Talking with the Hippies

This is Episode 2 of my chat with Doctor Larch Maxey. In the first episode we talked about Larch's prison experiences. In this episode we look more closely at the philosophy of Direct Action, and also look into the actual reality of living for 27 days in a tunnel. We recorded this episode Live, at the wonderful 'Buckfastleigh mic' on September 27th - apologies for the delay in putting it out there...

In this episode I talk to Doctor Larch Maxey. I met Larch just after he had been released from gaol. He was sentenced to three years for taking part in a Just Stop Oil protest. We had great chat. It went on a long time, and even then there was clearly more that needed to be said. Part two is scheduled to be recorded 'Live' at Buckfastleigh MIC on September 27th. You are of course very welcome to c...

Fifty or so years ago, on the London whole food scene, I heard the name Greg Sams. Two weeks ago up he pops on my FB page. And then he agrees to chat with me for Talking with the Hippies. What a lovely bloke, and what a great chat. Hope you enjoy it as much as I did. To read Greg's essay, 'Could Flower Power Have Saved the World', and to check out his books, go to https://www.gregorysa...

In this episode I'm back talking with my good friend Andy Cox about conspiracy theories, or what some people know of as the truth. Some of the conversation is pretty far out, and I know some people find some of this stuff quite controversial, but I'm putting it out there anyway, because, well, why shouldn't it be heard. It's an area of life that I don't spend much time thinking about, but I will s...

In this episode of Talking with the Hippies I chat with Jackie Juno. We talk about so many things. I don't really know what to say about Jackie. It almost feels wrong to describe her, because there's just so much going on there. I don't want to say she is one thing over another because she is so many things, but most of all she is a lovely person. Jackie and I are so different - Love i...

In this episode I speak with Paul Todd who I met on a beach in Goa in 1971. We chat about some of the adventures we had on our way there and back. Plus of course, we talk about India. What a place, and what an experience to go through. I think we do actually manage to capture some of the feeling of those glorious days. I hope you agree. Of course it wasn't all fun - we both came back in a pret...

In this episode I am chatting with Andy Cox, who I first met over 50 years ago. Andy travelled the Hippie Trail well before it was even a trail. He is one of the originals, and still, to this day, he remains as original as ever. I just loved making this recording - we really did just let it rip -and that is pretty much what you get to hear. Let me know what you think - we can do more. The musician...

Two old Hippies, one American and one English, talk about the latest developments over there in the good old US of A. This is the second podcast that I have done with Paul. You may remember the first episode where we talked about living in Haight Ashbury in the late 60s. This one does get a bit into the politics in places - it's kind of inevitable when President Trump is the subject. Stick with it...

I'm back chatting with Sam. We are both big fans of Zappa and Beefheart and my plan for this episode was that we would talk about them and their music. We started out there, but we quickly moved on. Take a listen. There's one line in there that really blew my mind. We were talking about being creative, and I've never thought about this before, but one second something's not there,...

I'll come straight out with it - we go well off the tracks in this one, but I've had to leave the title as it is because we already have a Part One. We talk about Hippy slang - What the Indians thought of the Hippies - A bit more about Glastonbury - Where did the Hippies come from - Now and the future - and other stuff. I hope you enjoy listening to this latest episode of `Talking with the Hippies...

In this episode I am talking with Rob Taylor. Rob got in touch with me in connection with research for his PhD project at Oxford University. Normally I get to ask the questions, but in this episode my guest was the host and I got to relax and come up with the answers. This is a two part podcast episode. Subjects include, Hippy Politics, Psychedelics, The Hippie Trail, India, Books on the scene, Hi...

In this episode I chat with Sam Dodson. Sam is an artist - check out the episode art, and was once a musician in a band - check out the music - Loop Guru 1996. I would say, definitely more than me, Sam has stuck to his creative principles. I'm paraphrasing here but it roughly goes along the lines of 'Don't follow the money, and if you need to eat.... well, something usually turns up'. We chat abou...

Talking with the Hippies went live for this one, and what a great night it was. Beautiful music, Beautiful audience, and my son Josh as a guest. We talk about what it was like to grow up on Dartmoor with two hippies for parents. We also talk about Josh's career as a comedian, and we also work in a few bits and pieces about life in general. My thanks to Rose Ellis for helping to put this show toget...

In this episode I'm back talking to my friend Alan Clayson about growing up in the Sixties, with the Beatles - obviously not with the actual Beatles, but surrounded by the culture that they were a huge part of. This is by no means a comprehensive account of those days, but hopefully it might give you a flavout of those halcyon days.

In this episode I talk to Georgina Grant, who grew up as a mixed-race child in the 1960s. Since I was very young I've always felt very sensitive about race issues. Unbelievably, this is the first time I've ever actually sat down with someone of a so-called different race and talked about it. I'm really grateful to Georgi for agreeing to do this recording with me - it means a lot. How is racism eve...

In this episode of Talking with the Hippies I chat with Oliver Bosence. Olly's father was a teacher at Dartington Hall School in the 1960s, and Olly was a student there at the same time. I was very keen to find out how he feels now about the progressive education that he received there. We cover a lot of interesting stuff, including many of Olly's memories of what life on the estate was like at th...

In this episode I talk to my old friend Mark Rashid. Mark has many strings to his bow. He is an author, a luthier, a horse trainer, a philosopher, and most important of all, a nice bloke. We do start off chatting a little bit about horses, but hang in there - it's all very relevant to what comes next. I hope that you enjoy the listen - I certainly enjoyed putting it together.

In this episode of Talking with the Hippies I chat to Alan Clayson, about his new book, Get Yer 'Air Cut. I always enjoy making my podcasts, but for me, talking with Alan felt like visiting old times. Let's just say I'm pretty sure we would have been good mates had we met up in the 60s, Give it a listen - it might just be a classic episode! By the way, the music is courtesy of Alan's band, Clayson...

In this episode I get to talk with smallholder and back to the land campaigner, Chris Smage. Chris has written a couple of excellent books, A Small Farm Future, and, Saying NO to a Farm-Free Future. The titles say it all really. I enjoyed talking with Chris. I agreed with almost everything he said - sorting out our food production and looking after the land absolutely has to be central to our well...

In this episode I chat with Robert Norris, an old hippy from California. In the 60s we grew up in the shadow of the Viet Nam war. Thankfully, Harold Wilson, the UK Prime Minister at the time, refused to get involved, so in the UK we were spared the draft. But for American kids it was serious life and death stuff. 58,220 Americans lost their lives in a war which history tells us was fought largely...

All of life continually searches for comfort. And people are no different. We all have ideas of how we can individually make our own lives more comfortable, and some of us never stop wondering if the human race can one day collectively find a better way to live. I'll be honest, I'm not sure about that myself, but my doubts don't stop me dreaming. Hope that you enjoy Part 2, there's...

Old meets Young - Part 2 In this episode of Talking with the Hippies, I'm chatting with Iris about living in Tipi Valley. It just does me so much good to see that the dream is alive and well, and in good hands. If you enjoy listening to Talking with the Hippies, please like, share, review and all that stuff. And also, if you have stories, thoughts and so on that you would like to share, please...

This is one of the conversations I had when I recently visited Tipi Valley. I'm chatting with Axle who is the guy who first recommended that I visit. We talk about communities, anarchism, politics and so much more. I don't really know where to start when it comes to telling you about this place. It has profoundly changed so much about the way I look at life. To me it slightly felt how it f...

In this episode I chat with Mark. We have a lot of common interests including the history and philosophy around alternative living from the 60s onwards. Mark talks openly about his involvement with the hard drugs scene - a scene that I know very little about. A big thank you for this - clearly not the easiest thing to discuss. We also talk about what happened to the hippie scene after the 60s - so...

Part Two of my chat with Miranda and Simeon.  In this episode we talk about what it is like to bring up a family outside the state education system. I do accept that some people do find the subject of Home Education quite contentious. I want to make clear that I am completely aware that loads of kids are perfectly ok within the school system, and so are their parents, and that is just fine.&n...