The Tortoise with Brooke McAlary

When we look around and see the environmental crises facing the world it can be easy to slip in to despair, as we wonder, “What difference can I make? I’m only one person.” In today’s episode we meet Georgi, who has made massive strides in changing the way she lives as an individual but is now looking at the bigger picture and wants to know, “What are some bigger thin...

In today’s episode we meet Nancy, who has recently moved from the UK to Kuala Lumpur with her family, and is afraid that her introversion, combined with her desire to live a ‘slow life’ is holding her back from making friends. Brooke discovers that she and Nancy share a lot of the same concerns, and they dive head-first in to why they both struggle with connection and what relati...

Surprise! We're popping in to your earholes on a Monday with a very special bonus episode featuring the utterly delightful Clare Bowditch - songwriter, actress, storyteller and author of one of the most powerful memoirs Brooke has ever read.  In this conversation Brooke and Clare talk about the stories we tell ourselves and why they matter, loss and grief, mental health and healing, learning...

Welcome to Season 4! As Brooke and Ben mentioned in the sneak peek episode a couple of weeks ago, this season sees a pretty significant shake-up to the podcast format and they’re excited to dive in to it with you. The season starts with a question from Kate, who wants to know whether slow living and some of its adjacent elements – mindfulness, self-care, noticing, increased peace and p...

Season 4 is nearly here, and this week Brooke and Ben thought they'd drop a sneaky little preview of what's to come.  They talk about the totally new format for Season 4 episodes, why they decided to make a change and what you can expect from them this season (lots of super relatable conversations and practical takeaways).  Ben and Brooke also discuss what life's been like over the past...

Unbelievable though it may seem, today's episode is the final poggie of Season 3. (Time flies when you're having fun!)  Before Brooke and Ben get in to today's episode and the outstanding listener questions that have been submitted throughout the season, they begin on a bittersweet note as they bid a very fond farewell to two Slow Home team members.  Once they wipe away their tears and (...

This season has been an exploration of slow living through a variety of different lenses, looking at what constitutes ‘slow’ from new perspectives. Today’s episode, the second-last of the season, is no different as Brooke chats with author and Japanologist Beth Kempton about slow living through the lens of Japanese culture. Or more specifically, through the lens of wabi sabi. Com...

You may know by now that the fashion industry is one of the leading planet polluters,  and you also may know that fast fashion (cheap, poorly made fashion that's created for very short-term wear) is a huge part of the problem.  One of the best solutions is to start buying second-hand clothes, but if you're a little clueless about how to start thrifting or if you feel intimidated every ti...

Often on the podcast we dance around the topic of technology - usually viewing it as something that gets in the way of our efforts to slow down and live a more mindful, sustainable life. But what if we embraced technology and viewed it as the greatest opportunity we have to change (or maybe even save) the world? In this week’s episode Brooke chats with Katie Patrick, an environmental enginee...

Is there a link between the rise in consumerism, the endless advertising messages that assault us thousands of times a day and the increase in body image issues? According to today’s guest, Kali Gray, the answer is a resounding yes.  Kali is a body confidence expert and a “non diet” dietician and in today’s episode she and Brooke discuss the the relationship between fo...

Today’s episode features the powerhouse that is Sheri Salata - creator of The Pillar Life.com and The Sheri and Nancy Show and author of The Beautiful No. Brooke was lucky enough to meet Sheri in person in LA during her book tour, and we’re thrilled we’ve finally had the opportunity to have her on the show. She and Brooke chat about her journey from executive producer of The Opra...

One question we get asked a lot at Slow Home HQ is how can we find our passion and make it our work. It’s something so many of us grapple with, which is why we’re so excited to have Blaire Palmer on the show today. Blaire is an ex-BBC journalist turned business owner, who under the moniker A Brilliant Gamble works to help people unpick the industrial-age conventions of work and find a...

Hello, and welcome to season 3! We‘re thrilled to be back, and even more thrilled to share today’s conversation with slow fashion expert and advocate, fibre artist, writer and crafter Katrina Rodabaugh. She and Brooke talk all things slow fashion: why Katrina got started, how her fashion-fast experiment became her lifestyle, the art of mending, creating systems and networks for thrifti...

Oh hello there! In this sneaky episode Brooke and Ben pop in with a mini-hostful and an update on what’s been happening over the past few weeks. Plus there's talk of what's on the horizon (lots of good stuff).   First of all they've got a huge thank you to give all our listeners for the understanding, encouragement and patience they've received as they took a wee break to tilt into...

We’re going out with a bang this week, ending season 2 with a hostful full to the brim with your amazing questions. It’s been a while between catch ups, and Brooke and Ben kick off by answering the question of the season – when are they coming home? Are they ever coming home? You’ll have to listen to find out! As well, they talk about everything from goals to their proudest...

Platonic sparks fly in today’s episode, when Brooke sits down with Meg Berryman of Beyond Being Well. Meg is a women’s coach, mum, yoga teacher, empowerment educator and fabulous no-BS human. We couldn’t wait to have her on the show to talk about her work and especially the link between making changes for ourselves and making changes for the collective, which is something Brooke...

Welcome to this week’s poggie! Today Brooke talks to zero-waste blogger and YouTuber Christine Liu of Simply By Christine. Christine is not only a great source of practical information in the low-waste world, she also talks about her experience in her previous job at Cisco where she was instrumental in organising the Green Team network. This initiative brought sustainability to the workplace...

Today Brooke shares her conversation with the delicious and delightful Rebecca Sullivan. The two first spoke on the podcast back in 2017, and since then Rebecca has published four (!!) books, with another on the way, and moved from an apartment in Adelaide to a closed loop eco-farm in the Clare Valley. There’s just a bit for the two to catch up on, so we thought it was about time! Rebecca re...

This week Brooke is joined by early-childhood educator April Hepokoski for a fascinating discussion about all things child-led and nature-based learning. April is the founder and teacher at The Little Barnyard Preschool in Duluth, Minnesota, where she centres learning around being outside in nature every single day. April also founded a zero-waste living group on her local community, where she sha...

This week’s Brooke sits down for a heartfelt discussion with Jojo Hogan: founder of the Slow Postpartum movement, yoga teacher, aromatherapist, massage therapist and doula. Jojo has been working with expectant mothers for many years, and now specialises as a postpartum doula, providing much needed support to mothers after giving birth. There are so many beautiful intersections between slow l...

This week we welcome back listener chats, as Brooke sits down to talk with Xan Holyoak. Xan is a listener of the show, a writer, a single parent and a slow living and nature loving woman. She first reached out to us after the nature experiment last year, and the more Brooke learned about her story, the more she wanted to share Xan’s wisdom with our wider community. So here we go! In today&rs...

Welcome to season 2 of the Slow Home Podcast! Today Brooke sits down with goals coach, co-founder of Rock Your Bliss and incredible public speaker/human Jacki Carr. Brooke did some work with Jacki last year before embarking on the Slow book tour and it had the most enormous impact on her time on the road. So she was determined to chat with Jacki this season, and especially at this time of year, as...

Welcome to the fifth and final episode of the Summer Series (/Winter Warmies!) For all of January, we’ve been bringing back the best of 2018, re-sharing some of our favourite episodes to keep you company on the beach (or the slopes!) Last but not least, this week is our episode with the awesome Jocelyn Glei, writer and creator of the podcast Hurry Slowly. Now seemed like the perfect time to...

Welcome to the fourth episode of the Summer Series (/Winter Warmies)! For all of January, we’ll be bringing back the best of 2018, re-sharing some of our favourite episodes to keep you company on the beach (or the slopes!) This week we’re heading back on the road, with Brooke’s conversation with friend of the show Tsh Oxenreider on the Slow Book Tour. This was a live recording at...

Welcome to the third episode of the Summer Series (Winter Warmies!) For all of January, we’ll be bringing back the best of 2018, re-sharing some of our favourite episodes to keep you company on the beach (or the slopes!) Today we’re highlighting one of the most-loved episodes of last year - when Brooke interviewed Ben about his slow living journey. What started out as a chance to turn...