This is the first in a special mini-series on an ADEQUATE podcast , and I'm really excited about it. I'm working on a new book project called The Convosphere, and in this introductory episode, I wanted to give you a bit of background on what that's all about. Basically, I've been thinking a lot about how conversations - whether it's interviews, chats with friends, or even overheard exchanges - can have a profound impact on our lives, even if we're not directly involved. And a whole interconnecte...
Jan 01, 2025•8 min•Season 4Ep. 1
John-Paul Flintoff introduces a new podcast mini-series on writing book proposals, motivated by his recent work with aspiring writers. - He discusses the common issue of self-doubt that many writers face. - He recounts a meeting with a woman in a cafe who expressed a desire to write and publish a book, but was held back by self-criticism. - Flintoff provides examples of famous writers like Shakespeare and C.S. Lewis who could have doubted their right to write. - He emphasizes that anyone, even t...
Dec 16, 2024•10 min
John-Paul Flintoff discusses the challenges of editing audio for his podcast and shares insights from listeners working on family heirloom stories. He highlights Charmian's project involving her father's censored WWII letters and her own censored correspondence from Spain during General Franco's regime. Flintoff emphasizes the importance of describing and indexing letters and the value of adding commentary to enhance their storytelling. He references Eminem's song " Stan " to illustrate the impa...
Nov 18, 2024•17 min
In this episode, we meet Charmian as she recounts the panic she felt when she couldn't find her father’s wartime letters and the bittersweet emotions that surfaced as she carefully read through her father's words. From the physical descriptions of the letters to the personal reflections on her family's history, this conversation offers a glimpse into a moving personal journey. This is a story of love, loss, and the enduring power of the written word.
Nov 15, 2024•9 min
John-Paul Flintoff introduces this episode as a reading of his latest newsletter, hinting at the intriguing family history contained within. - The newsletter delves into a "bag of letters" written by a reader’s father during World War II in West Africa. - Flintoff shares his plans to potentially offer a special course or "extravaganza" on preserving and sharing family stories like these. - Listeners get a glimpse of Flintoff's latest art, as he describes a vibrant oil painting and the surprising...
Nov 13, 2024•5 min
John-Paul Flintoff explains how to combine family histories with artefacts to make cherished heirlooms. Drawing inspiration from a request by "Special Projects member X" to help share a collection of wartime letters written by her father, Flintoff discusses: - The value of heirlooms, both obvious ones (like photo archives or antiques) and more subtle ones (like the hands that have held them through generations) - How to describe the physical details of the heirloom (in this case, the letter coll...
Nov 12, 2024•18 min
John-Paul Flintoff received a request from a patron to help turn a bag of WWII letters written by her father into a story. Flintoff is excited by the coincidence of this request coming in mid-November, when he often thinks of offering a month-long project on family stories. He proposes to turn this into a public project for podcast listeners, where they can also work on turning their own family artifacts into stories. He encourages listeners to reach out by sending an email or leaving a comment ...
Nov 11, 2024•9 min
John-Paul Flintoff tells a friend he once went undercover at a fundraising event for Boris Johnson. Flintoff explains how newspapers and media outlets often try to get stories from events in this way, even (or especially) if the event organisers don't want certain topics discussed. His friend, connected to an author with a big book launch coming up, could consider inviting a gossip columnist, to generate valuable media coverage. Looking back, Flintoff wonders whether this practice of "infiltrati...
Nov 07, 2024•8 min
John-Paul Flintoff reflects on conversations that can change everything, by reading aloud his November newsletter to make the content more accessible. The newsletter reflects on conversations that have significantly impacted people's lives, featuring interviews with various individuals, including well-known and less-known personalities. He describes the black-and-white photos of these individuals, which can be seen in the newsletter here , highlighting their expressions of surprise and delight. ...
Nov 06, 2024•8 min
One of the participants on a week-long residential course for writers got in touch with me afterwards...
Mar 13, 2024•6 min•Season 3Ep. 3
A bit of a change in tone, today
Jul 09, 2023•6 min•Season 3Ep. 6
Using a podcast to make things visible.
Jul 08, 2023•3 min•Season 3Ep. 5
Andy Kershaw blew my mind.
Jul 06, 2023•5 min•Season 3Ep. 4
Contact! 🗣️👂🏻
Jul 01, 2023•40 sec•Season 3Ep. 2
Inspired by Carl on Behaviour Gap Radio I am going to do higher frequency, shorter episodes, without ever striving to be more than adequate
Jun 30, 2023•3 min•Season 3Ep. 1
How Keir Starmer engineered (?) a standing ovation. And how Emma Raducanu fell over, and got up again. Plus, an assortment of unexpected rhymes. If you read this after listening, you may like to know that you can get your own fix of Gavin Ewart .
Sep 29, 2021•18 min•Season 2Ep. 5
How To Write. In this episode, I bring you the sound of three authors writing - Tony McGowan, Jay Heinrichs and Ian Sansom - then bring them together with the two you may already have heard in what I call A Symphony For Five Writers. Then there's a message from one of my sponsors (as we say on podcasts). And finally, a chunk from work in progress on a new book proposal, looking back ten years to when I wrote my most successful book (so far, fingers crossed). If the last bit drives you crazy with...
Aug 20, 2021•28 min•Season 2Ep. 4
Pilita Clark is a columnist at The Financial Times. I used to sit next to Pilita when we both worked on the FT's Saturday magazine. I don't suppose it's really possible that the sound of her typing, which you hear in this episode, can really have reminded me of that time - because one person's typing isn't all that different from another's, surely. But listening to it did take me right back, as I pictured Pilita "typing up a storm" (a phrase she used to use herself sometimes). As you listen, you...
Aug 04, 2021•25 min•Season 2Ep. 3
In this episode, you can hear X writing one of his weekly columns for The Times. You can download the published column, and and "feel" the writing as you read it, on this page: flintoff.org/columnist-what-it-feels-like
Jul 30, 2021•22 min•Season 2Ep. 2
M.S. said, why not record yourself typing? I did.
Jul 22, 2021•23 min•Season 2Ep. 1
A confident writer. Even fairly confident at speaking. But this is the first wedding speech. In this short conversation, you'll hear us take on the key areas of concern, and find a way forward. As ever, I hope it's useful. Take what you like, and leave the rest.
Jun 03, 2021•23 min•Season 1Ep. 33
I first met Professor Henrietta Bowden-Jones OBE at the Nightingale Psychiatric Hospital, where I came to see her as a patient. As you will hear in this conversation, I had previously seen her website, https://henriettabowdenjones.com/media/ , and I had listened to her on Private Passions, BBC Radio 3. I'm not aware of any other podcast in which somebody interviews his own psychiatrist - mind you, I haven't actually looked very hard. The main point to make is: I think this is a very interesting ...
May 24, 2021•33 min
Feedback, and what I did with it. Plus, why I’m wearing an orange bracelet with today’s date on it.
May 22, 2021•13 min•Season 1Ep. 32
The Best Man Speech idea takes shape. The pop-up newsletter gets interest from Whizzers. Plus: What Jeff Walker did to sustain energy and impact.
May 20, 2021•14 min•Season 1Ep. 31
In this mini-series, I talk about how much I have gained by showing my work in progress. Part 2 of 5. You should listen to part 1 first, if you haven't already.
May 19, 2021•18 min
Putting something into the world can be a lot easier if you share the process, even or especially when it’s a bit messy. In this episode, I share the process of launching something new, but related to my latest book. The episode is interrupted by a schnauzer, followed by a rainstorm. More tomorrow.
May 18, 2021•8 min•Season 1Ep. 29
In this episode, James Mayhew talks about the process of finding his own style as a young man - initially, by copying others. If you're a regular listener, you'll know this is a regular theme: there's a real liberation in setting constraints for your artistic practice. In this particular case, the practice is visual art, but what James describes is relevant to any other kind of creative work, including writing. I first came across James's art as a parent, reading picture books before bedtime. We...
May 10, 2021•40 min•Season 1Ep. 28
I failed to do it last year. I was determined to do it this year. In this episode I look back on it, in hope that it might inspire you to do something like it - or even not obviously like it. You can find out more about this particular project here: https://flintoff.org/dp21-day-1
May 02, 2021•14 min•Season 1Ep. 27
Why would a writer put themselves into the background? Wendy Jones has written many kinds of books - fiction, and for children - but in this episode we focus on how and why she likes to tell people's stories in their own words. She did this in her biography of Grayson Perry, and in The Sex Lives Of English Women. In this conversation, we talk about what drew her to use this technique, and how she actually goes about it - the hard work, like the figure of the writer, can sometimes seem invisible....
Apr 27, 2021•42 min•Season 1Ep. 26
Storytelling, companionship, holy places... It's all happening in this year's virtual, online pilgrimage from North London (where I live) to Canterbury. It takes place entirely on Google Streetview, with Zoom, so you can join from anywhere. 2.30pm to 3.15pm, every weekday in April 2021. As the first week ends, we're in London.
Apr 10, 2021•15 min•Season 1Ep. 25
