Alastair Campbell
Self-confessed workaholic Alastair Campbell can't help but feel that he's not doing enough. He's written 18 books, is editor at large of The New European newspaper and his podcast, The Rest is Politics, co-hosted with Rory Stewart, is usually ranked top of the UK charts. But Alastair promised his mum that he'd never go back to the political front line. Alastair's latest tome, But What Can I Do?, seeks to empower its readers to make their own difference.
25 Maj 20231h 6min
Evie Meg
Evie Meg, AKA thistrippyhippie has over 16 million followers on TikTok, making her one of the most prominent online disability advocates. Conversely, one of Evie's conditions, PANDAS, is little-known and often misunderstood. For Mental Health Awareness Week, Evie speaks to James about how her life is impacted by PANDAS and Tourette's syndrome, shedding light on how the boundaries between physical and psychological health are often blurred.
18 Maj 202356min
Introducing: Unprecedented
Brexit, Covid, Partygate, lockdowns, leaks, the war in Ukraine, a cost-of-living crisis and the scandals that plagued our politics. Guto Harri was in the room when the big decisions were made. In this podcast, expect unprecedented access behind the shiny black door of Number 10 Downing Street, during one of the most chaotic periods in British political history. Guto was Boris Johnson’s Communications Chief. When he first walked over the Number 10 threshold, things weren’t normal. A set of circumstances, scandals and chaos that will never be repeated. It was unprecedented. Episode one out now on Global Player.
15 Maj 20233min
Jack Whitehall
His first stand-up gig was at the tender age of 16. It was not critically well received. But Jack Whitehall quickly became a firm favourite on our screens, dominating the television comedy circuit and starring in shows such as Fresh Meat and Bad Education. But his early success also had its problems. Jack speaks to James about how challenging it was finding his voice as well as his new UK tour, Settle Down.
11 Maj 20231h 1min
Stephen Flynn
At 34 years old he's the SNP's youngest ever leader in Westminster, moving at breakneck speed from supermarket checkout boy to Rishi Sunak's political adversary at PMQs. With Nicola Sturgeon's shock resignation and continuing investigation into the party's finances, he picks up the mantle during a turbulent time for the independence movement. But Flynn seems cool and collected about the task ahead. He speaks to James about his background and explains how having a disability inadvertently led him to the Commons.
4 Maj 20231h 1min
Liam Thomas
For more than a decade, Liam Thomas worked as an undercover detective in the Metropolitan Police’s Covert Surveillance Unit, mixing with dangerous criminals and eventually investigating corrupt officers within his own force. A self-styled keeper of secrets, Liam believes he and his profession are recruited in childhood. His book, The Buyer is a gripping, self-reflective memoir and dramatic account of what it means to be on the inside and the outside at the same time.
27 Apr 20231h 2min
Jason Arday
On paper, a professorship at Cambridge is not an obvious outcome for a person who cannot read or write by the age of 18. It is also not what we might expect for an eleven-year-old boy who cannot speak. But after listening to Jason Arday's account of his early life, academic excellence sounds more like destiny. Now a sociologist at one of the world's most prestigious universities, Jason speaks to James about perseverance, love and the importance of the collective.
20 Apr 20231h 7min
Eddie Izzard
Her career contains stand-up, marathon-running, acting and campaigning; all of which tend to reappear in no obvious or particular order. Now Eddie is trying her hand at doing everything all at once: playing all 19 characters in Charles Dickens’ Great Expectations on stage. She speaks to James about the multitudes in her life. Tickets for the London show are available now.
13 Apr 20231h 4min
