The Just Checking In Podcast

In episode 384 of The Just Checking In Podcast we checked in with Georgie Mumford. 

Georgie is a freelance journalist and commentator who has previously worked for Spiked magazine.

We came across her through her appearance on friend of the pod Elliot Bewick’s The Next Generation podcast. 

Georgie had aspirations to be a fiction writer and even spent a few years in a performing arts school.

When she was 16, the UK voted to leave the European Union in 2016. She wasn’t informed on the debate and her political curiosity was piqued as a r...

In episode 383 of The Just Checking In Podcast we checked in with Sam Maclean. 

Sam is a firefighter by day but also the Founder and host of The Lonely Chapter Podcast (TLCP).

TLCP bills itself as “a podcast for people doing okay on the surface, but still figuring life out.” 

Sam started the podcast in May 2024 because of his love for listening to podcasts but increasingly, as he was listening to them, he “wanted to be in the room and ask the next question”. 

Since launching it, he has done over 110 podcasts at...

In episode 382 of The Just Checking In Podcast we checked in with Ian Goodship. 

Ian is the CEO of an organisation called Man Time. 

Based in Stone in Staffordshire, Man Time provides a weekly safe space for men to talk, connect and support each other.

The organisation was founded in 2022, and Ian was initially a service user, before taking over the organisation in 2023/24. 

In this episode we first discuss Ian’s mental health journey, and his 30 year career in the Ambulance Service as a Paramedic. 

Throughout that career, he witnes...

In episode 381 of The Just Checking In Podcast we checked back in with Jide Ehizele.

Jide is a writer and the Founder of the SubStack South East London Psalms, where he writes about class, race, politics and faith.

Jide first came on in JCIP #252 in August 2024. 

In Part 1 we discussed a range of topics, including growing up in South London in the mid-2000s, navigating gang culture in his school and local area, his Christian faith, race and even a nostalgic chat about gaming sites like Miniclip. 

Since we last checked in...

In episode 380 of The Just Checking In Podcast we checked in with Luke Slater.

Luke is the Founder and CEO of Modern Tribes Collective C.I.C. and is a Wilderness Psychotherapist in training at time of recording. 

Before he was a would-be psychotherapist, Luke used to work in sales for luxury brands, but didn’t find fulfilment in it.

He went travelling for 3-4 years on and off, teaching English to make ends meet and fund his travels. However, the emergence of the Covid-19 pandemic cut his travels short and he had to...

In episode 379 of The Just Checking In Podcast we checked in with Hannah Stallard. 

Hannah is Head of Community for an organisation called Looseheadz, which combines the sport of rugby with mental health.

They started at the end of a bar in a rugby club, and their goal is to make this a conversation at the end of every rugby club bar in the world.

LooseHeadz uses the power of rugby to start conversations, tackle the stigma, and save lives.

Hannah joined the organisation in October 2024 and says she wouldn’t be...

In episode 378 of The Just Checking In Podcast we checked in with Conor Warren.

Conor is the Co-Founder and CEO of an organisation called Spark UK. 

Founded in 2020, Spark UK is a youth-led mental health charity that offers free mental health resources, campaigns, and support to empower young people across the UK.

Conor is also the Director of We Are Prysm, a Gen Z-led consultancy helping brands, charities and media producers connect authentically with the next generation.

Conor’s desire to co-found Spark UK came from his own lived experience of men...

In episode 377 of The Just Checking In Podcast we checked in with Danny Grady. 

Danny is part of Mandem Meetup Wolves (MMUW), the Wolverhampton branch of Mandem Meetup, a grassroots charity promoting, correcting and improving the conversation around men’s mental health and wellbeing.

Danny became part of MMUW in February 2024 when he went to his first Mandem Talking Circle. Now he is a facilitator of them.

He also runs the MMUW football team alongside friend of the pod Jamie Hall.

In this episode we first discuss Danny’s mental health journ...

In episode 376 of The Just Checking In Podcast we checked in with Jamie Hall.

Jamie is part of Mandem Meetup Wolves, the Wolverhampton branch of Mandem Meetup (MMU), a grassroots charity promoting, correcting and improving the conversation around men’s mental health and wellbeing.

Jamie became part of MMU Wolves (MMUW) in 2023 when he messaged the Founder of the Wolves branch, Christian if he could get involved. He went on his first hike with them in the same year and from there, the rest is history. 

He now runs the MMUW football team alo...

In episode 375 of The Just Checking In Podcast we checked in with Arthur Colquhoun. 

Arthur is the Founder of YES Club, an invite-only network for London’s mission-led, early-stage founders. They host intimate, highly curated in-person experiences built for depth, peer learning, and meaningful connection.

He is also the Founder’s Associate of The Fifth, who bill themselves as “a high-performance members club for ambitious professionals who work hard, value their health, and want to be part of a purpose-led community.”

The Fifth is being designed as an integrated hub combining focused workspace, wellness...

In episode 374 of The Just Checking In Podcast we checked in with Dr Rebekah Wanic.

Rebekah is an academic, leadership consultant, life coach and the Founder of ‘Vent To Reinvent’.

She is also the Founder of the SubStack ‘PsychSkeptics’.

We came across Rebekah through an article she wrote on a publication called Minding The Campus called ‘The Disappearing Male Student’ which friend of the pod Dr James Nuzzo shared.

In the article she talks about the disparity in student numbers between male and female students on US college campuses, where men now make up...

In episode 373 of The Just Checking In Podcast we checked in with Sarah Roberts. 

Sarah is a communications professional and has over 25 years of experience in global communications and business strategy.

She is currently Senior Managing Partner at PR agency Vane Percy & Roberts, which she co-founded, and is also Executive Director of Reckitt Global Hygiene Institute (RGHI).

We came across Sarah through a LinkedIn post she published after she attended the Women’s Business Forum at the Institute of Directors (IoD). In that post, she questioned the echo chamber nature of the event, how...

In episode 372 of The Just Checking In Podcast our Founder Freddie flew solo for a one-off episode investigating a men's mental health organisation we had previously been big supporters and champions of, Men's Sheds. 

We even interviewed former CEO of the UK Men’s Sheds Association, the body who oversee all Men's Sheds in the UK, Charlie Bethel in JCIP #249, in July 2024. 

Men’s Sheds are community-based, non-commercial spaces where men gather to socialise, share skills, and work on practical projects. Designed to reduce loneliness and combat social isolation, these workshops focus on building, repairing, and co...

In episode 371 of The Just Checking In Podcast we checked in with Joe Giles.

Joe is an artist and creates, in his words, intuitive abstract paintings rooted in emotional expression rather than planned composition.

We came across Joe through his interview on friend of the pod JD and his platform, ‘What’s On Your Mind?’.

Joe’s life story is not what you’d expect. He was born in Sussex in the South East of England. However, he was raised in a religious cult. 

The cult controlled every aspect of Joe and his fam...

In episode 370 of The Just Checking In Podcast we checked in with Carolyn Gorman. 

Carolyn currently works as a Fellow for an organisation called the Manhattan Institute. 

The Manhattan Institute is a non-profit, non-partisan think tank whose scholars and journalists are dedicated to advancing opportunity, individual liberty, and the rule of law in America and its great cities. 

They cover a range of policy issues including policing and public safety, housing, education, law, economics and more. 

In this episode we discuss Carolyn’s professional journey and her career up to thi...

In episode 369 of The Just Checking In Podcast we checked in with David Harper. 

David is a freelance journalist, presenter, producer and reporter.

David is currently host of LBC News’ Saturday Breakfast Show, and is a regular presenter of the BBC’s World Business Report.

Growing up in the small North Wales village of Penyfordd, David left his state comprehensive at 16 years old with very little qualifications and no idea what he wanted to do with his life.

In his words, he fell into community radio, when he got a job at a...

In episode 368 of The Just Checking In Podcast we checked back in with Sunil Jindal. 

Sunil is the former Co-Founder and Chief Product Officer at Magic AI, a fitness-technology company which produces a Fitness Mirror, completely powered by AI. 

Sunil and our Founder Freddie went to the same sixth-form college and have been friends for over 15 years.

We first checked in with Sunil in November 2023 in JCIP #207. We discussed his love of table tennis and founding the Ping Pong Society, work-life balance, the shyness he had as a child and how he overcame it...

In episode 367 of The Just Checking In Podcast we checked back in with friends of the pod Dean Corney and Jason Reeves. 

Dean is a firefighter in the London Fire Brigade who has worked in the service for over 20 years. 

Dean is also the Co-Founder of Walk & Talk 999, a men's walking group in the UK for any man in the emergency services to walk and talk about their mental health, if they want to, and be met with empathy, trust and understanding.

Dean first came on the pod in JCIP #203 and again in JC...

In episode 366 of The Just Checking In Podcast we checked back in with Jamie Dennis. 

Jamie Dennis is the Founder and CEO of Mandem Meet Up, a grassroots charity which promotes, corrects and improves the conversation around men’s mental health and wellbeing. They provide an open, inclusive community for all men, integrating a range of social, holistic and more ‘traditional’ forms of clinical support.

We first checked in with Jamie in JCIP #268 in December 2024, where we discussed MMU’s origins, his experience of being a survivor of abuse, social class, and a big turning point in...

In this episode of Behind The Decks we checked back in for a third time with Australian DJ and producer, Jafunk. 

Lachy was the very first special guest on Behind The Decks when we launched the series all the way back in June 2020! 

Lachy then came back on again in May 2023, and three years later he has joined the esteemed group of guests who have checked in for a hat trick of appearances!

Since we last checked in, Jafunk’s career has continued to go from strength to strength. At time of recording, he h...

In episode 365 of The Just Checking In Podcast we checked back in with academic Dr Emily Setty.

Emily is currently Associate Professor in Criminology at the University of Surrey. Emily has a particular focus on young people’s online and offline sexual behaviours and the evolving challenges of digital sexual cultures.

We first checked in with Emily in JCIP #210 in November 2023.

In that podcast we talked about her wider academic journey and a whole range of issues she’s passionate about, including: the fear of false allegations young boys have, breaking down the myth...

In episode 364 of The Just Checking In Podcast we checked in with Dr Sophie King-Hill.

Sophie is currently Associate Professor at the Health Services Management Centre at the University of Birmingham and has worked in academia since 2013. 

She published her latest book, ‘Reframing Masculinity for Young Men and Boys’ in 2025, and her areas of academic expertise are in masculinity and young men and boys, and children and young people and sexual behaviours. 

In this episode we discuss her academic journey, her working-class background and how that’s shaped her work and the issues she writ...

In episode 363 of The Just Checking In Podcast we checked in with Simon Whitmore.

Simon is part of an organisation called Spoke To A Bloke. 

Spoke To A Bloke is a men’s mental health charity, which was founded in Australia by three men called Scott, Paul and Matt after their friend Nick Dunn tragically took his own life in 2021. Before he did, he would organise an annual 25k men's mental health walk in the country.

After they did the first memorial ‘Nick’s Walk’ in 2022, Spoke To A Bloke was formed.

Simon c...

In episode 362 of The Just Checking In Podcast we checked in with Mick Rowe.

Mick is the Founder of Suicide Sucks C.I.C, a mental health organisation centred around suicide prevention, which aims to provide a safe space to talk about suicide, grief and mental health. 

Through Suicide Sucks, Mick published her first documentary as a filmmaker about her brother’s death from suicide in 1996, who was just 27 years old at the time. 

Suicide Sucks also has its own podcast, which Mick hosts from her camper van, and also puts on her own...

In episode 361 of The Just Checking In Podcast we checked in with Jenny Tomei. 

Jenny is the Founder and CEO of JenUp C.I.C. 

JenUp is a social enterprise specialising in training teachers on how to spot the early signs of an eating disorder. It also provides workshops for students on eating disorder awareness and body image.

Jenny has lived experience of eating disorders herself, when she developed anorexia when she was 19 years old. She struggled with the anorexia for over 10 years, and in her words, should have been admitted to hospital as...

In episode 360 of The Just Checking In Podcast we checked in with Tom Maberly.

Tom is now a decade into managing his own business, &Friends, a content studio servicing global clients with content strategy, creative, production and delivery. 

He is also CEO of a second business, Cavalry, a Contingent workforce management system, servicing marketing, creative and production agencies, and inhouse teams.

Tom founded &FRIENDS alongside two business partners, Matt and Julian. 

In 2018, Julian wanted to move his family to Australia as his wife is Australian, so Tom and Matt came together an...

In episode 359 of The Just Checking In Podcast we checked in with Kenny Bartonshaw. 

Kenny is the Founder and Director of Headspace FC C.I.C. 

Headspace FC is a weekly football group for adults (18+) who want to stay active, meet people, and take a break from the daily grind.

Their mantra is: Play. Connect. Support.

Based in Stoke-On-Trent in Staffordshire, Headspace FC began as a kickabout in April 2024 with Kenny and a group of 8-10 male friends who were either playing in veterans teams or hadn’t played in many year...

In episode 358 of The Just Checking In Podcast we checked in with Martyn James. 

Martyn is a freelance journalist, broadcaster, presenter and consumer rights expert. 

He has over two decades of experience working for the UK’s leading newspapers and broadcasters and at time of recording has done over 14,000 TV and radio appearances, conducting 15-20 a week.

His weekly newspaper columns feature in The Times, the Mirror and his syndicated column appears in over 100 newspapers and magazines around the UK, from The Scotsman to the Eastern Daily Press. 

He has been a gue...

In this episode of Behind The Mic we checked in with Tyler Shea. 

Tyler is a singer/songwriter, currently based in Cornwall and is a mutual friend of friend of the pod Lily Ward.

After writing his first album at the age of 14/15 years old, Tyler took the leap to become an artist in 2019 with his Tyler Shea project. 

Since then, he has released his debut EP, ‘Still Not Over You’ in 2025 and is looking to define his pop-based sound going forward. 

In this episode we discuss his music journey, growing up in a...

In episode 357 of The Just Checking In Podcast we checked in with Miles Spencer. 

Miles is a business leader and entrepreneur with over 30 years’ experience in the industry. 

He has started, built, and led three unique companies and ‘exited’ from them, which means a founder, owner, or investor has sold their stake in a company, effectively cashing out their investment.

Today, he is the Co-Founder and CEO of an AI company called Reflekta.

Reflekta is an AI-powered ‘digital legacy platform’ in the company’s words, and their goal is to help families prese...

In episode 356 of The Just Checking In Podcast we checked in with David Maywald. 

Born and raised in Australia where he resides today, David has worked in finance for over two decades as an investment professional, holding roles of Research Analyst and is a top-quartile Portfolio Manager.

He currently works as a governance specialist and holds a portfolio of board roles across the fields of health, education, families, active lifestyles, infrastructure, investment, and sustainability. 

He is also a father and the author of the book ‘The Relentless War on Masculinity: Does It Ever End...

In episode 355 of The Just Checking In Podcast our Founder Freddie flew solo to remember a very special woman who sadly died last year.

We interviewed a woman called Claire Johnson on JCIP #66 all the way back in October 2021, where we discussed her incredible life, from dating the lead singer of 1970s rock band Deep Purple, to working in the Police service during the Yorkshire Moor murders, to the London 2012 Olympics and finally, becoming a mental health advocate.

Prior to that, in JCIP #45 in July 2022, we checked in with Sam Thomas, a mental health advocate...

In episode 354 of The Just Checking In Podcast we checked in with Adam The Sartorial Gardener. 

Adam runs an Instagram account where, as the title suggests, he documents his life tending and working on his garden whilst looking very dapper and elegant at the same time. 

Adam also posts on the account to cherish the memory of his wife Evanne, who tragically died of brain cancer on April 29th 2025. 

Adam and Evanne met at university in Lancaster where he met her on the very first seminar he ever attended.

Evanne was ori...

In episode 353 of The Just Checking In Podcast we checked back in with academic, author and commentator Dr Ashley Frawley.

Ashley currently works as Senior Editor at Compact Magazine, as well as holding roles of sociologist and Visiting Researcher in the Centre for Parenting Culture Studies at the University of Kent, as well as Visiting Research Fellow at the MCC Brussels in Belgium.

We first checked in with Ashley in JCIP #253 in August 2024. 

In Ashley’s Part 1, we discussed her academic journey, the influence of Frank Furedi on her views and career, her cri...

In episode 352 of The Just Checking In Podcast we checked in with Tom Festa. 

We came across Tom through friend of the pod Mark Ferris as Tom was fundraising for Mark’s stepson Callum and his treatment for brain cancer through his ‘Race Around The World’ journey.

Initially starting it as a personal journey for himself, Tom came across Callum’s GoFundMe page. 

He didn’t know Callum or his family but after finding out about Callum’s love for education, as a teacher himself, he chose Callum's story to fundraise for.

In May 2025...

In episode 351 of The Just Checking In Podcast we checked in with Stephen Hall.

Stephen is a qualified therapist and a Member of the National Counselling & Psychotherapy Society, providing walk and talk as well as online therapy for his clients. 

Based in Cumbria, Stephen is also the Founder of Stand Tall Empower C.I.C, a social enterprise which organises events and activities outside in nature and helps men step out of survival mode and reconnect with themselves and others.

Prior to becoming a therapist, Stephen had a very different career in teaching, w...

In episode 350 of The Just Checking In Podcast we checked in with academic Dr James Nuzzo. 

James is an Exercise Scientist and Men's Health Researcher. 

He also runs his own SubStack called 'The Nuzzo Letter'.

In this episode we discuss his academic journey and how he got to where he is today, his academic cancellation from Edith Cowan University (ECU) in Australia, how it impacted his mental health and how he rebuilt his career after that point.

We also discuss why there is a life expectancy gap between men and women gl...

In episode 349 of The Just Checking In Podcast we checked in with Jessica Nguyen. 

Jess is an entrepreneur and the Founder of Oh Tuesdays! Microbakery. 

Based in Bristol, Oh Tuesdays was launched in August 2025 after Jess sat in a café on her way home from work and had a very expensive cookie and thought she could create one just as delicious but at a much more competitive cost! 

We came across Jess through her interview with friend of the pod JD on his platform ‘What’s On Your Mind?’, where she spoke about her journe...

In this episode of our Reel Stories series, we checked in with Jude Vause-Walsh. 

Jude is a voiceover actor and coach.

Jude’s career started out after she completed her university degree, where she began carving out an acting career. 

She landed some roles in small films and TV work and then she saw an advert looking for traffic and travel radio presenters. She applied and became a radio presenter for 15 years, working at Virgin Radio, Real Radio and Century Radio, in what is now known as Greatest Hits Radio. 

She mainl...

In episode 348 of The Just Checking In Podcast we checked in with Nick Isles. 

Nick is the Director of the Centre for Policy Research on Men and Boys (CPMRB).

The Centre was established in May 2025 and is a research organisation and charity dedicated to understanding and addressing issues that uniquely affect men and boys in the UK.

Their vision is a world where men and boys of all backgrounds can thrive in their families and communities, and one where the sexes can rise together by supporting each other.

CPRMB focus on s...