're navigating mental health struggles, addiction or recovery — your own or someone else's — you'll hear what actually worked, what didn't and what people wish they'd known sooner.
Take It From Us features real people sharing their own journeys, unscripted and unfiltered. No theory, no talking points — just the honest, specific version of what recovery actually looks like.
Host Kent Johns is a broadcaster and health coach who believes everyone has a story worth hearing if someone takes the time to really listen.
Press play — you might hear your own story in someone else's.
If you need support, click here for helpful links, phone numbers and resources: https://ember.org.nz/resources/in-a-crisis/
| Episode | Date |
|---|---|
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Grant Robertson: 'I am a catastrophiser' — the panic attack that changed how he copes
|
Aug 06, 2026 |
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Justine & Blain: Running a 24/7 recovery centre after their own addiction
|
Jul 30, 2026 |
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Recovery isn't a straight line — Suzy Morrison on 35+ years sober
|
Jul 23, 2026 |
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Jamie Summers: I thought I was invincible. Then I had a stroke at 39
|
Jul 16, 2026 |
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Heidi McIlroy: A book for young people who can't find the words
|
Jul 09, 2026 |
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Kent Johns: 'I slept rough for one night - here's what I learned'
|
Jul 02, 2026 |
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Joe Daymond: 'Showing up to therapy isn't the same as doing the work'
|
Jun 25, 2026 |
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Todd Muller: One step away from being Prime Minister - then it all fell apart
|
Jun 18, 2026 |
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Chris Bowden: How men grieve the suicide of a mate - and what we misunderstand
|
Jun 11, 2026 |
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Melanie Rauth: 'The drug was the problem, not me'
|
Jun 04, 2026 |
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Dave Burnside: 'The man at my prison cell door who changed my life'
|
May 28, 2026 |
|
Shelwin Khan: 'I wanted to join the 27 Club. Instead I got sober'
|
May 21, 2026 |
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Lotta Dann: 'The world loved my skinny body - then the binging started'
|
May 14, 2026 |
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Dean Clarkson: I spent 20 years in an abusive relationship — now I'm helping other men find safety
|
May 07, 2026 |
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Freddie Bennett: 'I had the Porsche, the Rolex.. and was falling apart inside'
|
Apr 30, 2026 |
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Kevin Hollingsworth: 16 years in recovery from Methamphetamine addiction
|
Apr 23, 2026 |
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Kelsey Waghorn: Surviving White Island - and the PTSD that came later
|
Apr 09, 2026 |
|
Liz Downes: Living with bipolar and supporting others as a peer
|
Apr 02, 2026 |
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Rich Rowley & Bex Waugh: The power in being 'neuro-spicy'
|
Mar 26, 2026 |
|
Suzette Jackson: 'See women as people first, not just mothers'
|
Mar 19, 2026 |
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Asha Munn: On the healing power of creativity
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Mar 12, 2026 |
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Lynda Hills: Suicide survivor on the research that's her new purpose
|
Mar 05, 2026 |
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Rose Heta-Minhinnick & Arohanui Minhinnick: From recovery to empowering the next generation
|
Feb 26, 2026 |
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Anna Ashton: Online harm - the crisis no one's trained to handle
|
Feb 17, 2026 |
|
Dom Huxley: How surfing is helping farmers combat isolation
|
Feb 10, 2026 |
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Riqi Harawira: Rock Star, Survivor, Counsellor - on smashing the shame
|
Feb 03, 2026 |
|
Ben Purua: From Waikeria Prison to Young Māori Farmer of the Year
|
Jan 27, 2026 |
|
Dr Moana Tane: Domestic violence - it's not about poverty, it's about men
|
Jan 13, 2026 |
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Josh Komen: A story of epic survival and how a Mum's love pulled him back from the brink
|
Dec 30, 2025 |
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Maree MacLean: The no bullshit guide to getting sober
|
Dec 16, 2025 |
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Georgie Hanafin: Living with OCD, ADHD and intrusive thoughts
|
Dec 09, 2025 |
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Ian Walker: Surviving two spinal cord injuries - and the voice that woke him from a coma
|
Dec 02, 2025 |
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Debbs Murray: Coercive control in relationships - what it really looks like
|
Nov 25, 2025 |
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Lisa Reid: How meth addiction took over my life in just six weeks
|
Nov 18, 2025 |
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Romy Lee: From addiction to recovery - how I used my experience as a Korean Kiwi to help others
|
Nov 11, 2025 |
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Steve Devine & Jack Newman: Asking for help is the hardest thing a man will do
|
Nov 04, 2025 |
|
Tom Robinson: The rugby star who walked away for his mental health
|
Oct 28, 2025 |
|
Camille Keyte: From Mongrel Mob dealer to helping others out of addiction
|
Oct 21, 2025 |
|
Jo Randerson: ADHD, autism and the creative mind
|
Oct 14, 2025 |
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Seán Barnes: 'Social fitness' and why men need their mates
|
Oct 07, 2025 |
|
Sand artist Wayne Webb: Finding hope on New Brighton beach
|
Sep 30, 2025 |
|
Who cares for the carers? A story of duty, love and Alzheimer's
|
Sep 23, 2025 |
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Nicola Colman: I recovered from 15 years of anorexia... then helped my daughter do the same
|
Sep 16, 2025 |
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Chris Reidy & Di Langdon: Raising a child with FASD in New Zealand
|
Sep 09, 2025 |
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Linda Collins: What suicide really does to families left behind
|
Sep 02, 2025 |
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Waata Heathcote: How lived experience mentoring cut gang reoffending to 2%
|
Aug 26, 2025 |
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Wellbeing champion Tim Mehrtens: Why I'm grateful for even the worst things that happened to me
|
Aug 19, 2025 |
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Kayla Schwalger: How Samoan culture became my mental health medicine
|
Aug 12, 2025 |
|
Tui Taurua: How I used traditional Māori healing to get off countless psychiatric medications
|
Aug 05, 2025 |
|
Chris Ranui-Molloy: Recovering from addiction using drama therapy
|
Jul 29, 2025 |
|
Rhonda Hāpi-Smith: Surviving 20 years as a female prison officer
|
Jul 22, 2025 |
|
Teen leader Lola Fisher: How to give young people a voice
|
Jul 15, 2025 |
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Lisa McDonald & Veronica Shale: Why we're giving up alcohol
|
Jul 08, 2025 |
|
Grace Curtis: How to find hope after suicide grief
|
Jul 01, 2025 |
|
Trailer
|
Jun 25, 2025 |