Released 06.03.25

The Conversation

In this episode, Sophy speaks with farmer and Sunday Times-bestselling writer from the Lake District, James Rebanks, about his new book, The Place of Tides. The book follows James’ three-month stay on a remote Norwegian island, which is home to a traditional eider duck-nesting business. 

The conversation ranges from James’ home in the Lake District to Norway’s Strandflat. He questions whose stories we tell: ‘Why was my grandfather not a hero of this landscape? Why are people like that barely in books?’

James is interested in what he calls ‘the history of the nobodies’, among them, Anna Måsøy, one of Norway’s last ‘duck women’. He explains the history of the eider duck down industry; how it started with the Vikings and flourished, before declining in recent times. He explains how Anna revived the industry on her tiny island, encouraging wild eider ducks to nest, building nests for them, ensuring the birds are comfortable, and then gathering the feathers they leave behind to be cleaned. The reward from 1500 ducks? Enough feathers to produce perhaps three duvets. 

He and Sophy talk about the power of individual action, regenerative conservation, the legacy of inheritance, and what we can learn from stepping outside our comfort zone: ‘You're distracted and you’re constantly looking for stimuli,’ James says: ‘stop’.

James Rebanks’ book, The Place of Tides, is published by Allen Lane.