The Just Checking In Podcast

In episode 335 of The Just Checking In Podcast we checked in with Darren Placid.  Darren has worked as a firefighter in the London Fire Brigade for 20 years. He applied in 2004 and successfully became a firefighter in 2005.  He is currently stationed at Romford Fire Station and completed a sponsored Hyrox on 5th December 2025 in full fire gear alongside his friend and colleague Carl to raise money...

In episode 334 of The Just Checking In Podcast we checked in with Mike Thompson. Mike is the Founder of two organisations, Paternity Fraud UK and the Falsely Accused Network.  Mike founded PFUK in July 2020 and then later set up FAN in May 2023.  FAN supports men who have been falsely accused of domestic abuse in the family court system and outside of it, and PFUK supports men and families who hav...

In episode 333 of The Just Checking In Podcast we checked back in with Scott Johnson.  Scott is the Founder and CEO of the Proper Blokes Club (PBC) C.I.C, a community organisation which provides walk and talk groups for men across London and, since we last checked in, outside of London too! We first checked in with Scott in JCIP #256 in August 2024, where we discussed the origins of PBC, divorce a...

In episode 332 of The Just Checking In Podcast we checked back in with George from TheTinMen. We first checked in with George in January 2024 in JCIP #223, where we covered a whole range of issues he covers on the platform, including: male domestic abuse victims, male suicide, working-class boys and boys more generally struggling in education, fatherlessness and sexual abuse in men’s prisons. In t...

In episode 331 of The Just Checking In Podcast we checked back in with Colm Brett.  Colm is now the Founder and CEO of Arctic Event Solutions, which provides towable refrigerated trailers for hire to the live events space, including concerts and festivals.  In this episode we discuss why he stepped away from the live events space full-time, building the business, and the freedom its given him in s...

In episode 330 of The Just Checking In Podcast we checked back in with journalist Ben Sixsmith. Ben currently works as Online Editor and podcast critic for The Critic magazine, and also has a Substack called The Zone. We first checked in with Ben in November 2022 in JCIP #159, where we discussed his journey into journalism, male stoicism and the pros and cons of meaning and its absence. We also di...

In episode 329 of The Just Checking In Podcast we checked in with Richard Campion. Richard is a Devon-based professional photographer, who specialises in wildlife photography. We came across his work through great friend of the pod and all-round legend William Jones-Warner who recently did a collaborative project with Richard capturing wild otters in the Isle of Mull in Scotland. Richard grew up i...

In episode 328 of The Just Checking In Podcast, we checked in with Declan Burley. Declan is a filmmaker, conservationist and wildlife camera operator. We came across Declan through his role in the incredible series on Apple TV, ‘The Wild Ones’, where he stars alongside former Royal Marines Commando Aldo Kane and Congolese cinematographer and cameraman Vianet Djenguet. Declan’s role in the show was...

In episode 327 of The Just Checking In Podcast we checked in with Tanyka Davson. Tanyka Davson is a Public Affairs professional and the Co-Founder of Cubbi, a platform built to support new and expecting parents with exclusive discounts from brands that truly understand the realities of family life. Tanyka founded the business alongside her sister Olivia in 2023, who became a mother herself that ye...

In episode 326 of The Just Checking In Podcast we checked back in with Nick Davis. Nick is a musician, actor and mental health advocate for addiction recovery. We first checked in with Nick all the way back in JCIP #51!In Nick’s Part 1, we discussed the work he did for Forward Leeds (FL), an addiction and recovery centre which provides support for adults, young people and families needing help wit...

In episode 325 of The Just Checking In Podcast we checked in with academic Immy Harrison. Immy is currently a PHD student and researcher into singlehood at the University of Swansea’s Evolutionary Psychology department, where she studies under the tutelage of friend of the podcast Dr Andrew George Thomas! Immy did her undergraduate degree completing a Bachelor of Arts in Anthropology & Archaeo...

In episode 324 of The Just Checking In Podcast we checked in with Dan Ascough. Dan works a firefighter for the London Fire Brigade. As part of his role, he is also chair of the employee support group on Neurodiversity, and runs the London section of the fire brigades union forum for disabled and neurodivergent members. Dan originally wanted to go into music as a kid, playing in bands and having a...

In episode 323 of The Just Checking In Podcast we checked in with Darren Lawrence. Darren is a qualified life coach and the Founder of Front Foot Coaching. In Darren’s words, 'Front Foot Coaching is about helping you to get onto the front foot’.Darren predominantly works with middle-aged men, a demographic which is often forgotten about in the mental health space. Darren’s journey didn’t star...

In episode 322 of The Just Checking In Podcast our Founder Freddie Cocker speaks about his diagnosis of ADHD in August 2025. Following on from his autism diagnosis in 2024, he now holds a dual diagnosis of AuDHD.In this episode he reflects on having this clarity at 31 years old, how he's used it to gain greater understanding and self-awareness about his mind, and moving forward alongside it i...

In episode 321 of The Just Checking In Podcast we checked in with Meg Skinner. Meg is a communications professional and currently works as Deputy Director of Communications at Barts Health NHS Trust, where our Founder Freddie worked in her team from December 2020 to August 2022. Barts manages five East London hospitals, including The Royal London, St Bartholomew’s, Newham University Hospital, Mile...

In episode 320 of The Just Checking In Podcast we checked in with Jordain Dawkins. JD, as he is known to his friends, is the co-founder and co-host of the ‘You Good Bro?’ Podcast, which he started with his childhood friend and journalist, Jahmal. Their podcast is relatively young, with their first episode published in October 2024, but they have already covered a range of issues including mental h...

In episode 319 of The Just Checking In Podcast we checked in with Caroline Roodhouse. Caroline is an Internal Communications professional, mother, mental health advocate and Founder of Daddy Blackbird Communications. Caroline was brought into the world of mental health advocacy when her husband Steve and the father of her two children, tragically took his own life on Monday 12 November 2018.Steve...

In this episode of Behind The Decks we checked in with Drum & Bass DJ and producer, DJ Flame Jade. Flame got into D&B when she was going to squat parties underage because she was too young to go to club nights and raves. From there, she began to listen to artists in the scene like Optical, Brocky, Mampi Swift, DJ Hype, Hive, Cause for Concern and Dillinger. In Flame’s music journey, we cha...

In episode 318 of The Just Checking In Podcast we checked back in with Canadian lawyer Eric Frydman. We first checked in with Eric in January 2024 in JCIP #222, which formed part of two episodes we did covering the Israel-Palestine conflict, with Eric providing the perspective from a Jewish perspective. Since that date, Eric founded the Canadian Jewish Lawyers Association in the summer of 2024, wh...

In episode 317 of The Just Checking In Podcast we checked back in with Russell Payne. Russ is the Founder of The Talking Tradesman (TTT) podcast and also a qualified painter and decorator. Since he started the podcast in November 2023, TTT aims to entertain, connect and raise mental health awareness for tradespeople throughout the UK.Since we first checked in, in JCIP #241, the podcast has gone fr...

In episode 316 of The Just Checking In Podcast we checked back in with Brian Kapuku. Brian Kapuku is the man behind ‘Read with Kapz’, a book review social media platform he runs, which has amassed over 33,000 followers on TikTok and over 41,000 followers on Instagram in just a year and a half, when he set it up in January 2024. We first checked in with Brian all the way back in July 2020, in JCIP...

In episode 315 of The Just Checking In Podcast we checked back in with George Mycock. George is the Founder of MyoMinds, a platform which aims to bring awareness of a form of BDD called Muscle Dysmorphia (MD), demystify mental health for exercisers and athletes and to create an understanding future for the exercising community. He is also currently finishing his PHD at the University of Worcester,...

In episode 314 of The Just Checking In Podcast we checked in with Loti Diangana-Nambombe. Loti works as Charity Lead for the Make Life Kind Foundation (MILK).He also works as Relationship Manager for MILK’s education programme, MILK Unbottled. MILK Unbottled partner with youth clubs, football clubs, community hubs, and local organisations across the UK to deliver powerful youth workshops and talks...

In episode 313 of The Just Checking In Podcast we checked back in with journalist Andy Hayward. We first checked in with Andy in February 2024 in JCIP #229, where we discussed a documentary he produced and directed about Putin’s Russia called ‘Warped by War: Inside Putin’s Russia’. We also discussed his conflict journalism career up to that point, work-life balance and how his family’s military ba...

In episode 312 of The Just Checking In Podcast we checked in with Neil Peters. Neil is the Founder of Nuthatch Consultants, a suicide prevention and consultancy which works with public health, charities and business to reduce suicide and improve mental wellbeing. As part of Nuthatch, Neil also runs Nuthatch Retreats. Nuthatch Retreats uses nature to support people’s wellbeing, creating opportuniti...