Two and a Mic - The Social Podcast

Tanja sets the scene with her trip around southern Europe that takes in 2500 kms of coastline and untold riches in cultural sensations. It’s a trip from within that had been long since aching to find expression. This summer the desire became a reality. Let us not stop there however. At an event entitled Woman, Tanja is invited to present SensualTalk and in so doing she inspires her audience to wel...

Karin is back and in great form as she talks about one of her absolute favourite books from 19th century England. North and South, written by Elisabeth Gaskell, is a masterpiece of social, economic, political, religious and romantic storytelling. It charts the lives of mainly Margaret Hale, the Thorntons and the Higgins families through the turbulent times of the 1800s during the backlash against...

Julia is part of a dynamic and innovative digital publishing team that works on a number of different digital and online channels that bring new ideas to people directly through their favourite device. This normally means the smartphone. In this insightful first podcast with Julia we find out about her early experiences reading, how the power of Astrid Lindgren's characters have actually remained...

Anna is a mystery to me…literally, because I don’t know her. By the same token I am a complete stranger to her, yet she was so positive in coming on to my channel to talk about who she is, that her courage and confidence must be complimented. Moreover Anna is an open person. She is raw and powerful and a real voice that fits the real person that she embodies and represents. She is by origin Latvia...

In 2011 in Parma, Italy I met a Belgian-Italian who would become a friend and an inspiration. A man well-travelled, full of a sense of adventure and mystery. Ale is softly spoken, but one look into his eyes and you can see the passion than swirls around inside him. He is the tranquil volcano. In this first episode with Ale he talks about his intimate and moving experiences in Africa and recounts a...

Tanja is back and in top form, pushing thought and imagination to breaking points. What is Bachata Sensual? What does it mean? Where does it come from? Tanja shares her thoughts on the deeper meanings and senses fulfilled by the energy and combined flows of the dance and its practitioners. Much like her beloved dancing style, Tanja flows from challenging topic to challenging topic. Her passion for...

Vlad and Fritz are back and this time, for real. I cannot express how much I have missed meeting these two pillars of purpose and personality. I learn something from every sitting and I am always challenged to look at things from a different perspective. It is important to listen out to some of the thoughts expressed so as not to misunderstand the specific point, and yet it is always in the listen...

The Rime of the Ancient Mariner is a work of epic poetic storytelling art from Samuel Taylor Coleridge, first published in 1798. I first came across this poem through Iron Maiden and the mysticism of the song inspired me to seek out Coleridge and read more of his work. As I grew up watching pirate and seafaring movies among other old classics, the story of the mariner and the albatross painted a f...

Vladi and Fritz, undeterred and brimming with expert knowledge, return for a second session to enlighten me on the pitfalls and perils of people and culture in business. From setting up, to establishing a culture, to managing resources, training and development, quotas and diversity, the gents pack the hour or so with lots of thought provoking detail and recruiting experience. Where in part 1 they...

"Everybody's talking at me, I don't hear a word they're saying, only the echoes of my mind..." The profound meaning of these words, the delightful melody and the penetrating voice always send me into deep thought. "Skipping over the ocean like a stone..." What do we skip over? What do we seek to avoid? What's the worse that can happen? Some of my musings when all around us understanding and empath...

Karin begins by putting me straight regarding the work of PEN and where the difficult task of funding comes from. We then jump into the world of literature from so many perspectives; translation, interpretation, primary and secondary sources, poetry, love, empathy and pure writing craft. We look at the wealth of female authors that go back to the 19 century and how special the voice of diversity i...

"What does it mean to be feminine?" Tanja asks and the question is more complex than it might originally seem. There are so many personal and contextual influences that can swing thinking a number of different ways. Why would sexual acts define womanhood? Why would they define manhood? Why would a lack of these acts be definitive in any way? Is society best-placed to judge when so many of these to...

A few naïve thoughts from me and some clear analysis from Chris on where the political parties stand in the US. If the Dems are left wing for the Reps, it’s only because the Reps have moved so far to the right, they can no longer see the centre ground on the horizon. Though I am an amateur when discussing healthier eating, Chris knows his stuff, and I comfortably run off the reservation when we st...

PEN: Writers in Prison and Writers in Exile, the work that continues tirelessly in the background, as a mission to save writers from persecution, beatings and murder. There is such a financial cost to bear in providing scholarships and sponsoring those most in need. Yet these cases are brought around by humanitarian organisations working together and raising the profiles of writers who have chosen...

This poem, can never be told without a stream of tears. I fight them back as I type. The inhumanity captured by Siamanto in his poem would make even the stoniest of hearts crack. Today is the day of commemoration to the dead. I think of you collectively, my ancestors all, whether through blood, language, culture or simply our membership of the one human race that inhabits this planet. I grieve for...

On April 24th, 1915, the Ottoman government hanged 300 writers, poets, intellectuals and cultural leaders because they thought by doing so they would kill any hope the Armenians had of mounting any resistance. So when Karin talks about the power and the importance of writers, she not only does so from personal experience and personal passions, but because written history supports the very concept....

Alex lays it on the line, the bottom line, the only line these guys understand: football clubs, owned by greed, managed by greed and distorted by their greed! Fans? Ants! This was recorded before Chelsea FC announced their withdrawal, Alex and I are both hopeful that the other clubs will follow suit and issue a huge apology as a result. 00:05 Intro 1m 25 Profiles 7m 30 Devaluing the game 16m 20 Sh...

Sensual Talk is a process of self development inspired by real life experiences, feelings and thoughts developed throughout the unique life time of the creator, Tanja. Tanja talks about her career, her dreams and her passions and how they all meshed into identifying needs. She has empowered herself to explore these thoughts and sensations and has, to date, inspired 80 other ladies to walk this pat...

Vladi and Fritz, the recruitment connoisseurs, the human resources reformers, the people and culture kings...join me for an honest, straight up and straight forward exchange about their experiences of staffing start ups and managing the processes of hiring to firing in Berlin. We also move off script to talk about discrimination and cultural differences around the world. The guys don't pull any pu...

Karin has gone around the world and finally returned home. She is in the country of her birth, it's the late 1990s, armed with the freedom to express herself, fearless of the threat of deportation and ready to champion writers in prison and the liberty of words. Karin is powerful in her messaging, she is precise and measured. She has a feeling for both the subtleties of expression and the force of...

Energetic, spirited, to the point, charismatic and full of enlightened argument...par for the course one might expect. Constructive criticism, dealing with people, managing and keeping our self-discipline are just some of the topics we talk about in the build up to discussing gender equality and how to go about addressing the imbalance. I always learn so much from speaking with people I consider n...

In this episode Karin delves into the strings that pull her forward and inexorably towards a life where the concerns and safety of others take centre stage. There are however, as always, actors upon the stage who are not quite agreed upon the direction of the play. Even in altruism we may find ambition and competition. We learn of some of the tragedies of a re-unified Germany and how the harsh rea...

Rohwedder was killed by the Red Army Faction in Germany. A battle of east and west played out in the wake of a bullet. The Stay Behind Network...a relic of the second world war? A real means to ending potential communist incursions into western Europe? Some background to these completely unconnected events. Yet, there is always a connection between violent episodes, they are conjoined through the...

Chris brings his lively focus to the Premier League and the lack of diversity in management positions. We also reflect on that similar lack in the NBA and the NHL and also consider some other topical issues around the world in a highly energetic debate that has us hopping backwards and forwards over the pond! I welcome opinions of every kind so please come and find me on social media at: Instagram...

Karin continues to recount her tale and there are so many lines to read between it is like a dynamic 3D maze at times. From Cincinnati she goes to London in 1977 and a world of literature, politics and exile open up before her. Yet there is more to the burden, which makes this episode even more fascinating. Here is a woman not only fighting injustices and political ideologies but also demons far c...