Bryony Gordon's Mad World - podcast cover

Bryony Gordon's Mad World

The Telegraphwww.telegraph.co.uk

Intimate conversations about getting unwell - and getting better - with Bryony Gordon. From household names to ordinary people with extraordinary stories. Because mental health deserves to be talked about.


Bryony Gordon's Mad World is a podcast hosted by Bryony Gordon dedicated to exploring the depths of mental health, focusing on openness, vulnerability, and personal journeys. With a unique blend of candid conversations and interviews with celebrities, public figures, and experts, the podcast sheds light on the often stigmatized topic of mental health.

In each episode, Bryony Gordon tackles various subjects, including addiction, stress, depression, and self-esteem. By delving into these issues, Bryony offers a safe space for guests to share their personal experiences, providing listeners with relatable stories that inspire empathy and understanding.

The podcast addresses a wide array of mental health challenges, from breakdowns to addictions and even thoughts of suicide. Through these conversations, Bryony Gordon encourages an atmosphere of support and awareness, fostering a sense of community for those navigating their mental health journeys.

Additionally, Bryony delves into the transformative power of sobriety, exploring how individuals have reclaimed their lives from addiction to substances like alcohol, drugs, and gambling. It sheds light on the road to recovery and the challenges faced along the way.

By sharing stories of resilience and recovery, Bryony offers hope for those in need, emphasising the importance of self-care, self-knowledge, and relaxation in fostering mental wellness. The podcast goes beyond the darkness of mental health struggles to celebrate moments of joy, happiness, and personal triumph.

Through her conversations, Bryony sparks a dialogue about mental health, raising awareness and breaking down societal barriers. It serves as a reminder that vulnerability and seeking help are not signs of weakness but rather acts of strength and self-care.


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Episodes

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Jun 25, 20252 min

TELEGRAPH WOMEN'S SPORT": “I was paid €30,000 and my male equivalent was on half a million-plus” - Dani Rowe

In this episode of the Telegraph Women’s Sport podcast, we’re talking about money. Host Dame Laura Kenny is joined by three guests to delve into the financial landscape of women’s sports. Dani Rowe, a former British cyclist, shares her experiences with the stark pay disparities in road cycling. In 2018, she earned just €30,000, while her male counterparts made more than half a million. She discusses the importance of investing not only in the top tiers of sport but also at the grass-roots level ...

Jan 08, 202552 min

TELEGRAPH WOMEN'S SPORT: "All I could think was, ‘Everybody can see my bum'" | Dame Jessica Ennis-Hill

In this extra episode of the Telegraph Women’s Sport Podcast, we’re tackling a crucial yet often overlooked aspect of sports: the impact of kit on female athletes. Hosted by Dame Laura Kenny, we’re joined by a line-up of guests who know the challenges all too well. Tess Howard, a pioneering England and GB hockey player, shares her journey advocating for rule changes that allow women to wear shorts instead of skorts, explaining the practical and symbolic significance of this change for female ath...

Dec 10, 202458 min

TELEGRAPH WOMEN'S SPORT: “When I got to my smallest I was at my most unhappiest”

In this episode of the Telegraph Women's Sport Podcast, we're delving into the topic of body image. Hosted by Dame Laura Kenny, we bring together three women to share their stories and insights. Ellie Boatman, a Great Britain rugby sevens player, opens up about her journey through body image struggles and overcoming an eating disorder to develop a healthier relationship with her body and food. She emphasises the influence of social media on body perceptions and the importance of education around...

Nov 15, 202449 min

PREVIEW: "I'm fed up with my adult child living at home - I'm moving out".

This is a preview of Katie Morley's new podcast Money Confidential . Listen to the full episode here: https://podfollow.com/moneyconfidential Would you let your adult child move back home and not pay rent? As the housing market becomes more unaffordable, many adults are not only relying on the bank of mum and dad, but the house of mum and dad, with reports suggesting there’s up to 5 million of them in Britain. For some this set up will be hunky dory, but for others it can lead to toe-curling con...

May 08, 20248 min

Introducing: Money Confidential with Katie Morley

Introducing a new podcast from The Telegraph: Money Confidential! Katie Morley, The Telegraph's Consumer Champion, has won back £10 million in compensation for readers. Now, she's hitting the road for a brand new podcast, Money Confidential, to hear directly from you. Would you let your grown-up child move back home and not pay rent? Is it fair for your richer siblings to go skiing and leave you behind? Are private schools really worth it? This is the place where we discuss everyday money proble...

May 02, 20241 min

Introducing The Telegraph Women's Sport podcast

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Aug 07, 20231 min

Gabor Maté

Gabor Maté is a doctor and expert in addiction, stress and childhood development. But he's also something of a revolutionary, challenging all our assumptions about what it is to be well. His book, In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts, was a great comfort to Bryony when she had to get sober, and you've probably heard her talk about it with other guests here on Mad World. His new book, The Myth of Normal, looks at trauma, illness and healing in a toxic culture. Gabor joins Bryony to talk about why he wou...

Oct 30, 202258 min

Joe Tracini

This episode contains discussion of suicide. Joe Tracini is an actor, comedian and champion magician. He's also frequently suicidal. Joe suffers from borderline personality disorder and since speaking publicly about it, he's not shied away from talking about the 'unfashionable' side of mental illness. He's now written a book called '10 Things I Hate About Me: how to stay alive with a brain that's trying to kill you', which he says he wrote to save his life. Joe joins Bryony to talk about the wor...

Sep 28, 202257 min

James Purefoy

James Purefoy is one of Britain's most prolific actors, appearing in everything from the Royal Shakespeare Company to Netflix's Sex Education. But his latest film, Fisherman’s Friends: One and For All, while ostensibly about a bunch of Cornish blokes who sing sea shanties, is really about the fragile issue that is male mental health. James joins Bryony to talk about dealing with the grief of his father, while playing a character grieving their father, boarding schools as a place to 'cauterise pe...

Aug 11, 202254 min

Charmain Bynoe, author of 'The Estate, My Life Working on the Front Line of Britain's Housing Crisis'

Charmain Bynoe is one of our favourite guests here at Mad World, an unsung hero making a difference in our communities. She's a housing officer for Southwark, in London, and you may have seen in the Channel 4 TV series, Council House Britain. The work she does in helping vulnerable people is vitally important, but often overlooked. Now she's written a book, The Estate, which lays bare the challenges so many are facing in the midst of the UK's housing crisis. Charmain joins Bryony to talk about h...

Aug 03, 20221 hr

Salma El-Wardany

Salma El-Wardany has been described as a half Egyptian, half Irish Muslim writer, travelling the world, eating cake and dismantling the patriarchy - but even that doesn't quite sum up the unapologetic brilliance of her. Now, she's released her first novel, These Impossible Things, which charts the friendship of three British Muslim women and what life throws at them. Salma joins Bryony to talk about the hurt of not finding yourself in the pages of the books you love, the impact of growing up Mus...

Jul 27, 202241 min

Abi Morgan

Abi Morgan is the BAFTA and Emmy award-winning screenwriter of films like Suffragette, Shame and The Iron Lady, as well as creating the impossibly brilliant BBC drama The Split. But all the screenwriting expertise in the world could not have prepared her for the series of cataclysmic events that shattered her life three years ago. Now she's written a book about those events, 'This is Not a Pity Memoir.' It's a love story, but not as you know it. Abi joins Bryony to talk about the 'quiet drama' o...

Jul 20, 202251 min

Alex Riley, author of "A Cure For Darkness"

Right now, 332 million people across the globe are suffering from depression. You might be one of them. And yet despite the prevalence of this illness, it is still barely understood, with precious few treatment options available. The science writer Alex Riley - this week’s guest on Mad World - has now produced the most comprehensive history of depression ever written, with the hope of changing this. In A Cure For Darkness, Riley busts a whole host of myths about depression. It is not a modern il...

Jul 13, 202243 min

Self Esteem

Self Esteem AKA Rebecca Taylor is a multi-award winning and Brit Award nominated artist, touring the globe and supporting Adele. And yet, during her 20s, she was crippled by shame and feeling like she was never accepted as herself. She found time to come on Mad World and talk openly and honestly about mental health and the role it's played in her life, including shaking off the shackles of patriarchy and getting out of self destruct mode. Listen to Self Esteem | Read more from Bryony: https://ww...

Jul 06, 202249 min

Rebecca Humphries

In 2018, Rebecca Humphries was thrust into the spotlight when her boyfriend cheated on her very publicly with his Strictly dance partner. Seeing your partner snogging someone else on the front page of a tabloid might not be the ideal way to discover you've been cheated on, but Humphries has come to realise it was the best thing that could ever have happened to her. Set free from an emotionally abusive relationship, she was able to finally live the life she wanted to... with amazing results. Rebe...

Jun 29, 202236 min

Måns Mosesson, author of 'Tim: The Official Biography of Avicii'

To his millions of fans, he was Avicii - music producer and DJ extraordinaire who created some of the most anthemic dance music of recent years. But behind the global superstar DJ was Tim Bergling, an anxious boy from Sweden who first saw a therapist at the age of 14, and years later tragically took his own life. Swedish journalist Måns Mossesson was given extraordinary access by Tim’s parents to the artist’s friends, family and colleagues, as well as his texts and emails to write 'Tim', the bio...

Jun 22, 202237 min

Joanna Scanlan

When Joanna Scanlan was in her twenties, she had a breakdown and was told by her doctor that if she didn't do what she loved, she would never get better. Thank goodness for that doctor's words, because today she is an award winning actress and screenwriter, starring in the Thick of It, Getting On and her recent film After Love, for which she won the best actress BAFTA. Joanna joins Bryony about the dark thoughts that came young and followed her into later life, having to make an effort to learn ...

Jun 15, 20221 hr 14 min

Professor Dame Carol Black

Today's guest is on a mission to transform the way we view people addicted to drugs. This year, Professor Dame Carol Black led a government review into the way we handle drug addiction in this country - be that treatment and recovery, or even prevention. She called for a more health-based approach and more than £500 million investment over five years. This Addiction Awareness Week, Bryony has teamed up with Action on Addiction and the Forward Trust to bring you a conversation each day tackling a...

Oct 21, 202139 min

Tony Adams

Arsenal and England legend Tony Adams has done as much in his career to challenge the stigma around addiction as he has to make footballing history. From becoming sober very publicly back in the 90s, to setting up Sporting Chance, a charity that provides mental health support to current and former professional athletes, he's made it his mission to help others by sharing his story. This Addiction Awareness Week, Bryony has teamed up with Action on Addiction and the Forward Trust to bring you a co...

Oct 20, 202143 min

Davinia Taylor

In the 90s there was rarely a week where Davinia Taylor wasn't on the television or in the newspapers, as an actor, presenter and well-known member of the so-called "Primrose Hill set". But behind the seemingly glamorous partying was a person in the grips of addiction. This Addiction Awareness Week, Bryony has teamed up with Action on Addiction and the Forward Trust to bring you a conversation each day tackling a different element of addiction. Because even though we are slowly breaking down the...

Oct 19, 202129 min

Hayley

When today's Mad World guest first sought help, she didn't even realise she was a gambling addict. But within a few years Hayley had lost her job, her home, and she had arrived at a rehab centre with a small suitcase containing all of her possessions. This Addiction Awareness Week, Bryony has teamed up with Action on Addiction and the Forward Trust to bring you a conversation each day tackling a different element of addiction. Because even though we are slowly breaking down the stigma around dis...

Oct 18, 202143 min

Camilla Tominey

When Camilla Tominey isn't writing in the Telegraph, she's the patron of Nacoa, The National Association for Children of Alcoholics, a charity that provides a space for people, young and old, to discuss the effect parental drinking has had on their life. This Addiction Awareness Week, Bryony has teamed up with Action on Addiction and the Forward Trust to bring you a conversation each day tackling a different element of addiction. Because even though we are slowly breaking down the stigma around ...

Oct 17, 202145 min

Nile Rodgers

Legendary musician and producer Nile Rodgers joins Bryony for the first episode of this special series of Mad World. This Addiction Awareness Week, Bryony has teamed up with Action on Addiction and the Forward Trust to bring you a conversation each day tackling a different element of addiction. Because even though we are slowly breaking down the stigma around discussing mental health, addiction - sadly - remains a taboo, even though we will all know someone touched by it. Listen as Nile tells Br...

Oct 16, 202154 min

Laura Campbell

On World Suicide Prevention Day, Bryony talks to someone with a very unusual - but important - job. Laura Campbell is the suicide prevention manager for Govia Thameslink Railway - the first person to have that title and the only suicide prevention manager for any train company. Laura joins Bryony to talk about how she trains railway staff to carry out suicide interventions at their stations, shares invaluable tools to support vulnerable people and opens up about the painful childhood experience ...

Sep 09, 202132 min

Introducing Imposters

Have you ever felt like a fraud? That you don't belong in the room? That you could get found out at any moment? You're not alone - and we have a podcast to help you. As this series of Mad World comes to a close, Bryony Gordon introduces The Telegraph's Women's Editor, Claire Cohen, and her new show, Imposters. Each week, Claire meets a woman at the top of her game and finds out how she defeated imposter syndrome to get there. Follow Imposters to make sure you don't miss an episode: https://www.p...

Jun 15, 202154 min

Fearne Cotton

Fearne Cotton's voice is instantly recognisable, whether from TV or the radio waves, or now on her Happy Place podcast. Like Bryony, she's dedicated her recent career to continuing the conversation around mental health - and through that work, the pair have become firm friends. Fearne joins Bryony on Mad World to talk about the importance of setting yourself boundaries, why we have to consider the link between mental and physical health, and why sometimes we shouldn't be so quick to judge online...

Jun 01, 202141 min

Rory O'Connor

Content warning: This episode contains discussion of suicide Professor Rory O'Connor has dedicated himself to research into suicide and suicide prevention for over 25 years, and his new book, When It Is Darkest, aims to untangle the complex reasons why people take their own lives. He joins Bryony on Mad World to dispel unhelpful myths, give practical advice to both those suffering and their loved ones, and to talk candidly about the painful reality of losing a friend to suicide as an expert on t...

May 25, 202156 min

Rosena Allin-Khan MP

Shadow Minister for Mental Health, MP for Tooting and an NHS doctor working throughout the pandemic: it's safe to say Rosena Allin-Khan has had a busy year. She manages to find time to join Bryony to discuss why we need to treat ourselves as we would our best friends, how the country can best support healthcare workers after the year gone by, and which guilty pleasure TV show has been helping her switch off. Read Bryony's columns: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/authors/bryony-gordon/ | For 30 days'...

May 18, 202140 min

Scarlett Moffatt

Scarlett Moffatt and her infectious giggle burst onto our TV screens back in 2013 when her and her family featured on Channel 4's Gogglebox. But while she was becoming an on-screen favourite, she was also battling with her mental health, and eventually had to ring the Samaritans for help. She joins Bryony at the start of Mental Health Awareness Week to discuss why she's joining the organisation that helped her as an Ambassador, and why she wants to give her online trolls a hug. Read Bryony's col...

May 10, 202138 min
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