Making things better and making better things

Frank Adlington-Stringer is standing for Mayor of the East Midlands. I hope he gets it. He has a suite of great ideas that will boost the economy as well as the ecology. This is a heart-warming conversation about Frank, his upbringing and his vision. We touch on grandparents, favourite smells, and how we love the Midlands. Disclaimer: I'm not a member of any political party but I think Frank would be a brilliant Mayor.

2023 was a decent year for music. In our annual ramble about what we did and dint like we pulled out our favourite 11 tracks each (I know, neither of us are sure how that happened). Have a listen to our re-cap of last year. If you want to listen to the full playlist it is here: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0aJevK011RrY9V8KJ8Znnw?si=50543222e297407e Recorded at the great All is Joy studios on Dean Street. Post-audio engineering by Josh Brand who did a sterling job with my average mics. Photos from when we were 20 or so, and no I don't think i realised my The The tee had an enormous penis on it.

Helena is an incredibly successful photographer, the co-founder of a drinks company, a business mentor and one of the kindest humans i've ever met. Her child smelled of dirt and hard work. Making the most of what she has is the raspberry ripple that runs through the ice cream of her life. This is a wonderful conversation, rich with insight around bravery and self-awareness.

I met Kerri in the warm Californian sun and it was an instant connection. We've been friends ever since and we have both grown in that time. This is a joyous and love-filled conversation about her journey, leaving people behind (sometimes when they are taken away) and the need to heal and repair society (and how this starts inside). A genuinely uplifting conversation. You can feel Kerri's trademark smile throughout. She is a beautiful soul who single-handedly changed my perception of yoga and in so doing, of myself. Kerri is a yoga teacher, activist, author and a "souldier". Audio editing my Mark Cotton.

Rusty Egan is one of the most influential DJs ever. He chose the music that went on to shape and define the movement that became the New Romantics. It was music for misfits. Inspired by the German band Kraftwerk, Bowie and American bands like Devo, Rusty chose the soundtrack to the post-punk movement that shaped a generation. His choices influenced the way bands made music and the music that was played in clubs across the world. Along with co-collaborator Steve Strange, Rusty started the legendary Blitz club, was one of the founding members of Visage and was the drummer in the Rich Kids. He is a total legend in the music industry and is still producing the most amazing tracks. Listen here: https://soundcloud.com/rusty-egan I was walking through central London one night and bumped into him. He was wearing wonderful loafers and the warmest smile. Fortune favours the brave and a couple of months after asking him I found myself in a soho studio recording this sparkling conversation. There are laughs, drum beats, stories, and even tears. Dive in. He is @rustyegan on Instagram and you'll find him on all the music streaming services. His work with Visage was epoch-defining. Thanks Rusty.

Jess was a much bigger influence on my life than she realised. One of a group of art students that i met when i moved to London for my placement year in 1990. Jess is an artists that works with geometry and nature. Sustainability runs through her like "Blackpool" through a stick of rock. This is a rich conversation about the value of art in society, growing up in a slightly bohemian house in a normal street, and a tale of two fish pies. Utterly wonderful.

Malcom Garrett is a design legend. This is a wonderful and rich conversation about his work for bands including The Buzzcocks and Duran Duran. But more than that it is a conversation about the very nature of design and creativity. There is much in here that made me think but this line "you can't do good work for a client that doesn't want it" really struck me. It's a wonderful conversation that reflects the nature of the man. Thanks Malcolm. A massive shout-out to Mark Cotton for the audio engineering of the podcast.

Chrissy is extraordinary. A firebrand and a passionate campaigner for the power of creativity in solving the world's environmental problems. To me creativity is simply imagining a world that hasn't arrived yet, and you wouldn't imagine a worse one would you? Chrissy is on a mission to bring the World's creative industries together to and use their collective imaginations for good. We dig into that and also into why Chrissy started on this journey. A lovely listen. Recorded in the summer behind Kings Cross station with kids playing in the water features. A tough audio edit by the remarkable Mark Cotton.

Matt Pritchard is a diamond. One of life's good guys. He's a professional stuntman, skateboarder, one of the founders of Dirty Sanchez, and author of two vegan cookbooks. His story is as beautiful as it is gnarled. We cover running, growing-up, picking-up rubbish on his morning walks, getting up early, veganism, cooking, finding a different meaning in life, avoiding people, and Wales. One of my favourite chats. Thanks Matt.

Another in my occasional chats with my mate Pete Davies about music. In this one we each pulled together a playlist of the songs we think we play the most (not measured at all) and why. It was fascinating. Particularly the reasons why. We agreed on Stone Roses 'Fools Gold', who wouldn't? I have a PRS licence.

Will and his brother Harry are accidental olive farmers and purposeful entrepreneurs. They bought two fields with 200 olive trees in and now sell the finest olive oil I have ever tasted. But more than that. They are part of a community now. Their feet and hearts deeply embedded in the soil of Zakros. They want to do good and spread good. Their approach is based on traditional soil-improving agricultural techniques. Regenerative agriculture as it is sometime known. This is brilliant. But they are regenerative in more ways than this. They are building social venture into the heart of what they do. Take a listen to find out more.

Wow, I loved this chat. It was like sitting down with a mate from school. A self-proclaimed "useless kid" who sat under the table and drew. Dave died at 14. Properly died. Left for dead by the ambulance drivers until his Mum suggested they try and "get him going again". And boy did he get going. A trailblazer in advertising. Each agency he started was created on the back of a crisis. A serial success, he gave it all up and became an artist. He is now accidentally successful there too. Only, it isn't an accident. Dave is a brilliantly original thinker. He is brave. He trusts his gut-instinct. He goes all-in. This is a brilliant conversation that shines a light on a real talent. His art is bold, collectable and often pink. All the things I love.

Mira Manek is a cook, an author and a wellness consultant. In an earlier life she was a journalist but following a series of trips overseas was able to see herself more clearly. She returned to the UK and changed what she did. She wrote two beautiful books 'Saffron Soul' (a cookbook) and 'Prajna: Ayurvedic Rituals for Happiness'. In so doing changed everyone that reads them. She is owner of chai brand Chai by Mira. This is a gentle and uplifting conversation with a beautiful soul.

Meet my friend Sara. Designer and company builder. Sara started as a marketeer in London before legging it off to Australia. We talk about mid-90s London, changing career, her love of the freedom water brings, what it feels like to submerge yourself in a city after being a dive master, and starting a business that brought pattern to life. After a cancer diagnosis and a move to small-town New Zealand Sara now makes beautiful swimwear "If you cant find what you're looking for I thought fuck it I'll do it". She's back in the water but the cancer is back too. This time it doesn't look good. "There is no stage five". How do you keep on keeping on? This is a beautiful conversation with a pure soul who has dropped beautiful breadcrumbs as she has walked through life. Follow Sara @hakinakina.active @sarac_prints

It's now become a tradition. Pete Davies and I sit down at the end of each year and discuss our favourite new music. This was a great conversation. Pete's choices were all chill and soulful, mine were a little angrier and shoutier. Take a listen to the chat and a snippet of the music. Don't worry we have a PRS licence. There is an accompanying spotify playlist. https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1AwX5CNMSKCclrRRnZmbky?si=2DAWQrTZT7anu5s-h6n3Aw The photo is us at 20. We didn't know each other but I think we'd have got on.

Wayne Hemingway started-off selling clothes. He and partner Gerardine sold all their clothes on Camden Market in order to make ends-meet. They had started something bigger than them. Their stall grew and grew and became a shop then a company then a worldwide brand. Now they run Hemingway Design with their children and are the people behind The Good Business Festival https://thegoodbusinessfestival.com/ This is a lovely conversation recorded at the end of last summer.

Charlie Gladstone has built many teams, many teams that have built great businesses. In-fact I'd say that Charlie is the best team-builder I know. It's people that make a business, not a business plan. Charlie has just written a great and concise book on how to build teams. In this podcast we talk about how to do this. Audio engineer: Mark Cotton.

The idea was a simple one - delve deeper in to the minds of the people and their processes behind the music. We asked each artist to select one of their own tracks to go under the microscope. Our third and final colab podcast with the Reasons To Be Cheerful crew features Sarah Cosgrove from Low Girl. Sarah started writing songs at the age of 12 using the process as a coping mechanism during what she describes as “lonely teenage years”. In the time since, she has been busily honing her craft, with a focus on writing about universal themes and emotions from a singularly feminine perspective. Citing artists ranging from Brockhampton to The Beatles, to King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard, King Princess and Phoebe Bridgers as inspiration, the breadth of Low Girls’ influences is clear to hear on her debut EP but never detracts from her own unique identity and innate song writing ability. A seamless collection of 5 tracks, it is a body of work that exudes talent, confidence and personality. With recent airplay on 6Music, RadioX and Radio 1, we'll be keeping a close eye on the burgeoning career destined for Low Girl.

Back in March 2021, we pulled together a line up of three artists to celebrate the one-year anniversary of the Morning Communion hosted by the Reasons To Be Cheerful Crew and now we're making these available via three special colab podcasts. The idea was a simple one - delve deeper in to the minds of the people and their processes behind the music. We asked each artist to select one of their own tracks to go under the microscope. This episode features Lee Vernon - the front-man from Pearl Handled Revolver. The band have travelled a long way over the last decade and have thankfully had the decency to send regular updates of their escapades. Four EPs, two live albums and four studio albums chart a journey from the limits of primal blues, via unlikely liaisons between bare-bones stoner rock to blackened psych soul music. The underlying aim has always been to move the feet while the head slowly succumbs to a barrage of ideas regarding states of madness induced by the modern world. They have an uncanny ability to achieve this with freakish regularity.

This is the first of three collaborations with Blenders. We talk to musicians about the music they may, why they make it and how. The first is with the marvellous ENNE. ENNÈ [N] is a Soul Singer & song creator with mixed cultural influences that blends sounds of Reggae, Soul, Jazz, Funk and whatever else can be thrown in the mix. Enne will captivate and enthral you with her high energy, uplifting vibes & always brings an abundance of Joy. ENNE celebrates life and art relentlessly, and wants to share it with you.