Episodes
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Nikki Scott shares the story behind founding Scotty’s Little Soldiers after her husband, 26-yr-old Corp Lee Scott of the 2nd Royal Tank Regiment, was killed on active duty in Afghanistan.
As Nikki navigated her devastating loss with their 5-yr-old son & baby, she realised there was little help for children and young people grieving the death of a military parent.
Scotty’s supports hundreds of young people & is proud to have Prince Harry as their very hands-on Global Ambassador.
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Sahar Hashemi OBE reveals how her love of skinny lattes in '90s New York led to her giving up her career as a lawyer and starting Coffee Republic with her brother, Bobby.
Sahar talks openly about the highs and lows of growing the business from the kitchen table to a £30 million empire with 110 American-style coffee bars, as well as the pain of leaving.
As well as mentoring executives in how to retain a start-up culture in large companies, Sahar champions more than 2,000 female founders in a movement she created - Buy Women Built - leaning on her own mantra ‘leap and the net will appear’ to form it.
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Episodes manquant?
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Mud on the seabed and the diverse, weird and wonderful invertebrates who live in it are having their climate moment, according to Marine Biologist Dr Ceri Lewis.
Based at the University of Exeter – Ceri is part of the five-year Convex Seascape Survey researching how a healthy ocean can help fight climate change. She’s passionate about worms – from microscopic to 3 metres long - and how they influence carbon stores on the seabed.
Ceri also talks about her latest scientific trip to the Galapagos where she’s studying the effects of the exponential growth in microplastics on our marine life.
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Wendy Fulcher shares the story of losing her husband and soulmate John when he was just 52 to an aggressive stage 4 glioblastoma and how it led to her setting up a powerful, research charity.
John was under the care of TV star Davina McCall’s consultant neurosurgeon Kevin O’Neill who we featured in our last episode.
Kevin and Wendy set up the Brain Tumour Research Campaign together more than 20 years ago after Kevin expressed frustration at the field being woefully underfunded.
BTRC supports Kevin’s ground-breaking research, lobbies Government, is run entirely by volunteers and has raised more than 4 and half million pounds so far to help find a cure.
Wendy with consultant neurosurgeon Kevin O'Neill, chair of BTRC
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Davina McCall’s consultant neurosurgeon Kevin O’Neill gives a fascinating insight into the five-hour surgery he carried out on the TV star, navigating his way between the brain’s two hemispheres to successfully remove a rare colloidal cyst Davina nick-named ‘Jeffrey’.
Kevin recounts the journey into the centre of Davina’s brain and recalls the moment he came face to face with Jeffrey who, he laughs, was waving at him, smoking his pipe!
Kevin is passionate about the ground-breaking research he leads with the Brain Tumour Research Campaign. He co-founded BRTC more than 20 years ago with next week’s guest Wendy Fulcher who’ll be sharing her personal journey.
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Former Deputy Prime Minister Lord Prescott’s son David gives a very personal insight into his father – a giant of the Labour movement – revealing family stories and anecdotes from his life at Westminster.
David was born two days after John became MP for Hull East, serving his constituents and the country for 40 years. Former Prime Ministers Sir Tony Blair and Gordon Brown regularly kept in touch with John as advanced dementia took hold. He died, aged 86. David is now focussed on getting Alzheimer’s at the heart of Labour’s new ten-year health plan and ran the London Marathon for Alzheimer’s Research UK.
He shares memories of the shy, working-class ship’s steward - full of self-doubt that never left him - who went on to fight for social justice and better working conditions, leading him to Downing Street and the Lords.
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Crime reporter Martin Brunt has covered some of the biggest, shocking and most notorious crime stories in British history for Sky News over the last four decades.
Still working in 24-hour breaking news, his book - No One Got Cracked Over the Head for No Reason – filled with previously undisclosed details and fascinating inside track is about to come out in paperback.
Martin shares gripping dispatches about his relationship with violent prisoner Charles Bronson; an unusual encounter with his music hero Sir Paul McCartney; discusses the nations insatiable appetite for crime - both real-life and fiction - and reveals how his fascination with Valerio Viccei, the charismatic Italian robber behind the Knightsbridge safe deposit heist, ended in a death threat!
Photograph by Mark Senn
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Inspired by the teachings of Mahatma Gandi, social reformer, author and Ted Talk speaker Robin Greenfield explains why and how he’s simplified his life - strand by strand - so others can simply live.
38-year-old Robin was on his way to his first million in his 20s, drove a new car, ran a marketing business in the States and was immersed in consumerism. Now he undertakes extreme experiments and adventures to demonstrate more sustainable ways of living in harmony with the planet and which don’t exploit others around the world.
He’s just walked 1600 miles from the US/Canadian border to LA with only the basics to survive to inspire people to slow down and take a look at their lives and what we perceive as societal norms. He’s now given away the few possessions he had to do an experiment in non-ownership.
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ENT surgeon Gabriel Weston’s new book is a deeply personal and provocative journey through the human body.
In this captivating, alternative exploration of our anatomy, Gabriel dissolves the boundaries which often divide surgeon and patient, pushing beyond the limit of what science can tell us about who we are.
Gabriel has just sold the rights to her first book Direct Red, about life as a young female surgeon, to Netflix and Brad Pitt’s company Plan B so watch this space for a new medical drama.
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Simon Hart reveals why he’s published his personal diary entries in his new book, Ungovernable – The Political Diaries of a Chief Whip, lifting the lid on what really went on at Westminster during one of the most turbulent times in British politics.
Simon had a front-row seat at the heart of government - in the cabinet under Boris Johnson; as Chief Whip for Rishi Sunak and cast out to the side lines by Liz Truss for her 49-days at Number 10.
Simon describes the Whip’s office as a field hospital where MPs are patched up; reflects on some of the jaw-dropping issues he dealt with, and looks at the impact social media has on politics, which he believes makes leading the country much harder for current Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
·* Ungovernable – The Political Diaries of a Chief Whip is out now, published by Macmillan -
Successful entrepreneur and co-founder of Intelligent Change Alex Ikonn shares how he turned his life around through the simple habit of gratitude.
Alex’s teenage years were tough - he lost his father to cancer, suffered hardships at home with little money, mum worked round the clock to make ends meet – but by changing his mindset and practising daily gratitude, things started to improve.
He co-founded Intelligent Change to create tools and methods to help others transform their lives and become more intentional. From the Five Minute Journal (which Alex describes as ‘a toothbrush for your mind’) to The Life Designer – their beautiful books and apps have helped millions of people find meaning and purpose.
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In part two of our special with music legend and CCO of Whizz Kid Entertainment, Malcolm Gerrie gives an insight into the new film he’s just finished shooting with blind tenor Andrea Bocelli.
Malcolm and the team from Lionsgate have had incredible access to the star and his family at their home and venues all over the world. The much-anticipated film comes out in the autumn.
Malcolm also chats about his 23 years exec producing the BAFTA's – and revamping the Brits, introducing unexpected collaborations with artists like Eurythmics and Stevie Wonder, Robbie Williams and Tom Jones.
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In part one of our two-part special, the story of how a teacher from Newcastle pushed the boundaries in music, creating the legendary eighties show The Tube.
Malcolm Gerrie booked ‘low priority act’ Madonna for her first UK performance, helped U2 break America at Red Rocks, breathed fresh life into Tina Turner’s career and exec produced live performances from Elton, REM, The Who, The Jam and many more.
Malcolm exec'd the Bafta's for 23 years, revamped The Brits, and has just finished making a film with blind tenor Andrea Bocelli. He feels the time is ripe for a new music show which reflects what’s going on in the world right now - something radical which creates some noise - and he challenges Sky Arts or Netflix to get cracking!
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Hacked Off board director Emma Jones explores Prince Harry’s ‘monumental victory’ against News Group Newspapers and what it means for hundreds of other victims of press intrusion.
Emma was at London’s High Court when Rupert Murdoch’s group settled with the Duke of Sussex at the eleventh hour, minutes before the trial was due to start. NGN issued an unequivocal apology for incidents of unlawful activity and serious intrusion as well as paying substantial damages.
Hacked Off campaigner Hugh Grant is now calling for the Crown Prosecution Service and the Metropolitan Police to investigate a criminal prosecution for phone hacking and the use of private investigators by NGN newspapers, including The Sun. Emma says the actor wanted his day in court but believes civil cases are weighted against claimants and reluctantly settled.
Prince Harry's barrister says NGN have paid out more than a billion pounds in settlements and legal costs.
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80 years since Auschwitz-Birkenau was liberated, 87-year-old Holocaust survivor John Hajdu MBE shared his story of survival with the Princess of Wales this week and got a big hug.
So, we’re re-running our episode where John tells Helen about his harrowing life as a young boy in Budapest seeing Jews persecuted & killed and his parents forced to labour camps. Comforted by his teddy bear as the horrors unfolded, the bear remains his constant companion.
John was honoured to be photographed by Rankin two years ago. Rankin said: “John’s bear is a tangible reminder that the stories we are telling happened in recent history and we must learn from these events – for a better future.”
Black & white photographs by Rankin
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Award-winning artist George Butler creates ink and watercolour drawings in situ in war zones, refugee camps and disaster areas all over the world and some of his work can be found in museum archives, including at the V&A.
His testimonies of ordinary people capture suffering, courage, moments of hope, and introduce us to real characters behind the headlines, whose situations we rarely hear about on the news.
George has drawn in a leprosy clinic in Nepal; spent time with The Hazda tribe in Tanzania as they work with the honeyguide birds, and most recently been in Syria where Action Syria UK - a charity he co-founded - funds doctors and teachers.
His new book – Ukraine : Remember Also Me – is described by BBC's Chief International Correspondent Lyse Doucet as “a remarkable first draft of history – raw and revelatory”.
Photograph by Mauricio Gris
Petro collecting books after a missile strike - Kramatorsk, Ukraine
Photograph by Bram Janssen
Matriarch & great-grandmother 99-year-old Madame Olga - Kyiv, Ukraine
Photography by Tim Brown
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Jesse Dufton was the first blind person to lead a climb of The Old Man of Hoy – a daunting sea stack in the Orkney Islands, off the coast of Scotland. It earned him a Guinness world record and was the subject of Alastair Lee’s multi-award-winning documentary Climbing Blind.
In newly-released Climbing Blind II, Jesse describes being “right at his limit” and “redlining for what felt like an eternity” as he leads a brutal and painful ascent of Devils Tower in Wyoming with his sight guide, wife Molly.
Jesse has been climbing from the age of two, has many first to his name, and refuses to give in to a genetic condition which totally robbed him of his sight in his mid 20s.
Image from Devils Tower from Climbing Blind II, thanks to Alastair Lee, Brit Rock Films
Image from Devils Tower from Climbing Blind II, thanks to Alastair Lee, Brit Rock Films
Devils Tower, Wyoming
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Pioneering jockey Khadijah Mellah, from Peckham, became the first UK jockey to compete in a horse race in Britain wearing a hijab.
A minute later, she made history again by riding her mount, Haverland, to victory in the Magnolia Cup at Goodwood. A film was made of her remarkable story and an academy set up in her name to help other youngsters from under-represented urban areas pursue a career in racing.
24-year-old Khadijah explains how, as a young Muslim woman, she’s changing perceptions in sport. She recently chatted to the King and Queen, who she's met a number of times, and took part in the Hillclimb at Goodwood’s Festival of Speed in an Aston Martin Valkryie with F3 legend Peter Dunbrek.
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Investigative journalist Glen Campbell details his decades long search for fugitive Lord Lucan – the Eton-educated gambler who disappeared without trace after murdering his children’s nanny, Sandra Rivett, in 1974.
Glen forms an unlikely partnership with Sandra’s son, Neil Berriman, and their investigations all over the world are subject of a gripping new BBC three-part documentary, Lucan.
They speak to Lucan’s aristocratic friends, his brother, the nanny’s boyfriend, and the clues finally lead them to Australia to confront a man of interest. Find out what happens next in a hunt which has enthralled detectives and press alike for half a century.
Investigative journalist Glen Campbell with Sandra Rivett's son, Neil Berriman
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Laura Harnett spent 20 years as a high-flying corporate executive, in the boardroom at Selfridges and working for brands like IKEA and Coca-Cola. Never did she imagine she’d be championing a humble cleaning sponge.
However, frustrated by supermarket aisles full of microplastic-filled cleaning tools, and a devastating diagnosis of breast cancer, she gave it all up to become an entrepreneur in her 40s and start Seep.
Seep is a B Corp which designs eco-friendly, plastic-free, biodegradable cleaning accessories using natural renewables like wood, loofah and bamboo, and aims to stop a billion plastic cleaning tools going to landfill by 2030.
* 20% off for Convex Conversation listeners using HELEN20 at www.theseepcompany.com
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