The Quiet Life

On this episode Michael talks to Dave and Steve of The Happy Pear, about their connection as twins and how they can always rely on each other - no matter what they're going through. This episode takes a closer look at why companionship, friendship and community are so important for us as humans, and why working together can make us stronger than we know.  Dave and Steve Flynn started plant-based brand The Happy Pear in 2004 to inspire people to live a happier, healthier life, create more togetherness, and to show delicious ways to eat more veg. The Happy Pear has grown into one of Ireland's most renowned and loved brands, and today they're renowned plant-based chefs with 4 cafes, their own product range and online courses, they are award-winning and bestselling authors, YouTube hits and regular contributors on TV. Find out more about The Happy Pear at the happy pear.ie, find them on YouTube and follow them on Instagram @thehappypear.  This season of the Quiet Life was made possible by our friends at T2. Receive 10% off your first order and heaps of benefits such as rewards, experiences and personalised offers when you join The Tea Society, to start brewing the benefits and redeem your offer visit T2tea.com. This weeks featured tea is English Breakfast available online now and at all T2 stores.

This week we welcome 17 year old Siena Castellon, an autistic neurodiversity advocate and anti-bullying activist to discuss her experiences growing up,  and the negative assumptions and ideas that surround autism. A moving conversation that may challenge everything you think you know about life on the spectrum, embracing and celebrating difference, and how we can all show up as kinder, more compassionate humans in our communities. Siena was diagnosed as autistic when she was twelve, her diagnosis came as a welcome relief after years of being rejected by her classmates for being odd, eccentric and weird and always feeling out of place, she felt she finally had an explanation. But, it was only when she started delving deeper into understanding what this really meant for her that she learned many girls continue to fly under the radar, as behaviours  can vary drastically and many textbooks only studied male behaviours. She discovered that there were very few books and resources aimed at autistic girls, and they didn’t address many of the issues she faced as a teen. So, she decided , to write her own book: The Spectrum Girl’s Survival Guide: How to Grow Up Awesome and Autistic, which is now available at all good book stores. To find out more about Siena follow her on Instagram @qlmentoring or visit her website sienacastellon.com This season of the Quiet Life was made possible by our friends at T2. Receive 10% off your first order and heaps of benefits such as rewards, experiences and personalised offers when you join the Tea Society, to start brewing the benefits and redeem your offer visit T2tea.com. This weeks featured tea is New York Breakfast, find out more about this tea here.

On this weeks episode Michael talks to Sharath Jeevan, Founder of Intrinsic labs and a leading expert in intrinsic motivation. Listen in as they chat about finding our inner drive and building a life where we can feel fulfilled without the need for external gratification, a subject many of us struggle with, whether at work or at home. A gentle conversation about finding your way in life, and remembering the importance of finding moments of joy and happiness in each day. Sharath is one of the world’s leading experts on how to practically re-ignite the inner-drive, or intrinsic motivation in our lives. He is the Founder and Executive Chairman of Intrinsic Labs, and his work has been featured in the likes of The New York Times, The Economist, CNN, National Public Radio and The Times of India. He gained first hand experience in the field through founding STiR Education in 2012. STiR represents the world’s largest initiative to improve intrinsic motivation - in this case in education. Through partnerships with governments and leading donors, it has grown from supporting 12 schools in 2012 to over 35,000 schools today, across India, Africa and South East Asia and has helped over 200,000 teachers and 6 million children. Connect with Sharath on LinkedIn or visit intrinsic-labs.com. This season of the Quiet Life was made possible by our friends at T2. Receive 10% off your first order and heaps of benefits such as rewards, experiences and personalised offers when you join the Tea Society, to start brewing the benefits and redeem your offer visit T2tea.com. This weeks featured tea is Just Camomile, find out more about this tea here.

This week on the Quiet Life Michael talks to Anthony Warner, known as The Angry Chef - a food writer, chef and author of multiple books all of which explore and break down the ways in which we think about how and why we eat. This is a much needed conversation which tackles the problems, misleading information and guilt surrounding food within the wellness industry, and instead allow us to explore the positive experiences of food.  Anthony's writing explores food, obesity, sustainability and the many food fads that often consume us as we make our way through life in the hope of staying healthy. His book 'The Angry Chef: Bad Science and the Truth About Healthy Eating' uncovers unscientific claims about the health benefits of diets, recipes and ingredients and, with the help of psychiatrists, behavioural economists, food scientists and dieticians explores why people are so easily taken in by the latest food fads. Anthony's books, 'The Angry Chef' and 'The Truth About Fat' are available at all good book stores, to find out more visit  angry-chef.com and follow him on Twitter @one_angry_chef. This season of the Quiet Life was made possible by our friends at T2. Receive 10% off your first order and heaps of benefits such as rewards, experiences and personalised offers when you join the Tea Society, to start brewing the benefits and redeem your offer visit T2tea.com. This weeks featured tea is The Quiet Mind, find out more about this tea here.

On this episode Michael talks to Emmy-nominated journalist and filmmaker Shaunagh Connaire about why journalism plays such a huge part in shaping the future. An eye-opening chat about the importance of connecting with the more difficult stories within humanity, and how in order to have impact we need to be able to empathise, and put ourselves in the shoes of the people at the receiving end of the news headlines we often feel so disconnected from. Shaunagh is an award-winning journalist and filmmaker whose work has taken her to all corners of the world to highlight both the challenges and resiliency of humanity. Working for the BBC, Channel 4, CNBC and The Financial Times she has covered stories on Ebola in Sierra Leone, conversion therapy in Beijing and Iran, where she reported on the country’s first ever Islamic online dating institute. To find out more follow her on Instagram @shaunaghconnaire or visit her website shaunagh.com This season of the Quiet Life was made possible by our friends at T2. Receive 10% off your first order and heaps of benefits such as rewards, experiences and personalised offers when you join the Tea Society, to start brewing the benefits and redeem your offer visit T2tea.com. This weeks featured tea is The Dreamer, find out more about this tea here.

This week Michael talks to multiple award-nominated blogger, screenwriter and author Uju Asika, expanding the conversation around racism, and tackling why raising kind kids is so important. A powerful conversation about living as a minority in the UK, with an open and honest look at the experiences of growing up in a culture ready to mark you as different and the changes we can make, not just as parents but as compassionate human beings.  On her popular blog Babes About Town, Uju she shares witty, informative and beautifully written stories about London, culture and family life.  A former journalist, she’s written for publications such as The Guardian and Time Out, and as a screenwriter and script editor, she’s worked on some of Africa’s hottest TV shows, including the award-winning series Tinsel. Born in Nigeria, Uju grew up in the UK and has worked in London, New York and Lagos. She now lives in North London with her husband and two football-mad boys. To find out more visit babesabouttown.com and follow Uju @babesabouttown. This season of the Quiet Life was made possible by our friends at T2. Receive 10% off your first order and heaps of benefits such as rewards, experiences and personalised offers when you join the Tea Society. To start brewing the benefits and redeem your offer visit T2tea.com. This weeks featured tea is Just Peppermint, find out more about this tea here

This season on The Quiet life we invite you to join founder Michael James Wong as he speaks to inspiring people: the ones who are actively expanding conversations, challenging norms and narratives, leading the way towards real solutions, and showing us what it means to live mindfully in the world today.  Learn with us as we ask the questions many of us are thinking but don’t know who to ask, ultimately discovering where we can begin, or perhaps continue, to do our part to help change the world for the better. This is a podcast about elevating the value of our communities and the actions we take to lift them up.  Now is the time to lean in, listen, and act. Let’s do the work together, and truly be mindful in the real world.

In this episode Michael talks to Lisa Daron Grossman, Founder of The Connection Cure about loneliness, the power of community and understanding our human need for connection. A powerful and moving episode, delving deep into a feeling many of us have felt at some point in our lives.  Lisa has made it her life's work to listen and learn in conversations around loneliness, connection and compassion. A native New Yorker, speaker and coach Lisa hosts events that aim to take the stigma out of loneliness, while sharing information about the science of connection.  To find out more visit theconnectioncure.com and follow Lisa on Instagram @lisadaron.