Sia Figiel unearths the untold Samoan history of Treasure Island’s famous author Robert Louis Stevenson

If there is a problem that needs fixing, mechatronics engineer and author Joyana Finch is your person. Her earliest childhood memories were of repairing broken gadgets in her parent's Cook Islands toy shop — technology always sparked joy. Now she writes children's books to show Pasifika girls like her own that the door is open.

If you catch Peia Patai on dry land, it won't be for long. When he's not out fishing, he's sailing his vaka across Cook Islands, with little more than the clouds, the sun, the moon, and the stars to help him find his way. The master navigator was taught the same techniques his ancestors used, but all that is changing. 

Agapetos Aia-Fa'aleava has always been compelled to speak up against social injustice, and when she learned a law in Queensland had let pubs and clubs deny entry to Pasifika people with facial tattoos, she spoke up once again in the form of a documentary that explores culture and tattoos.

Fighting was considered shameful and something to be avoided on Nissan Island in Bougainville, where Agnes Titus is from. It's this ability to resolve conflicts that has held her in good stead throughout a career defending the rights of women and people accused of sorcery.

At fourteen, Gladys Habu was gifted a camera for acing her exams. She used it to document the disappearance of her grandparents' customary island, Kale, and unknowingly ignited a passion for climate activism. Since then, the former beauty queen, pharmacist, UN ambassador and young mother has worn many hats, always in a bid to improve lives and the land.

As a young girl, Mere Roden dreamed of becoming a doctor, using a pretend stethoscope to tend to her dolls. She wanted to help others. In 2006, after sepsis from an old injury deteriorated her nerves in her spine, Mere had to adjust to a new life that involved the use of a wheelchair. Since then, she has found new ways to help others, championing the rights of people with disabilities in sport and steering Fiji's response to COVID-19. In 2014 and in her 40s, Mere fell in love with table tennis. A year later, she was a gold medallist, and showed no signs of slowing down, going on to win gold in 2015, 2019 and 2023. The Fijian athlete, mother and grandmother joins Bobby Macumber to talk about importance of love, respect and never giving up.

This edition of Sista's Let's Talk was a repeat of the program broadcast on 23rd August 2023. 

Ann Singeo’s childhood was full of adventure. Each weekend, her dad would take her and her siblings to discover a new island – in Palau there were more than 500 to explore.

They would camp, fish and learn about taking only what was needed from the land and sea. These trips formed the foundations for Ann to later co-found the Ebiil Society, a non-profit which aims to educate about environmental protection and proper management of natural resources through indigenous knowledge.

Ebiil also runs camps for kids, taking them into the environment Ann loved so much as a child and putting them back in touch with the earth they will inherit, in the hopes they'll be inspired to better care for it.    

When Tau'ili'ili Alpha Maiava plays the nose flute, he is transported back in time. He knows it is the same sound his ancestors heard 400 years ago. But this sound, along with many others, have almost been lost to history. Tau'ili'ili is travelling across the Pacific Islands to gather stories of extinct and endangered instruments like the nose flute. He hopes sharing this traditional knowledge will help people connect with who they were and who they are today.

This edition of Stories From The Pacific was a repeat of the program broadcast on 8th November 2023

Leki Lao started off his photography journey shooting weddings. But on the day of the Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai volcano eruption, he found himself on board a navy boat travelling across obstructed seas to survey the damage. The photos he took that day of a very different kind, and they were among the first to emerge from the disaster. 

Freediver and artist Rava Ray finds solace in the sea, swimming with stingrays and dancing with humpback whales in the depths of French Polynesia. So when it came to giving birth, Rava wanted the water nearby.