Episodes
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I LOVE CLAUDIA WINKLEMAN.
There. That's it. That's your shownotes.
Well ok then... Claudia Winkleman is a broadcaster who feels like your best friend - whether she's co-hosting Strictly Come Dancing, fronting her Saturday morning BBC Radio 2 show or sending shivers down your spine as the presenter of The Traitors. And now, for our season finale, she joins me to talk about her hatred of perfect, her distaste for exercise, her introversion and her failure to live in the present. Plus: struggles with sleep, the invaluable lessons her parents' taught her and why Rembrandt (as seen with minus 15 eyesight) might be her forever style icon.
*Please note: this episode was recorded before the recent horrific events in Israel and Gaza*
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Claudia's new range of CBD beauty and wellness products with Cannaray is available to purchase here.
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You can book tickets for my March 2024 UK tour, An Audience With Elizabeth Day (lol), here.
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How To Fail With Elizabeth Day is hosted and produced by Elizabeth Day. To contact us, email [email protected]
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Social Media:
Elizabeth Day @elizabday
How To Fail @howtofailpod
Claudia Winkleman @claudiawinkle -
TW: image-based sexual abuse
Georgia Harrison is a reality TV star turned activist - a woman who has used her own pain to change the law for other survivors of sexual assault.
In 2020, her former boyfriend, Stephen Bear, shared intimate video footage of her online - filmed on his own CCTV cameras - without her consent. He posted it onto his OnlyFans page, charging viewers for access. From there it went viral. Georgia fought for two years to bring the case to court. In March, Bear was jailed for 21 months, required to sign the sex offenders register and ordered to pay Harrison over £200,000 - the highest ever sum awarded in an image abuse case. Harrison went on to campaign successfully for a change in the law to help other victims.
In this very special bonus episode, Georgia joins me to talk about all of this, as well as her journey with ADHD (which was left undiagnosed for years) and her grief over what Bear stole from her - not just her privacy, but her agency to make her own decisions. Plus...wait for it...her failure to be a puppeteer (no, really).
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Georgia Harrison's book, Taking Back My Power, is out today and available to order here.
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If you've been affected by any of the issues discussed, you can get in touch with the Revenge Porn Helpline here.
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I'm going on tour! To AUSTRALIA, mate! You can now purchase tickets to see me live at Sydney Opera House on 26th February 2024 or the Arts Centre Melbourne on 28th February 2024.
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How To Fail With Elizabeth Day is hosted and produced by Elizabeth Day. To contact us, email [email protected]
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Social Media:
Elizabeth Day @elizabday
How To Fail @howtofailpod
Georgia Harrison @georgialouiseharrison -
Missing episodes?
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CW: miscarriage
Maggie Aderin Pocock MBE is a space scientist, educator and broadcaster - and quite possibly the first How To Fail guest who has her own Barbie doll. Fascinated with space from an early age, she even built her own telescope as a teenager. Nowadays, she's the co-presenter of the long-running TV programme The Sky at Night, as well as being Chancellor of the University of Leicester and the first Black woman ever to win a gold medal in the Physics News Award.
Her achievements are all the more admirable when you consider her upbringing: the child of divorced parents who found herself at the centre of a difficult custody battle, she changed schools 13 times in 14 years and struggled with lessons because of undiagnosed dyslexia. From an early age, she found refuge in the night sky, viewed from the rooftop of her council flat.
She joins me to talk about her extraordinary life, as well as her failures in tidiness and punctuality - and what being a mother in her 40s has taught her. Plus: how difficult is it really to build a telescope?
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The Art of Stargazing by Dr Maggie Aderin-Pocock, is published on 2nd Novemer and is available to order here.
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I'm going on tour! To AUSTRALIA, mate! You can now purchase tickets to see me live at Sydney Opera House on 26th February 2024 or the Arts Centre Melbourne on 28th February 2024.
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How To Fail With Elizabeth Day is hosted and produced by Elizabeth Day. To contact us, email [email protected]
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Social Media:
Elizabeth Day @elizabday
How To Fail @howtofailpod -
CW: suicide; infertility
I know, I know, we don't normally release episodes on a Friday but when you're offered DAWN FRENCH, you release an episode on whatever blimmin' day of the week you can (and preferably all seven of them).
I am so delighted to welcome the actor, comedian and bestselling author Dawn French to the podcast. She joins me to talk about being - in her words - 'a bit of a twat', anti-perfectionism, why so many comedians come from military families, how friendship doesn't mean you don't feel jealous and, of course, her lifelong professional and platonic partnership with Jennifer Sauders.
We also talk about the death of her father by suicide and what this taught Dawn about grief and survival. And she opens up movingly about years of infertility followed by the decision to adopt her daughter, Billie.
An amazing conversation with an amazing person. Thank you so much, Dawn.
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The Twat Files by Dawn French is out now and available to buy here.
Dawn French Is A Huge Twat (the live show) is touring the UK through the rest of the year. Book your tickets here.
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I'm going on tour! To AUSTRALIA, mate! You can now purchase tickets to see me live at Sydney Opera House on 26th February 2024 or the Arts Centre Melbourne on 28th February 2024.
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How To Fail With Elizabeth Day is hosted and produced by Elizabeth Day. To contact us, email [email protected]
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Social Media:
Elizabeth Day @elizabday
How To Fail @howtofailpod
Dawn French @dawnrfrench -
Continuing this season's line-up of ICONIC AND INCREDIBLE WOMEN, I am veritably trembling with delight to bring you today's guest: the extraordinary Gillian Anderson.
Her 30-plus year career has taken her from playing FBI Special Agent Scully in The X Files to Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher in The Crown. She’s been a dogged detective in The Fall and an unembarrassable sex therapist in the Netflix hit show Sex Education. On stage, she has been everything from Blanche duBois in A Streetcar Named Desire to Margo Channing in All About Eve. It’s almost easier to list the roles she hasn’t played than the ones she has.
Owing to the ongoing SAG-AFTRA actors strike, we don't talk about any of her acting roles. Instead, this liberates us to have a fascinating chat about life, fame, womanhood and everything in between. We talk about her failures to look after herself, her addiction to work, how she coped with global celebrity in her 20s and how this affected the way that she saw herself. Plus: why she thinks wellness culture is making us ill and why her natural instinct when someone tells her what to do is to say 'F** off.'
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Gillian's healthy soft-drink range, G-Spot, is available to buy here. (Not an ad but it tastes EXCELLENT).
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I'm going on tour! To AUSTRALIA, mate! You can now purchase tickets to see me live at Sydney Opera House on 26th February 2024 or the Arts Centre Melbourne on 28th February 2024.
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How To Fail With Elizabeth Day is hosted and produced by Elizabeth Day. To contact us, email [email protected]
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Social Media:
Elizabeth Day @elizabday
How To Fail @howtofailpod
Gillian Anderson @gilliana -
CW: addiction
Look, most of you know I love reality TV. And some of you might know that I love Below Deck so much I snuck in a mention of it in my latest novel. So when I was offered the chance to meet the legend that is Captain Sandra Yawn, of Below Deck Med fame, I jumped at it. (Luckily, not overboard).
Even if you've never watched a single episode of Below Deck, Capt. Sandy's story is a riveting tale of resilience and courage. As a teenager, she struggled with alcoholism and almost ended up in jail. Instead, she started working on boats - and saved her own life in the process. She rose through the ranks of the maritime industry to become one of the only female superyacht captains in a field dominated by men.
She joins me to talk about this, as well as failing to realise her early potential, growing up gay but not feeling able to live her truth, surviving both cancer and an attack by pirates, as well as what she's learned about herself from reality TV. And yes, I ask some niche Below Deck questions because WHY WOULDN'T I?
(This chat was recorded before the new season started, btw, and obviously I'm slavishly watching each episode as soon as it drops).
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The new season of Below Deck Mediterranean is available to watch on Hayu.
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I'm going on tour! To AUSTRALIA, mate! You can now purchase tickets to see me live at Sydney Opera House on 26th February 2024 or the Arts Centre Melbourne on 28th February 2024.
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How To Fail With Elizabeth Day is hosted and produced by Elizabeth Day. To contact us, email [email protected]
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Social Media:
Elizabeth Day @elizabday
How To Fail @howtofailpod
Capt. Sandy @captainsandrayawn
Hayu @hayusocial -
It is impossible to put into words how much I adored this conversation. Which, in a way, is apt because Marina Abramovic is one of our greatest living artists and renowned for expressing through her work, the thoughts, feelings and emotional impulses that lie beyond words.
Born in 1946 in post-war Yugoslavia, she painted from the age of 14 and spent the next 50 years pushing herself to extremes of physical and mental endurance in search of fundamental truths. Last month, her exhibition opened at the Royal Academy in London - the first solo show by a woman in the RA’s main galleries.
But if all this sounds quite serious, fear not - in person, Abramovic is a wonderful, engaging and light-hearted presence, full of wisdom and profound thoughts but also a lot of giggles. We talk about fear and belonging, love and heartbreak (and how to get over someone), introversion and performance, and she teaches me all about what Christopher Columbus can tell us about failure.
One of my favourite ever episodes - and that's saying something.
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Marina Abramovic at the Royal Academy runs until 1 January 2024. Book your tickets here. A full schedule of performances can be found here.
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I'm going on tour! To AUSTRALIA, mate! You can now purchase tickets to see me live at Sydney Opera House on 26th February 2024 or the Arts Centre Melbourne on 28th February 2024.
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How To Fail With Elizabeth Day is hosted and produced by Elizabeth Day. To contact us, email [email protected]
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Social Media:
Elizabeth Day @elizabday
How To Fail @howtofailpod
Marina Abramovic Institute @abramovicinstitute -
On this week's episode, I welcome the all-singing, all-writing, all-dancing POWERHOUSE that is Geri Halliwell-Horner. She started out as Ginger Spice, in the most iconic girl band of all time (simple facts), the Spice Girls, selling over 100 million records worldwide. After the birth of her first child in 2006, she started writing while a single mother and released a series of bestselling children’s books - the Ugenia Lavender novels. Now, she returns with the publication of the young adult novel Rosie Frost and the Falcon Queen, a mixture of fantasy and history carrying a message that we can all be our own heroes.
Geri joins me to talk about her love of writing (and why an early mentor was none other than William Boyd), not applying herself enough at school, why the Spice Girls belongs to everyone, how she dealt with grief after the death of her father and why it's morally important to her to 'age with grace and power.'
Geri is my second ever Spice Girl on the podcast (the first was the amazing Melanie Chisholm) and it is a podcast goal of mine to have them all on as guests. They were such an amazing and empowering part of my teenage life. Three more to go. CAN YOU IMAGINE? IT WOULD BE A DREAM COME TRUE.
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Rosie Frost and the Falcon Queen by Geri Halliwell-Horner is out now and available to order here.
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I'm going on tour! To AUSTRALIA, mate! You can now purchase tickets to see me live at Sydney Opera House on 26th February 2024 or the Arts Centre Melbourne on 28th February 2024.
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How To Fail With Elizabeth Day is hosted and produced by Elizabeth Day. To contact us, email [email protected]
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Social Media:
Elizabeth Day @elizabday
How To Fail @howtofailpod
Geri Halliwell-Horner @gerihalliwellhorner -
Arlo Parks is a singer, songwriter and poet. Her debut album, Collapsed in Sunbeams was released when she was just 21 and earned her two Grammy nominations, a BRIT Award and the Mercury Music Prize. Her second, My Soft Machine, came out earlier this year. This month also marks the publication of her first volume of poetry, The Magic Border, a collection of never-before-seen poems and song lyrics.
Parks joins me to talk about her faiure to create a perfect piece of work, her failure to save others, her failure to fit into what other people think of her - and why Phoebe Bridgers epitomises 'big brother energy'. I loved talking to this beautiful human - her thoughtfulness and her lyrical expression will soothe you and make you think.
Enjoy!
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Arlo's poetry collection, The Magic Border, is out now.
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I'm going on tour! To AUSTRALIA, mate! You can now purchase tickets to see me live at Sydney Opera House on 26th February 2024 or the Arts Centre Melbourne on 28th February 2024.
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How To Fail With Elizabeth Day is hosted and produced by Elizabeth Day. To contact us, email [email protected]
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Social Media:
Elizabeth Day @elizabday
How To Fail @howtofailpod
Arlo Parks @arlo.parks -
Rory Stewart is a bestselling writer, podcaster, former politician, adventurer and charity boss. You might know him from his chart-topping podcast, The Rest is Politics, which features Stewart and Alastair Campbell disagreeing agreeably about issues of the day.
After Eton and Oxford, Stewart briefly joined the army and then the diplomatic service. In his 30s, he was elected as an MP, rising to become the Secretary of State for International Development. He stood - unsuccessfully - against Boris Johnson for leadership of the Conservative Party (a failure which haunts him still and which he discusses in this episode). Now, having resigned from politics entirely, he has published a book, Politics on the Edge, about his decade in parliament.
He joins me to talk about the failure of the political system, his own failure to solve it and I explain the rules of 'Shag, Marry, Kill' - never let it be said that I can't lower the tone, eh?
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Rory's new book, Politics on the Edge, is out now and available to order here.
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I'm going on tour! To AUSTRALIA, mate! You can now purchase tickets to see me live at Sydney Opera House on 26th February 2024 or the Arts Centre Melbourne on 28th February 2024.
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How To Fail With Elizabeth Day is hosted and produced by Elizabeth Day. To contact us, email [email protected]
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Social Media:
Elizabeth Day @elizabday
How To Fail @howtofailpod
Rory Stewart @rorystewartuk -
TW: fertility and miscarriage
Sara Pascoe is a critically acclaimed comedian, writer and actor. Her latest stand-up tour is called - aptly enough for this podcast - Success and her debut novel, Weirdo, is published tomorrow. It's a dark, funny, stream-of-consciousness narrative ride through the internal machinations of Sophie, an anxious, sometimes obsessive, often unhappy woman trying to feel less lost. I gobbled it up.
Sara joins me to talk about failing at acting, why every year she promises herself she'll never do the Edinburgh Fringe again (and every year breaks that promise) and, in a heartbreaking third failure, she talks candidly about failing to get pregnant for over a decade, suffering a miscarriage, doing IVF and eventually having a baby but remaining in a state of high anxiety throughout her pregnancy. It's a beautiful conversation, and I am so grateful to Sara for talking about something that is very difficult to put into words. I know her courageous vulnerability will help so many people.
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Weirdo by Sara Pascoe is out tomorrow.
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I'm going on tour! To AUSTRALIA, mate! You can now purchase tickets to see me live at Sydney Opera House on 26th February 2024 or the Arts Centre Melbourne on 28th February 2024.
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How To Fail With Elizabeth Day is hosted and produced by Elizabeth Day. To contact us, email [email protected]
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Social Media:
Elizabeth Day @elizabday
How To Fail @howtofailpod
Sara Pascoe @sara.pascoe -
WAHOOOOO! A whole new season of How To Fail, and WHAT an opening guest we have for you. Yes, it's the one and only Miriam Margolyes: actor, bestelling author and the nation's favourite talkshow guest. She's been described by Vogue as 'Britain's mischief-maker in chief' and started her career in radio and theatre, before moving into films (she won a Bafta for her role in Martin Scorcese’s The Age of Innocence and is beloved by legions of younger fans for playing Professor Sprout in the Harry Potter movies). Margolyes is a TV regular in shows such as Blackadder and Call the Midwife and is just about to publish the second instalment of her memoirs, Oh, Miriam!
Today, she joins us to talk about letting down her parents, the joy of friendship, her fear of letting her body down and the lifelong regret she has over telling her mother the truth of her own sexuality. A poignant, provoking and - yes - hilarious conversation. Enjoy!
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You can order Miriam's new memoir, Oh, Miriam! here.
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How To Fail With Elizabeth Day is hosted and produced by Elizabeth Day. To contact us, email [email protected]
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Social Media:
Elizabeth Day @elizabday
How To Fail @howtofailpod
Miriam Margolyes @mmargolyes -
Welcome to The How To Fail F-Word miniseries! Three days, three guests, three different F-words.
In this final episode, the tables are turned and I’m the one being interviewed on...friendships. My interviewer is non other than my dear friend and beloved How To Fail repeat guest, the wonderful Mo Gawdat. And, as ever with us, the conversation goes both ways. This was recorded for Mo’s own podcast, Slow Mo, and released on his channels last month. Enjoy.
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You can find Mo's own podcast, Slo Mo, here.
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How To Fail With Elizabeth Day is hosted and produced by Elizabeth Day. To contact us, email [email protected]
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Social Media:
Elizabeth Day @elizabday
How To Fail @howtofailpod
Mo Gawdat @mo_gawdat -
Welcome to The How To Fail F-Word miniseries! Three days, three guests, three different F-words.
Today, we have Nigel Morris...on fuel.
Nigel Morris is the definition of a self-made man: born in Essex, the son of an army sergeant father and a Welsh mother, he left school at 15 before going on to co-found one of the biggest banks in the world, Capital One. How did he do it? What motivates him? How does he manage his ambition?
A slightly different How To Fail episode from usual, but perhaps an even more interesting one because of it. We don't get that many business people offering to share their failures in such an open way and I'm very grateful to Nigel for doing so.
This episode was recorded in front of a live audience at an annual event hosted by Clearscore, the free credit score app. Full disclosure: Clearscore is my husband's company. I was not paid a fee so this is not a branded episode (but they're really good fyi).
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How To Fail With Elizabeth Day is hosted and produced by Elizabeth Day. To contact us, email [email protected]
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Social Media:
Elizabeth Day @elizabday
How To Fail @howtofailpod -
Welcome to The How To Fail F-Word miniseries! Three days, three guests, three different F-words.
Today, we start with Gabor Maté...on feelings.
Gabor is a renowned speaker, physician and author; a practitioner who has revolutionised our understanding of stress, addiction and childhood development. He has written four bestselling books, including the worldwide best-seller When the Body Says No which argued - controversially at the time - that stress had a major role in the onset of most chronic diseases. His latest work, The Myth of Normal: Trauma, Illness & Healing in a Toxic Culture, is co-authored with his son, Daniel. It outlines how true health is possible, but only if we are willing to embrace authenticity and acknowlege our true feelings.
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The Myth of Normal by Gabor Maté is out now and available to buy here.
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How To Fail With Elizabeth Day is hosted and produced by Elizabeth Day. To contact us, email [email protected]
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Social Media:
Elizabeth Day @elizabday
How To Fail @howtofailpod
Gabor Maté @gabormatemd -
TW: discussion of sensitive issues including sexual assault, suicide and addiction
This interview contains Lucy's account of sexual assault. That account starts about 30 minutes in and is flagged before we discuss it.
I don't have many words to write about this extraordinary guest because I really need you to listen to her story, in her own words. The singer and songwriter Lucy Spraggan shot to fame as an X Factor contestant in 2012. She was just 20 when she was scouted to take part in the ITV series and she became an overnight sensation, with her audition watched by millions. But her time on the show was cut short after she was subjected to a horrific sexual assault. At the time, it was reported she had withdrawn from the talent contest owing to illness. That wasn't the case. For years, Lucy did not feel able to tell the story of what happened to her - until now.
This is Lucy's only podcast interview and it marks the publication of her incredible and courageous memoir, Process: Finding My Way Through. It was Lucy, and her publishers, who approached How To Fail and it was only after extensive consultation with all of them that we agreed to sit down in an environment that felt safe and respectful to Lucy's experience.
She is, quite simply, one of the bravest people I have ever met. This was an emotional and, at times, confronting interview. But what comes out of it loud and clear is Lucy's strength, her compassion and her resilience. Also, she's so lovely and funny too.
This is not an interview about her trauma. She is so much bigger than that. This is an interview about the survivor that she is. We talk about sexuality, sobriety, reality television, the unexpected kindness of Simon Cowell and her journey to embrace the fullness of herself. I loved every second and I love Lucy Spraggan.
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If you've been affected by any of the issues raised, Samaritans are here to help 24/7. Call for free on 116 123.
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You can order Lucy's memoir, Process: Finding My Way Through here.
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How To Fail With Elizabeth Day is hosted and produced by Elizabeth Day. To contact us, email [email protected]
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Social Media:
Elizabeth Day @elizabday
How To Fail @howtofailpod
Lucy Spraggan @lspraggan -
Dan Carter is one of the greatest rugby players in the history of the sport. The former All Black is one of only a handful of players to have won multiple World Cups and holds the all-time international points scoring record. His other achievements include - ahem - being voted the world’s sexiest male athlete in 2010.
Today, in a very special bonus episode, Carter joins me to talk about how he learned to live alongside failure and how this made him into a better champion. I promise you this is not just for the rugby fans - Carter has so much to say about mindset and focus that I truly believe listening to him can help everyone take the first steps towards a more fulfilled life.
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You can pre-order Dan Carter's new book, The Art of Winning: Ten Lessons in Leadership, Purpose and Potential here.
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How To Fail With Elizabeth Day is hosted and produced by Elizabeth Day. To contact us, email [email protected]
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Social Media:
Elizabeth Day @elizabday
How To Fail @howtofailpod
Dan Carter @dancarter_ -
This is one of those encounters that felt profoundly special because, no matter how much preparation I might have done, I truly don't think anything could have fully prepared me for the powerful honesty of Elliot Page.
In his only UK podcast interview to mark the publication of his bestselling memoir, Pageboy, Elliot joins me in our season finale to talk about his self-perceived failure at living a 'closeted' life, his failures in friendship and his inabilty to reach out for help when he needed it. He talks about the abusive homophobia in Hollywood, his battles to connect with the truth of his truest self and the euphoria he now feels when he is able to present physically as he really is.
Elliot moved me so deeply and I know anyone who listens to this will be meaningfully changed by it.
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You can order Elliot's memoir, Pageboy, here.
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How To Fail With Elizabeth Day is hosted and produced by Elizabeth Day. To contact us, email [email protected]
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Social Media:
Elizabeth Day @elizabday
How To Fail @howtofailpod
Elliot Page @elliotpage -
Mae Muller is a queen, icon and a legend and I won't hear anyone say differently. At 25, she is one of the hottest new talents in music. She was Great Britain's 2023 Eurovision entry with her own track, I Wrote A Song, and sure she came second last, but that didn't dim her shine for one single second. Her debut album, Sorry I'm Late, is released in September.
She joins me to chat about failing to win Eurovision and the pressure she felt in the run-up to the competition; failing in school exams and failling to recognise toxic relationships in her teens. She is funny, feisty, smart and wholly without pretension and I adored this conversation with her. Listen now to feel more joyful about life.
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Pre-order Mae's debut studio album, I'm Sorry I'm Late, here.
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How To Fail With Elizabeth Day is hosted and produced by Elizabeth Day. To contact us, email [email protected]
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Social Media:
Elizabeth Day @elizabday
How To Fail @howtofailpod
Mae Muller @maemuller -
This week's guest is the journalist and author Yomi Adegoke. You might know her from her column in the Guardian or as the co-author of the brilliant 2018 non-fiction book, Slay In Your Lane or you might follow her on Instagram for her glamorous serving of LEWKS. And even if you don't know her, you should because she's the definition of good energy and you will love this episode.
Yomi joins me to talk about her failures in hodling down a 9-to-5, her experiences with depression while at university and her debut novel, The List, which has already been snapped up by HBO Max for TV adaptation.
In this episode, we touch on issues of race, gender and cultural influence and, thrillingly, I get to chat about reality TV with someone who takes it as seriously as I do. Lol.
Enjoy!
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Signed copies of The List by Yomi Adegoke are available to pre-order here.
Yomi will be in conversation with Bernardine Evaristo at the Southbank Centre in London on 20th July. Tickets are available here.
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How To Fail With Elizabeth Day is hosted and produced by Elizabeth Day. To contact us, email [email protected]
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Social Media:
Elizabeth Day @elizabday
How To Fail @howtofailpod
Yomi Adegoke @yomi.adegoke - Show more
