This is a conversation many months in the making, recorded a few months ago, Brooke chats with illustrator, writer and environmentalist Em Ehlers.

Optimistic activism in a COVID impacted world with Em Ehlers

To strive is human, to saunter divine. Welcome to The Tortoise - a podcast that digs deep into the power of slow. Brooke McAlary (author of "Slow", "Care" and "Destination Simple") is joined by her husband Ben for a monthly deep dive into the realities of trying to live slow in a world that won't stop racing. On the third Thursday of every month, join Brooke and Ben for an unscripted, unedited, always candid and usually fun conversation about slow living and how embracing our inner tortoise can impact every part of life: relationships, work, family, community, tech, health, care, personal growth. If you’re burnt out, overwhelmed, frustrated at the sheer pace of life or just looking for a sign to slow down, this is the podcast (a plodcast!) for you.

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If you spend any time on TikTok, you've probably seen the #softlife trend pop up over the past couple of years. Brooke and Ben aren't on TikTok, so are late to the party as usual, but wanted to dive into the sister movement of slow living anyway.
In today's episode, they look at what soft living is, where it began, how it relates to slow living, and why it's following a similar trajectory as that of self-care, slow living, and other counter-cultural movements. (ie. becoming increasingly mainstream and commercial).
They look at soft living as the opposite of hard living (which proves both obvious and helpful) and try to define it for themselves. For Brooke it revolves around joy, and for Ben its in learning how to ask for help - both of which offer unexpected ways of looking at softness.
They also talk about the consumerism attached to these movements, and offer some practical suggestions on how to create space for softness in your day-to-day life.
Head over to The Tortoise for the full show notes, and if you haven't already, make sure to subscribe to the free weekly newsletter while you're there. 
Thanks for listening!  Join The Tortoise Community: https://brookemcalary.substack.com/ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Soft Life: Episode 13

Brooke and Ben talk curveballs, what happens when our foundations get shaken and how to harness some of slow living's key ideas to navigate new life circumstances.

Curveballs: Episode 12

What is joy? And how does it differ from happiness? Can we learn to be more joyful? And what does that look like? Brooke and Ben dig into joy in Episode 11 of The Tortoise podcast.

Joyful Living: Episode 11

Brooke and Ben talk through their Top Ten of 2023 list - including favourite meals, books, albums, films and experiences.

2023 Top Ten: Episode 10

This month's episode digs into the topic of addiction (and more broadly, obsessive behaviour) for things like tech-use, busyness, food and consumption. If you need help with addiction or mental health, there's a list of resources over at The Tortoise. 
In today's show, Ben shares his experience with tech over-use and the links he sees between it and the hustle-grind-capitalism-productivity culture, and he and Brooke look at how the proliferation of tech (especially smart phones and social media) have increased our desire for instant gratification. 
Brooke talks through her compulsion to consume bad news, and shares a few ways she's trying to break those patterns of behaviour. She also talks about the role that tech and consumerism intertwine to create a world that feels simultaneously too much and not enough, and how that has her and many other women she knows feeling angry. 
It's an interesting and meandering conversation that will hopefully leave you with lots to think about. Head over to The Tortoise for the full show notes, and if you haven't already, make sure to subscribe to the free weekly newsletter while you're there. 
Thanks for listening!  Join The Tortoise Community: https://brookemcalary.substack.com/ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Optimistic activism in a COVID impacted world with Em Ehlers

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