Our Podcasts
Heaven’s Helpline
How far has the Mormon church gone to cover up abuse? A six-part investigation into how the Latter-day Saints built a system that protects its wealth and reputation – and shields sexual predators from the law.
Popsock Media worked alongside investigative journalist Murray Jones, NZME / NZ Herald and Adam Dudding to make this six-part series, which hit number one on both Apple and Spotify podcast charts in the first two weeks of release, resonating with listeners both in NZ and overseas.
Listen on Apple Spotify and I Heart Radio
Ko Papa Ko Rangi : Ahi Kaa
What does it take to keep the home fires burning in Aotearoa, and why is the term “land back” synonymous internationally with climate action? Brought to you by Te Kōmata o Te Tonga and The Spinoff, Nadine Hura and Ruia Aperahama talk to Ahi Kaa about how they’re preparing for climate change, and why Te Tiriti o Waitangi is the most powerful tool to advocate for protection for Papatūānuku and Ranginui.
Following the success of Ko Papa Ko Rangi, Te Kōmata o Te Tonga’s Vision Mātauranga team approached Popsock Media with the seed of an idea for a next series, to somehow capture the essence of what their kairangahau (researchers) had learned during their projects, so that communities could be inspired into the future, when the funding for the Deep South Challenge came to an end.
The result was a four part series that gave a window into haukainga climate action, which included eeling with the tamariki down the Whanganui river, walking and talking around the scoria rocks of Ihumātao, surveying the aftermath of Cyclone Gabrielle in Tairāwhiti and spending time around the ahi with the whānau at Pikitū Marae in Waikato.
Listen through The Spinoff, Apple or Spotify
The Good Sex Project
GOLD AWARD WINNER
New York Festival Radio Awards 2024: Narrative / Documentary Category
FINALIST
NZ Radio / Podcast Awards; NZ Podcast Awards
Sexual intimacy and romantic relationships are a huge part of most people's lives, and yet when it comes to practical guidance on how to navigate either, we're given very little to go on.
Enter: The Good Sex Project, a podcast about good sex, good relationships and how to have them.
This enlightening podcast series is hosted by Melody Thomas, the brilliant creator and host of award-winning sexuality podcast BANG!
Using intimate interviews with New Zealanders from all ages and backgrounds, Melody helps to guide listeners to a deeper understanding of their own sexual and romantic lives, as well as the wider societal contexts impacting their choices.
Seasons 1 and 2 out now on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts
Te Rauparaha: Kei Wareware
GOLD AWARD WINNER
New York Festival Radio Awards 2024: Education Category
FINALIST
NZ Radio / Podcast Awards
New podcast brings to life the story of compelling leader Te Rauparaha / Ka whakatinana tētehi rokiroki hou i ngā kōrero mō te rangatira whakaihiihi nei a Te Rauparaha
Nearly 175 years after his death, Te Rauparaha remains an intriguing character. He’s been immortalised in fiction, poetry, film, waiata and haka, and has his name on the side of an arena.
The 7-part podcast series tells the story of the life and times of Ngāti Toa leader Te Rauparaha, a compelling figure in the history of Aotearoa New Zealand. The podcast is based on the account of his fathers life by Tamihana Te Rauparaha, written in the 1860s. The manuscript remained only partially translated (and mis-translated) until Te Rauparaha descendent Ross Calman published his translation in 2020.
"Learning about Te Rauparaha’s life is a way of entering into a fascinating era in New Zealand history, in particular the dynamic time of tribal movements and cross-cultural contact in the twenty or so years before the Treaty of Waitangi was signed," says podcast host Ross Calman (Ngāti Toa, Ngāti Raukawa, Ngāi Tahu).
Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Podbean
Ko Papa Ko Rangi
Popsock Media worked alongside Deep South Challenge to record and edit these important conversations.
Work is underway across Aotearoa to quantify the costs of climate change, including the costs of adaptation or of failure to adapt.
But how do we understand “cost” and will our economic paradigm really lead to effective climate adaptation? If we can’t or don’t quantify/consider some costs of climate change (and benefits of adaptation!), how can we ensure these are factored in our adaptation decisions?
Are we capable of making decisions that return to Papa and Rangi value greater than what we have taken?
Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts
Untidy
Untidy podcast honours the person within the parent. Hosts, Matilda Green and Hannah Davison dive into the undergrowth of sex and relationships, mental health, healing, body issues, identity questions, and more with a range of guests. Connect, laugh, learn, and keep moving forward.
Popsock Media co-produced the first season, and provided editing and advice.
Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Rova, Google Podcasts
True Justice
WINNER: VOYAGER MEDIA AWARDS 2023 BEST ORIGINAL PODCAST SEASONAL / SERIAL
True Justice is a five-part podcast series that shares the stories of those who have been through our prisons, and advocates for a more just justice system in Aotearoa.
Hosted by Tūhoe / Jewish actor and musician Ana Chaya Scotney (Cousins, the Breaker-Upperers) and crimonology student Tommy Doran, who spent time in prison as a young methamphetamine addict.
Produced by justice advocacy group JustSpeak and Popsock Media, with Re: News.
Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts
The Lake
GOLD AWARD WINNER
New York Festival Radio Awards 2022: Narrative / Documentary Category
WINNER
Voyager Media Awards 2022: Best Podcast - Narrative/Serial & Best Team Investigation
Between 1972-1977, hundreds of children aged 8-16 were subjected to brutal physical, mental and sexual abuse and unlawful use of electroconvulsive therapy at Lake Alice Psychiatric Facility.
Now, almost 50 years later, the abuse that occurred in the welfare homes is the subject of a Royal Commission of Inquiry.
In this 8-part podcast series produced for Stuff, host Aaron Smale asks what happened at Lake Alice, who was responsible, and why has no-one has ever been held accountable.
Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts
The Magpie House
Produced for Sounz Centre for New Zealand Music, Toi Te Ara Puoru
SHORTLISTED, NEW YORK FESTIVAL RADIO AWARDS 2022: CULTURE & THE ARTS CATEGORY
Just off a bustling Wellington city thoroughfare, is a quaint little lane called Ascot Street. Number 22 is a tar black weatherboard modernist house, with stark white framing. Out back there’s an overgrown jungle of a garden, where NZ’s ‘father of classical music composition’ Douglas Lilburn liked to spend time growing vegetables and listening to the tūī.
Over four episodes, Kirsten Johnstone weaves the stories that surround the house and its inhabitants into a Forrest-Gump-esque saga of war and music, cold-war espionage and persecution, the search for identity and a place to call home.
Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts
RNZ: BANG!
SILVER AWARD, NEW YORK FESTIVAL RADIO AWARDS 2019
BRONZE AWARD, NEW YORK FESTIVAL RADIO AWARDS 2018
SHORTLISTED - AIB AWARDS LONDON 2018
Melody Thomas’ groundbreaking series BANG! remains one of RNZ’s most successful podcasts to date. A frank and entertaining exploration of sex, sexuality and relationships, as told by real New Zealanders.
Created & hosted by Melody Thomas for RNZ
Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, RNZ
He Kākano Ahau S02
CO-WINNER, VOYAGER MEDIA AWARDS 2020: BEST EPISODIC/RECURRENT PODCAST
In a world of media that speaks to everyone else, He Kākano Ahau is a podcast prioritising uniquely Māori and youth-focused worldviews.
In season 2 of He Kākano Ahau, host Kahu Kutia explores some of the ways whānau are working to create the world they want for their mokopuna.
Produced by Four and Five Films Ltd for RNZ. Co-production, co-writing and sound editing by Melody Thomas, with editing support from Kirsten Johnstone.
Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, RNZ
Resonate: 10 Years of Brooke Fraser's Flags
BRONZE AWARD, NEW ZEALAND PODCAST AWARDS 2021 - CULTURE & ARTS PODCAST
It's been a decade since the release of Flags, the album that shot Brooke Fraser to international fame. In this 3-part podcast series, Brooke takes you behind the scenes of this seminal album to show you the good bits, the not so good bits & everything in between. Featuring interviews with the personnel and music industry team behind the album, this is your chance to hear never-before-told stories of a classic.
Produced By Popsock Media for Sony Music NZ.
Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts