The Just Checking In Podcast

The Just Checking In Podcast by VENT
  • 5.0 (4)
  • Society & Culture
  • Updated Weekly

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. 10h ago

    JCIP #379 - Hannah Stallard

    In episode 379 of The Just Checking In Podcast we checked in with Hannah Stallard.  Hannah is Head of Community for an organisation called Looseheadz, which combines the sport of rugby with mental health. They started at the end of a bar in a rugby club, and their goal is to make this a conversation at the end of every rugby club bar in the world. LooseHeadz uses the power of rugby to start conversations, tackle the stigma, and save lives. Hannah joined the organisation in October 2024 and says she wouldn’t be where she is today without Looseheadz support.  In this episode we discuss the work Looseheadz does, the free toolkit it provides to clubs across the country, the mental health training they provide for their Looseheadz champions and the work they do to combat abuse of rugby referees at all levels of the game, on the pitch and on social media. For Hannah’s mental health journey, we first discuss when she was hit by a bus at 16 years old and the physical and mental health impact it had on her.  We also talk about her experiencing an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury in her keen when she was around 32/33 years old in 2022. We explore how she recovered from it, losing a dog in 2017 and a cat in 2020 during the Covid-19 pandemic. During this period, she got to the point where she became suicidal, and made a plan to take her own life.  She drove herself to A&E, waited 8 hours but was then sent home with a prescription for SSRIs. She sought out therapy on the NHS and waited eight months on a waiting list before seeking private therapy instead.  We discuss why she believes she should have been sectioned when in A&E, how she recovered from it and how she reflects on the experience now. As always, #itsokaytovent TRIGGER WARNING: this podcast contains a discussion about suicide, which some listeners may find distressing or upsetting, so please listen with caution.  Support Us: PatreonPayPalMerchandise

    JCIP #379 - Hannah Stallard

  2. Sep 11

    JCIP #378 - Conor Warren

    In episode 378 of The Just Checking In Podcast we checked in with Conor Warren. Conor is the Co-Founder and CEO of an organisation called Spark UK.  Founded in 2020, Spark UK is a youth-led mental health charity that offers free mental health resources, campaigns, and support to empower young people across the UK. Conor is also the Director of We Are Prysm, a Gen Z-led consultancy helping brands, charities and media producers connect authentically with the next generation. Conor’s desire to co-found Spark UK came from his own lived experience of mental health challenges.  He struggled with anxiety during primary school and spent time in and out of therapy during that time, but was helped a lot by taking part in art therapy. During secondary school, he suppressed his mental health issues and by the time of sixth-form college, it reached crisis point.  He had a breakdown in Year 13 in December 2022.  Conor experienced suicidality and suicidal thoughts, and developed an eating disorder, something he calls ‘anxiety-induced sickness’ which involved restricted eating and purging. This crisis went on for just over a year. Thankfully he had a strong support network around him, was able to develop coping mechanisms and took a gap year out to recover.  He then realised he was ready for full-time education again, moved out of home and successfully applied for Exeter University, where he is currently studying for a BSc in Business.  Conor is only 20 years old at time of recording but has already achieved so much in his life so far.  In this episode we discuss the work he’s doing with Spark UK, We Are Prysm and the issues affecting Gen-Z right now and his views on them. These include social media, masculinity, the Christianity faith revival, education and young men’s relationship with all of them. For Conor’s mental health journey, we discuss his experience of anxiety, that eating disorder, how he conceptualised it being a man too, and how he recovered and overcame it. As always, #itsokaytovent You can follow Spark UK on social media below:  InstagramTRIGGER WARNING: this podcast contains a brief discussion about suicide and suicidality, which some listeners may find distressing or upsetting, so please listen with caution. Support Us: PatreonPayPalMerchandise

    JCIP #378 - Conor Warren

  3. Sep 4

    JCIP #377 - Danny Grady

    In episode 377 of The Just Checking In Podcast we checked in with Danny Grady.  Danny is part of Mandem Meetup Wolves (MMUW), the Wolverhampton branch of Mandem Meetup, a grassroots charity promoting, correcting and improving the conversation around men’s mental health and wellbeing. Danny became part of MMUW in February 2024 when he went to his first Mandem Talking Circle. Now he is a facilitator of them. He also runs the MMUW football team alongside friend of the pod Jamie Hall. In this episode we first discuss Danny’s mental health journey, where he started smoking weed and drinking from as young as 12 years old.  After turning 18, he started taking stronger, party drugs but it was alcohol which he sadly became addicted to and took hold of his life. He was drinking every day, on weekends and had to drink as soon as he woke up to ‘level him out’, a hallmark of addiction. He became a father at just 19 years old but wasn’t present for them whilst in the throes of his addiction.  He reached rock bottom several times, the most difficult period being in 2009 when he temporarily separated from his wife and became suicidal.  He split up with his wife several times after that, quitting temporarily to heal the relationship but just as quickly relapsing and falling back into negative behaviours.  This cycle continued until 2024 when the penny dropped and he began his recovery. Since then, he has been clean from all drugs and alcohol for two years, and found a new support network that provides him with positivity, not temptations. In this episode we discuss that journey from addiction to sobriety, fatherhood, becoming a grandfather at 42, his relationship with his wife and the role MMU Wolves has played in his recovery. As always, #itsokaytovent You can follow Mandem Meet Up on social media below:  InstagramTikTokTRIGGER WARNING: this podcast contains a deep discussion about suicide, which some listeners may find distressing or upsetting, so please listen with caution. Support Us: PatreonPayPalMerchandise

    JCIP #377 - Danny Grady

  4. Aug 28

    JCIP #376 - Jamie Hall

    In episode 376 of The Just Checking In Podcast we checked in with Jamie Hall. Jamie is part of Mandem Meetup Wolves, the Wolverhampton branch of Mandem Meetup (MMU), a grassroots charity promoting, correcting and improving the conversation around men’s mental health and wellbeing. Jamie became part of MMU Wolves (MMUW) in 2023 when he messaged the Founder of the Wolves branch, Christian if he could get involved. He went on his first hike with them in the same year and from there, the rest is history.  He now runs the MMUW football team alongside another man called Danny Grady, who took the reigns over from previous guest Leigh Edwards. Jamie also leads on their homeless outreach programme in the city too.  In this episode we first discuss Jamie’s mental health journey. This includes being expelled from school and then multiple prison sentences throughout a 20 year-period.  At 29, he moved out of the city with an ex-partner. However, he got into a fight in a local pub, went to prison for another year, came out and was diagnosed with a brain tumour, collapsing at a house party.  After being hospitalised, he discovered he had an aneurysm on his brain at just 30 years old.  Despite all of this, none of it was the wake up call he needed.  At 33, he became a father for the first time but it was only through joining MMU Wolves which he credits as the turning point for his life.  He went to his first Talking Circle the organisation runs, and after attending a few more, he plucked up the courage to speak himself, and broke down. From there, he has turned his life around, gone from strength to strength and the Mandem has been the vehicle for driving that.  We talk about all the work he does with MMUW, how it fuels his purpose and keeps his recovery on track, and how he reflects on the man he is now vs the lost soul he was in his childhood and 20s. As always, #itsokaytovent You can follow Mandem Meet Up on social media below:  InstagramTikTokSupport Us: PatreonPayPalMerchandise

    JCIP #376 - Jamie Hall

  5. Aug 21

    JCIP #375 - Arthur Colquhoun

    In episode 375 of The Just Checking In Podcast we checked in with Arthur Colquhoun.  Arthur is the Founder of YES Club, an invite-only network for London’s mission-led, early-stage founders. They host intimate, highly curated in-person experiences built for depth, peer learning, and meaningful connection. He is also the Founder’s Associate of The Fifth, who bill themselves as “a high-performance members club for ambitious professionals who work hard, value their health, and want to be part of a purpose-led community.” The Fifth is being designed as an integrated hub combining focused workspace, wellness and fitness facilities, and community-led experiences to help members perform better in work and life. At the moment, Arthur splits his time between YES Club, The Fifth and he has just founded his own community and events agency. In this episode we discuss his professional journey first, which started in 2023 after he graduated from Manchester University.  He then joined a mental health start-up called Talk Life, went travelling for six months in 2024, moved to London in September of that year and joined another start up called UNTIL. He then started YES Club in June 2025.  He then met a fellow entrepreneur called Dan, who was the Founder at The Fifth, and they have been building the business since then.  For Arthur’s mental health journey, we discuss his childhood, where he grew up with family members who had severe mental health difficulties.  At 17 years old Arthur had his first panic attack, and had anxiety for the next six years after that.  His recovery started through him adding different tools to his mental toolbox which worked for him. This included improving his mindset, taking himself out of his comfort zone and putting himself into challenging scenarios. As a people-pleaser, he also learned the importance of putting in healthy boundaries and saying no, and we discuss how he’s practiced that and been consistent with it going forward now. As always, #itsokaytovent Support Us: PatreonPayPalMerchandise

    JCIP #375 - Arthur Colquhoun

  6. Aug 14

    JCIP #374 - Dr Rebekah Wanic

    In episode 374 of The Just Checking In Podcast we checked in with Dr Rebekah Wanic. Rebekah is an academic, leadership consultant, life coach and the Founder of ‘Vent To Reinvent’. She is also the Founder of the SubStack ‘PsychSkeptics’. We came across Rebekah through an article she wrote on a publication called Minding The Campus called ‘The Disappearing Male Student’ which friend of the pod Dr James Nuzzo shared. In the article she talks about the disparity in student numbers between male and female students on US college campuses, where men now make up around 41-44% of the student population.  She also wrote about how male students are treated on these campuses, whether it comes to political debate, fears of cancellation by their female peers or even their female professors. In this episode we discuss Rebekah’s wider academic journey, why she enjoys the freedom and flexibility academia gives her as a career, a deep dive into the men on campus article, some of the other articles she’s written and her own attempted cancellation she experienced in a previous job.  For Rebekah’s mental health journey, she was hospitalised a lot as a child for asthma issues. She suffered from depression from the age of 13 to her mid-20s and an eating disorder from 13-30 as well, which came in the form of anorexia and then developed into bulimia.  We talk about the impact that had on her mental health, how she overcame it, her positive experience of therapy and how it empowered her to overcome her ED, take action and own it. As always, #itsokaytovent You can follow Rebekah on social media below:  X Support Us: PatreonPayPalMerchandise

    JCIP #374 - Dr Rebekah Wanic

  7. Aug 7

    JCIP #373 - Sarah Roberts

    In episode 373 of The Just Checking In Podcast we checked in with Sarah Roberts.  Sarah is a communications professional and has over 25 years of experience in global communications and business strategy. She is currently Senior Managing Partner at PR agency Vane Percy & Roberts, which she co-founded, and is also Executive Director of Reckitt Global Hygiene Institute (RGHI). We came across Sarah through a LinkedIn post she published after she attended the Women’s Business Forum at the Institute of Directors (IoD). In that post, she questioned the echo chamber nature of the event, how male and female relationships in the workplace can improve, and highlighted how the glass ceiling is not always held up by men in powerful positions, but women too. She also opened up a conversation about the difficulties men face in the workplace in the post-Me-Too era. In this episode we discuss Sarah’s professional journey, how she balances holding the very senior dual roles she has today, her views on men and women in the workplace, and what needs to change to facilitate better conversations, without fear of reprisal. For Sarah’s mental health journey, we discuss burnout she experienced in the second half of 2024 and the unresolved trauma which was the trigger for it, including a miscarriage she had gone through earlier in her life and the death of her father-in-law. We finish by discussing the death of her father, who died in February 2026, his life, her relationship with him and how its forced her to rediscover who she is and what she stands for. As always, #itsokaytovent Support Us: PatreonPayPalMerchandise

    JCIP #373 - Sarah Roberts

  8. Jul 31

    JCIP #372 - Men's Sheds: A Safe Space No More?

    In episode 372 of The Just Checking In Podcast our Founder Freddie flew solo for a one-off episode investigating a men's mental health organisation we had previously been big supporters and champions of, Men's Sheds.  We even interviewed former CEO of the UK Men’s Sheds Association, the body who oversee all Men's Sheds in the UK, Charlie Bethel in JCIP #249, in July 2024.  Men’s Sheds are community-based, non-commercial spaces where men gather to socialise, share skills, and work on practical projects. Designed to reduce loneliness and combat social isolation, these workshops focus on building, repairing, and collaborating while significantly improving mental health and well-being. The reason for this episode is because we stumbled across some threads on Twitter/X from men claiming that Men’s Sheds, a space deliberately and purposely created as a men-only space, were now accepting female members. This wasn't just an isolated one-off incident but allegedly on mass. Surprised, angry, and confused, we decided to investigate and the public data we very easily found disappointed us.  On the UK Men’s Sheds Association website, on a section called ‘Women’s Health and Wellbeing’ it states that “between 30% & 40% of Men’s Sheds in the UK have women involved in them”.   We speak about the implications of this, why this means in our view that Men's Sheds are currently no longer safe spaces for men only, and provide a public example of women invading these sheds too, in a Shed in Loughborough, Leicestershire.  We know there are some fantastic people who work at the UK Men's Sheds Association, and we hope they listen to this episode, heed our warning and take action to protect the long-term mental health of the men they claim to support.  We don’t want Men’s Sheds to fall, we want them to reflect, adapt and remember what their founding purpose was for. As always, #itsokaytovent In response to this episode, a UK Men's Sheds Association spokesperson said: “UK Men's Sheds Association doesn’t run or operate any Sheds, we’re here to provide support.  "As each Shed is independent and self-determining, they’re responsible for deciding their own membership in line with the needs of their members and communities. We don’t determine who Sheds include in their activities.  "Sheds choose to welcome members in a variety of ways – mixed sessions, men only sessions or women only sessions, while many remain men-only. This reflects the autonomy of individual Sheds rather than any change in the purpose of the movement or UK Men’s Sheds Association.  "Most people don't join Sheds for health benefits, mental health or otherwise; those are important but ancillary benefits. As a result, we’ve always been happy to support both those Sheds who feel a need to preserve a safe space for men and those Sheds who feel their primary goal is met by mixed membership.  Our focus is on supporting Sheds to create safe, supportive environments where members can connect, share skills and improve their wellbeing.” Support Us: PatreonPayPalMerchandise

    JCIP #372 - Men's Sheds: A Safe Space No More?
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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
    486
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © 2026 The Just Checking In Podcast
  • Show Website
    The Just Checking In Podcast