Distraction Therapy 081 – Driving Around or Living a Meaningful Life

3 March 2023 Rob Watson 0

Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadSubscribe: Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts | Android | TuneIn | RSS | MoreRyan and I got together at the recently extended Phoenix Cinema and Digital Arts Centre in Leicester, for a chat about what makes for a meaningful life. Ryan shared his experience of getting a car and […]

Distraction Therapy – What is a Meaningful Life?

23 February 2023 Rob Watson 0

Occasionally as we journey through life we reach a fork in the road presenting us with a choice. Do we go one way along the well-worn path, or do we head along the lesser-known route and see what we can discover? I feel I have reached one of those points of choice. I can either […]

It’s The Quality Of Our Lives That Matters Not The Cost.

31 January 2023 Rob Watson 0

If the UK were following its post-war economic trend, the average household would now be forty percent better off than at present. This is the reality of the UK’s absolute decline, and is the subject of a scathing report by economic historians Adam Tooze and Brad DeLong, which details how the UK is decoupling from […]

Dying Myths of British Exceptionalism

20 January 2023 Rob Watson 0

“Government is a shared myth. When the myth dies the government dies” Leto II, God Emperor of Dune, Frank Herbert We live according to the myths and stories that we tell ourselves. During my lifetime, the dominant myth has been that the free market will solve all our problems, and that individualistic market economics will […]

Is the UK a Massive Ponzi Scheme? What Madoff Teaches Us

8 January 2023 Rob Watson 0

The Netflix series Madoff: The Monster of Wall Street is an excruciating examination of greed, hubris, denial and corruption on a grand scale. Joe Berlinger’s enthralling account of Bernie Madoff’s rise to power, and his spectacular fall that left a trail of destruction around the world, demonstrates how warped and broken speculative finance is. When […]

Distraction Therapy 080 – 2022 Review

30 December 2022 Rob Watson 0

Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadSubscribe: Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts | Android | TuneIn | RSS | MoreIn our final podcast of 2022, Ryan and I met for a coffee and chatted about how we are coping during the festive season, what films and books we’ve been watching and reading, and how to […]

Brutal Birmingham?

21 December 2022 Rob Watson 0

Despite the much-needed redevelopment of Birmingham city centre, I still find visiting to be a brutal experience. I’m uncertain if it is the sheer volume of people crammed into a relatively small area, or if it is the design of the city which prioritised cars and industry rather than people. I can only relate my […]

Distraction Therapy 079 – Literary Leicester

16 December 2022 Rob Watson 0

Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadSubscribe: Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts | Android | TuneIn | RSS | MoreIt was really nice to have a coffee this morning with Jonathan Taylor and Paul Whitehead, who are based at the University of Leicester’s Centre for New Writing. We chatted about the way that literature has […]

Distraction Therapy 078 – Dafydd Roberts Listen to the Voice of Fire

1 December 2022 Rob Watson 0

Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadSubscribe: Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts | Android | TuneIn | RSS | MoreToday I chatted with Dafydd Roberts, about Listen to the Voice of Fire, Dafydd’s music project that encompasses sound art and experimental music performances. Since relocating to West Wales, to pursue a PhD in the alchemical […]

Bordeaux – Civil City

28 November 2022 Rob Watson 0

I’ve just had a couple of very pleasant days in Bordeaux. The French city on the River Garonne is defined by its passion for wine, food and a cuisine-based culture that draws on the traditions established and prized in the region of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine. With many cafés and restaurants supporting locally grown and created produce, […]

A Rainy Day In Manchester

25 November 2022 Rob Watson 0

I’ve not been to Manchester for a few years, so I was intrigued to find out how much has changed since I last visited. I’m visiting overnight with my sister. The first obvious thing to notice is there has been a flurry of building that has changed the skyline, and there seems to be lots […]

Emergent Communities

22 November 2022 Rob Watson 0

I was reflecting the other evening on the journey I’ve been on, and which I can now say encompasses the better part of my life experiences. Given that I’m well into my middle-age, I’m both liberated from the pressure to find my place in the world, and pleased that I can start to apply some […]

Labour Should Set Its Own Spending Agenda

21 November 2022 Rob Watson 0

Following the budget last week, in which Richie Sunak and Jeremy Hunt massively increased taxes to pay for their parties cumulative incompetence, some commentators suggested that the delayed spending cuts outlined by Hunt would be a trap that Labour would find it difficult to avoid. The bulk of the proposed spending cuts have been budgeted […]

Distraction Therapy 077 – Inspiration Beyond the Merch

20 November 2022 Rob Watson 0

Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadSubscribe: Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts | Android | TuneIn | RSS | MoreFor the first time in ages, Ryan and I met up to chat and discuss what we’ve been up to for the Distraction Therapy podcast. This was the first time we’d met on a Sunday morning, […]