🎙 Cozy Chaos — “Hobbies: More Than Just Free Time”

Host: Michael Swetly

Guests: Kirill Kambulatov, Nastya Byshenko

We live in a world that constantly asks one simple question: “What do you do?”

Not who you are. Not what makes you feel alive. But what you produce, earn, and can explain in one sentence. Somewhere between deadlines, notifications, and responsibilities, there is a quiet, stubborn space called a hobby — something we do without pressure, without clear goals, and often without an audience. And yet, these moments feel deeply necessary.

In this episode of Cozy Chaos, we talk about hobbies not as productivity tools or self-improvement strategies, but as human rituals. Why do we need them? Why do adults feel guilty for enjoying things that aren’t “useful”? Can hobbies regulate our emotions, protect our inner freedom, or even help us survive overwhelming reality? And what happens when joy turns into work, visibility, or expectation?

Together with Kirill Kambulatov and Nastya Byshenko, we explore hobbies as spaces where time isn’t optimized, value isn’t measured, and identity can exist without performance. We talk about escapism and recovery, boredom and creativity, digital communities and lost solitude, forgotten hobbies we grieve, and the quiet rebellion of choosing joy without justification.

This is a warm, honest conversation about play, curiosity, and the parts of ourselves that don’t need to lead anywhere to matter.

Hobbies don’t ask us to be productive.

They ask us to be present.

And in a world obsessed with outcomes, doing something just because you love it might be one of the most human acts left.