Homing

Latest Episodes:

Sue Webster on Punk, The Mole House & The Art of Non-Conformity Apr 23, 2026

Show notes

Artist Sue Webster built a career and a home by refusing to fit in — it’s why she identifies with the Mole Man so much.

She found fame alongside her husband Tim Noble, as part of the post-YBA generation — their anarchic self-portraits, made from found objects and discarded rubbish, made them the “rock stars” of British art. Together they built the Dirty House in Shoreditch, which helped define the area as the epicentre of London's art scene.

More recently, Sue has created an equally radical home for herself: the Mole House in Hackney, built on top of the tunnels where the so-called Mole Man spent forty years digging underground. Where some saw an oddity, Sue saw something worth preserving. The house is a love letter to eccentricity, and a rare pocket of creative chaos in an increasingly polished city.

From growing up in a caravan in Leicester to carving out a place in the art world and becoming a mother at 52, Sue’s story is one of fierce independence and how to live a life that is truly authentic to yourself.

Sue's first solo exhibition, Birth of an Icon, is on show at Firstsite in Colchester.

A full tour of The Mole House is available to members on Patreon:

http://patreon.com/HomingWithMatt

To hear more from us:

YouTube: Subscribe to our channel, Homing with Matt, to watch the video version

Instagram: @homingwithmatt

Contact: Email us at hello@mattgibberd.com

Matt Gibberd’s book, A Modern Way to Live, is available here: https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/320176/a-modern-way-to-live-by-gibberd-matt/9780241480496

Music by @simeonwalkermusic

Identity & design by @lena.winkler.creative.office

Produced by @podshoponline

The full video home tour is available to members on Patreon:

http://patreon.com/HomingWithMatt

★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

Do We Really Need More Stuff? — with Japanese Architect Takero Shimazaki Apr 16, 2026

Show notes

Most of us think we need more — more space, more things, more possessions. Japanese architect Takero Shimazaki believes we may already have enough.

Takero has designed some of the most elegant private houses in Britain, including one that was nominated for the Stirling Prize. His buildings are never grand or showy. Instead, they are thoughtful and restrained.

He grew up in Japan, where there’s a long tradition of embracing imperfection and accepting that materials age naturally. His grandfather — also an architect — taught him that light and proportion shape not just a building, but how we feel inside it. It’s a philosophy Takero has carried with him ever since.

When his father died two years ago, he found himself confronting a simple but liberating truth: we don’t really own anything. Today, he tries not to own much. He still wears the cashmere jumpers he inherited from his grandfather.

In this conversation, Takero reflects on the Japanese idea of “enough” — the belief that most of us already have what we need. He speaks about his own modest Victorian house and about how good design can create spaces that feel calm and private even in the middle of a dense city.

This is a conversation about impermanence, intention, and how taking care of the things around us allows them, in turn, to take care of us.

These discussions are intended for general information and should not be considered medical, psychological or professional advice. If you have concerns about your health or wellbeing, please consult a qualified professional.

To hear more from us:

YouTube: Subscribe to our channel, Homing with Matt, to watch the video version

Instagram: @homingwithmatt

TikTok: @homing.with.matt

Contact: Email us at hello@mattgibberd.com

Matt Gibberd’s book, A Modern Way to Live, is available here: https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/320176/a-modern-way-to-live-by-gibberd-matt/9780241480496

Music by @simeonwalkermusic

Identity & design by @lena.winkler.creative.office

Produced by @podshoponline

★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

Henry Holland on Reinvention, Resilience & Home in Two Halves Apr 09, 2026

Show notes

For fashion designer turned ceramicist Henry Holland, reinvention isn't about starting over – it's about evolving on your own terms.

Henry first made his name with the cult fashion label House of Holland, famous for cheeky slogans like 'Do Me Daily Christopher Bailey' and 'Let's Breed Bella Hadid'. But in recent years, he has pivoted to making homewares and contemporary ceramics, using the Japanese technique of nerikomi.

With his East London house currently being refurbished from top to bottom, Henry is living in a home of two halves. It’s the perfect metaphor for this transitional stage of his life.

His parents separated when he was young, and he split his time between the two households. One was ordered and structured, while the other was more creative. It’s clear that he lives his life today with the influence of both.

There’s the playful version of him that we’ve seen pictured at parties. But there’s also a deeply determined side that’s about proving people wrong, which partly stems from the bullying he experienced when he was young.
Henry is not afraid to reveal his sensitivities, opening up about everything from panic attacks and imposter syndrome to the disappointment he felt when his fashion brand closed down in 2020.
This is a conversation about reinvention, resilience and the tension between who we’ve been and who we’re becoming.

This episode was recorded inside Henry’s home in East London.

A full tour of the house is available to our Patreon community.

Patreon: http://patreon.com/HomingWithMatt

To hear more from us:

YouTube: Subscribe to our channel, Homing with Matt, to watch the video version

Instagram: @homingwithmatt

Contact: Email us at hello@mattgibberd.com

Matt Gibberd’s book, A Modern Way to Live, is available here: https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/320176/a-modern-way-to-live-by-gibberd-matt/9780241480496

Music by @simeonwalkermusic

Identity & design by @lena.winkler.creative.office

Produced by @podshoponline

The full visualised home tour is available to our Patreon community.

Patreon: http://patreon.com/HomingWithMatt

★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

How to Detoxify Your Home with Dr. Jenny Goodman Mar 26, 2026

Show notes

We think of home as our ultimate refuge – a sanctuary from the noise and pollution of the outside world. But what if the space meant to protect us is actually the one we should be questioning most?

Dr. Jenny Goodman, a practitioner of ecological medicine, has spent years examining how modern life exposes us to toxins and sharing practical steps we can take to reduce exposure.

Jenny breaks down the "cocktail effect" of everyday cleaning products, the common mistakes we make with food storage and the reason she chooses a Wi-Fi-free domestic life.

This isn’t a conversation about getting everything right. No home is entirely free from toxicity, and it’s about personal choice. But Jenny teaches us the importance of paying closer attention to our surroundings – and making small, considered changes that may have a positive impact in the long term.

To hear more from us:

YouTube: Subscribe to our channel, Homing with Matt, to watch the video version

Instagram: @homingwithmatt

TikTok: @homing.with.matt

Contact: Email us at hello@mattgibberd.com

Matt Gibberd’s book, A Modern Way to Live, is available here: https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/320176/a-modern-way-to-live-by-gibberd-matt/9780241480496

Music by @simeonwalkermusic

Identity & design by @lena.winkler.creative.office

Produced by @podshoponline

★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

Maria Balshaw on Creative Rebellion, Life After the Tate & The House as a Container Mar 19, 2026

Show notes

Beyond the whirlwind of galleries and exhibitions, Tate Director Maria Balshaw's home holds the quieter, deeply personal moments of her life.

Growing up in Northampton, she longed to escape her characterless new-build house and nurtured a desire to be different. Her current home in Kent is a reflection of that creative rebellion, with medieval beams at its centre, classical sash windows on one side and Crittalls on the other.

Maria grows vegetables in her garden year-round, swims in the sea nearby, and measures time by what’s coming into flower – a way to be at one with nature and shed the stress of an urban working week.

Her mother spent her final months in this house, sitting on the terrace in the sun, watching buzzards circle the valley, convinced one of them was her late husband waiting for her.

At the end of March, Maria is stepping down from her position at the Tate after nine years, signing off with a major Tracey Emin exhibition. She knows exactly where she’ll be the following morning: in the garden, in her wellies, at the start of the growing season.

This is a conversation about movement and rootedness – and about what it means to build a home that can hold both.
This episode was recorded inside Maria’s home in Kent.

A full tour of the home and garden is available to our Patreon community.
Patreon: http://patreon.com/HomingWithMatt

To hear more from us:

YouTube: Subscribe to our channel, Homing with Matt, to watch the video version
Instagram: @homingwithmatt
Contact: Email us at hello@mattgibberd.com

Matt Gibberd’s book, A Modern Way to Live, is available here: https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/320176/a-modern-way-to-live-by-gibberd-matt/9780241480496

Music by @simeonwalkermusic
Identity & design by @lena.winkler.creative.office Produced by @podshoponline

The full visualised home tour is available to our Patreon community.
Patreon: http://patreon.com/HomingWithMatt

★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

Alain de Botton: Is Your Home Making You Happy? Mar 12, 2026

Show notes

Why are some people drawn to minimalist architecture while others prefer nostalgic rooms filled with antiques and personal artefacts?

Writer and philosopher Alain de Botton believes the answer might lie deeper than taste.

For many years, Alain has explored the emotional forces that shape our inner lives – from love and loss to status anxiety. Through his educational organisation, The School of Life, he has focused on wellbeing and self-understanding.

Much of this thinking connects directly to the built environment.

In his book The Architecture of Happiness, Alain argues that buildings are never neutral: they can steady us, unsettle us, and quietly influence who we become.

In this conversation, Alain reflects on his own relationship with domestic space – and how, in many ways, he has spent a lifetime trying to recreate the modernist calm of his childhood home in Switzerland.

Together, Matt and Alain explore beauty, belonging and control – and examine why so many of us turn to architecture in search of a kind of psychological skin.

This is a conversation that goes to the heart of what Homing is about: how we build safety, both in the spaces around us and within ourselves.

This episode was filmed at Alain’s house in North London.

To hear more from us:

YouTube: Subscribe to our channel, Homing with Matt, to watch the video version

Instagram: @homingwithmatt

TikTok: @homing.with.matt

Contact: Email us at hello@mattgibberd.com

Matt Gibberd’s book, A Modern Way to Live, is available here: https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/320176/a-modern-way-to-live-by-gibberd-matt/9780241480496

Music by @simeonwalkermusic

Identity & design by @lena.winkler.creative.office

Produced by @podshoponline

For exclusive walking tours – from Dan Pearson’s year-round outdoor kitchen to Polly Morgan’s taxidermy zebra – join us on Patreon: http://patreon.com/HomingWithMatt

★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

Tom Stuart-Smith on Landscapes, Legacy & The Uplifting Power of Nature Mar 05, 2026

Show notes

Landscape architect Tom Stuart-Smith has spent most of his life on the same plot of land, tending its gardens and letting the land shape him in return.
Tom has designed gardens at places like Chatsworth, Tate Britain and The Hepworth Wakefield. He’s won nine gold medals at the Chelsea Flower Show, and was awarded an OBE in 2023.
But long before any of that, he was a child roaming Serge Hill in Hertfordshire, the estate his grandfather bought decades ago. Tom spent his childhood climbing its trees and staging Shakespeare plays. And apart from a brief spell away, he’s lived just 200 yards from his childhood home for almost his entire life.
Tom’s wife, Sue Stuart-Smith, is a psychotherapist and author of the book The Well Gardened Mind. Together, they created the Serge Hill Project – a part of the estate where community groups, schoolchildren, young offenders and people recovering from illness can get hands-on with the soil and experience the uplifting power of nature.

This is a conversation about landscapes, legacy and what it really means to stay rooted in one place.

The episode was recorded at The Apple House, a modern pavilion on the estate designed by their son Ben.

A full tour of the building and its surroundings is available to our Patreon community.
Patreon: http://patreon.com/HomingWithMatt

To hear more from us:

YouTube: Subscribe to our channel, Homing with Matt, to watch the video version
Instagram: @homingwithmatt
TikTok: @homing.with.matt
Contact: Email us at hello@mattgibberd.com

Matt Gibberd’s book, A Modern Way to Live, is available here: https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/320176/a-modern-way-to-live-by-gibberd-matt/9780241480496

Music by @simeonwalkermusic

Identity & design by @lena.winkler.creative.office
Produced by @podshoponline

The full visualised tour of Tom’s estate is available to our Patreon community.
Patreon: http://patreon.com/HomingWithMatt

★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

Anxiety in the Body: Creating a Sanctuary at Home with Dr Alexandra Shaker Feb 26, 2026

Show notes

Anxiety is something many of us carry quietly. It can shape everything, from how we move through the world to how we feel at home.

In this episode of Homing, Dr Alexandra Shaker explores how the home can become a sanctuary and how physical environments can either soothe or unsettle us.

Alexandra is a specialist in anxiety disorders with a PhD in Clinical Psychology. Her book The Narrowing combines her personal experiences of panic attacks with what she’s learned over years as a practitioner and researcher.

The conversation traces some of the root causes of anxiety and practical ways to live alongside it, from mindfulness and sleep hygiene to the importance of community and belonging. Matt and Alexandra discuss how spaces, lighting, sounds, and materials can trigger panic, and how the home can be adapted into a calming, grounding refuge.

This episode is about understanding anxiety in the body, the power of practical support, and how a home can centre us and keep us grounded through difficult times.

To hear more from Alexandra:
Her Substack Janus Gate features pressing questions, hesitations and preoccupations through the lenses of psychological research and contemporary culture. You’ll also receive her book reviews.

To hear more from us:
YouTube: Subscribe to our channel, Homing with Matt, to watch the video version
Instagram: @homingwithmatt
TikTok: @homing.with.matt
Contact: Email us at hello@mattgibberd.com

Matt Gibberd’s book, A Modern Way to Live, is available here: https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/320176/a-modern-way-to-live-by-gibberd-matt/9780241480496

Music by @simeonwalkermusicIdentity & design by @lena.winkler.creative.office
Produced by @podshoponline

For exclusive walking tours – from Dan Pearson’s year-round outdoor kitchen to Polly Morgan’s taxidermy zebra – join us on Patreon: http://patreon.com/HomingWithMatt

★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

Elizabeth Day on Perfectionism, Positive Affirmations & Rebuilding Home After Loss Feb 19, 2026

Show notes

Author and podcaster Elizabeth Day spent years chasing a vision of the ‘perfect’ home life, only to discover that reality can look very different.

She grew up in the Northern Irish countryside, in a home that was physically safe but shadowed by unrest in the wider community. Childhood fears of monsters under the bed were replaced by the reality of masked terrorists, which has made the concept of home as a place of safety so central to her life today.

In the high-pressure early years of her journalism career at The Evening Standard, Elizabeth sought to create peaceful, restorative spaces – first in her own apartments, and later in the relationships she invested in.

Her path has also been marked by profound challenges: the unexpected breakdown of her first marriage and a 12-year fertility journey that ultimately ended in disappointment. As a high achiever with a clear picture of her life goals, learning to navigate what she describes as “failure” has been far from straightforward.

She describes her life in more recent years as “a dismantling of that and a recovery of who I was at four.”

Her current home and her loving marriage to Justin are built upon the lessons she learned from these experiences. Elizabeth describes finding her home as a moment of fate, as if the universe delivered exactly what she needed.

This episode looks at how perfectionism can take us away from ourselves, and how love and self-compassion can help us feel at home again.

The episode was recorded in Elizabeth’s house in South London.

A full house tour is available to our Patreon community.

Patreon: http://patreon.com/HomingWithMatt

Elizabeth’s new novel, One of Us, is published by 4th Estate and available to purchase in hardback here. You can also preorder a copy of the paperback out (21 May) here.

To hear more from us:

YouTube: Subscribe to our channel, Homing with Matt, to watch the video version

Instagram: @homingwithmatt

TikTok: @homing.with.matt

Contact: Email us at hello@mattgibberd.com

Matt Gibberd’s book, A Modern Way to Live, is available here: https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/320176/a-modern-way-to-live-by-gibberd-matt/9780241480496

Music by @simeonwalkermusic

Identity & design by @lena.winkler.creative.office

Produced by @podshoponline

The full visualised studio tour is available to our Patreon community.

Patreon: http://patreon.com/HomingWithMatt

★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

Wintering at Home: The Power of Rest & Ritual, with Katherine May Feb 12, 2026

Show notes

In the first episode of a new strand of Homing, Katherine May frames the home as a place to slow down and take refuge from the overstimulating world beyond.

Katherine is known for her bestselling book Wintering, which explores the importance of rest and retreat during the fallow periods of life that we all experience.

The conversation delves into what happens when we allow ourselves to notice natural rhythms and cycles: the solstices, the shifting light, and the subtle signals that tell us when it’s time to slow down.

Katherine describes home as a sensory environment – almost as an extension of the body itself – and how the spaces we live in can either soothe the nervous system, or quietly overwhelm it.

The conversation turns to boredom and creativity – and why giving children unstructured time and space can be one of the most generous things we do for them.

Katherine helps us understand the home as a place where we can learn to restore ourselves, enabling us to go back out into the world with renewed strength.

To hear more from us:

YouTube: Subscribe to our channel, Homing with Matt, to watch the video version

Instagram: @homingwithmatt

TikTok: @homing.with.matt

Contact: Email us at hello@mattgibberd.com

Matt Gibberd’s book, A Modern Way to Live, is available here: https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/320176/a-modern-way-to-live-by-gibberd-matt/9780241480496

Music by @simeonwalkermusic

Identity & design by @lena.winkler.creative.office

Produced by @podshoponline

For exclusive walking tours – from Dan Pearson’s year-round outdoor kitchen to Polly Morgan’s taxidermy zebra – join us on Patreon: http://patreon.com/HomingWithMatt

★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

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