If I were...: Recent Episodes
Alexander Sampson
A podcast based on the creation of an island. If you were the only person left on an earth covered with water, and you had the ability to create an island for yourself, what kind of island would you create? Each week, host Alexander Sampson invites guests, named architects, to create an island and discuss the experiences that have shaped their choices. Only you are allowed on the island and you are only allowed one main dwelling place.
From Astronomy towers to glass box houses, If I Were...'s inaugural season has brought magic and insight from all of its guests. This season recap whirls through the podcast's inception to its current state, with all the ups and downs, architects and inventions in-between.
Empathy reigns in Milo’s kingdom - his island understands him like no one else. Suffering is counteracted by beauty, with bioluminescence and sculpture parks complementing a magical baobab tree....
An English literature student at the University of Bristol, Milo Ryan’s enjoyed an artistic lifestyle: having previously sang in the chamber choir at York Minster, he’s also toured in northern Italy as a talented artist and saxophonist. Milo’s connections spread far and wide: his grandmother was one of the last people to receive electroshock therapy in the 60s, while the other side of his family were living in Saudi Arabia.
His mum also dated David Bowie’s son throughout her school years while his dad was slumming it in on the streets of Liverpool. When he was a child, Milo held aspirations to be a palaeontologist, specialising on Pteranodons – a flying dinosaur in the pterodactyl family. At Bristol he’s one of the youngest contributors to the University’s independent research journal, and one of the only students from Yorkshire.
Milo’s island knows him: it’s emotionally responsive but doesn't give too much. Living in a Baobab tree that takes the shape of different cinematic, literary and artistic spaces, Milo's island is fantastically formed and beautifully constructed.
Actor and journalist Marine Saint creates a wardrobe portal to literary worlds, an English Manor house with Parisian influences, and a glittering walkway through a forest of Californian redwoods…
An English and History student at the University of Bristol, Marine’s half French and half English, currently living in Durham but with plenty of family in Paris, Toulouse and Lyon. She’s acted professionally in both theatre, TV and film, playing roles in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Company and CBBC’s The Dumping Ground. Marine’s an aspiring journalist and has just been shortlisted for the ‘Rising Star’ Award at the National Student Publication Awards. Both widely travelled and widely read, Marine hopes to do a Salinger year in New York after graduation.
Her island holds a Neverland ideology: literature and reality intermingle creating boundless worlds within her island kingdom. French films, an Art museum and a magnum opus fill her time, while tranquility reigns in the form of cherry blossom, redwood trees and a Versaille-like village in the grounds of her English Manor House.
Architect: Marine Saint
Creator and host: Alexander Sampson
Music credits: Ravel: Daphnis et Chloé No. 2 performed by the London Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Sir Simon Rattle
Forget materiality - Freddie Heffer's island is about human aspiration, literary ideals and the fulfilling hunt for a mythical wild boar...
An English student at the University of Bristol, Freddie's set on becoming a rakish art dealer. However, his artistic talents extend to the stage: he’s performed as Viola in Twelfth Night at the Globe Theatre in London and he also loves The Smiths, Lou Reed, and early 20th century British art. His parents have dreams of becoming feudal lords under the guise of conservation while Freddie is currently trying to rewild a chunk of Herefordshire.
His island deals with a wilder version of Thomas Hardy's England, yet his imagination focuses on purpose: alone, he searches for meaning in the space between primitive living and haute-couture...
Architect: Freddie Heffer
Creator and host: Alexander Sampson
Music credits: Ravel: Daphnis et Chloé No. 2 performed by the London Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Sir Simon Rattle
Ardent chef and zoology student Amelia Mowat talks dilapidated houses, South African beaches and a Kew Gardens glasshouse...
Skating, glass houses and a Zen retreat in the mountains: Hugo Rompani gets philosophical in this week's episode of 'If I were...'
Finance-wizard and Entrepreneur Ollie Hooper talks infinite jungles, rustic beach huts and the comfiest armchair in existence...
Showjumper and Veterinary student Claudia Wasko builds a French Chateau, an astronomer's tower, and a tapestry of Jafrian proportions...