How to Stay Sane in a Pandemic

With Joanna Fortune

Joanna Fortune is a highly experienced child psychotherapist with her own practice. She is a familiar voice on radio, as the parenting expert on the Moncrieff Show on Newstalk FM. She is the author of the 15 Minute Parenting guides and also has her own podcast series, also called 15 Minute Parenting which you can listen to here https://joannafortune.podbean.com/

We talk about children and young adults and how the pandemic has effected them and how we can address these losses as we begin the slow journey back to normal living.

As our conversation was so interesting and important we didn’t get time to go through Joanna’s great choices for reading and watching. So here they are:

Joanna’s book recommendations are:

What Happened to You, by Bruce Perry and Oprah Winfrey

Michael Rosen’s Book of Play

Savage Her Reply by Deirdre Sullivan

Joanna’s Netflix recommendation is Shtisel

Podcasts

Joanna recommends BBC4 true crime podcasts including Girl Taken and I’m not a Monster.

How to Stay Sane in a Pandemic

With Katherine Lynch

Katherine Lynch is probably best known for her hilarious and outrageous shows on RTE – Wagons Den, Wonder Women and Single ladies and the legion of mad characters she brought to life. But Katherine is also a singer, a poet, a documentary maker and most recently, a life coach.

Katherine’s reading recommends are The Narrowland by Christine Dwyer Hickey and The Twin Paradox by Charles Watcher.

Her favourite podcasts at the moment are, Doireann Garrihy’s ‘The Laughs of Your Life’ and Stella O Malley’s ‘Gender, A Wider Lens’

She listens to the music of Sean Keane.

And her Netflix recommends are ‘Call My Agent’ and Shtisel. And when she need some brain fudge she watches The Housewives of Beverly Hills.

And do check out some of Katherine’s new music. Here is Blue Beach which is gorgeous.

How to Stay Sane in a Pandemic

With Dr Lollie Mancey

Dr Lollie Mancey is a cultural anthropologist and academic who teaches innovation at UCD. She is also an expert in Rites of Passage with a passion for story telling and learning.

Lollie’s book recommendations were

The Beauty of Living Twice by Sharon Stone

Mr Gupta Goes to the Sea by Paul Comerford

And for listening Lollie recommends the podcasts of BBC Radio 4’s Women Hour

and the Petty Little Things Podcast with drag legends, Victoria Secret and Davina Devine.

How To Stay Sane in a Pandemic

With Pat Dawson, CEO Irish Travel Agents Association

Pat Dawson is a well known voice on radio in his position as CEO of the ITAA (Irish Travel Agents Association) and this timely chat includes his insight into how the Irish travel business has been decimated by the pandemic and the work going on behind the scenes to make travel possible once restrictions are eased.

Pat’s viewing recommendation is Dad’s Army – the series which is available on Amazon Prime and BBC player (if you are in the juristication).

He also recommends Barack Obama, Dreams from my Father as a good read.

How to Stay Sane in a Pandemic

With June Shannon

June Shannon is a medical / health journalist who has helped many of us stay sane over the last year with her live tweets of the briefings by NPHET and Government. She has distilled down figures and words into easily understandable tweets and has regularly burned her dinner in the process.

June’s book recommendations are:

A Light That Never Goes Out by Keelin Shanley

Psychiatrist in the Chair – Biography of Anthony Clare by Brendan Kelly & Muiris Houston

Seamus Heaney 100 Poems

Barbara’s recommendation is Sinead Moriarty’s new novel which will be published in summer, called About Us.

June’s TV/Netflix Recommendations are the soaps – which seem to have been largely forgotten today. June is an avid viewer of both Corrie and EastEnders

June also recommends The Guernsey Literary & Potato Peel Pie Society movie which is on Netflix and Barbara recommends the book too.

How To Stay Sane in a Pandemic

With Dil Wickremsinghe

Dil is a mental health professional, an activist, a journalist and former broadcaster who presented Global Village on Newstalk.

Along with her partner, Anne Marie Toole they founded and run Insight Matters, a counselling, psychotherapy and wellness centre offering affordable and accessible mental health support, in Dublin.

The book recommendation this week was my suggestion and is the Dublin City Libraries One City One Book choice for 2021 and is the beautiful, gentle tale of Leonard and Hungry Paul by Ronan Hession.

And the TV/Movie recommendation was The Morning Show – available on Apple TV

How to Stay Sane in a Pandemic

With Rory O’Neill aka Panti Bliss

Rory O’Neill is an entertainer, a drag queen, a publican and an activist and I was delighted to welcome him to the webcast. Our conversation meandered around the decimation of the arts and live entertainment, living in a very quiet city to how Rory will be very safe in the aftermath of the apocalypse. You will enjoy this one.

Rory’s book suggestions were:

Healing Back Pain, The Mind Body Connection by John Sarno

Empire of the Summer Moon by S.C. Gwynne

And on Netflix Rory recommends Project Runway.

How To Stay Sane in a Pandemic

With Samantha Kelly aka The Tweeting Goddess

Samantha Kelly is a social media specialist, a twitter expert, a business coach and the founder of the Women’s Inspire Network which supports female entrepreneurs. She is currently working on the networks event for International Women’s Day on the 8th of March which features a great line up of speakers. https://win21refresh.heysummit.com/?fbclid=IwAR2zJwxqI-3TNPYl6r7dRngy-ZWfM_eftc3IIn5rlV6tv2rldFcEDK6pw3E#

And she is the host of #soberstpatricksday 2021.

If you want a kick of positivity and some ‘can do’ attitude, you will enjoy what she has to say.

Sam recommends Vicky Phelan’s book ‘Overcoming’

Barbara’s book recommendation is The Dutch House by Anne Pachett

Barbara also recommends Summer of Rockets on Netflix

How To Stay Sane in a Pandemic

With Tom Clonan

Dr Tom Clonan is a columnist, broadcaster, security analyst, feminist and advocate for disabilty and a retired Army Captain. A calm and reasoned commentator, his take on where we are in this pandemic might just cheer you up.

He also has some cracking book, podcast and viewing recommendations which are listed below. Enjoy. And if you do, please share.

Tom’s recommended read : The Gustav Sonata by Rose Tremain

Tom’s podcast recommendation : The Nobody Zone by RTE and Louis Theroux podcast, Grounded especially the episode with Ruby Wax

Tom’s viewing recommendations : Deuthscland ’86 available on All Four.

How To Stay Sane in a Pandemic

Episode 8 : Steve Cummins

Steve Cummins is a comedian and resident host of The Laughter Lounge. He is currently one half of the very successful Zoom Party providing events virtually. See zoomparty.ie

This episode is great fun with references to my arse and a rude story about monkeys. If you need cheering up, this just might do it for you.

Oh there were some book and podcast recommendations too (listed below).

Enjoy!

Steve’s Book recommendations..

Nikki Sixx (from Motley Crue) The Heroin Diaries

Stephen King – The Dark Tower Series

Lee Child – the Jack Reacher novels

Podcast – No Such Thing As A Fish from the makers of QI.

Steve also recommended PodBean a free app for your podcast listening.

How to Stay Sane in a Pandemic

Episode 7 : SARAH CAREY

Columnist and broadcaster, Sarah Carey joined me this week for my How To Stay Sane Webcast.

She had some cracking book suggestions along with interesting radio programme suggestions too. And yes, of course, we talked about Bridgerton.

We didn’t get to all Sarah’s book suggestions but she kindly sent them on and here they are:

Non-fiction

East West Street by Philippe Sands,

On Identity, Violence and the need to belong by Amin Mahlouf

Dominion, How Christianity Shaped the Western mind by Tom Holland

The Varieties of Religious Experience by William James.

Fiction

What Sarah called her ‘Spinster Lit’ recommendations

She recommends all the books of Barbara Pym, Muriel Spark and Anita Brookner

She also recommends Nancy Mitford who she says is a hoot.

Other favourites are The Unseen by Roy Jacobsen which she says are one of the most beautiful poetic books I’ve ever read. And other poetry such as Lullaby by WH Auden and ‘What Auden Can Do For You’ by Alexander McCall Smith. And Heaney’s The Cure At Troy

Also recommend On Kindness by Adam Philips, the famous British psychonalyst

Radio and Podcasts

Backlisted podcast – Brings new life to old books. It’s a joy.

Drama on BBC Radio 4 and BBC Radio 4 Extra -right now listening to Hercule Poirot!

The Archers BBC Radio 4

Soul Music (BBC Radio 4)

In Our Time ( BBCR4)

Delusions (short series on BBC Radio 4 you should be able to find it)

Cautionary Tales (Tim Hartford, behavioural psychology)

Thinking Allowed (BBCR4)

If you enjoy these webcasts please share the links either on Twitter, Facebook or right here on my website.

How To Stay Sane In A Pandemic

Episode 6 with Terry Prone

Communications expert, author and commentator, Terry Prone joined me for the last of my How To Stay Sane webcasts of this year…. and what a great guest she was. Not only are there some really great book suggestions but you will learn of the many uses of WD40.

Click the link into YouTube to watch.

Terry Prone’s Full List of Book Suggestions:

Isaac’s Storm
Eric Larson
Vintage 1999

Working Stiff
Judy Melinek, M.D., and T.J. Mitchell
Scribner 2014

Painted Ladies
Robert B. Parker
Putnam 2010

Becoming Nicole
Amy Ellis Nutt
Random House

That’s What SHE Said
Joanne Lipman
Morrow 2018

Digital Minimalism
Cal Newport
Portfolio Penguin 2019

Holding
Graham Norton
Hodder&Stoughton 2016

The Pandemic Century
Mark Honigsbaum
Penguin 2019

Hidden Valley Road
Robert Kolker
Quercus 2020

Breaking and Mending
Joanna Cannon
Profile Books 2019 Published in association with the Wellcome Collection

The Beauty in Breaking
Michele Harper
Riverhead Books 2020

Group Think
Christopher Booker
Bloomsbury 2020

A Guarded Life
Majella Moynihan, Aoife Kelleher
Hachette 2020

Force of Nature
Jane Harper
Little, Brown 2017

Last Witnesses
Svetlana Alexievich
Penguin 2019

Here’s the Story
Mary McAleese
Penguin/Sandycove 2020

The Nothing Man
Catherine Ryan Howard
Blackstone 2020

The Psychiatrist in the Chair
Muiris Houston/Brendan Kelly
Merrion Press 2020

Outline
Rachel Cusk
Faber&Faber, 2014

Our Little Cruelties
Liz Nugent
Penguin 2020

Three Hours
Rosamund Lipton
Penguin 2020

Ghosts
Dolly Alderton
Penguin 2020

Monogamy
Sue Miller
Bloomsbury 2020

Invisible Women
Caroline Criado Perez
Vintage 2019

How To Stay Sane in a Pandemic

Episode 5 with Rebecca Horan

Journalist and Broadcaster Rebecca Horan joined me for the fifth episode of my webcast and had some brilliant book recommendations.

You can watch by clicking the link into YouTube here

Rebecca’s Book Recommendations

Fleishman is in trouble by Taffy Brodesser Akner

Daisy Jones and the Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid

On the Road by by Jack Kerouac

City of girls by Elisabeth Gilbert

Untamed by Glennon Doyle

The Education of an Idealist by Samantha Power

Rafa by John Carlin and Rafa Nadal

Barbara’s book recommendation – Away With The Penguins by Hazel Prior

How To Stay Sane in a Pandemic

Episode 4 with TV Producer, Bill Hughes.

My guest this week is Bill Hughes, legendary TV Producer who has made over 1000 hours of music, arts, entertainment and documentary television since he began his career in the 1980s. He began his TV career in 1985 with the ground breaking MT USA which was the first music video programme in Europe. More recently, his company Mind The Gap Films was behind the very popular ‘Cutting Edge’ on RTE.

Bill had some really great recommendations for your entertainment in books, music and film. Enjoy.

Bill’s Book Recommendations:

The Hearts Invisible Furies, by John Boyne

That Glimpse of Truth – 100 of the finest short stories ever written, chosen by David Miller

Fabulosa – The Story of Polari, Britain’s Secret Gay Language.

And my book choice this week is Lady In Waiting by Anne Glenconner.

Bill’s Listening Recommendations:

The box set of The Collected Poems of Seamus Heaney from RTE

Jessye Norman – Four Last Songs

Passion by Stephen Sondheim

Bill’s Movie Recommendations:

Little Women – the recent version with Saoirse Ronan

The Women – from 1939. Avail on DVD.