The People's Countryside Environmental Debate Podcast

Alex is back in the listeners chair again today. You send in the questions, we tackle them live—always with an environmental twist and no peeking beforehand.

Jess, from  Bishop’s Tatchbrook, Warwickshire, England sets the initial question - “I’ve been thinking about the police Stop and Search tactics in the UK. Should we keep it? Done for the right reasons, with truthful explanations, is it wrong? It's about how it's done I ...

Alex Kauffmann has resumed his role as principal moderator of ‘The Listeners Chair’, reclaiming the central chair from which audience questions are drawn. These are then picked apart and reframed within environmental contexts to tease out wider significance.

Lilly, from Summertown, Oxford, England sets the first question - “Should Oxford colleges open up more of their greenspaces to the wider population and tourists, or is it ok to ...

Ever wondered what happens when a housing ladder turns into a pyramid, a mortgage that outlives its owner, and funding applications start behaving like job adverts? Then this is the episode for you!

Welcome to The People’s Countryside Environmental Debate Podcast where you, the listener, send in questions for co-hosts Stuart ‘The Wildman’ Mabbutt and William Mankelow to conversate around.

In today’s episode we once again welcome back...

In this episode of The People’s Countryside Environmental Debate Podcast, co-hosts Stuart ‘The Wildman’ Mabbutt and William Mankelow are once again joined by Alex Kauffmann, in the ‘Listener’s chair,’ to explore two very different, but equally thought-provoking questions sent in by listeners. 

Faye from Islington, London, England, asks the first question: “We often talk about societal addictions and highlight drugs and alcohol, but ...

Welcome to the podcast that’s not really about people, and definitely not about the countryside—unless you count emotional landscapes and the occasional sheep metaphor.

Since the Great Plague of Zoom Calls (aka COVID), you lot have been flinging questions at us like confetti at a wedding we weren’t invited to. We don’t read them beforehand—because where’s the fun in preparation? We hit record and hope for the best.

We’ve got 18 more ...

We're the kind of people who'd lick a glacier just to say we’ve “explored it cold.” No matter what we're talking about—be it cheese, space travel, or ancient plumbing—we’ll somehow loop it back to the environment. And yes, between two questions, we casually teleport 11,000 miles—from croissants in Paris to kiwis in the Bay of Plenty. Our carbon footprint is basically a world tour.

Margot, from Paris, France is the listen...

Since COVID, this podcast has pretty much been all about the questions that you, the listener, have sent in for Stuart ‘The Wildman’ Mabbutt and William Mankelow, the two co-hosts, to conversate around.

In every episode, two of these listener questions are discussed, and by sheer coincidence, both questions in today’s episode, have come from the same person; Elodie in Brittany, France.

The first of Elodie’s questions is as follows: “...

We cover two listener questions in today’s episode, with two guests once again in the Listener’s Chair, those being Alex Kauffmann and Suzi Darrington, who sit alongside the regular co-hosts Stuart ‘The Wildman’ Mabbutt and William Mankelow.

The two questions up for discussion are: “How do technological advancements alter scientific methodologies?” which was sent in by Floss in Gimli, Manitoba, Canada, and “Can ethical consumption e...

We don't necessarily talk about the countryside on this podcast as much as we used to or should do, maybe. You, the listeners, now send in questions for us to conversate around. We don't see the questions until we press record, and we always try to spin it back to the environment in some way.

In this episode we have two guests in the listener’s chair, the first guests in a long while, or should we say chairs? One returning g...

You could rewind the podcast, listen in reverse, and Stuart (co-host) would still sound like he's decoding alien transmissions. People keep saying we should be 'industry voices'—but the world has plenty of self-appointed sages peddling their predictable patter. We’d rather stay unpredictable than be another echo in the expert chamber.

Vinroy, from Linstead, Jamaica sets the first listener question today  - “Would a multi...

If you’re listening to this podcast, you've officially run out of things to do with your life.

Now we’ve got your attention, here’s the first of two listener questions, your co-hosts Stuart ‘The Wildman’ Mabbutt, whose known for his willingness to challenge mainstream perspectives, and William Mankelow who always tries to anchor the discussion with thoughtful reflections, that blend aesthetics with reality. But most of the time,...

There is quite a bit to unpack in this, the latest episode of The People’s Countryside Environmental Debate Podcast. Where conversations serve as springboards for deeper discussions that weave through nature, philosophy, climate, the human condition, sustainability, and social justice, all with the starting point of a question sent in by a listener. 

In today’s episode your co-hosts discuss two such questions, the first coming from ...

 Stuart and William don't see the listener questions before they press record. They don't really have guests. They explore these topics cold without preparation. Not trying to be the go-to experts as they feel there are enough out there already, they see themselves as the go-to guys who are willing to explore things cold.

Scott, Arisaig, Scotland - “What are your biggest challenges personally in 2025, and what are the bigges...

 You the listeners send in questions to talk about. Your co-hosts Stuart and William, try and spin it round to the environment in some way. Neither see the questions before they press record. No preparation, they try and hopefully, a little bit like you, approach this stuff cold.

Scott, Arisaig, Scotland - “Rewilding, a significant contemporary movement, entails the restoration and enhancement of local, regional, and international f...

“You often talk about the talks you give. Is your style accidental, evolving and planned?”

This is the first of two listener questions your co-hosts Stuart ‘The Wildman’ Mabbutt and William Mankelow discuss in this episode of The People’s Countryside Environmental Debate Podcast. This question was sent in by Unity in Paddock Wood, Kent, England.

From Unity’s question, Stuart and William discuss how, though their talks are planned, wi...

Floss from Gimli, Manitoba, Canada set the first of two listener questions in today’s episode  

“Do either of you feel you have guardian angels?”

Stuart and William come at Floss’s question in two very unique ways, which reflects how different they are from each other.

William refuses to believe in literal guardian angels, as he feels you need to believe in actual angels. He does however acknowledge how the presence of important peopl...

Scott, a listener from Arisaig, Scotland sets today's first question  - “We have rebranded tourism, to backpacking, walking, cycling, mountaineering and exploring etc, so as to get an authentic experience of a place. Though in getting that authentic experience, often we turn a blind eye and we see places how we want to, not how they really are. In ways that fit our own narrative, maybe overly romantic? Maybe that's why when...

“I  heard someone on TV say they didn’t think Essex had wildlife, until someone said wildlife is everywhere. What is the world coming to?” That's the question left by listener James, in Ecclefechan, Scotland for your co-hosts Stuart and William to delve into. 

Wildlife? More Like Wild Conspiracies! Join William and Stuart as they dissect the absurdities of British wildlife with all the enthusiasm of a damp Saturday in Colchester...

“I’ve heard youngsters say in the olden days we never had mobiles, and how did we survive? This worries me. Ok youngsters are tech savvy, but they perhaps lack the ability to adapt quickly if tech fails them?”

This is the first of the two listener questions sent in for Stuart and William to discuss in today’s episode, this particular question came from Wayne in Bangor, Maine, USA.

Off the back of Wayne’s question, William recounts hi...