Murph hosts stars podcast
Greg “Murph” Murphy is hitting the streets with In The Driver’s Seat, a new podcast that’s part carpool confession, part cautionary tale and 100 per cent homegrown.
Launching this month and backed by fleet and driver-safety leader AutoSense, the 10-part series invites high-profile Kiwis to take Murph for a spin in their own vehicles while opening up about how they’ve lived and the roads they have taken.
Murph hands over the keys and rides shotgun as his guests jump in the driver’s seat and hit Auckland’s streets of Auckland. The first few minutes of each episode are recorded on the road, with the racing legend asking everything from how they learned to drive to what’s lurking in the glovebox.
Then it’s back to the studio for a more unfiltered conversation about defining moments, driving habits and the lessons that stuck.
The first episode on September 10 featured radio personalities Jay Reeve and Duncan “Dunc” Heyde, who take Murph for a cruise in Dunc’s 1997 V8 Chevy Suburban “with 11 cup holders.”
Dunc owns up to being a mellow driver – “I can’t remember my last speeding ticket” – but doesn’t hold back on the risks of fatigue. “If I think I want to push through, I stop for fresh air. Just don’t drive tired.”
Jay, who spent years clocking up many road miles on the professional longboard surf circuit, brings a more unpredictable energy. These days, he keeps things interesting with his twin boys by taking a different route to school every day.
“My driving style is inquisitive,” he admits. His top tip to avoid distraction is to set the playlist before pulling out of the driveway, handing over DJ duties to the kids in the back seat.
Jenny-May Clarkson – TV broadcaster, former police officer and Silver Fern – gets behind the wheel of her 2005 Toyota Corolla, a manual she inherited from her late father.
“It’s done 230,000km and still runs like a dream,” she says. “And you can’t be on your phone when you’re driving a manual. You need both hands and I love that.”
She learned to drive on rural backroads around Piopio aged 13, taught by her truck driver dad. In her teens she rolled twice and once spun out on gravel trying to be cool. “I managed to stay on the road, but it was only luck that saved me.”
The real wake-up call came when she was 20 and working on the beat. “I went to my first fatal crash. The victim was 16. Four years earlier, that could’ve been me.”
Clarkson’s mum, a defensive driving tutor, gave her no choice but to learn the rules early. “I was the guinea pig,” she laughs. “But it stuck.”
Murph shares his own close call too. “I wrote off a car at 18. I’d just started racing and thought I was invincible. I could’ve killed myself and my passenger. Fate played a big part in the outcome.”
Created by Jay-Jay Feeney and Dom Harvey at Podlab, the former broadcasters developed and produced the podcast in collaboration with AutoSense.
It dives into these raw stories but stays grounded in humour, emotions and connection. Each episode of In The Driver’s Seat is a road trip through people’s lives with a few sharp turns along the way.
Listeners will hear Rocket Lab’s Sir Peter Beck, who takes Murph for a ride in a DeLorean complete with Back To The Future’s soundtrack from the cassette deck, Dame Susan Devoy in her Jaguar F-Pace purring around Ponsonby and Sir Peter Leitch – aka the Mad Butcher – reveals the distraction of driving past rival butcher shops.
The confirmed guest lineup and episode release schedule is September 17 – Laura McGoldrick in her Ford Everest and Jenny-May Clarkson in her Toyota Corolla on the 24th.
On October 1, it’s Sir Peter Beck in his DeLorean, 8th – Matt Watson in a Toyota, 15th – Nathan Wallis in his red Mustang, 22nd – Dame Susan Devoy in her F-Pace. Then on October 29 it’s Sir Peter Leitch in a Holden Commodore.
In November, it’s Art Green in his Subaru Outback on the 5th and Paul Ego in a Honda ZRV Hybrid on the 12th.
New episodes will drop on Wednesday mornings across Spotify, Apple and other major platforms. Each one wraps with a quickfire question-and-answer section with guests. Click here https://youtu.be/j60djGTaN8A to watch episode one.
