SIDE A · ART & EVERYDAY LIFE
The art of paying attention.
Nell Calder on tiny details, public benches and the boring bits worth a second look. Released Thursday 15 October 2026.
RUNTIME 52:18NO ADS. NO SCRIPTS.
Nell Calder
Photographer and wanderer. Spends most weekends on foot with a camera and no plan. Her bench survey counted 212 benches in the town, and she has sat on most of them.
The art of
paying attention.
WITH NELL CALDER / 52:18
SOUND OFF
Listen on Apple Podcasts Spotify RSS
SHOW NOTES
What we talked about.
THE KETTLE BOILED TWICE.
Cold open on a public bench
Nell describes the bench outside the library and why she sits on it on Tuesdays.
Why she stopped photographing landmarks
Everyone takes the same picture of the same tower. Nell now looks for the crack in the pavement.
The bench survey
212 benches, one question each: who sits here, and why. The answers are funnier than the data.
Boredom as a way of seeing
Ten minutes in one spot, no phone, and a sudden interest in the shape of a drainpipe.
Homework for the listener
Sit somewhere ordinary for ten minutes and write down three things you have never noticed.
Nobody tells you that looking is a skill. You have to practise it on the boring bits first.
Want the next one on Thursday?
Subscribe and it lands in your inbox the moment it goes out. Club members hear each episode a day early.