Looking Sideways: 10 Things
KMF bits, podcast joy with Eric Idle, and a TC sneak preview.
1. This came out just after I sent last week’s newsletter, and it has gone so viral on here that you might have already seen it. But James Marriot’s piece on ‘the death of literacy and the end of civilisation’ is very worth a read. Flawed, and with a proper half-baked, late night undergrad thesis vibe at points, but it has many interesting things to say about how we got here.
2. Tickets for my live Creative Exchange conversation with Oscar-winning documentary film-maker Orlando Eisendel at Kendal Mountain Festival are available via this link. Excited for this one. I go way back with Orlando, who was one of my very first Looking Sideways interviewees, all the way back in April 2017 (below).
3. I’m also taking part in the new Outdoor Connections event on the Thursday at KMF this year, where I’ll be hosting a panel around brand storytelling and purpose. Full details on the PDF below; register your interest here.
My code LOOKINGSIDEWAYS10 will get you 10% off any order from Finisterre.
4. I’ve been podcasting again! And it’s been fun!
Coming next week - my sprawling conversation with Thomas Campbell, in which we went proper deep on the creative process and inspirations behind Yi-Wo, his magnum opus, and already one of this century’s most influential surf movies. Here’s a sneak preview, above.
Coming soon: conversations with Axel Pauporte, Pacha Light, Adam Skolnik, Johno Verity, Seth Hughes, Seb Smart, Len Necefer, and more. And if you have any suggestions of who I should speak to, noise me up on the DMs an’ that.
5. One of my favourite things to do is mentor people (it’s a big part of my role at All Conditions Media), and I’ve really enjoyed helping my latest mentee Marla, a film-maker and creative from Hawaii, over the summer. Here’s what Marla had to say about working with me, above.
I now have openings for autumn ‘25. Interested in finding out more? DM me below…(Insights subscribers get a heavy old discount as well)
6. Adam Buxton’s interview with Monty Python’s Eric Idle is pure podcasting joy. Such a warm, generous conversation that is also very funny, as you might expect. Highly recommended.
Use my code LOOKINGSIDEWAYSDB for 15% off anything from Db.
7. An incredibly mean-spirited and sneery take on ye olde wild swimming in The Spectator. (Obviously I know the point is to wind people up - I’m sharing more out of fascination than anything else).
8. Kennington Bowl, one of London’s OG skate landmarks, is under threat again. Sign the petition here.
9. Thanks to Alex Roddie, one of the writers I admire the most on Substack, for sharing this very interesting perspective on the use of AI. (Alex is taking part in a panel discussion around AI at the aforementioned Outdoor Connections event - I’ll be down the front for that one).
10. Finally, a piece of music that has been of great importance to me these last few weeks as my six-month trip to Normandy has come to a close. J(udging by the comment, I’m not the only one).
Thanks for reading and supporting Looking Sideways! If you have any thoughts about any of the stories I discuss this week, let me know:
Haven't read the post-literate society piece properly yet, but it has popped up enough times on my feed that I definitely should!