Episodes

  • Ever wondered why Frasier Crane is such a snob?
    How Tyrion Lannister’s bawdy humour saves him in Game of Thrones?
    What makes Schitts Creek’s Moira Rose a narcissist?

    ‘Shrink the Box’ is where actor comedian Ben Bailey Smith and psychotherapist Nemone Metaxas put their favourite fictional characters such Tommy from Peaky Blinders and Sydney from The Bear on the couch - to analyse why their behaviour causes them so much drama.

    Nemone and Ben explore why these characters make certain decisions, what would happen if they made different ones and what we can learn from their mistakes. The perfect combination of psychology, self-help and the best TV since the birth of the box-set.

    We would love to hear your theories: [email protected]



    A Sony Music Entertainment production.

    Find more great podcasts from Sony Music Entertainment at sonymusic.com/podcasts and follow us at @sonypodcasts

    To bring your brand to life in this podcast, email [email protected]
    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

  • BBC’s ‘Ghosts’ - we explore them further. We also ask if Homer Simpson is abusive and we answer your questions in this special bonus edition.

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    We'd love to hear your comments and guest suggestions on the show. Email: [email protected]



    Shrink The Box is a Sony Music Entertainment production.

    Find more great podcasts from Sony Music Entertainment at sonymusic.com/podcasts

    To bring your brand to life in this podcast, email [email protected]
    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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  • Ben’s close encounter with an obsessive fan. Plus we ask why writers create good-looking psychopaths and we explore your character suggestions in this special bonus edition.



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    Shrink The Box is a Sony Music Entertainment production.

    We'd love to hear your comments and guest suggestions on the show. Email: [email protected]

    Find more great podcasts from Sony Music Entertainment at sonymusic.com/podcasts

    To bring your brand to life in this podcast, email [email protected]
    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

  • As Season 2 hits our screens, we reflect on the recipe that had everyone crying into their dinner, how Carmy and Ritchie approach grief differently and how advice from a Vietnamese Buddist Monk can be applied to a professional kitchen. 

    The Bear is available to watch on Disney Plus. As ever, adult issues, language and spoilers will be sprinkled liberally throughout the show. 

    If you want to catch the BBC show that Ben is in (as mentioned): https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episodes/p0fvlpf9/the-sixth-commandment  

    If you have been affected by any of the issues discussed in this episode: For the UK, call SAMARITANS on 116 123 samaritans.org/how-we-can-help/contact-samaritan.

    Internationally: https://www.befrienders.org/ 

    For UK help via talking therapies contact your GP or the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy bacp.co.uk 



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    Shrink The Box is a Sony Music Entertainment production. 

    We'd love to hear your comments and guest suggestions on the show. Email: [email protected] 

    Find more great podcasts from Sony Music Entertainment at sonymusic.com/podcasts 

    To bring your brand to life in this podcast, email [email protected]
    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

  • You’d think someone with two therapist parents would be golden. Why Otis is scared of sex. Plus what’s worse, having a parent who is strict or a smotherer? We look at what it’s like for the rest of the boys such as Eric, Adam and Jackson in the second of this two-parter on the hugely popular Netflix show.

    If you have been affected by any of the issues discussed in this episode: For the UK, call SAMARITANS on 116 123 samaritans.org/how-we-can-help/contact-samaritan.

    Internationally: https://www.befrienders.org/

    For UK help via talking therapies contact your GP or the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy bacp.co.uk

    We'd love to hear your comments and guest suggestions on the show. Email: [email protected]



    EXCLUSIVE NordVPN Deal ➼ https://nordvpn.com/shrink Try it risk-free now with a 30-day money-back guarantee!



    Shrink The Box is a Sony Music Entertainment production.

    Find more great podcasts from Sony Music Entertainment at sonymusic.com/podcasts

    To bring your brand to life in this podcast, email [email protected]
    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

  • What it’s like being called a ‘cock-biter’ - how Maeve is misunderstood and underestimated. Plus revenge porn, toxic friendships and fears or fascination around sex. In this two parter: we look at the girls first and what they face growing up in this hugely popular Netflix show.

    We'd love to hear your comments and guest suggestions on the show. Email: [email protected]

    If you have been affected by any of the issues discussed in this episode: For the UK, call SAMARITANS on 116 123 samaritans.org/how-we-can-help/contact-samaritan.

    Internationally: https://www.befrienders.org/

    For UK help via talking therapies contact your GP or the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy bacp.co.uk



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    Shrink The Box is a Sony Music Entertainment production.

    Find more great podcasts from Sony Music Entertainment at sonymusic.com/podcasts

    To bring your brand to life in this podcast, email [email protected]
    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

  • Emotional contagion in gang culture is not the only issue driving this week's client. Does compartmentalising ruthless work and being a caregiver have ill effects? We delve into how grief can drive reckless decision-making to become Top Boy. 



    If you have been affected by any of the issues discussed in this episode: For the UK, call SAMARITANS on 116 123 samaritans.org/how-we-can-help/contact-samaritan.

    Internationally: https://www.befrienders.org/ 

    For UK help via talking therapies contact your GP or the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy bacp.co.uk  



    EXCLUSIVE NordVPN Deal ➼ https://nordvpn.com/shrink Try it risk-free now with a 30-day money-back guarantee! 



    Shrink The Box is a Sony Music Entertainment production. 

    We'd love to hear your comments and guest suggestions on the show. Email: [email protected] 

    Find more great podcasts from Sony Music Entertainment at sonymusic.com/podcasts 

    To bring your brand to life in this podcast, email [email protected] 


    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

  • The difference between personality types: Feeler or Dealer. Plus why Mitch is so desperate to be one of the crowd and Cam wants to stand outside of it. We explore two of our favourite characters in more detail. 



    If you have been affected by any of the issues discussed in this episode: For the UK, call SAMARITANS on 116 123 samaritans.org/how-we-can-help/contact-samaritan. 

    Internationally: https://www.befrienders.org/ 

    For UK help via talking therapies contact your GP or the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy bacp.co.uk 



    EXCLUSIVE NordVPN Deal ➼ https://nordvpn.com/shrink Try it risk-free now with a 30-day money-back guarantee! 



    Shrink The Box is a Sony Music Entertainment production. 

    We'd love to hear your comments and guest suggestions on the show. Email: [email protected] 

    Find more great podcasts from Sony Music Entertainment at sonymusic.com/podcasts 

    To bring your brand to life in this podcast, email [email protected] 


    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

  • What does infidelity say about a marriage? How can honesty in the face of money laundering keep a family together, and what sort of mother is Wendy? We learn how a wholesome American mum holds her nerve (and maybe even thrives) against a cartel.

    If you have been affected by any of the issues discussed in this episode: For the UK, call SAMARITANS on 116 123 samaritans.org/how-we-can-help/contact-samaritan.

    Internationally: https://www.befrienders.org/

    For UK help via talking therapies contact your GP or the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy bacp.co.uk



    EXCLUSIVE NordVPN Deal ➼ https://nordvpn.com/shrink Try it risk-free now with a 30-day money-back guarantee!



    Shrink The Box is a Sony Music Entertainment production.

    We'd love to hear your comments and guest suggestions on the show. Email: [email protected]

    Find more great podcasts from Sony Music Entertainment at sonymusic.com/podcasts

    To bring your brand to life in this podcast, email [email protected]
    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

  • With special guest Kiell Smith-Bynoe who plays Mike in hit BBC comedy ‘Ghosts’. Ben and Sasha ask: is sharing your partner with a group of ghosts a metaphor for partnerships and what’s it like to act next to dead people? Plus, they take a look at why it's not just our upbringing that shapes us, but also the time we come from. Recorded Live at The Podcast Show in London.

     

    If you have been affected by any of the issues discussed in this episode: For the UK, call SAMARITANS on 116 123 samaritans.org/how-we-can-help/contact-samaritan.

    Internationally: https://www.befrienders.org/

     

    For UK help via talking therapies contact your GP or the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy bacp.co.uk

     

    EXCLUSIVE NordVPN Deal ➼ https://nordvpn.com/shrink Try it risk-free now with a 30-day money-back guarantee!

     

    Shrink The Box is a Sony Music Entertainment production.

    We'd love to hear your comments and guest suggestions on the show. Email: [email protected]

    Find more great podcasts from Sony Music Entertainment at sonymusic.com/podcasts

    To bring your brand to life in this podcast, email [email protected]

     
    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

  • What’s an anxious ruminator? What happens when self-blame is a way of life and how stationery can be lethal? We learn that there’s a little bit of George in all of us and how to keep it at bay.

    Our top ten George episodes (available on Netflix)

    Season 2, episode 4: The Phone Message

    Season 4, episode 10: The Contest

    Season 4, episode 15: The Shoes

    Season 5, episode 14: The Marine Biologist

    Season 5, episode 21: The Opposite

    Season 7, episode 19: The Calzone

    Season 7, episode 22: The Invitation

    Season 7, episode 7: The Secret Code

    Season 8, episode 9: The Abstinence

    Season 8, episode 13: The Comeback

    If you have been affected by any of the issues discussed in this episode: For the UK, call SAMARITANS on 116 123 samaritans.org/how-we-can-help/contact-samaritan.

    Internationally: https://www.befrienders.org/

    For UK help via talking therapies contact your GP or the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy bacp.co.uk



    EXCLUSIVE NordVPN Deal ➼ https://nordvpn.com/shrink Try it risk-free now with a 30-day money-back guarantee!



    Shrink The Box is a Sony Music Entertainment production.

    We'd love to hear your comments and guest suggestions on the show. Email: [email protected]

    Find more great podcasts from Sony Music Entertainment at sonymusic.com/podcasts

    To bring your brand to life in this podcast, email [email protected]
    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

  • How anger can be a force for good, are we misusing the word ‘trigger’ and what happens when a birthday party turns into a domestic. We deep dive into the police sergeant’s life to see how she copes (or not).

    If you have been affected by any of the issues discussed in this episode: For the UK, call SAMARITANS on 116 123 samaritans.org/how-we-can-help/contact-samaritan.

    Internationally: https://www.befrienders.org/

    For UK help via talking therapies contact your GP or the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy bacp.co.uk



    EXCLUSIVE NordVPN Deal ➼ https://nordvpn.com/shrink Try it risk-free now with a 30-day money-back guarantee!



    Shrink The Box is a Sony Music Entertainment production.

    We'd love to hear your comments and guest suggestions on the show. Email: [email protected]

    Find more great podcasts from Sony Music Entertainment at sonymusic.com/podcasts

    To bring your brand to life in this podcast, email [email protected]
    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

  • Ben and Sasha break down how the Schitt’s Creek siblings are fuelled differently, the different flavours of wine, and why quality time with the ones who love us most, trumps all.

    If you have been affected by any of the issues discussed in this episode: For the UK, call SAMARITANS on 116 123 samaritans.org/how-we-can-help/contact-samaritan.

    Internationally: https://www.befrienders.org/

    For UK help via talking therapies contact your GP or the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy bacp.co.uk



    EXCLUSIVE NordVPN Deal ➼ https://nordvpn.com/shrink Try it risk-free now with a 30-day money-back guarantee!



    Shrink The Box is a Sony Music Entertainment production.

    We'd love to hear your comments and guest suggestions on the show. Email: [email protected]

    Find more great podcasts from Sony Music Entertainment at sonymusic.com/podcasts

    To bring your brand to life in this podcast, email [email protected]
    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

  • Ben and Sasha ask why do some people behave like big babies (and why is it more obvious in wealthy people); why can trying to hold on to someone mean you actually push them away, and how can we learn to spot terrible mistakes heading in our direction?

    If you have been affected by any of the issues discussed in this episode: For the UK, call SAMARITANS on 116 123 samaritans.org/how-we-can-help/contact-samaritan.

    Internationally: https://www.befrienders.org/

    For UK help via talking therapies contact your GP or the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy bacp.co.uk



    EXCLUSIVE NordVPN Deal ➼ https://nordvpn.com/shrink Try it risk-free now with a 30-day money-back guarantee!



    Shrink The Box is a Sony Music Entertainment production.

    We'd love to hear your comments and guest suggestions on the show. Email: [email protected]

    Find more great podcasts from Sony Music Entertainment at sonymusic.com/podcasts

    To bring your brand to life in this podcast, email [email protected]
    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

  • Ben & Sash explore what makes a successful confidence trickster, and how Jimmy McGill is full of contradictions: criminal and yet kind. Plus, how it’s difficult not to slide back into old habits without the right support.

    If you have been affected by any of the issues discussed in this episode: For the UK, call SAMARITANS on 116 123 samaritans.org/how-we-can-help/contact-samaritan.

    Internationally: https://www.befrienders.org/

    For UK help via talking therapies contact your GP or the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy bacp.co.uk



    EXCLUSIVE NordVPN Deal ➼ https://nordvpn.com/shrink Try it risk-free now with a 30-day money-back guarantee!



    Shrink The Box is a Sony Music Entertainment production.

    We'd love to hear your comments and guest suggestions on the show. Email: [email protected]

    Find more great podcasts from Sony Music Entertainment at sonymusic.com/podcasts

    To bring your brand to life in this podcast, email [email protected]
    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

  • Ben Bailey Smith and Sasha Bates delve into the Shrink the Box emails to answer questions, discuss new character suggestions and pick each other’s brains.

    This week: they muse on whether the Roy Family (Succession) could really do a group therapy session and Ben asks Sasha whether she ever dislikes her clients (and other tricky therapist conundrums).



    If you have been affected by any of the issues discussed in this episode: For the UK, call SAMARITANS on 116 123 samaritans.org/how-we-can-help/contact-samaritan.

    Internationally: https://www.befrienders.org/

    For UK help via talking therapies contact your GP or the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy bacp.co.uk



    EXCLUSIVE NordVPN Deal ➼ https://nordvpn.com/shrink Try it risk-free now with a 30-day money-back guarantee!



    Shrink The Box is a Sony Music Entertainment production.

    Find more great podcasts from Sony Music Entertainment at sonymusic.com/podcasts

    To bring your brand to life in this podcast, email [email protected]
    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

  • Ben and Sasha delve into the Shrink the Box emails to answer questions, discuss new character suggestions and pick each other’s brains.

    This week: they wonder whether analysing a fictional character means you are analysing the writer too. Plus what it would be like to have a werewolf on the couch.



    If you have been affected by any of the issues discussed in this episode: For the UK, call SAMARITANS on 116 123 samaritans.org/how-we-can-help/contact-samaritan.

    Internationally: https://www.befrienders.org/

    For UK help via talking therapies contact your GP or the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy bacp.co.uk



    EXCLUSIVE NordVPN Deal ➼ https://nordvpn.com/shrink Try it risk-free now with a 30-day money-back guarantee!



    Shrink The Box is a Somethin’ Else Production with Sony Music Entertainment.

    Find more great podcasts from Sony Music Entertainment at sonymusic.com/podcasts

    To bring your brand to life in this podcast, email [email protected]
    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

  • Siobhan Roy has it all: a high flying career, a man who adores her, and a private jet at her disposal.

    And still it’s not enough. This week we explore the most dysfunctional of family dynamics, how power is mistaken for love, and why the need for parental approval... never quite goes away.

    Don’t forget to check out Season 1 of Succession to avoid spoilers.

    If you have been affected by any of the issues discussed in this episode: For the UK, call SAMARITANS on 116 123 samaritans.org/how-we-can-help/contact-samaritan.

    Internationally: https://www.befrienders.org/

    For UK help via talking therapies contact your GP or the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy bacp.co.uk



    EXCLUSIVE NordVPN Deal ➼ https://nordvpn.com/shrink Try it risk-free now with a 30-day money-back guarantee!



    Shrink The Box is a Somethin’ Else Production with Sony Music Entertainment.

    Find more great podcasts from Sony Music Entertainment at sonymusic.com/podcasts

    To bring your brand to life in this podcast, email [email protected]
    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

  • We look at the Geller siblings: Ross and Monica.

    We explore why Monica said “If I could choose my parents, I’d choose yours” to her brother and whether her obsessive neatness is a problem.

    Plus, we ask why Ross’ intellectualism is a defence mechanism and how friends really can be your support network.

    Don’t forget to check out Season 1 of Friends to avoid spoilers.

    If you have been affected by any of the issues discussed in this episode: For the UK, call SAMARITANS on 116 123 samaritans.org/how-we-can-help/contact-samaritan.

    Internationally: https://www.befrienders.org/

    For UK help via talking therapies contact your GP or the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy bacp.co.uk



    EXCLUSIVE NordVPN Deal ➼ https://nordvpn.com/shrink Try it risk-free now with a 30-day money-back guarantee!



    Shrink The Box is a Somethin’ Else Production with Sony Music Entertainment.

    Find more great podcasts from Sony Music Entertainment at sonymusic.com/podcasts

    To bring your brand to life in this podcast, email [email protected]
    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

  • Thrills, state secrets, and international assassins. Eve Polastri has always been wanted to be a MI6 spy. When she stumbles across Villanelle, she gets just that.

    We explore what happens when a romantically charged obsession goes too far and what happens when people start to want different things out of a relationship.

    Don’t forget to check out Season 1 of Killing Eve to avoid spoilers.



    If you have been affected by any of the issues discussed in this episode: For the UK, call SAMARITANS on 116 123 samaritans.org/how-we-can-help/contact-samaritan.

    Internationally: https://www.befrienders.org/

    For UK help via talking therapies contact your GP or the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy bacp.co.uk



    EXCLUSIVE NordVPN Deal ➼ https://nordvpn.com/shrink Try it risk-free now with a 30-day money-back guarantee!



    Shrink The Box is a Somethin’ Else Production with Sony Music Entertainment.

    Find more great podcasts from Sony Music Entertainment at sonymusic.com/podcasts

    To bring your brand to life in this podcast, email [email protected]
    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices