April 2021: Exactly where you need to be

It being 30 seconds-slash-a month ago that we last recorded, here we are again. So hello you!

Louise did her homework, so we plunge into aliefs as a type of embodied experience that can contradict with consciously held beliefs and Neil finds a link to Somatic Marker Hypothesis.

Writing worms its way into the conversation: Louise talks about rejections and giving herself permission to explore the creative process of writing. Neil drops an absolute gem

“You are exactly where you need to be in your life’s journey.”

and gracefully shifts the salon into a more contemplative register.

SHINY THING ALERT! Towards the end of the cast Louise is excited to talk about and share her latest poetry collaboration ‘Pomegranates in Luton’ – link to the video below.

We invite you into our salon: Listen here.

Here are links to some of the things we mentioned during this episode:

Topic	Time code (approx)	Link
Reflections on the timing of conversations. When & how to have good conversations?	01:05	Neil found this wonderful piece, which echoes the salon vibe so we had to share … How to have constructive conversations | Julia Dhar
What is an alief? Louise explores a way in which we can hold beliefs and act contrary to them. Based on the linked paper.	6:40	Alief and Belief, Oct 2007, Tamar Szabó Gendler
Somatic marker hypothesis – Neil highlights the role of emotions in learning	17:50	and Louise found this article written by Antonio Damasio, whose other work she loves …
Sea Sharp – Louise highly recommends their poetry, both on the page and in performance.	29:00	Poem – The Tallgrass Shuffles Collection – The Swagger of Dorothy Gale and Other Filthy Ways to Strut
The Last Poets ‘the forefathers of Hip Hop’	29:25	Video – Take Your Time About The Last Poets
Louise’s new collab – poetry, voice & dance (video) What does it evoke for you?	36:55	Pomegranates in Luton

March 2021: The pitter-patter of soft little squirrel feet.

It’s that time again – so hello, you!

Positively effervescent and garrulously giggly, Louise & Neil embrace the mild hysteria of a Thursday evening. We fall into a reverie about squirrels, an exploration of the value and values of the salon and we embrace the messiness of genuine debate and listening outside our opinion bubbles.

We also talk about just how crap picture libraries are at inclusive representation and the state of the UK press, on a sliding scale from ‘getting very cross’ to ‘I have a lot of rage’ and from there to the most beautiful idea of change as ‘ripples of mycelium networks’.

We invite you into our salon: Listen here.

Here are links to some of the things we mentioned during this episode:

Topic	Time code (approx)	Link
Random dude with a beard or Lawrence Ferlinghetti?	3:10	A Coney Island of the Mind
The idea of the salon: exploring the big questions.	7:00	Podcast: Civilisation and the Salon
Louise’s musings on right society vs fair society, inspired by Ian Dunt’s ‘How to be a Liberal’.	12:20	Where to buy: How to Be a Liberal by Ian Dunt
You had me at ‘ripples of mycelium networks’ …	37:00	Twitter thread by Dr Elizabeth Sawin, as shared by Cassie Robinson.
“Did you exchange a walk on part in the war for a lead role in a cage?”	38:15	Lyrics: Wish You Were Here by Pink Floyd
Louise found the article about aliefs and beliefs – it wasn’t a figment of her imagination! (Sadly the full text of the academic article is only available to subscribers.)	40:05	‘Alief and Belief’ – written by Tamar Szabó Gendler, published in 2008. The Guardian’s This Column Will Change Your Life: From Alief to Belief.

Feb 2021: Not-Stories and Mercurial poetry.

Well hello, you! How’s your 2021 so far?

Hello You Podcast returns and Neil & Louise chat for 40 minutes or so as if they’d never left off podcasting. They do, however, acknowledge some seismic shifts in the world since they last recorded: namely COVID-19, the 46th President of the United States of America and how it seems like pretty much everyone is now getting excited about poetry (yay!)

Listen here.

Here are the links and resources we mentioned during this episode:

Topic	Time code (approx)	Link
#PoetryForNHS	22:00	Louise’s open call for poetry about the NHS – submit here.
Poetry at the Inauguration of the 46th President of the United States	23:35	Transcript of Amanda Gorman’s stunning poem, read at Joe Biden & Kamala Harris’s Inauguration
Neil’s recommendation you MUST look up.	34:55	Anxiety Empire
Louise’s recommendation you MUST look up.	37:20	Peeps Magazine