We’re taking a break, and while I’m not sure when we’ll be back, I am sure we will be back. The world of digital media moves quickly, which is somewhat anathema to the work we do at Country Life. While I have enjoyed every single episode we have made, it is absolutely time to have a look at refreshing, updating and improving the format of the podcast we produce, so that is what we are going to do. We hope to return at some point this year, with something more entertaining and more engaging, but still quintessentially Country Life.

It feels slightly silly to call more than 100 episodes of podcasting a single season, but to be honest I am not sure what else to call it. For this week's podcast, I had the privilege of being the person in the digital interview chair, and Toby Keel, my incredibly patient producer, will be the one asking (and answering) questions about all the things we’ve done, people we’ve met and more.

Episode credits

Host (and guest): James Fisher

Editor and producer (and host and guest): Toby Keel

Music: JuliusH via Pixavay

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Here at Country Life, we love the Chelsea Flower Show — and we know you do too.

So we're absolutely delighted to bring you this very special edition of the Country Life Podcast, recorded live in the grounds of the Royal Hospital Chelsea, with Clive Nichols and Kathryn Bradley-Hole.

Kathryn was Country Life's gardens editor for 18 years until moving on to concentrate on writing, and has a lifetime of experience in the horticultural world — and it's also the 40th anniversary of her first trip to the Chelsea Flower Show.

Coincidentally, Clive has also been coming to SW3 for exactly 40 years. The man dubbed 'the king of garden photography' is a regular contributor to Country Life, and we're thrilled that he's not only taken all our pictures from the show this year, but also appeared on this episode of the Country Life Podcast.

Episode credits

Host: Toby Keel

Guests: Kathryn Bradley-Hole and Clive Nichols

Music: JuliusH via Pixabay

Back next time: James Fisher

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Britain is full of architectural talent and ideas. So why is our affordable housing in such a state?

'We need to think of unusual sites and then do something special with them,' says the architecture critic and writer Jonathan Glancey, who joins James Fisher on this week's Country Life Podcast.

Making housing better for all of us — not just the privileged few — is at the heart of the discussion between James and Jonathan, just as it's one of the key issues in Jonathan's latest book, Where We Live: The Fractured Art of British Housebuilding and How to Build the Homes We Need, which is out in June 2026.

Jonathan's years of experience and expertise — from his first job at the The Architectural Review to his many years as The Guardian's architecture and design editor — shines through as he talks about everything from the model villages built by the great railway companies of Victorian Britain through to the huge mistakes made in social housing between 1945 and 1990.

He illuminates the topic in fascinating detail, in a talk which is by turns inspiring, depressing and forward-looking. We hope you enjoy listening to this episode as much as we enjoyed making it.

Where We Live: The Fractured Art of British Housebuilding and How to Build the Homes We Need is published by Icon Books on June 20, 2026 — you can order a copy now from all good bookshops.

Episode credits

Host: James Fisher

Guest: Jonathan Glancey

Editor and producer: Toby Keel

Music: JuliusH via Pixabay

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.