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  • Writer's pictureAnnie Hope

The World According to the Knock Podcast (Interview with Susan Smith)

Hello Susan. Thank you for joining me for a chat about ‘The World According to the Knock’, a new podcast all about the fallout from the Knock.

The podcast is such a great concept which is proving to be very popular with listeners.

What is the motivation behind its creation?


Someone in our community (on a forum) mentioned podcasts about crime and prison and we realised that there was a gap. Nobody was talking about how the families are affected, especially when someone commits a sexual offence. So, I thought ‘why not do a podcast?’. It’s true that many in our community don’t feel listened to – we are not being heard. We have the right to freedom of speech, just as everyone does.


I support a lot of people in our community (and have done since 2019). We have WhatsApp groups, I support people on forums and social media, and 1:1 round the clock, all hours. I have found that there are a lot of common themes to our experiences as well as unique elements to each journey.


For the common themes, I repeat myself a lot and therefore I wanted to find a way to create a resource where this advice can be pulled together and can be accessed by the people who need it the most. I also wanted to be able to talk about the things that people want me to talk about, interacting with our community, and therefore the podcast is very much a collaborative effort and I am always happy to hear from people who have ideas.


Thank you, Susan. It certainly is a helpful resource, and a way to feel heard.

The podcast is based around the theme of the Wizard of Oz, which is both creative and engaging.

How did this idea come about?


A friend described the Knock as the tornado in The Wizard of Oz. It comes from nowhere, without warning and it hits and causes devastation and chaos. Then, everything goes silent, and we subsequently experience the ‘thud’ of landing in ‘Oz’.


Can you give us a brief summary of episodes so far?


Yes certainly. First episode is the Introduction. It explains what the podcast is about, why it started, and what it is aiming to do.



Next episode is Tornado Part 1. This is about feelings after the Knock. It was quite an emotional episode to record. People’s experiences are harrowing.


Next is Tornado Part 2. This is more about the practical side of things; what advice we would give someone experiencing the Knock and what to be aware of.


The most recent episode is Glinda the Good Witch. For most people, at the time of the Knock, they are lucky if they even get a leaflet for one charity. And actually, there is a lot of support out there from various organisations and charities. I want to make people aware of the scope of support available. I would love to hear from any other charities, as I am happy to cover these in future episodes.


And how can people listen to ‘The World According to the Knock’?


We are on iTunes, Spotify and Audible. We also have a Twitter account (@understand1969). Please do share and follow the podcast, follow us on Twitter, give the podcast a rating. It all helps to get the word out.

Thank you to everyone who has supported us so far, it means a lot.


Can you give us a sneak peek into future episodes?


This Friday’s episode will be called The Munchkins. Please tune in to hear all about who the Munchkins are and what they do!


There will be an episode about social services, the positives and negatives of people’s experiences. There will be an episode about the police, which will be an interesting one. Then I plan to do episodes about big tech and also one on government and their role in online crimes.

There will be an episode about family members and I would like to do separate episodes for example about mums of offenders, siblings, and also one about the autism and ADHD element to offending.

I also plan to do an episode about resources available, such as websites, and other podcasts, and resources about porn addiction, because it’s a massive thing and there is information available out there in the public domain, it’s just a case of knowing where to look.


Sounds very exciting and we can’t wait! Thank you, Susan, for our chat today.

It’s been lovely to hear about ‘The World According to the Knock’ podcast – it’s a brilliant resource, and we appreciate that a lot of work goes into producing each episode.

Is there anything you would like to add?


I want to thank our community. Without you, this wouldn’t be possible. You are all incredible and I have learnt so much from you. Your voices deserve to be heard. Please do contact me by email: theworldaccordingtotheknock@gmail.com if you have any questions, feedback, suggestions, or would like to feature in a future episode.


This also applies to professionals and charities: if you would be able to help us with future episodes, provide any feedback, or come along as a guest, it would be great to connect with you and to hear your ideas, so please do email me.


‘The World According to the Knock’ is available on iTunes, Spotify and Audible.

New episode available every Friday.








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