The Tortoise with Brooke McAlary

Welcome to the second episode of this month’s Slow Experiment, all about daily creativity. The last week or so has been interesting for Brooke and Ben, and this episode sees them diving into the patterns they’ve noticed emerging and changes they’ve experienced, as well as the question of who we are creating for in our daily practice, and how that impacts the process. Brooke share...

It’s time for the new #slowexperiment, and for the month of May it’s all about daily creativity. In today’s episode Brooke and Ben spend some time chatting about what creativity means for them, before diving into some ways the experiment might look for you, what their plans are and how they think creativity relates to slow living. To kick off, the guys talk about the relationship...

Happy hostful! Today Brooke and Ben sit down to answer your burning questions, as well as update you on what’s been happening in their world, and the plans for the May Slow Experiment! It’s an epic episode, and the guys were excited to have the time to dive into the insightful questions you sent in. First up they reflect on their travels so far, and what they’ve learned about the...

It’s a podcast love-in today, as Brooke sits down with the awesome Jocelyn Glei, creator of the equally awesome podcast Hurry Slowly. Jocelyn’s podcast is also about slow living in a fast-paced world, but her guests tend to work in the extra-speedy realms of tech and entrepreneurialism, so their conversations often take place through the lens of work. This gives their chats a really re...

Want less mindless, more mindful? Join the club. Today Brooke chats to Dr Elise Bialylew, founder of Mindful in May and author of a brand new book, The Happiness Plan, about all things mindfulness, meditation and the science behind it. Coming from a background in psychiatry, as well as being a parent of a 2 year-old, Elise offers a blend of deep understanding of the science behind why mindfulness...

In the perfect follow-up to March’s Great Outdoors Slow Experiment, today Brooke chats with Florence Williams, author of The Nature Fix. Whether you’ve been reading the book or have never heard of it, you’re in for a treat. Florence is an epic researcher and communicator, and the studies and anecdotes she shares are both informative and inspiring. Kicking off, Florence shares her...

It’s the last episode for the Great Outdoors Slow Experiment, and this week Brooke and Ben look at the mental health benefits of spending time outside, as well as wrapping up the month and reflecting on their own experiences. Hint: Brooke’s mind has been blown, and Ben thinks he’ll stick to the habit. Given her experience with postnatal depression and anxiety in the past, Brooke...

Let’s get physical. Yep, we’re in week three of the Great Outdoors Slow Experiment, and this week Brooke and Ben are looking at a bunch of the physical benefits of spending time outside in nature. It’s been a pretty wondrous, awe-inspiring week outside for them, with quiet moments, play, some glorious snow and then even more glorious skiing. This week Brooke has really found hers...

Welcome to episode 229, and to the end of the second week of the Great Outdoors Slow Experiment! In today’s episode Brooke and Ben turn their attention to attention - the benefits of outside time for mental performance. There’s loads of research that shows how time spent in nature helps us concentrate more, be more creative, improve our memory and do better in work and study. Brooke hi...

We’re one week into the Great Outdoors experiment, and it’s off to an enjoyable start. In today’s episode, Brooke and Ben talk about how they’ve spent the last week getting out in nature, what they’ve noticed, as well as diving into some research around the emotional benefits of spending time outside. This week the guys have spent time outdoors both as a family and so...

Let the experimenting begin! Yep, the #slowhomeexperiment is back for 2018, kicking off this month and happening every second month hereafter. March is all about the great outdoors, and the experiment is to prioritise spending time outside every single day. Brooke and Ben are aiming for 60 minutes a day, but if you’d like to play along, find an amount of time that works for you and try stick...

In today’s episode Brooke chats to the delightful Kirsty Farrugia, founder of Feels Like Home professional organising, and co-host of the podcast The Art of Decluttering. This conversation put to bed a few misconceptions Brooke had about professional organisers, as Kirsty really brings warmth and vulnerability when talking about her job, and the full spectrum of relationships between stuff a...

Three-time guest Rachel Jonat of The Minimalist Mom is back! This week brings some real-talk to the topics of slow living as a family, as we catch up on the changes in Rachel and her family’s life since she was last on the show, as well as talk about her new book, The Joy of Doing Nothing . In episode 30, Rachel and her family had just moved to Vancouver from the Isle of Man, and she and Bro...

It’s good to be back! Welcome to the first new show of 2018, a week late and all the better for it (thanks for your patience with and understanding of the delay!). Today’s episode is a hostful, recorded all the way from the Canadian Rocky Mountains, and it sees Brooke and Ben catch up on everything that’s happened since they last recorded a podcast almost 2 months ago. First up t...

Hello, and welcome to the Slow Home Summer series! For 5 weeks over December and January we’ll be revisiting some of our favourite episodes from 2017, so we can walk the walk and slow down during the Christmas break. Also it turns out podcasts, just like fine wine, really do get better with age. Whether you missed them the first time around, or are having another listen, we hope you enjoy th...

Hello, and welcome to the Slow Home Summer series! For 5 weeks over December and January we’ll be revisiting some of our favourite episodes from 2017, so we can walk the walk and slow down during the Christmas break. Also it turns out podcasts, just like fine wine, really do get better with age. Whether you missed them the first time around, or are having another listen, we hope you enjoy th...

Hello, and welcome to the Slow Home Summer series! For 5 weeks over December and January we’ll be revisiting some of our favourite episodes from 2017, so we can walk the walk and slow down during the Christmas break. Also it turns out podcasts, just like fine wine, really do get better with age. Whether you missed them the first time around, or are having another listen, we hope you enjoy th...

Hello, and welcome to the Slow Home Summer series! For 5 weeks over December and January we’ll be revisiting some of our favourite episodes from 2017, so we can walk the walk and slow down during the Christmas break. Also it turns out podcasts, just like fine wine, really do get better with age. Whether you missed them the first time around, or are having another listen, we hope you enjoy th...

Hello, and welcome to the Slow Home Summer series! For 5 weeks over December and January we’ll be revisiting some of our favourite episodes from 2017, so we can walk the walk and slow down during the Christmas break. Also it turns out podcasts, just like fine wine, really do get better with age. Whether you missed them the first time around, or are having another listen, we hope you enjoy th...

It’s the last (new) episode of the year! Today’s hostful was going to be a “year-in-review” type affair, but Brooke is officially sick of talking about their plans, and so instead it’s a wrap up of Brooke and Ben’s favourite things from 2017!  There are mixed emotions in the McAlary house as they finish the school year and start to have that nostalgic appre...

Ben loves goals, Brooke doesn’t. Will they be able to find a way around this and continue in life, love and podcasts? You’ll have to listen to find out! Like florals to spring are goals and New Year’s resolutions to the end of the year. Today Brooke and Ben talk about their recent discovery that Ben is way more goal oriented than Brooke. Like a lot more. The nature of Ben’s...

In today’s episode Brooke talks to the awesome Cait Flanders, mindful money extraordinaire, author and slow living advocate. The last time Cait was on the show was way back in episode 22 in 2015, so the two had a bit to catch up on! Excitingly, Cait’s first book The Year Of Less is about to be released (on 16th January 2018). Brooke has read the book and absolutely loved it. At first g...

Slow by name, slow by nature is the topic for this Monday episode. After last week’s Facebook Live hostful and the end of the very first Live Life Simply online retreat, Brooke and Ben felt like they were hearing a lot of people come to the realisation that they’d been trying to rush their way to slow as quickly as possible, and that it wasn’t going to work. So they thought it wa...

Coming to you live from Facebook, this week’s hostful episode sees Brooke and Ben talk all things life updates, travel, 2018 plans and more. First big piece of news? They’ve sold their house! Exciting times, especially after a hectic few weeks that saw a couple of episodes missed. Brooke and Ben talk about this, and the fact that it really was a time of intense tilting (almost horizont...

It’s the 27 th of November, and if anyone listening is already on holidays, Brooke and Ben salute you. It’s one month til Christmas, and the craziness/silliness/festiveness has well and truly begun. This is the last episode in the Slow Holidays Monday series, and in the spirit of trying to find pockets of slow in these full and exciting weeks, today Brooke and Ben talk about the import...