Rupert Sheldrake PhD, Melissa Hemsley, Alice Vincent and Head of Programmes at The Newt, Arthur Cole explore how we can foster belonging, meaning and a deeper sense of place in an increasingly fragmented world. Recorded in-front of a live audience at the Gather & Grow: Connections Festival 2025. We bring together a stellar line-up of thought leaders, writers and experts for three days of relevant, impactful discussions. The three-day event was packed with wellness sessions, workshop taste...

Bruce Parry, Alexandra Daisy Ginsberg, Marian Boswall & Gaz Oakley delve into the cultural momentum around nature and discuss what it all really means and why it is more relevant than ever. Recorded in-front of a live audience at the Gather & Grow: Connections Festival 2025. We bring together a stellar line-up of thought leaders, writers and experts for three days of relevant, impactful discussions. The three-day event was packed with wellness sessions, workshop tasters (for adults an...

Professor David Nutt, Dr. Martha Deiros Collado & Lorraine Candy explore how we can nurture resilient, connected children in a digitally saturated world. Recorded in-front of a live audience at the Gather & Grow: Connections Festival 2025. We bring together a stellar line-up of thought leaders, writers and experts for three days of relevant, impactful discussions. The three-day event was packed with wellness sessions, workshop tasters (for adults and children), live music, BBQs, foodi...

Arthur joins Eva Kruse, producer of new environmental documentary Bee Wild to record in front of a live audience at Ladbroke Hall during London Climate Action Week. In this episode, we hear from Eva on the plight of the world’s pollinators, what businesses and individuals are doing to protect them, and what we can be optimistic about. Arthur also shares more on The Newt’s biodiversity programme to protect and enhance natural habitats and bring members and guests closer to our wonderful world ...

Seasoned war reporter, photojournalist, writer and filmmaker, Lalage ‘Lally’ Snow, joins Arthur Cole for a fascinating dawn walk around the Deer Park. Lally shares first-hand insights into the power of gardens in conflict zones and what green spaces can teach us about healing hearts and minds torn apart by war. We also hear about her newly published memoir, ‘My Family and Other Seedlings: A Year on a Dorset Allotment’, and touch on subjects such as the ancient origins of modern vegetables, a...

Relive the magic of the RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2025 with garden writer, broadcaster and national treasure, Monty Don. In this Newt Short special, Monty reveals his favourite garden this year, shares his views on the power of horticulture for bolstering mental health and explains what the ‘Glastonbury festival of the gardening world’ means to him. The Newt Podcast is created by the team at The Newt in Somerset and produced by Harry Coade at Sound Matters. If you enjoyed this episode, follow T...

From Monty Don to Mary Berry and Richard E Grant, we caught up with some of the leading British voices in the worlds of horticulture, food, film, music, broadcasting, radio, comedy, philanthropy and more to hear about what RHS Chelsea Flower Show means to them. Discover the blooming sights, sounds and evocative scents in this joyful behind-the-scenes episode featuring Clive Anderson, Zoe Ball, David and Victoria Coren Mitchell, Dhani Harrison, Raymond Blanc, Amanda Holden, Moira Stuart, Hatti...

Environmentalist Ben Goldsmith and conservationist, veteran and founder of Britain’s rainforest charity, The Thousand Year Trust, Merlin Hanbury-Tenison join Arthur for an eye-opening walk and talk in the woods and verges of our old apple orchard. Conversation flows from woodland habitat to the natural history of moss and surprising stats around food production here in the UK. In this episode, we re-imagine land usage for the benefit of our ecosystem, biodiversity and our species; discuss th...

Arthur joins The Land Gardeners, Henrietta Courtauld & Bridget Elworthy on location at their Somerset House exhibition for a new spin on The Newt Podcast. 'Soil: The World at Our Feet' provided an apt (and eponymous) backdrop for a fascinating conversation on the power and potential of soil. Did you know that there are more organisms in a teaspoon of soil than there are humans on the planet? In this episode we explore the mind-blowing role soil plays in the nutrient density o...

Stefan Jennings is a sculptor, willow weaver and otter enthusiast. He’s been creating spectacular, awe-inspiring works of art in Somerset for decades. Along with fellow willow weaving artist Serena de la Hay, Stefan has made the giant willow structures for The Newt’s annual Fire Night celebrations for the past four years. He also leads a programme of seasonal workshops on willow weaving on the estate. In this episode, Stefan shares his inspirations in the Somerset landscape, alongside s...

Marian Boswall, award-winning landscape architect and horticulturist joins Arthur for a nature ‘love-in’, as they share their mutual appreciation for the great outdoors. Set against a backdrop of the dawn chorus, total lunar eclipse and rising sun, this a very special episode of The Newt Podcast. Tune in for a crisp spring wander across the Somerset estate to learn about the importance of talking and (crucially) listening to your plants, Roman gardening mythology and the benefits of tre...

Meet David Rowley, The Newt’s Head of Productive Growing, for a tour of the Market Garden over at Avalon Farm. Found at the far reaches of the estate, David and his team painstakingly plan, grow, rotate and pick the seasonal spoils for The Newt’s restaurants, shops and your door via online delivery. In this episode, David walks us through productive polytunnels, hydroponics house and the fertile fields at the heart of The Newt’s food story. Listen in to learn about the challenges faced when g...

John Ridding, Chairman of The Financial Times Group comes back to The Newt for a walk and talk with Arthur around the frosted landscape. In this episode, John navigates a (slightly treacherous) pre-Roman bridge as he shares the story of his international journalism career. We explore the parallels between the natural and business worlds and hear about the important lessons that mother nature can teach us. With the rise of AI advancing at pace, John explains the real and present existent...

Join Julia Samuel MBE, therapist, podcaster, author, and Somerset local, for an early spring walk around the Marl Pit with Arthur, during snowdrop season. Set off on a stroll around our storytelling area surrounded by myth and Arthurian legend, to hear more about Julia’s 35-year career in psychotherapy. Suffering, grief and mental health issues will affect us all at some point in our lives and in this episode, we touch on coping mechanisms to see us through. Julia extols the virtues of ...

Join Arthur Cole, Podcast Host and Head of Programmes at The Newt in Somerset, as he explains what you can expect from this series, and why you won’t want to miss an episode. Arthur joined the Newt in its infancy, when it was merely an ‘eft’ (juvenile newt)! Now his role sees him at the helm of crafting ideas and curating unique experiences for hotel guests and day visitors. Throughout the podcast, Arthur guides us through The Newt, introduces us to the team members who breathe life int...