About Smile & Pod

Smile and Pod talks to guests from all walks of life who are doing inspirational work in their chosen field. And all have stories of success that will inspire and words of wisdom that will encourage listeners to follow their own passions. Some are well known, some you may never have heard of but will be intrigued by.

In a world where the pressure every day is to be ‘perfect’, we wanted to help our listeners learn that the road to success is not always easy, but certainly is not impossible if you stay true to yourself like our guests have in their journeys.

We will also feature interesting business and entrepreneur personalities, and discover amazing work being done in our communities both on volunteer basis and businesses.

Smile and Pod is made it inspire and encourage. We hope you enjoy this journey with us as we dive deep into some intriguing life journeys of challenges, passion and success.

About Our Host

Jess Smith is a former racing radio and television host, spending ten years on live television for Trackside New Zealand. She started out her broadcasting career as a cleaner at Radio Waitaki in Oamaru as a teenager, before a lucky break saw her become a voice artist and creative write for The Radio Network. 

She has faced various challenges in her own life and career, and is passionate about finding out about other people’s journeys and helping listeners find inspiration from their stories. 

Smile and Pod has become her passion project to inspire and help others find their own life path.