How do people who profoundly disagree continue to live, work and make decisions together?

Drawing on years spent at the centre of New Zealand’s free-speech debates, Jonathan explores tolerance, courage, social trust and what happens when disagreement becomes personally or professionally costly.

Ideal for: conferences, professional associations, universities, Rotary, Lions and civic organisations.

What does writing about New Zealand every week teach you about politics, persuasion and public opinion?

Jonathan takes audiences behind the process of forming arguments in public, reflecting on controversy, reader reaction, media dynamics and whether we are still capable of changing one another’s minds.

Ideal for: Probus, Lions, private clubs, community organisations, schools and general audiences.

Freedom depends on more than laws and elections.

Jonathan looks beyond politics to the families, schools, churches, voluntary organisations, habits and forms of character that make self-government possible, and asks what happens when the state is expected to do work that culture and civil society once performed.

Ideal for: public lectures, churches, universities, civic groups and community organisations.

From his work in classical education and school governance, Jonathan considers the relationship between knowledge, character, judgment and democratic citizenship, arguing that education should prepare people not only for work, but for the responsible exercise of freedom.

Ideal for: schools, universities, teachers, parents, education conferences and church audiences.

Through stories from leadership, governance and advocacy, Jonathan examines conformity, dissent and trust, and considers how leaders can create cultures where honest disagreement strengthens rather than destabilises an organisation.

Ideal for: boards, businesses, professional associations, leadership teams and conferences

Bringing together questions of technology, ethics and human agency, Jonathan considers the temptation to delegate judgment, creativity and responsibility to machines, and asks how institutions can embrace AI without diminishing what is distinctively human.

Ideal for: professional organisations, boards, schools, universities, technology audiences and conferences.

Faith has been an important part of Jonathan’s speaking life.

For several years he preached regularly in churches around New Zealand, often around twice a month, and he continues to speak to Christian audiences about faith, culture, freedom, education and public life.

Jonathan is available for church services, conferences, leadership gatherings, men’s events and other Christian occasions.

Talks can be developed specifically for the theological and pastoral context of the audience rather than simply adapting a public affairs speech.