The Anti-Anxiety Toolkit

Today’s episode really leans into the “variety” part of our podcast's name. From Canadian headlines to ancient Roman bone dice, it’s a buffet of the bizarre, the beautiful, and the quietly profound.

First up, it’s back to the Great White North for another round of Maple Leaf, or Make Believe?—the quiz that challenges you to separate true Canadian news stories from sweet, syrupy fakes. One of these headlines is legit. The rest? Pure, unfiltered nonsense. Can you spot the truth?

Then, we slow things down with our first guest: yoga and meditation teacher Sue Cheung, who shares accessible, practical tools for managing anxiety in a noisy world. With strategies drawn from her Anti-Anxiety Toolkit, Sue shows us that finding calm in chaos isn’t just possible—it might be the most powerful thing we can do.

After that, we crack open the Audio Archives, a brand new segment uncovering strange audio relics of the past. This week, a preserved recording from the final shift of a switchboard operator named Katherine Ellington. What call sealed her fate? Who was on the other end of the line—and what exactly did they say?

And finally, it’s time to put on your wellies and head down to the River Thames with returning guest Sean Clark the Mudlark. In his first regular report, Sean introduces us to the ancient artefacts “finding him” on the foreshore—including a tiny, lopsided Roman bone die that opens a portal to 2,000 years of gambling, games, and forgotten Londoners.

Our Parish Notices this week come from the endlessly inspiring Ahmad—sharing a glimpse into the world of The Running Charity and the coach who’s changing lives.

You’ll laugh, you’ll breathe, you’ll say “Wait—what did I just listen to?”

Step inside The Big Smoke. It’s weird. It’s wonderful. It’s waiting.

Don’t forget to sign up for our newsletter at thebigsmokevariety.com for a peek behind the curtain of our guests and more!

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Links

Sue Cheung Website

Claude Umuhire and The Running Charity

Sean Clark Instagram

Maple Leaf or Make Believe Answer

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Chapters

(00:00) Intro

(01:25) Maple Leaf or Make Believe

(02:24) Sue Cheung Interview

(41:58) Parish Notices

(47:22) Audio Archives: Switchboard Operator

(58:21) Sean Clark the Mudlark’s Latest Find

(01:04:22) Maple Leaf or Make Believe Answer

(01:06:19) Outro

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Hosted & Exec Produced by Kevin Bennett

Produced & Edited by Alex Graham

Assistant Produced by Adam Wright

A big thanks to Ahmad Wonly, our on-street correspondent

Audio Archives was written by Aidan Parker and stars Olivia Mace