The Barrow Podcast

Anna Koutsafti is a writer and multidisciplinary artist. She runs Ghost Press, a collaborative publishing project based in Glasgow providing a platform to emerging artists and writers to experiment with the art book form. Thanks for listening! ☺️🙏 You can find Anna via her website: annakoutsafti.com  Connect with Anna on Instagram: http://instagram.com/ann.a.vailable/ Keep up to date with all thi...

In this special guest episode, I sit down with author Jack Norman to talk short story writing, fatherhood and parenting, and his new book Sleep Capricorn. Thanks for listening! ☺️🙏 Purchase Jack’s short story collection here: https://www.amazon.com.au/Sleep-Capricorn-Stories-Jack-Norman/dp/0645776890 Sleep Capricorn is published by Bonfire Books: https://bonfirebooks.org/ Don't forget—   Mum...

Mum & I discuss Girl, Interrupted by Susanna Kaysen, as well as our current cultural obsession with mental health and the discourses that have surrounded it for decades. Plus, we reflect on gender, Robert Farquharson, and another mental illness memoir - Down Below by Leonora Carrington. Thanks for listening! ☺️🙏 Don't forget—   Mum & I are on Substack. Become a subscriber today by goi...

Instead of a paywalled reading from our memoir-in-progress, we decided to do something different & release this one for free. In the first of our bonus reading series, I read to Mum the short story '1933' by Canadian writer Mavis Gallant. Enjoy! ☺️🙏 Don't forget—   Mum & I are on Substack. Become a subscriber today by going to thebarrowpod.substack.com . If you haven’t signed up yet, what...

Mum & I are giving you free access to another two reading episodes from behind the paywall. These episodes are for paying subscribers only and are exclusive to Substack. If you like what you hear and want to follow along while we write our book, then become a subscriber today by going to ⁠thebarrowpod.substack.com⁠ .  If you haven’t signed up yet, what are you waiting for? 🤷‍♀️📚🤷‍♂️  ✅ Exc...

Mum & I discuss Helen Garner’s non-fiction masterpiece This House of Grief, as well as the phenomenon of fathers who kill their children, and the trauma and vulnerability associated with travelling to and from access arrangements. Thanks for listening! ☺️🙏 Don't forget—   Mum & I are on Substack. Become a subscriber today by going to thebarrowpod.substack.com . If you haven’t signed u...

Mum & I discuss what the immediate aftermath of her divorce meant for us both & our new reality of Family Court & access arrangements. Thanks for listening! ☺️🙏 Don't forget—   Mum & I are on Substack. Become a subscriber today by going to thebarrowpod.substack.com . If you haven’t signed up yet, what are you waiting for? 🤷‍♀️📚🤷‍♂️  ✅ Exclusive readings from our memoir-in-...

No book today, folks. Instead, Mum & I deliver some updates about our memoir-in-progress, plus we take a brief look at some meaningful titles from our childhood and adolescent reading lists. Thanks for listening! ☺️🙏 Don't forget—   Mum & I are on Substack. Become a subscriber today by going to thebarrowpod.substack.com . If you haven’t signed up yet, what are you waiting for? 🤷‍♀️📚🤷‍♂...

Mum & I discuss her divorce & the sliding doors moment it presented for us both. We also talk about Bridget Phetasy’s 2024 article ‘How divorce never ends’ published in The Spectator & covered on an episode of The Unspeakeasy Podcast, hosted our favourite personal essayist Meghan Daum. Thanks for listening! ☺️🙏 For more, check out the following links—  BRIDGET PHETASY: ‘How divorce ne...

Mum & I talk about identity politics & the ways our story has become unnecessarily complicated. We also reflect on domestic history, feminism, the gay rights movement, and divorce. Thanks for listening! ☺️🙏 *Guys, as I've received some interest in the article in today's episode, I won't be releasing it on the blog. Fingers crossed it finds a home soon. If and when it does, I&#...

Mum reflects on the day her husband left & we contemplate the legacies of men who abandon their children. Thanks for listening! ☺️🙏 Don't forget—   Mum & I are on Substack. Become a subscriber today by going to thebarrowpod.substack.com . If you haven’t signed up yet, what are you waiting for? 🤷‍♀️📚🤷‍♂️  ✅ Exclusive readings from our memoir-in-progress 📖 ✅ Bonus episodes 🎙️ ✅ F...

This week, Mum & I discuss Inadvertent by Karl Ove Knausgaard, as well as the author's successful My Struggle series. Truth, time, details, & thinking vs feeling. Thanks for listening! ☺️🙏 Links:The Method and Madness podcast talk Knausgaard: https://www.madmethodpod.com/podcast/ep-02-knausgaards-my-struggle-vol-1Check out their YouTube channel here:  ⁨@madmethodpod⁩  Don't forget...

Mum abuses her opportunity to speak, admits “it was a battle to decide to have a child”, then ponders the effects of passivity, defensiveness and projection. Thanks for listening! ☺️🙏 Don't forget—   Mum & I are on Substack. Become a subscriber today by going to thebarrowpod.substack.com . If you haven’t signed up yet, what are you waiting for? 🤷‍♀️📚🤷‍♂️  ✅ Exclusive readings from our...

Author David Goodwin joins the show to talk about his memoir Servo. For more information, see the links below. Purchase Servo here: https://www.amazon.com.au/Servo-Tales-Graveyard-David-Goodwin/dp/0733651194 Connect with David on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/davidgoodwn/ Connect with David on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/djgwriter Don't forget—   Mum & I are on Substack. Beco...

Mum & I discuss The Catastrophe Hour, a collection of personal essays by writer and host of The Unspeakeasy Podcast Meghan Daum. We also reflect on desire & its absence in our lives. Thanks for listening! ☺️🙏 Listen to The Unspeakeasy Podcast: https://www.theunspeakablepodcast.com/podcast   Purchase The Catastrophe Hour: https://www.amazon.com/Catastrophe-Hour-Selected-Essays/dp/191255968...

I ask Mum what getting married really meant to her… Family values, hypocrisy, and enmeshment. Thanks for listening! ☺️🙏 Don't forget—   Mum & I are on Substack. Become a subscriber today by going to thebarrowpod.substack.com . If you haven’t signed up yet, what are you waiting for? 🤷‍♀️📚🤷‍♂️  ✅ Exclusive readings from our memoir-in-progress 📖 ✅ Bonus episodes 🎙️ ✅ Field recordings 🎤...

Mum & I are giving you free access to another two reading episodes from behind the paywall. These episodes are for paying subscribers only and are exclusive to Substack. If you like what you hear and want to follow along while we write our book, then become a subscriber today by going to ⁠thebarrowpod.substack.com⁠ .  If you haven’t signed up yet, what are you waiting for? 🤷‍♀️📚🤷‍♂️  ✅ Exc...

Mum & I discuss David Plante’s divisive memoir, Difficult Women, & debate ethics in writing. Thanks for listening! ☺️🙏 Don't forget—   Mum & I are on Substack. Become a subscriber today by going to thebarrowpod.substack.com . If you haven’t signed up yet, what are you waiting for? 🤷‍♀️📚🤷‍♂️  ✅ Exclusive readings from our memoir-in-progress 📖 ✅ Bonus episodes 🎙️ ✅ Field recordin...

We’re back & the memoir continues! Mum goes off to Teacher’s College, where she attempts to strike a balance between life & study. Thanks for listening! ☺️🙏 Don't forget—   Mum & I are on Substack. Become a subscriber today by going to thebarrowpod.substack.com . If you haven’t signed up yet, what are you waiting for? 🤷‍♀️📚🤷‍♂️  ✅ Exclusive readings from our memoir-in-progress 📖...

In this special guest episode, I sit down with writer Richard Cabut to talk creative process, philosophy, and his new book Ripped Backsides. Thanks for listening! ☺️🙏 Purchase Ripped Backsides here: https://www.farwestpress.com/far-west-books/p/ripped-backsides-richard-cabut Connect with Richard on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/richard.cabut/ Find Richard’s other works through his website:...

In the last episode of 2025, Mum & I talk about Lee Israel's memoir Can You Ever Forgive Me?, as well as its film adaptation starring Melissa McCarthy and Richard E. Grant. Thanks so much for listening so far and Merry Christmas from us both! The Barrow Podcast will be back with a new episode next year - Sunday, February 1 OUR CHRISTMAS SUBSTACK DISCOUNT RUNS DECEMBER 1-18 Don't forget— Mum &a...

As the memoir continues and Mum's story unfolds, we talk about how avoidance is weaponised to gain control, a new character's origins, and a masterful manipulation. Thanks for listening! OUR CHRISTMAS SUBSTACK DISCOUNT RUNS DECEMBER 1-18 Don't forget— Mum & I are now on Substack, where we offer bonus episodes, readings from our memoir-in-progress, plus access to our archives. Become a subscrib...

Mum & I talk about William Maxwell’s So Long, See You Tomorrow & agree that equity is disliking everyone. Tender renderings of boyhood, assertive statements of Truth, rural stoicism, & more! Thanks for listening Don't forget— Mum & I are now on Substack, where we offer bonus episodes, readings from our memoir-in-progress, plus access to our archives. Become a subscriber today by go...

Mum & I reflect on my most recent mental health nosedive, before getting into personal standards, boundaries, love, relationships and endurance. We also talk about the death of Mum's mother, as well as Mum's hospitalisation and subsequent mental health journey. Thanks for listening! OUR CHRISTMAS SUBSTACK DISCOUNT RUNS DECEMBER 1-18 Don't forget— Mum & I are now on Substack, where we offer...

Mum & I discuss Patrick Modiano’s short memoir Pedigree, before reflecting on our own “pedigree” & what happens when we can’t let go of the past. Thanks for listening Don't forget— Mum & I are now on Substack, where we offer bonus episodes, readings from our memoir-in-progress, plus access to our archives. Become a subscriber today by going to thebarrowpod.substack.com . Follow us on—...