The People's Countryside Environmental Debate Podcast

Welcome back to the People’s Countryside Environment Debate Podcast ,  the podcast that bravely asks, “What even counts as environmental anymore?”  Ever since the COVID lockdowns, you lovely people have been sending us two questions per episode, and in true professional fashion, we still refuse to look at them before hitting record. Sometimes your questions have absolutely nothing to do with the e...

Welcome back, dear listeners, to yet another episode of the show that refuses to evolve . William insists we’re living in a perpetual Groundhog Day loop, because, brace yourselves, the introduction is exactly the same every single time lately. Consistency or creative stagnation? Who can say. As always, you send in two questions per episode, and in our ongoing commitment to professionalism, we don’...

No, we don’t prepare for the questions you the listener send in, we don’t even read them before recording. Our only real prep has been the well over 600 episodes in our back catalogue. We’re not experts, but we talk freely and honestly, as people often do when faced with important issues unexpectedly. The first listener question for today’s episode comes from Kev, St George’s, Bermuda - “Can we ev...

When we first started The People's Countryside Project, it was all about people working in the countryside. We made films, took photographs, wrote articles, and eventually developed this podcast. Then COVID hit and you, the listeners, started sending in questions. That’s really when the format stuck.  Since COVID we’ve answered two listener questions an episode.  We don't see the questions...

Listeners send in questions we don’t see until we hit record. We’re not experts, just curious people willing to dive into topics cold, something we rarely make time for. James from Ecclefechan, Scotland set us the first question today - “Why do we age?” William argues we age because our cells replicate poorly, while Stuart sees aging as damage from external forces rather than time itself.  William...

We’re back with Stuart ‘The Wildman’ Mabbutt and William Mankelow, the latter who, to be clear, absolutely was not ready for the recording to start, but the big red button was pressed and now he has to pretend he was. As always, we’ve got two listener questions you lot send in. We don’t see them before we hit record, because apparently we enjoy chaos. We do try to drag every question back to the e...

If you’re looking for the experts, you may be in the wrong place. This week, Stuart “The Wildman” Mabbutt and William Mankelow dive headfirst into two BIG listener questions’ that ask whether we are putting too much faith in the systems around us. First up, Paula from Norfolk, England asks: “I’m seeing companies are being advised to keep hard copies of records and not just digital. We’re being tol...

Thanks very much for joining us for this episode of the People’s Countryside Environmental Debate Podcast. We answer listener questions that we’ve not seen before we press record, approaching each one cold.  Well that is usually what happens! The recording of this episode was somehow lost. William is wondering if it is down the back of the sofa, but in any case we’ve had to record it again.  We’re...

Welcome back to the podcast where you supply the questions, and we bravely refuse to look at them before hitting record. Truly, we like to live on the edge. Each episode, we attempt , with varying degrees of success, to bring an environmental twist to whatever you throw at us. Sometimes it fits beautifully, sometimes it’s like trying to compost a bowling ball. And when the stars align, we even sug...

Welcome to our learning‑led discussion series, where William Mankelow, Stuart “The Wildman” Mabbutt, and you—the audience—shape the conversation together. Your questions arrive unopened, and we explore them in real time, discovering the topic at the same moment you do. We don’t present ourselves as definitive authorities. Instead, we approach each question as curious learners, ready to examine ide...

We’re recording this episode at the very beginning of January, our first session after the New Year, and yet it does not feel new at all. In this podcast, listeners send in questions that we do not see before we press record, and we answer them cold, with no preparation. Hopefully that makes us relatable, because life often presents us with difficult questions at unexpected moments.  Our first lis...

Surely you have something better to do with your life, than listening to this podcast? There must be something else you could be doing, right now? Perhaps you have some paint to watch dry? No? Then let’s dive into today’s episode of The People’s Countryside Environmental Debate Podcast. We are not the go to experts. We are just two regular guys exploring big issues cold, with every conversation st...

Listeners fling questions at us and we heroically read them cold on air. Preparation? Absolutely not. But after 600‑plus episodes, we’ve basically earned a PhD in winging it. Kholoud, Palestinian Refugee living in Long Eaton, England - “Should an individual be considered antisemitic just by disagreeing with the state of Israel?" Stuart bravely points out the shocking revelation that a governm...

There's a Yank invasion on the People's Countryside Environmental Debate Podcast, with two American listeners sending in questions for us to discuss.  We’re in the middle of January 2026, yet it feels much the same as 2025. We talked in a previous episode about time and the way calendars give us the sense of a fresh start, but in reality nothing changes unless we do. A new year does not cr...

Thanks very much for joining us for this episode of the People’s Countryside Environmental Debate Podcast. We answer listener questions that we’ve not seen before we press record, approaching each one cold. We’re not experts, but we talk freely and honestly, as people often do when faced with important issues unexpectedly. The first listener question in this episode comes from Andrew in Bradford,...

You have found our first episode of 2026, well done! This is the podcast where there are no scripts, no prep, just two guys, Stuart ‘The Wildman’ Mabbutt and William Mankelow, who are willing to approach the questions sent in by you the listener. They aren’t afraid of talking about stuff cold that they've never necessarily explored before. The first listener question for this episode comes fro...

On this New Year’s Day special from The Peoples Countryside Environmental Debate Podcast we want to say how grateful we are for your support, your voices, and your commitment. What do you make of this discussion? Do you have a question that you'd like us to discuss? Let us know by sending an email to ⁠ thepeoplescountryside@gmail.com Sign the Petition - Improve The Oxfordshire Countryside Acce...

You send the questions; we discuss them, highlight the environmental insights, and share practical takeaways.  John, from Charlbury, Oxfordshire, England sets today's initial question - “We’re fishing our oceans to death. Where's the business sense in that? Would we then become vegan and vegetarian?” Your co-hosts feel industrial fleets and small-scale fishers face the same shrinking seas....

It's a Merry Christmas to you from Stuart ‘The Wildman’ Mabbutt and William Mankelow, the co-hosts of The People’s Countryside Environmental Debate Podcast! Whether you’re surrounded by family, friends, or just a strong cup of something warming, we hope the day brings a moment of calm, laughter, or at least decent food. Whether you celebrate or not, whether today’s loud or quiet, busy or bliss...

Digital IDs and homophobia. Two huge topics co-hosts Stuart ‘The Wildman’ Mabbutt and William Mankelow have attempted to tackle in this episode of The People’s Countryside Environmental Debate Podcast, the podcast where you, the listeners, send in questions for us to discuss. Stuart and William don’t see the questions before recording and they usually try to relate them back to nature, the country...

Our listeners send in thoughtful questions, and we dive into them without preparation or prior review. This way, our responses stay spontaneous and authentic. Today’s questions come from Bradford and Port Carlisle—two communities in Northern England with rich histories and unique local perspectives. Andrew, from Bradford, England sent us this - “Are we too focused on Net Zero etc? Why don’t we dri...

We’re a veteran podcast, two surprise listener questions per episode, zero prep—cold takes, hot chaos. Ryszard, from Bydgoszcz, Poland offers up the first question - ”How did life evolve from nonliving matter?” Stuart feels after eons of cosmic boredom, water shows up, algae crash the party, oxygen gatecrashes, and then life takes a billion-year nap before evolution finally stumbles in. He squints...

Trigger warning, this episode includes a discussion around a sensitive topic that you might find distressing. Listener discretion is very much encouraged. Criticism of the Catholic church, the concept of existence, and whether infinity is real. They are the three big topics for this episode of The People’s Countryside Environmental Debate Podcast, the place where you the listener send in questions...

Should we shift to electric in all motor sports? Are we too sensitive these days?  These are the two big questions your co-hosts Stuart ‘The Wildman’ Mabbutt and William Mankelow discuss in today’s episode of The People’s Countryside Environmental Debate Podcast.  On this podcast we never see the questions before we press record. They are presented to us on the spot, often challenging and always u...

We sit here bravely tackling listener questions hurled at us from every corner of the globe — completely unprepared and slightly afraid. We don’t see them until we hit record, which explains a lot. As for Grzegorz’s name, William took one look and noped out like a man dodging a spelling bee in Polish. He respects names too much to turn them into interpretive dance. Paul, from Queensland, Australia...