

The Fold
The Spinoff
Conversations about the intersections of media, culture and technology in New Zealand, hosted by Duncan Greive, founder of The Spinoff.
Episodes
Mentioned books

Oct 21, 2025 • 38min
The BSA vs The Platform: why this shapes as a generationally important battle
Glen Kyne returns to The Fold to discuss the background, stakes and possible outcome of a small battle that sets up a much larger question: how do we regulate the internet? It's one successive governments have thought about then studiously avoided. The BSA might just have forced them to confront it. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Oct 10, 2025 • 48min
Has The Life of a Showgirl finally broken Taylor’s spell?
The biggest phenomenon in pop culture released her latest album a week ago. Taylor Swift’s The Life of a Showgirl smashed records wherever it went, but was also greeted by an unfamiliar reaction: indifference. Not just by critics, but by her fans too. Duncan Greive is joined by The Spinoff’s Alex Casey and Lyric Waiwiri-Smith – two lifelong Swift fans who also felt the bubble pop this week – to discuss an album that promised much but felt like a letdown to many. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Oct 8, 2025 • 42min
Agencies and out-of-home: how they learned to love each other
From a traditional "direct" medium to a data-driven powerhouse, out-of-home media has undergone a true evolution. Over a 17-year period, the out-of-home space has gone from commanding a mere 3% of industry ad revenue to approximately 18%, expanding to fill the void left by fragmenting media channels like linear television.
Duncan Greive is joined by Kurt Malcolm, Head of Trading and Platforms at JCDecaux NZ, and Richard Thompson, Founder of D3, to discuss how innovations like knOOH - a cross-industry collaboration to measure audience - have contributed to the continued rise of out-of-home in Aotearoa.
This is the final episode of our partnership with JC Decaux. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Oct 6, 2025 • 51min
How is student media surviving – even thriving – in print?
Critic Te Arohi is the student magazine of the University of Otago, and turns 100 this year, making it the oldest student media in the country, as well as one of its most awarded and impactful. This week, Duncan is joined by the current editor and one of its recent former editors to discuss the evolution of the magazine and how student media, which naturally has the youngest adult demographic in the country, keeps up its mission, despite still relying on the oldest distribution strategy of them all. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Oct 1, 2025 • 37min
How JCDecaux is unlocking creative advertising by studying the human brain
Duncan Greive is joined by Victoria Parsons, insights and strategy director at JCDecaux NZ, and Peter Pynter, prinicpal consultant at Neuro-Insight to talk through JCDecaux’s investment in neuro research. They unpack what science tells us about advertising, and how marketers can make sure their messages cut through the noise in these increasingly advertising-saturated times. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sep 30, 2025 • 43min
Cracking the code: making news work for Gen Z with Now You Know
On this week's episode of The Fold, Duncan Greive sits down with The Spinoff's head of audience Anna Rawhiti-Connell and Now You Know host Robbie Nicol to break down the highly successful strategy behind the new social-first news explainer series.
With over 2.5 million views in just 10 weeks, Now You Know has won the attention of the 18-24 year-olds. Anna and Robbie discuss the philosophy of treating young people as worthy news consumers (not "exotic zoo animals"), the intentional craft used to blend serious journalism with platform-native comedy, and the differences in distributing content across TikTok, Instagram and YouTube Shorts. A must-listen for anyone looking for a blueprint on genuinely connecting with the next generation. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sep 18, 2025 • 45min
Lightning round: Six quick takes on Grenon-NZME, Stuff vs the cops, RNZ’s troubles + more
Glen Kyne rejoins The Fold to smash through six of the biggest stories in media, all in six minutes or less (at least in theory). Kyne and Duncan Greive discuss the much larger shareholding Jim Grenon has in NZME, continuing drama for RNZ, the end of the NZFC-NZOA merger, a potential breakup of Mediaworks, a standoff between Stuff the the Police – and the new global media behemoth being built by the Ellisons. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sep 15, 2025 • 51min
Charlie Kirk and Tom Phillips show boundary collapse between the internet and real life
Anna Rawhiti-Connell joins Duncan Greive on The Fold to discuss two violent deaths, one driven by the internet, the other digested by it. They discuss how each shows in different yet profound ways how treating the internet as a separate sphere of life is increasingly impossible – rendering the libertarianism of one incompatible with the laws and mores of the other. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sep 2, 2025 • 39min
Results season! Breaking down and picking a winner from TVNZ, Sky and NZME
Glen Kyne returns to The Fold to analyse the annual or half-yearly results from TVNZ, Sky and NZME. TVNZ surprised with an unexpectedly healthy profit, NZME emerged from a bruising board battle and Sky (finally) got its rugby deal. Kyne has it all covered – and picks a clear winner. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sep 1, 2025 • 35min
System1's Andrew Tindall on myths and truths in modern advertising
Andrew Tindall and System1 have assembled some of the most massive and comprehensive databases of advertising effectiveness, running the gamut from creative to medium. Tindall joins Duncan Greive on The Fold, in partnership with JCDecaux, to discuss the story all that research tells. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices


