Prompted by a listener question, this week’s episode is about Brooke and Ben’s relationship with alcohol and how it’s changed over the past five years. Brooke shares why she never really wanted to use the word ‘sober’ to describe herself and how healing helped her let go of rigid ideas on drinking vs not drinking.

Ben discusses the role drinking culture has had on his life and why he thinks other countries do it better than Australia. They also talk about wasted days, the toll drinking takes and the flip-side: the high cost of complete restriction. It’s a vulnerable chat but it feels important to share.

They also discuss:

• their respective relationships with alcohol — then and now
• Brooke’s experience with quitting — why, how and what she told people about it
• what was lost and gained
• how learning to have fun sober has been a game-changer
• the physiological effects of alcohol and why Brooke used it as a social crutch
• why moralising could have a negative effect on their family
• how to step back from a restrictive mindset and soften the language we use
• why we still do things we know to be “bad” for us
• the difference between preferences and non-negotiables
• what Brooke and Ben would tell themselves 10 years ago

Thanks for listening!

Links:

• Find everything mentioned in today’s show at brookemcalary.substack.com
• Become a paying supporter of ttath and get double the episodes! Weekly shows delivered straight to your inbox for just $8AUD/month or $80AUD/yr.
• If video is your jam, subscribe to our YouTube channel @thetortoiseandthehare and watch today's episode
• Access the full, human-made transcript here

Credits:

• the tortoise & the hare is a McAlary Media production.
• Produced and hosted by Brooke McAlary and Ben McAlary
• Edited by Ben McAlary
• Studio equipment supplied by shot.studio
• Theme music is Edgar Allan Poe by Modern Aquatic

Join The Tortoise Community: https://brookemcalary.substack.com/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In today’s episode, Brooke and Ben dive into different ways of thinking — open and closed, fixed and fluid and whatever exists in between. They discuss their different approaches to rule-following, how they deal with opinion chameleons and why finding common ground is one of the most effective ways to have a constructive conversation.

Ben also explains why he loves playing the devil’s advocate (and why Brooke finds it infuriating!) and finishes with a hard-hitting question: rigid or flexible lollies — which is better?

They discuss:

• hypersensitivity
• Brooke’s EMDR experience
• dealing with narrow-minded people
• chameleon opinions and why they’re so confusing
• rule-followers vs rebels
• improving cognitive flexibility
• how to engage different opinions without losing your mind
• why hope hurts sometimes
• the great lolly debate: rigid vs flexible

Thanks for listening!

Links:

• Find everything mentioned in today’s show at brookemcalary.substack.com
• Become a paying supporter of ttath and get double the episodes! Weekly shows delivered straight to your inbox for just $8AUD/month or $80AUD/yr.
• If video is your jam, subscribe to our YouTube channel @thetortoiseandthehare
• Access the full, human-made transcript here

Credits:

• the tortoise & the hare is a McAlary Media production.
• Produced and hosted by Brooke McAlary and Ben McAlary
• Edited by Ben McAlary
• Studio equipment supplied by shot.studio
• Theme music is Edgar Allan Poe by Modern Aquatic

Join The Tortoise Community: https://brookemcalary.substack.com/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

When it comes to age and youth, body image takes a beating at both ends. Can we find a gentler way through the years?

In today’s show, Brooke and Ben discuss the duality of wrinkles & pimples — i.e. the visible elements of youth and aging — and how they are literally in the middle of it right now, with both wrinkles and pimples (and grey hair and stiff backs in the morning).

They discuss:

• changing body image in their mid-40s
• why gender-affirming care (including hair removal, plastic surgery, make-up and hormone therapy) should be accessible to everyone
• the changing role of body image for boys and men over the past decade
• what our faces and bodies are actually for
• the billionaires who want to live forever and go to great lengths to avoid aging

Thanks for listening!

Links:

• Find everything mentioned in today’s show at brookemcalary.substack.com
• Become a paying supporter of ttath and get double the episodes! Weekly shows delivered straight to your inbox for just $5AUD/month for a limited time
• If video is your jam, subscribe to our YouTube channel @thetortoiseandthehare
• Access the full, human-made transcript here

Credits:

• the tortoise & the hare is a McAlary Media production.
• Produced and hosted by Brooke McAlary and Ben McAlary
• Edited by Ben McAlary
• Studio equipment supplied by shot.studio
• Theme music is Edgar Allan Poe by Modern Aquatic

Join The Tortoise Community: https://brookemcalary.substack.com/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.