The Just Checking In Podcast

In this episode of Mind On The Game we checked back in with Charlie Roebuck. Charlie previously came on the podcast in JCIP #42 in June 2020 to discuss his cricketing journey, the mental health impact of long-term injuries, suicidality and self-harm. Three years later, Charlie has taken up a new sport in running and has used it to channel his emotions, including the grief of his grandfather and ra...

In episode 193 of The Just Checking In Podcast we checked in with Dr Rakib Ehsan. Rakib is an academic, commentator and the author of 'Beyond Grievance: What The Left Gets Wrong About Ethnic Minorities', which was published in June 2023.He is currently a columnist at Spiked magazine and a regular contributor for Mail Plus and The Telegraph. He has also written for other outlets including...

In episode 192 of The Just Checking In Podcast we checked in with Patrick Moore. Patrick is a sports journalist and has worked for rugby league team Huddersfield Giants and the BBC, the latter of which he is leaving for a new role at time of recording. In this episode we discuss his journey into sports journalism, work-life balance in sports journalism and working in a highly-pressurised environme...

In episode 191 of The Just Checking In Podcast we checked back in with Jacob George. Jacob works as an engineer and is a childhood friend of our Founder Freddie Cocker. He first came on the podcast three years ago in JCIP #23.In Part 1 of Jacob’s journey, we discussed his experience of anxiety, panic attacks and depression. We also discussed his experience of fatherhood, having become a dad when h...

In episode 190 of The Just Checking In Podcast we checked in with journalist Matt Graveling. Matt currently works freelance for a range of outlets including the BBC, predominantly on sports stories. In this episode we discuss how and why Matt got into journalism, his previous lives as a dogwalker, an NHS worker and packing boxes in a factory before he broke into journalism, fighting tooth and nail...

In episode 189 of The Just Checking In Podcast we checked in with Jennifer Jordan. Jennifer is a Freelance Digital PR Manager and lives with a female health condition called Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder(PMDD).PMDD is a rare form of Premenstrual Syndrome (PMS) which causes a range of emotional and physical symptoms every month during the week or two before a woman’s period. PMDD usually occurs d...

In episode 188 of The Just Checking In Podcast we checked in with sports journalist Bryn Law. Bryn has worked in sports media for 30 years. He spent 21 of those years at Sky Sports where he made his name as a reporter, commentator and presenter. Four years ago he left Sky Sports and has been working freelance ever since for a range of different outlets. He is also the author of two books: ‘Zombie...

In episode 187 of The Just Checking In Podcast we checked in with Alfie Fitzsimmons. Alfie is the Founder of Alfie's Squad, which is is a non-profit organisation working to help children bereaved by parental suicide. Alfie started this charity because when he was eight years old, in May 2017, Alfie tragically lost his father Keith to suicide. Initially, his mother Allison was worried about te...

In this episode of Behind The Decks we checked back in with UK producer and DJ, Snowdream. In Part 1 we talked to Elliot about music perfectionism culture, his bisexuality and the challenges and positives that has brought to his life. In Part 2 In this episode we discuss his first ever live DJ set at Just Checking In Live #4 (Take Two), his TikTok following he has built and balancing that new vent...

In episode 186 of The Just Checking In Podcast we checked in with writer Will Hayes. We came across Will through a response piece he wrote on the Centre for Male Psychology website entitled 'Why Men don’t write about Sex and Dating'. The original piece was published in The Guardian by journalist Imogen West-Knights entitled 'Why do hardly any straight men write about sex and dating?...

In episode 185 of The Just Checking In Podcast, we checked in with food entrepreneur Josh Storkey. Josh is the Founder and inventor of Stork Sauce, a range of hot sauces that can be used on a range of foods to inject flavour and excitement. Josh has always been intrigued by how fermentation can change and develop new flavours in food. During the Covid-19 period in the summer of 2020 and with a lot...

In episode 184 of The Just Checking In Podcast we checked in with Dr Joe Whittaker. Joe is a Lecturer in Cyber Threats at Swansea University’s Cyber Threats Research Centre, housed in their Law department. His PhD analysed the online behaviours of Islamic State terrorists in the USA from the years 2012-2018, conducted as a joint degree with Swansea University and Leiden University. He has also res...

This is Part 2 of personal trainer and mental health advocate James Roffey's story. In Part 2 we explore the origins of his eating disorder, the destructive behaviours and habits it made him adopt and the eight years he was trapped in its grip. We discuss why his sports psychologist was a massive influence on his recovery, why traditional therapy didn’t help him and how he successfully moved...

In episode 183 of The Just Checking In Podcast we checked in with personal trainer and mental health advocate, James Roffey. James brands himself as ‘The Mental Health Personal Trainer’. When James was in his 20s, he developed an eating disorder which was triggered by three key life events: being released by Charlton Athletic FC’s academy, failing a business studies exam when he was doing his AS l...

In this episode of Behind The Mic we checked in with Berlin-based House and R&B artist Fletchy Boy. Fletcher was born in New Zealand and moved to Berlin for a fresh start in music after he appeared on The X-Factor New Zealand when he was 17 years old. Since then, he has carved a new path in Berlin's electronic and live music scenes. In this episode we discuss how he’s tried to find balanc...

In episode 182 of The Just Checking In Podcast we checked back in with Founder of AC Milan platform SempreMilan Oli Fisher for a special reason. In April 2022 a Huddersfield Town fan called Daryl Hopson tragically died from liver cancer. Before he died, then-Huddersfield manager Carlos Corberan held up a shirt with his name on the back at the last home game of the season and offered his support to...

In this episode of Behind The Decks we checked back in with Jafunk. Lachy was the first DJ/producer that we interviewed on the series so we thought it fitting to get him back on to talk about his journey in the last three years since we checked in. In those three years he's moved away from Berlin back to Australia and now resides in Lisbon in Portugal. In this episode we discuss his continued...

In episode 181 of The Just Checking In Podcast we checked back in with Claudia Van-Nimwegen. Claudia is a mental health advocate, teacher and theatre artist. In Part 3 of her mental health journey we discuss an Eating Disorder (ED) which Claudia had previously been bottling up and suppressing for a long period of her life. In December 2022, the ED, the fibromyalgia (which Claudia had been diagnose...

In episode 180 of The Just Checking In Podcast, we checked in with Tunde Ogunsina. Tunde is the Founder and CEO of Forest Colard, a brand and influencer marketing agency that strives to help their clients connect with their target audience using real, authentic content, tailored to their unique needs whilst staying ahead of the curve. In this episode we discuss Tunde’s business journey, how he cam...

In episode 179 of The Just Checking In Podcast we checked in with Aaron Terrell. Aaron is a transman, co-host of the 'Transparency' podcast and Director of the Gender Dysphoria Alliance (GDA).In this episode we discuss Aaron’s transition from female-to-male presenting, how and why his experience of transitioning through testosterone changed his sexuality and his social transition. We dis...

In episode 178 of The Just Checking In Podcast we checked in with Torren Danowski. Torren is the Founder of 'Don’t Tread On Philly', a U.S. libertarian political organisation and the former Libertarian candidate for Mayor of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He has also transitioned and then detransitioned at two different stages of his life. In this episode we discuss his experience of anxiet...

In this episode of Behind The Mic, we checked in with Herman from UK Garage group, the Sakawah Boys. The group originally started making hip-hop beats but changed musical direction and have been making Garage music ever since. In this episode we discuss how the four boys met at university, starting out MC’ing and gained the confidence to start the group it's become today. We also discuss the...

In this episode of Behind The Mic we checked back in with east London band, See You At Home. In Part 1 Josh and Charlie talked about their experiences of anxiety, Josh’s tendency to ‘overcheck’ thing and the impact of Covid-19 as we recorded it in November 2020, just before we went into a second lockdown. In Part 2, for Josh we get an update from the band, why they had to shelve an entire album be...

In this episode of Reel Stories, we checked in with Heydon Prowse. Heydon is a is a writer, actor, producer and was one half of BBC Three show ‘The Revolution Will Be Televised’ (RWBT).He is now the Founder of production company Flying Shoe Films, where he has done advertising work for clients including Greenpeace, Heineken, Netflix, Oxfam, Jonathan Pie, Amnesty International, Sony, War Child and...

In this episode of Behind The Mic, we checked in with UK R&B artist JVSMINE.JVSMINE is a solo artist and also sings vocals in friends of the pod Rayowa. In this episode we discuss how Jasmine got into music and singing when she lived in Fiji before she moved to the UK as a young adult and the story of how she joined Rayowa. We discuss the very high highs and very big lows that comes with being...