Ideas for
living better.
I'm Rachel Branson — a journalist, publisher, entrepreneur, speaker and podcaster exploring the relationship between wellbeing, business, place and the way we live.
For almost three decades I have built publications, launched businesses, interviewed founders, travelled in search of new approaches to wellbeing and investigated the ideas that could shape healthier lives and communities.
Featured writing
Ideas, interviews and dispatches from the desk.
The accidental publisher: how Rachel Branson built a wellbeing empire by breaking the rules
A frank account of nearly three decades in independent publishing — and the moments that shaped the magazine.
Why wellbeing begins where we live
What if the biggest lever for public health isn't in the bathroom cabinet, but in the streets outside the front door?
Escape into the mountains: a slow return to rhythm
On the pull of altitude, silence and the wellness retreats reimagining what it means to rest.
About Rachel
A career built around ideas — not job titles.
I launched Haywood Media in 1998 and founded Wellbeing Magazine in 2006. What began as an independent publication has grown into an editorial platform through which I research, write and speak about health, human potential and the many factors that influence how well we live.
Alongside publishing I have created consumer brands, worked in corporate communications and social housing, and experienced the realities of taking businesses from earliest idea through growth, reinvention and exit.
Four areas of work
Publishing sits at the centre. Everything else radiates outward.
Journalism & writing
Long-form features, interviews and opinion covering wellbeing, travel, entrepreneurship, housing and social change.
Entrepreneurship
Publications, products, platforms and consumer brands — from initial idea through growth, reinvention and exit.
Speaking & conversation
Talks on independent publishing, founder visibility, AI, solopreneurship and the relationship between housing and health.
Housing & wellbeing
A new body of work asking why we keep building homes and neighbourhoods that make it harder for people to live well.
Housing & Wellbeing
What if wellbeing began outside the bathroom cabinet?
Our wellbeing is shaped by whether we can afford a suitable home, see trees from our window, walk safely through our neighbourhood, stay close to friends and family and adapt our living space when life changes.
I am developing a body of journalism, talks and consultancy exploring how homes and neighbourhoods could be designed around the realities of human life.
The podcast
Well,
That's
Awkward.
A one-take, no-filter podcast with broadcaster Susan Osman. Midlife, health, identity, ambition and the subjects women are having — but not always in public.
Speaking
Speaking about the ideas shaping how we live and work.
Keynotes, panels, workshops and private events on publishing, founder visibility, AI and the future of wellbeing-led communities.
The novel
A different kind of story.
After a career telling true stories, I have completed my first work of fiction — a novel about time, technology, nature and the rhythms we've lost.
Work with Rachel
Let's start a meaningful conversation.
For editors, event organisers, podcast hosts, developers, founders and organisations looking for thoughtful journalism, original ideas and honest conversation.