Anna Jones: Why Home Is an Act of Care

Anna Jones is a cook, food writer, and one of the leading voices in modern vegetarian cooking. For Anna, making food for someone is the ultimate act of care.She began her career working alongside Jamie Oliver, before becoming one of Britain's best-loved food writers in her own right with bestsellers like A Modern Way to Eat and One: Pot, Pan, Planet.  Anna grew up in a close-knit family where food was central to everything and, for a shy child, cooking became a way to express herself. She also shares how losing close family friends in the Lockerbie air disaster instilled a lifelong instinct to be the dependable one.We explore motherhood, postnatal depression and what happens when caring for other people leaves too little room to care for yourself. This episode was recorded in Anna's Victorian House in Hackney.Join us over on Patreon to watch the full house tour.Patreon: http://patreon.com/HomingWithMattMore of Anna:Books - https://annajones.co.uk/booksWebsite - https://annajones.co.uk/Weekly newsletter - https://substack.com/@annajonesfoodInstagram - https://www.instagram.com/we_are_food/To hear more from us:Patreon: Watch exclusive home tours, https://www.patreon.com/HomingWithMattYouTube: Subscribe to our channel, Homing with MattInstagram: Follow for updates and announcements, @homingwithmattContact: Email us at [email protected] Gibberd’s book, A Modern Way to Live, is available here: https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/320176/a-modern-way-to-live-by-gibberd-matt/9780241480496Music by @simeonwalkermusicIdentity & design by @lena.winkler.creative.officeProduced by @podshoponline ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

Martha Beck is a sociologist, bestselling author and one of the world’s leading life coaches. Oprah Winfrey has called her ‘one of the smartest women I know.’Martha grew up in the Mormon community in Utah, in a home that was a source of shame for her and her siblings.Her childhood was one of profound anxiety and depression, and she’s written openly about the abuse she experienced from her father. Those traumatic experiences led to a lifelong search for safety – and what it really means to feel at home.In this conversation, Martha shares why beauty became a lifeline during the darkest periods of her life, how she learned to meditate despite finding it almost unbearable at first and why she believes our homes reflect our psychological state.These discussions are intended for general information and should not be considered medical, psychological or professional advice. If you have concerns about your health or wellbeing, please consult a qualified professional.Martha’s Work:Martha Beck, PhD, is a Harvard-trained sociologist, world-renowned coach and New York Times bestselling author. She has published nine non-fiction books, one novel, and more than 200 magazine articles.Inspired by the ideas in her latest book, Beyond Anxiety, this conversation explores how play can be a powerful antidote to anxious thinking. To hear more from us:Patreon: Watch exclusive home tours, HomingWithMattYouTube: Subscribe to our channel, Homing with MattInstagram: Follow for updates and announcements, @homingwithmattContact: Email us at [email protected] Gibberd’s book, A Modern Way to Live, is available here: https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/320176/a-modern-way-to-live-by-gibberd-matt/9780241480496Music by @simeonwalkermusicIdentity & design by @lena.winkler.creative.officeProduced by @podshoponline ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

Jinny Blom is one of Britain's leading landscape designers. She has created over 700 gardens – and each one begins, in some way, with a search for security.Jinny trained as a psychologist and psychotherapist, working for many years in mental health, before a prophetic dream prompted her to devote herself to her lifelong interest in natural landscapes and gardens.Since then, Jinny has created spaces that promote the relationship between nature and health – from her sky garden at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital to a healing garden she created with King Charles.In this conversation, Jinny speaks openly about a childhood marked by abandonment and abuse, and how those early experiences shaped the way she experiences architecture and landscape. We talk about the childhood hiding place that still influences her work today, the unusual rules she follows when designing a garden, and how creating beautiful landscapes became a way of making sense of a very difficult start in life.This episode was recorded in Jinny's converted sixteenth-century threshing barn in Oxford.Join us over on Patreon to watch the full home tour.Patreon: http://patreon.com/HomingWithMattJinny's Current Work:Jinny’s studio has projects across various continents as well as in the UK. Her most recent book ‘What Makes a Garden’ won Garden Book of the Year in 2024 published by Frances Lincoln/Quarto. The accompanying self-made podcast series launched in October 2023, with guests as varied as Tim Walker, Skye Gyngell and Brian Eno. The studio has won prestigious awards for large, completed estates, some of which appear in her new book.Jinny has launched a bespoke range of English ‘landscape colours’ designed by her specifically for use outside. She has teamed up with Dominic Myland, the owner of the family run paint maker and Royal Warrant holder Mylands. It is a unique plant-based formula for wood, metal and masonry.To hear more from us:Patreon: Watch exclusive home tours, https://www.patreon.com/HomingWithMattYouTube: Subscribe to our channel, Homing with MattInstagram: Follow for updates and announcements, @homingwithmattContact: Email us at [email protected] Gibberd’s book, A Modern Way to Live, is available here: https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/320176/a-modern-way-to-live-by-gibberd-matt/9780241480496Music by @simeonwalkermusicIdentity & design by @lena.winkler.creative.officeProduced by @podshoponline ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

Jackie Kay is an acclaimed poet and novelist, who was previously the national poet of Scotland – a role known as the Makar. She’s the author of Red Dust Road, a memoir that chronicles a twenty-year search for her birth parents.Jackie was adopted as a baby by a white Scottish couple and grew up in suburban Glasgow. Throughout her life, she's had to explore questions of identity, belonging and family – themes that run through some of the most celebrated writing of the past forty years.  In this conversation, Jackie reflects on how the love of her adoptive parents helped her navigate racism, what it means to feel at odds with your national identity, and whether it's ever possible to feel completely at home in yourself.These discussions are intended for general information and should not be considered medical, psychological or professional advice. If you have concerns about your health or wellbeing, please consult a qualified professional.Jackie Kay is an award-winning Scottish poet and author of Selected Poems 1991-2006, May Day and Red Dust Road.To hear more from us:Patreon: Watch exclusive home tours, HomingWithMattYouTube: Subscribe to our channel, Homing with MattInstagram: Follow for updates and announcements, @homingwithmattContact: Email us at [email protected] Gibberd’s book, A Modern Way to Live, is available here: https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/320176/a-modern-way-to-live-by-gibberd-matt/9780241480496Music by @simeonwalkermusicIdentity & design by @lena.winkler.creative.officeProduced by @podshoponline ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

Architecture critic and writer Phineas Harper believes that good design and heritage belong to all of us. Phin lives on Vanbrugh Park, a post-war council estate in Greenwich designed by Chamberlin, Powell and Bon, the architects behind the Barbican. It's a home that completely reflects Phin’s ethos: architecture doesn’t have to be fancy to enrich our lives.Phin is deeply woven into the fabric of the neighbourhood. Together with their neighbours, they've transformed neglected corners of the estate into gardens and trained vines up the old washing posts. Every March, they all come together for a celebration called "Unlocking", where they plant a tree and share some of Phin's homemade rhubarb ice cream. In this conversation, Phin reflects on growing up on a generic new-build estate, what it felt like to be an outsider and why they've become so passionate about repair. Phin also reflects on the end of their long-term relationship, and how that experience transformed their understanding of what home really means.This episode was filmed inside Phin Harper’s Greenwich Estate Flat.Join us over on Patreon to watch the full home tour.Patreon: http://patreon.com/HomingWithMattMore from Phin:Phineas Harper is a roving reporter for The Modern House and Inigo. Each month, they share a digital "postcard" that celebrates the "friendly, playful, warm, cosy, squishy and joyful" side of architecture. Follow Phin's escapades at https://www.youtube.com/@themodernhouse_films.To hear more from us:Patreon: Watch exclusive home tours, https://www.patreon.com/HomingWithMattYouTube: Subscribe to our channel, Homing with MattInstagram: Follow for updates and announcements, @homingwithmattContact: Email us at [email protected] Gibberd’s book, A Modern Way to Live, is available here: https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/320176/a-modern-way-to-live-by-gibberd-matt/9780241480496Music by @simeonwalkermusicIdentity & design by @lena.winkler.creative.officeProduced by @podshoponline ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

Does modern design shelter us, or is it cutting us off from the world? Architect Stefan Behling believes that many of today's buildings have turned us into what he calls "humans in captivity”. They keep the temperature constant, shut out the sounds and smells of the outside world, and misunderstand what it really means to be comfortable.  As a senior partner at Foster + Partners, Stefan has spent more than thirty years exploring sustainable architecture and human-centric design, working on projects ranging from Apple Park in California to experimental habitats for NASA. In this conversation, we explore what the science of the senses and evolutionary biology can teach us about creating spaces that genuinely support our wellbeing. We discuss why constant comfort isn't always good for us, what space travel reveals about our need for nature, and why design should prioritise the psychological over the physiological.These discussions are intended for general information and should not be considered medical, psychological or professional advice. If you have concerns about your health or wellbeing, please consult a qualified professional.To hear more from us:Patreon: Watch exclusive home tours, HomingWithMattYouTube: Subscribe to our channel, Homing with MattInstagram: Follow for updates and announcements, @homingwithmattContact: Email us at [email protected] Gibberd’s book, A Modern Way to Live, is available here: https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/320176/a-modern-way-to-live-by-gibberd-matt/9780241480496Music by @simeonwalkermusicIdentity & design by @lena.winkler.creative.officeProduced by @podshoponline ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

Sophie Hicks has helped fashion brands like Paul Smith, Yohji Yamamoto and Acne Studios translate their vision into built form.  But before becoming one of Britain's most respected architects, she was immersed in the world of fashion.She worked alongside Grace Coddington and Azzedine Alaïa, styled shoots for Vogue and Tatler, and became an iconic face of the early Eighties after appearing on the cover of i-D magazine in a portrait by David Bailey. In this conversation, we explore her childhood between London and the Sussex countryside, why she pivoted from fashion to architecture, and the story behind her austere personal style.We also discuss what makes a house feel calm, her belief that spaces should do as little as possible while meaning as much as possible, and why she's fascinated by the challenge of creating a hotel that feels like home.This episode was recorded in Sophie’s house in West London. A full tour of Sophie’s home is available to our Patreon community.Patreon: http://patreon.com/HomingWithMattContact Sophie:www.sophiehicks.comTo hear more from us:Patreon: Watch exclusive home tours, https://www.patreon.com/HomingWithMattYouTube: Subscribe to our channel, Homing with MattInstagram: Follow for updates and announcements, @homingwithmattContact: Email us at [email protected] Gibberd’s book, A Modern Way to Live, is available here: https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/320176/a-modern-way-to-live-by-gibberd-matt/9780241480496Music by @simeonwalkermusicIdentity & design by @lena.winkler.creative.officeProduced by @podshoponline ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

Loneliness, anxiety and a loss of belonging are among the defining crises of our time. Johann Hari believes they share a common cause.Johann is the author of Lost Connections and Stolen Focus – two of the most widely read books on mental health published in the last decade. He argues that depression and anxiety are often misunderstood: not simply as biological problems, but as signals that our modern environment is failing to meet some of our deepest psychological needs.In this episode of Homing, we discuss the human need for a tribe, how the attention crisis fractures our relationships, and the practical ways we can begin to rebuild connection.It’s a conversation about one of the defining questions of our time: why do so many of us feel like we don't belong – and how can we find our way home?These discussions are intended for general information and should not be considered medical, psychological or professional advice. If you have concerns about your health or wellbeing, please consult a qualified professional.Guest:www.johannhari.comTo hear more from us:Patreon: Watch exclusive home tours, HomingWithMattYouTube: Subscribe to our channel, Homing with MattInstagram: Follow for updates and announcements, @homingwithmattContact: Email us at [email protected] Gibberd’s book, A Modern Way to Live, is available here: https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/320176/a-modern-way-to-live-by-gibberd-matt/9780241480496Music by @simeonwalkermusicIdentity & design by @lena.winkler.creative.officeProduced by @podshoponline ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

Margot Henderson is one of Britain's most influential chefs, and a pioneer of “nose-to-tail” cooking. She's spent her career finding value in what others might disregard – a philosophy that extends far beyond the kitchen.Alongside her husband, Fergus Henderson, she's helped redefine the way we eat, with an approach that's simple, honest and rooted in ingredients rather than technique.While Fergus founded St. JOHN, Margot helped shape a generation of cooks through Rochelle Canteen, Arnold & Henderson and, more recently, The Three Horseshoes in Somerset. In this conversation, recorded in her home in Stockwell, Margot describes her childhood in New Zealand, where her mother introduced her to a world of French restaurants and a lifelong appetite for adventurous eating.We talk about the pull of London in the 1980s, the influence of The Face magazine, and the whirlwind romance that led to a lifelong partnership with Fergus.Margot also reflects on marriage, loyalty and care, as she discusses Fergus's Parkinson's diagnosis and the realities of growing older together.This episode of Homing was recorded inside Margot’s home in Stockwell.Join us over on Patreon to watch the full house tour.To hear more from us:Patreon: Watch exclusive home tours, https://www.patreon.com/HomingWithMattYouTube: Subscribe to our channel, Homing with MattInstagram: Follow for updates and announcements, @homingwithmattContact: Email us at [email protected] Gibberd’s book, A Modern Way to Live, is available here: https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/320176/a-modern-way-to-live-by-gibberd-matt/9780241480496Music by @simeonwalkermusicIdentity & design by @lena.winkler.creative.officeProduced by @podshoponline ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

Today's guest is psychotherapist Julia Samuel MBE, one of Britain's leading experts on grief and trauma.Julia has worked with hundreds of families navigating bereavement, including members of the Royal Family. She was a close friend of Diana, Princess of Wales, and supported Prince William and Prince Harry following Diana's death.In this conversation, we explore belonging and why some people never feel settled where they are, tracing it back to the role home plays in early life.Julia shares practical advice on how our homes can support healing – from the personal rituals that help us mourn, to why changing a home can sometimes be the most powerful way to regain a sense of agency after loss.These discussions are intended for general information and should not be considered medical, psychological or professional advice. If you have concerns about your health or wellbeing, please consult a qualified professional.Contact:Follow Julia on Instagram: @juliasamuelmbe for tips, tools, and conversations about navigating life’s challenges.For bereavement help, you can download the Grief Works AppIf you need help finding a therapist, visit: The Samuel Therapy PracticeTo hear more from us:Patreon: Watch exclusive home tours, HomingWithMatt YouTube: Subscribe to our channel, Homing with MattInstagram: Follow for updates and announcements, @homingwithmattContact: Email us at [email protected] Gibberd’s book, A Modern Way to Live, is available here: https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/320176/a-modern-way-to-live-by-gibberd-matt/9780241480496Music by @simeonwalkermusicIdentity & design by @lena.winkler.creative.officeProduced by @podshoponline ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★