After parting ways with commercial radio earlier this year, Mitch Churi hasn’t wasted time figuring out his next move.
Instead, the award-winning broadcaster is stepping into podcasting with The Mitch Churi Chat Show, launching September 10 in partnership with Acast.
Framed as a modern twist on the late-night format, the podcast will deliver long-form, unfiltered conversations with high-profile guests, plus commentary on the week’s biggest pop culture stories.
Full episodes will be available on YouTube and audio platforms, with shorter highlights packaged for TikTok and Instagram Reels.
Speaking on Mediaweek’s Newsmakers podcast, Churi looked back on how he first found his way into KIIS FM, the unlikely “chicken” moment that got him noticed by Kyle and Jackie O, and how he has rebuilt after leaving the Australian Radio Network.
From New York to the KIIS street team
Before he was on air, Churi was studying theatre and improv in New York.
“So I was living in New York at 19 and I was studying theater and improv comedy. I was doing classes at the Groundlings and the Upright Citizens Brigade Theater, and I thought, I’m gonna be a comedian, I’m gonna be an actor, and I need to come back home and save up and get some cash,” he recalled.
When he returned to Sydney, a friend suggested he’d be a good fit for the KIIS street team. He said radio was always in the back of his mind as a fallback, even though he had no clear path into the industry. That entry-level job soon opened unexpected doors.
Churi explained that he’d started recording himself on Snapchat while driving the KIIS Jeeps and handing out drinks at promotions.
“Content has changed so much, and I’m gonna show my age, but Snapchat was big. Snapchat stories were the only place. Instagram didn’t have stories, it was just posting photos with a funny filter,” he said.
It was one of those Snapchat clips that caught the attention of Derek Bargwanna, the KIIS content boss. “I get back to the station and someone says, DB wants to meet you. I go, what is a DB and how is he seeing my Snapchat? They said, no, he runs the station. If he calls you into a meeting, it’s bad.”
The chicken test with Kyle and Jackie O
That meeting turned out to be the start of his on-air career. Bargwanna brought him upstairs to meet Kyle and Jackie O just after their breakfast show had finished.
“DB goes, ‘Oh, I hear you think you’re pretty funny.’ I said I’d studied improv and comedy, and he just cut me off: ‘Be a chicken. Be a rooster,’” Churi said.
“So in front of Kyle and Jackie O, never met them before, I squat to my knees, arms behind me, and I cluck. It was like a hazing ritual, and they laughed. Then they went back to their discussion. I just sat there until a producer said, ‘You need to go now, honey.’”
A week later, Churi received an email confirming his new role on the show. “You’re the cash cock. They want you for this segment on the Kyle and Jackie O Show,” the note read.
For Churi, the moment underscored the unique energy of the building. He described KIIS as his version of Saturday Night Live, a place where he built characters, pushed for airtime, and learned to grab opportunities.
Moving on from KIIS
Years later, Churi was hosting The Night Show With Mitch Churi and The 3PM Pick-Up when he was let go in a restructure at ARN. He says the decision came as a shock.
“Bad blood, no hard feelings. You can’t – there are people in this industry, in every industry, who harbour resentment over something that happened to them years ago. I don’t want to be that person,” he said.
He pointed to advice he picked up early in his career: “You’re only as good as your next show. I subscribe to that in life. I want to be held to what I make now, not what happened in the past. But it was shocking. I didn’t expect it. My team didn’t expect it. Only a select few in the company knew it was coming.”
A chat show for the internet age
That setback has since cleared the way for his new venture. Partnering with Acast, The Mitch Churi Chat Show is designed as a late-night talk format for the internet age, blending celebrity interviews, pop culture commentary and social-first content.
Across his career, Churi has attracted more than 220 million views online for his interviews, while also winning Best Music Presenter at the 2022 Australian Commercial Radio and Audio Awards.
With the new project, he’s aiming to create a show that blends the tradition of late-night chat with the reach of digital platforms.
You can hear Churi reflect on his early years in radio and the launch of his new podcast in the latest episode of Mediaweek’s Newsmakers.