Tobe

The Barrow Podcast

Society EN ↓ 58 episodes

A self-hating Boomer mum and her disgruntled boomerang son reunite to have the conversations they've been avoiding and utilise their combined insight into divorce, dysfunctional families, and mental illness to write a memoir together.

Author

Tobe

Category

Society

Podcast website

podcasters.spotify.com

Latest episode

Jul 8, 2026

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Episodes

The State of Aged Care | Mum & I discuss the final stages of her father’s life. 08.07.2026

With Mum’s father recently passing away, we decided to provide listeners with an update and some insight into what’s been happening behind the scenes. This episode is the last of 3 on my grandfather’s decline; the first 2 will remain behind the paywall on Substack, as they were a little raw and perhaps not appropriate for wide release. Thanks for listening! ☺️🙏 Don't forget—   Mum & I are...

BONUS READING | 'Florida' by Mavis Gallant 05.07.2026

I read to Mum the short story 'Florida' 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 are you waiting for? 🤷‍♀️📚🤷‍♂️  ✅ Exclusive readings from our memoir-in-progress 📖 ✅ Bonus episodes 🎙️ ✅ Field recordings 🎤 ✅ Subscriber-only blogs✍🏼 ✅ Acces...

Stepfamilies Aren’t Real | Cultural deprivation, social class, compartmentalisation, & access arrangements w/ strangers. 04.07.2026

Mum & I get into the nuances of my upbringing, failing to integrate with a stepfamily that was never defined. I discuss my mixed feelings and discomfort, reminiscing about a time that seems surreal in hindsight, as well as my anxieties over being replaced by someone else’s children. Thanks for listening! ☺️🙏 Don't forget—   Mum & I are on Substack. Become a subscriber today by going t...

Sex Stink | Abuse & neglect, victimhood, morality, & forgiveness. 27.06.2026

Mum & I continue our discussion of New York Times bestseller The Body Keeps the Score by Bessel Van Der Kolk, this time delving into childhood trauma, sexual development, sex and abuse, and the culture of mental health and medicalisation broadly. Thanks for listening! ☺️🙏 Don't forget—   Mum & I are on Substack. Become a subscriber today by going to thebarrowpod.substack.com . If you...

MEMOIR-IN-PROGRESS | 'Dances' & 'Props' 24.06.2026

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...

Abandonment Wounds | Male insecurity, how predators exploit fatherlessness, & repression. 20.06.2026

Mum & I continue our discussion of parenting & attunement, while I recollect the difficulties I've faced rising from my sense of abandonment. 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 mem...

The Body Keeps the Score | Attachment & Attunement 13.06.2026

Mum & I discuss New York Times bestseller The Body Keeps the Score by Bessel Van Der Kolk. In the first of 3 episodes about this book, we get into trauma & attachment theory, & parenting & attunement. 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 wa...

BONUS READING | 'From Cloud to Cloud' by Mavis Gallant 10.06.2026

I read to Mum the short story 'From Cloud to Cloud' 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 are you waiting for? 🤷‍♀️📚🤷‍♂️  ✅ Exclusive readings from our memoir-in-progress 📖 ✅ Bonus episodes 🎙️ ✅ Field recordings 🎤 ✅ Subscriber-only blogs...

First Chapter | A reading from the final draft of our memoir. 06.06.2026

Back from the short break, Mum & I sit down to reveal the first chapter from our memoir. 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...

GUEST EPISODE: Patrick Michael Finn on growing up in difficult places, the stories we need to write, and bipolar disorder. 31.05.2026

Patrick Michael Finn is the author of several books, including the short story collection From the Darkness Right Under Our Feet. He lives in Arizona where he teaches Creative Writing. We sat down to talk about growing up in difficult places, family, the stories some of us have to tell, and the ups and downs of living with mental illness. Thanks for listening! ☺️🙏 You can purchase From the Darkne...

GUEST EPISODE: Anna Koutsafti on ghosts, ghosting, the loneliness epidemic, SSRIs, and the sex lives of mussels. 24.05.2026

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...

GUEST EPISODE | Jack Norman on parenting, short story writing, and his new collection Sleep Capricorn. 16.05.2026

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...

Girl, Interrupted by Susanna Kaysen | Mental illness, gender, and our cultural obsession with mental health. 02.05.2026

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...

BONUS READING | '1933' by Mavis Gallant 26.04.2026

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...

MEMOIR-IN-PROGRESS | 'Appearances' & 'Russell' 25.04.2026

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...

This House of Grief by Helen Garner | Family annihilators and the precarity of access arrangements. 18.04.2026

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...

Access Arrangements | When children become effigies. 11.04.2026

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-...

Updates | Mum & I discuss the current state of our memoir, plus our favourite books from childhood. 04.04.2026

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? 🤷‍♀️📚🤷‍♂...

Divorce | Reconciling what "should" have been. 28.03.2026

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...

The Pitfalls of Progressivism | Homophobia, divorce, identity politics, history, & feminism. 21.03.2026

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&#...

Desertion | Men who abandon their families. 14.03.2026

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...

Karl Ove Knausgaard 07.03.2026

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...

Scorpios United 28.02.2026

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...

GUEST EPISODE | David Goodwin on masculinity, literary culture, dead end jobs, & trauma. 25.02.2026

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...

The Catastrophe Hour by Meghan Daum | Family, desire, & personal reflection. 21.02.2026

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...

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