The Shelley Tasker Show

Broadcasts live every Wednesday at 7:00p.m. uk time on Radio Soapbox: http://radiosoapbox.com In this roundtable edition of the show, I stepped in for Shelley and opened up a lively discussion around a deceptively simple question: do you love your country? What began as a reflection on a chance encounter while fundraising quickly developed into a much broader conversation about what we even mean by ‘country’ — whether it is birthplace, ancestry, culture, county, shared history, shared values, or some combination of all of them. With Paul, Alex and a caller joining in, we explored how identity can be rooted in land, kinship, language, belonging and lived experience, while also recognising how difficult it can be to define those ideas cleanly in modern Britain. The discussion ranged across Englishness, Britishness, Cornwall, immigration, assimilation, trust in society, pride, embarrassment, and the difference between loving a place and approving of its current direction. We also touched on historical memory, slavery, reparations, empire, and whether national belonging is best understood through race, culture or values. A Rudyard Kipling poem helped crystallise one of the evening’s central tensions: the pull between familiarity and difference, and between emotional loyalty and rational principle. By the end, there was no single agreed definition of ‘country’, but there was a clear sense that the question still matters deeply — especially when people are trying to work out what is worth preserving, what has been lost, and what it really means to belong.

Broadcasts live every Wednesday at 7:00p.m. uk time on Radio Soapbox: http://radiosoapbox.com In this lively and unexpected episode of The Shelley Tasker Show, I’m joined by my co-host Maleficca Scott for a wonderfully unplanned wander through the week’s stories and our own lives. We touch on Tommy Robinson being found guilty of harassing journalists, the latest budget talk, support for Ukraine, a heartwarming story of a family dog found alive after a house fire, and fresh calls for the UN to declare climate change a health emergency. With our guest unable to make it, the conversation opens out into something more personal and spontaneous, including plenty of laughs, reflections on media narratives, and a preview of next week’s big question: “Do you love your country?” We also get into work, wellbeing and what really matters. I share why stepping away from a draining job in elderly care has lifted a weight off my shoulders, while Scott talks about the physical demands and quiet rewards of working in nature. From yoga, gardening and self-sufficiency to money, family, creativity and being present for the people we love, this episode becomes a heartfelt reminder not to lose ourselves in the grind. It’s a chatty, honest show about stress, time, community and trying to hold on to the joy in everyday life.

Broadcasts live every Wednesday at 7:00p.m. uk time on Radio Soapbox: http://radiosoapbox.com On this evening’s Shelley Tasker Show, Mr Scott and I eased into the programme with a very autumnal catch-up, chatting about stormy weather, darker mornings, cosy evenings, dehumidifiers, tumble dryers, old Christmas lights and the little rituals that make this time of year feel homely. We also touched on local headlines and the growing use of technology in retail crime reporting before welcoming our guest for the night, Dr Stephen Hawkwood, to the show. Stephen joined us for a wide-ranging and thought-provoking conversation about his background in conventional medicine, acupuncture, naturopathy and functional testing, and why he moved towards a more holistic view of health. We discussed health cultivation, nutrition, blood testing and complementary approaches to wellbeing, before moving into his long history of activism, his scepticism towards mainstream institutions, and his commitment to community conversations in Totnes. The discussion also explored his practical life off-grid, including farming, food resilience, keeping pigs and preparing for uncertain times — making for a lively, unusual and unforgettable episode.

Broadcasts live every Wednesday at 7:00p.m. uk time on Radio Soapbox: http://radiosoapbox.com On tonight’s show, I was joined by Mr Scott for one of our usual lively rambles before welcoming returning guest Monika Schafer back to the programme. We started with a wonderfully offbeat chat about wasp stings, bees, hornets and all the strange bits of knowledge Mr Scott seems to keep tucked away for just the right moment. From there, we drifted into a deeper conversation about homeopathy, prescription medicine, HRT, menopause, anxiety, and the way our thoughts can shape how we experience life. It was one of those shows that moved naturally from the everyday to the profound, with plenty of honesty, humour and reflection along the way. In the second half, Monica joined us for a powerful and thought-provoking conversation about her brother Alfred’s prison sentence in Germany, the wider issue of free speech, political dissent, and the consequences people can face for challenging official narratives. Monica also spoke movingly about her own experience, why she has no regrets about speaking out, and how adversity can strengthen conviction rather than break it. We also heard the remarkable story of her father’s life, from surviving one of Eisenhower’s post-war camps to later being vilified in modern Canada despite a lifetime of medical service. It was a passionate, challenging and deeply human discussion about truth, courage, memory and the price some people pay for refusing to stay silent.

Broadcasts live every Wednesday at 7:00p.m. uk time on Radio Soapbox: http://radiosoapbox.com In this episode, I’m joined by Mr Scott as we wrap up the third and final part of our addiction trilogy with returning guests Alex and David G. Before we dive in, we have a light-hearted catch-up about work, back pain, AI, and one very pressing household dilemma: whether a home should be shoes-off or shoes-on. Then the conversation turns serious as Alex and David share powerful reflections on addiction, recovery, stigma, and the lived reality behind the label of “addict”. We explore how addiction affects people from every background, why trauma and life circumstances can play such a major role, and how public attitudes often fail to match the complexity of what people are actually going through. We also examine the systems around recovery, from NHS and private rehabilitation to the role of free support networks such as AA and NA. Alex speaks candidly about his own experience of paying for rehab and discovering that the most valuable support often came from community-based meetings already available at no cost. David brings historical and social context, touching on prohibition, the war on drugs, prescribed medication, and the contradictions in how society judges different substances. Together, we ask difficult but important questions about whether people are truly doing the best they can with what they’ve got, what meaningful recovery support should look like, and whether more effective treatments are being overlooked.