Between Two Beers Podcast

Steve Braunias sat through every day of the Polkinghorne trial - the society murder that gripped New Zealand - and wrote the bestselling book on it. He liked the accused. He chatted with him every morning. And he more than entertains the possibility that Phil Polkinghorne is an innocent man.

In this episode, Steve takes us inside the eight weeks that felt like "a carnival": the forensic evidence that won and lost the case, the missing star witness Madison Ashton, the moment the prosecution's case fell apart, and why the national feeling that "he got away with it" collides with everything the facts say.

But this is also the story of one of New Zealand's greatest living writers. The Motley Crüe interview that ended with him thrown against a wall. The letter that got him sacked from the Sunday magazine. Failing out of journalism school, learning to type by copying out Sylvia Plath, and 46 years of skewering phonies and squares - plus the surprisingly tender stuff: his late brother Mark, his daughter Minka, and why his dream is to one day stop writing altogether.

Between Two Beers is proudly brought to you by One New Zealand. We believe that One NZ connects New Zealand, while Between Two Beers connects New Zealanders. And together, we are NZ's most trusted connection platform.

Steve and Seamus are proud to be dressed by Barkers Clothing.
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Di Foster arrived ready to coach. Then she realised the smartest coaching move was to stop coaching.

In this episode she explains why: Between Two Beers is in ‘execution season’, and what sport understands about seasons and rhythms is something most businesses never name.

We get into why Steve and Seamus are slightly misaligned on what they really want, the delegation trap of "it takes 2 minutes to do but 15 minutes to explain," how to hand things over without interrupting the week, why the team can't keep running through the founders, and the one job Di's given the boys before the World Cup: be present, have fun, and produce a bloody good product.

Thanks to our partner Odoo - the all-in-one business management software that keeps you from drowning in admin. Everything you need on one platform, for one subscription. Start your free 15-day trial at http://odoo.com
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Futurist Frances Valintine (founder of Academy X and Tech Futures Lab) joins the show to map what New Zealand actually looks like in twenty years, and it's a sobering picture.

We're one of the fastest-changing populations on earth: ageing fast, with a birth rate well below replacement and a workforce shrinking from four people per retiree toward just two. Her warning is that we're already late to plan for it.

From there the conversation turns to AI and the future of work, where Frances is blunt - every job ahead will have an AI component, and the longer you wait to understand it, the harder it gets.

She unpacks how the technology is already changing the way we search, shop and make decisions, why New Zealand's greatest advantage in a chaotic world is trust, and how a small country might carve out a future by being the "slow but really good" partner the rest of the world relies on.

Between Two Beers is proudly brought to you by One New Zealand. We believe that One NZ connects New Zealand, while Between Two Beers connects New Zealanders. And together, we are NZ's most trusted connection platform.

Steve and Seamus are proud to be dressed by Barkers Clothing.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The boys are back behind the scenes, and the World Cup is almost here.

Seamus and Steve break down the wild Tim Payne phenomenon - how an All Whites right-back with 4,000 followers became bigger than the All Blacks in 48 hours after an Argentinian content creator made him the face of the tournament.

Seamus has known Tim since he was 16, and with Between Two Goals heading into the exact camp that's now the most talked-about in world football, the dream scenario of exclusive access starts to take shape.

Then it's all systems go for the trip: the daily Between Two Goals TV show following the All Whites across America and Canada, the mobile studio, walk-and-talk intros, and the small matter of Steve not knowing which city he's flying to.

Plus reflections on two cracking recent episodes - former All Blacks manager Darren Shand on 20 years inside the machine, and futurist Frances Valentine - and a well-earned shout-out to the newly honoured Dame Susan Hassall.
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Matthew Ridge is one of New Zealand's most recognisable sporting figures - All Blacks captain, NRL star, television personality. But behind the swagger and the highlights reel is a story most people have never heard.

Originally released in 2024 and one of our most popular episodes, we're bringing this one back because it deserves to be heard again.

Ridgey sits down with Steve and Seamus to tell it all. At 16, he was wrongfully convicted of aggravated robbery - three High Court trials, a 14-year sentence hanging over his head, and a sports career that nearly never happened.

He talks about growing up without his father, finding mental toughness through tennis, and the moment he got a voicemail from Graham Lowe asking if he wanted to play rugby league for Manly.

He opens up about the NRL years, the TV relationship with Marc Ellis - and he talks honestly about his meth use, functioning as an addict while the cameras rolled, and the moment he looked at a photo of himself and saw no light in his eyes.

This is Matthew Ridge like you've never heard him before.

Between Two Beers is proudly brought to you by One New Zealand. We believe that One NZ connects New Zealand, while Between Two Beers connects New Zealanders. And together, we are NZ's most trusted connection platform.

Steve and Seamus are proud to be dressed by Barkers Clothing.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.