Society & Culture Episodes

Jody McHugh looks back on an unconventional childhood in 1970s Atlanta and the extraordinary people, chance encounters and difficult experiences that helped shape the way he sees the world today.

David Thomson is the founder of Suada whose life was shaped by growing up mixed-race in 1970s Britain, poverty, violence at home, and the fight to build a different future. In this episode of Life by Misadventure, David talks about racism at school, joining the army at 16, becoming a boxing champion, discovering sales, and using persuasion, self-education and discipline to change the direction of his life. David shares how resilience can come from harsh beginnings, but also why young peopl...

Lena Robinson is a marketer and founder of FTSQ whose life was shaped by years spent working across advertising, branding and sales, where she learned how often businesses confuse hard selling with real connection. In this episode of Life by Misadventure, David Brown and Lena dig into why so many LinkedIn posts feel forced, why mixing family moments with sales messages can fall flat, and how bad advice pushes business owners towards formulaic content that misses the point. Lena leaves the ...

Mark Goddard is a writer and musician whose life was shaped by a 2002 road trip across America with his brother, Jeremy, chasing the roots of the music they loved and turning the journey into his book Losing Eldorado. In this episode of Life by Misadventure, Mark reflects on the cities, music, mishaps, culture shock, poverty, freedom, and brotherly chaos that defined the trip, from New York and New Orleans to Austin, Chicago, and the long road between them. Mark leaves you with the sense t...

Alice Phillips and Danielle Emery are the hosts of Work is Weird Now, two marketing and communications leaders whose paths into work were shaped by early failure, curiosity, entrepreneurship, and a shared interest in how people find meaning in changing careers. In this episode of Life by Misadventure, the conversation moves through school, strengths, apprenticeships, remote work, ageism, AI, and the growing sense that education and employment no longer line up with the world people are actual...

We've got a lively chat lined up today, diving into some pretty heavy topics: potholes and, well, death. Yeah, you heard that right! We kick things off with a thoughtful discussion about mortality, spurred by the startling news of a friend's near brush with death that really got us reflecting. Then we switch gears to rant about those pesky potholes that seem to defy all logic when it comes to being fixed. Why is it that councils can patch them up but can’t seem to make a lasting repair? We...

No matter what choice you make as a parent, staying home, going back to work, or trying to juggle both, someone is always judging. In this episode we dive into the realities of modern parenting and we unpack the tough decisions parents face, from career sacrifices and financial pressures to the emotional weight of raising kids. Two brilliant guests Gráinne Dunne and Claire Marshall explore: The stigma around stay-at-home parents vs. working parents. Why finances play a bigger role in p...