Quick version:
What started as a blog has finally morphed into a book and now a limited-run podcast.
Longer, wordier version:
I’ve been podcasting since 2008.
Admittedly, with a somewhat substantial 16-year intermission.
Back when I was at FivebyFive, we were the embodiment of professional fearlessness – always ready to dive headfirst into the new and unexplored. Podcasts were still finding their feet, a nascent medium that had only just been christened by Ben Hammersley a couple of years earlier – a cheeky portmanteau of iPod and broadcasting.
But you could probably guess that.
Somehow, a handful of brave souls agreed to be interviewed. We even managed to return the favour on a few other shows. Laura Rees’s artwork from that era? Still looks rather splendid. I remember the production process being particularly Byzantine – requiring a technological wizard to transmute our ramblings into something broadcastable across the wild west of the early internet.
After moving on, the idea of podcasting has been percolating in the back of my mind. On again, off again. I nearly went all-in on one concept. We’ve even dabbled with a couple of pilots that remain, for now, firmly under wraps.
While wrestling with the ‘to publish or not to publish’ dilemma for ‘Stuff and Things’, another thought emerged.
What if I could offer something more? A chance to excavate the chapters, particularly Part One – ‘Stuff’. Why this section? What does it truly mean to me? An opportunity to add layers, perhaps even a dash of deliberate obfuscation.
But fundamentally, this is another experiment. Another chance to be curious, to play, to explore. I shared a pilot with a few trusted souls, and mercifully, they didn’t respond with the dreaded poo emoji. I’m choosing to interpret that as a ringing endorsement.
At the time of writing, we’ve got five episodes in the metaphorical can. Will it continue beyond that? Who knows. But I’ve always subscribed to the philosophy that you must try things. Be curious. Experiment.
Enjoy. Or at least be kind.
Assume they’ll drop weekly. Ish.
