The Clearing - Honest Conversations For Men In Midlife.
The Clearing is a podcast for honest conversations, support and guidance for men in their midlife. A space to pause, reflect, and speak more truthfully about life as it’s actually lived — relationships, identity, pressure, anger, growth, and what it means to be human in a busy, noisy world. Through thoughtful dialogue, lived experience, and moments of quiet clarity, The Clearing invites you to step out of the noise and into something more grounded, real, and connected. Find our website here - https://theclearing.life/
Episodes
I this episode Matt and Karl discuss midlife family relationships, especially changing dynamics with aging parents.
Karl shares that both parents died within ten months—his mother died suddenly on Christmas Day and his father died soon after from stage-four cancer—describing their yin-and-yang personalities, the toll of a difficult relationship with his father, and how their influence continues after death, strengthenin...
Picture the train carriage where ninety percent of people are staring at a phone, or the pub where twenty strangers gather because one person decided to be the protagonist. In this episode, Matt and Karl tackle something they're calling social fitness — the idea that connection isn't a fixed trait you either have or don't, but a muscle you can train, just like...
There's a particular kind of ache that comes from a friendship gone sour — not a dramatic blowup, but a slow erosion, a creeping dread before you see their name pop up on your phone. In this episode, Matt and Karl sit with the friendships that didn't make it: the hedonistic ones that burned bright and faded, the ones that quietly turned toxic, and the ones wor...
Friendship is much more than a mere social formality; it is the fabric that grounds us, supports us, and guides us through the complex journey of human existence.
In today's world, where the synthetic often seems to overshadow the organic, the deep resonance and fulfillment that genuine human connections offer become even more significant. Beyond social formalities, the essence of true friendship lies in acceptance, trust, an...
In this 3rd episode covering the theme of AI in our lives Matt and Karl discuss how to respond optimistically to AI, especially fears about changing jobs, data use, and truth, while noting benefits like faster research and reduced regulatory timelines in areas such as vaccines.
They argue that uniquely human strengths—storytelling, empathy/feeling, personality, and consciousness (noticing, awareness, connection)—remain ...
In their second of several conversations about AI, Matt and Karl move from everyday use of tools like Claude and ChatGPT to the more anxiety-inducing threats:
how flattering, appeasing bots can become more addictive than doomscrolling because they deliver both praise and high-speed output,
blurring boundaries at home and sparking “are you here with me or with the robot?” tensions.
They discuss how AI may soon feel like ...
In this podcast episode, Matt and Karl continue to explore the theme of work and relationships. They cover fulfilment beyond the financial transaction of work, focusing on meaning, contentment, and purpose in midlife careers.
They distinguish short-term gratification (dopamine rewards like bonuses, praise, and milestones) from longer-term satisfaction (deeper emotional nourishment and alignment with values), and discuss how p...
In this podcast episode, Matt and Karl continue a series on work, moving from identity to interpersonal relationships and how midlife men navigate colleagues, clients, and hybrid working.
Karl describes running a solo pelvic pain clinic with patients aged 18–88 and how the pandemic forced a shift from hands-on sessions to telehealth, expanding his reach globally while coinciding with increased client suicidality, his own ment...
Picture the scene. Someone at a party says they're a fighter pilot. The room lights up. Now imagine telling that same room you zigzagged from tennis coach to massage therapist to men's health specialist — via art college and a European Business degree. Different reaction. Same value. Very different story.
We're wired for negativity. It kept us alive on the savannah, and it's keeping us stuck in our relationships today — noticing every open cupboard door, every pair of shoes left out, while the good stuff slides right off us like a fried egg on a non-stick pan.
In this episode, Matt and Karl get into the other side of the feedback conversation: what happens when we stop just tolerating the people we love and actually start seei...
In episode nine, Matt and Karl return after an Easter break and continue their multi-week series on relationships, building on themes from a recent men’s gathering about self-care, boundaries, and negotiating personal time away from family.
They discuss how partners can manage encroachment on agreed “me time,” including setting expectations and using an emergency phrase for genuine escalations.
It's the spring equinox, and something shifts. Not just in the season — in the direction of the podcast. Karl opens with something his wife said to him that he couldn't brush past. Four words, quietly devastating, that cracked open a conversation he didn't know he needed to have. It's not a crisis story. It's a human one.
In this honest episode, Matt returns to the mic 16 days after undergoing complex surgery — and shares what recovery has actually looked, felt and smelled like from the inside.
This isn't a polished post-op update. It's a real-time account of what happens when a capab...
In Episode 6 of The Clearing Podcast, Matt and Karl start with the realities of half-term chaos (and the small wins of kids becoming a little more independent)… before moving into something many of us recognise:
"The fear of what’s coming next."
When we look to the future, there’s the exciting stuff — trips, learning new skills, time away. But there’s also the heavier stuff: health concerns, paperwork...
In Episode 5 of The Clearing Podcast, Matt and Karl pick up on a thread from last week’s real-time check-in and follow it deeper: self-care.
We explore a version that shows up in small choices, tiny rituals, and honest trade-offs — especially when life is busy, relationships are demanding, and your bandwidth is shrinking.
What you can expect in this episode:
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Why self-care is best understood as an investment (rathe...
In Episode 4, Matt and Karl do a real-time Clearing check-in.
After Episode 3’s conversation about check-ins (moving from “Yeah, I'm alright mate” to the deep dive), this episode explores a real life example of a check in — a candid, insight into what they’re bringing into the space before “Clearing business” begins.
Karl shares a week of solo parenting while his wife is away on a yoga retr...
In this episode of The Clearing, Matt and Karl explore the simple question that often isn’t simple at all: “How are you?”
Drawing on Karl’s work with men living with chronic pain and their own experiences in men’s gatherings, they unpack how rarely men truly check in — with themselves, with partners, with friends, and with their wider community. So often the exchange stops at “I’m fin...
Episode 2 – Kindness: capacity, boundaries, and the voices in our heads
In this episode of The Clearing, Matt and Karl sit down to talk about kindness — a lived, limited, and deeply human capacity. Where there is opportunity, and perhaps where we all need some guidance and compassion.
The conversation begins with kindness towards others: small, instinctive acts, moments of noticing, and the question of whether society i...
In this opening episode, Matt and Karl introduce The Clearing — what it is, why it exists, and who it’s for.
They share their own backgrounds, lived experience, and the journeys that brought them here: working with men through pain, transition, identity, fatherhood, partnership, grief, and the question many men quietly ask in midlife — “Is this it?”
This conversation sets out the heart of The Clearin...
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