Distraction Therapy: Recent Episodes
Rob Watson
“In the kingdom of ends everything has either a price or a dignity. What has a price can be replaced by something else as its equivalent; what on the other hand is raised above all price and therefore admits of no equivalent has a dignity” Immanuel Kant. In the charged and fractious social and political [...]
The post Transcending Dogma – Helen Joyce’s ‘Trans’ Through the Lenses of Liberal Empiricism first appeared on Rob Watson Media.
Ryan and I got together at the recently extended Phoenix Cinema and Digital Arts Centre in Leicester, for a chat about what makes for a meaningful life. Ryan shared his experience of getting a car and being stuck in endless traffic trying to get to work. This was the first time we’ve met in the evening and had a beer as well!
A rather jazzy glass…
Occasionally as we journey through life we reach a fork in the road presenting us with a choice. Do we go one way along the well-worn path, or do we head along the lesser-known route and see what we can discover? I feel I have reached one of those points of choice. I can either continue along the familiar route, or I can head off with no map, no sense of where I’m going, and try to explore the unfamiliar terrain.
I’ve spent a long-time developing service work for community media, whereby I facilitate training and development that improves the ability of other people to function as a group or community that uses communication for community purposes. The role I’ve often played is to help others fix their organisational set-up, and to help people find a way to communicate that is functional and practical. I enjoy the sense of development that is based on sowing seeds, and then helping them grow and develop. I like doing this work because I get satisfaction from helping people realise their potential.
Quite often, however, I feel I miss out on opportunities to consider my own personal growth and development. Like many people, I spend a lot of time helping to fix other people’s problems, and I don’t spend much time managing my own affairs. I’m good at making sure that other people feel fulfilled and nourished, but in doing this, I often miss opportunities for my own self-expression and personal development.
Over the Covid-19 pandemic I started a personal podcast, Distraction Therapy, with the aim of discussing the experience of getting through the lockdowns, and what some of us were doing to manage the feeling of enforced isolation. Understanding what media and activities we engaged in was quite useful. What helped different people to maintain their sense of stability while also taking time to reflect on the benefits that this global period of enforced introspection brought.
In my head, then, I’ve aligned my podcasts with the notion of metamodernism, which is an approach to personal and social development that comes after postmodernism, The metamodern approach is less individualistic and more connected than postmodern critiques of social interaction are. Metamodernism challenges us to also think about our emotional and spiritual development, our ecological responsibilities, our social responsibilities, and the philosophical challenges that we have to understand.
So, rather than simply making ironic or self-referential gestures and statements, that get circulated in a game of popularity and social status, metamodernism asks us to think about what a meaningful life is. Over the last twelve months, Ryan Clayton and I have met for coffee and discussed both weighty philosophical issues, in addition to the ephemeral culture of contemporary culture. We’ve been attempting, probably in a very clumsy way, to make sense of the mediated world and our place in it.
It’s been a fascinating process because it requires that we trust that ideas and insight will emerge through our conversations. Based on what I’ve learnt over the fifty-odd episodes of the podcast that I’ve shared, I’m beginning to wonder if it is possible to shift the process up a couple of gears, and to enhance the podcast as a more regular opportunity for discussion and reflection about what makes for a meaningful life?
Can the podcast go out weekly? Is it possible to develop the podcast as a weekly radio programme? There is an opportunity to also broadcast the podcast on Soundart Radio and Leicester Community Radio, and also to develop the concept for Radio Lear, a proposed new DAB radio station I’m trying to get going in Leicester.
My conceptualisation is to record a conversation each week that explores the idea of what living a meaningful life is about. I’m open-minded about how that can be developed and approached. I’m open to discussions of a philosophical, spiritual, existential, or phenomenological basis. I’d like the opportunity to learn about art, poetry, literature, photography, music and media, and other people’s relationship with natural, social or spiritual experiences that encompass their sense of the meaningful life.
My intuition is telling me to follow the path less well explored, and to think creatively about how this journey might unfold, and who I’ll meet along the way. I do know that this will be a journey of conversations. These conversations can either be in-person or online. There is a wealth of opportunities to engage on conversation using social media, and to trigger thoughts and be inspired by discussions that are taking place on many different platforms.
My inspirations include: Hanzi Freinacht; Metamoderna; Carl Jung, Radio Art Zone; Emergent Commons; The Wire; and many more. Send me a message to get involved, take part, or just to put time aside for a chat.
In our final podcast of 2022, Ryan and I met for a coffee and chatted about how we are coping during the festive season, what films and books we’ve been watching and reading, and how to show sincerity when attempting to get the Christmas Feeling when buying tat in an out-of-town shopping centre!
It was really nice to have a coffee this morning with Jonathan Taylor and Paul Whitehead, who are based at the University of Leicester’s Centre for New Writing. We chatted about the way that literature has faced the challenge of the consumer society, and what role literature plays in a progressive and democratic society.
As well as sharing their professional insights, Jonathan and Harry shared who and what they have been inspired by, and how they hope to promote and support the uptake of all forms of literature in Leicester.
Jonathan’s website has links to his publications, writing and poetry. Harry’s focus is on the Literary Leicester Festival in March 2023.
Ryan and I caught up for a coffee again this morning, to find out what films and books we’ve been reading. We chatted about how forms of media can be thought of as emergent, and considered what a metamodern radio station might feel like. Ryan mentioned Arrow Cult Films, the films of Anton Tarkovsky and [...]
What was the heatwave like for you? That was our starting topic in this latest episode of Distraction Therapy. Ryan and I chatted about what insight we gained about climate crisis, and what manifestations of anxiety we might see emerging in films, songs and creative media, that compensate for the need for urgent action? We’ll [...]
The degree to which we need suitable distractions in our lives, is in direct proportion to the level of anxiety that we experience as a result of modern culture, working practices and social expectations. The more media and stuff that we try to cram into our heads, the less we are open to the experience [...]
Ryan Clayton and I met for a coffee, neither of us knowing what we wanted to discuss. It was an experiment in seeing what might emerge! In the end we tried to discuss Kant’s transcendental philosophy, and what it’s implications might be for engaging with metamodern culture? What does a symbolic experience help us to [...]
Hi, in this episode of Distraction Therapy I’ve put some music together, and added some thoughts on what a listening-focussed approach to social deliberation might feel like. Music Played: The Bottom Line (Sunrise Session II) Ólafur Arnalds, Josin & Reykjavík Recording Orchestra Sunrise Session II Leyohmi (Luminescence) – Carolina Eyck & American Contemporary Music Ensemble [...]
How can we use popular media to bridge the gaps in our knowledge of the world? Over a coffee, Ryan Clayton and Rob Watson discuss how we can make sense of popular media, and what a metamodern outlook might encompass as we wander about the cultural wasteland…
Is the new Marvel movie, Dr Strange and the Multiverse of Madness, a metamodern film? What would a metamodern radio station sound like, and what topics would it cover? Ryan and I chatted over a coffee and tried to figure out what to make of these things.
Now that spring is here, it was lovely to be able to sit in Castle Gardens and record some observations and thoughts, and to play some music. Also included in this episode is a feature I recorded with Lucy Stevens about here work Colour Coded Birds, which is in collaboration with Leicester Museum service. Music [...]
It was a pleasure, as always, to chat with Ryan Clayton about popular culture, metamodernism and archetypal symbols that have currency in our times. This week we chatted about Fantastic Beats: The Secrets of Dumbledore, James Bond, and a load of other stuff that we hand’t prepared beforehand, but were happy to follow our intuition [...]
Once again, coffee propelled our conversation this morning, as Ryan and I turned our thoughts to the process of reflection and getting to grips with the challenges of modern life. Our conclusion was to take and share more pictures of cats and dogs, and to lighten up! It’s easier said than done, but at least [...]
There are worse ways to spend Saturday morning than drinking coffee and chatting with Ryan Clayton about the meaning crisis and metamodernism for a podcast. It gave us the chance to explore some ideas about what we are reading and watching, and how we are integrating the living mythologies into daily life.
What was intended to be a general conversation about metamodernist sense-making, turned into discussion of the invasion of Ukraine by Russia, and how it has unfolded across our media in recent days. Rather than taking a position or a stance, Ryan and I considered the challenge of finding sure ground when faced with the exercise [...]
If postmodernity is about playful signifiers and pastiche, then how is metamoderninity different? Ryan Clayton and I met up for a coffee, and we chatted about how we think the ‘new sincerity’ that metamodern cultural practice works? Is this sensibility to be found in the artwork itself, in the creative practice, or in the relationship [...]
Continuing a set of vague and unspecific wanderings, where I try to form a sense of what metamodernism is in practice, this week’s episode is a mash-up of collected of extracts taken from videos discussing metamodernism on YouTube. Various people talk about metamodernism, and discuss where the concept has come from as a concept, and [...]
This week, Ryan Clayton and I had a stroll around Leicester, and mulled over some terms and reference points for what we think metamodernism could be about based on the environment and the culture that we inhabit. The question of what metamodernism is can’t be answered from a seminar room or in discussions between policy [...]
Metamodernism is perhaps the most influential and wide-ranging way of thinking about post-postmodernism. The proponents of metamodernism include cultural theorists Timotheus Vermeulen and Robin van den Akker. The dualism of “ironic sincerity,” “informed naivete” and “pragmatic idealism” have come into view as the metamodern presents us with an oscillation between paradigmatically modern and postmodern attitudes. [...]
What is metamodernism? This is the ongoing topic that Ryan Clayton and I are mulling over in our conversations. Is metamodernism simply an extension of postmodernism, or does it offer something new, and point towards an emerging ‘structure of feeling’ that is only now being brought into focus. Raymond Williams uses the “feeling rather than [...]
It was lovely to have an early morning walk in the frost with sound and visual artists Lucy Stevens. We walked through Leicester’s Aylestone Meadows and Lucy told me about how she approaches here work, how she finds inspiration in nature, and her future project working with Leicester Museum to curate an exhibition that depicts [...]
In this episode I chat with Ryan Clayton about our expectations for the coming year, and how we make sense of our experiences in relation to the creative work that we read, watch, listen to and view in our cultural lives. We are exploring what a metamodern approach to social life means, and how we [...]
This is the Distraction Therapy Christmas Mashup! A selection of songs celebrating the festive season from around the world. Relax, put your slippers on, have a hot chocolate, and sing along… The Christmas Song (feat. DA PUMP & Lead) – w-inds – The Christmas Song 3:56 Christmas Thanks for Nothing – Slow Club – Christmas, [...]
Here’s the track listing of this festive episode, with sounds from Christmas Markets from around the world. YouTube Edinburgh Christmas Market 2021 || Evening Walkthrough 4K https://youtu.be/EXgzc-4YXMU Edinburgh Christmas Market – Christmas Ambience https://youtu.be/GIxNS4UdxWw Frankfurt Germany City Walk 4K 🌃 4K Christmas Market Walking Tour https://youtu.be/Z3AXpaK0RkM Japan Christmas Market 2021 – Yokohama https://youtu.be/fTKo_0kNuT4 African Christmas [...]
The Evington Echo has been around for over forty years, and manages to keep readers informed and up to date on what’s happening in the village of Evington in Leicester. Helen Pettman is the editor of the Evington Echo, and we spent time walking and chatting about what makes a good community newspaper, and the [...]
I want to use the Distraction Therapy podcast to explore what metamodernism means, and how our culture is shifting towards something that goes beyond postmodernity. We’ve established that we live in a world of signs and media, but we’ve not taken full account of how meaning is found in the depths of our shared consciousness. [...]
I went to Coventry for the first time at the weekend, to attend the Community Radio Conference, and to check out the Coventry Capital of Culture. I’d never been to Coventry before, despite living nearby in Leicester. So, I had a wander about the city centre, and explored the old and the new buildings, before [...]
At the weekend I went to Totnes to undertake some work with Stelaria Media and Soundart Radio, about how community radio and university-based researchers can better support public engagement. I recorded some sounds from my journey, and had a chance to note some thoughts about the benefit of the community media approach to public engagement, [...]
Last week I went for a stroll with Hayley Rogers, and we talked about her work with the Y-Heritage project, and what she has learnt about the changing nature of Leicester. We also listened to some French Synth pop.
I’m obsessed with walking tour videos on YouTube at the moment. I’ve been watching them as a virtual alternative to travelling during the lockdown. I’m also looking at them to learn how they are produced and presented, and the variations in form that they demonstrate. I’m hoping to build-up a picture of how they work, [...]
Last weekend I went to Liverpool to visit family for the first time in eighteen months. We stayed in the city centre and met up for a visit to New Brighton, where we enjoyed playing in the arcade, walking along the sea front and eating fish and chips. I captured some sounds and chit-chat along [...]
I’ve been watching walking tours on YouTube, which are videos posted to show what different towns and cities are like around the world. There’s a continual flow of new videos being posted all the time, some taken from live-stream events, and others shot as a specific tour. I started by visiting places that I have [...]
This week I went to an event celebrating the work of a women’s group who have been meeting over Zoom over the lockdown in Leicester. They learnt how to knit and crochet, as well as using Zoom and YouTube to share skills in fostering a network of friends. It was lovely to be able to [...]
I went for a walk through Leicester to test a new gimble that I’ve bought, and I captured some audio in the process. It’s interesting taking the audio from the video, because its less obvious what’s being referred to.
This morning I went for a walk into Leicester City Centre, and recorded some thoughts reflecting on the need for total systems change that has been identified in the IPCC report about climate change. What does this mean for our towns, neighbourhoods and communities? How are we going to facilitate change positively? How can we [...]
As part of the Leicester Stories project, we went out into Leicester City Centre to ask people what they know of the Build Back Better slogan. Roy and Ryan were able to record some fascinating comments that help to show the wide variety of opinions and experiences that people have of the whole idea of [...]
Beth Piggott is a producer with ArtReach, who has been working on the Liberty UK festival that is taking place in Leicester. Taking place across July and August, Liberty UK Leicester offers three art trails in the city centre. As a collaboration with members of the local community, the festival tells local residents stories and [...]
How we connect and build relationships with one another is an essential question for the future sustainability of both our local and our global communities. John Coster, of Leicester’s Documentary Media Centre, discusses and explains why he has established the Parallel Lives project, based here in Leicester, but with the aim of connecting people through [...]
The weather was perfect on Sunday for our visit to the Moira Furnace heritage and craft day. We chatted about the importance of valuing our heritage and making it accessible now that we are opening up from the pandemic. This was an opportunity to develop our media capture skills as part of the Y-Leicester Heritage [...]
The work of the volunteers at Evington House, has brought the gardens to life as a place of increasing biodiversity. It was lovely chatting with Helen and Geoff, and hearing about how they plan the garden so that it supports a wider-range of wildlife and looks after itself because they are increasingly recognising that not [...]
Today I had three conversations at the Hope CIC Men’s Support Drop-In Café, that takes place every other Saturday, 10.30am to 12.30pm at the Bishop Street Chapel Café in Leicester. I chatted with Tina Barton about her experience running support and development groups for women, and how the need for similar support networks for men [...]
The need for public support as we come out of the lockdown is readily apparent all around us. Men often don’t come forward to ask for help because they are unfamiliar with expressing their emotions and asking for help. Mahesh Hettiarachchi has set up Hope Against Poverty, as a community interest company in Leicester, with [...]
Today I went to visit the Braunstone Gate Community Garden, which is a volunteer-run pocket garden in the West End of Leicester. I spoke with John and Jeff about the origins of the garden, and about how they have managed during the lockdown. They told me how people can get involved, and what they feel [...]
Today I met with Kajal Nisha Patel, who runs Lightseekers, which aims to equipping each of us with tools and knowledge to better manage periods of stress. The aim is to cultivate healthier communities, which are centred around the concept of care. Kajal told me about how she has developed the idea of Lightseekers, and [...]
Earlier I went for a walk to Aylestone Meadows in Leicester and captured the sound of the birds and wind rustling through the trees. I find these walks are a good way to capture my half-developed thoughts. Today I wanted to try to articulate more of my understanding of the importance of Carl Jung, and [...]
Wandering around Leicester city centre yesterday, and seeing people return to the cafés and bars left me with mixed emotions. On the one hand I’m dealing with the anxiety of going out to public places after being at home for so long. Then there’s the pleasure that comes with seeing people enjoying one another’s company. [...]
I was late in getting out to put this soundwalk together, so there’s not as much recorded content as usual, and I didn’t really focus on getting good recordings. I only went for a stroll around my neighbourhood, and because I was worrying about another project I’m working on, I didn’t pay a lot of [...]
Today I went for a stroll in Leicester city centre and visited a couple of shops, bars and cafés to get a sense of how people are responding to the easing of the lockdown. Seeing people back in the shops got me thinking about what our culture is and how our sense of identity is [...]
I had a quick walk through the city centre today, and captured some sounds as the cafés and the bars opened up. I’ve not missed the sound of drunks making lots of noise, and as the bars are only doing table service outside, it might take some getting used to. The weather was cold today, [...]
I went for a walk earlier through Aylestone Meadows in Leicester and recorded a soundwalk. It was a beautiful day, with bright sunshine, which really illuminated the spring flowers and the new growth that was coming through on the floor of the wooded areas. It was great to see the wall of blossom on the [...]
For today’s soundwalk I met up with Kulsum, Dhra, Zoe and Munira to record some vox-pops about the census for the Leicester Stories project. We spent time in the city centre chatting with people about why they had completed the census, and I got a chance to chat about what being a community reporter is [...]
I had a relaxed walk around Leicester city centre today, and captured some sounds as people we out and about. It really feels like people are starting to emerge from the lockdown. I shared some observations about the census as well.
I was set a challenge to record the traffic in Leicester. Which isn’t that difficult given that the whole city is surrounded by busy roads. I had a wander about with my microphone on one of my usual routes into the city centre, and captured something. Who knows, on a different day it would be [...]
I managed to get out this afternoon for a short soundwalk. I had a mooch around Leicester city centre, and sat and listened to people walking past. It’s fascinating that when you get tuned in to the sounds that are being generated, it’s amazing how rich it is, with things happening in the foreground, in [...]
It was lovely to catch up with Asa Malmsten today, to chat about how we’ve been coping with lockdown. Asa has been dreaming of beaches, Homes Under the Hammer and Imagined Commutes to work.
I had a lovely time wandering around Leicester city centre earlier, listening out to the sound of families out playing in the park, the birds, and the people passing through on a lovely spring day.
Today I had a good walk around Aylestone Meadows, in Leicester, and recorded a soundwalk. It was a lovely February day. The ground was muddy, and it was cloudy, but the sunlight was pushing through, and the lichen was glowing on the bark of the trees and bushes, and the snowdrops were in full bloom, [...]
I had a stroll in the sunshine this afternoon, and captured some thoughts and some sounds as I found places to sit in the sunshine. It was a relaxing approach, less informational than I have been doing, and a bit more time to think about how the lockdown has affected me.
Today I went out in the snow and walked up to Braunstone Park in Leicester. It was bitterly cold today, and the snow was only a dusting on the road, but it was atmospheric, if rather windy. I read a couple of poems about the winter and the snow that I thought might illustrate the [...]
In this episode of the Distraction Therapy podcast I chatted with Dr Jonathan Taylor. Jonathan is an author, lecturer, editor and critic. John writes creatively and critically. His specialisms include fiction and creative non-fiction, memoir, poetry, writing for voice, music and literature, laughter and literature, and literature of the ‘long’ nineteenth century. Jonathan is on [...]
Today’s soundwalk was a journey across the Leicester City centre, taking in the roadworks and environmental improvements that are making changes to the roads bringing people into and through the city centre. I also stopped off at Leicester market, though it was a quiet day compared to normal. If anyone wants to take part and [...]
Today I braved the snow and the ice to record this week’s soundwalk. I wandered up New Walk, which runs from the centre of the city to Victoria Park. On the way I visited Leicester Museum, the Midland Mainline bridge, De Montfort Square and then ended up just at Victoria Park gates. It was very [...]
It was really nice to catch up with Catherine Flick today, and talk about the things that have been distracting her through the lockdown. We talked about Zoom meetings, children, pets, Instagram perfectionism, doom scrolling and the joy of jumping in puddles and getting wet. Catherine is a researcher at The Centre for Computing and [...]
Today I had a walk along the River Soar and the Grand Union Canal here in Leicester. I started off at Leicester Castle, and made my way up along the canal through to Abbey Park and Wolseley Point, before finishing at the Leicester Space Centre and the Abbey Pumping Station.
We need to make time in our lives for creativity and growing things if we are to balance the stresses of the Covid-19 pandemic lockdown. That was what emerged from my conversation with Cat Thompson today. Cat is an Emergency Physician who enjoys playing around at photography. We chatted about gardening, going for walks, and [...]
It was really nice to catch up with Scott Choucino and chat about how he’s been managing through the lockdown, what kind of coffee he’s drinking, how his cat is becoming more famous than him, and how things might pick up when the lockdowns ease and the vaccinations are rolled out.
This week I had a stroll along the River Soar in Leicester, up to Aylstone Meadows. As lockdown permits I’m looking to find some guests to take part in a stroll around Leicester, where we can chat about what these places mean to us. Message me on Twitter or Instagram, or email rob@robwatsonmedia.net
I’m starting a new project for 2020. I’m developing a series of podcasts and radio programmes that will be based on soundwalks around Leicester. The idea is to meet up with a guest and to go for a short stroll along a route of their choice. As we walk, in a suitably socially distanced way, [...]
It might be a combination of the heat and the lockdown, but getting my brain working and focussed seems to take more effort as the pandemic continues. Trying to make sense of this I met for a coffee and a chat with John Coster. Hopefully we made some sense even though it’s difficult to have [...]
It was great to catch up with Jon Prest, aka Brand Master Flash, this evening, and chat about how we are coping under lockdown, and what we are doing to keep our routines going, while also thinking about adapting. Jon introduced me to the concept of ikigai, and how we can use it to manage our flow and improve our mindfulness. We chatted about running, and whether we will ever be able to get back to the pub any time soon. Jon is passionate about design and branding and explained how he is reviewing his design agency, Seed Creativity to ensure that it follows the principles of customer centric planning by improving conversion centric design flows. We also talked about removing the gubbins from our working lives, and making things easier by working more efficiently.
This afternoon I’ve been chatting with John Halker, who is a psychotherapist and app developer. We chatted about how we are keeping busy during the lockdown, and what media and music we are distracting ourselves with. John explained why he dislikes joggers who can’t social distance, and I talked about how the praise for heroes misses the point about having proper systems of social support in place.
I’ve been chatting with my friend Jay Sykes, who is an audio drama producer and writer, who is based in Sunderland. We chatted about how he is coping with the lockdown, what he’s been watching on Netflix, how he’s getting on with his cats, and how he’s managed to find some time to get some writing done.
Jay’s cats
There are many different ways for us to cope with the lockdown. I wanted to find out how my sister, Jackie Crawford has been coping. It’s a mixture of Beatles songs, Carry On movies and gardening apparently.
This evening I’ve been chatting with Leon Barton and Russell Todd about how they have been managing during the lockdown, and what they have been doing to keep themselves occupied while they are based at home. Leon is based in Innsbruck in Austria, and Russell is in Cardiff, Wales. We chatted about our coping strategies, what music we are listening to, and how we are keeping connected with our families and friends.
The lockdown is affecting all countries across Europe, and to get a sense of what the mood is like in Lithuania I spoke with Jurgis Masilonis, who is an audio engineer based in Vilnius. We chatted about the way he is coping with the lockdown, what his creative response has been like, and how he thinks the music community in the city will respond after the restrictions has been eased. Jurgis uses Instragram to share his experience living in the city, and he’s put together a Spotify playlist of some of the bands that he has worked with and that he likes coming out of the local music scene.
This is the first Distraction Therapy Podcast. I wanted the chance to do something more persona and to connect with people who have something valuable to share about how they are coping with the coronavirus lockdown. I’ve known Eric for over twenty years, and he has one of the best engineering minds around. So I wanted to find out what Eric thinks about our present situation and how things might change in the future as we look to build a more sustainable, resilient and less risky global society. You can contact Eric via LinkedIn.