Podcasts · Arts · Education

The Clearing with Katherine May

Katherine May

101 episodes

Where would you go to rest and retreat, in good times and bad?

More about the show

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

Katherine’s new book, Tending: How Care Binds the World is out in March and you can pre-order it here https://katherine-may.co.uk/tending

Buy Katherine’s books: Enchantment | Wintering | The Electricity of Every Living Thing: UK / US

Follow Katherine on Instagram

Visit Katherine’s Website

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Episodes page 1 of 3

  1. Elizabeth Gilbert’s black volcanic sands of Costa Rica

    · 1 h 00 min · S9 E8

    Most of you will need no introduction to Elizabeth Gilbert. The international best-selling author of Eat Pray Love and Big Magic has sold a staggering 25 million books worldwide and is very much ‘a phenomenon’. In…

  2. Kathryn Nicolai’s mysterious houses of Lake Michigan

    · 59 min · S9 E7

    This week’s guest is someone Katherine has wanted on The Clearing since the very beginning. Sleep whisperer and ‘architect of coziness’, Kathryn Nicolai is the talent behind one of Katherine’s very favourite podcasts -…

  3. Sarah Wilson’s nomadic, desert dream

    · 1 h 00 min · S9 E6

    A friend of Sarah Wilson’s once told her she was always ‘looking for trouble’. It is clear from this episode that the best-selling Australian author, podcaster and TV presenter is hard-wired for restlessness. A…

  4. Barbara Carrellas’ enchanted theatre

    · 1 h 00 min · S9 E5

    Barbara Carrellas believes we can find the truest rest in moments of awe. The author of ‘The Book of Ecstasy’ says even in life’s darkest moments, ecstasy is possible. It’s something seeded in her practice of ‘Urban…

  5. Pierre Novellie’s Big Book of Hands

    · 1 h 08 min · S9 E4

    Comedian, podcaster, radio presenter and bona fide history nerd Pierre Novellie joins Katherine in The Clearing for this week’s episode. A geekfest of language and ideas, they launch straight into the etymology of the…

  6. Caitlin Moran’s ‘greatest building humans have ever come up with’

    · 1 h 11 min · S9 E3 · Explicit

    Caitlin Moran is somewhat of an icon in the UK. Growing up as the eldest of eight kids in a three bed council flat, home-educated from the age of 11, she became a published author at just 16 and a TV presenter not long…

  7. Joseph Coelho’s art of pottering and rummaging

    · 1 h 06 min · S9 E2

    Step forward our first OBE on the show; former Children’s Laureate, winner of the Carnegie Medal for Writing, poet and prolific children’s author, Joseph Coelho. Having both grown up on housing estates where you…

  8. Elise Loehnen’s radical candour therapist witch

    · 1 h 12 min · S9 E1

    Katherine kicks off Season Three of The Clearing in wild style by chatting to former magazine editor, podcast host and US author Elise Loehnen. Menopausal Love Island, lumberjack witches, the potential joy of losing…

  9. Introducing Season Three

    · 0:45

    We’re excited to announce Season Three of The Clearing coming very soon. Katherine has curated a spectacular line-up of guests and we can’t wait for you to hear some of the brilliantly creative fantasies of rest they…

  10. Anna Brones’ Scandinavian saltwater idyll

    · 1 h 02 min · S8 E7

    Not too warm, not too cool, the kind of evening where you’re still in shorts but have pulled on a sweater, is where we find ourselves this week with the wonderful writer and papercut artist Anna Brones. It’s the…

  11. Alice Vincent’s joyful soundscape of human togetherness

    · 56 min · S8 E6

    ‘Revel’ is the recurring theme of this episode as writer Alice Vincent brings visceral, carnival-esque Glastonbury vibes to The Clearing this week. A self-confessed extrovert, her dream retreat includes bundling up…

  12. Joycelyn Longdon on imagining an abundant future

    · 49 min · S8 E5

    Trees as ancestors, blurring the boundary between our bodies and the living world and constructing your sense of ‘self’ through art; these are just some of the beautiful areas of discussion between our guest Joycelyn…

  13. Yasmin Khan’s warm seas and verdant greens

    · 55 min · S8 E4

    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…

  14. Kate Bowler’s Bridge of Absurdity

    · 52 min · S8 E3

    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…

  15. Jeffrey Boakye’s city path to peace

    · 1 h 05 min · S8 E2

    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…

  16. Jackie Morris & Robert Macfarlane ‘dream of nest’

    · 1 h 01 min · S8 E1

    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…

  17. Season Two Trailer

    · 0:57 · Trailer

    We’re back! After a small, restorative break, we are excited to bring you a new season of The Clearing, where Katherine will explore visions of rest and retreat with some more wonderful guests. Visit The Clearing…

  18. Carissa Potter’s hot springs artist retreat

    · 1 h 03 min · S7 E17

    California-based illustrator, author and Instagram phenomenon Carissa Potter chats to Katherine about the complexities of taking rest during challenging times. In a masterclass of self-reflection, Carissa questions…

  19. Elissa Altman on the beauty of impermanence

    · 1 h 01 min · S7 E16

    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…

  20. Jen Hatmaker’s escape from the hate lane

    · 1 h 06 min · S7 E15

    As someone whose life was turned upside down by an unexpected divorce and a subsequent move away from the evangelical church, US author and podcaster Jen Hatmaker has learned, and earned, a wisdom that is tangible. In…

  21. Daisy Buchanan’s Swiss mountain glamour

    · 1 h 02 min · S7 E14

    A deliciously glamorous escape to the snowy setting of a luxury Swiss chalet hotel where 1920s faded English aristocracy meets 1950s Hollywood starlet decadence. Marabou-trimmed silk pajamas and well-stocked libraries…

  22. Poorna Bell’s New Zealand vista

    · 1 h 01 min · S7 E13

    Floor to ceiling windows overlooking a temperate blue ocean off the coast of New Zealand is where this week’s guest, journalist and author Poorna Bell, dreams of rest and retreat. Since the death of her husband in…

  23. Emma Gannon’s year of desert rest

    · 59 min · S7 E12

    Prolific author of nine books and writer behind the Substack phenomenon The Hyphen, Emma Gannon takes us away for a whole year to her imaginary retreat in Palm Springs, where she plans to indulge almost solely in her…

  24. Mike Sowden’s island of curiosity

    · 1 h 02 min · S7 E11

    Settling in amongst the sparkling sea views and scented coniferous trees of Corfu, writer Mike Sowden tells Katherine why he is ditching the concept of escape to run towards places and people with enthusiasm and…

  25. Season One Interlude

    · 8:43 · S7 E10

    Katherine explains why we are heeding our own advice and taking a tiny break this week. She also previews some exciting, listener-led bonus content that will be coming your way next season. We’ll be back next week with…

  26. Ece Temelkuran’s landscape of belonging

    · 1 h 01 min · S7 E9

    A modern sage who forewarned the world of the rise of fascism, writer Ece Temelkuran explains why she ‘put her heart in the freezer’ ten years ago when she fled her country of birth and how finding traces of home all…

  27. Kaitlin Curtice’s sanctuary of the subconscious

    · 55 min · S7 E8

    Author, storyteller and enrolled citizen of the Potawatomi nation, Kaitlin Curtice, shares her beautiful image of the perfect retreat, created by her own consciousness during the Covid pandemic. Exploring this space…

  28. Martha Beck and Rowan Mangan on the magic of communing with every living thing

    · 1 h 11 min · S7 E7

    This episode of The Clearing with renowned, Oprah-endorsed American life coach Martha Beck and her wonderful wife and podcast co-host Rowan Mangan skips the small talk and delves right into the mysteries and wonder of…

  29. Melissa Hemsley’s calm chaos

    · 1 h 00 min · S7 E6

    Chef and cookery writer Melissa Hemsley shares her bucolic, Darling Buds of May-esque fantasy of ‘safe’ escape with Katherine. Filled with wild and domesticated animals roaming freely, Chi Gong, nudity, a hammock,…

  30. Sam Baker on the challenges of letting go

    · 58 min · S7 E5

    Writer and former magazine editor Sam Baker is dragged kicking and screaming into this getaway as she admits she can never let go of her internal chatter and is not someone who ‘does rest’. Giving us a fascinating…

  31. Andy J. Pizza’s magical, moving ADHD landscape

    · 1 h 15 min · S7 E4

    The ADHD and autistic tendency to rest in motion is fully realised in American author and illustrator Andy J. Pizza’s vision of the ideal retreat. Choosing an extraordinary fictional setting which incorporates an…

  32. Oliver Burkeman’s art of the non-retreat

    · 1 h 01 min · S7 E3

    Kicking off the episode with an existential crisis, the inimitable Oliver Burkeman joins Katherine to explore his own, unique take on rest and retreat. A familiar name to many in both the US and the UK, Oliver’s book…

  33. Laura Pashby's lighthouse at the end of the world

    · 58 min · S7 E2

    In this episode Katherine chats to Laura Pashby, author of the incredible book Chasing Fog and master of ethereal photography, about her vision for the perfect retreat when things get tough. A magical dreamscape…

  34. Cariad Lloyd’s mossy, mythical retreat

    · 1 h 16 min · S7 E1

    Katherine launches her new podcast The Clearing with British actor, comedian, author and 2026 Women’s Prize for Fiction judge Cariad Lloyd. Together they explore Cariad’s vision of a dream retreat; a place she would…

  35. Introducing The Clearing

    · 4:56 · Trailer

    Katherine is delighted to let you know she’s back with a new podcast series called The Clearing. In each episode she asks writers and creatives, where would you go to rest and retreat, in good times and bad? Drawing…

  36. Sarah Moss on memory and meaning-making

    · 47 min · S6 E12

    Recently, Katherine interviewed Sarah Moss about her incredible new memoir, My Good Bright Wolf, an account of growing up as a difficult girl in a difficult family, and how this ultimately led to her eating disorder.…

  37. Exploring Hilary Mantel's memoir with Jillian Hess

    · 1 h 01 min · S6 E11

    What’s to be done with the lost, the dead, but write them into being?’ So writes Hilary Mantel in her extraordinary memoir, Giving Up the Ghost. First published in 2003, it offers a snapshot of the great writer before…

  38. Kate Fox on the potential and power of poetry

    · 59 min · S6 E10

    It was National Poetry Day in the UK earlier this month and Katherine talked to Kate Fox about her new book, On Sycamore Gap, in an extra Book Club event. Kate’s book is about a very special tree in the north of…

  39. Oliver Burkeman on mortality, acceptance and imperfectionism

    · 1 h 00 min · S6 E9

    September - when we’re almost as likely to be trying to reform ourselves as in January - is the perfect moment for Oliver Burkeman’s new book, Meditations for Mortals. Katherine sat down to talk to Oliver for her Book…

  40. Lucy Jones on matrescence, maternal myths and transformation

    · 54 min · S6 E8

    This month, Katherine spoke to Lucy Jones about Matrescence, her book about the profound changes wrought by pregnancy and birth. Combining the biological, the social and the political with exquisite writing, this is a…

  41. Daniel Tammet on real autistic lives

    · 55 min · S6 E7

    Katherine was excited to speak to Daniel Tammet about his latest book, Nine Minds: Inner Lives on the Spectrum. Katherine has been reading Daniel’s writing for a long time - his first book, Born on a Blue Day, came out…

  42. Tom Newlands on writing neurodivergence with a light touch

    · 47 min · S6 E6

    Join Katherine as she talks with Tom Newlands about his debut novel, Only Here, Only Now. Katherine talks with Tom about his female main protagonist, the unforgettable Cora, setting the book in 1990s Scotland and how…

  43. Samantha Irby on being a person

    · 57 min · S6 E5

    Join me for a recent conversation with comedian, essayist, blogger, and television writer Samantha Irby. Recorded as part of my True Stories Book Club hosted on Substack, we talked about realising you have a body again…

  44. Camille T. Dungy on unearthing histories

    · 50 min · S6 E3

    At a superficial level, Soil is a gardening memoir, full of gorgeous descriptions of plants and getting your hands in the soil. But the garden in question is a political gesture, an act of resistance and an assertion…

  45. Kaitlin Curtice on resisting with integrity

    · 1 h 00 min · S6 E2

    In the past few years, resistance has been a live issue for many of us, whether we’re wondering for the first time how to bring about social change, or realising that we need to find new ways to be activists. For…

  46. Erica Berry on the meaning of wolves

    · 1 h 04 min · S6 E1

    The wolf carries an almost unbearable amount of symbolism in western culture, encapsulating the predatory, the carnal, the supernatural and the ravenous. But in her book Wolfish, Erica Berry suggests that it’s time to…

  47. Dacher Keltner on awe, humility and purpose

    · 50 min · S5 E7

    I stumbled across Dacher Keltner’s work when I was first researching Enchantment, and now - for the final episode in this season - I’m honoured to speak to him about Awe: The New Science of Everyday Wonder and How It…

  48. Marjolijn van Heemstra on the overview effect

    · 48 min · S5 E6

    Marjolijn van Heemstra believes that we can change the world by gazing into the night sky. Her book, In Light Years There’s No Hurry, explores the ‘overview effect’, a personal transformation reported by astronauts who…

  49. Amy Jeffs on ancient stories and new understandings

    · 56 min · S5 E5

    How can we return to a richer, more complex understanding of national identity and personal ethics - one that can only come from folklore? Amy Jeffs is the perfect person to ask. An art historian and printmaker, she…

  50. Báyò Akómoláfé on fugitive ideas

    · 51 min · S5 E4

    In this week’s episode of How We Live Now, Katherine speaks to author and public intellectual Báyò Akómoláfé. We consider how we can step out of the belief that humanity is in control of a passive planet, and instead…

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