Romance, Relatives, and Raging Reviews

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 questions queued up, which means we’re either wildly popular or someone’s cat walked across a keyboard and hit “send” repeatedly. Either way, if you want your question featured, now’s your moment.

And yes, somewhere buried beneath our rambling, sarcasm, and occasional existential dread, there’s probably a nugget of actionable wisdom. Like a motivational quote scribbled on a pub napkin.

Jess, from Bishop’s Tatchbrook, Warwickshire, England sets the first question  - “How do different forms of love (platonic, romantic, familial) direct and orchestrate our lives individually and collectively?”

Love: the emotional Swiss Army knife. Stuart says it grounds you, energizes you, distracts you, levels you out, and occasionally hijacks your to-do list. William’s all in—love is life, especially if it involves hugging trees. Stuart’s less sentimental: family is great unless you’re stuck with them like mismatched socks, and friends might just be the upgrade. William assumes families love each other (adorable), but also warns that love can morph into grief-monsters and toxic clinginess. Sometimes, the most loving thing is to ghost your relatives. And finally, William wonders: do we love the planet, or are we just swiping right on nature for the aesthetic?

Luna, from San Jose Del Cabo, Mexico sets the next question - “ What do you think of your critics?”

Stuart’s approach to criticism? Less “What did they say?” and more “How dare they make me feel things?” He’s basically running a one-man emotional focus group. William, ever the sage, thinks critics can be useful—like unsolicited life coaches with better vocabulary. But he refuses to create with critics in mind, because nothing says artistic paralysis like trying to please everyone. Stuart suggests we interrogate our environmental beliefs (cue existential crisis), while William wraps it all up with a TED Talk to a bank: be authentic, not beige. Because nothing screams soul like ignoring your shareholders.

What do you make of this discussion? Do you have a question that you'd like us to discuss? Let us know by sending an email to ⁠[e-mail]

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This podcast's overall themes are nature, philosophy, climate, the human condition, sustainability, and social justice. 

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