Uphill with Laura Westring

I speak to Wouter, a Dutch renewable energy expert and Marion, a French Army Reservist about getting married during a global pandemic and what it's like to begin a long-distance romance from a military base in Kabul.

I speak to Dan, a professional speechwriter and tech communications strategist who is a citizen of Hungary, Switzerland and Israel, about growing up in the West Bank, overcoming the international bureaucracy of surrogacy and starting a business while parenting two beautiful twin boys in Berlin.

I talk to Grace, an Indian-Persian-British-immigrant to America and MIT Sloan Fellow working for the world's biggest internet companies in California, about her first visit to a pub, overt racism in the UK workplace and why she'd be happy to die tomorrow (though we certainly hope she doesn't).

I talk to Olof, an Irish Viking, speechwriter and elderly Gaelic football player in Brussels, about broken collar bones, Brexit and growing up on Clare Island.

I talk to Jennifer, multilingual Scottish-Iranian American and digital media strategist to Fortune 500 brands, about California wildfire smoke, moving to Idaho during a pandemic and how to get the middle seat on a fourteen-hour flight to Korea.

I talk to Vincenzo, Italo-Scot, former political aide and teacher of languages at one of the UK's top schools, about Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Hamilton, chip shops and career change.

Hello campers and welcome to Uphill, your rest stop in the uphill struggle that is life. A moment to wander, ponder and reflect on the news, the meaning of it all and how to go forth and forge a career from the ashes.

First of all, a big thank you to my listeners - my mum, my socially distant friends and occasionally, if I guilt trip him enough, my husband.

In this series we’ll be embarking on a voyage of mindful discovery with interviews from around the world.

From Edinburgh to Idaho, from Clare Island to Palo Alto, we’ll be asking whether the planet will still be a thing? Who needs a job anyway? And why can’t I self isolate from my children?

So put an extra log on the fire, loosen your boots and give yourself the permission to flip off the new normal.