The Lonely Chapter

One hundred conversations changed me. For the 100th episode of The Lonely Chapter, Sam is interviewed by his partner Molly about why he started the podcast, what the name really means, and what he has learned from one hundred conversations about identity, growth, mental health, resilience and connection. This episode goes behind the scenes of The Lonely Chapter and into the more personal side of p...

Sometimes the stable life is the wrong one. Lily Kerbey is a singer and performer who built a career in a very different way to the one she first imagined. Only a few years ago, Lily was working as a high school music teacher and was completely burnt out. She was mentally and physically unwell, stressed, exhausted, and knew something had to change. Since then, she has left teaching, built her own...

What does real strength actually look like? In this episode, I sit down with psychotherapist and resilience coach James Elliott for a conversation about resilience, trauma, identity, emotional control, and the lessons he took from his time in the military. James brings both lived experience and professional expertise to these topics, which makes this a very grounded conversation. We talk about how...

Some losses change the shape of everything. In this episode of The Lonely Chapter, Sam sits down with John Merriman, founder of Crown Lane Studio in South London, for a conversation about grief, faith, purpose, community and rebuilding after life-changing events. John speaks about the river accident that changed the course of his life, the values behind Crown Lane Studio, and how difficult chapter...

Boys are not falling into this by accident. Following the recent Louis Theroux documentary on the manosphere, Sam sits down again with George from The Tin Men to talk about why so many boys and young men are being drawn towards harmful messages online, and what often gets missed underneath that conversation. In this episode of The Lonely Chapter, we explore fatherlessness, the lack of positive mal...

Leadership is not just about being in charge. Leadership is often associated with titles, authority or seniority. But the best leaders I’ve spoken to on The Lonely Chapter see it differently. After nearly 100 conversations, certain patterns about leadership keep appearing. In this solo episode, Sam reflects on five leadership lessons that have stood out from past guests, including military veteran...

One small mistake can become a whole story. This week’s episode comes from a small mistake: I missed releasing an episode. What surprised me wasn’t the mistake itself, but how quickly my internal voice turned against me. Within hours, I had gone from missing an upload to questioning whether I was failing as a podcaster altogether. In this solo episode of The Lonely Chapter, Sam explores why we can...

Success can still leave you disconnected. What if the life you’ve worked so hard to build doesn’t actually feel like yours? In this episode of The Lonely Chapter, Sam sits down with Dr Wendy O’Connor, a Stanford-trained psychologist and positive psychology expert, to explore burnout, self-trust, identity and what it really means to live a fulfilling life. We discuss why high achievers are especial...

Leadership starts long before anyone follows you. Most of us are taught how to lead others. Very few of us are taught how to lead ourselves. In this episode of The Lonely Chapter, Sam sits down with Mary Howe, former US Air Force AC-130 crew member and nurse, to explore self-leadership, resilience, identity and what it really means to take responsibility for your own growth. Mary shares how growin...

Being surrounded is not the same as belonging. Loneliness is becoming one of the defining challenges of modern life. Even in crowded cities and hyper-connected digital spaces, many people quietly feel isolated, unseen and disconnected. In this episode of The Lonely Chapter, Sam is joined by Nini Fritz, a connection and wellbeing facilitator, to explore why loneliness can feel so acute in big citie...

Some patterns only appear after enough stories. After sitting down with nearly 90 people over the last two years, certain themes keep repeating. In this solo episode of The Lonely Chapter, Sam reflects on four observations that sit beneath many of the stories shared on the podcast, not as advice, but as orientation for anyone trying to make sense of life. This episode explores why insight alone ra...

Growing up is harder without a threshold. In this episode of The Lonely Chapter, Sam is joined by Chris Barton to explore what happens when societies lose meaningful rites of passage, and why growing up without initiation can leave so many people feeling unprepared for adulthood. Chris is part of a movement working to restore structured rites of passage for young people, rooted in nature, responsi...

Nobody is coming to save you. In this grounded and challenging conversation, Sam is joined by Dakota Meyer, U.S. Marine veteran and Medal of Honor recipient, to explore a simple but confronting truth: nobody is coming to save you. Dakota explains why personal responsibility sits at the centre of a meaningful life, and how leadership, identity and fulfilment are built through action rather than int...

Your voice changes when you feel safe. In this episode of The Lonely Chapter, Sam is joined by Myles Usher-Doyle, speech coach and founder of Speak-Well Coaching, who has coached top-tier communicators including Chris Williamson, host of Modern Wisdom. We talk about what sits underneath confident communication, why so many of us struggle to be seen when we speak, how fear shows up in the body, and...

The sound is only part of the struggle. In this episode of The Lonely Chapter, Sam is joined by Dr Gladys Sanda, a tinnitus specialist who has spent over a decade supporting people living with tinnitus, and who also lives with it herself. We talk about the emotional and psychological impact tinnitus can have, including the fear, isolation, stress and heightened awareness that often come with it. G...

Some conversations stay with you. This episode is a reflective close to the year: a curated collection of moments from conversations across 2025 that stayed with me. It is not a ranking of guests or episodes, and it is not about what was “best”. Instead, these are moments where something honest was said, something meaningful clicked, or something human was revealed in a way that lingered long afte...

The right question can stay with you. In this solo episode of The Lonely Chapter, Sam revisits 10 questions left by podcast guests across the year, each one designed to spark reflection, conversation and a deeper look at how we live. These questions move through identity, vulnerability, purpose, communication, dreams, resilience and what it means to live more honestly. Some are simple. Some are un...

Independence is built one challenge at a time. Zack Sikora was born with Spina Bifida, but his story is not defined by limitation. It is defined by independence, discipline, humour and doing hard things. In this episode of The Lonely Chapter, Sam sits down with Zack to explore the reality of growing up with Spina Bifida, the misconceptions surrounding disability, and the mindset that helped him bu...

In this episode, football coach Mark Robinson - former Chelsea U21 Head Coach and the man who built AFC Wimbledon’s academy from scratch - joins me to explore leadership, mindset, player development and the role of failure in growth. We dive into: → How to build non-fear learning environments → Coaching mindset and reflection processes → Why failure, mistakes and “hiccups” are essential to develop...

November may be Men’s Health Month - but men’s health is a year-round issue. In this solo episode of The Lonely Chapter, Sam reflects on co-hosting an International Men’s Day event at London Fire Brigade HQ and the eye-opening conversations around: → Men’s mental health & suicide → Loneliness and identity → Low testosterone and physical health → Gambling addiction → Prostate cancer → The strai...

Most people aren’t calm — they’re emotionally numb. In this episode of The Lonely Chapter, I sit down with sacred artist and creative guide Polina Davi to explore how creativity can become a powerful tool for emotional healing, self-discovery and transformation. We talk about why so many people feel disconnected from themselves in a hyper-stimulated world, how suppressed emotions manifest as anxie...

What does it really take to break a world record — and then walk away from the title? In this episode of The Lonely Chapter, world-record endurance athlete Sean Conway opens up about the mindset, philosophy and inner drive behind his extraordinary life of adventure. Sean shares how he approaches world records, why he embraces a “90% chance of failure,” and how fear, pain and purpose fuel his bigge...

Two days scrambling in Snowdonia reminded me how quickly life can snap into focus. In this short solo episode, I share reflections from the Snowdon Horseshoe — the knife-edge Crib Goch, the flowers marked “RIP,” and how choosing to do hard things builds real resilience. I also talk about the loss of hobbies in the age of screen-time, why testing yourself matters, and how following your curiosity i...

Are you tired of swiping without real connection? Life Coach  Stephanie Nicoletti  joins  The Lonely Chapter  to share how to  date with purpose , build meaningful connections, and finally  find “the one” in a year . In this conversation, we explore what it means to date intentionally, understand your attachment style, and recognise the red and green flags that can make or break a relationship. St...

Sebastien Page joins Sam to unpack  The Psychology of Leadership : why listening beats talking, how sports psychology helps leaders use stress as fuel, and why “quitting” can be a top leadership move. Follow The Lonely Chapter: https://www.instagram.com/lonelychapterpodcast/ Find Sebastien on LinkedIn and buy his book: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sebastien-page https://www.psychologyofleadership.n...