Meet the host

John Cowan has been hosting Real Life on Newstalk ZB for almost 20 years.

He is an accomplished author, media producer and seminar presenter. He's been a hospital scientist in neurophysiology, a youth worker, a social worker, minister, and parenting expert, but his primary passion is communication: mainly as a speaker to live audiences, and as a writer. His wit and humour have been enjoyed by tens of thousands of people in live-audiences around the country.

In Real Life, John speaks with his guests about their life, upbringing, passions, view of the world and spirituality.

“My guests are high profile, but they are all 100 percent human, with stories, dreams and beliefs. On Real Life, you hear their hearts, and what really makes them tick.”