When podcast producer Dave Pickering is approached by his dad with a mystery from the life of a long-forgotten friend, he decides to investigate it in the only way he knows how: by having conversations. Mark Sullivan, who went missing 15 years ago, has been found dead. His body still has the arm he should have lost in a car accident and seems to have died eight years before he disappeared. In a series of 12 episodes, Dave tries to uncover this mystery through conversations with Mark’s family and friends. As he gets to know them, his questions lead to more questions… the mystery runs deeper than anyone imagined. The Family Tree is a magical realist drama about family, belonging, change and identity.
Later this year I will be launching a Getting Better Acquainted mini series titled ‘Down to a Sunless Sea: Memories of my Dad’ about the my relationship with my dad, my dad's life story and his descent into dementia.The show will be be mixing clips from over 15 hours of interviews that I've done with my dad over the last 10 years with narrations based on these medium pieces: https://medium.com/@goosefat101
Additionally to the main thread of the show I've received The Pulse Award from the Wellcome Trust and British Podcast Awards to make some episodes that look at the science behind the issues covered which include dementia, heart conditions, mental health and euthanasia.
https://fund.britishpodcastawards.com/news/50k-awarded-to-uk-podcasters/
As part of the requirements for this funding I'd really appreciate it if people who have listened to Getting Better Acquainted at some point since it launched in 2011 could fill in this survey:
http://podcastviews.com
It shouldn't take too long to fill in and you can select an option to be entered into a draw to get a pair of tickets to this year's awards ceremony.
This Christmas special functions as an epilogue, a coda, an outro and a final thought, for The Family Tree. Dave spends Christmas with Philip Beech and the Sullivans, and Jen reads a special Christmas story written by Mia.
The Family Tree is a magical realist dramatic fiction about family, belonging, change and identity.
Help The Family Tree to grow by becoming a Patron
In the final episode of the show, Dave and his brother go to visit their dad to say hello, and also to say goodbye: endings are more complex than a simple full stop.
The Family Tree is a magical realist dramatic fiction about family, belonging, change and identity.
Help The Family Tree to grow by becoming a Patron
In the last Cutting of Season 3, Dave reflects on accountability and forgiveness, and considers the best ways to end things by asking some big questions. We hear from past guests, new guests and listeners to the show, who talk about how they approach these issues. We also hear from Dave's partner, Jen, about how she has experienced the making of The Family Tree, and are introduced to a song written for the end of show by Martin Zaltz Austwick.
The Family Tree’s Cuttings discuss the real issues raised in the show with special guests from podcasting, journalism, religion and the arts. This episode forms a kind of trilogy with these two previous Cuttings: http://thefamilytreepodcast.co.uk/cuttings/cutting-6-the-big-questions/ http://thefamilytreepodcast.co.uk/cuttings/the-family-tree-season-2-cuttings-5-saying-goodbye/ Find our Guests!
Martin Zaltz Austwick: Pale Bird, Song by Song
Alex Iantaffi: Gender Stories Podcast Tanaka Mhishi: Tanaka’s work around sexual violence, The Consent Collective Oliver Thorn: Philosophy Tube Dr. Alice Tarbuck Dr Cathy Elliott Kevin Allison: RISK! Jenny Adamthwaite Dr Robert Poole Dr. Alexander Cummins Professor Chakravarthi Ram-Prasad
Dave talks to Mark about his role in the trauma his family has experienced, and reflects on the importance of accountability and justice.
The Family Tree is a magical realist dramatic fiction about family, belonging, change and identity.
Help The Family Tree to grow by becoming a Patron
Family is about more than blood. Dave continues rounding up the end of Season 3 by catching up with the extended family.
The Family Tree is a magical realist dramatic fiction about family, belonging, change and identity.
Help The Family Tree to grow by becoming a Patron
As Season 3 starts to come to a close, Dave catches up with the Sullivan family to find out how they’re all doing and what the future holds for them.
The Family Tree is a magical realist dramatic fiction about family, belonging, change and identity.
Help The Family Tree to grow by becoming a Patron
In the fifth Cutting of Season 3, Dave considers different elements of identity. He talks to Scout Pup about furries and puppies, and speaks to Alex Iantaffi about genograms, intergenerational trauma and mind plasticity. The episode features more clips from the Meg-John and Justin podcast, which consider hierarchies of love and relationships.
CONTENT NOTE: trauma, holocaust, genocide and intimate partner violence.
The Family Tree’s Cuttings discuss the real issues raised in the show with special guests from podcasting, journalism, religion and the arts.
Find our Guests!
Alex Iantaffi: http://www.alexiantaffi.com/
Gender Stories Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/gender-stories/id1353717550
Meg-John and Justin (podcast, book, zines): https://megjohnandjustin.com/
Meg-John Barker (writing, zines): https://www.rewriting-the-rules.com/
Justin Hancock’s sex and relationship education for young people: Bish
https://www.bishuk.com
Life Isn’t Binary by Meg-John Barker and Alex Iantaffi: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Life-Isnt-Binary-Beyond-Between/dp/1785924796
With no need to hide anymore and a firm plan for her future, Violita is finally ready to tell Dave exactly what happened when she became a liminal person.
The Family Tree is a magical realist dramatic fiction about family, belonging, change and identity.
Help The Family Tree to grow by becoming a Patron.
Sam is back from Australia, and eager to update listeners on their new life. They introduce their friend, Tee, and Dave witnesses a new kind of liminal lifestyle.
The Family Tree is a magical realist dramatic fiction about family, belonging, change and identity.
Help The Family Tree to grow by becoming a Patron.
Dave catches up with Ben and Kora, who discuss how things are working out for them in their new life as Ben, Kora, Nathan and jaguar.
The Family Tree is a magical realist dramatic fiction about family, belonging, change and identity.
Help The Family Tree to grow by becoming a Patron.
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