Podcast
The Fold
Hosted by The Spinoff · EN
Conversations about the intersections of media, culture and technology in New Zealand, hosted by Duncan Greive, founder of The Spinoff.
23episodes
Episodes
Newest firstAll episodes
The end of the Paul Thompson era at RNZ, Re: News, and what’s in the (media) budget
1w ago00:39:32Tap to summarizeGlen Kyne returns to The Fold to analyse the resignation of Paul Thompson after 13 years running RNZ, look back on the Re: News era and touch on last week’s (not Voyager) Media Awards. We also provide quick reactions to Budget 2026 and what it presents for the media sector. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Transcribe →Emergency pod: Toby Manhire interviews Duncan Greive about his shiny new project Lume
2w ago00:30:59Tap to summarizeSharp-eyed and longtime Spinoff readers might have noticed that The Fold host Duncan Greive has been staggeringly unproductive as a writer lately. For once, there is a good explanation for that: a new and quite ambitious new music app and platform named Lume. To manage the colossal conflict of interest that entails, The Spinoff’s editor-at-large Toby Manhire guest hosts The Fold to ask Duncan all about Lume. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Transcribe →Unhappy endings for Maiki Sherman and the BSA, and Seymour’s war with RNZ
3w ago00:38:52Tap to summarizeMedia is a fraught place at the moment, less due to persistent economic challenges than external forces acting upon it. Glen Kyne returns to The Fold to discuss the end of Maiki Sherman’s time as political editor at TVNZ, the shutdown of the BSA and David Seymour’s pointed provocations of RNZ. Finally, they talk about the travails of rugby in Auckland, after a weekend that showed the strength of the Auckland FC and Warriors brands, and the comparative flakiness of the Blues (producer Te Aihe joins as Hurricanes correspondent to ensure we acknowledge their part in rugby’s issues in the big smoke). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Transcribe →What we got wrong about the Tom Phillips and Polkinghorne documentaries
4w ago00:50:06Tap to summarizePhilippa Rennie has had a near unique view of real life TV storytelling in New Zealand. She worked as the in-house lawyer for Warner Brother Productions for a decade, before moving across to make television as head of scripted there. She joins the Fold to speak with admirable candour about what went wrong on shows like Married at First Sight, why Julie Christie probably isn’t the right person to make a show about the Marokopa-Phillips case, and how you satisfy ethical considerations while still making compelling television. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Transcribe →Emergency monopod: The end of the BSA
May 600:32:11Tap to summarizeDuncan Greive flies solo to break down and respond to the shock decision to shut down the BSA. He gives reaction from the key players, talks about where it might head next and pays tribute to the courage of the BSA in opening a door when this was always a likely outcome. Then he gives a view of the Maiki Sherman affair, before closing on a quick take on the first month of John Campbell's Morning Report. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Transcribe →Dentsu’s Rob Harvey on why bigger can be better in the AI age
May 400:51:50Tap to summarizeRob Harvey is CEO of Dentsu across Australia and New Zealand – it’s one of the biggest ad agencies in the world, and Rob is notable for the length of time he’s spent leading it locally. In an industry notable for executives burning bright then shifting up, down and sideways, Harvey has been a deeply committed constant. He’s led the Aotearoa business since 2013 – before Netflix landed here – and last year took over the Australian operation too, meaning he now oversees more than 1000 staff across its various brands. Dentsu is notable for a number of reasons. It’s one of what used to be known as the “big six” ad agencies, now the “big five” after the merger of Omnicom and IPG. They’re known as the “holdcos” within advertising, and the term can be used derisively by some, as a synonym for mercilessly squeezing and flattening in a way which doesn’t necessarily deliver the best for its people or clients. However Rob offers a persuasive defence of the model, saying the name no longer well-describes his business at least. Dentsu is also the only one of the “big five” from Japan, which has a legendarily specific and singular business culture, so we talk about how that flows through its offices. Dentsu has endured a tough few years in this part of the world, with Australia recording a massive $500m paper loss in 2023, in part due to a bet on competing with the consultancies on broader business strategy work. None of that happened on Harvey’s watch however, and the business is considered to be well into a turnaround. Finally, because this episode is recorded in partnership with the Communications Council – of which Harvey is president – we discuss their excellent event Media Spotlight, happening in late May. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Transcribe →Why are indie agencies thriving in a semi-broken advertising economy?
Apr 2700:50:15Tap to summarizeSam Stuchbury is the executive creative director and founder of Motion Sickness, and Lee Lowndes is the chief executive and founder of Daylight. Each of them run independent creative agencies, each is under 40, each took home golds at the recent Axis Awards, and - most importantly - each has a very differentiated conception of what an agency is in 2026. They have each found a way to thrive in an era where many of the big ad agencies feel defined more by their challenges than opportunities.Motion Sickness is on some kind of hot streak, and has just made the decision to rebrand as a creative company over an ad agency. That hasn’t stopped them taking home a raft of advertising awards. Cannes Lions have called them one of the top five global independent agencies this year, they took the Grand Prix for their herpes work, and were just named agency of the year at Axis for their Māori roll call, and their brilliantly original work helping bring people back to Karangahape Road.Daylight, meanwhile, defines itself as a “creative and technology studio”, meaning it builds digital products then wraps campaigns around them to get those apps to the right audiences. Its most recent output is Billy, a highly sophisticated tool to get consumers onto the best energy plan, with a major media campaign to help build awareness of it. They’ve also built platforms for media organisations like the Pacific Media Network and Fiji Sun, along with continuing their work for the World Health Organization.Duncan Greive is a shareholder and co-founder of Daylight. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Transcribe →The five biggest stories in NZ media right now
Apr 2000:49:29Tap to summarizeGlen Kyne returns to The Fold to catch up on all the biggest stories in recent times. We look at the existential challenge the BSA opened up, and try and figure out what’s really going on with Troy Bowker and Stuff. Then we look at the recent NZME workplace review, and contrast it with a much more substantial effort from Mediaworks a few years ago. We assess the early returns from Tova O’Brien’s arrival at TVNZ and John Campbell at RNZ, before finally weighing in on the Tom Phillips documentary controversy. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Transcribe →Exclusive: How Mike Minogue partnered with TVNZ+ on podcasting
Apr 1300:45:09Tap to summarizeHe’s very familiar as the star of Wellington Paranormal, and a radio host with Hauraki – but Mike Minogue’s greatest achievement might be Frank, his burgeoning agency. Frustrated with the quality of talent representation in Aotearoa, Minogue started Frank to bring a different approach to the established players. But he added speaker representation and, crucially, podcast representation to Frank’s mix – and in so doing set it up for a landmark deal.Today, The Fold can reveal that Frank is the exclusive supplier of podcasts to TVNZ+ – a milestone for the form, and one which brings TVNZ into line with Netflix and YouTube, each of which is making a big play to make podcasts a big part of their strategy. Minogue joins Duncan Greive on The Fold to explain his motives for starting Frank, and why he is betting big on podcasts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Transcribe →The story of the 21st century is all about the end of trust
Apr 600:38:49Tap to summarizeRichard Edelman was deeply prescient, when he responded to the “battle for Seattle” by commissioning an annual global survey of institutional trust. For a quarter century the trust barometer has revealed the extent to which countries and societies have grown insular and mistrustful, and catalogued the downstream consequences. basically, it’s not just media, it’s everyone.New Zealand is no different, and Acumen, which runs the research locally, has the numbers. Chief executive Adelle Keely joins Duncan Greive to discuss what it shows, and what (if anything) can be done about it. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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