The ADHD and autistic tendency to rest in motion is fully realised in American author and illustrator Andy J. Pizza’s vision of the ideal retreat. Choosing an extraordinary fictional setting which incorporates an ingenious method of travelling the world, this episode showcases the wonder of a brilliantly creative, neurodivergent brain.

Along the way, and with many fascinating tangents, Andy and Katherine discuss the power of Miyazake films, their shared love of Fraggle Rock and longing for direction from the universe.

A meticulously thought out and fully realised world that accommodates his own personal experience of ADHD, Andy unveils the most beautifully zany and imaginative dreamscape. An absolute treat.

Links

Andy’s website where you can find his books

Andy’s Instagram

Andy’s Creative Peptalk podcast

Mentioned in the show

Fraggle Rock

Last of the Summer Wine Wiki

The Master and his Emissary book about left and right brain

The Little Prince

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.

Kicking off the episode with an existential crisis, the inimitable Oliver Burkeman joins Katherine to explore his own, unique take on rest and retreat.

A familiar name to many in both the US and the UK, Oliver’s book Four Thousand Weeks has put him at the heart of the global conversation around building a meaningful life. As you might expect, Oliver turns the concept of the podcast on its head whilst taking Katherine on a wild ride through topics from whether we should use AI as a creative tool to favourite notebooks to whether TS Eliot was on the path to spiritual enlightenment.

A wonderful, brain-stretching conversation that reaches way beyond the confines of an imagined cabin in the woods to explore wider ideas around what it really means to get away from it all and if we should even try.

Oliver’s Links

Oliver's website to buy his books and sign up to his newsletter

Things mentioned in the programme

Kendra Allenby’s New Yorker beach cartoon

NYC stationery store Goods for the Study

Shinzen Young on T.S. Eliot

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 - Rececca Armstrong

Producer - Alice Lloyd

Music - The Leaf Library @theleaflibrary

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode Katherine chats to Laura Pashby, author of the incredible book Chasing Fog and master of ethereal photography, about her vision for the perfect retreat when things get tough.

A magical dreamscape unfurls of a fog-bound lighthouse on an island in the Arctic circle; a liminal space filled with books and a favourite painting which acts as a portal through which Laura can step whenever she needs to escape.

The perfect, escapist listen for anyone needing to give their mind and body a fleeting moment of rest and retreat.

Laura’s Links

Laura's website where you can buy her book Chasing Fog

Laura's Instagram

Things mentioned in the episode

The Light Alone Instagram

Hammershoi's Interior, Sunlight on the Floor painting

Visit The Clearing website https://katherine-may.co.uk/the-clearing-podcast 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.