The Clearing with Katherine May
- Episodes
- 101
- Released
- weekly
- Latest episode
- Oct 20, 2026
About the podcast
Where would you go to rest and retreat, in good times and bad?
Katherine May, author of Wintering and Enchantment, asks her guests to share their idea of a perfect sanctuary. Drawing on memory, inspiration and imagination, she explores the things we seek out when we need to restore our joy, hope and energy.
It begins with a forest clearing. What will we find there? A log cabin or a grand hotel? What cherished object or talisman would you bring? And what single work of art, be it a book, record, film or something else, would provide you with enough sustenance to see you through the darkness and remind you of the good times?
In a series of frank, thoughtful and deeply personal conversations, The Clearing will explore the cultural, social and spiritual mindset needed to survive difficult times.
Katherine's Links:
Visit The Clearing website https://katherine-may.co.uk/the-clearing-podcast to discover how to enjoy the episodes ad free
Katherine’s new book, Tending: How Care Binds the World is out in March and you can pre-order it here https://katherine-may.co.uk/tending
Buy Katherine’s books: Enchantment | Wintering | The Electricity of Every Living Thing: UK / US
Follow Katherine on Instagram
Visit Katherine’s Website
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Episodes 101
Elizabeth Gilbert’s black volcanic sands of Costa Rica
Most of you will need no introduction to Elizabeth Gilbert. The international best-selling author of Eat Pray Love and Big Magic has sold a staggering 25 million books worldwide and is very much ‘a …
Show notes
Most of you will need no introduction to Elizabeth Gilbert. The international best-selling author of Eat Pray Love and Big Magic has sold a staggering 25 million books worldwide and is very much ‘a phenomenon’.
In this truly special episode Elizabeth speaks to Katherine fresh from a six month sabbatical. A sabbatical taken after she lived through, and then wrote about, one of the most difficult periods of her life. The resulting memoir - All the Way to the River - has become the centre of much debate and critique and the toll it’s taken on Elizabeth is clear.
With raw honesty, Elizabeth describes why she had to go away, feeling like she’d been ‘dragged through’ the process of writing her memoir and its resulting publication. She took herself to a very real Clearing - where she banned herself from working, doing or making. She contrasts it with her imaginary version, set along the volcanic beaches of Costa Rica, sea to the right, jungle to the left.
Katherine and Elizabeth also talk about why women over fifty are quitting everything, the power of covens, being an introvert in an extrovert’s body and why collective housing (in Elizabeth’s case) or the nunnery (in Katherine’s case) would be the ultimate female fantasy lifestyle. With a shared post-break resistance to re-entering the world via the medium of podcast recording, they do it anyway. The result is an intimate and powerful episode full of the kinds of insight only Elizabeth Gilbert can offer.
Links from the episode:
Elizabeth’s website where you can find her books https://www.elizabethgilbert.com/
Elizabeth’s Instagram
The Sabbath by Abraham Joshua Heschel
Katherine’s new book, Tending: How Care Binds the World is out in March and you can pre-order it here https://katherine-may.co.uk/tending
Visit The Clearing website www.theclearingpod.com for a full transcript, to discover how to enjoy our bonus episodes, our ad free episodes and if you subscribe, how to submit your own idea for a dream retreat.
Buy Katherine’s books: Enchantment | Wintering | The Electricity of Every Living Thing: UK / US
Follow Katherine on Instagram
Visit Katherine’s Website
Production Credits
Guest Booker and Admin Support - Meghan Hutchins
Substack Manager - Rebecca Armstrong
Producer - Alice Lloyd
Music - The Leaf Library @theleaflibrary
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Kathryn Nicolai’s mysterious houses of Lake Michigan
This week’s guest is someone Katherine has wanted on The Clearing since the very beginning. Sleep whisperer and ‘architect of coziness’, Kathryn Nicolai is the talent behind one of Katherine’s very favourite …
Show notes
This week’s guest is someone Katherine has wanted on The Clearing since the very beginning. Sleep whisperer and ‘architect of coziness’, Kathryn Nicolai is the talent behind one of Katherine’s very favourite podcasts - Nothing Much Happens. Described as ‘bedtime stories for everyone’ it’s a show that combines Kathryn’s skill for storytelling with one of the most soothing voices in the business. The result is the aural equivalent of being rocked to sleep.
Mutual fans, their conversation meanders gently as Katherine explores the craft behind the podcast. Kathryn’s childhood of wanting to feel safe, her ability to lift the cognitive load of those attending her yoga classes and skill in observing small moments in everyday life all led to the creation of her shows. That and an understanding that it’s not just children who need safety and to be held, but adults too. And no more than now.
Kathryn also imagines a brilliantly dreamlike and mischievous getaway, that once again involves the idea of rummaging through other people’s belongings, and delights Katherine no end. The only thing to do is sit back and relax. If you’re lucky you will achieve Kathryn’s peak state of ‘so much time and nothing to accomplish’.
Links from the episode:
Kathryn’s website
Kathryn’s podcast, Nothing Much Happens
Kathryn’s book
Nothing Much Happens Instagram
Jalaluddin Rumi https://www.oxcis.ac.uk/publication/rumi
Bashō https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/basho
Kamo Chōmei https://www.britannica.com/biography/Kamo-Chomei
Renee and Georgette Magritte with Their Dog after the War by Paul Simon here
The Hitchiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams
The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole by Sue Townsend
Ulysses by James Joyce
Moby Dick by Herman Melville
The Wolves of Willoughby Chase by Joan Aiken
One Summer America 1927 by Bill Bryson
The Land and its People by David Sedaris
Find out more about The Petoskey Stone
Katherine’s new book, Tending: How Care Binds the World is out in March and you can pre-order it here https://katherine-may.co.uk/tending
Visit The Clearing website www.theclearingpod.com for a full transcript, to discover how to enjoy our bonus episodes, our ad free episodes and if you subscribe, how to submit your own idea for a dream retreat.
Buy Katherine’s books: Enchantment | Wintering | The Electricity of Every Living Thing: UK / US
Follow Katherine on Instagram
Visit Katherine’s Website
Production Credits
Guest Booker and Admin Support - Meghan Hutchins
Substack Manager - Rebecca Armstrong
Producer - Alice Lloyd
Music - The Leaf Library @theleaflibrary
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Sarah Wilson’s nomadic, desert dream
A friend of Sarah Wilson’s once told her she was always ‘looking for trouble’. It is clear from this episode that the best-selling Australian author, podcaster and TV presenter is hard-wired for restlessness. A …
Show notes
A friend of Sarah Wilson’s once told her she was always ‘looking for trouble’. It is clear from this episode that the best-selling Australian author, podcaster and TV presenter is hard-wired for restlessness. A self-confessed ‘edge-seeker’, constantly pushing boundaries in a flirtation with life, she proves a fascinating guest to discuss ideas of rest with Katherine.
Finding the pressures of a small cabin or ‘being good at rest’ too claustrophobic and restrictive, Sarah instead finds ultimate peace being out in the ancient, Australian desert. The dry heat, crunchy dirt underfoot and minimal distractions in a monotonous landscape are where she feels truly alive. It’s the great equaliser. A place to feel what Oliver Burkeman calls ‘cosmic insignificance’. It’s also just one of the many extraordinary and often surprising places she has perfected the ultimate tent-life; much to Katherine’s horror who practically shudders at just the word tent!
A truly original vision of rest from someone who has learnt to integrate work and leisure to such an extent that rest has been rendered meaningless.
Links from the episode:
Sarah’s website https://sarahwilson.com/
Sarah’s book I Eat the Stars
Sarah’s podcast Wild with Sarah Wilson
Sarah’s Substack https://substack.com/@sarahwilson
Katherine’s new book, Tending: How Care Binds the World is out in March and you can pre-order it here https://katherine-may.co.uk/tending
Visit The Clearing website www.theclearingpod.com for a full transcript, to discover how to enjoy our bonus episodes, our ad free episodes and if you subscribe, how to submit your own idea for a dream retreat.
Buy Katherine’s books: Enchantment | Wintering | The Electricity of Every Living Thing: UK / US
Follow Katherine on Instagram
Visit Katherine’s Website
Production Credits
Guest Booker and Admin Support - Meghan Hutchins
Substack Manager - Rebecca Armstrong
Producer - Alice Lloyd
Music - The Leaf Library @theleaflibrary
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Barbara Carrellas’ enchanted theatre
Barbara Carrellas believes we can find the truest rest in moments of awe. The author of ‘The Book of Ecstasy’ says even in life’s darkest moments, ecstasy is possible. It’s something seeded in her practice of …
Show notes
Barbara Carrellas believes we can find the truest rest in moments of awe. The author of ‘The Book of Ecstasy’ says even in life’s darkest moments, ecstasy is possible. It’s something seeded in her practice of ‘Urban Tantra’ - a non-touch sexual practice rooted in her experience of working with the people and communities affected by New York’s AIDS crisis in the 1980s.
As Katherine and Barbara delve more deeply into this concept of ecstasy, they marvel at the capacity of human lives for surprise and why sometimes we just need to step out of our own way. Barbara also explains why Tantra isn’t what we think it is and we get to hear the most beautifully unique vision of rest as Barbara transports us to a flamboyant theatre, replete with horses, Hollywood legends and an ever-changing array of favourite theatrical shows.
A deeply joyous and uplifting episode where Barbara’s bottomless well of compassion, love and yes, ecstasy, is deeply present.
Links from the episode:
Barbara’s book The Book of Ecstasy
Barbara’s website https://barbaracarrellas.com/
Katherine’s new book, Tending: How Care Binds the World is out in March and you can pre-order it here https://katherine-may.co.uk/tending
Visit The Clearing website www.theclearingpod.com for a full transcript, to discover how to enjoy our bonus episodes, our ad free episodes and if you subscribe, how to submit your own idea for a dream retreat.
Buy Katherine’s books: Enchantment | Wintering | The Electricity of Every Living Thing: UK / US
Follow Katherine on Instagram
Visit Katherine’s Website
Production Credits
Guest Booker and Admin Support - Meghan Hutchins
Substack Manager - Rebecca Armstrong
Producer - Alice Lloyd
Music - The Leaf Library @theleaflibrary
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Pierre Novellie’s Big Book of Hands
Comedian, podcaster, radio presenter and bona fide history nerd Pierre Novellie joins Katherine in The Clearing for this week’s episode. A geekfest of language and ideas, they launch straight into the etymology …
Show notes
Comedian, podcaster, radio presenter and bona fide history nerd Pierre Novellie joins Katherine in The Clearing for this week’s episode.
A geekfest of language and ideas, they launch straight into the etymology of the word ‘dork’, why you can’t choose your own clown as a stand-up, and the politics around the changing language of autism. Like Katherine, Pierre received a late neurodivergence diagnosis. Unlike Katherine, his came after a heckler suggested he might be autistic during a live stand-up show.
A lovely, chewy episode for the brain, with Katherine bidding for them to be the hosts of ‘The Rest is Neurodivergence’ and Pierre sprinkling his imagined getaway with some Orkney magic.
Katherine’s new book, Tending: How Care Binds the World is out in March and you can pre-order it here https://katherine-may.co.uk/tending
Links from the episode:
Pierre’s website https://www.pierrenovellie.com/
Pierre’s book Why Can't I Just Enjoy Things
Pierre’s BBC Radio 4 show https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m002pfbr
Pierre’s gaming podcast https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/button-boys/id1827054353
Baldur’s Gate 3 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baldur%27s_Gate_3
Kingdom Come: Deliverance II https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kingdom_Come:_Deliverance_II
Portugese writer Antonio Lobo Antunes
Night Watch by Rembrandt at the Rijksmuseum
Visit The Clearing website www.theclearingpod.com for a full transcript, to discover how to enjoy our bonus episodes, our ad free episodes and if you subscribe, how to submit your own idea for a dream retreat.
Buy Katherine’s books: Enchantment | Wintering | The Electricity of Every Living Thing: UK / US
Follow Katherine on Instagram
Visit Katherine’s Website
Production Credits
Guest Booker and Admin Support - Meghan Hutchins
Substack Manager - Rebecca Armstrong
Producer - Alice Lloyd
Music - The Leaf Library @theleaflibrary
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Caitlin Moran’s ‘greatest building humans have ever come up with’
Caitlin Moran is somewhat of an icon in the UK. Growing up as the eldest of eight kids in a three bed council flat, home-educated from the age of 11, she became a published author at just 16 and a TV presenter …
Show notes
Caitlin Moran is somewhat of an icon in the UK. Growing up as the eldest of eight kids in a three bed council flat, home-educated from the age of 11, she became a published author at just 16 and a TV presenter not long after that. A long-time columnist for The Times, she has a well-deserved reputation for being one of the UK’s funniest writers. She is also a massive fan of Wintering - so much so her new book contains an entire chapter devoted to it.
Caitlin joins Katherine for a conversation that was never going to be anything but brilliantly bonkers. They discuss her plan to rid the world of evil billionaires that basically involves being a madam, why she would pay a thousand pounds to hear the sound of a blackbird from Wolverhampton in the 1980s and ask; grottos - the Temu of caves?
Her unique vision of splendour for her escape to the Clearing, involving ‘the greatest building that humans have ever come up with’, provokes a particularly visceral reaction from Katherine.
Just to warn you, this being Caitlin, the episode contains a spot of swearing.
Links from the episode:
Caitlin’s new book How to Be Hopeful
Outsiding Podcast https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/outsiding/id6782845808
Caitlin’s Instagram
Visit The Clearing website www.theclearingpod.com for a full transcript, to discover how to enjoy our bonus episodes, our ad free episodes and if you subscribe, how to submit your own idea for a dream retreat.
Katherine’s new book, Tending: How Care Binds the World is out in March and you can pre-order it here https://katherine-may.co.uk/tending
Buy Katherine’s books: Enchantment | Wintering | The Electricity of Every Living Thing: UK / US
Follow Katherine on Instagram
Visit Katherine’s Website
Production Credits
Guest Booker and Admin Support - Meghan Hutchins
Substack Manager - Rebecca Armstrong
Producer - Alice Lloyd
Music - The Leaf Library @theleaflibrary
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Joseph Coelho’s art of pottering and rummaging
Step forward our first OBE on the show; former Children’s Laureate, winner of the Carnegie Medal for Writing, poet and prolific children’s author, Joseph Coelho. Having both grown up on housing estates where …
Show notes
Step forward our first OBE on the show; former Children’s Laureate, winner of the Carnegie Medal for Writing, poet and prolific children’s author, Joseph Coelho.
Having both grown up on housing estates where you definitely weren’t pre-conditioned for a life in the creative arts, Joseph and Katherine marvel at the way teachers can shape children’s futures, wonder at the power of brutalist public art and relish the joy of watching people rummage through abandoned homes in post-apocalyptic films.
A wonderful, and deeply thoughtful, conversation with one of the UK’s most inspiring literary figures.
Links from the episode:
Joseph’s website https://www.thepoetryofjosephcoelho.com/
Joseph’s Instagram
Munya Chawawa’s Black Boys Theatre Club
Joseph’s estate he grew up on https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alton_Estate
Lynn Chadwick’s The Watchers https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Watchers_(sculpture)
Visit The Clearing website www.theclearingpod.com for a full transcript, to discover how to enjoy our bonus episodes, our ad free episodes and if you subscribe, how to submit your own idea for a dream retreat.
Katherine’s new book, Tending: How Care Binds the World is out in March and you can pre-order it here
Buy Katherine’s books: Enchantment | Wintering | The Electricity of Every Living Thing: UK / US
Follow Katherine on Instagram
Visit Katherine’s Website
Production Credits
Guest Booker and Admin Support - Meghan Hutchins
Substack Manager - Rebecca Armstrong
Producer - Alice Lloyd
Music - The Leaf Library @theleaflibrary
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Elise Loehnen’s radical candour therapist witch
Katherine kicks off Season Three of The Clearing in wild style by chatting to former magazine editor, podcast host and US author Elise Loehnen. Menopausal Love Island, lumberjack witches, the potential joy of …
Show notes
Katherine kicks off Season Three of The Clearing in wild style by chatting to former magazine editor, podcast host and US author Elise Loehnen.
Menopausal Love Island, lumberjack witches, the potential joy of losing female reproductive organs and animal totems are just some tiny tasters of a brilliant, hilarious, radical conversation that plays with the boundaries of possibility for women everywhere.
Despite it being her first podcast interview since discovering she had ‘dumb and slow cancer’ (the good kind) and undergoing a double mastectomy, Elise brings unfathomable, infinite amounts of energy and laughter, plus just the right amount of woo, to a joyous episode.
Links from the episode:
Elise’s website and podcast Pulling the Thread https://www.eliseloehnen.com/
Elise’s Instagram
Mark Rothko, artist page https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artists/mark-rothko-1875
Anne Truitt, sculptor https://www.annetruitt.org/
Hilma af Klint, artist page https://hilmaafklint.se/
Ithell Colquhoun, artist page https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artists/ithell-colquhoun-931
Fulgur press https://www.fulgur.co.uk/
Visit The Clearing website www.theclearingpod.com for a full transcript, to discover how to enjoy our bonus episodes, our ad free episodes and if you subscribe, how to submit your own idea for a dream retreat.
Katherine’s new book, Tending: How Care Binds the World is out in March and you can pre-order it here
Buy Katherine’s books: Enchantment | Wintering | The Electricity of Every Living Thing: UK / US
Follow Katherine on Instagram
Visit Katherine’s Website
Production Credits
Guest Booker and Admin Support - Meghan Hutchins
Substack Manager - Rebecca Armstrong
Producer - Alice Lloyd
Music - The Leaf Library @theleaflibrary
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Introducing Season Three
We’re excited to announce Season Three of The Clearing coming very soon. Katherine has curated a spectacular line-up of guests and we can’t wait for you to hear some of the brilliantly creative fantasies of …
Show notes
We’re excited to announce Season Three of The Clearing coming very soon. Katherine has curated a spectacular line-up of guests and we can’t wait for you to hear some of the brilliantly creative fantasies of rest they have dreamt up.
Plus don’t forget our subscribers also get bonus episodes in the form of our ‘Mini-Breaks’. They’re stuffed with listener chat, one small, achievable idea to rest and restore from Katherine and a lucky subscriber gets their perfect vision of getting away from it all selected for the episode. If yours is picked you’ll receive a highly coveted Clearing mug!
Visit The Clearing website www.theclearingpod.com for a full transcript, to discover how to enjoy our bonus and ad free episodes and if you subscribe, how to submit your own idea for a dream retreat.
Katherine’s new book, Tending: How Care Binds the World is out in March and you can pre-order it here
Buy Katherine’s books: Enchantment | Wintering | The Electricity of Every Living Thing: UK / US
Follow Katherine on Instagram
Visit Katherine’s Website
Production Credits
Guest Booker and Admin Support - Meghan Hutchins
Substack Manager - Rebecca Armstrong
Producer - Alice Lloyd
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Anna Brones’ Scandinavian saltwater idyll
Not too warm, not too cool, the kind of evening where you’re still in shorts but have pulled on a sweater, is where we find ourselves this week with the wonderful writer and papercut artist Anna Brones. It’s …
Show notes
Not too warm, not too cool, the kind of evening where you’re still in shorts but have pulled on a sweater, is where we find ourselves this week with the wonderful writer and papercut artist Anna Brones.
It’s the Pacific North-West but imbued with Anna’s Swedish heritage as she brings comfort and nostalgia - cold water swimming, her grandmother’s woollen blanket - to a cosy spot on a blustery shore.
Together, Katherine and Anna explore ideas of home, desire for the place you are not, ‘the curse of the creatives’ and share fascinating insights into both of their creative processes.
Links from the episode:
Anna’s book Fika: The Art of the Swedish Coffee Break
Anna’s newsletter Creative Fuel
Anna’s website https://www.annabrones.com/
Anna’s Instagram
Visit The Clearing website www.theclearingpod.com for a full transcript, to discover how to enjoy our bonus episodes, our ad free episodes and if you subscribe, how to submit your own idea for a dream retreat.
Buy Katherine’s books: Enchantment | Wintering | The Electricity of Every Living Thing: UK / US
Follow Katherine on Instagram
Visit Katherine’s Website
Production Credits
Guest Booker and Admin Support - Meghan Hutchins
Substack Manager - Rebecca Armstrong
Producer - Alice Lloyd
Music - The Leaf Library @theleaflibrary
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Alice Vincent’s joyful soundscape of human togetherness
‘Revel’ is the recurring theme of this episode as writer Alice Vincent brings visceral, carnival-esque Glastonbury vibes to The Clearing this week. A self-confessed extrovert, her dream retreat includes …
Show notes
‘Revel’ is the recurring theme of this episode as writer Alice Vincent brings visceral, carnival-esque Glastonbury vibes to The Clearing this week.
A self-confessed extrovert, her dream retreat includes bundling up all the sounds and experiences of the people and places she loves; the chaotic joy of a house party, the blissful comfort of chatty gatherings with friends and family, the daily buzz of a busy household.
But after the noise comes the calm. That liminal space of watching the sun rise after being up all night with friends at a house party, morning dew on the grass, where your body glows with the memory of the night before and you savour the quiet stillness.
A lovely, messy, joyful gathering of sound, happiness and the coming together of humans.
Links from episode:
Alice’s website where you can find her books including Hark https://www.alicevincent.co.uk/
Alice’s Substack https://savour.substack.com/
Alice’s Instagram
Visit The Clearing website www.theclearingpod.com for a full transcript, to discover how to enjoy our bonus episodes, our ad free episodes and if you subscribe, how to submit your own idea for a dream retreat
Buy Katherine’s books: Enchantment | Wintering | The Electricity of Every Living Thing: UK / US
Follow Katherine on Instagram
Visit Katherine’s Website
Production Credits
Guest Booker and Admin Support - Meghan Hutchins
Substack Manager - Rebecca Armstrong
Producer - Alice Lloyd
Music - The Leaf Library @theleaflibrary
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Joycelyn Longdon on imagining an abundant future
Trees as ancestors, blurring the boundary between our bodies and the living world and constructing your sense of ‘self’ through art; these are just some of the beautiful areas of discussion between our guest …
Show notes
Trees as ancestors, blurring the boundary between our bodies and the living world and constructing your sense of ‘self’ through art; these are just some of the beautiful areas of discussion between our guest Joycelyn Longdon and Katherine this week.
Joycelyn is a researcher and writer, currently finishing her PhD at the University of Cambridge, who bridges the worlds of ecology, technology and environmental justice.
Resisting the urge to pick a far-flung place, she goes extremely local for her small idyll, choosing a tiny patch of woodland by the river near her home, under her favourite willow tree, connecting to culture and mother earth.
Wonderfully dreamy and deeply grounding.
Links from the episode:
Richard Powers The Overstory
Explore Adinkra Symbols https://www.adinkrasymbols.org/#gsc.tab=0
Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston
Jeff Buckley and Elizabeth Fraser All Flowers Bend Towards the Sun
Visit The Clearing website www.theclearingpod.com for a full transcript, to discover how to enjoy our bonus episodes, our ad free episodes and if you subscribe, how to submit your own idea for a dream retreat
Buy Katherine’s books: Enchantment | Wintering | The Electricity of Every Living Thing: UK / US
Follow Katherine on Instagram
Visit Katherine’s Website
Production Credits
Guest Booker and Admin Support - Meghan Hutchins
Substack Manager - Rebecca Armstrong
Producer - Alice Lloyd
Music - The Leaf Library @theleaflibrary
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Yasmin Khan’s warm seas and verdant greens
Warm waters, humid, verdant jungle and the nighttime hum of insects are where we find ourselves this week as our guest, Yasmin Khan, transports us on a much-needed break to the tropics. Yasmin is the …
Show notes
Warm waters, humid, verdant jungle and the nighttime hum of insects are where we find ourselves this week as our guest, Yasmin Khan, transports us on a much-needed break to the tropics.
Yasmin is the bestselling author of travel cookbooks exploring the food, people and stories of the Middle East and Eastern Mediterranean. In 2025 she found herself in the middle of a bizarre legal storm when she was threatened with legal action by a deli for calling her latest book ‘Sabzi’ - the word for veg or greens in multiple languages.
In this conversation with Katherine they discuss the controversy (the case was eventually dropped) and the issues it raises, including the ownership and commodification of food culture. Plus finding community when the chips are down, the ebb and flow of cooking for pleasure, snatched moments of rest with a small child and UK national treasure, Nigella Lawson. A wonderful, and important, conversation.
Links from the episode
Yasmin’s Substack Risingup.substack.com
Yasmin’s Instagram
The Artist's Way by Julia Cameron
How to Eat by Nigella Lawson
Visit The Clearing website www.theclearingpod.com for a full transcript, to discover how to enjoy our bonus episodes, our ad free episodes and if you subscribe, how to submit your own idea for a dream retreat
Buy Katherine’s books: Enchantment | Wintering | The Electricity of Every Living Thing: UK / US
Follow Katherine on Instagram
Visit Katherine’s Website
Production Credits
Guest Booker and Admin Support - Meghan Hutchins
Substack Manager - Rebecca Armstrong
Producer - Alice Lloyd
Music - The Leaf Library @theleaflibrary
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Kate Bowler’s Bridge of Absurdity
Kate Bowler is the multiple New York Times-bestselling author, professor of divinity and stage-four cancer survivor who has mastered the art of finding small delights in the everyday. No grand gestures for her …
Show notes
Kate Bowler is the multiple New York Times-bestselling author, professor of divinity and stage-four cancer survivor who has mastered the art of finding small delights in the everyday. No grand gestures for her.
In this wonderful conversation with Katherine, they talk about ‘how to cope’, the brittleness of time and why revelling in absurdity is really the answer to everything. A celebration of silliness, tattoos, the important differences between canoes and kayaks and the most beautifully realised depiction of precious time spent with a best friend.
Links from the episode:
Kate’s new book Joyful Anyway
Kate’s website where you can find her previous books https://katebowler.com/
Kate’s podcast Everything Happens
Kate’s Instagram
A Truce that is Not Peace by Miriam Toews
My Bright Abyss by Christian Wiman
Canadian ice fishing cabins https://www.smithsonianmag.com/travel/portraits-canadas-ice-fishing-huts-180957794/
Visit The Clearing website www.theclearingpod.com for a full transcript, to discover how to enjoy our bonus episodes, our ad free episodes and if you subscribe, how to submit your own idea for a dream retreat
Buy Katherine’s books: Enchantment | Wintering | The Electricity of Every Living Thing: UK / US
Follow Katherine on Instagram
Visit Katherine’s Website
Production Credits
Guest Booker and Admin Support - Meghan Hutchins
Substack Manager - Rebecca Armstrong
Producer - Alice Lloyd
Music - The Leaf Library @theleaflibrary
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Jeffrey Boakye’s city path to peace
Our first guest to choose a city for his dreamscape, the brilliant writer, BBC broadcaster and educator Jeffrey Boakye reveals he’s most at peace when walking for walking’s sake through the ever-changing …
Show notes
Our first guest to choose a city for his dreamscape, the brilliant writer, BBC broadcaster and educator Jeffrey Boakye reveals he’s most at peace when walking for walking’s sake through the ever-changing textures of London’s streets. The very essence of a ‘flâneur’, as we discover.
A gorgeous and meandering conversation, Jeffrey and Katherine explore a wonderful array of topics: from skateboarding as a life lesson in failure to finding joy in packed tube trains, why we need to foster more pointless hobbies to what the movie Groundhog Day teaches us about the mundane and the sublime. Often philosophical, frequently laughter-filled and as always, deeply thought-provoking.
Links from Episode:
Jeffrey’s website where you can find his books https://www.jeffreyboakye.com/
Jeffrey’s Substack
Jeffrey’s Instagram
Jeffry’s BBC Radio 4 music show Add to Playlist
Sandwich by Catherine Newman
Transcription by Ben Lerner
The Door by Magda Szabo
Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind by Shunryu Suzuki
https://oleandsteen.co.uk/ Danish Bakery
Visit The Clearing website www.theclearingpod.com for a full transcript and to discover how to enjoy the episodes ad free
Buy Katherine’s books: Enchantment | Wintering | The Electricity of Every Living Thing: UK / US
Follow Katherine on Instagram
Visit Katherine’s Website
Production Credits
Guest Booker and Admin Support - Meghan Hutchins
Substack Manager - Rebecca Armstrong
Producer - Alice Lloyd
Music - The Leaf Library @theleaflibrary
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Jackie Morris & Robert Macfarlane ‘dream of nest’
A beautiful, bird-filled episode from the wonderful collaborative duo of writer Robert Macfarlane and illustrator Jackie Morris. Together they have created some of the best-loved books on the natural world in …
Show notes
A beautiful, bird-filled episode from the wonderful collaborative duo of writer Robert Macfarlane and illustrator Jackie Morris. Together they have created some of the best-loved books on the natural world in recent years, including The Lost Words.
In this transcendent episode they share their quite different visions of what rest looks like for them. Robert conjures a wild, bird-filled landscape in the Scottish Cairngorms whilst Jackie imagines taking a sentient ship to a melding of The Rain Wilds and Earthsea. Full of wonder, wild knitting, ‘glacial erratics’, laughter and of course plenty of nature chat, this episode is a true salve for the soul.
Links from the episode
The Book of Birds by Jackie Morris and Robert MacFarlane
The Lost Words by Jackie Morris and Robert MacFarlane
The Lost Spells by Jackie Morris and Robert MacFarlane
Jackie’s Instagram
Jackie’s website
Robert’s Instagram
Deep Deep Light pain brushes and paints https://deepdeeplight.com/
A Wizard of Earthseaby Ursula K. Le Guin
The Rain Wild Chronicles by Robin Hobb
The Illustration Department Podcast
Artist David Gentleman
Read about Albrecht Dürer’s painting Young Hare here
The Living Mountain by Nan Shepherd
Read about artist Mark Rothko on the Moma website
Visit The Clearing website www.theclearingpod.com for a full transcript and to discover how to enjoy the episodes ad free and to access our bonus content
Buy Katherine’s books: Enchantment | Wintering | The Electricity of Every Living Thing: UK / US
Follow Katherine on Instagram
Visit Katherine’s Website
Production Credits
Guest Booker and Admin Support - Meghan Hutchins
Substack Manager - Rebecca Armstrong
Producer - Alice Lloyd
Music - The Leaf Library @theleaflibrary
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Season Two Trailer
We’re back! After a small, restorative break, we are excited to bring you a new season of The Clearing, where Katherine will explore visions of rest and retreat with some more wonderful guests. Visit The …
Show notes
We’re back! After a small, restorative break, we are excited to bring you a new season of The Clearing, where Katherine will explore visions of rest and retreat with some more wonderful guests.
Visit The Clearing website www.theclearingpod.com to discover how to enjoy all episodes ad free and to listen to bonus content as it’s released.
Buy Katherine’s books: Enchantment | Wintering | The Electricity of Every Living Thing: UK / US
Follow Katherine on Instagram
Visit Katherine’s Website
Production Credits
Guest Booker and Admin Support - Meghan Hutchins
Substack Manager - Rebecca Armstrong
Producer - Alice Lloyd
Music - The Leaf Library @theleaflibrary
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Carissa Potter’s hot springs artist retreat
California-based illustrator, author and Instagram phenomenon Carissa Potter chats to Katherine about the complexities of taking rest during challenging times.In a masterclass of self-reflection, Carissa …
Show notes
California-based illustrator, author and Instagram phenomenon Carissa Potter chats to Katherine about the complexities of taking rest during challenging times.
In a masterclass of self-reflection, Carissa questions whether the political left have failed to cultivate tolerance and understanding, if we should brand people as evil and how to ‘show up’ when you are the caregiver of a child with complex medical needs.
It is no surprise that someone who thinks so deeply about the world has also developed a fully formed fantasy of where she would go to get away from it all; just her and her ‘platonic love at first sight’ creating art together and dipping in the waters at Indian Springs Calistoga. Bliss.
Links from the episode:
Carissa’s website
Carissa’s Instagram
Carissa’s Substack
Carissa’s online shop People I’ve Loved
Visit The Clearing website www.theclearingpod.com for a full transcript and to discover how to enjoy the episodes ad free
Buy Katherine’s books: Enchantment | Wintering | The Electricity of Every Living Thing: UK / US
Follow Katherine on Instagram
Visit Katherine’s Website
Production Credits
Guest Booker and Admin Support - Meghan Hutchins
Substack Manager - Rebecca Armstrong
Producer - Alice Lloyd
Music - The Leaf Library @theleaflibrary
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Elissa Altman on the beauty of impermanence
Experiencing everything, everywhere, all at once is where we find our guest Elissa Altman this week, as she chats to Katherine in the midst of a snow cyclone in Connecticut. An author and speaker whose work …
Show notes
Experiencing everything, everywhere, all at once is where we find our guest Elissa Altman this week, as she chats to Katherine in the midst of a snow cyclone in Connecticut.
An author and speaker whose work touches on issues of family, trauma, and the permission to create, she acknowledges her deep need for rest and retreat as she whisks us away to her favourite place in the world; a tiny cottage set back from a stony beach in Owl’s Head, Maine.
Overlooking the sea and with guitar to hand, Katherine and Elissa grapple with overcoming guilt, the pleasures of re-reading, the fetishisation of Mary Oliver and the horror of people placing items on their desks.
A glorious and warm-hearted episode with some timely reminders about the impermanence of things, good and bad.
Links from the episode:
Elissa’s website where you can find her books
Elissa’s Substack
Elissa’s Instagram
Devotions poetry collection by Mary Oliver
Crossing to Safety by Wallace Stegner
The Garden Against Time by Olivia Laing
Visit The Clearing website www.theclearingpod.com for a full transcript and to discover how to enjoy the episodes ad free
Buy Katherine’s books: Enchantment | Wintering | The Electricity of Every Living Thing: UK / US
Follow Katherine on Instagram
Visit Katherine’s Website
Production Credits
Guest Booker and Admin Support - Meghan Hutchins
Substack Manager - Rebecca Armstrong
Producer - Alice Lloyd
Music - The Leaf Library @theleaflibrary
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Jen Hatmaker’s escape from the hate lane
As someone whose life was turned upside down by an unexpected divorce and a subsequent move away from the evangelical church, US author and podcaster Jen Hatmaker has learned, and earned, a wisdom that is …
Show notes
As someone whose life was turned upside down by an unexpected divorce and a subsequent move away from the evangelical church, US author and podcaster Jen Hatmaker has learned, and earned, a wisdom that is tangible.
In this episode of The Clearing Jen transports Katherine to her grandparents’ 1970s cabin in the snowy Colorado mountains to share the many ways she has come to terms with life’s challenges. Against a blissful setting of floor to ceiling windows, low lighting and a crackling fire, Jen describes letting others ‘drive their car in the Jen Hatmaker hate lane’, the comfort of feeling small, saying yes to everything and how ‘Me Camp’ changed her life.
Links from the episode:
Jen’s website where you can buy her books including her memoir Awake
Jen’s Instagram
The Middle Place by Kelly Corrigan
Various books by David Sedaris
Learn more about Anne Lamott
The Correspondent by Virginia Evans
Visit The Clearing website www.theclearingpod.com for a full transcript and to discover how to enjoy the episodes ad free
Buy Katherine’s books: Enchantment | Wintering | The Electricity of Every Living Thing: UK / US
Follow Katherine on Instagram
Visit Katherine’s Website
Production Credits
Guest Booker and Admin Support - Meghan Hutchins
Substack Manager - Rebecca Armstrong
Producer - Alice Lloyd
Music - The Leaf Library @theleaflibrary
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Daisy Buchanan’s Swiss mountain glamour
A deliciously glamorous escape to the snowy setting of a luxury Swiss chalet hotel where 1920s faded English aristocracy meets 1950s Hollywood starlet decadence. Marabou-trimmed silk pajamas and well-stocked …
Show notes
A deliciously glamorous escape to the snowy setting of a luxury Swiss chalet hotel where 1920s faded English aristocracy meets 1950s Hollywood starlet decadence.
Marabou-trimmed silk pajamas and well-stocked libraries with crackling fires abound in this absolute joy of an episode with author Daisy Buchanan.
Listen in as Daisy imagines herself preparing for a Grand Ball, with all the pleasure of a day spent wrapped in enormous fluffy white towels and none of the anxiety. She also romps through an array of subjects with Katherine, from her newfound love of reiki to the quest for calm in the neurodivergent brain and why she is so drawn to reading about the strangeness of large families.
The most wonderfully realised escape to indulge in at any time.
Links from the episode:
Daisy’s Instagram
Daisy’s books
Mortification edited by Robin Robertson
The Diary of a Provincial Lady by E.M. Delafield
The Cazalet Chronicles by Elizabeth Jane Howard
Invitation to the Waltz by Rosamond Lehmann
The Weather in the Streets by Rosamond Lehmann
The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
The Pursuit of Love by Nancy Mitford
Ballet Shoes by Noel Streatfeild
Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
Rachel's Holiday by Marian Keyes
The Story of Tracy Beaker by Jacqueline Wilson
Laurie Colwin’s books - Home Cooking, More Home Cooking, Happy All the Time, Family Happiness
Visit The Clearing website www.theclearingpod.com for a full transcript and to discover how to enjoy the episodes ad free
Buy Katherine’s books: Enchantment | Wintering | The Electricity of Every Living Thing: UK / US
Follow Katherine on Instagram
Visit Katherine’s Website
Production Credits
Guest Booker and Admin Support - Meghan Hutchins
Substack Manager - Rebecca Armstrong
Producer - Alice Lloyd
Music - The Leaf Library @theleaflibrary
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Poorna Bell’s New Zealand vista
Floor to ceiling windows overlooking a temperate blue ocean off the coast of New Zealand is where this week’s guest, journalist and author Poorna Bell, dreams of rest and retreat.Since the death of her husband …
Show notes
Floor to ceiling windows overlooking a temperate blue ocean off the coast of New Zealand is where this week’s guest, journalist and author Poorna Bell, dreams of rest and retreat.
Since the death of her husband in 2015, Poorna has become well-versed in making the most of the everyday. As a result this is a conversation filled with the joy of small things. From relishing the prospect of unstructured days, to finding unquantified pleasure in movement. From an appreciation of the smell of toast to being able to say no to picnics. And why she never wants to receive another present again. Ever.
Links from the episode:
Poorna’s Substack As I Was Saying
Poorna’s website
Poorna’s Instagram
Banana Yoshimoto’s novel Kitchen
Lucy M. Boston’s The Children of Green Knowe
Lottie Hazell’s novel Piglet
Visit The Clearing website www.theclearingpod.com for a full transcript and to discover how to enjoy the episodes ad free
Buy Katherine’s books: Enchantment | Wintering | The Electricity of Every Living Thing: UK / US
Follow Katherine on Instagram
Visit Katherine’s Website
Production Credits
Guest Booker and Admin Support - Meghan Hutchins
Substack Manager - Rebecca Armstrong
Producer - Alice Lloyd
Music - The Leaf Library @theleaflibrary
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Emma Gannon’s year of desert rest
Prolific author of nine books and writer behind the Substack phenomenon The Hyphen, Emma Gannon takes us away for a whole year to her imaginary retreat in Palm Springs, where she plans to indulge almost solely …
Show notes
Prolific author of nine books and writer behind the Substack phenomenon The Hyphen, Emma Gannon takes us away for a whole year to her imaginary retreat in Palm Springs, where she plans to indulge almost solely in her number one favourite pastime - reading.
Revealing the extent to which she craves alone time, she tells Katherine about her very real experience of burnout, how she went from someone who lived to work to appreciating downtime and why she relates to The Hermit in Tarot.
An inspiring listen that challenges our ideas of ‘the right way’ to live and embraces the concept of letting go.
Links in the show:
Emma’s Substack The Hyphen
Emma’s website
Emma’s Instagram
A link to buy her books including A Year of Nothing
Find Emma’s conversation with Elizabeth Gilbert about memoir here
Max Richter’s track On the Nature of Daylight
Visit The Clearing website www.theclearingpod.com for a full transcript and to discover how to enjoy the episodes ad free
Buy Katherine’s books: Enchantment | Wintering | The Electricity of Every Living Thing: UK / US
Follow Katherine on Instagram
Visit Katherine’s Website
Production Credits
Guest Booker and Admin Support - Meghan Hutchins
Substack Manager - Rebecca Armstrong
Producer - Alice Lloyd
Music - The Leaf Library @theleaflibrary
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Mike Sowden’s island of curiosity
Settling in amongst the sparkling sea views and scented coniferous trees of Corfu, writer Mike Sowden tells Katherine why he is ditching the concept of escape to run towards places and people with enthusiasm …
Show notes
Settling in amongst the sparkling sea views and scented coniferous trees of Corfu, writer Mike Sowden tells Katherine why he is ditching the concept of escape to run towards places and people with enthusiasm and curiosity.
Conjuring up a beautiful stay on the island so beloved by author Gerald Durrell, where people are still viscerally connected to the changing seasons, Mike and Katherine find creativity in discomfort, stories from failed adventures and a shared desire to get out into the world more and embrace the randomness of life.
Links from the episode:
Mike’s Everything is Amazing newsletter on Substack
Where Good Ideas Come From by Stephen Johnson
Journey into Cyprus by Colin Thubron
Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert
Surfacing by Kathleen Jamie
A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula K. Le Guin (and link to website all about her)
Visit The Clearing website www.theclearingpod.com for a full transcript and to discover how to enjoy the episodes ad free
Buy Katherine’s books: Enchantment | Wintering | The Electricity of Every Living Thing: UK / US
Follow Katherine on Instagram
Visit Katherine’s Website
Production Credits
Guest Booker and Admin Support - Meghan Hutchins
Substack Manager - Rebecca Armstrong
Producer - Alice Lloyd
Music - The Leaf Library @theleaflibrary
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Season One Interlude
Katherine explains why we are heeding our own advice and taking a tiny break this week. She also previews some exciting, listener-led bonus content that will be coming your way next season. We’ll be back next …
Show notes
Katherine explains why we are heeding our own advice and taking a tiny break this week. She also previews some exciting, listener-led bonus content that will be coming your way next season. We’ll be back next week with another wonderful guest for you. Meanwhile take care everyone.
Visit The Clearing website www.theclearingpod.com for a full transcript and to discover how to enjoy the episodes ad free
Buy Katherine’s books: Enchantment | Wintering | The Electricity of Every Living Thing: UK / US
Follow Katherine on Instagram
Visit Katherine’s Website
Production Credits
Guest Booker and Admin Support - Meghan Hutchins
Substack Manager - Rebecca Armstrong
Producer - Alice Lloyd
Music - The Leaf Library @theleaflibrary
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Ece Temelkuran’s landscape of belonging
A modern sage who forewarned the world of the rise of fascism, writer Ece Temelkuran explains why she ‘put her heart in the freezer’ ten years ago when she fled her country of birth and how finding traces of …
Show notes
A modern sage who forewarned the world of the rise of fascism, writer Ece Temelkuran explains why she ‘put her heart in the freezer’ ten years ago when she fled her country of birth and how finding traces of home all around are helping her to heal.
From a beloved old cardigan to episodes of Downton Abbey, from being surrounded by Turkish food in Berlin to talking to her three favourite trees in the park; in this moving conversation Ece reveals the power of finding joy in the little things, as we collectively go through what she calls our ‘winter of humanity’.
A powerful call to arms and a must-listen for those of us searching for hope in difficult times.
Links from the episode:
Ece’s Instagram
Buy her latest book Nation of Strangers here
Buy How to Lose a Country here
Visit The Clearing website www.theclearingpod.com for a full transcript and to discover how to enjoy the episodes ad free
Buy Katherine’s books: Enchantment | Wintering | The Electricity of Every Living Thing: UK / US
Follow Katherine on Instagram
Visit Katherine’s Website
Production Credits
Guest Booker and Admin Support - Meghan Hutchins
Substack Manager - Rebecca Armstrong
Producer - Alice Lloyd
Music - The Leaf Library @theleaflibrary
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Kaitlin Curtice’s sanctuary of the subconscious
Author, storyteller and enrolled citizen of the Potawatomi nation, Kaitlin Curtice, shares her beautiful image of the perfect retreat, created by her own consciousness during the Covid pandemic. Exploring this …
Show notes
Author, storyteller and enrolled citizen of the Potawatomi nation, Kaitlin Curtice, shares her beautiful image of the perfect retreat, created by her own consciousness during the Covid pandemic.
Exploring this space together, Katherine and Kaitlin discuss the little-appreciated power of ageing, looking for stories beneath the stories, the art of listening, feeling the presence of the ancestors and asking permission from the stones and shells before you bring them home.
A wonderful episode of Indigenous wisdom, stillness and calm - the perfect moment of retreat.
Kaitlin’s Links
Kaitlin's website where you can find her books
Authors mentioned by Kaitlin
Musicians’ mentioned by Kaitlin
Visit The Clearing website www.theclearingpod.com for a full transcript and to discover how to enjoy the episodes ad free
Buy Katherine’s books: Enchantment | Wintering | The Electricity of Every Living Thing: UK / US
Follow Katherine on Instagram
Visit Katherine’s Website
Production Credits
Guest Booker and Admin Support - Meghan Hutchins
Substack Manager - Rebecca Armstrong
Producer - Alice Lloyd
Music - The Leaf Library @theleaflibrary
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Martha Beck and Rowan Mangan on the magic of communing with every living thing
This episode of The Clearing with renowned, Oprah-endorsed American life coach Martha Beck and her wonderful wife and podcast co-host Rowan Mangan skips the small talk and delves right into the mysteries and …
Show notes
This episode of The Clearing with renowned, Oprah-endorsed American life coach Martha Beck and her wonderful wife and podcast co-host Rowan Mangan skips the small talk and delves right into the mysteries and wonder of life and death.
From the consciousness of stones to the nonsensical hierarchy of different sentient beings on earth. From the spiritual repression of our age to the societal need for a shaman. From the realities of living in a liminal space as an autistic person, to parenting neurodivergent children to each of their own unique ‘awakenings’.
With uncannily similar experiences of the world, Martha, Ro and Katherine roll through a dizzying array of mind-expanding subjects and shared interests, resulting in a truly captivating and enriching episode.
Martha and Rowan’s Links
Martha’s website where you can find her books
Rowan’s website
Martha’s Instagram
Rowan’s Instagram
Martha and Rowan’s Bewildered podcast
Things mentioned in the show
Poet Andrea Gibson’s website and movie Come See Me in the Good Light
Nisargadatta Maharaj wiki
The Magician’s Nephew by C.S. Lewis here
Visit The Clearing website www.theclearingpod.com for a full transcript and to discover how to enjoy the episodes ad free
Buy Katherine’s books: Enchantment | Wintering | The Electricity of Every Living Thing: UK / US
Follow Katherine on Instagram
Visit Katherine’s Website
Production Credits
Guest Booker and Admin Support - Meghan Hutchins
Substack Manager - Rebecca Armstrong
Producer - Alice Lloyd
Music - The Leaf Library @theleaflibrary
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Melissa Hemsley’s calm chaos
Chef and cookery writer Melissa Hemsley shares her bucolic, Darling Buds of May-esque fantasy of ‘safe’ escape with Katherine. Filled with wild and domesticated animals roaming freely, Chi Gong, nudity, a …
Show notes
Chef and cookery writer Melissa Hemsley shares her bucolic, Darling Buds of May-esque fantasy of ‘safe’ escape with Katherine.
Filled with wild and domesticated animals roaming freely, Chi Gong, nudity, a hammock, friendly neighbours who are close but not too close, the sea, also close but not too close; it’s a warm hug of a landscape where everything is chaotic but controlled. Wild but safe. With people but alone. Calm chaos.
A chance to escape the anxiety that accompanies her daily life, Melissa fully embraces the opportunity to imagine a place where her brain could take a rest from the worry and conjures something very beautiful in the process.
Melissa’s links
Melissa’s website where you can buy her books
Melissa’s Substack
Melissa’s Instagram
Things mentioned in the show
The Darling Buds of May TV Show wiki
Visit The Clearing website www.theclearingpod.com for a full transcript and to discover how to enjoy the episodes ad free
Buy Katherine’s books: Enchantment | Wintering | The Electricity of Every Living Thing: UK / US
Follow Katherine on Instagram
Visit Katherine’s Website
Production Credits
Guest Booker and Admin Support - Meghan Hutchins
Substack Manager - Rebecca Armstrong
Producer - Alice Lloyd
Music - The Leaf Library @theleaflibrary
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Sam Baker on the challenges of letting go
Writer and former magazine editor Sam Baker is dragged kicking and screaming into this getaway as she admits she can never let go of her internal chatter and is not someone who ‘does rest’. Giving us a …
Show notes
Writer and former magazine editor Sam Baker is dragged kicking and screaming into this getaway as she admits she can never let go of her internal chatter and is not someone who ‘does rest’.
Giving us a fascinating insight into the brain of someone who has dedicated their life to hard work and busy-ness, we come to understand how different our visions of escape can be.
Needing to be ‘at the edge’ of somewhere, looking out to sea with mountains nearby, and her faithful, tail-less cat Sausage, Sam only truly rests when entering the world of her favourite anime box set. Sam’s discomfort with the concept of retreat and the realisation she doesn’t like having to choose will be utterly relatable and ring the truest for many.
Sam’s Links
Sam’s Substack The Shift
Sam’s podcast The Shift podcast
Sam’s Instagram
Buy her book in the UK here
Things mentioned in the show
You can watch The Apothecary Diaries here on Crunchyroll
Visit The Clearing website www.theclearingpod.com for a full transcript and to discover how to enjoy the episodes ad free
Buy Katherine’s books: Enchantment | Wintering | The Electricity of Every Living Thing: UK / US
Follow Katherine on Instagram
Visit Katherine’s Website
Production Credits
Guest Booker and Admin Support - Meghan Hutchins
Substack Manager - Rebecca Armstrong
Producer - Alice Lloyd
Music - The Leaf Library @theleaflibrary
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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