Podcasts · The Clearing with Katherine May

Kathryn Nicolai’s mysterious houses of Lake Michigan

· 59 min · S9 E7

Episode Kathryn Nicolai’s mysterious houses of Lake Michigan

0:00 58:53

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 - Nothing Much Happens. Described as ‘bedtime stories for everyone’ it’s a show that combines Kathryn’s skill for storytelling with one of the most soothing voices in the business. The result is the aural equivalent of being rocked to sleep.

Mutual fans, their conversation meanders gently as Katherine explores the craft behind the podcast. Kathryn’s childhood of wanting to feel safe, her ability to lift the cognitive load of those attending her yoga classes and skill in observing small moments in everyday life all led to the creation of her shows. That and an understanding that it’s not just children who need safety and to be held, but adults too. And no more than now.

Kathryn also imagines a brilliantly dreamlike and mischievous getaway, that once again involves the idea of rummaging through other people’s belongings, and delights Katherine no end. The only thing to do is sit back and relax. If you’re lucky you will achieve Kathryn’s peak state of ‘so much time and nothing to accomplish’.

Links from the episode:

Kathryn’s website

Kathryn’s podcast, Nothing Much Happens

Kathryn’s book

Nothing Much Happens Instagram

Jalaluddin Rumi https://www.oxcis.ac.uk/publication/rumi

Bashō https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/basho

Kamo Chōmei https://www.britannica.com/biography/Kamo-Chomei

Renee and Georgette Magritte with Their Dog after the War by Paul Simon here

The Hitchiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams

The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole by Sue Townsend

Ulysses by James Joyce

Moby Dick by Herman Melville

The Wolves of Willoughby Chase by Joan Aiken

One Summer America 1927 by Bill Bryson

The Land and its People by David Sedaris

Find out more about The Petoskey Stone

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

Visit The Clearing website www.theclearingpod.com for a full transcript, to discover how to enjoy our bonus episodes, our ad free episodes and if you subscribe, how to submit your own idea for a dream retreat.

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

Follow Katherine on Instagram

Visit Katherine’s Website

Production Credits

Guest Booker and Admin Support - Meghan Hutchins

Substack Manager - Rebecca Armstrong

Producer - Alice Lloyd

Music - The Leaf Library @theleaflibrary

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The episode on the publisher’s site (opens in a new tab)

Shows are listed from Apple Podcasts' charts and directory, and Podcast Index where it is used. Every show and episode belongs to its publisher and plays from the publisher's own feed; this site hosts none of them. Explicit shows are for adult profiles only, and children’s profiles hear only children’s shows. More about this list.