The World is Storytelling

Back in the beautiful Mourne Mountains of County Down, I was lucky enough to hike up Slieve Binnian with the fantastic Lizzy Noone. Or at least I think it was Binnian. With the horizontal rain and mist it was difficult to tell. Lizzy is a forever curious clumsy flawed left-handed human being who loves art, theatre, music, people and life. She is a long time global citizenship educator (currently w...

Up on the relatively mucky Slieve Muck in the beautiful Mourne Mountains of County Down, I bumped into the inspirational Noah and Marcel who were out on a camping trip. We had a lovely spontaneous conversation in the shadow of the Mourne Wall, before they got to their Super Noodle dinner and I carried on my evening wander. Noah is a boat builder, helping to create innovative electric foiling boats...

In a different bog in County Westmeath, I'm on a garden bench with the wonderful Shivaun O'Casey for a chat about memory, nostalgia, storytelling, and book launches. Shivaun is the author of the book 'Next Year Will Be A Good One' - Life with Sean O'Casey, my family and theatre . Hers is a story of love and loss amidst the extraordinarity of a life dedicated to theatre. Buy Shi...

Back in County Westmeath, we are sat in an abandoned locomotive for a chat with the fantastic Kerstin Bergentz. Kerstin is an engineer-turned-geographer-turned-oceanographer who was made in Sweden but feels at home in the ocean. She is currently pursuing a PhD in sunny California, which involves spending time aboard research ships around the world and studying the physics of various ocean phenomen...

Today we're back in Lund, Sweden with Dr Violeta Caballero-Lopez for a trip into the world of birds, Phil Collins, and long haired rabbits. Violeta is a doctor in biology and studies the genetics behind migration in birds. She is of course a birdwatcher but also loves watercolours and playing sax. She dreams of studying birds in Africa as it has been a very neglected continent but harbours the mos...

Today we're in a snowy Söderåsens nationalpark for a crunchy ramble down memory lane with the fantastic Keir Quackenbush. Keir takes analogue photographs, throws frisbee golf discs, reads fiction, plays drums, and (was not bribed to say that he) misses the era when Ronni lived in Skåne. He also teaches junior high English. Be in touch with Ronni, with all your ideas and to invite him to perform in...

After a winter hibernation, the podcast is back with our appearance at Cabbage Fest 2026 in IKEA Gateshead, and a post performance recording with the fabulous Lucy Zwolinska from the Tyne Derwent Way (sat on a couch on the shop floor). Cabbage Fest would not have happened without the following people and organisations (in no particular order). Lyndsay from IKEA Gateshead , Nikki from Gateshead Foo...

We're still in the Lake District, and hunkering down on a wet afternoon at YHA Helvelyn, one of the many youth hostels run by that fantastic organisation. As the rain fell, I sat down with Amy McGuire, one of the amazing staff there. When she isn't in the hills, Amy is a Bicentenary Fellow in Geography at the University of Manchester, and is a passionate advocate of getting outside. Find out more...

Today I'm in the Lake District with the fabulous Nicole Peters. We ended up on a rainbow soaked, windy hike up Place Fell above Ullswater. Nicole is a Woodland Advisor at Tees Community Forest, where she helps grow new woodlands and connect people with nature across the Tees Valley in North East England. She was part of the team that delivered 70 hectares of new woodland in the forest’s first plan...

Today we're in County Dublin (and County Wicklow) for a woodland bathe in Coronation Wood, as well as a wet and foggy hike up Kippure. For this jaunt I am joined by the wise Oisín Ó Néill, ex solicitor, gaeilgeoir, and director of the Gaelic Woodland Project. The Gaelic Woodland Project is a Rewilding charity with a dual focus of preserving and enhancing native ecosystems and culture. Oisín is act...

Today we're in County Longford for a little wander up Carn Clonhugh (Corn Hill), and to have a relaxed chat in the sun with the lovely Luke Casserly. Luke is a multidisciplinary performance maker from Longford. His work weaves together ecological research, autobiography, sound art, and site, as a way of carving out space for new possibilities to emerge between live performance and physical landsca...

We're in County Armagh today for a hike up Sieve Gullion, and to record an episode of the podcast in a passage tomb with the fascinating Brinsley McNamara. Brinsley is a content creator, author, podcaster, and adventurer who documents the unique, interesting, and weird stories, places, and folk in Ireland. He’s got a social media channel called ‘Weird Ireland’ and the book and podcast have the sam...

Up into the foggy hills of Mayo we go. The weather may have been bleak, but climbing Croagh Patrick with the fabulous Aoibhinn was worth the freezing temperatures and the yellow weather warning. Aoibhinn is a Mayo native living and working in Australia. She's an adventurous soul with a love for the open road and is a fiend for a meandering conversation. Whether she’s tackling a hike or embracing t...

Headed back up the hills, and today we are in Galway up the gorgeous Knockma. It isn't the county top, but that will be for next time. This was purely for the very rocky seats at the top, as well as the fantastic (not at all rocky) conversation, with the awesome Shawna Scott. Shawna is the owner of SexSiopa.ie , a multi-award winning queer & female friendly online sex toy boutique. She has bee...

Headed back up the hills, and today we are in the bizarrely snowy Carlow Alps, as no one has ever called them before. We didn't make it to the top of Mt. Leinster, because of the thick snow, but I did have a fantastic afternoon with Cathy & Martin. Cathy Fitzgerald grew up in Aotearoa New Zealand and has been living in rural South East Ireland, the home of her Irish ancestors for several decad...

Headed back up the hills, and today we are in the misty uplands of Kildare with Professor Dr A Jamie Saris. Dr Saris is an Associate Professor in the Department of Anthropology, Maynooth University. He has been working for more than twenty years in medical and psychological anthropology in Ireland, North America, and parts of Africa, where he has researched and published on such diverse issues as...

Today in honour of April Fools, we are taking a break from hills and climbing to the peaks of comedy instead with the hilarious Curtis Raye. Curtis is a comedian from New Jersey and host of "A Comedy & Bluegrass Show About Strange Public Records." In 2020, he created "The Lonely Jukebox" show, where he used an app to play songs on a jukebox inside an empty pub that was shuttered by Covid. Nobo...

Today we are hiking up Lugnaquilla (925m) in County Wicklow, also known as the Mighty Lug. This bog-alicious adventure is with the fabulous Anna Sheehan. Anna is an equality and human rights law solicitor, working mainly in the areas of immigration, accommodation and access to services, education and employment. She is a music and nature lover, and spends her weekends out swimming in Seapoint or s...

Today we are hiking up Slieve na Calliagh, also known as the Loughcrew Cairns (276m) in County Meath, with the very wise Hans. This episode is slightly longer than usual, so feel free to listen in two separate sittings! Hans lives with his family in rural Westmeath in Ireland. There he works as an Author, Musician, and Community Connector. He translated the bestseller "The Art of Living" by Sharon...

Today we are hiking up Moylussa (532m) in County Clare, with the incredible Sinéad. A nature lover and adventurer living in Clare, she enjoys roaming the hills and sitting by an open fire. She also runs Conscious Connections , offering personal development workshops and retreats focused on mindful, healthy dating, relationships and authentic connection. Find out more from Sinéad here . To help the...

Welcome to episode one of season 4 of 'The World is Storytelling'. This time from the county tops of the island of Ireland. Today we are hiking up Mullaghmeen (258m) in County Westmeath, with the wise Torben, who loves fixing and riding bikes, growing and eating vegetables, and is currently on a very long cycle somewhere in the world. To help the podcast hike up more hills, please be in touch with...

The World is Storytelling podcast is back for some more outdoor based shenanigans, this time from the county tops of the island of Ireland. It's going to be enlightening, enjoyable, and hopefully not too expensive. Tune in next week for the first hill, Mullaghmeen in County Westmeath. It maybe the lowest county top, but it's a lovely adventure! Be in touch with ideas of who I should hike u...

It's the final episode of Season 3 with the fabulous Gerardo. Gerardo is a Venezuelan living in Canada, an ESG practitioner and an old friend of mine from living in the desert.  Tune in next week for the start of Season 4 of the podcast and look out for Ronni, support the podcast, order the book, and sponsor a virtual coffee ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠here⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Be part of the '1000 Coffees with Ronni' projec...

Join me in a back garden to chat with my old friend Ruby and Hugsy the dog ⁠ . Ruby is an amazing Dad, Husband, and Pizza Baker. It just happens to be his birthday on the day this comes out, so Happy Birthday Ruby. Many happy returns. If you're ever in North Manchester make sure to try his fantastic pizzas out! Find him on Instagram here .  Look out for Ronni, support the podcast, order the book,...

Join me in a stairwell, to tell stories about greening the planet with the fabulous Rob Greenfield ⁠ . Rob  is an award winning eco content creator and Senior Social Media Lead at Water Bear Network , a storytelling and impact-focused content platform.  He previously ran Earthtopia , one of TikTok & Instagram’s biggest eco communities, growing the channel from 0 to 500,000+ followers through c...