The Clearing with Katherine May

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 https://katherine-may.co.uk/the-clearing-podcast to discover how to enjoy the episodes ad free Buy Katherine’s books: Enchantment | Wintering | The Electricity of Every Living Thing: UK / US Follow Katherine on Instagram Visit Katherine’s Website Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

  1. Yasmin Khan’s warm seas and verdant greens

    1 HR AGO

    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 and Eastern Mediterranean. In 2025 she found herself in the middle of a bizarre legal storm when she was threatened with legal action by a deli for calling her latest book ‘Sabzi’ - the word for veg or greens in multiple languages. In this conversation with Katherine they discuss the controversy (the case was eventually dropped) and the issues it raises, including the ownership and commodification of food culture. Plus finding community when the chips are down, the ebb and flow of cooking for pleasure, snatched moments of rest with a small child and UK national treasure, Nigella Lawson. A wonderful, and important, conversation.   Links from the episode Yasmin’s Substack Risingup.substack.com Yasmin’s Instagram Kaco Pens The Artist's Way by Julia Cameron How to Eat by Nigella Lawson Visit The Clearing website www.theclearingpod.com for a full transcript, to discover how to enjoy our bonus episodes, our ad free episodes and if you subscribe, how to submit your own idea for a dream retreat Buy Katherine’s books: Enchantment | Wintering | The Electricity of Every Living Thing: UK / US Follow Katherine on Instagram Visit Katherine’s Website Production Credits Guest Booker and Admin Support - Meghan Hutchins Substack Manager - Rebecca Armstrong Producer - Alice Lloyd Music - The Leaf Library @theleaflibrary Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    55 min
  2. Kate Bowler’s Bridge of Absurdity

    14 MAY

    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 brittleness of time and why revelling in absurdity is really the answer to everything. A celebration of silliness, tattoos, the important differences between canoes and kayaks and the most beautifully realised depiction of precious time spent with a best friend. Links from the episode:  Kate’s new book Joyful Anyway Kate’s website where you can find her previous books https://katebowler.com/  Kate’s podcast Everything Happens Kate’s Instagram A Truce that is Not Peace by Miriam Toews  My Bright Abyss by Christian Wiman Canadian ice fishing cabins https://www.smithsonianmag.com/travel/portraits-canadas-ice-fishing-huts-180957794/  Visit The Clearing website www.theclearingpod.com for a full transcript, to discover how to enjoy our bonus episodes, our ad free episodes and if you subscribe, how to submit your own idea for a dream retreat Buy Katherine’s books: Enchantment | Wintering | The Electricity of Every Living Thing: UK / US Follow Katherine on Instagram Visit Katherine’s Website Production Credits Guest Booker and Admin Support - Meghan Hutchins Substack Manager - Rebecca Armstrong Producer - Alice Lloyd Music - The Leaf Library @theleaflibrary Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    52 min
  3. Jeffrey Boakye’s city path to peace

    7 MAY

    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 meandering conversation, Jeffrey and Katherine explore a wonderful array of topics: from skateboarding as a life lesson in failure to finding joy in packed tube trains, why we need to foster more pointless hobbies to what the movie Groundhog Day teaches us about the mundane and the sublime. Often philosophical, frequently laughter-filled and as always, deeply thought-provoking. Links from Episode: Jeffrey’s website where you can find his books https://www.jeffreyboakye.com/  Jeffrey’s Substack Jeffrey’s Instagram Jeffry’s BBC Radio 4 music show Add to Playlist Sandwich by Catherine Newman Transcription by Ben Lerner  The Door by Magda Szabo Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind by Shunryu Suzuki https://oleandsteen.co.uk/ Danish Bakery Visit The Clearing website www.theclearingpod.com for a full transcript and to discover how to enjoy the episodes ad free Buy Katherine’s books: Enchantment | Wintering | The Electricity of Every Living Thing: UK / US Follow Katherine on Instagram Visit Katherine’s Website Production Credits Guest Booker and Admin Support - Meghan Hutchins Substack Manager - Rebecca Armstrong Producer - Alice Lloyd Music - The Leaf Library @theleaflibrary  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    1hr 5min
  4. Jackie Morris & Robert Macfarlane ‘dream of nest’

    30 APR

    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 quite different visions of what rest looks like for them. Robert conjures a wild, bird-filled landscape in the Scottish Cairngorms whilst Jackie imagines taking a sentient ship to a melding of The Rain Wilds and Earthsea. Full of wonder, wild knitting, ‘glacial erratics’, laughter and of course plenty of nature chat, this episode is a true salve for the soul. Links from the episode The Book of Birds by Jackie Morris and Robert MacFarlane  The Lost Words by Jackie Morris and Robert MacFarlane  The Lost Spells by Jackie Morris and Robert MacFarlane Jackie’s Instagram Jackie’s website Robert’s Instagram Deep Deep Light pain brushes and paints https://deepdeeplight.com/  A Wizard of Earthseaby Ursula K. Le Guin The Rain Wild Chronicles by Robin Hobb The Illustration Department Podcast Artist David Gentleman Read about Albrecht Dürer’s painting Young Hare here  The Living Mountain by Nan Shepherd Read about artist Mark Rothko on the Moma website Visit The Clearing website www.theclearingpod.com for a full transcript and to discover how to enjoy the episodes ad free and to access our bonus content Buy Katherine’s books: Enchantment | Wintering | The Electricity of Every Living Thing: UK / US Follow Katherine on Instagram Visit Katherine’s Website Production Credits Guest Booker and Admin Support - Meghan Hutchins Substack Manager - Rebecca Armstrong Producer - Alice Lloyd Music - The Leaf Library @theleaflibrary Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    1hr 1min
  5. Elissa Altman on the beauty of impermanence

    14 MAR

    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 deep need for rest and retreat as she whisks us away to her favourite place in the world; a tiny cottage set back from a stony beach in Owl’s Head, Maine.  Overlooking the sea and with guitar to hand, Katherine and Elissa grapple with overcoming guilt, the pleasures of re-reading, the fetishisation of Mary Oliver and the horror of people placing items on their desks.  A glorious and warm-hearted episode with some timely reminders about the impermanence of things, good and bad.  Links from the episode:  Elissa’s website where you can find her books Elissa’s Substack  Elissa’s Instagram Devotions poetry collection by Mary Oliver Crossing to Safety by Wallace Stegner The Garden Against Time by Olivia Laing Visit The Clearing website www.theclearingpod.com for a full transcript and to discover how to enjoy the episodes ad free Buy Katherine’s books: Enchantment | Wintering | The Electricity of Every Living Thing: UK / US Follow Katherine on Instagram Visit Katherine’s Website Production Credits Guest Booker and Admin Support - Meghan Hutchins Substack Manager - Rebecca Armstrong Producer - Alice Lloyd Music - The Leaf Library @theleaflibrary Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    1hr 1min

Trailers

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 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 https://katherine-may.co.uk/the-clearing-podcast to discover how to enjoy the episodes ad free Buy Katherine’s books: Enchantment | Wintering | The Electricity of Every Living Thing: UK / US Follow Katherine on Instagram Visit Katherine’s Website Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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