What If Your Worst Memories Never Happened?

What if the most painful memories of your life never actually happened?

In this episode of The David Watson Podcast, I speak with novelist and former film script supervisor Timothy J. Hunt about one of the most disturbing psychological questions imaginable: if memories can be implanted, altered, or reinforced by authority figures, how do you know your past is real?

Timothy’s latest novel, The Museum of Lies, explores the terror of discovering that a therapist connected to “recovered memory therapy” may have implanted false trauma.

If your identity is built on memory, and memory itself is unreliable, what happens when the foundation starts to collapse?

This conversation begins in the world of film continuity

A job dedicated to preserving the illusion of reality and slowly moves into darker territory: gaslighting, childhood trauma, mental illness, false memories, and the quiet horror of doubting your own mind.

We talk about:

• How recovered memory therapy led to false abuse cases

• Why memory is reconstruction, not playback

• Growing up around mental illness and extreme gaslighting

• What happens to identity when your past can’t be proven

• Why journaling can become a form of psychological self-defence

Despite the subject matter, this is a dark conversation with laughter.

Honest, unsettling, and deeply human.

Chapters

Guest: Timothy J. Hunt Book: The Museum of Lies (Clink Street Publishing). Where to find Timothy and the book Website: jtimothyhunt.com

n this episode of The David Watson Podcast, I’m joined by Monty Schulz, novelist, songwriter, and creative producer, for a wide-ranging conversation about writing, discipline, imagination, and the darker edges of history that fiction can illuminate.

We talk about: how Monty wrote Metropolis after a 16-year pause, then finished hundreds of pages in months why “writer’s block” is often fear, avoidance, or waiting for perfection the one-page rule (and how hunger can be a surprisingly effective motivator) finding your voice as a writer, and why “well-written” isn’t the same as “distinctive” the craft of writing difficult subject matter without losing the human truth why most friends and family don’t read your work (and why that’s normal) music vs novels, and Monty’s process of writing melodies first, then lyrics the idea behind Unders City: an alternate-history society shaped by eugenics, purge, and survival underground

If you write, want to write, or you’re fascinated by how artists build worlds that reflect real human history, this one will stay with you.

Monty’s books and websites: Metropolis: metropolisthebook.com Unders City (release date discussed in the episode): underscitythebook.com

If you found this useful: subscribe for more long-form conversations with writers, creators, and thinkers share this episode with a writer who’s stuck and needs a push to get words on the page comment with the biggest takeaway you’re applying this week

In this episode of The David Watson Podcast, I sit down with award-winning poet and cultural commentator Lee Woodman for a conversation about how poetry changes the way you see the world.

We explore Lee’s remarkable life story (Paris after WWII, childhood in India, and returning to America in the early 1960s), and how a global upbringing shaped her obsession with language, sound, texture, and colour.

From Van Gogh’s sunflower yellow to the psychology of colour in different cultures, Lee breaks down how she researches, builds, and performs poems, and why poetry is less about “feelings” and more about precision, observation, and lived experience.

Lee also reads from her work, including “Provocative Pink” and a short rhyming piece “Shades of Anger,” and we talk about how colour, culture, and perception can shift what we think we’re seeing.

If you enjoy conversations about creativity, perception, art, writing, and the deeper layers of everyday life, this one is for you.

Find Lee Woodman here: poetleewoodman.com

What if joy isn’t a personality trait — but a nervous system skill you can train?

Dr Sherry McAlister explains why touch, sleep, and small daily choices can change how you feel, think, and cope.

In this episode, I speak with Dr Sherry McAlister, a chiropractor and author of Adjusted Reality, about why modern life pulls us away from the basics that keep us well — and why most people outsource their health until something breaks.

We discuss:

Why health isn’t a to-do list, it’s a daily way of being

The overlooked power of touch and human connection

Why your nervous system can’t “close the loop” after ghosting and unresolved stress

How sleep works like a nightly reset and repair process

Why your body adapts like Jenga — until it can’t

The mindset shift from “what’s wrong with you?” to “what’s right that we can build on?”

Later in the conversation, she shares the personal turning point that led her into chiropractic care after a serious car accident — and why she believes small “micro adjustments” can stop bigger breakdowns over time.

Book: Adjusted Reality: Supercharge Your Whole Being for Optimal Living and Longevity Guest: Dr Sherry McAlister Website: https://drsherrymcallister.com/

Foundation page: https://www.f4cp.org/media/

This episode is for education and discussion. It is not medical advice. If you have symptoms or concerns, seek guidance from a qualified healthcare professional.

A former Team USA athlete describes dementia-like symptoms in his 30s, years of brain fog, and why doctors missed it.

If you’ve ever had a concussion or unexplained mental changes, this matters.

In this episode, I speak with William Person, a former Team USA bobsled athlete who began experiencing confusion, memory problems, and severe brain fog in his 30s.

For years, medical tests showed “nothing wrong.” Meanwhile, his symptoms worsened, teammates died, and the warning signs were missed — including the long-term effects of repeated head trauma.

William explains:

Why concussion symptoms can appear months or years later How high-impact sports and vibration affect the brain

Why many people don’t realise something is wrong with them The difference between mental health struggles and physical brain injury

What he says helped him regain clarity after years of decline

Why this issue may affect athletes, veterans, and everyday people

This conversation is intense, personal, and uncomfortable at times — but it raises questions many people are afraid to ask.

This episode is not medical advice. It shares personal experience and opinion.

If you have concerns about head injury, concussion, or neurological symptoms, speak with a qualified medical professional.

Guest: William Person Social media: One Man With A Chamber

Escaping A Cult, Saving His Family, Finding Faith Again – Peter Young | The David Watson Podcast What if you only realised you were in a cult after it had already destroyed your marriage, family life and sense of self?

In this episode I sit down with author and former sports broadcaster Peter Young (authopeteryoung.com) to talk about his 20–year journey in and out of a tiny but devastating religious cult – led by a man his family called “Uncle Robert”.

We talk about how it all began with love, faith and a “harmless” family mentor… and slowly turned into total control, brainwashing and the destruction of Peter’s marriage.

Peter shares how his children were taught he was “the devil”, how isolation and secrecy kept everyone trapped, and the moment a small flicker of doubt finally broke the spell.

Along the way we get into: – How Peter was slowly drawn into his wife’s tiny religious cult – The red flags he missed, and why “it could never happen to me” is so dangerous

The role of isolation, doubt and the “gatekeeper to God” in every cult

How cult leaders twist scripture, truth and genuine problems to sell their own solutions

The impact on his kids and the painful campaign of parental alienation

How his Christian faith survived, and why he believes Jesus pulled him out

My own brush with a meditation group that turned out to be far darker than it first appeared If you’ve ever thought “I’m too smart for a cult” or wondered how ordinary, intelligent people get swept up in these groups, this conversation will challenge you.

Listen in for a raw, honest look at manipulation, control, faith, pain and recovery and what to watch for if you (or someone you love) is getting drawn into something that feels “just a bit off”.

Find Peter Young: Website: https://authorpeteryoung.com

Memoir: “Stop the Tall Man, Save the Tiger” (cult survival and faith) Fiction series:

“The Blue Team” and “The Wardrobe of the Wolf” (sports as a metaphor for life)

In this episode of The David Watson Podcast, I sit down with Dr Peter B. Cotton – world-renowned gastroenterologist and creator of the award-winning “Fred the Snake” children’s book series – to talk about life after medicine, story-telling, and why his endoscope turned into a lovable snake called Fred.

Peter has written 10 rhyming picture books for children about Fred the Snake and his friends, including the brand-new “When Fred the Snake and Friends Learn the Chinese Zodiac – and the Great Race”.

We talk about how a career pioneering flexible endoscopy and ERCP became the unexpected inspiration for a gentle snake who teaches road safety, friendship, travel, and courage to kids and grandkids around the world.

In this conversation we cover:

• How a flexible endoscope became “Fred the Snake” and the start of a bedtime story

• Turning that original road-safety rhyme into the first book, “When Fred the Snake Got Squished and Mended”

• Why all the Fred books are written in rhyme and built around simple morals for children

• The new Chinese Zodiac book and the story of the Great Race – explaining years, animals and culture to kids

• Fred going to school, camping, the beach and traveling across the USA (East, Central and West) • The difference between writing scientific papers and imaginative children’s books

• What Peter has learned about confidence, voice and “writing what you’re actually good at”

• Grandparents, puppets and why reading to children still matters in a digital world

• Growing up in Herefordshire, training at Cambridge and in London, and why he moved to the USA

• Life on a small island in South Carolina, golf stories from around the world, and finally “hanging up” the clubs

• Reflections on retirement, legacy, family and finding a second creative career later in life If you’re a parent, grandparent, educator or aspiring children’s author, this episode is full of ideas about how to combine fun, rhyme and gentle life lessons in stories for young readers.

Find Peter Cotton and Fred the Snake:

Website (signed copies, blog and resources):

https://petercottontales.com

Fred the Snake books on Amazon (search): “Peter B. Cotton Fred the Snake”

In this episode of the David Watson Podcast, I sit down again with children’s author Amy Pollack to talk about her Jelly Bean series – The Adventures of Jelly Bean, The Further Adventures of Jelly Bean, and The Still Further Adventures of Jelly Bean – and the very real issues young readers face today.

Amy explains how Jelly Bean’s world tackles topics like poverty, mixed-race identity, bullying at school, and the tensions between caring parents, independent children, and wise grandparents.

We talk about how parental prejudice can show up in subtle ways, how kids learn to think for themselves, and why grandparents often bring a calming, long-view perspective into family life.

Amy also shares powerful stories from her own family history: growing up with parents and grandparents shaped by the Great Depression, what real poverty looked like, and how those experiences inspired the characters and emotional depth in her books.

We explore why writing can be so therapeutic, how authors pour their own doubts and memories into fictional characters, and why Jelly Bean has become a “real role model” for so many young readers.

If you are a parent, grandparent, teacher, or simply love children’s books that make kids think, you’ll enjoy this short, thoughtful conversation with Amy about empathy, resilience, and the messy reality of growing up.

In this episode we talk about: The Jelly Bean series and what each book explores Why Amy keeps the titles simple and clear How Jelly Bean deals with friendship, class, and mixed-race identity

Bullying in schools and how Jelly Bean responds in book four Parents’ fears, stereotypes, and trying to “protect” their children

The role of grandparents as listeners, guides and stabilising influences Amy’s own parents and grandparents, poverty in the Depression era, and “Sunday best” shoes

How writing helps us process grief, memory and complicated emotions

Why Jelly Bean ended up being called a real role model

Find Amy Pollack and the Jelly Bean books: Website: https://amypollack.com

In this episode of the David Watson Podcast, I sit down with former Reuters journalist and IMF publisher Jeremy Clift, now the author of two thought-provoking sci-fi novels: “Born in Space” and “Space Vault.”

We start with his life as a foreign correspondent in the 70s, 80s and 90s – Paris, Beirut, Egypt, India, China under Deng Xiaoping – what he calls “the front row of history.”

From there we dig into how news used to be gathered, the craft of great writing and editing, and why trust in media has eroded in the 24-hour news and social media age.

Then we move into the future: asteroid mining, the coming space economy, gene editing, AI, robots in every home, universal basic income, and the huge ethical questions around who owns life, data and even our memories.

Jeremy explains how all of this feeds into his sci-fi series and why he thinks the next few decades will be truly transformational for humanity. If you like deep, nostalgic conversations that run from smoky newsrooms and outside toilets in 60s Britain to Neurolink, space vaults and sentient robots, this one’s for you.

What we talk about in this episode: Growing up in post-war Britain and the “you’ve never had it so good” generation Training as a Reuters journalist and reporting from Paris, Beirut, Egypt, India, Indonesia, China and beyond How newsrooms used to work: deadlines, teleprinters, foreign bureaus and serious editors

The rise of 24-hour news and why verification and integrity became harder to protect Fake or distorted reporting, “agenda-driven” editing and why audiences now have to be their own filter

Moving from Reuters to the IMF and learning the craft of book and research publishing Why asteroid mining, the moon and the space economy could upend global wealth and power Seeds, gene editing and “who owns life?” – the core themes of Space Vault AI, robots, Neurolink and grief tech: talking to digital versions of loved ones Universal basic income, surplus labour and the tension between human nature and technological change

Why Jeremy chose sci-fi instead of spy thrillers – and how his reporting past shapes his fiction 0:00 Intro – why I wanted Jeremy on the podcast

0:41 Jeremy joins the show

3:41 Old order vs new order in politics and journalism

10:04 Childhood in post-war Britain and moving around with the Navy

17:06 Learning journalism at Reuters and early foreign postings

24:30 Trust, manipulation and the 24-hour news cycle

32:40 From Reuters to the IMF and into publishing

34:24 Born In Space – space labs, children and identity

39:18 Space Vault, seed banks and “who owns life?”

45:40 AI, robots, grief tech and ethics

52:05 Universal basic income and the future of work

59:44 Where to find Jeremy and his books

1:01:15 Closing thoughts Find Jeremy and his work:

Website: jeremycliftebooks.com

Books: “Born in Space” and “Space Vault” (available on Amazon and wider retailers) Audiobook: Born in Space on Audible, narrated by Gabrielle Gums Gordon

In this episode of the David Watson Podcast, I sit down with Jaymes Buckman, the neurodivergent glam rock singer, poet, and frontman of Canadian glam rock band Hot Apollo.

We dive into what it really feels like to be a high-energy performer who feels most at peace on stage, and yet wrestles with anxiety, overthinking, and self-doubt when the lights go down.

Jaymes talks about growing up between Toronto and London, discovering his love of performance, developing his iconic glam style in Camden, and why he finally went “all in” on music after trying the conventional path of college and day jobs.

We also explore the link between alter egos, addiction, and creativity, how art can channel pain into something powerful, and why staying busy and taking action is one of the most underrated tools for managing mental health and negative inner voices.

If you’re into glam rock, performance, or honest conversations about mental health, anxiety, and what it means to be truly yourself, you’ll get a lot from this one.

Hot Apollo https://hotapollorocks.com