Looking Sideways: 10 Things
This week's selection of stuff that caught my interest.
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1. The other week I ran a poll on here asking whether the world needed another panel discussion podcast. The results were conclusively ‘Yes’ but in truth I’ve been thinking about doing something like for a while now.
So this coming Sunday, I am recording the first ever episode of Looking Sideways: Roundtable with my pals Jonathan Weaver (that’s me and Jon in Oregon way back in November 2019) and Lauren MacCallum. We’ll be discussing some of the action-sport-and-other-related-endeavours topics that have caught our eye that week, chatting to a couple of guests, and generally mixing things up a little.
These first episodes will be exclusively for paid subscribers - and we’re also going to discuss a topic suggested by readers and listeners! So either DM me with your ideas or leave a comment below and we’ll choose one to discuss.
2. If you read this week’s guest blog by Stop Oil Exploration Activist Calum Macintyre, this is also on topic. I found this conversation between economist (and ‘doughnut economics’ proponent) Kate Raworth, and ultimate centrist Dads and members of the political establishment Alistair Campbell and Rory Stewart, to be an extremely instructive (and at times depressing) listen.
3. Speaking of Calum’s blog, the fact that I put it behind the paywall sparked quite a debate on Instagram. I disagree strongly with some of the points being made about the value of what somebody like me does (basically: ‘I really want to read this so you should just make it free’), but on reflection I recognise that it would be useful for more people to read Calum’s message. So for this weekend only I’m dropping the paywall. Click the link above to have a gander, and if you find it interesting or thought-provoking please so share it.
4. Calum also drew my attention to this fascinating piece about how the Suffragettes used mountaineering and the outdoors to push their political message, and how this history has been erased over the years.
5. Proud friend alert! My close pal Les has been working on this project for years now, and despite being scuppered by the pandemic, the cost of living crisis and other obstacles, tickets are now on sale! Think of it as Secret Cinema for classic sporting events - in this case the classic Ali-Foreman fight from 1974. I went to the first one back in summer 2019 (a remake of the 1980 Borg-McEnroe Wimbledon final) and was totally blown away. More here.
6. Good on The North Face for supporting Pattie Gonna after their Summer of Pride campaign unwittingly became the latest battlefront in America’s increasingly batshit culture wars. More here.
7. Another 10 Things outing for the great Barney Ronay, one of my favourite writers in any genre. This is a really even-handed take on what City’s Treble means for football and elite sport, and what it says about our general direction of travel.
8. Rest in piece Cormac McCarthy. Amid all the tributes, I enjoyed this 1992 New York Times interview with a relaxed and gregarious McCarthy.
9. One of the more interesting developments in the years I’ve been running Looking Sideways has been the recent emergence of the podcast ‘industry’. These days there are magazines, award shows, specialist podcast production companies and all manner of occasionally self-aggrandising players involved in this nascent ecosystem.
Rightly or wrongly, I always have a bit of an inherent suspicion when this type of thing emerges seemingly fully-formed. It usually means somebody with a brutally keen commercial mind has spotted a chance to make money rather quickly (as the fees involved in entering any of the awards or shows would seem to confirm, which is one reason why I never bother entering them).
Anyway, with all the in mind, I thought this Open Letter to the Audio Industry, which criticises ‘the persistent lack of support for marginalised creators in the audio industry’, was worth sharing.
10. With Vice down the pan, what happens to something like Epically Later’d? Loved this interview with Patrick O’Dell, who I now want to interview for Looking Sideways.