Bob McTavish pioneered surf culture and changed the way people surfed, makes people happy everyday with his inventions and lives on the east coast of Australia.

i was lucky to sit with him last year to discuss life in the 60s, and his life as a writer, surfboard shaper and family man.

In this Episode I chat with Warren Ward about Eating Disorders. If this topic is triggering or not going to be helpful for you, please consider another episode. 

Warren Ward is a psychiatrist who writes about philosophy, culture, travel and the history of ideas. Warren is an Associate Professor at The University of Queensland and has held the position of Director, Queensland Eating Disorders Service (QuEDS) since 2005. He is Chair of the Queensland Health Eating Disorder Advisory Group and co-author of the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatry (RANZCP) Clinical Practice Guidelines for Eating Disorders. In 2017 he received the Australian and New Zealand Academy of Eating Disorders (ANZAED) Distinguished Achievement Award. 

Books discussed:

Master And Emissary by Iain McGilchrest

Crime And Punishment & The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoevsky

George Saunders books (Civil War Land In Bad Decline I WOULD RECCOMEND THIS IT IS SO SO SO SO GOOD)

Lovers of Philosophy and Renourish by WARREN WARD

Support for me/the show: www.patreon.com/aneedtoread

Contact: aneedtoread.podcast (at) gmail . com 

Ronan Mccrea is a professor of European and Constitutional Law at UCL. In this podcast we discuss the gay rights movement, it's history, future, and threats. 

Ronan's book 'The End Of The Gay Rights Movement' is out now. 

Got a burning desire to write to me? aneedtoread.podcast at gmail .com

Support: www.patreon.com/aneedtoread

THANK YOU XXXX

Natalie Kyriacou is an environmentalist and author from Australia. Her book, Nature’s Last Dance, looks to inspire awe and wonder in its readers with an entertaining selection of stories from nature, stories of citizen scientists, fish with STD’s, rogue Emus and so much more.

To support A Need To Read please head to

www.patreon.com/aneedtoread

or

www.buymeacoffee.com/aneedtoread

To chat: [email protected] 

support

- www.buymeacoffee.com/aneedtoread

- www.betterhelp.com/aneedtoread for 10% off your first month of therapy online

- https://get.descript.com/i51fa3crfprh I use descript to edit this episodes and it couldn’t be easier. It turns any audio in to studio quality 

Katie spent 6 months in one of the world’s most forgotten countries — the Central African Republic. In this episode, we sit down in person to chat about her experiences there working as a medical doctor with Doctors Without Borders.

This is a story of people who have been ignored for too long — of grief, resilience, and what it means to show up in the darkest places.

Her book, Field Notes from Death’s Door, is available wherever you get your books. It’s excellent, and I genuinely recommend you give it a read if you can.

Today’s paid partner is BetterHelp, to get 10% off your first month of online therapy with a credentialed therapist head to www.betterhelp.com/aneedtoread

A Need To Read is partnered with The Breath Space, a online Breath-work education and practise portal that I have been using for the last couple of months, alongside my course to become a breath-work facilitator. To check out how breathwork can help you, follow the link and use the code ED for 50% off your first 2 months. 

https://courses.thebreathspace.co.uk/your-breath-space-online-membership 

You can also support my work by heading to www.buymeacoffee.com/aneedtoread 

Any feedback is welcome: [email protected] 

Today’s paid partner is BetterHelp, to get 10% off your first month of online therapy with a credentialed therapist head to www.betterhelp.com/aneedtoread

In this episode, I sit down with Ellie Middleton — author of Unmasked and How To Be You — to talk about the messy, powerful journey of self-discovery through a late diagnosis of autism and ADHD.

From anxiety misdiagnoses and burnout cycles to the pressures of “being normal” and the power of simply understanding yourself, Ellie opens up about it all.

We also dive into reading habits, writing under pressure, self-compassion, and learning to be a big brave girl (in the surf).

What We Talk About

The cycle of burnout and the misdiagnosis of anxiety and depression

Ellie’s late diagnosis journey and the “lightbulb” moment in therapy

Masking and why “being normal” is so damn exhausting

Reading as a neurodivergent person — fiction, nonfiction, and dropping the book snobbery

Writing two books in under two years (and nearly breaking herself doing it)

Neurodivergent time vs. linear time — and why “spinning out in space” matters

The power of somatic work, surfing, and getting comfortable looking silly

Gendered differences in how autism and ADHD are recognised

Internalised ableism and the fear of being your unmasked self

Self-compassion as a daily practice, not a one-time fix

Links & Resources:

Follow Ellie: @elliemidds on Instagram / TikTok / LinkedIn

Follow the podcast on Instagram: @aneedtoread

A Need To Read is partnered with The Breath Space, a online Breath-work education and practise portal that I have been using for the last couple of months, alongside my course to become a breath-work facilitator. To check out how breathwork can help you, follow the link and use the code ED for 50% off your first 2 months. 

https://courses.thebreathspace.co.uk/your-breath-space-online-membership 

You can also support my work by heading to www.buymeacoffee.com/aneedtoread 

Any feedback is welcome: [email protected] 

Boys read less than girls. That’s what the stats say, and today, writer, Lucas Oakley joins me to chat about why this is and gives some direction for guys looking to get into reading.

Today’s paid partner is betterhelp, for 10% off your first month head to www.betterhelp.com/aneedtoread

books discussed

Mothers by Chris Power

All that man is by David Soles

Men without women by Murakami

Reservoir Bitches by Dahlia De La Cerda

The Bee Sting by Paul Murray

Four Three Two One by Paul Auster

A Little Life by Hanya Yangahara

Skippy Dies by Paul Murray

For info on his new book and book club for boys follow Lucas on Instagram:  @LucasOakeley

buy me a coffee if you like, www.buymeacoffee.com/aneedtoread

Feedback/comments welcome: [email protected]

Today’s paid partner is BetterHelp, to get 10% off your first month of online therapy with a credentialed therapist head to www.betterhelp.com/aneedtoread

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Today's conversation is with Joanna Moncreiff, the author of 'Chemically Imbalanced: the making and unmaking of the serotonin myth'. We discuss the history of the link between depression and serotonin, side effects of taking SSRI's and the emerging mental health treatment methods that we should be wary of. 

For help understanding how you can come off Anti Depressants, follow this link 

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A Need To Read is partnered with The Breath Space, a online Breath-work education and practise portal that I have been using for the last couple of months, alongside my course to become a breath-work facilitator. To check out how breathwork can help you, follow the link and use the code ED for 50% off your first 2 months. 

https://courses.thebreathspace.co.uk/your-breath-space-online-membership 

You can also support my work by heading to www.buymeacoffee.com/aneedtoread 

Any feedback is welcome: [email protected] 

This is a review of Sarah Bakewell's 'At The Existentialist Cafe', a book that looks at the main minds behind existentialis

To get 10% off your first month of therapy head to www.betterhelp.com/aneedtoread from there you’ll just need to run through a 5-minute questionnaire and you’ll be matched with a therapist within 48 hours.

Get an additional 5 free travel packs and a years supply of Vitamin D3 with your Athletic Greens subscription at www.athleticgreens.com/aneedtoread 

I am reachable here: [email protected]