Introducing The Tortoise

We're so excited to introduce you to The Tortoise - a podcast (plodcast!) that digs deep into the power of slow. 

Ben and Brooke are back with a new iteration of their slow living conversations, and the first full episode will be released very shortly. Until then, take a few minutes to get reacquainted, learn why The Slow Home Podcast is no more (RIP) and hear a little about what's in store for The Tortoise. 

If you haven't already, be sure to subscribe to The Tortoise in your favourite podcast app and head over to the website to sign up for a free weekly newsletter. 

Join The Tortoise Community: https://brookemcalary.substack.com/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Episode Transcript

S1 (00:02):
Welcome to the tortoise. A podcast that digs deep. Into
the power of slow. I am Brooke McAlary and I
am joined by my husband, Ben McAlary.

S2 (00:16):
It's not a podcast. It's a podcast. So what's the
tortoise going to be all about?

S1 (00:26):
Well, it's about slow, but it's a much more expansive idea.
Or look at what slow is in the world. You know,
when we first started the Slow Home podcast, it was
really about home and, you know, self development, self awareness
and what slow living could do individually and in a

(00:48):
closer sense. And it grew over time. And I think
we tried to make it expansive, but the idea of
it being about the home somehow felt like it kind
of put walls around what slow could be in the
conversations we were having. And when it became clear that
the slow HomePod was coming to its natural end, we

(01:08):
didn't want to finish podcasting and we didn't want to
finish talking about slow, but we were looking for some
different kind of way in. And that's what the tortoise
is going to be because you think about what a
tortoise is, it's slow, but it's intentional, it's powerful, and
that's the lens through which I want to look at
heaps of different topics on this podcast.

S2 (01:29):
Yeah, absolutely. So how is it different to the Slow
Home podcast R.I.P.?

S1 (01:36):
It's just more expansive. Yeah, the idea of the slow
home was really what it needed to be for us
for many years. But over time, it it kind of
felt restrictive, whereas this feels much more expansive and invitational
and looks far beyond the home it looks. We're going

(01:57):
to look at topics that will impact. Family, work, community.
You know, you can take it as broad as you want,
and it just feels like permission to me to make
a change, which I think we need sometimes. You know,
we did the slow HomePod for eight years and it
was wonderful. But slowness represents more than that to me.

(02:20):
And I feel like the conversations that we're going to
have will ripple further.

S2 (02:26):
And these conversations are going to be recorded where we
can outdoors. They'll be unedited, unfiltered, complete with dog barks,
wind in the background and cars going past.

S1 (02:38):
You know, and that's the draw to me, actually. You
and I recorded a couple of episodes, the final episodes
of The Slow HomePod like that. And there was something
really joyful and candid about it. And I want to
play around with that. You know, I think that it's
the antithesis to what a lot of podcasts have become. And, um,

(03:02):
and I know I'm drawn to real conversations rather than
highly edited, scripted.

S3 (03:13):
Jeff.

S1 (03:16):
I don't know if you can hear it, but the
black cockatoos in the background going overhead. Sorry, that's just
made me really happy. They mean a lot to me.
They do?

S2 (03:25):
Yeah. You're spirit are an animal.

S1 (03:27):
Yeah. Do we say spirit? Animal?

S2 (03:28):
I do. That's my spirit animal. The car, getting.

S1 (03:34):
Past neighbors driving down the driveway.

S2 (03:39):
So, yeah, as you said, they're always going to be candid.
They're sometimes going to be funny. I hope so. And
they're going to be a monthly podcast.

S1 (03:47):
Yes. So that's the other shift that we've made. I'm
all about being really intentional with our outputs and overcommitting
is is not slow, you know, So really just committing
to having a deep conversation once a month at this
point feels right. Yeah. And so much of what we're doing,

(04:11):
the changes that we're making are all about how things
feel and it feels right. So I'm and it feels
exciting and I think it will give us it will
feel like a. Like a treat almost, you know, to
to to dig in and explore a topic deeply once
a month.

S2 (04:33):
We're incredibly excited about what this podcast can do, not
only for us, but hopefully for you, the audience. So
we encourage you if you haven't already, subscribe via Apple Podcasts,
Spotify or your favorite podcast platform and we will be
in your ear holes with episode one very shortly. Until then.

S1 (04:55):
Take good care.