If the present moment had a knock, it wouldn’t be loud. It would tap you gently on the shoulder and say: “Hey. You’re here. Try not to think about the next moment.” That’s basically the conclusion of a wide-ranging, funny, sometimes candy-floss-scented conversation between Sarah, a teenager navigating school, friendships, and her phone battery, and…
There is a particular sound a Lunch meeting makes when it really gets going. A mix of greetings in different accents, laughter arriving slightly before the punchline, and the gentle chaos of people remembering—mid-sentence—that they are, in fact, being recorded. This one began like that. Warm. Slightly unruly. Comfortably human. The theme on the table…
Mornings are often treated as something to survive rather than something to shape. Alarms ring too early, the outside world feels cold and unwelcoming, and the mind jumps immediately into stress mode. But in a quiet, reflective exchange between a teacher known as Fruitloop and her student Sarah, a different perspective emerges: mornings are not…
It’s early in Brazil. Late evening in Bengaluru. And mid-afternoon in Europe—right in the messy middle of a Monday that’s already too full. That’s the quiet comedy of this conversation: three men, three continents, three different pressures on their calendars, trying to talk about a single idea that sounds simple until you live it—“living in…
Episode 31 of Peeling Potatoes opens the way this podcast often does: with the delicious illusion that Fruitloop and the Mayor haven’t spoken since “last time,” when in reality they’ve basically been in each other’s pockets all through Christmas, New Year, and the in-between bits. The greeting is ceremonial, the friendship is real, and the…
How a teenager is learning to “reclaim her attention in a distracted world”. Being present. Sarah doesn’t describe distraction as a notification or a screen.She describes it as a vacuum cleaner. “It’s loud,” she says. “And when it’s on, you can’t think about anything else.” Sarah is a student navigating school, friendships, illness, homework, and—like…
The call begins the way many January calls begin: with teasing, a little disbelief, and that ceremonial moment where someone’s age becomes a group event. Ritesh isn’t “twenty-something” anymore. He’s 30 now—officially “mature,” officially “downhill,” officially (according to the folklore) halfway through life. The joke lands, but underneath it you can already feel the real…
Let’s not lose the mundane interactions that keep society togetherBy Tom Vanderbilt I recently made a radical change in my grocery shopping: I stopped using the self-checkout scanner. No Luddite, I had initially embraced the technology as it trickled into shops. Shorter queues, no waiting behind other customers as they fumble for their payment. But…
A Brida conversation recap — with the roles reversed, and Frank thinking out loud in full stereo. Some Brida meetings feel like jazz: a theme, a few riffs, then everyone finds their way back to the melody. This one felt like a spotlight turned gently—but firmly—onto Frank. Ismar didn’t ask “small talk” questions. He asked…
How a grandmother’s courage, a mother’s budgeting skills, and a free math lesson can change the future A Morning Conversation That Lingers It begins, as many meaningful conversations do, without drama. A slightly sick student.A gentle “Good morning.”Christmas hovering in the background like a soft pause button on life. And then — inspiration. Not the…
