Sketchplanations - The Podcast

Are you a slave to your possessions? Do your possessions form part of your identity? How easy is it to fall into a trap where one new purchase begets another, and another, and another...? We explore the Diderot Effect - so called after an essay written in 1769 by French philosopher, writer, and art critic who served as one of the most influential figures of the Age of Enlightenment. " Regrets On P...

In a double-landlocked country you must cross at least two national borders to reach a coastline connected to the world’s oceans. In this episode we talk about the nuances of landlocked definitions (including why the Caspian Sea doesn’t count) and identify the only two double-landlocked countries: Liechtenstein, surrounded by Switzerland and Austria, and Uzbekistan, surrounded by landlocked “stans...

This discussion centres on “overnight success” as an illusion; prompted by Jono’s sketch of Twitter Cofounder, Biz Stone’s quote: “Timing, perseverance, and 10 years of trying will eventually make you seem like an overnight success.” Using an iceberg metaphor (most work hidden below the surface), we explore how Twitter, Uber, Airbnb, GoPro, Pinterest and other “sudden” hits were built through long...

In this fun and nostalgic conversation, we discuss Jono's observation that with indoor games especially, as the momentum builds, you keep playing until something gets broken! There's a cheeky inevitability to it. It's a situation we've almost all certainly been in - whether you were the protagonist or not! We share our childhood and adult stories of hallway ball games, broken lamps and mirrors, a...

US Navy submarine captain and author David Marquet discusses leadership lessons from turning the USS Santa Fe from worst to best, focusing on “pushing authority to information” rather than pushing information up a hierarchy. Marquet critiques industrial-age leadership language that seeks obedience and creates “bobblehead” agreement, arguing that real engagement comes from giving people decision-ma...

Using Jono’s sketch of four archery targets , we discuss why and how accuracy and precision differ. Using many different examples, we frame the distinction as “accuracy being true to intention and precision being true to itself,” also phrased as doing the right thing versus doing it right. The sketch is inspired by Simon Winchester's book, Exactly , where precision and accuracy are connected to th...

If you like the finer details of grammar and punctuation, then you're gonna love this episode. We geek out on the subtle, but incredibly important and occasionally crucial differences between three little horizontal lines: the hyphen - the En Dash – and the Em Dash — Jono explains hyphens for line breaks and compound terms, how usage can evolve into single words (e.g., wildlife, wellbeing), and wh...

Have you ever wondered what's happening on the exact opposite side of the world to you? Wherever you are on our planet, there's a good chance you'd need a snorkel. In this episode, we explore the concept of antipodes —the exact point on the opposite side of Earth from wherever you're standing. We discover why most antipodes end up in the ocean rather than on land and cover a whole host of fascinat...

When you want to measure something you take your ruler or tape measure and read off the length right? But when it comes to measuring the length of a coastline, things get a bit tricky and totally counter intuitive. 🌊 The science and maths of measuring wiggly coastlines reveal that the smaller the unit of measure, the longer the coastline becomes. Jono recounts the origins of this phenomenon from...

Have you ever wondered what the colours on the Olympic flag represent? The Olympic logo is a globally recognised brand and remarkably, it was designed over 100 years ago by the founder of the modern Olympic Games, Pierre de Coubertin . This time, we discuss the history and symbolism of this design icon ahead of the Winter Olympic Games in Milano Cortina , Italy. We find out about its representatio...

How big is that pile of books next to your bed? Tsundoku is a Japanese word for buying books and letting them pile up unread. It’s a familiar habit to book lovers everywhere — that growing stack of books you intend to read but haven’t yet. In this episode of Sketchplanations The Podcast , we explore why we buy books we don’t read, why unread books don’t always feel like a bad thing, and what this...

Do you know who your second cousins are or if you even have any? And what does "once removed" mean anyway? Tune in to this episode as we unravel the mysteries of family relations—which we figured would be particularly helpful at the festive time of year. We explore the subtleties of family trees, making our way to 'Second Cousins Once Removed'. We dig into the confusion around generational terms a...

Coined in the 1990s by Linda Stone , Continuous Partial Attention describes the state of being constantly connected; trying to do multiple things at once, which often leads to an ever-present, low-level form of stress. We explore how this phenomenon affects modern life, compare it to multitasking, and discuss both its positive and negative aspects. The podcast also highlights how technology has ex...

What's your life expectancy trade-off for enjoying a crispy bacon sandwich? 🥓 Sir David Spiegelhalter is a celebrated Professor of Statistics at the University of Cambridge; widely accepted as one of the UK's foremost statisticians. He explains the concepts of ' micromorts ' and ' microlives ' , which quantify risk and the impact of lifestyle choices on life expectancy. The discussion delves into...

This genius time management hack was conceived by Francesco Cirillo . The technique involves working for 25 minutes followed by a mandatory 5-minute break, repeating this cycle three to four times before taking a longer break. We share our personal attempts at using the method, explore the psychology behind productive work cycles, the importance of taking breaks and reflect on its effectiveness in...

In this episode, Jono meets one of his heroes, as we engage in a conversation with acclaimed author, illustrator and explainer, David Macaulay . We talk about David's journey from architecture to creating educational illustrations that make complex concepts understandable and engaging - and the Canal Lock is a great example of this from Jono's collection. We discuss the significance of sketching f...

When describing something with numerous adjectives (eg. the big brown dog, the heavy square steel door) there's a natural order we all instinctively follow as english speakers. I don't remember ever being taught it, nor would I be able to explain it to you, but my ear can definitely tell if someone gets it wrong! English adjectives follow a specific order. Who Knew?!? Well, there's one person for...

This time we discuss Jevons' Paradox , the counterintuitive concept that improvements in fuel efficiency can lead to increased overall fuel use. We explore the origin of this idea, dating back to 1865 by British economist William Stanley Jevons, and discuss its relevance today in areas such as car fuel efficiency, advances in battery technology, and even the proliferation of LED lighting in homes....

Do you like using interesting words in your conversations? We do. And there's one that's a tip top favourite... You're guaranteed* to learn loads of interesting words from this episode. Special guest Grant Snider - author, illustrator, poet (and orthodontist) talks about the illustration of interesting words, particularly obscure, outdated or esoteric ones. We kick off with a word both Jono and Gr...

As we return from our summer break we discuss various ways to instantly feel better - timely perhaps for the Big Back to Work / School / Normality of September. We explore eight emotions—anger, burnout, overthinking, anxiety, stress, sadness, impatience, and laziness—and suggest instant proactive remedies to each. We highly encourage you to try these out whenever you're feeling any of the emotions...

Here on the podcast, we love our exercise and we love our sleep so in this summer break, check-in mini-episode, we discuss the interconnectedness of exercise and sleep , citing Novak Djokovic's book ' Serve to Win ' as an influential source. While Tom shares his typical experience of staying active during holidays, Robbie bemoans the challenges of getting good sleep with young children, and Jono e...

This time we explore whether it is better to generally say 'yes' or 'no' in various situations, and how each choice can offer distinct rewards. The conversation is framed by a quote from improvisation expert Keith Johnston , which asserts, 'Yes Sayers are rewarded by adventure and No Sayers are rewarded by safety.' The hosts consider personal anecdotes, the impact of these attitudes on careers, so...

Have you ever found yourself spiralling uncontrollably downwards in the "awkwardness vortex"? 🤔 Tune in to our latest podcast episode where we chat with celebrated science journalist Melissa Dahl about conquering those cringe-worthy moments and how awkwardness might just be a sign of empathy! This sketch is exclusive to the Sketchplanations Book : Big Ideas, Little Pictures - so check that out if...

We discuss the Zanclean Megaflood, a massive flood event that filled the Mediterranean Sea in a remarkably short period. The episode dives into the geological events and evidence leading up to this flood, challenging the earlier gradualist theories and promoting a catastrophic model. We are joined by Mike Sowden, whose engaging Twitter thread about the Zanclean Megaflood reached over 10 million pe...

This time, we delve into the complexities of choosing the perfect gift. The discussion is framed around a Venn diagram Sketchplanation that identifies three key factors in gift selection: what the recipient actually likes, what you think they like, and what you think they ought to like. We share personal anecdotes about both successful and less successful gifts we've given and received, empha...