The Podgoblin's Hat

This week I chatted with the critically acclaimed, and multi award winner and nominee, podcaster Dave Pickering about podcasts.

You will hear:

 - Dave doing an intro about their podcasts and history with them
- why people might listen to them, what are the motivations
- the danger of neoliberalism 'self improvement' and podcasts 
- the parasocial relationships that we have with podcast hosts and guests and how much that is part of why we listen (atomised, alienated from those around us we might turn to these kinds of relationships maybe?)
- recommendations for good shows

Dave’s own projects are
 
Getting Better Acquainted
Stand Up Tragedy
The Family Tree
Down to a sunless sea: memories of my dad (I’ve listened to the first of these, it’s really moving and excellent. 
 
Current (Client) projects: 
Who Hurt You (formally Made of Human) (I sort of mentioned this)
The Restart Project 
Race Reflections AT WORK
The Breakup Monologues 
 
Check all those out via Dave’s website http://dave-pickering.squarespace.com/ 

Also follow them on twitter for their excellent recommendations (usually on a Friday) https://twitter.com/goosefat101 

Please consider supporting the Patreon for this show patreon.com/culturesexrelationships Your support means that I can get paid to make the show and I can also pay other freelance guests. The more support I get the more shows I can make. 

Speaking of shows, the easiest ones for me to make are the 'Ask Justin' advice shows. So if you have any questions about relationships, sex, your relationship to your self, you can ask me. I will anonymise your question and will also give an excellent, long, and thoughtful answer. Email culturesexrelationships at gmail dot com

Dave Pickering: Podcasts

This is the first episode of the Podgoblin's hat, with Nina and Dave. You can find it on it's own feed wherever you get your podcasts.

We will be introducing ourselves, our relationship with each other, and our relationships with the Moomins.

Check out our twitter @ThePodgoblin and our Instagram @thepodgoblin to see pictures of the tattoos, cuddly toys and dog eared books we mentioned.

The Podgoblin's Hat Episode 1: Introductions

This is the second episode of The Podgoblin's Hat, with Nina and Dave. You can find it on it's own feed wherever you get your podcasts.

It's our first read-along and we're reading The Moomins and the Great Flood.

We summarise this fairytale of Tove Jansson's, chat about her influences and make a first attempt at a taxonomy of the broader Moomin bestiary.

This week our question for Snufkin is: Things keep stealing my time, and I can't manage to do the things I want to do. What would Snufkin do?

If you've got a question for Snufkin, catch us on Twitter and Instagram @ThePodgoblin or email us at thepodhat@gmail.com

Our Spirit of the Moomins are:

Dragon Rider by Cornelia Funke (recommended by Nina)

Journey and What Remains of Edith Finch? (recommended by Dave)

And our Spirit of the Podgoblin's Hat is: Tolkien Black Girls from Black Nerds Create.

The Podgoblin's Hat Episode 2: The Moomins and the Great Flood

This is the third episode of The Podgoblin's Hat, with Nina and Dave. You can find it on it's own feed wherever you get your podcasts.

This week we're reading Comet in Moominland, the first fully fledged chapter book. There's lots of to discuss! The Little Creature from last week has become Sniff, a full member of the Moomin family by adoption. A philosopher comes knocking at the door in the middle of the night. But most importantly, Snufkin joins the cast.

We talk about the way this book is structured, the ways in which it calls back to Flood, and we make another fruitless attempt to discover how big Moomins are.

Our #WhatWouldSnufkinDo question this week is: What would you do if your cat came home wearing a new collar?

Spirit of the Moomins recommendations: The Man Whose Mother was a Pirate by Margaret Mahy.

The films of Hayao Miyazaki, specifically Ponyo, Spirited Away and Howl's Moving Castle.

And our Spirit of The Podgoblin's Hat is: Avatar: Braving the Elements

Join us next week when we read the second half of Comet in Moominland!

The Podgoblin's Hat Episode 3: Comet In Moominland (part 1)

This is the fourth episode of The Podgoblin's Hat, with Nina and Dave. You can find it on it's own feed wherever you get your podcasts.

This week we're reading the second half of Comet in Moominland by Tove Jansson, and what a rip roaring adventure it is! Moomintroll meets the fabled Snorkmaiden and falls in love on the spot, our brave adventurers attend not one but two end-of-the-world parties, and the philosopher gets stuck into something gooey.

We talk about war and climate catastrophes (again! why is Moominland always threatened by climate change?) and discuss the heteronormativity of the Snorkmaiden and Moomintroll's relationship, but also the ways in which they break that mould.

This week, our question for Snufkin was provided by the AITA community on Reddit and concerns landlords.

Our Spirit of the Moomins recommendations are as follows:

By Ash, Oak and Thorn by Melissa Harrison (special shout-out to the audiobook)

Toy Story 3

And our Spirit of the Podgoblin's Hat, as provided by Nina this week, is Dragon Babies, a YA fantasy nostalgia podcast.

The Podgoblin's Hat Episode 4: Comet in Moominland (part 2)

This is the fifth episode of The Podgoblin's Hat, with Nina and Dave. You can find it on it's own feed wherever you get your podcasts.

This week we're reading the first half of Finn Family Moomintroll. Spring has sprung and the children have discovered a very interesting hat on top of a hill. The hat starts to transform everything that sits inside it, from eggshells, to outlandish words, to Moomintroll himself. Moominmamma is in the mood for a change of scene and leads an expedition to the Hattifatteners' lonely island. Snufkin catches sight of a terrific villain in the heart of a storm.

Our theme for this book is ALCHEMY, and we're looking at transformations and all things golden. Also, colonialist fantasies, various masculinities and the first edition of Nina's Botany Corner.

Our question this week pertains to Dave's nonmonogamous emotional life (!) so you'll definitely want to tune in for that.

Our Spirits of the Moomins are Bluey and Knock Three Times by Cressida Cowell.

Our Spirit of the Podgoblin's Hat is Black Men Can't Jump [In Hollywood].

The Podgoblin's Hat Episode 5: Finn Family Moomintroll (part 1)

This is the eleventh episode of The Podgoblin's Hat, with Nina and Dave. You can find it on it's own feed wherever you get your podcasts.

We're breaking from our normal format for these next two episodes to bring you Tove Jansson's picture books.

The Book about Moomin, Mymble and Little My is really ahead of its time in terms of interactivity and the use of holes cut out of the pages. It's a simple enough journey story, and a vehicle for some really gorgeous art. We compare the translation from the 1960s with the more modern text in our newer editions. There's very creative versification and some brand new Hattifattener lore!

And if it's true to say that that first book showcases Tove's love of colour, that's even more true of Who Will Comfort Toffle?. Toffle is a small grey creature living in a big colourful world. He always feels on the outside of everything. Pointillism abounds in the black and white pictures of Toffle's fearful little world. Snufkin has a cameo and he's swapped his mouth organ for a silver flute - what is up with that? Ultimately it's a story about the wisdom and strength that love brings.

For obvious reasons, there are a lot more pictures to share than usual this week, so we recommend you find us on twitter and instagram to see all that stuff.

Our Spirits of the Moomins this week are the game Gris and Press Here by Herve Tullet. Our Spirit of the Podgoblin's Hat is She-Ra: Progressive of Power.

The Podgoblins Hat Episode 11: The Book about Moomin, Mymble and Little My & Who Will Comfort Toffle

General content note for the series: death, dementia, old age, mental health issues

This episode is about creating things: imaginary worlds, homes and friendship. It's also about walls: drawing on walls, putting up boundaries, and pulling down the walls inside your mind and heart.

Artwork by my brother Tony Pickering: http://www.pick-art.co.uk/

The BPA Fund has a survey that I’d really appreciate you filling in if you have a few moments. You can find it here: http://podcastviews.com

For some extra incentive if you fill it in you can be entered into a draw for a £50 Amazon voucher. For the purposes of this survey “Getting Better Acquainted” counts as "Down to a sunless sea" whether you are listening to it via the GBA feed or not.

Down to a sunless sea: memories of my dad

Down to a sunless sea: Episode 10: Friendship Part 2

General content note for the series: death, dementia, old age, mental health issues

Extra content note: PTSD, dependency/addiction, rape (touched on lightly, no descriptions)

In the fifth full episode of the podcast using content funded by the British Podcast Awards and the Wellcome Trust I talk to psychologist and epidemiologist Dr Suzi Gage from the podcast Say Why to Drugs about researching recreational drug use and mental health.

Say Why to Drugs with Dr Suzi Gage: https://podcasts.apple.com/il/podcast/say-why-to-drugs/id1114492774

Say Why to Drugs by Dr Suzi Gage: https://www.hachette.co.uk/contributor/suzi-gage/

Artwork by my brother Tony Pickering: http://www.pick-art.co.uk/

The BPA Fund has a survey that I’d really appreciate you filling in if you have a few moments. You can find it here: http://podcastviews.com

For some extra incentive if you fill it in you can be entered into a draw for a £50 Amazon voucher. For the purposes of this survey “Getting Better Acquainted” counts as "Down to a sunless sea" whether you are listening to it via the GBA feed or not.

Down to a sunless sea: Episode 11 - Drink Sangria in the park

General content note for the series: death, dementia, old age, mental health issues

Additional content note: war, medical operations, suicidal ideation

I’m still pretty terrified of my dad stopping existing. He has been such a part of my life that it feels like a world without him in it is impossible. But ever since I was a child, I have been imagining that world. I’ve played out his death so many times. I’ve written it into fiction and songs. I’ve spent hours in my mind going through how it will be. What I might think and do. How it will affect me. How it will affect my family. And I’ve always thought it would probably happen soon. But it never has.

This episode is about confronting death and confronting love. It includes the story of my dad's war and of his heart attack and quadruple heart bypass.

Artwork by my brother Tony Pickering: http://www.pick-art.co.uk/

The BPA Fund has a survey that I’d really appreciate you filling in if you have a few moments. You can find it here: http://podcastviews.com

For some extra incentive if you fill it in you can be entered into a draw for a £50 Amazon voucher. For the purposes of this survey “Getting Better Acquainted” counts as "Down to a sunless sea" whether you are listening to it via the GBA feed or not.

Down to a sunless sea: Episode 12:  Hearts Breaking

General content note for the series: death, dementia, old age, mental health issues

Extra content note: operations, medical procedures, assisted dying, euthanasia

In the sixth full episode of the podcast using content funded by the British Podcast Awards and the Wellcome Trust I talk to sociologist Dr Gill Haddow about embodiment, replaceable hearts, everyday cyborgs, humanimals and unhealth. This is an episode about possible futures and how we feel about our bodies.

Gill on twitter: https://twitter.com/gillhaddow

Everyday Cyborgs and Humanimals 2018: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7WilTY5FF5w

Animal, Mechanical and Me: https://animalmechanicalandme.com/

Artwork by my brother Tony Pickering: http://www.pick-art.co.uk/

The BPA Fund has a survey that I’d really appreciate you filling in if you have a few moments. You can find it here: http://podcastviews.com

For some extra incentive if you fill it in you can be entered into a draw for a £50 Amazon voucher. For the purposes of this survey “Getting Better Acquainted” counts as "Down to a sunless sea" whether you are listening to it via the GBA feed or not.

Down to a sunless sea: Episode 13: New answers to old questions

General content note for the series: death, dementia, old age, mental health issues

Additional content note: euthanasia/suicide

I realised that maybe our positions aren’t that different after all. And I wondered if, in the moments that I manage to believe in hope, I seem as inspiring and naïve as he does. It made me wonder if maybe the spark I see in him, that belief in people and ideas, if that isn’t also in me, despite my frequent feeling that it isn’t. If I might communicate that to other people regardless. If the world as humans know it lasts for long enough for me to reach a similar age as my dad, I wonder if I will be someone who frustrates and delights young people with my faith in them, whether I will still accept the possibility of hope and change?

This episode is about belief, hope and progress. It considers technological change, generational change, spiritual change and political change.

Artwork by my brother Tony Pickering: http://www.pick-art.co.uk/

Down to a sunless sea: Episode 14: André Gorz Tweet

General content note for the series: death, dementia, old age, mental health issues

Additional content note: euthanasia/suicide

But no matter what he forgets, it can’t take away the love we have shared, that existed, and will always have existed, even when he has forgotten it; even when he is no longer alive to remember it; even when I have forgotten it; even when I am no longer alive to remember it. It happened. And that has to be enough.

This episode is about movement, memory, change, time, distance, tears, connection, therapy, sadness, love, grief and everything else that can come in waves.

Artwork by my brother Tony Pickering: http://www.pick-art.co.uk/

Down to a sunless sea: Episode 16: Waves

General content note for the series: death, dementia, old age, mental health issues

Extra content note: grief, suicide, terminal illness, abuse, bereavement

In the final full episode of the podcast using content funded by the British Podcast Awards and the Wellcome Trust I talk to counselor and psychotherapist Karen Pollock MBACP about grief and death. This is an episode about ways of thinking (and feeling) about bereavement, therapeutic approaches to change and loss, how the systems and attitudes around and inside us effect the ways we deal with difficult things, and so much more. It is the only episode of the show that doesn't feature my dad's voice but he is very present in the conversation.

Karen on twitter: https://twitter.com/CounsellingKaz

Counselling in Northumberland: https://counsellinginnorthumberland.com/

Non-Binary Lives: An Anthology of Intersecting Identities: https://www.ubcpress.ca/non-binary-lives

The Messiness of Grief: https://counsellinginnorthumberland.com/2020/02/03/the-messiness-of-grief/

Opening the door to difficult conversations: https://counsellinginnorthumberland.com/2018/01/23/opening-the-door-to-difficult-conversations/

Death and second chances: https://counsellinginnorthumberland.com/2016/11/22/death-and-second-chances/

Artwork by my brother Tony Pickering: http://www.pick-art.co.uk/

Down to a sunless sea: Episode 17: The Box And The Jar

General content note for the series: death, dementia, old age, mental health issues

Additional content note: sex, assisted dying, war 

This episode is the last episode of the first (and possibly last) season of this show, and it's about legacy.

I’ve been planning this show for years. The earliest recording I’ve used was recorded by my dad on cassette tape in 1984. This show has covered 96 years of my dad’s life and 38 years of mine. I started recording interviews with my dad in 2011 and began writing essays about our relationship and his journey through old age towards death in 2017.

I’m glad I made this show. That it hasn’t just remained an imagined show. It’s been a tough journey at times, but it’s one I’m so glad I’ve made. Thanks for travelling on it with me.

Artwork by my brother Tony Pickering: http://www.pick-art.co.uk/

Down to a sunless sea: Episode 18: Legacy

A weekly podcast: Join Dave Pickering on his journey to get better acquainted with the people he knows. Part interview show, part oral history project and part autobiography through conversation.

British Podcast Award 2017 winner (bronze in Best Interview category)

GBA was nominated for a 2012 Radio Production Award, aired for 3 seasons on Resonance 104.4 FM and was featured on BBC Radio 4's In Pod We Trust, BBC Radio 5 Live’s Helen and Olly's Required Listening and has been recommended by The Guardian, Time Out and the Financial Times

The Podgoblins Hat Episode 11: The Book about Moomin, Mymble and Little My & Who Will Comfort Toffle

Getting Better Acquainted

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