Seventeen Trees
Seventeen Trees is a new podcast, exploring simplicity, creativity, and living in harmony with nature.
I love podcasts. For three years I co-hosted a film review podcast, and when that ended in 2016 it left a hole in my heart. Since then podcasts seem to have only grown in popularity, and the tools for distributing them have made it easier than ever to launch a new one.
It was inevitable I’d have another go at podcasting. But meanwhile I’d developed a set of personal rules; things I’d learned from my last podcast venture that would shape any future project. This kept holding me back.
I wanted to start the kind of podcast where two or three people discuss their craft and process. Something like Making It, Make Do, or Cortex. This would require finding a co-host or two.
But I didn’t want to do a Skype-based show. I hate talking into a void – I don’t even like phone calls. Managing the inevitable hassles of digital connections, wondering if my co-host was listening properly or typing into their smartphone, and just trying to compensate for the lack of energy that comes naturally from being in the room with someone – it was all too much. So any co-hosts had to be based here in Tokyo.
I also didn’t want to be stuck again in a ‘record and post in the same week’ routine, so the episodes would have to be planned ahead, perhaps with several episodes recorded ahead of time, and a solid broadcast schedule.
However, in nearly two years of searching, I found no potential partners.
I started to think about what was possible. If I were to do it alone, it would have to be shorter. That was OK; some successful podcasts were starting to slip short, single perspective reflections into their stream, like On Being, and Happier.
After playing with several ideas in the studio I’ve come up with a format that I hope you’ll enjoy. The podcasts are 10 to 15 minutes long, the kind of thing you can listen to during a short commute or a long coffee break, or while preparing a meal.
For the first 20 or so, I’ll be looking at things I’ve written on the blog here and reflecting on how they came to be written, what I learned from the reaction to them, and where my thoughts have gone since. If you like the tone of the blog in recent years, or what you read in No Missing Tools, or the Modularity Zine, then I’m sure you’ll enjoy Seventeen Trees.
Here’s episode one. Please have a listen. Of course you can subscribe on Apple Podcasts and Stitcher, and the show will be available soon on other podcast platforms.
