About Us
Popsock Media is an award-winning narrative podcasting company which connects and engages audiences through beautiful and impactful storytelling.
The team behind it all
Popsock Media was founded in 2020 in Wellington, New Zealand, by experienced broadcaster and audiophile Kirsten Johnstone, and podcast maker and writer Melody Thomas.
Melody Thomas
Melody Thomas is creator and host of new series The Good Sex Project, created for Stuff. She also made the hit sexuality and relationships podcast BANG! in partnership with RNZ.
BANG! was awarded both bronze and silver medals at the New York Festival Radio Awards and was shortlisted for the prestigious AIB Awards in London in 2018.
In 2019, Melody edited and consulted for season one of He Kākano Ahau, which was joint winner of the 2020 Voyager Award for Best Episodic/Recurrent Podcast.
Melody also works as writer and columnist for Capital Magazine.
She is currently working on a book based on BANG! and The Good Sex Project.
Kirsten Johnstone (Ngāi Tahu)
Kirsten Johnstone is an audio producer and editor, who learned to craft impactful stories and sound while working for RNZ National. She spent 15 years working for RNZ as a producer, on-air host and content creator, and was part of the team that created Music 101 and Song Crush.
She is obsessed with sound, music, and stories and loves constructing complex audio puzzles.
She writes and takes photographs for publications including NZ Herald, The Spinoff, and Audioculture.
Kirsten holds an honours degree in performance flute, but prefers to play the banjo these days.