The Fold

5.0 (2)
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Conversations about the intersections of media, culture and technology in New Zealand, hosted by Duncan Greive, founder of The Spinoff. We'd love it if you're able to take a few minutes to fill out this short survey about The Fold so we can learn more about our listening community and what you'd like to hear on this series. Please click here to fill out the survey.

2 DAYS AGO

The Fold Live in Wellington: will Substack save journalism? Or destroy it?

Duncan Greive is joined by two of New Zealand's most successful Substackers in Bernard Hickey (The Kākā) and Lucy Blakiston (Shit You Should Care About) on stage in Wellington as part of the Fringe Festival. They explore the origin stories of their brands, while delving deep into their relationship with institutional media and the different incentives of a paying audience versus advertising. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

1h 5m
FEB 16

Australia's media lost more than half its value in five years. How and why?

Tim Burrowes is the author of a book and a Substack called Unmade, which are truly essential guides to media in Australia – and a useful way of understanding the similarities and differences which define our two closely linked markets. He joins Duncan Greive ahead of Unmade's first Auckland live event to talk about a torrid decade in Australian media, the forces which are driving that and whether there are reasons to be optimistic amid the carnage. A reminder: The Fold is live in Wellington this week! Get your tickets here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

51 min
FEB 12

Emergency monopod: on the seismic media reforms Paul Goldsmith just floated

Duncan Greive goes solo to break down a discussion document with profound implications for local media. He explains why he thinks this is the best and most coherent policy outline we've seen in a decade, what's in it, what the challenges are and how it would impact local media if it went through. A reminder: The Fold is live in Wellington next week! Get your tickets here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

17 min
FEB 7

Bonus episode: How the media covers Waitangi

Recorded on the sandy shores of the mighty North, guest hosts Liam Ratana and Lyric Waiwiri-Smith (along with regular producer Te Aihe Butler) take over The Fold for a behind-the-scenes look at how the media covers Waitangi. After three days of politician stand ups, haukāinga-led forum panels and more story leads than we had time to cover, what stood out? What did we learn? And how can The Spinoff get a golf cart for Waitangi 2026? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

29 min
FEB 3

The extremely online weirdness of the Ted Cruz tweet affair

Toby Manhire joins Duncan Greive on The Fold to discuss a minor diplomatic incident involving Texas senator Ted Cruz, and what it says about the chaotic information space we now operate in. They also discuss former Spinoff writer Madeleine Holden's new Substack, which launched with a tirade for the ages about a recent Apple ad; Sky TV's satellite woes and an Auckland Council campaign which could very easily have been something else. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

46 min
JAN 28

NZME pivots to video in 2025, the problem with TVNZ's cricket hit and DeepSeek explodes the AI world

Glen Kyne returns to The Fold to discuss the first big media news story of the year – NZME's decision to trade some senior text journalists for a sharp increase in video production. Next we discuss the shocking impact of Chinese-AI lab DeepSeek's world-beating LLM performance on a shoestring budget, Acast's big Between Two Beers podcast pickup and finally how a big success for TVNZ reveals a deeper challenge of video in a digital context. The Fold Live For the first time ever we are putting on a live version of The Fold on 20th February at the Hannah Playhouse in Wellington. Join host Duncan Greive, Bernard Hickey (journalist and host of podcast When the Facts Change) and Lucy Blakiston (CEO and cofounder of Gen Z media company Shit You Should Care About) for a lighthearted chat about media, culture and the creator economy. This show is part of the NZ Fringe Festival, you can get your tickets now at thespinoff.co.nz/events Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

51 min
JAN 20

We’re back! On Meta going MAGA, TikTok’s perilous future and NZ media in 2025

The Spinoff’s resident social media philosopher queen, Anna Rawhiti-Connell, joins Duncan Greive to recap an epochal month in the geopolitics of social media. They talk about Meta’s hard pivot into the MAGA worldview, and what that might mean for audiences and advertisers. Then, examine the fraught status of TikTok in the US, and think about how it might play out. Finally they look at Shayne “Media Insider” Currie’s 25 predictions for 2025, and make their own predictions based on his predictions. All that, plus very quick hits on Luke Combs and SailGP. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

59 min
JAN 15

Summer reissue: Australia has banned social media for under 16s. And that's just the beginning

The Fold is taking a break over summer. We’ll be back soon with new episodes but, until then, here’s one of our favourites from 2024: In an effort to get out of his doom spiral, Duncan Greive takes a tour across the Tasman to see how our close neighbours are dealing with a similar set of challenges. From a social media ban, to local content quotas, to news bargaining, to an activist competition authority, Australia is a global leader, while New Zealand is nowhere to be found. In the first of two episodes focused on Australia, former Newshub boss Hal Crawford joins Duncan to discuss a raft of legislation aimed at big tech, which has either been proposed or passed – sometimes with bipartisan support. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

57 min

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Conversations about the intersections of media, culture and technology in New Zealand, hosted by Duncan Greive, founder of The Spinoff. We'd love it if you're able to take a few minutes to fill out this short survey about The Fold so we can learn more about our listening community and what you'd like to hear on this series. Please click here to fill out the survey.