DELVE: Powder Keg

newsroom.co.nz
  • 4.7 (496)
  • TRUE CRIME
  • SEMI-WEEKLY SERIES
DELVE: Powder Keg
DELVE+

Get exclusive episodes, early access, and more

$5.99/mo or $49.99/yr after trial

Some stories grow from a green shoot; some explode like a powder keg. The global supplement market is worth $200 billion a year, and Chris Ashenden is a rock star of the industry. Yet in his home country of New Zealand, nobody had heard of him. Investigative journalist Jonathan Milne wanted to tell his story – but when Chris proved elusive, alarm bells began to ring. In the latest electrifying podcast from DELVE, we investigate the superstar endorsements, the science and the safety of the world’s favourite green powder, AG1. Listen to a story that will entangle the biggest names in audio, from Joe Rogan to Andrew Huberman to Gwyneth Paltrow. We follow the money, dig into the crimes and commission our own lab analysis. From the chill of the Southern Ocean to a record Mexican heatwave, from Colombia to the Caribbean, we chase down AG1’s founder to tell the story he didn’t want told.  Only on DELVE, the home of gripping, in-depth investigative podcasts, including award-winning The Boy in the Water, and Fractured. Sign up to our premium service DELVE+ on Apple, Spotify or your favourite podcast platform. DELVE+ subscribers get Early Release, Ad Free listening. Led by investigations editor, Melanie Reid. Listen to journalism that matters. Discover more on the Melanie Reid Investigates Facebook and Instagram pages, and on Newsroom.co.nz. (Android and Spotify listeners can Sign up to DELVE+ here.) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

See All
  1. S5 | Powder Keg | Ep 1: Meet Chris Ashenden

    EPISODE 1

    S5 | Powder Keg | Ep 1: Meet Chris Ashenden

    Chris Ashenden and Jonathan Milne are both Kiwi blokes in their late 40s. Chris has an unrelenting personal ambition – it’s served him well. The business leader’s quest wasn’t for the Holy Grail, it was for a holy green drink.   Jonathan is an investigative journalist. What’s served him well is his doggedness. And when Chris wouldn’t front for an interview about the success of his green powder shake and his US$1.2 billion company, Jonathan began asking questions.    At first, Chris’s AG1 supplement had been targeted at sportspeople and gym freaks – but by last year, we reveal he’d rebranded to target the widest possible market of middle-America…desk-bound 30- or 40-something mums and dads, anxious to get back in shape.   Episodes 1 and 2 of Powder Keg are live now, with Episode 3 also available for subscribers to DELVE+.   To listen early and ad-free to this show, to our bonus episodes, and to award-winning podcast The Boy in the Water and Melanie Reid’s latest investigation, Fractured, sign up to DELVE+. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    27 min
  2. S5 | Powder Keg | Ep 2: The Untold NZ Story

    EPISODE 2

    S5 | Powder Keg | Ep 2: The Untold NZ Story

    When investigative journalist Jonathan Milne started slugging back an expensive, vivid green AG1 shake every morning to get in shape for his 50th birthday, he knew what the company’s chief science officer said – that the green powder product would make him healthier.   What he didn’t know about were the adverse reports to the Food and Drug Administration of liver damage, nor of the scrutiny by the courts, and now of a national regulator.   Episodes 1 and 2 of Powder Keg are live now, with Episode 3 also available for subscribers to DELVE+.   To listen early and ad-free to this show, to our bonus episodes, and to award-winning podcast The Boy in the Water and Melanie Reid’s latest investigation, Fractured, sign up to DELVE+. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    27 min
  3. S5 | Powder Keg | Ep 3: The Asshole Of The World

    EPISODE 3

    S5 | Powder Keg | Ep 3: The Asshole Of The World

    We track down families who lost their homes in 'Chris the Kiwi’ Ashenden’s property dealings. And what happens next is what Powder Keg, the podcast, is all about – Ashenden, his unorthodox billion-dollar business and his magical mystery powder.    All we know is that his company AG1 is headquartered at an address in Carson City, Nevada. If it comes to the crunch and he doesn’t front, we’ll need to go there to talk with the company’s founder.   What we didn’t know is the story of criminal offending that will emerge – a story that Chris the Kiwi didn’t want told.   Listen to the first 3 episodes now. Episode 4 is available first to subscribers to DELVE+. To listen early and ad-free to this show, to our bonus episodes, and to award-winning podcast The Boy in the Water and Melanie Reid’s latest investigation, Fractured, sign up to DELVE+. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    31 min
  4. S5 | Powder Keg | Ep 4: The Antagonists

    EPISODE 4

    S5 | Powder Keg | Ep 4: The Antagonists

    Travelling to New Zealand’s southernmost city, with a chill wind that feels like it’s blowing off Antarctica, we discover it was a woman named Dee Chisholm who first blew the whistle on Chris the Kiwi’s criminal property schemes.    But tracking her down won’t be easy…until we drive out to a small remote mining village called Nightcaps.   Everyone has secrets. And in this episode, we finally meet the protagonists – some might call them antagonists – who faced off in former police officer Chris Ashenden’s first clash with the law. It won’t be his last…the story of AG1, the world’s favourite green powder supplement, is blowing up big.   Each episode is available first to subscribers to DELVE+. To listen early and ad-free to this show, to our bonus episodes, and to award-winning podcast The Boy in the Water and Melanie Reid’s latest investigation, Fractured, sign up to DELVE+. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    29 min
  5. S5 | Powder Keg | Ep 5: A Flop And A Skip

    EPISODE 5

    S5 | Powder Keg | Ep 5: A Flop And A Skip

    A leaked recording reveals the Kiwi founder of billion-dollar supplements firm AG1 misrepresented his criminal history in public statements and in a meeting with the company’s president and staff, just this year. Chris Ashenden’s high-powered American lawyer claimed he had never been charged with a crime, or convicted of a crime, or been the subject of an arrest warrant – but none of those things was correct.    We listen to the recording alongside Anita Mika, who lost her home in Chris’s property scheme. Her sister also lost her home – but she died without seeing justice done. ‘We can forgive, but we never forget,’ Anita says.   Each episode is available first to subscribers to DELVE+. To listen early and ad-free to this show, to our bonus episodes, and to award-winning podcast The Boy in the Water and Melanie Reid’s latest investigation, Fractured, sign up to DELVE+. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    40 min
  6. S5 | Powder Keg | Ep 6: Marketing Mania

    EPISODE 6 • SUBSCRIBERS ONLY

    S5 | Powder Keg | Ep 6: Marketing Mania

    Joe Rogan is one of the world’s wealthiest influencers – and we’re told AG1 is one of his best clients, paying him about $10 million a year to promote its popular green powder. Scientist Dr Andrew Huberman gets about $2 million. Gwyneth Paltrow, Formula 1’s Sir Lewis Hamilton, Olympic champion Allyson Felix … the list goes on. AG1 is the OG of influencer marketing; it spends more on audio than just about any other company in the world. But are the company and its well-paid ambassadors being upfront? Some customers say they’ve been persuaded to drink a supplement that they now believe has impacted their health. The Food and Drug Administration has had 118 reports of harm from AG1 users and their doctors, this year alone.

    41 min
  7. S5 | Powder Keg | Ep 7: Played In NZ

    EPISODE 7 • SUBSCRIBERS ONLY

    S5 | Powder Keg | Ep 7: Played In NZ

    For years, AG1 has boasted of being ‘Made in New Zealand’. But where is its mystery factory? We track down a little-known contract manufacturing company in the sunny city of Nelson – and discover a much darker story. Despite trading off New Zealand’s clean, green brand, AG1 has been quietly shifting its production to America. In the past year, this has cost nearly 180 New Zealanders their jobs – and piqued the interest of the country’s commerce regulator. If AG1’s 700,000 customers can’t trust the ‘Made in New Zealand’ claim – how can they trust the other claims on the label?

    40 min
  8. S5 | Welcome to Powder Keg

    SEASON 5 TRAILER

    S5 | Welcome to Powder Keg

    Some stories grow from a green shoot; some explode like a powder keg. The global supplement market is worth $200 billion a year, and Chris Ashenden is a rock star of the industry. Yet in his home country of New Zealand, nobody had heard of him. Investigative journalist Jonathan Milne wanted to tell his story – but when Chris proved elusive, alarm bells began to ring. In the latest electrifying podcast from DELVE, we investigate the superstar endorsements, the science and the safety of the world’s favourite green powder, AG1. Listen to a story that will entangle the biggest names in audio, from Joe Rogan to Andrew Huberman to Gwyneth Paltrow. We follow the money, dig into the crimes and commission our own lab analysis. From the chill of the Southern Ocean to a record Mexican heatwave, from Colombia to the Caribbean, we chase down AG1’s founder to tell the story he didn’t want told.    Episodes 1 and 2 launch Thursday, October 31, with Episode 3 also available for subscribers to DELVE+   To listen early and ad-free to this show, to our bonus episodes, and to award-winning podcast The Boy in the Water and Melanie Reid’s latest investigation, Fractured, sign up to DELVE+. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    2 min
See All Season 5 (8)

Trailers

Hosts & Guests

4.7
out of 5
496 Ratings

About

Some stories grow from a green shoot; some explode like a powder keg. The global supplement market is worth $200 billion a year, and Chris Ashenden is a rock star of the industry. Yet in his home country of New Zealand, nobody had heard of him. Investigative journalist Jonathan Milne wanted to tell his story – but when Chris proved elusive, alarm bells began to ring. In the latest electrifying podcast from DELVE, we investigate the superstar endorsements, the science and the safety of the world’s favourite green powder, AG1. Listen to a story that will entangle the biggest names in audio, from Joe Rogan to Andrew Huberman to Gwyneth Paltrow. We follow the money, dig into the crimes and commission our own lab analysis. From the chill of the Southern Ocean to a record Mexican heatwave, from Colombia to the Caribbean, we chase down AG1’s founder to tell the story he didn’t want told.  Only on DELVE, the home of gripping, in-depth investigative podcasts, including award-winning The Boy in the Water, and Fractured. Sign up to our premium service DELVE+ on Apple, Spotify or your favourite podcast platform. DELVE+ subscribers get Early Release, Ad Free listening. Led by investigations editor, Melanie Reid. Listen to journalism that matters. Discover more on the Melanie Reid Investigates Facebook and Instagram pages, and on Newsroom.co.nz. (Android and Spotify listeners can Sign up to DELVE+ here.) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Information

  • Creator
    newsroom.co.nz
  • Episodes
    73
  • Seasons
    5
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © newsroom.co.nz
  • Show Website
    DELVE: Powder Keg
  • Provider
    Newsroom NZ Limited

You Might Also Like

To listen to explicit episodes, sign in.

Stay up to date with this show

Sign-in or sign-up to follow shows, save episodes and get the latest updates.
Select a country or region

Africa, Middle East, and India

Asia Pacific

Europe

Latin America and the Caribbean

The United States and Canada