The Clearing with Katherine May

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

‘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.

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.

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 Kaco Pens 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 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.

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.

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 Earthsea by 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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.