Poppy Reid launches ‘innovative’ media company
Former editor-in-chief and co-founder of The Brag Media, Poppy Reid, has unveiled her first major venture since the Vinyl Group acquisition.
Unveiled on Monday, she has launched an “innovative” media company called Curious Media.
A podcast network, Curious Media has one “simple” promise – to “unearth and share uncomfortable stories” through new and returning podcasts, hosted by some of Australia’s “most interesting and curious storytellers”.
It marks Reid’s first major move since The Brag Media was sold to Vinyl Group last year. The deal was funded by an $11 million placement and debt facility from WiseTech Global’s founder and CEO, Richard White.
At The Brag Media, she played a “pivotal role” in shaping the youth publisher’s identity, overseeing its titles including Rolling Stone AU/NZ, Variety Australia, Tone Deaf, The Music Network, and The Brag. She also hosted podcasts including ‘Behind The Rolling Stone Cover’, ‘Fear At The Top’, and ‘Variety Australia’.
Since departing The Brag Media, she has spent the past six months as a music journalist at the Seven Network, providing insights as a regular commentator on all things music and culture.
Reid takes on the title of co-founder and chief content officer of Curious Media. She said building a new company, and choosing which podcasts to commission has been “equally fascinating and eye-opening”.
“Our conversations will go deeper, push harder and sit in that uncomfortable silence to see what emerges on the other side,” she said.
“I can’t wait for people to discover the unique stories we’re going to share via Curious Media. Our creators have important things to say. It won’t always be easy listening, but it will always be creative, compelling and curious.”
The Curious Media lineup. (L-R): Michael Theo, Poppy Reid, Fuzz Ali, Amy Castano, Jono Castano, Sid Punts, Merrick Watts, Steve Grace, Ben Lee, Ione Skye. Credit: Jess Macc.
Podcasts already lined up include Sid Punts’ ‘Prison Chronicles’, ‘Weirder Together with Ben Lee and Ione Skye’, and ‘No Business Being a Castano’.
Reid will also host her own shows – one called ‘On The Record’ which will explore music, and another titled ‘Untypical’ which will delve into film and television. She will be joined by Michael Theo – star of Love on the Spectrum – on ‘Untypical’.
Other shows in the works include an “exploratory Kokoda Track mission”, hosted by popular media personality Merrick Watts, as well as ‘Food Stories With Fuzz Ali’, which will focus on immigrant and non-white experiences, hosted by the My Kitchen Rules star.
Reid has joined forces with co-founder and commercial lead Steve Grace to launch Curious Media.
Grace is the founder and CEO of The Nudge Group, a company specialising in recruitment, capital raising, and owned media for start-ups and scale-ups. He also runs Nudge Productions, which creates and manage podcasts in both audio and video formats, as well as newsletter production, photography, and filmmaking. He is also the co-founder of The Pillars, a “high-end” private members club in Sydney’s CBD.
Steve Grace and Poppy Reid
“There are a lot of podcasts and podcast companies out there, but amongst all the noise, there’s not enough curiosity and discomfort. Curious Media will change this. We will go beyond the easy questions, the obvious stories and the stuff that everyone agrees on,” Grace said.
“Curious Media is about creating meaningful value for both creators and brands. We’re enabling content creators to monetise their passion in ways that support long-term growth, helping them evolve from podcasters to influential broadcasters.”
He said for brands, partnerships with Curious Media are about “fostering real impact, both creatively and commercially”, while building a network that grows with its creators.
The launch comes as Reid’s fellow Brag co-founder, and her talent manager, Luke Girgis, is currently suing Vinyl Group, alleging he was unfairly terminated following the sale of the business.
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Lauren McNamara is a freelance journalist contributing to Mumbrella. She previously spent three years at the publication, most recently as the associate editor. She first joined in 2022 after completing a Bachelor of Communications (Journalism) at UTS. She left her staff role at Mumbrella in August 2025.
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topics
Curious Media
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Michael Theo
podcast network
podcasting
Poppy Reid
Steve Grace
The Brag Media
Vinyl Group
Seems pretty dodgy that a brand-new page already has 118K followers and a post from just six hours ago with over 3,000 likes but literally ZERO genuine comments. Yet somehow their blurred teaser posts were suspiciously flooded with vague, cookie-cutter praise like ‘They always deliver top-notch quality’, ‘Best content I’ve seen in a while’, and ‘Curious media really stands out’—all before anyone knew what they were actually launching. Buying fake engagement and pre-launch hype is a sketchy look for a media company claiming authenticity.
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Buying fake engagement, comments and pre-launch botted likes on their Instagram posts is a sketchy look for a media company claiming authenticity.
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