Looking Sideways: 2022 In Review
The most popular episodes and blogs of another great Looking Sideways year.
The 5 Most Popular Looking Sideways Episodes of 2022
Despite an increased focus on writing and blogging this year, the Looking Sideways and Type 2 podcasts remain the heart of the LS universe. Here are this year’s five most popular conversations.
1. Episode 190: Stacy Peralta - Lightness of Being
One of the giants of the culture, Stacy embraced the spirt of the pod wholeheartedly; and showed himself to be the curious, creative, humble, vulnerable and yet truly generous person you always hope the legends will be when you get the rare chance to meet them. Listen below:
2. Episode 180: Neil Macdonald - Science Versus Life
There are plenty of people out there curating historical skate culture for a modern audience; none of them are doing it as cerebrally and accessibly as Neil, the man behind the massively popular Science Versus Life. As usual, the skate community got right behind this digressive and enjoyable chat. Listen below:
3. Episode 193: Chris Burkard - Original
This one came about when my pals at Db asked me to head to Stockholm for the weekend to interview Chris in front of a live audience.
At the last minute, I plugged my recorder in, and am I glad I did: the resulting chat with one of the culture’s true creative rockstars was a true joy, to which Burkard brought his inclusive A-game. Listen to the episode below and the accompanying blog here:
4. Type 2: Episode 025 - Rebecca Olive
Type 2, the podcast I’m lucky enough to make with my friends at Patagonia Europe, is a space where I can explore activism in all its forms.
And this conversation with Rebecca was really about activism as investigation, about how the exchange of often niche and sometimes challenging ideas has the power to change the way we perceive the everyday activities that embellish our lives. Listen below:
5. Type 2: Episode 028 - Lewis Arnold and Chris Nelson
In which I chatted to Lewis and Chris about their new film The Big Sea, an investigation into our troubled relationship with Neoprene, the market name for chloroprene rubber. Most of the world's chloroprene rubber for wetsuits is produced by one company, Denka, which operates a factory in St. John, Louisiana, which emits levels of chloroprene that the EPA has found produces a cancer risk that is fifty times the national average, and so deadly to the local community that the area has become known as ‘Cancer Alley’.
Predictably, this news came as something of a surprise to listeners, who listened and shared in their droves. Can’t wait to see what happens when the film itself is released. Listen to the episode below and Chris’s follow up blog here.
The 5 Most Popular Looking Sideways Blogs of 2022
1. Neil Macdonald: 5 Favourite Skate Pics
The man behind Science Versus Life on five of his favourites
2. Ten Things I’ve Learned While Running My Business ACM
Running a business through two recessions and one pandemic has been quite a mission. Here’s what I’ve learned.
3. Ten Things I’ve Learned While Being A Freelancer
I’ve been working for myself for 25 years! Here’s what I’ve learned.
4. Jamie Currie: Why Kelly Is Not The GOAT of GOATS
The UK’s finest surf writer and Beach Grit’s provocateur-in-chief tackles the question of Kelly’s overall GOAT status. Not popular among surf traditionalist Kelly fan-boys, that’s for sure.
5. Open Thread: is it ever OK for brands not to pay creatives or contributors fairly for their time and expertise?
A thread inspired by a recent interaction I had where somebody asked me to speak at their event in return for ‘great networking opportunities’. I asked people for their own experiences of such interactions, and the response was remarkable.
Bonus: Every Book I Read In 2022
As usual, I kept a record of every book I read in 2022 on my Instagram profile as a highlight, and pulled out my top 5 below:
Bonus: Every Song I Liked In 2022
Another fun habit I got into the other year, which is to wack every song I hear that I like onto one long, stupidly eclectic playlist. Weirdly, the 2022 version is way shorter than other years - did I listen to less music? Or just like less things? Either way, listen by clicking the embed above.
Thanks for supporting Looking Sideways for another year! If you’ve enjoyed the show, have a particular episode or blog, got a book you want to share, or simply want to say hello, you know what to do: