PODCAST · arts
The Clearing with Katherine May
by Katherine May
Where would you go to rest and retreat, in good times and bad? Katherine May, author of Wintering and Enchantment, asks her guests to share their idea of a perfect sanctuary. Drawing on memory, inspiration and imagination, she explores the things we seek out when we need to restore our joy, hope and energy. It begins with a forest clearing. What will we find there? A log cabin or a grand hotel? What cherished object or talisman would you bring? And what single work of art, be it a book, record, film or something else, would provide you with enough sustenance to see you through the darkness and remind you of the good times? In a series of frank, thoughtful and deeply personal conversations, The Clearing will explore the cultural, social and spiritual mindset needed to survive difficult times. Katherine's Links: Visit The Clearing website <a href="https://katherine-may.co.uk/the-clearing-podcast" rel="noopener no
Episodes
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Kathryn Nicolai’s mysterious houses of Lake Michigan
This week’s guest is someone Katherine has wanted on The Clearing since the very beginning. Sleep whisperer and ‘architect of coziness’, Kathryn Nicolai is the talent behind one of Katherine’s very favourite podcasts - Nothing Much Happens. Described as ‘bedtime stories for everyone’ it’s a show...
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Sarah Wilson’s nomadic, desert dream
A friend of Sarah Wilson’s once told her she was always ‘looking for trouble’. It is clear from this episode that the best-selling Australian author, podcaster and TV presenter is hard-wired for restlessness. A self-confessed ‘edge-seeker’, constantly pushing boundaries in a flirtation with life,...
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Barbara Carrellas’ enchanted theatre
Barbara Carrellas believes we can find the truest rest in moments of awe. The author of ‘The Book of Ecstasy’ says even in life’s darkest moments, ecstasy is possible. It’s something seeded in her practice of ‘Urban Tantra’ - a non-touch sexual practice rooted in her experience of working with…
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Pierre Novellie’s Big Book of Hands
Comedian, podcaster, radio presenter and bona fide history nerd Pierre Novellie joins Katherine in The Clearing for this week’s episode. A geekfest of language and ideas, they launch straight into the etymology of the word ‘dork’, why you can’t choose your own clown as a stand-up, and the…
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Caitlin Moran’s ‘greatest building humans have ever come up with’
Caitlin Moran is somewhat of an icon in the UK. Growing up as the eldest of eight kids in a three bed council flat, home-educated from the age of 11, she became a published author at just 16 and a TV presenter not long after that. A long-time columnist for The Times, she has a well-deserved...
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Joseph Coelho’s art of pottering and rummaging
Step forward our first OBE on the show; former Children’s Laureate, winner of the Carnegie Medal for Writing, poet and prolific children’s author, Joseph Coelho. Having both grown up on housing estates where you definitely weren’t pre-conditioned for a life in the creative arts, Joseph and...
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Elise Loehnen’s radical candour therapist witch
Katherine kicks off Season Three of The Clearing in wild style by chatting to former magazine editor, podcast host and US author Elise Loehnen. Menopausal Love Island, lumberjack witches, the potential joy of losing female reproductive organs and animal totems are just some tiny tasters of a...
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Introducing Season Three
We’re excited to announce Season Three of The Clearing coming very soon. Katherine has curated a spectacular line-up of guests and we can’t wait for you to hear some of the brilliantly creative fantasies of rest they have dreamt up. Plus don’t forget our subscribers also get bonus episodes in the...
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Anna Brones’ Scandinavian saltwater idyll
Not too warm, not too cool, the kind of evening where you’re still in shorts but have pulled on a sweater, is where we find ourselves this week with the wonderful writer and papercut artist Anna Brones. It’s the Pacific North-West but imbued with Anna’s Swedish heritage as she brings comfort and...
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Alice Vincent’s joyful soundscape of human togetherness
‘Revel’ is the recurring theme of this episode as writer Alice Vincent brings visceral, carnival-esque Glastonbury vibes to The Clearing this week. A self-confessed extrovert, her dream retreat includes bundling up all the sounds and experiences of the people and places she loves; the chaotic joy...
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Joycelyn Longdon on imagining an abundant future
Trees as ancestors, blurring the boundary between our bodies and the living world and constructing your sense of ‘self’ through art; these are just some of the beautiful areas of discussion between our guest Joycelyn Longdon and Katherine this week. Joycelyn is a researcher and writer, currently...
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Yasmin Khan’s warm seas and verdant greens
Warm waters, humid, verdant jungle and the nighttime hum of insects are where we find ourselves this week as our guest, Yasmin Khan, transports us on a much-needed break to the tropics. Yasmin is the bestselling author of travel cookbooks exploring the food, people and stories of the Middle East...
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Kate Bowler’s Bridge of Absurdity
Kate Bowler is the multiple New York Times-bestselling author, professor of divinity and stage-four cancer survivor who has mastered the art of finding small delights in the everyday. No grand gestures for her. In this wonderful conversation with Katherine, they talk about ‘how to cope’, the...
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Jeffrey Boakye’s city path to peace
Our first guest to choose a city for his dreamscape, the brilliant writer, BBC broadcaster and educator Jeffrey Boakye reveals he’s most at peace when walking for walking’s sake through the ever-changing textures of London’s streets. The very essence of a ‘flâneur’, as we discover. A gorgeous and...
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Jackie Morris & Robert Macfarlane ‘dream of nest’
A beautiful, bird-filled episode from the wonderful collaborative duo of writer Robert Macfarlane and illustrator Jackie Morris. Together they have created some of the best-loved books on the natural world in recent years, including The Lost Words. In this transcendent episode they share their...
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Season Two Trailer
We’re back! After a small, restorative break, we are excited to bring you a new season of The Clearing, where Katherine will explore visions of rest and retreat with some more wonderful guests. Visit The Clearing website www.theclearingpod.com to discover how to enjoy all episodes ad free and to...
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Carissa Potter’s hot springs artist retreat
California-based illustrator, author and Instagram phenomenon Carissa Potter chats to Katherine about the complexities of taking rest during challenging times. In a masterclass of self-reflection, Carissa questions whether the political left have failed to cultivate tolerance and understanding…
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Elissa Altman on the beauty of impermanence
Experiencing everything, everywhere, all at once is where we find our guest Elissa Altman this week, as she chats to Katherine in the midst of a snow cyclone in Connecticut. An author and speaker whose work touches on issues of family, trauma, and the permission to create, she acknowledges her…
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Jen Hatmaker’s escape from the hate lane
As someone whose life was turned upside down by an unexpected divorce and a subsequent move away from the evangelical church, US author and podcaster Jen Hatmaker has learned, and earned, a wisdom that is tangible. In this episode of The Clearing Jen transports Katherine to her grandparents’…
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Daisy Buchanan’s Swiss mountain glamour
A deliciously glamorous escape to the snowy setting of a luxury Swiss chalet hotel where 1920s faded English aristocracy meets 1950s Hollywood starlet decadence. Marabou-trimmed silk pajamas and well-stocked libraries with crackling fires abound in this absolute joy of an episode with author…
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Poorna Bell’s New Zealand vista
Floor to ceiling windows overlooking a temperate blue ocean off the coast of New Zealand is where this week’s guest, journalist and author Poorna Bell, dreams of rest and retreat. Since the death of her husband in 2015, Poorna has become well-versed in making the most of the everyday. As a result...
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Emma Gannon’s year of desert rest
Prolific author of nine books and writer behind the Substack phenomenon The Hyphen, Emma Gannon takes us away for a whole year to her imaginary retreat in Palm Springs, where she plans to indulge almost solely in her number one favourite pastime - reading. Revealing the extent to which she craves...
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Mike Sowden’s island of curiosity
Settling in amongst the sparkling sea views and scented coniferous trees of Corfu, writer Mike Sowden tells Katherine why he is ditching the concept of escape to run towards places and people with enthusiasm and curiosity. Conjuring up a beautiful stay on the island so beloved by author Gerald...
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Season One Interlude
Katherine explains why we are heeding our own advice and taking a tiny break this week. She also previews some exciting, listener-led bonus content that will be coming your way next season. We’ll be back next week with another wonderful guest for you. Meanwhile take care everyone. Visit The...
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Ece Temelkuran’s landscape of belonging
A modern sage who forewarned the world of the rise of fascism, writer Ece Temelkuran explains why she ‘put her heart in the freezer’ ten years ago when she fled her country of birth and how finding traces of home all around are helping her to heal. From a beloved old cardigan to episodes of…
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Kaitlin Curtice’s sanctuary of the subconscious
Author, storyteller and enrolled citizen of the Potawatomi nation, Kaitlin Curtice, shares her beautiful image of the perfect retreat, created by her own consciousness during the Covid pandemic. Exploring this space together, Katherine and Kaitlin discuss the little-appreciated power of ageing,...
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Martha Beck and Rowan Mangan on the magic of communing with every living thing
This episode of The Clearing with renowned, Oprah-endorsed American life coach Martha Beck and her wonderful wife and podcast co-host Rowan Mangan skips the small talk and delves right into the mysteries and wonder of life and death. From the consciousness of stones to the nonsensical hierarchy…
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Melissa Hemsley’s calm chaos
Chef and cookery writer Melissa Hemsley shares her bucolic, Darling Buds of May-esque fantasy of ‘safe’ escape with Katherine. Filled with wild and domesticated animals roaming freely, Chi Gong, nudity, a hammock, friendly neighbours who are close but not too close, the sea, also close but not…
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Sam Baker on the challenges of letting go
Writer and former magazine editor Sam Baker is dragged kicking and screaming into this getaway as she admits she can never let go of her internal chatter and is not someone who ‘does rest’. Giving us a fascinating insight into the brain of someone who has dedicated their life to hard work and...
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Andy J. Pizza’s magical, moving ADHD landscape
The ADHD and autistic tendency to rest in motion is fully realised in American author and illustrator Andy J. Pizza’s vision of the ideal retreat. Choosing an extraordinary fictional setting which incorporates an ingenious method of travelling the world, this episode showcases the wonder of a...
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Oliver Burkeman’s art of the non-retreat
Kicking off the episode with an existential crisis, the inimitable Oliver Burkeman joins Katherine to explore his own, unique take on rest and retreat. A familiar name to many in both the US and the UK, Oliver’s book Four Thousand Weeks has put him at the heart of the global conversation around...
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Laura Pashby's lighthouse at the end of the world
In this episode Katherine chats to Laura Pashby, author of the incredible book Chasing Fog and master of ethereal photography, about her vision for the perfect retreat when things get tough. A magical dreamscape unfurls of a fog-bound lighthouse on an island in the Arctic circle; a liminal space...
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Cariad Lloyd’s mossy, mythical retreat
Katherine launches her new podcast The Clearing with British actor, comedian, author and 2026 Women’s Prize for Fiction judge Cariad Lloyd. Together they explore Cariad’s vision of a dream retreat; a place she would conjure given the opportunity, and of course the privilege, to rest and retreat....
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Introducing The Clearing
Katherine is delighted to let you know she’s back with a new podcast series called The Clearing. In each episode she asks writers and creatives, where would you go to rest and retreat, in good times and bad? Drawing on memory, inspiration and imagination, she explores the things we seek out when…
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Sarah Moss on memory and meaning-making
Recently, Katherine interviewed Sarah Moss about her incredible new memoir, My Good Bright Wolf, an account of growing up as a difficult girl in a difficult family, and how this ultimately led to her eating disorder. Throughout the book, she repeatedly argues against herself. A voice rises up in...
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Exploring Hilary Mantel's memoir with Jillian Hess
What’s to be done with the lost, the dead, but write them into being?’ So writes Hilary Mantel in her extraordinary memoir, Giving Up the Ghost. First published in 2003, it offers a snapshot of the great writer before the Wolf Hall era: a literary, if not commercial, success, and a fragile soul...
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Kate Fox on the potential and power of poetry
It was National Poetry Day in the UK earlier this month and Katherine talked to Kate Fox about her new book, On Sycamore Gap, in an extra Book Club event. Kate’s book is about a very special tree in the north of England that was chopped down by vandals, but that has brought people together in the...
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Oliver Burkeman on mortality, acceptance and imperfectionism
September - when we’re almost as likely to be trying to reform ourselves as in January - is the perfect moment for Oliver Burkeman’s new book, Meditations for Mortals. Katherine sat down to talk to Oliver for her Book Club, and there was one question she was burning to ask: do you confuse lots of...
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Lucy Jones on matrescence, maternal myths and transformation
This month, Katherine spoke to Lucy Jones about Matrescence, her book about the profound changes wrought by pregnancy and birth. Combining the biological, the social and the political with exquisite writing, this is a radical revision of a subject veiled in forced cosiness and obfuscation. Lucy's...
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Daniel Tammet on real autistic lives
Katherine was excited to speak to Daniel Tammet about his latest book, Nine Minds: Inner Lives on the Spectrum. Katherine has been reading Daniel’s writing for a long time - his first book, Born on a Blue Day, came out in 2006. At the time, he was writing about his experience as a savant (his...
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Tom Newlands on writing neurodivergence with a light touch
Join Katherine as she talks with Tom Newlands about his debut novel, Only Here, Only Now. Katherine talks with Tom about his female main protagonist, the unforgettable Cora, setting the book in 1990s Scotland and how it offers a new way of writing about neurodivergence. She also explains the...
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Samantha Irby on being a person
Join me for a recent conversation with comedian, essayist, blogger, and television writer Samantha Irby. Recorded as part of my True Stories Book Club hosted on Substack, we talked about realising you have a body again after lockdown, dogs that don’t love us enough/love us too much, writing about...
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Camille T. Dungy on unearthing histories
At a superficial level, Soil is a gardening memoir, full of gorgeous descriptions of plants and getting your hands in the soil. But the garden in question is a political gesture, an act of resistance and an assertion of belonging. Camille T. Dungy uproots the staid monoculture of the suburban...
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Kaitlin Curtice on resisting with integrity
In the past few years, resistance has been a live issue for many of us, whether we’re wondering for the first time how to bring about social change, or realising that we need to find new ways to be activists. For Kaitlin Curtice, this resistance is an ongoing practice, informed by her perspective...
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Erica Berry on the meaning of wolves
The wolf carries an almost unbearable amount of symbolism in western culture, encapsulating the predatory, the carnal, the supernatural and the ravenous. But in her book Wolfish, Erica Berry suggests that it’s time to understand wolves differently: as tender, as hunted, as guardians of the...
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Dacher Keltner on awe, humility and purpose
I stumbled across Dacher Keltner’s work when I was first researching Enchantment, and now - for the final episode in this season - I’m honoured to speak to him about Awe: The New Science of Everyday Wonder and How It Can Transform Your Life. Dacher’s research attempts to understand this very...
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Marjolijn van Heemstra on the overview effect
Marjolijn van Heemstra believes that we can change the world by gazing into the night sky. Her book, In Light Years There’s No Hurry, explores the ‘overview effect’, a personal transformation reported by astronauts who have seen the earth from space. People who’ve experienced this rare view often...
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Amy Jeffs on ancient stories and new understandings
How can we return to a richer, more complex understanding of national identity and personal ethics - one that can only come from folklore? Amy Jeffs is the perfect person to ask. An art historian and printmaker, she creates immersive retellings of ancient stories, beautifully illustrated with her...
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Báyò Akómoláfé on fugitive ideas
In this week’s episode of How We Live Now, Katherine speaks to author and public intellectual Báyò Akómoláfé. We consider how we can step out of the belief that humanity is in control of a passive planet, and instead wonder how we can learn to read the intelligence of the systems and landscapes...
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Kerri ní Dochartaigh on the mystical everyday
Kerri ní Dochartaigh’s writing rings with a sense of connection between this world and the otherworld, and nowhere is it expressed more clearly than in her latest book, Cacophony of Bone. Here are pages full of subtle signs that are legible only to those who are in the practice of seeking them....
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ABOUT THIS SHOW
Where would you go to rest and retreat, in good times and bad?
Katherine May, author of Wintering and Enchantment, asks her guests to share their idea of a perfect sanctuary. Drawing on memory, inspiration and imagination, she explores the things we seek out when we need to restore our joy, hope and energy.
It begins with a forest clearing. What will we find there? A log cabin or a grand hotel? What cherished object or talisman would you bring? And what single work of art, be it a book, record, film or something else, would provide you with enough sustenance to see you through the darkness and remind you of the good times?
In a series of frank, thoughtful and deeply personal conversations, The Clearing will explore the cultural, social and spiritual mindset needed to survive difficult times.
Katherine's Links:
Visit The Clearing website <a href="https://katherine-may.co.uk/the-clearing-podcast" rel="noopener no
HOSTED BY
Katherine May
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Frequently Asked Questions
How many episodes does The Clearing with Katherine May have?
The Clearing with Katherine May currently has 100 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
What is The Clearing with Katherine May about?
Where would you go to rest and retreat, in good times and bad? Katherine May, author of Wintering and Enchantment, asks her guests to share their idea of a perfect sanctuary. Drawing on memory, inspiration and imagination, she explores the things we seek out when we need to restore our joy, hope...
How often does The Clearing with Katherine May release new episodes?
The Clearing with Katherine May has 100 episodes. Check the episode list to see recent publication dates and frequency.
Where can I listen to The Clearing with Katherine May?
You can listen to The Clearing with Katherine May on PodParley by clicking any episode. We provide an embedded audio player for direct listening, and you can also subscribe via your preferred podcast app using the RSS feed.
Who hosts The Clearing with Katherine May?
The Clearing with Katherine May is created and hosted by Katherine May.
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