Bow Tie Talks

Clarke Roberts

Big questions. Honest conversations. One person talking to himself in a bow tie. Bow Tie Talks is a podcast about politics, society, faith, culture and the ideas shaping the world around us. I’m Clarke Roberts. I’m not a journalist, academic or expert — just someone who asks a lot of questions, thinks about things far too much, and enjoys digging beneath the headlines. Expect opinions, curiosity, nuance and the occasional raised eyebrow. I won’t always have the answers. I might even change my mind. Welcome to Bow Tie Talks.

Episodes

  1. Oct 31

    3. What does ADHD feel like? (part two)

    This episode is in two parts. This is part two. “Everyone's a bit ADHD these days, aren't they?” In the second half of this conversation, I turn my attention to the sceptics, the self-diagnosis debate, and the difference between everyday distractions and living with ADHD. I also reflect on what receiving a diagnosis at 33 has actually changed — from medication and self-understanding to the complicated experience of looking back at a lifetime of struggles through a different lens. It's a conversation about evidence, empathy and responsibility. But above all, it's about learning to give myself a little more credit. Further reading NHS — ADHD in adults https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/adhd-adults/ NICE — ADHD: Diagnosis and management (NG87) https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng87 Royal College of Psychiatrists — ADHD: Your questions answered (2026) https://www.rcpsych.ac.uk/news-and-features/blogs/detail/the-rcpsych-blog/2026/08/19/adhd--your-questions-answered 🎵 Music Hear Me Out — the original theme for Bow Tie Talks — and its accompanying variations were created and produced by Kayleigh Roberts.

    3. What does ADHD feel like? (part two)

  2. Oct 26

    3. What does ADHD feel like? (part one)

    This episode is in two parts. This is part one. How can you desperately want to do something, yet find yourself unable to start? In the first of this two-part episode, I explore what living with ADHD actually feels like — from childhood daydreaming and last-minute university assignments to the everyday struggles with focus, motivation and perfectionism. Drawing on my own experiences and my ADHD assessment, I reflect on the things I spent years believing were simply personal failings, and the emotional cost of feeling that I was never quite good enough. Because perhaps I wasn't lazy. Perhaps there was something else going on. Related reading I have ADHD — my original reflection, written the day after receiving my diagnosis in September 2025. https://www.clarkeroberts.co.uk/2025/09/25/i-have-adhd/ 🎵 Music Hear Me Out — the original theme for Bow Tie Talks — and its accompanying variations were created and produced by Kayleigh Roberts.

    3. What does ADHD feel like? (part one)

  3. Oct 10

    2. Are you really just too sensitive? (Part two)

    *This episode is in two parts. This is part two.* **Content note: This episode discusses depression, anxiety, body dysmorphia, low self-esteem and restrictive eating behaviours.** For World Mental Health Day 2026, I’m talking about something I only discovered after being diagnosed with ADHD — and something that made an awful lot of my life suddenly make sense: rejection sensitivity dysphoria, or RSD. RSD isn’t currently a formal diagnosis, and the science around the term is still developing. But the experience it describes — intense emotional responses to perceived rejection, criticism or failure — is something many people with ADHD recognise. I certainly do. In this episode, I explore what rejection sensitivity feels like from the inside: the overthinking, reassurance-seeking and tendency to turn one piece of criticism into a referendum on your entire worth as a human being. I also look at its relationship with perfectionism, and ask whether some of my own perfectionism has really been an attempt to become somehow… less rejectable. This one gets personal. I talk honestly about my experiences of mental health challenges — while being careful not to draw causal links the evidence can’t support. Because when I first learned about RSD, I could have cried with relief. Not because finding a label fixed anything, but because things I had spent years interpreting as character flaws suddenly became things I could begin to understand. And that feels particularly relevant to this year’s World Mental Health Day theme: “Lived experiences heard: real voices, real change.” Maybe the question isn’t whether somebody is too sensitive. Maybe we need to start asking what that sensitivity is trying to protect them from. Clips & sources World Health Organization — World Mental Health Day 2026: “Lived experiences heard: real voices, real change”⁠ https://www.who.int/campaigns/world-mental-health-day/2026⁠ Rowney-Smith, A. et al. (2026) — “The lived experience of rejection sensitivity in ADHD: A qualitative exploration”⁠ https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41564005/⁠ Beheshti, A. et al. (2020) — “Emotion dysregulation in adults with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder: a meta-analysis”⁠ https://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s12888-020-2442-7⁠ Mackinnon, S.P. et al. (2014) — research on perfectionism, validation-seeking and rejection sensitivity ⁠https://guilfordjournals.com/doi/10.1521/psyc.2014.77.1.67⁠ Kaisari, P. et al. (2017) — “ADHD and disordered eating behaviour: A systematic review”⁠ https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28334570/⁠ ADHD Chatter — “How To Overcome Rejection Sensitivity Dysphoria (RSD)”⁠ Listen on Spotify⁠ | ⁠Listen on Apple Podcasts⁠ | ⁠Listen/watch on Youtube⁠ ADHD UK — Deep Dive into Rejection Sensitivity Dysphoria https://adhduk.co.uk/deep-dives/https-adhduk-co-uk-deep-dives-episode-4-deep-dive-into-rejection-sensitivity-dysphoria-with-henry-shelford-and-dr-shyamal-mashru/⁠ Alex Partridge — Why Does Everybody Hate Me? Living and Loving with RSD⁠ https://www.hachette.co.uk/titles/alex-partridge/why-does-everybody-hate-me/9781399827843/⁠ 🎵 Hear Me Out — the original theme for Bow Tie Talks — and its accompanying variations were created and produced by Kayleigh Roberts.

    2. Are you really just too sensitive? (Part two)

  4. Oct 10

    2. Are you really just too sensitive? (Part one)

    *This episode is in two parts. This is part one.* **Content note: This episode discusses depression, anxiety, body dysmorphia, low self-esteem and restrictive eating behaviours.** For World Mental Health Day 2026, I’m talking about something I only discovered after being diagnosed with ADHD — and something that made an awful lot of my life suddenly make sense: rejection sensitivity dysphoria, or RSD. RSD isn’t currently a formal diagnosis, and the science around the term is still developing. But the experience it describes — intense emotional responses to perceived rejection, criticism or failure — is something many people with ADHD recognise. I certainly do. In this episode, I explore what rejection sensitivity feels like from the inside: the overthinking, reassurance-seeking and tendency to turn one piece of criticism into a referendum on your entire worth as a human being. I also look at its relationship with perfectionism, and ask whether some of my own perfectionism has really been an attempt to become somehow… less rejectable. This one gets personal. I talk honestly about my experiences of mental health challenges — while being careful not to draw causal links the evidence can’t support. Because when I first learned about RSD, I could have cried with relief. Not because finding a label fixed anything, but because things I had spent years interpreting as character flaws suddenly became things I could begin to understand. And that feels particularly relevant to this year’s World Mental Health Day theme: “Lived experiences heard: real voices, real change.” Maybe the question isn’t whether somebody is too sensitive. Maybe we need to start asking what that sensitivity is trying to protect them from. Clips & sources World Health Organization — World Mental Health Day 2026: “Lived experiences heard: real voices, real change”https://www.who.int/campaigns/world-mental-health-day/2026 Rowney-Smith, A. et al. (2026) — “The lived experience of rejection sensitivity in ADHD: A qualitative exploration”https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41564005/ Beheshti, A. et al. (2020) — “Emotion dysregulation in adults with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder: a meta-analysis”https://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s12888-020-2442-7 Mackinnon, S.P. et al. (2014) — research on perfectionism, validation-seeking and rejection sensitivityhttps://guilfordjournals.com/doi/10.1521/psyc.2014.77.1.67 Kaisari, P. et al. (2017) — “ADHD and disordered eating behaviour: A systematic review”https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28334570/ ADHD Chatter — “How To Overcome Rejection Sensitivity Dysphoria (RSD)”Listen on Spotify | Listen on Apple Podcasts | Listen/watch on Youtube ADHD UK — Deep Dive into Rejection Sensitivity Dysphoriahttps://adhduk.co.uk/deep-dives/https-adhduk-co-uk-deep-dives-episode-4-deep-dive-into-rejection-sensitivity-dysphoria-with-henry-shelford-and-dr-shyamal-mashru/ Alex Partridge — Why Does Everybody Hate Me? Living and Loving with RSDhttps://www.hachette.co.uk/titles/alex-partridge/why-does-everybody-hate-me/9781399827843/ 🎵 Hear Me Out — the original theme for Bow Tie Talks — and its accompanying variations were created and produced by Kayleigh Roberts.

    2. Are you really just too sensitive? (Part one)

  5. Oct 4

    1. Does your vote count?

    When Andy Burnham used his Labour Party Conference speech to call for a national commission on electoral reform, one particular line caught my attention: Britain needs a voting system where every vote matters. It’s an argument I’ve been making for years — and a few days later, I found myself making it live on LBC to James O’Brien. So, in this episode, I’m picking up that conversation and asking a bigger question: is First Past the Post still fit for purpose? I look at what our current voting system actually does, why election results can bear surprisingly little resemblance to the votes cast, and what proportional representation might mean for the way Britain is governed. But I also explore something I think matters even more: whether changing the way we vote could begin to change the way we do politics. Because electoral reform isn’t just about making the numbers add up more neatly. It’s about whether people feel represented, whether their vote genuinely matters, and ultimately, whether they believe the political system belongs to them. 🎵 Music Hear Me Out — the original theme for Bow Tie Talks — and its accompanying variations were created and produced by Kayleigh Roberts. And, yes, I am enormously lucky to have married someone who can casually make my podcast sound considerably more professional than I have any right to. Clips & sources 🎙️ James O’Brien / LBC This episode includes an audio extract from my conversation with James O’Brien on James O’Brien on LBC, broadcast 1 October 2026. Watch the full exchange on LBC: https://www.lbc.co.uk/videos/2JsSfH5nS7k/ or listen on catch-up using the LBC or Global Player apps. 🎥 Andy Burnham / AFP News Agency This episode includes an audio extract from Andy Burnham’s speech at the 2026 Labour Party Conference, taken from footage published by AFP News Agency. Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uCHX1ALvn58 Audio excerpts are reproduced for the purposes of quotation, commentary and criticism. Copyright remains with the respective rights holders.

    1. Does your vote count?

  6. Oct 2

    0. So, what is Bow Tie Talks?

    What exactly is Bow Tie Talks — and why have I decided to start talking to myself into a microphone? In this short introductory episode, I explain what the podcast is all about, why I’m making it, and a little about the person behind the bow tie. Expect politics, society, faith, culture and plenty of questions — explored with curiosity, honesty and the occasional opinion. I won’t always have the answers, and I certainly won’t pretend to. Think of this as Episode 0: a quick hello before we get properly stuck in.  🎵 Music Hear Me Out — the original theme for Bow Tie Talks — and its accompanying variations were created and produced by Kayleigh Roberts. And, yes, I am enormously lucky to have married someone who can casually make my podcast sound considerably more professional than I have any right to.

    0. So, what is Bow Tie Talks?
  • 6 Episodes

About

Big questions. Honest conversations. One person talking to himself in a bow tie. Bow Tie Talks is a podcast about politics, society, faith, culture and the ideas shaping the world around us. I’m Clarke Roberts. I’m not a journalist, academic or expert — just someone who asks a lot of questions, thinks about things far too much, and enjoys digging beneath the headlines. Expect opinions, curiosity, nuance and the occasional raised eyebrow. I won’t always have the answers. I might even change my mind. Welcome to Bow Tie Talks.

Information

  • Creator
    Clarke Roberts
  • Years Active
    2026
  • Episodes
    6
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © Clarke Roberts
  • Show Website
    Bow Tie Talks