The Just Checking In Podcast

The Just Checking In Podcast by VENT

The Just Checking In Podcast is another step in VENT’s mission to give people a voice, change the conversation around mental health and provide an outlet where everyone, but especially men and boys, can express themselves. In each pod we check in with a special guest. We have a natter and a chat about all things mental health as well as anything and everything else they're passionate about. If it helps that person with their mental health, we'll discuss it!

  1. Behind The Decks - Jafunk - Part 3

    16h ago

    Behind The Decks - Jafunk - Part 3

    In this episode of Behind The Decks we checked back in for a third time with Australian DJ and producer, Jafunk.  Lachy was the very first special guest on Behind The Decks when we launched the series all the way back in June 2020!  Lachy then came back on again in May 2023, and three years later he has joined the esteemed group of guests who have checked in for a hat trick of appearances! Since we last checked in, Jafunk’s career has continued to go from strength to strength. At time of recording, he has amassed over 197,000 followers on Instagram and over 103,000 followers on TikTok!  He has also released two EPs, ‘Disco Nights’ in 2024 and ‘Classic’ in 2025, toured with Australian peers Cosmo’s Midnight, supported another Australian peer and huge artist Young Franco, refreshed his brand identity, launched his own record label AND published his first book called ‘The Independent Artist’s Playbook’ in 2025! In this episode we discuss this chapter in his musical journey, establishing himself as one of the biggest and most respected disco producers in the scene right now, evolving his sound from Dance-R&B to Disco and Funk, and the two massive achievements of publishing the book and launching his own record label.  We also discuss the tragic deaths of two producers and DJs in the music scene in the last few years, DJ titan Jackmaster’s death in October 2024 and Roche Musique label owner Kartell in March 2025. We discuss these deaths solely in the context of how they impacted Jafunk and how they shaped his attitude towards life, music and his career. For Lachy’s continued mental health journey, we discuss burnout from making social media content, and finding the right balance between music and social media when both are his livelihood now.  We also discuss the proud moment of having his parents come to a hometown show back in Australia. We finish with a special section where Lachy checks in with our Founder Freddie about his journey and their relationship over the last six years! As always, #itsokaytovent Listen to Jafunk on streaming platforms below: SpotifyYouTubeYou can follow Jafunk on social media below: InstagramSupport Us: PatreonPayPalMerchandise

    1h 10m
  2. JCIP #365 - Dr Emily Setty - Part 2

    5d ago

    JCIP #365 - Dr Emily Setty - Part 2

    In episode 365 of The Just Checking In Podcast we checked back in with academic Dr Emily Setty. Emily is currently Associate Professor in Criminology at the University of Surrey. Emily has a particular focus on young people’s online and offline sexual behaviours and the evolving challenges of digital sexual cultures. We first checked in with Emily in JCIP #210 in November 2023. In that podcast we talked about her wider academic journey and a whole range of issues she’s passionate about, including: the fear of false allegations young boys have, breaking down the myth of 'oppressor vs oppressed' paradigm and how we bridge the divide between young men and young women..  For Emily’s mental health journey, we discussed the sudden death of her father when she was 21 years old and why it was one of several factors which led to her developing an Eating Disorder, which thankfully she overcame. In Part 2, we discuss the continued work she’s done with men and boys, particularly around the issue of consent. She is also about to start a new project about how men and boys engage with online content. Emily adopts a mantra of ‘less pathologising, less problematising’. In addition, Emily is working on a new educational model designed to help all young people and can provide a framework for teachers and educators working with young people.  And finally, Emily is working with a charity about sexual harms online for young boys – both in how they can become victims of it, and what impact does online grooming have on young boys with additional needs or vulnerabilities.  For Emily’s continued mental health journey, she became a mum in October 2025, and we discuss how her life has changed from that moment.  We finish by talking about how she feels about the conversation around motherhood online, particularly given the advocacy of great friend of the pod Freya India and her highlighting of 'The Femosphere’, which she spoke about first in her landmark book GIRLS. This work was then popularised by the viral piece in the New Statesman, which we also discuss. As always, #itsokaytovent Support Us: PatreonPayPalMerchandise

    1h 20m
  3. JCIP #364 - Dr Sophie King-Hill

    Jun 24

    JCIP #364 - Dr Sophie King-Hill

    In episode 364 of The Just Checking In Podcast we checked in with Dr Sophie King-Hill. Sophie is currently Associate Professor at the Health Services Management Centre at the University of Birmingham and has worked in academia since 2013.  She published her latest book, ‘Reframing Masculinity for Young Men and Boys’ in 2025, and her areas of academic expertise are in masculinity and young men and boys, and children and young people and sexual behaviours.  In this episode we discuss her academic journey, her working-class background and how that’s shaped her work and the issues she writes about. We also discuss her TedX talk in 2022 entitled ‘Stop Talking about the Weather and Start Talking about Sex’ and her pride in that achievement. We also talk about something Sophie calls ‘precarious masculinity’, the impact of pornography on men and boys, both positive and negative, something Sophie calls ‘the porn paradox’ and the role of consent for men and boys.  For Sophie’s mental health journey, we discuss her social class through a mental health lens and motherhood. As always, #itsokaytovent Support Us: PatreonPayPalMerchandise

    1h 15m
  4. JCIP #363 - Simon Whitmore

    Jun 19

    JCIP #363 - Simon Whitmore

    In episode 363 of The Just Checking In Podcast we checked in with Simon Whitmore. Simon is part of an organisation called Spoke To A Bloke.  Spoke To A Bloke is a men’s mental health charity, which was founded in Australia by three men called Scott, Paul and Matt after their friend Nick Dunn tragically took his own life in 2021. Before he did, he would organise an annual 25k men's mental health walk in the country. After they did the first memorial ‘Nick’s Walk’ in 2022, Spoke To A Bloke was formed. Simon came on board through charity ambassador James Kennedy, and became the Brighton Walk Leader for the annual occasion. Since then, he has started more events on a more regular basis, including ‘Climb For A Bloke’ at his local climbing centre. In this episode we talk about his mental heath journey, which involved a lot of issues with his family during his childhood, which carried on into his adulthood. These traumatic childhood memories eventually led to Simon's mental health state becoming so severe that he came very close to taking his own life at the start of 2026. This rock bottom was also his turning point and since then he has taken ownership of his mental health and gotten the support he needs to turn his life around. We talk about him getting involved in Spoke To A Bloke, leading the Brighton leg of the annual Walk event, and the impact it had on him and the thousands of other men who got involved with it. As always, #itsokaytovent You can follow Spoke To A Bloke on social media below:  InstagramTikTokTRIGGER WARNING: this podcast contains a deep discussion about suicide and suicidality, which some listeners may find distressing or upsetting, so please listen with caution. Support Us: PatreonPayPalMerchandise

    49 min
  5. JCIP #362 - Mick Rowe

    Jun 12

    JCIP #362 - Mick Rowe

    In episode 362 of The Just Checking In Podcast we checked in with Mick Rowe. Mick is the Founder of Suicide Sucks C.I.C, a mental health organisation centred around suicide prevention, which aims to provide a safe space to talk about suicide, grief and mental health.  Through Suicide Sucks, Mick published her first documentary as a filmmaker about her brother’s death from suicide in 1996, who was just 27 years old at the time.  Suicide Sucks also has its own podcast, which Mick hosts from her camper van, and also puts on her own events.  These include one staged radio play, two stand up to suicide comedy nights (one in 2025 and one in 2026), and a special art exhibition called ‘Voices of Hope’. In March 2024, she set up Suicide Sucks as a Community Interest Company (CIC), and since then has started her first campaign called ‘Have you got 8 Minutes Mate?'  In this episode we discuss her journey with Suicide Sucks, how the death of her brother fuelled her desire to start it, a deep dive into the documentary, the imposter syndrome she felt around filming it, and some of her favourite moments running it so far.  For Mick’s mental health journey, we discuss the grief of her brother's death, the factors which contributed to it, a mental breakdown she had when she turned the same age as her brother was when he died and how the grief almost cost Mick her marriage. We also discuss a serious back injury in 2018 when she two slipped discs and had a sciatica, why the grief played a role in it, how she recovered from it through a non-traditional method and what she learned about the relationship between her physical and mental health. As always, #itsokaytovent You can find out more about Suicide Sucks here: https://www.suicidesucks.co.uk/. You can watch Mick's documentary here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tjaAVAeFogU. You can follow Suicide Sucks on social media below:  InstagramYouTubeTRIGGER WARNING: this podcast contains a deep discussion of grief, loss and the impact that losing a loved one to suicide can have, which some listeners may find distressing or upsetting, so please listen with caution. Support Us: PatreonPayPalMerchandise

    1h 19m
  6. JCIP #361 - Jenny Tomei

    Jun 9

    JCIP #361 - Jenny Tomei

    In episode 361 of The Just Checking In Podcast we checked in with Jenny Tomei.  Jenny is the Founder and CEO of JenUp C.I.C.  JenUp is a social enterprise specialising in training teachers on how to spot the early signs of an eating disorder. It also provides workshops for students on eating disorder awareness and body image. Jenny has lived experience of eating disorders herself, when she developed anorexia when she was 19 years old. She struggled with the anorexia for over 10 years, and in her words, should have been admitted to hospital as an in-patient in 2009 when her BMI dropped to just 14.  At 23 she was forced into treatment but wasn’t ready to recover. She then moved to Australia, ended a toxic relationship she was in at the time, and went travelling.  However, she came back and relapsed.  It was only when she was around 27/28 years old that her first steps of recovery began.  She then relapsed again aged 29 years old, before finally overcoming it in 2020.  Because of the Covid-19 pandemic, she had to close her personal training business and in the ashes of that, she founded JenUp in 2022.  Since then, she has spoken in secondary schools about her journey of recovery, has qualified as a nutritionist and is in the last year of her qualification to become a specialist eating disorder recovery therapist. We discuss this journey from crisis to recovery and now advocacy, the impact she has had on young girls and boys she’s spoken with and her goals and ambitions for JenUp going forward.  As always, #itsokaytovent You can find out more about JenUp here: https://jenup.co.uk/. You can follow Jenny on social media below:  InstagramTikTokTRIGGER WARNING: this podcast contains discussions about eating disorders, which some listeners may find distressing or upsetting, so please listen with caution. Support Us: PatreonPayPalMerchandise

    50 min
  7. JCIP #360 - Tom Maberly

    Jun 5

    JCIP #360 - Tom Maberly

    In episode 360 of The Just Checking In Podcast we checked in with Tom Maberly. Tom is now a decade into managing his own business, &Friends, a content studio servicing global clients with content strategy, creative, production and delivery.  He is also CEO of a second business, Cavalry, a Contingent workforce management system, servicing marketing, creative and production agencies, and inhouse teams. Tom founded &FRIENDS alongside two business partners, Matt and Julian.  In 2018, Julian wanted to move his family to Australia as his wife is Australian, so Tom and Matt came together and agreed to buy his share of the business out. Matt became Head of Business development and Tom became Managing Director. The business continued to grow fast, and their success was recognised with a holding group’s offer to buy them - they got close to a deal but pulled back. They were then approached by an Australian based business, Cavalry freelancing, who had offices in Sydney and Singapore, about the prospect of a merger, and they agreed, with &FRIENDS acquiring Cavalry in March 2022, taking on the Cavalry proprietary tech.  It wasn’t plain sailing after the merger and it was a big learning curve for both Tom and Matt. Unfortunately, during this period, Matt’s mental health was also beginning to decline severely.  Tragically, on April 16th 2023, Matt took his own life. It was a huge shock for Tom and the whole organisation. Tom as MD had to steady the ship, support his team whilst also grieving himself.  Just two months before that, on February 16th 2023, Tom’s brother had also taken his own life. In this episode we discuss Tom’s professional journey and the events around his brother’s and Matt’s deaths.  We then compare the experience of the two griefs as Tom’s brother had a history of mental illness, whilst Matt didn’t.  We talk about how he processed the two deaths and why Matt’s death, in his words, gave Tom an ‘excuse’ to take action on his mental health, where previously he felt too stigmatised to do so without it and take those first steps on the road to recovery. As always, #itsokaytovent TRIGGER WARNING: this podcast contains a deep discussion about grief, loss and the impact that losing a loved one to suicide can have, which some listeners may find distressing or upsetting, so please listen with caution. Support Us: PatreonPayPalMerchandise

    1h 30m
  8. JCIP #359 - Kenny Bartonshaw

    Jun 2

    JCIP #359 - Kenny Bartonshaw

    In episode 359 of The Just Checking In Podcast we checked in with Kenny Bartonshaw.  Kenny is the Founder and Director of Headspace FC C.I.C.  Headspace FC is a weekly football group for adults (18+) who want to stay active, meet people, and take a break from the daily grind. Their mantra is: Play. Connect. Support. Based in Stoke-On-Trent in Staffordshire, Headspace FC began as a kickabout in April 2024 with Kenny and a group of 8-10 male friends who were either playing in veterans teams or hadn’t played in many years due to life commitments. The group grew from there and in June 2025, Headspace FC became a Community Interest Company or C.I.C. In 2025, they secured £9,000 in funding from Sports England which they used to hire more facilities and pitches. They grew from 1 session a week with 8 people to 3 sessions a week with up to 60 people taking part.  With players ranging from 18-60 years old, Headspace FC is strengthening community bonds in the area and building bridges. Even Kenny’s wife has made connections and friends through its creation! In this episode, we discuss the genesis of Headspace FC and its journey from the first kickabout to now, the rapid growth of it and how Kenny balances it alongside his full-time job as an assistant headteacher of a primary school, and being a father of three children.  For Kenny’s mental health journey, we discuss his career in football coaching and teaching.  Kenny left college and did an apprenticeship at Stoke City FC to become a full-time football coach.  He worked as a coach for around 10-12 years as a senior community coach. He also ran coaching clubs and achieved an UEFA B licence too. However, he was working very long hours and for very little pay so at 22 years old, he left Stoke City and transitioned into teaching after his wife, who also works in teaching told him about a role for a SEND Teaching Assistant job at the secondary school she worked at and told him he should apply for it.  He successfully applied and combined his job in teaching alongside completing a degree in Sports Coaching and Management with a module in child studies at the Open University.  After two and a half years at that school, he moved into primary school teaching, completed his degree and then underwent his teacher training through Schools Direct and has worked at the role he is in for over 11 years, working his way up to the role of Assistant Headteacher. We discuss this journey, the role his mentor provided in giving him the confidence to become a teacher and stick with it, a negative experience he had at another football club, and how he reflects on that journey now.  We finish by discussing his mum’s cervical cancer diagnosis when he was in his early 20s, her death from it in 2008, and the impact that had on his mental health as a young man. We also discuss the grief of losing his best friend in 2018, also from cancer, when Kenny was 32 years old and the impact that had on him too. As always, #itsokaytovent You can find out more about Headspace FC C.I.C here: https://headspacefc.co.uk/. You can follow them on social media below:  InstagramTRIGGER WARNING: this podcast contains a deep discussion about grief and loss, which some listeners may find distressing or upsetting, so please listen with caution. Support Us: PatreonPayPalMerchandise

    1h 11m
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About

The Just Checking In Podcast is another step in VENT’s mission to give people a voice, change the conversation around mental health and provide an outlet where everyone, but especially men and boys, can express themselves. In each pod we check in with a special guest. We have a natter and a chat about all things mental health as well as anything and everything else they're passionate about. If it helps that person with their mental health, we'll discuss it!

Information

  • Creator
    The Just Checking In Podcast by VENT
  • Years Active
    2019 - 2026
  • Episodes
    472
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © 2026 The Just Checking In Podcast
  • Show Website
    The Just Checking In Podcast