top of page
heavyvehicleheader.jpg

NEWS

Search

Murph rides shotgun with well known New Zealanders


ree

In the Driver’s Seat with Greg Murphy reveals driving confessions


Greg ‘Murph’ Murphy is hitting the streets with In the Driver’s Seat, a bold new podcast that’s part carpool confession, part cautionary tale and 100% homegrown. Launching this September and backed by fleet and driver safety leaders AutoSense, the ten-part series invites high-profile New Zealanders to take Murph for a spin in their own cars while opening up about the lives they’ve lived — and the roads they’ve taken.


Possibly New Zealand’s own version of James Corden– minus the karaoke and plus a few life lessons – Murph hands over the keys and rides shotgun as his guests jump in the driver’s seat and hit the streets of Auckland. The first few minutes of each episode are recorded on the road, with Murph 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 features radio personalities Jay Reeve and Duncan ‘Dunc’ Heyde, who take Murph for a cruise in Dunc’s 1997 V8 Chevy Suburban, “with eleven 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,” he says. “Just don’t drive tired.”


Jay, who spent years clocking up road miles on the pro 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. “The kids take over from there – but I’ve still got skip power from the steering wheel.”


Jenny-May Clarkson — television 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 230,000 kilometres 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 Pio Pio at 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.” Jenny-May’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.” Now raising four children — including teenage daughters who are at different stages of learning to drive — Jenny-May’s on a mission to pass those skills on.


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.


The podcast 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 and seatbelt-worthy moments 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 soundtrack from the cassette deck), Dame Susan Devoy in her Jaguar F-Pace purring around Ponsonby and Sir Peter Leitch’ - otherwise known as the Mad Butcher - reveals the distraction of driving past rival butcher shops. Neuroscience educator Nathan Wallis also jumps in, breaking down why the teen brain isn’t wired for safe driving just yet — and what that means for parents.


The confirmed guest lineup and episode release schedule is:

10 September – Jay Reeve & Dunc Heyde in Dunc’s 97 Chev Suburban

17 September – Laura McGoldrick in her Ford Everest

24 September – Jenny-May Clarkson in her Toyota Corolla

1 October – Sir Peter Beck in his DeLorean 

8 October – Matt Watson in a Toyota

15 October – Nathan Wallis in his red Mustang

22 October – Dame Susan Devoy in her Jag F Pace

29 October – Sir Peter Leitch in a Holden Commodore

5 November – Art Green in his Subaru Outback

12 November – Paul Ego in a Honda ZRV Hybrid.


New episodes will drop every Wednesday morning across Spotify, Apple and other major platforms. Each one wraps with a quickfire Q&A section; from what are the guests biggest driving distractions, top tips for combatting fatigue to what scares them the most on the road.


AutoSense CEO Charles Dawson says supporting the podcast was a no-brainer. “In the Driver’s Seat brings road safety into the mainstream — not through lectures, but through stories that stick. These are familiar faces sharing unfamiliar stories that make people stop and think. If even one person decides not to check their phone while driving, or pulls over instead of pushing on tired — that’s the impact we aim for.”


Instagram: @drivers.seat.murph

YouTube: @DriversSeatwithMurph

 
 
 

Comments

bottom of page