We conclude our discussion centred on W Timothy Gallwey’s book ‘The Inner Game of Tennis’ by talking about nerves, including citing some famous cases of ‘choking’ in sport, and then engaging in a little fun speculation as to who might win the remaining tennis Grand Slams of this year and beyond, in both the men’s and women’s tours. We hope you enjo…

We felt it in poor taste to add show notes at such a sad time for the world...

We are delighted to bring you another swapcast with former Film Gold guest and my podcasting ‘spiritual brother’, Julian Charles of ‘The Mind Renewed’. On the docket this time is a true classic from the master, Stanley Kubrick. It’s a film that works beautifully on the level of pure comedy but is absolutely packed with layers of meaning, both overt…

Darrell & Antony continue their discussion of W Timothy Gallwey’s book ‘The Inner Game of Tennis’, which expertly uses that sport as a context to give wider insights into the nature of performance, the mental traps we set for ourselves and how to overcome challenges and be your best self. Although not an easy thing to do, you may find that at least…

For our first podcast series of 2024, we welcome Darrell Swan to talk about some of the benefits of Life Coaching before we deep dive into the book ‘The Inner Game of Tennis’ by W Timothy Gallwey. Darrell is a former Life Coachee of Antony’s and also a tennis player with a great interest in sports psychology. Gallwey’s book expertly uses tennis as …

In the last episode before we notch up our century, Antony flies solo to muse on and discuss various items of Lennon interest. In order, these are the 40th anniversary of the ‘Milk And Honey’ album, the cancelling and virtues of the Lennon-penned Beatles song ‘Run For Your Life’, May Pang’s 2022 documentary ‘The Lost Weekend: A Love Story’, the wor…

We round off Glass Onion’s 5th year with a personal episode. Antony explores further his origin story with John Lennon and the ongoing relationship and fascination with the subject of our show (yes, it’s our show). You will also hear some writing that didn’t quite culminate in a book this year, and there’s some discussion of childhood, both Antony’…

And so we finally reach the end of this podcast odyssey with the longest episode of the 4-part series... The main topics here are fame (linking neatly to LALO episode 40) and the interestingly similar trajectory it shares with money in terms of how its escalation affects -or doesn't affect- a person's happiness, and then the granddaddy of all topic…

We conclude our 1967 odyssey by picking up from mid-June and detailing all the main Lennon and Beatles events for the rest of 1967. The Beatles are linked by satellite to hundreds of millions, they almost buy a Greek island, the Maharishi enters their lives and they make their own TV special just in time for it to be shown in black-and-white among …

The next part of this epic journey through Derren Brown’s book ‘Happy: Why More or Less Everything Is Absolutely Fine’ and the general topic of happiness takes us further into fate and accepting the downsides of life while finding its way back to some core themes of the book. These include our construction of narratives with little evidence, catast…

In this episode we start to work our merry way through the Lennon/Beatles events events of this most swinging of Beatleyears, reaching mid-June. The Fabs start off by releasing what could be their greatest single ever and then turn their full attention to creating what is surely at least their most famous album, Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band…

Antony and returning guest Luke Thompsonof ‘Luke’s English Podcast’ tackle William Friedkin's underrated 1977 thriller, starring Roy Scheider. This film wasn't a success in its day but has been reassessed over the decades and could now be considered a 'hidden masterpiece'. The plot is very simple but the film is marvellously evocative, and the prod…

Antony appeared on ‘Luke’s English podcast’ in April/May this year to profile Life And Life Only, and here is a compilation of the two episodes, which originally went out on video (see links below). The topics discussed by Luke and Antony are the podcast itself, Cats, Titanic, Travelling, English Teaching, Life Coaching, David Blaine, Food & Diet, …

1967 is a year that has gone into legend for various reasons. Was it the year of peace and love? Was there any real love in it at all? Or was it just like any other year, a heady mix of everything good and bad about the human race and society? Before looking at what was undoubtedly a ground-breaking and life-changing year for John Lennon and The Be…

One of the films that ushered in the new century, Requiem For A Dream is a virtuoso powerhouse from director Darren Aronofsky, featuring a remarkable lead performance by Ellen Burstyn. Although primarily dealing with drug addiction, it hits all kinds of other points of social and emotional impact, such as the power of television, the pain of loss, …

Ken McNab and I complete our discussion about his new book 'Shake It Up Baby!: The Rise of Beatlemania And The Mayhem of 1963' and the general atmosphere and events of that breathless year. This time round, we cover the second half of the year as our four intrepid musical explorers continue their furious work rate and have their first proper brushe…

Following the shows on 1962, we seamlessly move to 1963 with the welcome return of Ken McNab to talk about his new book 'Shake It Up Baby!: The Rise of Beatlemania And The Mayhem of 1963'. After Ken gives some thoughts on Peter Jackson’s ‘Get Back’ (his previous appearances on Glass Onion were prior to its release), we cover the events of the first…

Inspired by the recent U.S. Open tennis tournament, here’s my take on the grand slam singles finals won by Coco Gauff and Novak Djokovic, the G.O.A.T. debate and the sport and its culture in general. From here, we look at two things that are inextricably linked to top-level tennis and sport- media and fame. There’s also discussion of a very importa…

We complete our deep dive into 1962 in the outer world and in the Beatles family psychodrama, picking up from late July with Beatles events including a historic change of drummer, John Lennon’s marriage, the group’s first radio interview, their more than troublesome experience recording the simplest song in the world (Love Me Do), gigs with one of …

We continue our foray into the surprisingly complex world of happiness, with extracts from Derren Brown’s 2016 book ‘Happy: Why More or Less Everything Is Absolutely Fine’ to guide us through, along with host Antony’s interjections and musings. In this part, we look at a wide range of sub-topics including more on the history of happiness, a look at…

In this episode, Antony and Ghosty start discussing the Beatles/Lennon events of 1962, covering January to June. Particular focus is put on the Pete Best issue and the death of Stuart Sutcliffe, not to mention John Lennon’s contentious and highly unique reaction to that death. Every year in the Beatles story from around 1960 was packed with activit…

The story of HMS Bounty and the mutiny that took place aboard it is a compelling narrative that has not surprisingly been the subject of many film adaptations and other creative endeavours. In this discussion from 2020 that originally went out on the Stinking Pause podcast, regular Film Gold collaborator Scott Phipps is joined by myself and Steven …

Our latest Lennon odyssey starts with a review of the events of 1962, a tangential conversation in which Antony and guest David ‘Ghosty’ Wills freewheel into all kinds of other territory before setting the listeners up with some pre-1962 context on the Beatles’ progress on their own journey to musical and cultural world domination. 1962 was marked …

Happiness seems to be simple to understand, but profound and lasting happiness is actually a complex business, as brilliantly illustrated by Derren Brown in his 2016 book ‘Happy: Why More or Less Everything Is Absolutely Fine’. Derren’s very readable 500-page tome forms the basis for this series of episodes on the many aspects of happiness, includi…

Antony joins frequent collaborator Scott Phipps to take a deep dive (sans canoe) into a true 1970sclassic, as part of ‘The Stinking Pause’ 10th anniversary celebrations. The making of this film is almost as mind-blowing as the movie itself. Insurance, who needs it? Enjoy! The Cahulawassee River valley in Northern Georgia is one of the last natural …

We complete our latest Lennon journey with the conclusion of my analysis of some of the more telling quotes from the series of interviews conducted in September 1980 for Playboy magazine by John Lennon and Yoko Ono. This episode contains a lot of clips from the original audio of the interviews and focuses mainly on John's comments about who wrote w…

This episode starts with a ‘short intro’ of around 45 minutes, with yet more Coleman vs Goldman material, before continuing our in-depth look at John Lennon’s series of interviews for Playboy magazine in September 1980, which also included Yoko Ono. The interviews offer a fascinating and multi-layered study of a highly eccentric artist and also for…

This time around, Antony reads two of his short stories, referred to in the title of the episode, and muses on various things, including Chris Ryan and his ‘Tangentially Speaking’ podcast, Thai memories, a surreal Valium-fuelled overnight trip, a wonderful review from a listener, the magic of cats, normies vs truthers and a couple of other things. …

John Lennon’s series of interviews for Playboy magazine in September 1980, which also included Yoko Ono, are not only a fascinating and multi-layered study of a highly eccentric artist but also form an integral part of the official narrative of John and Yoko’s relationship in 1980 before his death and of the genesis of the songs for their joint alb…

We complete our Michael Caine tribute, a joint presentation of the ‘Film Gold’ and ‘The Stinking Pause’ podcasts, as the great man turns 90. Antony Rotunno and Scott Phipps count down their top 5 Caine performances and also discuss his ultimate legacy after 60 years as a film star. There are audio clips galore to complement the conversation, includ…

Michael Caine, born as Maurice Micklewhite, has been acting for 70 years and been a star for nearly 60. This 2-part joint presentation of the ‘Film Gold’ and ‘The Stinking Pause’ podcasts celebrates the life and career of a true cinematic icon as he approaches his 90th birthday. In this first part, Antony Rotunno and Scott Phipps look at Caine’s up…

David Blaine is known around the world and a magician and illusionist. However, he has also had a parallel life doing endurance stunts, apparently for real without illusion (though some believe otherwise). This episode deals with my personal favourite of these stunts, when he tested the limits of human endurance, both physical and psychological, li…

Compilation albums come in many shapes and sizes and some can be justified while others rely on good marketing and glossy packaging to persuade consumers to part with their hard-earned money for the same material. This is an appearance by your humble host on the ‘When they Was Fab’ podcast back in December 2020 discussing the mind-boggling number o…

Originally recorded for 'The Mind Renewed' podcast and hosted by Julian Charles, this is a four-way discussion, also including Mark Campbell and Frank Johnson, about the 1978 conspiracy thriller Capricorn One, starring Elliott Gould, James Brolin, Branda Vaccaro and Hal Holbrook and written and directed by Peter Hyams. About to embark upon the firs…

John Lennon and Paul McCartney are inextricably linked, and what more is there to say at this point? Well, I give it a shot in a podcast of 3 sections, looking at common Lennon/McCartney tropes and assumptions, giving a guitar & vocal lesson on the song 'Two Of Us' and then walking you through the highly entertaining 2000 TV film 'Two Of Us', direc…

We complete the reading of Antony's longform essay with the dramatic sinking and its aftermath. Ordinary humans of all levels of means and status fight for their lives against the slow, inevitable creep of death, and after the disaster there's equal measures of genuine humanity and ugly scapegoating The story of R.M.S. Titanic and its unfortunate f…

The completion of Luke and Antony's discussion of John Lennon, originally recorded for ‘Luke’s English Podcast’ last year. We complete our description of John using adjectives of personality, and then discuss his lyrics, including his lyrical progression, and offer numerous examples courtesy of Antony’s voice and guitar and Luke’s deep knowledge of…

We continue the boxing theme with a look at the black-and-white 'anti-Rocky', starring the dynamite team of Martin Scorsese and Robert De Niro. Based on the book by Jake La Motta and Pete Savage, this filmic masterpiece looks at La Motta's life and struggles in and out of the ring as well as the punishment he dishes out to those around him. In this…

The story of R.M.S. Titanic and its unfortunate fate seems to have everything, both good and bad, in terms of how society views itself, its apparently superior relationship to nature and people’s relationships to their fellow man. This is a historical event but it’s also a story full of drama and human interest, and one that has been subject to con…

Luke Thompson, a fellow English teacher and podcaster, hosted Antony on his podcast back in June 2021, and this is the Glass Onion version of that talk, split into two parts. This part of the discussion centres on trying to describe John Lennon using adjectives of personality, so this episode is especially recommended for students of English and no…

Jon Stewart, author of 'Dylan, Lennon, Marx & God', makes a quick and very welcome return to the podcast to further discuss Lennon themes from his book. We talk Lennon origin stories, Freudian analysis, Aunt Mimi, Liverpool and the Dylan/Lennon superduo that never was. The last third of the show has host Antony reading a couple of stories about his…

In an edited version of what was originally a video podcast (link below), Antony and Luke Thompson dissect the seminal Canadian documentary written by law professor Joel Bakan and directed by Mark Achbar and Jennifer Abbott. Although often run by people with decent intentions, the modern corporation, complete with its legally-determined 'rights of …

The Rocky films, for better or worse, have become an instantly recognisable part of popular culture. The original 1976 film, as you will hear, went through a gradual period of evolution but Sylvester Stallone’s script was born in a unique time of ‘realistic’ Hollywood films. The finished product was an unlikely success and a marriage of this gritty…

Turning our attention from 1968 itself to the Lennon/Beatles events of the year, what emerges is an epic Glass Onion journey into a year that weighed heavily on John Lennon's psyche and the world-famous group that he'd originally formed. The main events include the trip to India, the Apple launch, the recording of the White Album and John and Paul'…

Nicnac Marsh has a podcast that delves into his psyche and the challenges of the complex business of existence in an ever-changing and increasingly confusing world. I was delighted to make 2 appearances on his show around this time last year so this latest offering is a compilation of the two. Our talk goes to many different places but there is par…

1968 was among the most turbulent years in living memory. As a forerunner to our look at the Beatles/John Lennon events, Matt Williamson joins the show to dissect the year itself in terms of major events, films and (non-Beatles) singles and albums. This is prefaced by host Antony doing a brief comparison of The Beatles and Monty Python's Flying Cir…

The BBC, once considered the bastion of fairness in journalism, has in recent times begun to wear its propaganda on its sleeve. Antony attempts to give a fair but critical overview of their recent 'Unvaccinated' documentary and point out both the overt and more subtle propaganda techniques used in a piece of programming whose agenda is clear from t…

Taxi Driver's master filmmaking and complex psychology have made it a key film in the classic 'Easy Riders/Raging Bulls' period dominated by the Hollywood of the 70s. Robert De Niro, Martin Scorsese and writer Paul Schrader were, in Schrader's words, 'all looking for something', and along came this script and story and they embarked on a filmic and…

Chris Purcell and I complete our 2-part look at John Lennon's live career and also some of the films and video clips surrounding his performances This part takes us from 1966 to 1975 as we look at such events as the Our World broadcast, Hey Jude & Revolution on the David Frost show, the rooftop gig and John's two most high-profile and substantial s…

Yes Minister, which later became Yes Prime Minister, was a BBC sitcom that ran from the late 1970s to the late 80s. On one level it was an extremely well-scripted and funny comedy, but it also offered a very profound and only slightly exaggerated look at the very interesting but also rather dark and slightly insane way in which we and our lives are…