‘What piece of advice do I wish I could tell my younger self?’

The conversation series encourages podcast fans to listen, learn and find comfort in talking about mental health, as well as hear about ways to support yourself or others. The podcasters involved include:

• Kate Mason and Jim Campbell of The Football Ramble talking to Dr Rupy from The Doctor’s Kitchen Podcast about gym anxiety and how physical health can help mental health.
• Actor and podcaster Scroobius Pip from Distraction Pieces Podcast talking to birth doula Lauren Mishcon and women’s coach Nicole Goodman of Self Care Club about worrying what others think of you.
• Podcaster and one half of The Rubberbandits Blindboy talking to neuroscientist and podcaster Dr Sabina Brennan of Super Brain about understanding how the brain works.
• Historian, presenter and podcaster Dan Snow talking to Caroline Foran, author and host of Owning It: The Anxiety Podcast about accepting failure.

The series makes use of Acast’s recently launched Sponsored Stories ad format, with the segments dynamically inserted at the end of episodes of the podcasts taking part. There will also be videos of the conversations posted across Acast’s social channels.

Acast believes there’s power in podcasts, with compassion, companionship, and comfort to be found for all sorts of situations — whether it’s turning to a familiar voice in your favourite podcast host, listening in on an intimate discussion about a guest’s own mental health journey, or relaxing with a welcome distraction from the day-to-day.

Podcasts also offer a way for people to stay entertained away from screen fatigue. Recent studies have investigated the association between screen time and mental health during COVID-19, and Acast recently ran a representative survey of the UK population of more than 2,000 respondents, where more than 52% of Brits said they feel as though they need to reduce the amount of screen time they’re getting in a day.

Sam Shetabi, Content Director Acast UK/IE, said: “It’s not surprising to see so many of us eager to spend less time in front of screens in a year that was defined by endless Zoom calls and TV series binging. We think podcasts are a perfect way to get away from looking at glaring screens and still be kept up to date with news and culture, learn something new or have a laugh — as well as hear the most unguarded conversations on issues like mental health. It’s important to bring these discussions to listeners, and we’re doing it with the help of some of the most exciting names in podcasting.”

Dr. Rupy Aujla, host of The Doctor’s Kitchen, said: “It was really cool to talk to the Football Ramble team about physical activity, food and how they are related to mental health. It’s brilliant that Acast are facilitating these open conversations and it was great to be connected to such fantastic podcasters too.”

Dan Snow, host of History Hit, said: “All of us experience mental health challenges at some point in our lives. I found it so useful listening to Caroline’s advice and will definitely adopt some of her methods for being more present, sleeping better and not letting stress and anxiety get out of control. Focusing on mental health, after the year we’ve all had, is really important.”

Caroline Foran, host of Owning It: The Anxiety Podcast, said: “My goal is to normalise mental health issues, to empower us all to get comfortable talking about the tricky stuff in life — so that the anxiety about what people will think of us, or the stigma that surrounds mental health, will start to dissolve. Podcasting is, in my opinion, the fastest and most effective route to achieving this goal and so I’m thrilled to join the brilliant Dan Snow’s History Hit for Mental Health Awareness Week.”

The conversation series launches today, all made possible by Acast’s dynamic ad insertion technology. Acast hosts more than 27,000 shows worldwide, with more than 65 million monthly listens in the UK alone.

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