Cork duo are ready for some more ‘Natter' as podcast series returns

Podcast hosts Michelle McDonagh and Kate Durrant are excited to share their second season of Natter. If you didn’t catch series one, the ‘no notions’ podcast is for anyone who enjoys a story, be it in a book or otherwise.

When I sit down to chat to the pair over Zoom, they introduce me to a dog they rescued the previous day. It’s a fitting opening – these are women with hearts like magnets.

Beginnings

According to Kate, it was Michelle who first identified a gap in the podcast market. Michelle explains that it came from her own experience as a listener.

“There are loads out there, but that there’s not that many I enjoy listening to. 

So, I had an idea to interview writers who would just tell stories. I didn’t want to do it alone, so I texted Kate.

“And I never say no to anything,” quips Kate. “I don’t have the no gene. But yes, you said there were no podcasts with ordinary people just talking about books, a podcast for everybody. You felt they were either very high brow or for younger people.”

“People’s lives are so interesting,” says Michelle. “Sometimes, we don’t even talk about the books very much.”

A Relaxed Affair

The two friends record the podcast in Michelle’s house.

“When Bookstation came on board as a sponsor, we thought they might want us to come into a studio. Thankfully, they like our ’no notions’ concept, so we are in my writing room with a bookshelf behind us, a bed that was broken last week, and Kate’s laptop propped up on it,” Michelle explains, with Kate adding, “Yes, you can imagine, the postman knocking on the door, DHL delivering parcels, dogs barking.”

Animals make an appearance on most episodes. Guests with dogs are warmly welcomed but their feline counterparts can cause problems for the podcasting duo, who are, in fact, a trio.

Yes, not only do they have a recently acquired rescue dog on their laps, Michelle and Kate are also accompanied on air by Brodie, their adorable dog.

“To be honest cats are a touchy subject,” Michelle says. “Brodie, author of Begging For Dummies: How To Win Treats And Influence Humans, is not a fan. 

He was far happier to meet Lynda La Plante’s opera-singing dog, Hugo, in the first episode of season two.

Other guests in the fortnightly series, which reached No.2 in the Irish Apple podcast charts (books), include fabulous Irish authors Sinead Moriarty, Roisin Meaney, Christine Dwyer Hickey, Sam Blake, and psychologist Allison Keating.

Kate also points out the Cork connection of another guest, funeral director David McGowan, author of A Life Among The Dead.

“He was trained by Val O’Connor. It’s a beautiful book. For anybody who wonders is there something after life, there’s great hope in it.”

Final Question

The end of each podcast is always the same, with the vivacious hosts asking guests what they would write if they had only one page and one day left.

“Roisin Meaney shared such a beautiful story about her brother who is no longer with her, that she hadn’t shared before and we all cried at that. It was so sad. Roisin was so generous,” says Kate.

“It’s quite intimate. It’s just three people having a chat. Like Anne Tiernan, who shared the story of her mother’s suicide. She went into labour when she heard her mother had taken her own life. 

There are so many people who go through similar things. 

"And that’s one of the joys of listening to a podcast. You realise you’re not alone. People who have had an experience have managed to turn it into something they can share with other people. That offers hope to a lot of people. We want to lift people up. Not to candy floss things, but we want to offer hope.”

The podcast is clearly a labour of love for the Blarney-based friends, but there is considerable labour in it, nonetheless.

“We do a lot of research and make sure they’re happy with the questions beforehand. We want them to be comfortable,” explains Michelle.

“We are just so excited to share these stories. We couldn’t believe it when we got Lynda la Plante, one of the most interviewed women in the world. Honestly, we didn’t sleep for a week beforehand,” Kate enthuses.

Whilst Michelle recalls, “My leg didn’t stop shaking for the whole interview.”

“It is not high literary fiction,” Kate explains. “Reading should be there for everybody; there should be no financial or literary impediment. I read to be entertained, not educated. I want a good story. I want some time off from my own head.”

Michelle agrees, but adds that you can be educated too.

“You are seeing the world through the eyes of somebody else. But I would say this podcast is about the books you really read, not the books you want to say you’ve read – the big prize-winning books. 

Not to say we won’t have prize winners on, but that’s not the focus.

Kate finishes our natter with an utterly down-to-earth remark.

“We want to look at the books you are going to enjoy. Reading is for everyone, and we want natter to be for everyone too.”

You’ll find Natter wherever you get your podcasts, and you can follow Michelle and Kate on instagram @natterthepod