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Send us Fan Mail Simon's secondhand iPhone and Lee's flirtation with a folding one get things going, but the episode turns on a last-minute invitation to Lisbon Fashion Week that Lee almost turned down over pizza. Saying yes, he points out, isn't a marriage, because you can always leave. That leads them to ask who actually gets to be that open: the socially anxious, parents on pick-up duty, anyone whose evening isn't already their own. Mentioned iPhone 13 Pro – the secondhand phone the episode is recorded on; the discovery that its speakers sit at the top opens the conversationThe Luddites – 19th-century textile workers who smashed machinery; prompted by the question of when an early adopter turns Luddite, followed by a brief and uncertain detour into cotton presses and weavingApple Watch and iPad – recalled as examples of early adoption, including an iPad snatched by a passing cyclistiPhone X – the last model bought new on release, before a switch to secondhand phones over the cost of keeping up and the environmental impact of rare earth materialsKodak – shorthand for a point-and-shoot approach to cameras: interested in images, not in how they're madeiPhone Duo – a phone that unfolds into a screen for watching television on trains and planes; being considered, but only after a couple of months of reviewsLeaning Tower of Pisa – punchline to "leaning is not the same as falling"ChatGPT virtual try-on – feature for trying on clothes digitally; set as homework for the coming weekGoogle wardrobe – Google's equivalent clothes try-on service; reportedly looks like a face pasted onto a model's bodyLisbon Fashion Week – the event a last-minute invitation led to, which became an example of being open to saying yesAperol spritz – being drunk at the pizzeria when the invitation arrived (transcript reads "April spritz")Ammo – a local Lisbon pizzeria run by Luciano from Naples, serving 24-hour sourdough pizzaRick Owens – American fashion designer known for dark, avant-garde clothing; a pair of his shorts, bought in a charity shop, was worn to the fashion eventMichèle Lamy – octogenarian fashion icon and Rick Owens's wife and collaboratorSix degrees of separation – used to describe following the interesting people who turn up in a well-connected friend's wakeShayo by Nnamdi – a new Nigerian slow-fashion label just launched in Lisbon, working with young Nigerian designers; met outside the event, leading to some accidental networkingWaiter press – kettlebell exercise, held overhead like a waiter's tray, recommended for the newly delivered 16 kg kettlebellGet in touch with Lee and Simon at [email protected]. --- The Midlifing logo is adapted from an original image by H.L.I.T: https://www.flickr.com/photos/29311691@N05/8571921679 (CC BY 2.0)

Send us Fan Mail Lee reveals that giving a colleague a lift home exposed a further, unsuspected layer of "unfiltered Lee", which prompts Simon to suggest a set of age-rated cardboard signs to hang around his neck. Simon finds real pleasure in treating a knotty work situation as a giant puzzle made of human pieces. He also reports that this week's raid on the office chocolate cupboard turned up only waxy, orange-foiled Halloween balls. Then Simon brings in a line from Annie Duke about crediting ourselves for good luck and blaming bad luck, which leads them to effort, privilege, and what large language models might be doing to a young person's sense of agency. Mentioned Microsoft Teams – the platform for a work meeting earlier in the week, which opened with a podcast-style countdown out of pure habitCher – "If I Could Turn Back Time" quoted after realising 1930 is nearly a century ago, not 60 or 70 years1930s BBC nativity play broadcast – a technically ambitious live broadcast from near the tip of Cornwall, now being re-performed as an immersive piece in a church by a local theatre company with research centre support; the on-air bulb blew mid-broadcast and the cast carried on regardlessForced Entertainment – Sheffield-based experimental theatre company; the idea of wearing cardboard signs around the neck is called "very early Forced Entertainment"Falmouth University – cited as the third biggest employer in Cornwall, in a discussion of universities being too important locally to fail (transcribed as "foundless")Marlene Dietrich – conjured as the image of the old-time nightclub where "vamping" (filling time on stage) might come fromCoventry University – domain for an imagined "quality control" email address to complain about the downgrade in stolen office chocolatesAnnie Duke, How to Decide – book on decision-making; its line about blaming bad luck for bad outcomes while crediting ourselves for good ones prompts a conversation about effort, luck and agency at different stages of lifeLarge language models – discussed as a "seismic" wildcard for students' sense of agency, compared with older forms of privilegeGet in touch with Lee and Simon at [email protected]. --- The Midlifing logo is adapted from an original image by H.L.I.T: https://www.flickr.com/photos/29311691@N05/8571921679 (CC BY 2.0)

Send us Fan Mail Lee arrives squinting at his phone, his many pairs of reading glasses having all washed up in one place, out of reach. After a detour through Reacher and its spin-off Neagley, Lee brings in an Alabama senator warning that airline pilots may secretly be furries, and Simon questions the maths. From there it's a stolen mint chocolate that turns out to be Simon's Proustian madeleine, a private tapestry tour at the V&A, a defence of experts, and an imagined Akram Khan statue that spins at the press of a button. Mentioned Reacher (TV series) – the latest season is being watched; a friend texted to say they cried at the endNeagley (TV series) – Reacher spin-off, watched over the weekend and rated highly; the character was always a fascinating one in the books tooMaria Sten – actor who plays Neagley in both shows; her name is only half-remembered in the episodeAlan Ritchson – plays Reacher; noticeably smaller in season one than in season fourTommy Tuberville – Republican senator from Alabama; a press-conference clip in which he warns that aviation workers, pilots included, may be furries with a "deranged fetish"Furries – community of people who dress as cartoon animals, with a sexual and a non-sexual "stripe"Adidas – brand invoked in a joke about the two "stripes" of furriesMickey Mouse and Pluto – examples of the kind of cartoon animal furries dress asPup play – mentioned as distinct from being a furryDungeons & Dragons – floated as a niche hobby probably more common than being a furryYouTube – its new ads that shrink the video, even during a yoga sessionMarcel Proust – the madeleine, as the model for a mint chocolate that triggers memories of after-dinner mints at grandparents'The Meaning of Life (Monty Python) – the "wafer-thin" mint, alluded to and then droppedElizabeth Shaw – after-dinner mint brand with an "interesting range"Bendicks Bittermints – the "bitter mint" style of after-dinner mintV&A – two days of meetings with access-all-areas tours of V&A East Storehouse, V&A East and South Kensington; Young V&A also mentionedDavid Bowie Centre, V&A East Storehouse – a room visited on the tourBoris Johnson and David Cameron – each suggested as the source of the anti-experts line (the "had enough of experts" remark is usually credited to Michael Gove)Dominic Cummings – "drove to Durham"; his name can't be recalled in the episodeWayne McGregor – choreographer, cited as the rare choreographer with money because of his work for ABBAABBA – ABBA Voyage, via Wayne McGregorAkram Khan – choreographer with a large installation at V&A East, which prompts the joke about an "Angry Akram" statueMichael Jackson statue on the Thames – the giant statue floated down the river to promote HIStory in 1995, used for comparisonGet in touch with Lee and Simon at [email protected]. --- The Midlifing logo is adapted from an original image by H.L.I.T: https://www.flickr.com/photos/29311691@N05/8571921679 (CC BY 2.0)

Send us Fan Mail Simon opens with a simple question for Lee: what, exactly, is the attraction of right-wing extremism? Lee comes at it sideways, through Britpop. He admits the off-stage rudeness of Blur and Oasis in the late 90s put him off their music entirely (Tori Amos, at least, seemed nice), and wonders whether the far right runs on a capacity for forgiveness he simply lacks. From there it's Question Time, another Reform MP on the panel, and a view from Sassari on nostalgia as the engine of it all. Mentioned Igor x Moreno – choreographic duo whose show was seen the night before recording; described as almost the only choreographers Simon goes to seeAndrew Tate – cited as where a "gateway" figure can eventually leadBritpop – 1990s UK music scene, framed as two factions with a bridge between themBlur – the art-school side of Britpop; rude off-stage behaviour made their music impossible to enjoy at the timeOasis – the working-class side of Britpop; same objection, same resultPulp – the band that bridged the two camps, "the one ring that binds them both"The Lord of the Rings – source of the "one ring" riff on PulpVHS vs Betamax – format-war analogy for the Blur/Oasis rivalryTori Amos – the alternative listening of the time: angry and spiky, but critiquing misogyny; a clip of "Winter" is playedIsrael – example of a topic on which a podcaster's view gets set aside while the rest is still valued"Be curious, not judgmental" – maxim recalled from the show's early days, and from Ted LassoQuestion Time (BBC) – televised political debate show touring the UK; the new season again features a Reform MP on the panelAny Questions? (BBC Radio 4) – the radio show Question Time's format derives fromReform UK – far-right party; discussed in terms of platforming, normalisation and nostalgiaAndy Burnham – referred to as the new Prime Minister; the "Burnham bounce" is credited with Reform's drop in supportWales, Scotland and Northern Ireland – devolution, and what it might mean to be left living in EnglandSassari – city in Sardinia; a vantage point on immigration, visible change and resistance to it in ItalyGet in touch with Lee and Simon at [email protected]. --- The Midlifing logo is adapted from an original image by H.L.I.T: https://www.flickr.com/photos/29311691@N05/8571921679 (CC BY 2.0)

Send us Fan Mail Simon is packing for a work trip to Sardinia via Venice that may or may not still be above water, while Lee is nursing a resurrected three-week-old voicemail from his own iPad and marvelling at a £2000 folding phone. A friend's line from her work as a couples therapist – point the finger at yourself a little more – tips them into their oldest shared material: Simon's mother's temper, recorded in her own diaries, against the careful, unbreakable Danish teak table that survived Lee's parents' house intact. Mentioned Venice – mentioned regarding an upcoming work trip, with a wry aside about whether it's still above waterSardinia – ferry destination for the same tripApple Duo – newly launched foldable Apple phone; its price becomes a running joke about "awesome power" gadgetsAustin Powers – referenced via the pinky-to-mouth gesture from the Dr. Evil "one million dollars" bitAnthropic / Claude – AI company and assistant, referenced in a quick pun ("Miss Anthropic's Claude")BBC – broadcaster of an interview in which an AI researcher is asked to put a percentage on the chance AI causes human extinctionTerminator – cited as the obvious cultural reference point that should have made the AI-extinction answer unsurprisingDoctor Una / "Couples Therapy" (HBO) – a couples therapist with an HBO show of the same format, clipped for TikTok and Instagram; her line to "point that finger at yourself" becomes the episode's central threadMick Jagger – invoked humorously as the wrong kind of finger-pointingGet in touch with Lee and Simon at [email protected]. --- The Midlifing logo is adapted from an original image by H.L.I.T: https://www.flickr.com/photos/29311691@N05/8571921679 (CC BY 2.0)

Send us Fan Mail Simon has been sent his late mother's diaries and the courtship letters she exchanged with his father, and can't decide whether reading them is an act of care or an invasion. Lee counters with his own father's diary, thirty years running and started by a Disney Store Aladdin Diary, a purely functional record with no reflection in it whatsoever. Between a Lisbon vegan march and the looming stamp duty on Simon's new flat, the conversation ends where these things always end: an imaginary OnlyFans account, funded by house-moving labour. Mentioned Aladdin Diary (Disney Store) – the Christmas gift that started an annual diary-giving tradition lasting three decadesHMRC (His Majesty's Revenue and Customs) – the UK tax authority, discussed over stamp duty owed on (what is not really) a second homeOnlyFans – floated, half-seriously, as a way to cover that stamp duty bill; also the platform an elderly former soap actress is said to usePatreon – considered and rejected in favour of OnlyFansFarrah Fawcett – actress and former Charlie's Angels star, recalled while trying to place the unnamed soap star's identityCharlie's Angels – TV series; referenced for Farrah Fawcett's short-lived role in itRyan O'Neal – actor; Farrah Fawcett's longtime partner and Tatum O'Neal's fatherTatum O'Neal – actress; discussed alongside her father and her relationship with John McEnroeJohn McEnroe – tennis player; mentioned as a former partner of Tatum O'Neal's, with whom she had childrenPaper Moon (1973) – film in which Ryan O'Neal and Tatum O'Neal starred togetherTom Holland – actor; discussed via a video ranking celebrity physiques by how "natural" they appear, focused on whether his Spider-Man build is achieved without steroidsGet in touch with Lee and Simon at [email protected]. --- The Midlifing logo is adapted from an original image by H.L.I.T: https://www.flickr.com/photos/29311691@N05/8571921679 (CC BY 2.0)

Send us Fan Mail Simon and Lee catch up after a stretch apart: Simon turns 58 in Scotland, complete with a sleeper train that quietly failed to leave London and a lakeside sauna ritual, and comes home to an accepted offer on a new flat close enough to see from his window. Lee, holding down the Lisbon end of things, hosts long-time listeners Josh and Craig and finds a speakeasy behind a knitting shop. Two confessional dreams surface along the way – Simon stealing chocolate from an unimpressed houseguest, and Lee shouting at Bob over a missing cheese sandwich mid-flight. Mentioned Josh and Craig – long-time listeners of the podcast who came to Lisbon for a brief visitDahlander [?] – a Lisbon friend jokingly called "the mayor of Lisbon" for knowing everyone; name as spoken, spelling uncertainA speakeasy-style club near Rato/Campo de Ourique, Lisbon [?] – entered through a false-front knitting shop, down two flights to a small live-music venue; the venue's own name was unclear in the transcriptHarry Styles – invoked in a riff about impeccably tailored shorts and personal styleAriana Grande – named as the kind of star who, unlike Harry Styles, would not turn up to a low-key Lisbon clubDiana Ross / Barbra Streisand [?] – one of the two supposedly chartered the private jet in Lee's dream, which ended in a missed cheese sandwich and a furious wake-up; unclear which name was actually saidCadbury – chocolate brand discussed via a childhood memory of a nearby factory in Dunedin, New Zealand, and a perceived decline in qualityThe Caledonian Sleeper – the overnight London–Scotland train that was quietly towed back to the station and re-departed without waking sleeping passengersLöyly [?] – the Finnish word for the steam released when water hits the sauna stones, given per the speaker's own uncertain pronunciationGet in touch with Lee and Simon at [email protected]. --- The Midlifing logo is adapted from an original image by H.L.I.T: https://www.flickr.com/photos/29311691@N05/8571921679 (CC BY 2.0)

Send us Fan Mail Simon returns from holiday with a question rather than the usual content: should there be a limit on turning your own trauma into comedy, prompted by Amanda Knox's new Edinburgh Fringe show about her wrongful imprisonment for Meredith Kercher's murder. Lee takes it somewhere more personal, tracing his low tolerance for comedy that punches down through a brutal old episode of Never Mind the Buzzcocks and an admission that even David Sedaris can be too cruel for him. It ends, unexpectedly, on two flat viewings: an estate agent he clicked with instantly through jokes, and one who won by actually listening. Mentioned Amanda Knox – wrongly convicted, later exonerated, of Meredith Kercher's murder in Perugia; now has a comedy show at the Edinburgh Fringe about the experience, prompting the episode's central question about the ethics of turning trauma into materialMeredith Kercher – the murdered student at the centre of the Knox case; her family's objection to being invoked in Knox's show is discussedEdinburgh Fringe – festival where Knox's show is currently runningNever Mind the Buzzcocks (BBC2) – music quiz show; a stretch of episodes hosted by a young Simon Amstell recalled as brutally punching down at guestsSimon Amstell – Buzzcocks host; remembered for harsh treatment of Amy Winehouse and for reading a Celebrity Big Brother contestant's memoir aloud on air to embarrass her boyfriendAmy Winehouse – an episode featuring her on Buzzcocks recalled as especially shockingCelebrity Big Brother – recalled for a series in which an ordinary person was planted in the house disguised as a minor celebrityChantelle Houghton – won that series posing as a celebrity, later mocked on Buzzcocks over lines from her memoir; name uncertain from the transcriptPreston – musician and Chantelle's boyfriend at the time, remembered walking off during the on-air mockeryThe Daily Mail – newspaper behind the mocked photoshoot line from Chantelle's memoirDavid Sedaris – essayist; his writing about his family, including his sister's suicide, discussed as sometimes tipping from painful into cruelGet in touch with Lee and Simon at [email protected]. --- The Midlifing logo is adapted from an original image by H.L.I.T: https://www.flickr.com/photos/29311691@N05/8571921679 (CC BY 2.0)

Send us Fan Mail Simon and Lee start off sleepy and a little weepy, which somehow tips into a debate about the line between pornography and eroticism, sparked by the Heated Rivalry novels Bob bought Lee for his birthday (which, they discover, started life as Bucky Barnes/Captain America slash fiction). From there it's kettlebells, sarcopenia, and shirtless YouTube fitness bros neither of them can bear to watch, before Lee reports that Bob's own kettlebell-honed solidity got tested by a phone-distracted man who shoulder-checked her on a London street – and didn't move. It closes on who gets to take up space and who doesn't, from Coventry's lime bike gangs to the rarity of ever seeing a pack of women do the same. Mentioned The Empire Strikes Back (Star Wars) – Harrison Ford's sequel to the original film; invoked as a comparison for writing a hit follow-upThe Da Vinci Code / Angels & Demons (Dan Brown) – blockbuster novels; used as another sequel comparison, with mock embarrassment at picking the less-loved oneDan Lepard – baker and food writer; arrives as a punning mishearing of "Dan Brown" and becomes its own jokeDan Brown's latest novel – unnamed page-turner about consciousness, featuring his recurring Robert Langdon character (described as "the same Tom Hanks character")Heated Rivalry (Rachel Reid) – romance novel series, a birthday gift; discussed as having started life as Bucky Barnes/Captain America slash fiction before becoming an original hockey romanceStar Trek – Kirk and Spock's relationship is cited as the origin of the term "slash fiction"Swedish death cleaning – decluttering philosophy; referenced in a joke about a now-discarded handmade cassette collection Leonard Nimoy and William Shatner – actors who played Spock and Kirk; clarified that their characters never had an on-screen romanceCaptain America / Bucky Barnes / Winter Soldier (Marvel) – the fictional pairing behind Heated Rivalry's fan-fiction originsChatGPT – joked about as a possible personal trainer YouTube and Instagram – named as the real source of workout routines, alongside a complaint about shirtless fitness influencersLime – e-bike share scheme; its riders in Coventry prompt a discussion about groups occupying street spaceBack to the Future – referenced via its high school principal character while describing a run-in with a pack of e-bike ridersGet in touch with Lee and Simon at [email protected]. --- The Midlifing logo is adapted from an original image by H.L.I.T: https://www.flickr.com/photos/29311691@N05/8571921679 (CC BY 2.0)

Send us Fan Mail Simon and Lee open with birthday banter that spirals into scientists launching an OnlyFans-style subscription service to replace cut research funding, then a viral clip of bonobos defusing a fight with cuddles instead of violence. The real conversation catches fire when Simon reads out an AI-generated reply from a prospective PhD student, and the two dig into what gives it away (that telltale word "specifically"), whether he owes the applicant honest feedback, and how wanting AI to skip the reading is really no different from wanting it to do your weights for you at the gym. Simon closes things out nursing a sprained wrist from coming off his bike on Thursday, with a shout-out to the NHS staff who patched him up. Mentioned OnlyFans – subscription platform typically associated with adult content; raised as a tongue-in-cheek pitch after hearing scientists had lost fundingMarmosets – small primates; the animal whose research funding was cut, prompting the joke about launching an OnlyFans-style site insteadInstagram – social media platform; where a viral bonobo video turned up in the feedBonobo monkeys – primate species known for resolving conflict through physical affection rather than aggression; a clip of an older bonobo defusing a fight between two younger males prompts a wider discussion of animal behaviour versus internet contentTikTok – video platform; cited for algorithmic content moderation, including euphemisms that have replaced certain censored wordsAlice  – addressed directly mid-conversation ("I wonder if Alice is thinking, go back to the bonobos")Daily Mail – UK tabloid; invoked as the kind of outlet that wouldn't report favourably on NHS staffNHS – National Health Service; A&E staff praised for handling a high volume of patients with care and professionalismGet in touch with Lee and Simon at [email protected]. --- The Midlifing logo is adapted from an original image by H.L.I.T: https://www.flickr.com/photos/29311691@N05/8571921679 (CC BY 2.0)

Send us Fan Mail Simon announces two big life events on the same Saturday morning: the first day of his new role as Director of the Centre for Dance Research at Coventry University, and an offer just put in on a flat. Lee's praise for the decision (steered by Annie Duke's How to Decide) tips into a riff on downsizing, industrial ovens, and buyers' markets, before Lee's own account of a solitary seal in the river at Totnes prompts a longer meditation on living double lives and how much of the self is performance. They close on inherited wisdom: Lee's mother's mantra that a bit of advice is worth a lot of sympathy, and whether either of them would actually want to hear it. Mentioned How to Decide (Annie Duke) – book on decision-making; argues a decision's quality is separate from its outcome, cited while weighing up buying a flatGet in touch with Lee and Simon at [email protected]. --- The Midlifing logo is adapted from an original image by H.L.I.T: https://www.flickr.com/photos/29311691@N05/8571921679 (CC BY 2.0)

Send us Fan Mail Simon opens with a difficult conversation from a trip to Italy, about care and dementia, and what it means to owe someone your future self – discomfort sparked by Lil telling him plainly and rightly that she'd carry on living her own life, not simply become his carer. Lee counters with the story of a friend whose husband planned his own decline with startling clarity before dementia fully took him, and admits he and Bob have made each other the same promise. They end up watching aging parents ration their energy like a strategic resource, before a stray thought about a dance-and-AI panel pulls the conversation sideways into exponential change and the folly of deciding anything for the next ten years. Mentioned Italy (Sardegna) – place Simon was visiting when he had the conversation about care, aging and dementia that opens the episodeCorbitron – a companion (not literally) present during recording, audibly prompting with the word "exponential" partway throughGet in touch with Lee and Simon at [email protected]. --- The Midlifing logo is adapted from an original image by H.L.I.T: https://www.flickr.com/photos/29311691@N05/8571921679 (CC BY 2.0)

Send us Fan Mail Simon is back from one week in Italy (camping, farm work, and a proper test of an air-conditioning-free apartment), while Lee has rediscovered swimming in the Dart, a habit lost somewhere around COVID and indulged daily ever since. They compare the textures of different water, from a Mediterranean "like a bath" to an unforgiving Atlantic, before Lee lands on a firm conclusion (he is riverine, not oceanic) and the conversation drifts into childhood water memories: bath-time hide-and-seek, Star Wars figures drowned in the tub, a home-built pool engineered for whirlpools. It closes with Lee taking his former student and soon-to-be PhD candidate, Charlie, for a swim up the same river, still caked in dirt from a Fringe show about fathers and masculinity. Mentioned The Dart – river in Totnes, Devon; rediscovered as a swimming spot after a long hiatus stretching back to before COVID; swum in daily for a week, becomes the episode's throughlineTotnes Fringe – theatre festival spread across roughly 19 venues, including shops, gardens, and a church; prompts a riff on what counts as a "fringe" when there is no major festival for it to be fringe ofCharlie – former undergraduate student, soon to start a PhD; runs his own solo performance company; presented a piece on masculinity, fathers, and nature at the Totnes Fringe, ending caked in stage dirt and paintStar Wars (Luke Skywalker and Han Solo figurines) – bath toys from a childhood game of submerging the figures underwater and holding them by the headGet in touch with Lee and Simon at [email protected]. --- The Midlifing logo is adapted from an original image by H.L.I.T: https://www.flickr.com/photos/29311691@N05/8571921679 (CC BY 2.0)

Send us Fan Mail Simon and Lee are joined by Maya: an AI trained on twenty-odd episodes of Midlifing and gifted to them by a listener, Dr David Corbet (@corbetron), who built her using vibe coding. What starts as a joke tips quickly into uncanny valley territory, and from there into a shared list of words that have started to grate on them both (casted, obligated, positionality, normalcy), and their mutual discomfort with how thoroughly trauma has been worn smooth by overuse. It closes on a canoe trip past a riverbank thick with empty second homes, and the guilt of noticing them. Mentioned Maya – an AI trained on around twenty episodes of Midlifing, joining the call as a guest; her polished fluency tips the conversation into uncanny valley territory. Named as a callback to the "Maya got a job in cyber" bit from a previous episode (itself a misremembering of a UK government ad campaign whose dancer was actually named Fatima)Dr David Corbet (@corbetron) – long-time listener; built Maya using vibe coding and gave her to the show entirely unpromptedOffice for Students – UK higher education regulator; referenced in connection with a recent institutional assessment visitNotebookLM (referred to as "Google Notebook" in the transcript) – Google's AI tool for generating podcast-style "deep dives"; noted for its hosts' unbridled enthusiasm and, formerly, odd glitchy interjectionsForced Entertainment – UK experimental theatre company; cited as an example of direct-to-camera address and "showing the working"Sassari – city in Sardinia; site of Simon and Lil's apartment, recently renovated, raised in a discussion about reluctance to knock down existing wallsGet in touch with Lee and Simon at [email protected]. --- The Midlifing logo is adapted from an original image by H.L.I.T: https://www.flickr.com/photos/29311691@N05/8571921679 (CC BY 2.0)

Send us Fan Mail Simon and Lee open on the tyranny of public pianos: one played beautifully by an old friend at Euston station, another axed to pieces in Lisbon after one too many renditions of the same tune. It tips into a longer meditation on recognition, virtuosity, and the icky feeling of wanting to be seen, prompted partly by Simon's nephew Finn asking how the professorship (announced last episode) is actually sitting with him a week in. Lee has his own news too: after two headache-inducing years, his university's research degree awarding powers bid has finally gone in. Mentioned Chopin – composer; played by an old friend of Simon's at Euston station, mid-piece, as he arrived to meet herCais do Sodré – train station in Lisbon; site of a public piano playing the same tune on loop until commuters had it removedHamilton – the musical; the "room where it happened" line recurs, and Lee had recently been watching an excellent Japanese-language productionMeta Ray-Ban glasses – smart glasses; cited as an emblem of frictionless recording cultureMichael Barrymore – British TV entertainer and former host of The Generation Game; recalled via the detail that someone died in his swimming pool years ago, then (probably wrongly) credited with now filming strangers in shops via Meta Ray-Bans for TikTokThe Generation Game – UK Saturday-night variety/game show; cited as an example of personality-driven light entertainmentNoel Edmonds' House Party – UK entertainment show, named alongside Strictly Come Dancing and Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway as part of the same "Saturday night" lineageStrictly Come Dancing – UK dance competition show; named as a descendant of that variety traditionAnt & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway – UK Saturday-night entertainment show; offered as the closest contemporary equivalentGet in touch with Lee and Simon at [email protected]. --- The Midlifing logo is adapted from an original image by H.L.I.T: https://www.flickr.com/photos/29311691@N05/8571921679 (CC BY 2.0)