#28 Exploring the Unknown: Tim Shiel's Journey After Quitting His Job, Challenging Capitalism: A Desire to Change the World

... is the title that the AI suggested for this podcast episode. Banal and subtly terrifying. I couldn't resist.

I’m a bit intimidated by this thing, the act of writing. This is one of the reasons why the newsletter comes in spurts and waves, long periods of silence. I lose momentum and then I get scared and doubt myself. What to say? How to say it? Where to start?

One thing that comes much more naturally to me is talking into a microphone. So today, I did just that.

Turned the mic on, rambled for a bit - oh boy is it a ramble:

You can also find it on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, wherever you listen to podcasts (probably) .. if the latest episode is not there by the time you read this just subscribe and then be damn patient. Maybe pass the time by listening to the previous episode which was a long lovely conversation with my mate Maggie Tra?

You can read a full transcript of what I recorded today, if you’d prefer.

The AI software I used to make the transcript, by the way, offers all kinds of other terrifying AI assistance. I asked it to give me a title for the podcast episode and it gave me something wonderfully generic which I have immortalised as this email’s subject header, no doubt confusing or alienating some percentage of you. AI is great at casually generating generic horrors. Endless, and endlessly banal, viscerally terrifying content horrors. I won’t link you the things I’ve seen as I think that would be irresponsible. Good times ahead.

AI also gave me this quite functional, if extremely charmless, summary of today’s recording. Contains spoilers, but maybe this will help you decide if it’s worth an hour:

Tim Shiel introduces himself and his current state of exploration after quitting his job as a radio presenter. He discusses his interest in art music and his skepticism towards its unconventional approach. Tim reflects on the importance of dialogue and conversation in shaping his thoughts and ideas. He explores the themes of being lost, loneliness, and the need for connection. Tim also shares his fascination with rivers and the desire to escape the straight lines and order of urban life. In this part of the conversation, Tim Shiel reflects on the impact of human development on the natural environment and his growing sensitivity to it. He discusses the benefits of riding a bike and walking in connecting with the world around us. Tim also shares his thoughts on capitalism and his desire to change the world. He recommends reading Ursula Le Guin's book 'The Dispossessed' and highlights her contributions to science fiction and her ability to inject feminist and gender identity themes into her work. Tim concludes by expressing his admiration for Ursula Le Guin and her speeches on the state of the world and the need for playful and insightful figures in discourse.

Thanks AI for this long and boring way of simply saying “wow, Tim Shiel is back on his bullshit.”

If you’re curious, dive in. Have a listen, have a read, tell me what it makes you think about. Below is an excerpt, edited a bit, to further help you decide. (If you do nothing else from this email, click one of the below videos to listen to Bayo speak. It’s a vibe.)

GETTING LOST WITH BAYO

So I was talking to someone yesterday about how it's going, because everyone's really interested in about how it's going.

I recently left a day job that is sort of, well … if not high profile, it was definitely “profile”.  People are rightly pretty curious about the fact that I left it when I didn't really need to, and hey, it was a pretty good job.  People are checking in on me when I catch up with them. “How's it going?” “You alright?”

So my friend, Seb, yesterday he said some variation of those words to me. “How are you going?” ”You alright?” I found myself telling him I felt lost. I think it took me a few sentences to get to that because I didn't want to admit it straight up front.

“Hey, how are you going?”  “Yeah, I'm lost.”  

But, I explained, I'm lost in like this great way. And a really scary way. I don't really know what I'm doing and where I'm going or what my purpose is. I'm a bit floaty. I'm trying to figure it out. I'm deeply invested and I want to, you know, make the world a better place and work on myself. “Transform yourself to transform the world.” If I want to make the world a better place, it starts by working on myself and being willing to lose myself in that process.  I’m starting now, six weeks in, to feel quite lost.

In just this last week or so, I have been utterly lost in the words of a speaker and activist called Bayo Akomalafe. My deep dive started by watching this excellent episode of Rachel Donald’s excellent podcast Planet Critical:

Bayo is a Nigerian thinker and poet and philosopher. He speaks with deep charisma and a devastating precise clarity that I could only ever dream of. And with the kind of intense charismatic poetry that I am almost skeptical of. Do you know what I mean?  He also speaks with such great warmth - and the things that he says feel right when he says them. But, you know, balance that with, let’s call it a skepticism of charisma. 

I have a really healthy skepticism of charisma, which I think is something that comes from being a person who has not ever felt particularly charismatic. That's a me thing. Charismatic people intimidate me. But also because, you know, charisma is a tool, a technology, human technology. And like all technologies, it can be used for great good, and it can also be used for not good. Right? It's just a tool, charisma. And often people wield it without a lot of thought.

Bayo is not that man. He's a fascinating character and I'm not going to be able to summarize what I've learned from him in just the last few days. It's going to take me a lot more than that to unpack everything that I've been hearing.

This talk is two hours (!) - and worth every minute.

One of the many things I've heard Bayo talk about, across a few of his recent talks, is that right now, we have a need to get lost. By “we” I really mean, me and my kind - the West, the so-called Western countries, the global North. I speak from colonised Australia, let’s remember that is my perspective, right?

In the context of climate change, such a great challenge that we face, and deep, deep inequality, wealth inequality, not to mention all the other challenges that are so obvious now in our lives - we have an urgent need to step out of the box, to get out of our own way. Which is such an incredibly difficult thing to do.

We need to get lost, right?  There may not be a path to a better future by doing the same old thing. We may actually need to get to some pretty new ideas and some radical ideas or even some new ideas that are actually from 50 years ago, but that just aren't, haven't been entertained. To do that we might need to get lost. 

(To hear this in the context of what comes before and after it - listen to the full podcast on Apple, Spotify, Substack, wherever or read the full transcript)

TALKING WITH MAGGIE

Before I go - thanks to everyone who watched my interview with Maggie Tra recently.

For anyone is new here, I recently sat down for a long chat with my friend Maggie, who is an inspiring DJ and producer and the founder of Hanoi Community Radio. I wanted to pick her rbain about why she makes music: why she thinks its a useful tool for building community as well as just her own personal journey from Australia to Hanoi and back.

This is also essentially the pilot episode for a longer term project I’m hoping to launch soon - it’s nothing ground-breaking, its just me talking to great people about why music matters. Some people might call it “A Podcast” .. I’m still recording episodes and hoping to launch in September. If you have feedback now is the time to share! I have really appreciated the few comments and thoughts I’ve had so far.

Side note: pretty sure, there is a law somewhere that says as an ex-radio host I am obligated to launch multiple podcasts within 6 months of quitting my job and I’m nothing if not an obedient citizen. Maybe part of getting older is leaning into being a caricature of yourself, and finding the joy and truth in that.

Hit me up! I’d love to know if you got anything from today’s newsletter/podcast combo, and just generally, love to hear from you as it motivates me to keep contributing, keep talking, not just be stuck in my own head and in my own thoughts. What are you thinking about?

Til next time

Tim