Looking for inspiration + fresh thinking to listen to? Welcome in.
This year I had some wonderful interview conversations with thoughtful, smart, and insightful podcast hosts. (People who aren’t afraid to dig under the surface to questions about what it really takes to create something as you, and more).
And I’d like to introduce a few of them to you.
So here’s my pick of 10 of my favourite podcast interviews from this year.
I’ve discovered some great new podcasts through this, and loved these conversations. I hope you enjoy diving in and discovering them too!
1. Unconventional Leaders (Heather Parady)
Heather asks straight up some of the most real things I’ve been asked in any interview and doesn’t shy away from the ‘tough’ (and more intimate), questions.
Here we talk about why your ‘weirdness’ (ie: the thing about you that feels too different or ‘not enough’) might really be your edge. We go into why you can’t thrive for long without working with who you are (seriously!), what being a free range human really means… plus my real experiences with (and lessons) all of this.
There’s real talk about the online world (!), the balance between challenging yourself vs compromising yourself, protecting your professionalism/reputation while also being authentic… and much more… so all I can say is, this is a fave for sure.
The interview starts around 5 mins in, so listen in!
(As a side note, Heather is such a wonderful interviewer it was no surprise Seth Godin agreed to be on her podcast the week this episode was released).
2. Happy Startup School Podcast (Carlos Saba)
The theme of this conversation is ‘where your success ends and you begin’…. and it went in a direction neither of us expected at the start.
This episode is a personal favourite of mine (what we talked about was rolling around in my mind for days after), but it’s nuanced and won’t be for everyone. So to save you time, how do you know if it’s for you?
Well this one isn’t about ‘starting out’, and it isn’t a ‘how to’ episode. But if you enjoy diving into the ‘grey areas’ of life, and the theme “where your success ends and you begin” speaks to you… listen in!
Amber dives straight into the real questions from the first second of this podcast (and I share very personal stories that this woman is magic at bringing out). If you like the sound of that you’ll love this episode.
It’s a raw one about why weaknesses are strengths in the wrong environment, letting go of things that we’re tempted to hold on to, being true to yourself (and still making things work), why being highly sensitive is (actually) a superpower and more… listen here:
4. Project Love (Selina Barker)
Here I’m interviewed by Project Love co-founder Selina Barker (who is also my longest collaborator in Free Range Humans, and core to the ideas in the Be A Free Range Human book!)
In this cosy ‘free range’ conversation we cover everything from how everything started (and what’s changed…), the dangers of formulas, busting the ‘passion myth’…. to finding your way, doing something in your own ‘style’ and making it work as you.
5. Pivot Podcast (Jenny Blake)
If you haven’t met her yet, Jenny is the author of Pivot, a regular keynote speaker at Google, Microsoft, Yale, Stanford and other fancy pants places…
More importantly she is a great human to chat openly with – she’s made her own ‘pivots’ on the way, and brings out wonderful conversations about changing and growing as a result.
In this episode (geared to those who are starting or already doing their own thing) she and I “share where many solopreneurs go wrong: leaving a suffocating, one-size-fits-all corporate environment just to feel equally penned in by a box of their own making with shoulds from the self-employment space…” and how to do things differently.
6. Calmer You (Chloe Brotheridge)
If you don’t always feel ‘perfectly confident and shiny’ – and sometimes wonder how that fits with doing your own thing or making a big change this episode may be for you.
Host Chloe Brotheridge is the author of the bestselling “The Anxiety Solution” and “Brave New Girl”. Her podcast, Calmer You, is one of the leading mental health podcasts in the UK.
Here we have an open conversation about the pressure to ‘find your passion’, what to do when you’re a “highly sensitive person”, living and working with anxiety, and creating something as you (even if you are different from the usual ‘type’ in your field!) and more.
Jeff Brown was fascinated by leading self development and business books – so he started an interview podcast to get under the surface of them.
Since then Jeff’s ‘Read To Lead’ podcast has hosted thinkers like Simon Sinek, Dan Pink, and Seth Godin and been listed as an iTunes Essential podcast for Book Lovers – for good reason.
Jeff does a lot of research on the book and his guests before the interview – and manages to cover plenty of themes for you in one episode. Here those themes include why weaknesses are strengths in the wrong environment, the importance of starting with what you have, ‘free range’ lessons I’ve learned about things like personal branding (even when you’re more than ‘one thing’), some of my top book recommendations and more.
Note this is a pretty high energy fast paced episode (there’s a lot covered and his questions got me a bit excited!) so it’s more one to listen to if you’re in the mood for a boost.
Melissa has had a meteoric rise in the podcast world, with her heartfelt podcast Mind Love growing to 1 million downloads in her first year.
This episode with me is titled “are you trapped in your job?” and our conversation goes right back to the early days of free ranging.
Melissa dives us into how to know if it’s time to quit (and why this isn’t just for a few lucky people with a million instagram followers!), how your anxiety can be a gift in your decision making, one specific action to start now to give you clarity on what you really want to do with your life, as well as my experiences starting out (and what I’m seeing out there now).
9. Practical Magic (Kate Taylor) and Adulting with Ebonie
Two here! For some reason these two podcast interviews are linked in my mind – it might be because Kate and Ebonie are so likeminded “out of the box” thinkers, it might be because the same people said we should meet… or, it might be that they are two British female podcasters who I loved speaking with!
Whatever the reason, these are joyful, real convos about creating life and career as you.
I particularly liked where we talked about the difference between being a ‘rebel’ and being ‘free range’ (and why I have never identified as a ‘rebel’ type!)… and why free range to me is the third way between being a ‘rebel’ and a ‘conformist’.
10. Get Out Your Way (Osmaan Sharif) and Bravehearts Rising (Lisa Pascoe)
And to round this off another pair. Osmaan and Lisa have been around Free Range Humans land for years, and while their podcasts are newer and therefore not (yet) as known as some of the others here, they should be.
Osmaan has the distinction of having the best Glaswegian accent you can imagine – and of asking grounded, real questions about making things happen for real. Lisa’s podcast is a brand new one for ‘deep feelers, dreamers and empaths ‘ of the world.
And that’s a wrap! It was hard to pick just 10 (ok, 12 ;))… but I also know if a list gets too long we never take action! So this is my pick for you today.
Pick one that calls to you, listen in and enjoy!
Marianne x
PS: before you go – there’s more coming up in free range land soon.
So if any of this speaks to you (or if you have a sense that 2020 is the time to figure out how really to do things without leaving a piece of yourself at the door)….
Put your name in the box below to stay in touch and be sure to hear what is coming up! Mx
