Looking Sideways: 10 Things
Creative fallow periods, beautiful late night radio, and the best food writing on Substack.
1. Every now and again, I realise I’m in a bit of creative fallow period.
It usually happens, almost imperceptibly, every 12 to 18 months or so. I can tell because I find myself unable or unwilling to sustain the juggle that usually enables me to put out regular work across many different fronts (in my case: running my agency All Conditions Media; producing, researching, writing, presenting, distributing and marketing regular episodes of my podcast Looking Sideways; this Substack and my weekly 10 Things emails; various other bits like public speaking, panel hosting, books, journalism, mentoring, working in different advisory capacities, and so on). It’s also usually when I delete Instagram for a bit, which I also did this week.
Over the years I’ve learned not to worry about it, and just accept I should do less for a while. (Which isn’t easy when your self worth has been always been predicated on how hard you work creatively. But anyway…)
Because another thing I’ve realised over the years is that I operate on a weird and lengthy feast-or-famine rhythm. There isn’t really much of an in-between. It took me a long time to understand this, but doing so was useful for my sanity.
Plus, these periods are usually a good chance to ask myself a few necessary questions - do I still enjoy this? Is anybody else still enjoying this? Is it worth the work and effort? Should I put these energies somewhere different?
In May 2026, a couple of weeks before my 50th birthday (June 8th in case you’re asking; and yes I am milking it for all its worth), this is where I find myself once again. So I’ve decided to pause paid subscriptions on Looking Sideways for a couple of months, in order that I can ask myself these questions without feeling any pressure to keep feeding the content machine every week.
If you are a paid subscriber - firstly, thank you so much for supporting what I do in this weird little corner of the internet. It never ceases to humble me when people back my vision of an ad-and-algorithm free media platform that is entirely driven by my own curiosity (and, increasingly, the lovely little community that has developed as a result) with their own money. It’s been one of the best thing about my extremely random creative career, and I never take it for granted.
Secondly, you don’t actually have to do anything. All it means is that your existing subscription will pause for two months, and then pick up again.
In the meantime, everybody, whether free or paid subscriber, will continue to be able to access my frankly enormous archive of Looking Sideways … stuff.
I’ve pulled a few favourite bits you might want to check out below, but if you’re jonesing (lol the 90s) for a regular Looking Sideways fix in the meantime, there are 300 episodes of the podcast and hundreds of articles to dig into.
Alright, thanks for reading. On with the usual 10 Things show….
10 Things will always be free, but it takes a lot of effort, love and curiosity to pull this thing together each week.
So if you want to support Looking Sideways without taking out a paid sub - you can! Click right here.
And if you just want to pass it on to somebody who might enjoy it? Hit the button below:
2. Tom Holland got a great interview out of Uncle Paul in this Rest is History special.
More simple ways to support Looking Sideways - use any of these codes and I’ll get a small commission 🫡
FINISIDEWAYS10 for 10% off anything from Finisterre
LOOKINGSIDEWAYSXDB for 15% off anything from Db
LOOKINGSIDEWAYS for 15% off any Stance order
LOOKINGSIDEWAYS2026 for 15% off any Albion purchase
LOOKINGSIDEWAYS for a whopping 20% off anything from Goodrays.
3. The best thing I’ve discovered on this thing called ‘the internet’ for quite some time - The Nightly, a chat and ad-free radio station playing nothing but ‘sad old songs’. I’ve listened to nothing else for the last week or so.
4. Among the Substack dross, there is some genuinely original writing. And there’s nobody writing about British food culture in quite the same way as the lad behind Well Good Blog. Highly recommended.
5. One of the questions we ask potential new starters at my agency All Conditions Media is ‘what’s the one link you’d share with the rest of the team this week?’ And this week, one story has dominated the virtual ACM bush telegraph - the adidas x Satisfy ‘Pit Circle’ brouhaha.
If you’re a) not terminally online or b) don’t work in marketing or running circles, you’re probably blissfully unaware of this story. But as ever, stories like this, to paraphrase Barney Ronay, are always ‘trying to tell us something’, which is why I’ve found it quite fascinating.
Click the link above for a decent overview and round-up.
6. My copy of Elsewhere, Neil McDonald’s history of British skateboarding, just arrived and I’m a little lost for words tbh. I interviewed Neil four years ago when he was at the beginning of his project (listen below) so it’s brilliant to see him accomplish what is effectively a life’s work in such triumphant fashion.
He’s coming on again in a few weeks to discuss the book - watch this space.
7. On topic - my pal and long term Looking Sideways supporter Ben Luxford has co-programmed, Push Play, a new season celebrating skate culture on film at the BFI which takes place next month. Expect the UK premiere of French drama Ollie, Blondey presenting Kind Hearts and Coronets, a celebration of 25 years of Dogtown and Z Boys, Spike Jonze live in conversation, and much more.
8. New podcast alert! UK skate legend Lucy Adams just launched her new Fortune Favours The Babes show - listen to the first episode with Kaitlyn Massey, above.
9. To mark 30 years since the publication of Into Thin Air, Jon Krakauer has been doing a media round during which he’s been discussing the impact of this most influential of nonfiction works.
10. Thanks to Chris Hines and Julie Maughan for sharing details of the new For Heather website. Buy a t-shirt to support the cause - all proceeds go to Kidney Research UK.