In episode 208 of The Just Checking In Podcast we checked in with content creator and designer Teddy Lange. Teddy spent 10 years figuring out his life path and veering from things he enjoyed because of what he believed he ‘should’ be pursuing due to societal expectations before arriving at the place he is now. In this episode we discuss his professional journey, from theatre to studying life sciences, business, public policy and through to the work he is doing now. We also discuss why he tries v...
Nov 04, 2023•2 hr 38 min
In episode 207 of The Just Checking In Podcast we checked in with entrepreneur Sunil Jindal. Sunil is also an old school friend of our Founder Freddie Cocker. Sunil is the Founder of The Ping Pong Society, a company which offers businesses and their staff bespoke one-hour long events to give them a taste of table tennis in a fun and accessible way. He is also the Co-Founder of MAGIC, a fitness-technology company which sells unique Mirrors, powered by AI that serve as your own personal fitness tr...
Nov 01, 2023•1 hr 23 min
In episode 206 of The Just Checking In Podcast we checked in with writer and Swindon Town fan Liam Walsh. Liam is the author of ‘Red Balloons: A Father, A son: A Memoir’, where he writes about losing his 15-year-old son Patrick in January 2020. Patrick had gone to a football match to watch Tottenham Hotspur, Liam and Patrick's second team play and collapsed suddenly for no clear, explainable reason. He died on the streets of west London, held in his arms by his brother Euan. Tragically, just two...
Oct 25, 2023•50 min
In this episode of Behind The Decks, we checked in with DJ and producer Russell Small. Russell Small is the founder of two iconic UK house music groups, Phats & Small and later, the Freemasons. The very first record Phats & Small ever put out called ‘Turn Around’ in 1999 was a smash hit, peaking at number two on the UK singles chart and catapulted them both into international fame and stardom. They performed on Top of The Pops four times and went on global tours. Six years later, Russell founded...
Oct 20, 2023•1 hr 15 min
In episode 205 of The Just Checking In Podcast we checked in with YouTuber and writer, Alexander L. Alex lives in Norway and moved there from Poland when he was 16 years old. He suffered severe bullying when he was at school in Poland which caused him to develop sex dysphoria and a feeling he was not 'good enough' to be a man. He also felt disgust towards his genitalia and had a strong desire to escape his sexuality and sexual desire. All of these combined to draw Alex towards the idea of transi...
Oct 13, 2023•2 hr 41 min
In episode 204 of The Just Checking In Podcast we checked in with Stephen J Shaw. Stephen is an academic, data scientist and the writer, director and producer of the film 'Birthgap - Childless World'. Birthgap analyses the data of falling birth-rates across the world, the societal, economic and cultural reasons this is happening and what the consequences of it will be. Stephen also speaks to a range of people in the field of fertility medicine, couples who don’t have children and most powerfully...
Oct 06, 2023•1 hr 22 min
In episode 203 of The Just Checking In Podcast we checked in with firefighter Dean Corney. Dean is also the co-founder of Walk & Talk 999, which is a men's walking group in the in the UK for any man in the emergency services to walk and talk about their mental health, if they want to, and be met with empathy, trust and understanding. The group was setup in 2018 by four women and two men, including Dean, who realised there weren’t any support groups for firefighters specifically to talk about the...
Sep 23, 2023•1 hr 24 min
In episode 202 of The Just Checking In Podcast we checked in with journalist Angela Walker. Angela has over 20 years’ experience as a news reporter including twelve years as a Senior Journalist with BBC News. She now works freelance and has her own podcast ‘Angela Walker Reports’. In this episode we chart her journalism journey, from a chance opportunity to go on local radio to talk about the motorcycle company she was working at as a receptionist, to working for North Norfolk radio, to moving t...
Sep 15, 2023•1 hr 24 min
In episode 201 of The Just Checking In Podcast we checked in with journalist and author Madeleine Davies. Madeleine is currently Senior Writer at The Church Times. Madeleine is also the author of the book 'Lights For The Path', which aims to help young adults and teenagers dealing with grief. Madeleine wrote the book out of her own grief she experienced when she lost her mother when she was 12 years old and wanted a resource that would have helped her when she was younger. In this episode we dis...
Sep 13, 2023•54 min
In this episode of Behind The Mic we checked in with UK artist Lily Ward. Lily started working in the industry when she was 16 years old and has been singing and playing instruments for far longer. In this episode we chart her journey from a 16-year-old starting out to where she is now, how much growth and potential she has going forward as she is still only 23 years old and the pressure she feels to be successful whilst she is young. We also discuss work-life balance, artist comparison culture ...
Sep 08, 2023•1 hr 4 min
In this landmark two hundredth episode of The Just Checking In Podcast we checked in with conflict journalist and researcher Aram Shabanian. Aram is the Open-Source Information Gathering (OSIG) Manager at the New Lines Institute for Strategy and Policy. In this episode we discuss his unconventional route into conflict journalism, after having to study at two different universities after dropping out from the first one after failing his exams in his second year. He then got an opportunity to appe...
Sep 06, 2023•2 hr 31 min
In episode 199 of The Just Checking In Podcast we checked in with academic Dr Andrew George Thomas. Andrew is currently Senior Lecturer in Psychology at Swansea University, researching in the area of Evolutionary Psychology. Andrew did his BSc in Psychology at Cardiff university but moved to Swansea university for his PhD where he studied with Professor Steve Stewart-Williams. In order to fund his PHD, Andrew worked part-time and then full-time in the private sector before he managed to get his ...
Sep 01, 2023•2 hr 37 min
In this episode of Behind The Decks we checked in with Jack McNeilage who forms one half of Scottish dance music production duo, Able Faces. Jack formed the group with his brother Mark and in this episode we discuss the two brothers' music journey, from starting a band to meeting their now manager and becoming a songwriting duo before moving into music production and recently DJing too. We also discuss the importance of self-awareness in the music industry, trust and how and why the duo hold the...
Aug 29, 2023•46 min
In episode 198 of The Just Checking In Podcast we checked in with Kat May Romero. Kat is a freelance journalist and is involved in a campaign called 'Formula for Change' which is being led by The Metro, in partnership with charity Feed UK. They are all calling on the UK Government to urgently review their infant formula legislation and give retailers the green light to accept loyalty points, grocery vouchers provided by foodbanks and local authorities and store gift cards as payment for infant f...
Aug 25, 2023•1 hr 28 min
In this episode of Reel Stories we checked in with actor and producer Danny Kirrane. Danny is best known for his roles in the TV adaptation of Neil Gaiman’s The Sandman, Pirates of the Carribbean: Salazar’s Revenge, The Serpent Queen and TV show Wasted where he starred alongside Sean Bean. He also has credits in shows like Skins, Casualty, Trollied and Poldark. In this episode of Reel Stories we talk about how Danny got into acting whilst at Leeds University, performing as part of the National Y...
Aug 23, 2023•1 hr 2 min
In episode 197 of The Just Checking In Podcast we checked in with Dr Karleen Gribble. Karleen is an Adjunct Association Professor at Western Sydney University, where she specialises in Infant feeding, child trauma, foster care and adoption. In this episode we discuss her academic journey and a case study she did on a woman who had detransitioned and experienced deep regret and trauma over a double mastectomy operation she had done during her transition. After detransitioning, she became pregnant...
Aug 19, 2023•56 min
In episode 196 of The Just Checking In Podcast we checked in with Gar Lock. Gar is an Irish farmer who helps ex-prisoners reintegrate into society, learn social skills and life skills and improve their physical and mental health. Gar had this desire from being in prison himself where he spent 3.5 years of his life. Whilst in prison, he realised he needed to change himself and his life in order to reintegrate into society and find happiness. Gar grew up in a difficult household and a family envir...
Aug 16, 2023•1 hr 9 min
In this episode of Behind The Mic we checked in with Norwegian R&B and pop artist, Severin. Severin got into music through discovering UK rock band Royal Blood. After being in bands and performing in English for a few years, he realised it wasn’t authentic to him as an artist and he began singing, writing and producing in his native Norwegian and carved out his own path as a solo artist. In this episode we chart his music journey from singing in English to Norwegian and evolving from a Rock soun...
Aug 11, 2023•46 min
In episode 195 of The Just Checking In Podcast we checked in with writer Alina Clough. Alina has a regular column for Evie Magazine and in this episode we discuss how she got into professional writing, from initially writing about conservation issues to how she landed her regular column at Evie today. We came across Alina through one of her articles in Evie entitled 'Dance Moms Are Using Social Media To Digitally Pimp Out Their Daughters’ which exposes a hugely disturbing sexual abuse scandal of...
Aug 09, 2023•1 hr 19 min
In this episode of Behind The Mic, we checked in with UK artist Jade Morgan Kelly. We came across Jade through a covers medley video she did for BBC Introducing, as well as her smash hit ‘Reason To Stay ft. Jarkii Monno’. In this episode we discuss how Jade got into the music industry, from her diploma at the British and Irish Modern Music Institute (BIMM) in London, to her undergraduate degree in popular music performance vocals and now starting her music career as an artist at 22 years old. We...
Aug 04, 2023•1 hr 8 min
In episode 194 of The Just Checking In Podcast we checked in with Elliott Wheat-Bowen. Elliott was the Founder of Huddersfield Town fan platform, Talk of The Town (TOTT). Our Founder Freddie Cocker was the co-founder of this platform and wrote for it extensively before he started Vent in 2017. Elliott then made the decision to close the platform down and in this episode we discuss the journey of TOTT from beginning to end, what he’s doing with his life now and starting his own cooking blog. For ...
Aug 01, 2023•57 min
In this episode of Mind On The Game we checked back in with Charlie Roebuck. Charlie previously came on the podcast in JCIP #42 in June 2020 to discuss his cricketing journey, the mental health impact of long-term injuries, suicidality and self-harm. Three years later, Charlie has taken up a new sport in running and has used it to channel his emotions, including the grief of his grandfather and ran the inaugural Rob Burrow Marathon in May 2023. He ran the marathon to raise money for the charity ...
Jul 28, 2023•36 min
In episode 193 of The Just Checking In Podcast we checked in with Dr Rakib Ehsan. Rakib is an academic, commentator and the author of 'Beyond Grievance: What The Left Gets Wrong About Ethnic Minorities', which was published in June 2023. He is currently a columnist at Spiked magazine and a regular contributor for Mail Plus and The Telegraph. He has also written for other outlets including The Independent, The Jewish Chronicle, UnHerd, The Times Red Box and CapX. He has also done broadcast work, ...
Jul 25, 2023•53 min
In episode 192 of The Just Checking In Podcast we checked in with Patrick Moore. Patrick is a sports journalist and has worked for rugby league team Huddersfield Giants and the BBC, the latter of which he is leaving for a new role at time of recording. In this episode we discuss his journey into sports journalism, work-life balance in sports journalism and working in a highly-pressurised environment on match-days. For Pat’s mental health, members of Pat’s family have gone through severe mental h...
Jul 22, 2023•39 min
In episode 191 of The Just Checking In Podcast we checked back in with Jacob George. Jacob works as an engineer and is a childhood friend of our Founder Freddie Cocker. He first came on the podcast three years ago in JCIP #23. In Part 1 of Jacob’s journey, we discussed his experience of anxiety, panic attacks and depression. We also discussed his experience of fatherhood, having become a dad when he was 23 years old. In Part 2 of Jacob's journey we discuss his separation from his then partner an...
Jul 19, 2023•1 hr 4 min
In episode 190 of The Just Checking In Podcast we checked in with journalist Matt Graveling. Matt currently works freelance for a range of outlets including the BBC, predominantly on sports stories. In this episode we discuss how and why Matt got into journalism, his previous lives as a dogwalker, an NHS worker and packing boxes in a factory before he broke into journalism, fighting tooth and nail to get to where he is today but yet still not feeling stable and the anxiety of being a freelance j...
Jul 13, 2023•2 hr 37 min
In episode 189 of The Just Checking In Podcast we checked in with Jennifer Jordan. Jennifer is a Freelance Digital PR Manager and lives with a female health condition called Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder(PMDD). PMDD is a rare form of Premenstrual Syndrome (PMS) which causes a range of emotional and physical symptoms every month during the week or two before a woman’s period. PMDD usually occurs during the luteal phase of a woman’s menstrual cycle. In this episode we discuss Jennifer’s childhoo...
Jul 07, 2023•1 hr 2 min
In episode 188 of The Just Checking In Podcast we checked in with sports journalist Bryn Law. Bryn has worked in sports media for 30 years. He spent 21 of those years at Sky Sports where he made his name as a reporter, commentator and presenter. Four years ago he left Sky Sports and has been working freelance ever since for a range of different outlets. He is also the author of two books: ‘Zombie Nation Awakes: Welsh Football's Odyssey to Euro 2016: The Diary of a Reporter Supporter’ and ‘Don't ...
Jul 05, 2023•1 hr 14 min
In episode 187 of The Just Checking In Podcast we checked in with Alfie Fitzsimmons. Alfie is the Founder of Alfie's Squad, which is is a non-profit organisation working to help children bereaved by parental suicide. Alfie started this charity because when he was eight years old, in May 2017, Alfie tragically lost his father Keith to suicide. Initially, his mother Allison was worried about telling Alfie the truth and told Alfie his dad had had a heart attack. However, even at that age, Alfie kne...
Jun 30, 2023•27 min
In this episode of Behind The Decks we checked back in with UK producer and DJ, Snowdream. In Part 1 we talked to Elliot about music perfectionism culture, his bisexuality and the challenges and positives that has brought to his life. In Part 2 In this episode we discuss his first ever live DJ set at Just Checking In Live #4 (Take Two), his TikTok following he has built and balancing that new venture with being a music producer. We also have a discussion about his debut album Open Space and his ...
Jun 28, 2023•54 min
