A Stone in the Shoe Podcast

Remember when playground conflict had a certain… flair ? Today, I’m dusting off the lost art of the Chinese Burn—that twisty, pinkening forearm ritual that once passed for camaraderie. Join me as I unravel why this quaintly brutal relic of ’70s and ’80s childhoods has vanished into the mist of gluten-free crisps and micro-aggression workshops. Was it bullying? Absolutely. But compared to today’s f...

In this episode, I investigate the notion that every outcome in existence—from rainstorms to romance, lottery wins to lactose intolerance—is fundamentally a 50/50 proposition. It’ll either happen, or it won’t. Why overcomplicate things with maths? From seaside casinos to kombucha start-ups, I explore why embracing the 50/50 mindset might be either liberating or a one-way ticket to living in an ice...

Do you open your suitcase in a hotel room and immediately surrendered to chaos, living out of it like a feral raccoon in a dumpster? You’re not alone. In this episode, I dive into the baffling truth behind one of travel’s great unspoken lies: nobody unpacks in hotels anymore. Why do we all pretend wardrobes matter when we’d rather rifle through our bags in a ritual of mild despair? I’ll explore th...

Ever paid a small fortune for a train ticket, only to spend five hours staring at a slab of grey plastic instead of the rolling British countryside? In this episode, I embark on a journey—both literal and existential—to unravel one of modern travel’s most baffling quirks: why are train seats so rarely aligned with the windows? What begins as a gripe about a viewless trek from London to Edinburgh s...

Ever wondered what happens in the eerie, cheese-scented limbo between last orders and sunrise? Today, I’m plunging into the shadowy hours between 2 a.m. and 6 a.m.—a twilight zone where the night’s stragglers and the morning’s zealots briefly overlap, like two mismatched tectonic plates grinding awkwardly past each other. Join me as I dissect the unspoken social contract that declares anyone out a...

Today, I'm delving into the clandestine euphoria of suddenly freed time—a phenomenon that's equal parts existential relief and petty triumph. From the sacred art of "horizontal productivity" to the smug satisfaction of reorganising sock drawers with monastic focus, I explore why a scrapped agenda item feels less like a scheduling hiccup and more like a tiny revolution. Contains mild heresy against...

From Victorian rebellion to modern-day obscurity, I unravel how port became the forgotten middle child of the drinks cabinet—too “posh” for pre-loading, too “grandad” for TikTok. Along the way, there are unscientific focus groups (read: accosting students), existential tasting notes (“hints of leather and diplomatic regret”), and a desperate plea to save this fortified underdog from cultural extin...

Today I embark on a quest to right a linguistic wrong as I champion “shoop” as the singular saviour of sheep-kind. From the existential plight of nameless ovines to the hypothetical rise of Wooliam Shakeshoop (a bardic shoop with a flair for iambic bleats), this episode is a love letter to the chaos of English and the joy of grammatical rebellion. I dissect why “sheep” leaves us all in plural purg...

In this episode, I dive into one of Britain’s most baffling linguistic quirks: our stubborn insistence on adding an “s” to the word “euro,” despite the entire European Union—and basic grammatical decorum—begging us to stop. Is it a post-Brexit tic? A subconscious revolt against metric coherence? Or just proof that the British approach to language is less “rule-based” and more “vibes-based”? This i...

Ever wrestled with a sandwich so comically oversized it felt like a culinary prank? This episode is a savoury (and occasionally messy) deep dive into the modern obsession with towering, structurally unsound sandwiches that prioritise spectacle over sustenance. Join me as I dissect the rise of edible skyscrapers—from Instagram-baiting “food art” to hipster cafés serving club sandwiches that require...

In this episode I explore why fishing—a hobby synonymous with patience and solitude—earns the title of “sport”, when that could only be true if two men try to catch the same fish. From the irony of manufactured scarcity in nature’s abundance to the existential absurdity of turning quiet reflection into a primal theatre of human rivalry, I unpack why we insist on grafting competition onto even the...

What happens when a galactic political thriller from 2005 becomes a roadmap for 21st-century authoritarianism? In this episode, I dive into the unsettling parallels between Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith and the second Trump presidency. From weaponised chaos to institutional erosion, the saga of Chancellor Palpatine’s quiet coup offers a masterclass in how democracies unravel, one crisis at a time...

In this episode, I dive into the uncanny, dark parallels between Elon Musk and Howard Hughes, two billionaires separated by decades but united by a shared trajectory from visionary genius to unhinged recluse. Picture Hughes in his germ-phobic twilight, hoarding urine in mason jars, then fast-forward to Musk’s late-night Twitter spirals and Mars colonisation rants. Could the man promising eternal l...

Ever found yourself in a supermarket aisle, pondering life’s great mysteries? Why are avocados always either rock-hard or mush? What’s the difference between ‘original’ and ‘traditional’ pasta sauce? And, crucially, what is the point of scented toilet paper? (Spoiler: Your backside doesn’t have a nose.) In today’s episode, I’m unraveling the fragrant enigma of perfumed loo roll—a product that prom...

Join me as I explore the peculiar phenomenon haunting the vegetarian movement – the irresistible allure of bacon. Through interviews with committed vegans, neuroscientists, and philosophers, I investigate the "Bacon Circle" hypothesis: that bacon's appeal is so powerful, both chemically and culturally, that it creates an eternal challenge to ethical eating. This is a public episode. If you would l...