We recorded the first episode in a shed with a duvet nailed to the wall. The audio is decent. The conversation is better than we expected, mostly because we stopped trying to make it sound like a podcast.
The format is simple. One guest, one hour, no script. We ask about the ordinary stuff first: what the week looked like, what is going well, what is quietly annoying. The bigger things tend to arrive on their own once nobody is performing.
Episode one is with a joiner from Halifax who lost his dad two years ago and did not tell anyone at work for eight months. He is funny about it in the way people are when they have finally said the thing out loud. He also has strong opinions about tea, which we left in.
A few ground rules we set ourselves. We will not turn anyone's worst year into content. Nothing goes out without the guest hearing it first. We will not give advice we are not qualified to give, and when something needs a professional we will say so and point to one.
We are aiming for fortnightly, and we would rather be late than push out an episode that is only half honest. If you know someone who should be on it, including yourself, tell us. The best guests so far have all said they were not interesting enough.
If any of it lands close to home, the organisations below are a better place to start than our inbox. They are free and they are used to conversations that begin awkwardly.