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The Just Checking In Podcast

The Just Checking In Podcast

Written by: The Just Checking In Podcast by VENT
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 The Just Checking In Podcast is another step in VENT’s mission to give people a voice, change the conversation around mental health and provide an outlet where everyone, but especially men and boys, can express themselves. Each pod we check in with a special guest. We have a natter and a chat about all things mental health as well as anything and everything else they're passionate about. If it helps that person with their mental health, we'll discuss it!All rights reserved Social Sciences
Episodes
  • JCIP #325 - Immy Harrison

    JCIP #325 - Immy Harrison
    Jan 22 2026
    In episode 325 of The Just Checking In Podcast we checked in with academic Immy Harrison. Immy is currently a PHD student and researcher into singlehood at the University of Swansea’s Evolutionary Psychology department, where she studies under the tutelage of friend of the podcast Dr Andrew George Thomas! Immy did her undergraduate degree completing a Bachelor of Arts in Anthropology & Archaeology at the University of Durham, before completing a Masters in Cognitive and Evolutionary Anthropology at Oxford University. In this episode we talk about her academic journey, how she came across the subject of evolutionary psychology through another great friend of the pod William Costello, a deep dive into her academic work on singlehood and what her end goals are for her PHD. We also talk about how the subject of evo psych and how some academics within it can fall into very binary analyses of how men and women think and act, and how that impacts her mental health from time to time. We then finish by why the subject has also given her greater empathy for groups of men like incels. As always, #itsokaytovent You can follow Immy on social media below: X: https://x.com/immyyharrison Support Us: Patreon: www.patreon.com/venthelpuk PayPal: paypal.me/freddiec1994?country.x=GB&locale.x=en_GB Merchandise: www.redbubble.com/people/VentUK/shop Music: @patawawa - Strange: www.youtube.com/watch?v=d70wfeJSEvk
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    55 mins
  • JCIP #324 - Dan Ascough

    JCIP #324 - Dan Ascough
    Jan 21 2026
    In episode 324 of The Just Checking In Podcast we checked in with Dan Ascough. Dan works a firefighter for the London Fire Brigade. As part of his role, he is also chair of the employee support group on Neurodiversity, and runs the London section of the fire brigades union forum for disabled and neurodivergent members. Dan originally wanted to go into music as a kid, playing in bands and having a desire to go into music production. He studied for a music production degree but walked away from that career path, dropping out with just six weeks to go. Dan cites burnout from his undiagnosed ADHD at the time, his fear of failure and little lesson structure for the reasons why. He then worked for a short time doing various jobs, including manual labour before taking stock of what he wanted his life to look like. His dad was in the fire brigade, so he set his sights on that goal as a natural aim. He loved helping people and the idea of public service, so he went through the application process and succeeded in it. Dan was also diagnosed with autism and ADHD around 5/6 years ago, first with ADHD and then autism afterwards. Initially, he fought against the ADHD diagnosis and was in denial but over time, Dan has accepted and owned it, as well as his autism too. In this episode we discuss his journey into firefighting and how his ADHD and autism diagnoses led him to doing the work he does within the London Fire Brigade in recent years for men and women like him. We also discuss the conversations he has with ‘normies’ about firefighting and why some of them are problematic, the build-up of repetitive traumatic incidents you have to deal with as a firefighter and how he dealt with them himself. For Dan’s mental health journey, we discuss the ADHD and autism diagnosis in-depth, fatherhood and the grief of losing his mother from cancer in 2019 after a 14-month illness from cancer. As always, #itsokaytovent Support Us: Patreon: www.patreon.com/venthelpuk PayPal: paypal.me/freddiec1994?country.x=GB&locale.x=en_GB Merchandise: www.redbubble.com/people/VentUK/shop Music: @patawawa - Strange: www.youtube.com/watch?v=d70wfeJSEvk
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    1 hr and 30 mins
  • JCIP #323 - Darren Lawrence

    JCIP #323 - Darren Lawrence
    Jan 16 2026
    In episode 323 of The Just Checking In Podcast we checked in with Darren Lawrence. Darren is a qualified life coach and the Founder of Front Foot Coaching. In Darren’s words, 'Front Foot Coaching is about helping you to get onto the front foot’. Darren predominantly works with middle-aged men, a demographic which is often forgotten about in the mental health space. Darren’s journey didn’t start in life coaching. For 17 years, he worked in large sports organisations including Sport England and The FA at regional and national levels. Interspersed within that time he gained some experience in a local authority and smaller organisations in a variety of senior roles, including CEO. He began to realise his passion for helping people was of equal level to his passion in sport, so in 2016 he enrolled on The Coaching Academy's Diploma for Personal Performance Coaching, which he qualified in, in 2017. Since then, he has taken up life coaching full-time and become self-employed, with all the highs and lows that come with that working life too. In this episode, we discuss this professional journey, from sport to life coaching and everything in-between. We then discuss the work he does specifically for middle-aged men, the issues he supports them with and the reality of the life coaching sector more widely. For Darren’s mental health journey, we discuss the precarious nature of being self-employed and the importance of having a growth mindset. As always, #itsokaytovent You can find out more about Darren's work here: www.frontfootcoaching.com/ You can follow Darren on social media below: Instagram: www.instagram.com/frontfootlifecoaching/ Support Us: Patreon: www.patreon.com/venthelpuk PayPal: paypal.me/freddiec1994?country.x=GB&locale.x=en_GB Merchandise: www.redbubble.com/people/VentUK/shop Music: @patawawa - Strange: www.youtube.com/watch?v=d70wfeJSEvk
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    1 hr and 16 mins
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