My third and final guest for this miniseries is Rekesh Chauhan, an award-winning British-Indian pianist and composer, who over the pandemic channelled his musical talent into producing two short films to raise awareness around mental and emotional health issues. The second – Feel So Alone – released to coincide with this year's Loneliness Awareness Week, spotlights the effects of loneliness on young people, and signposts the organisations that can offer help. During this conversation, Rekesh and...
Jun 18, 2021•29 min•Season 4Ep. 3
This episode’s guest is Sunday Times bestselling author Cheryl Rickman. Cheryl’s latest book, Navigating Loneliness: How To Connect With Yourself and Others, is an insightful, comprehensive handbook to finding the balance between solitude and loneliness – through cultivating the most meaningful, fulfilling relationships possible with yourself and others. Cheryl is a woman after my own heart – as you might suspect from the title of her book, her anti-loneliness toolkit is just as much about time ...
Jun 16, 2021•49 min•Season 4Ep. 2
Hello, hello, hello! Welcome to a 3-part miniseries of Alonement produced for Loneliness Awareness Week in collaboration with the Marmalade Trust. My first guest is Alex Holmes, an author, podcaster and mental health educator. On his podcast, Time To Talk, Alex interviews his guests about mental health, masculinity, identity and emotional education. His book of the same name, Time To Talk: How Men Think About Love, Belonging and Connection, came out earlier this year. Alex reached out to me a co...
Jun 14, 2021•57 min•Season 4Ep. 1
It’s season finale time! And, might I add, what a banger to conclude with: my interviewee this week is Dr Emma Hepburn a.k.a @thepsychologymum. Emma quickly became one of my all-time favourites interviewees within minutes of starting this recording. She is that magical combination of grounded, honest and astonishingly wise. One moment she’s your relatable close friend, the next she’s throwing out brilliant nuggets of wisdom that make you pause for thought. For those who aren’t already familiar w...
Apr 08, 2021•1 hr•Season 3Ep. 32
And now, the end is near… It’s the penultimate episode of the season, and my guest is Dr Remi Adekoya. I was fascinated to find out, through Remi’s work, that a third of British people will be mixed race by the end of the century. His brilliant new book, Biracial Britain : A Different Way Of Looking At Race , brings together stories of biracial British people from all ages and mixed-race backgrounds, together with Remi’s own experiences and expert academic research in racial and ethnic identity....
Apr 02, 2021•46 min•Season 3Ep. 31
Meet the woman who makes sobriety cool: this week’s guest is Millie Gooch, founder of the Sober Girl Society. Millie gave up drinking alcohol in 2018, and never looked back. I’m all about glamorising a good cause (hello – positive alone time!) and this is exactly what Millie does with her platform, showing that a sober life is not a lesser life: it can often by much the opposite. During this conversation, we talk about how quitting alcohol allowed Millie to learn to process her emotions, and to ...
Mar 25, 2021•1 hr•Season 3Ep. 30
It's MAGIC Magid! This week’s guest, former Lord Mayor of Sheffield Magid Magid – often referred to as Magic Magid – is the first politician to appear on the show, and what a joy it was to speak with him. Magid is an absolute powerhouse: arriving in the UK at the age of four as a Somali refugee, he went on to become Sheffield’s youngest ever Mayor, taking up the role in 2018 at the age of 28, and also the first Muslim person to hold the position. He later went on to be a Member of the European P...
Mar 19, 2021•46 min•Season 3Ep. 29
*TRIGGER WARNING* The topics discussed on this podcast may be triggering for those following the news story around the disappearance of Sarah Everard last week. My guest this week is poet Hollie McNish. Hollie had been described by critics as ‘a bewildering law unto herself’ – and, you know what, that’s pretty accurate. Forget everything you thought you knew about poetry – Hollie, who formerly went by the pseudonym Hollie Poetry, is a far cry from the poets you learnt about for your GCSE coursew...
Mar 12, 2021•1 hr 29 min•Season 3Ep. 28
Welcome to a very special episode of Alonement to mark the publication week of my first BOOK: Alonement: How to be alone and absolutely own it, the book inspired by this podcast, out now – get your copy on Amazon , Waterstones , Bookshop.org and all good booksellers. So what’s on the agenda? Ironically, considering the theme of this podcast, it’s the first time I am going solo without a guest. However, don’t think I’ve short-changed you: there is a lot of SCINTILLATING content packed into the ne...
Mar 05, 2021•29 min•Season 3Ep. 27
Ostensibly, this week’s guest – one of the UK’s best known reality TV stars – might not seem like the go-to authority on time alone. Yet, after half a decade of living around cameras, Made in Chelsea star Lucy Watson describes her solitude as a ‘relief’. In this episode, we discuss the power of following your values and living authentically. For Lucy, that means following a vegan lifestyle, as she's done since 2016, yet it strikes me that those values of pursuing what you believe in can be appli...
Feb 26, 2021•44 min•Season 3Ep. 26
Ever struggled to set boundaries in your life? If this sounds like you (and – let’s face it – it's most of us), then this week’s episode, starring ‘The Joy of Being Selfish’ author Michelle Elman, will prove an absolute saviour. Michelle is a life coach and body positive activist, best known to her 300,000 social media followers for her global Scarred Not Scared campaign. Fascinatingly, we recorded this episode London to Hong Kong – where Michelle was beginning a 14-day stay at a quarantine hote...
Feb 19, 2021•54 min•Season 3Ep. 25
Don’t panic – but my guest this week is Nell Frizzell, the brilliant author of ‘The Panic Years’, a memoir about Nell’s journey from a single woman in her late twenties to becoming a first-time mother at 32. Listening back to this episode, I was wowed for a second time by Nell’s eloquence and honesty: she puts into words what so many women feel around those ‘panic years’ of deciding whether or not to have children – a time she also calls ‘the flux’. During this recording, we discuss everything f...
Feb 12, 2021•1 hr 8 min•Season 3Ep. 24
This week’s guest is Guy Winch, a clinical psychologist, TED speaker and author of Emotional First Aid (plus other books!). He’s also a loneliness expert – a role which I was pretty intrigued by! Anyway, I learnt a lot from recording this episode: about loneliness; about emotional self-reliance versus when to see a therapist; and so much more. Side note: Guy is also hilariously funny – a highlight is when he confesses to having a Star Wars paraphernalia filled ‘man cave’. You can listen to Guy W...
Feb 05, 2021•49 min•Season 3Ep. 23
We’re back, baby! It’s a new year, and with it comes a brand new season of Alonement. My first guest is author and presenter Rebecca Seal, whose latest book, SOLO: How To Work Alone (And Not Lose Your Mind), accidentally became one of the most relevant titles of 2020 as many of us faced home-working due to lockdown. After over a decade of running her freelance career from home, Rebecca shares her best advice for ‘solo’ working - a must-have for the 14 million of us currently sharing her lifestyl...
Jan 29, 2021•1 hr 3 min•Season 3Ep. 22
It's the season finale! Since interviewing this week's guest Camilla Thurlow last month, I have been itching to share this episode with you. The bomb disposal expert turned Love Island star (and former Miss Edinburgh) is one of the loveliest, most articulate people I've ever had the privilege to interview, and I am absolutely empowered by her life philosophy of putting herself in challenging situations – from detonating landmines in Afghanistan to coming runner-up on a popular reality show. I ho...
Sep 24, 2020•1 hr 3 min•Season 2Ep. 21
If I could sum up Felicity Cloake's lifestyle in two words, it would be: solo glamour. From cooking up solo dining feasts to taking an independent six-week cycling holiday across France (albeit joined by pals at intervals along the way), the Guardian food writer and author truly lives her philosophy that, in her words, 'you are worth eating something nice for on your own'. I love and have been thoroughly inspired by the tips for solo dining she shares on this episode, which all alonement fans ne...
Sep 17, 2020•40 min•Season 2Ep. 20
I was touched by the honesty of this week’s guest, Matthew Stadlen. During our candid conversation, the LBC presenter and journalist opens up about the challenges of dating after a recent divorce, navigating a marriage breakdown and living alone during a pandemic. Later on, we also discuss Matthew’s passion for birdwatching (and he answers my VERY basic questions as to what birdwatching actually, er, entails). I learnt a lot during these 45 minutes – and I know you will too. Twitter: @ChezSpecte...
Sep 10, 2020•45 min•Season 2Ep. 19
HELLO and happy September! This week’s guest is radio and television presenter Vick Hope a.k.a ‘The New Voice of a Generation’ (to quote a recent Sunday Times Style article). My conversation with BBC Radio 1's new addition meanders from Nigerian cooking journey during lockdown to love languages and the joy of dancing like no one's watching while alone at home. During this recording, Vick also reminded me of a beautiful word, 'sonder', meaning the realisation that everyone else lives a life just ...
Sep 04, 2020•41 min•Season 2Ep. 18
I’m calling it – this podcast should be compulsory listening for all single people. Scratch that – all people. Shani Silver, host of the A Single Serving podcast, radiates sunshine and NYC cool girl vibes (she's based in Brooklyn) in this episode. She’s a woman with a mission; a key voice, and a lovely one, within the single positivity movement, redefining the way we see being single. In her words: ‘You can choose how you feel about your own single life, and I hope you choose to enjoy it, to liv...
Aug 27, 2020•41 min•Season 2Ep. 17
So – pinch me. If you'd told eight-year-old me that I'd one day get to interview 'Blue Peter' presenter Konnie Huq when I grew up, it would have been way too exciting to process. As it happens, 28-year-old me managed to keep it together (just about) in order to interview the lovely presenter-turned-children's author about alone time, finding genuine happiness away from the spotlight and why she's never, ever felt lonely. Thanks to a social-distancing friendly video chat, I also got to meet Huxle...
Aug 20, 2020•42 min•Season 2Ep. 16
Alonement gets tremendously highbrow this week. Fans of comedy and Philip Larkin alike will love this episode with radio presenter and stand-up comedian John Robins. Since winning the Edinburgh Comedy Award in 2017 with his show, ‘The Darkness of Robins’ – and performing the show on the Live at the Apollo stage the following year – John has become a household name. In this episode, we discuss everything from Philip Larkin’s solitude-inspired poetry – John drops a line into every comedy show – to...
Aug 13, 2020•53 min•Season 2Ep. 15
So, you know when you’re *supposed* to be interviewing someone professionally and you end up just chatting away like mates? Such was my experience of interviewing this week’s guest, Sophia Money-Coutts – the former features director at Tatler and now a thrice-published author – resulting in a laughter-filled episode which covers everything from egg freezing; solo travel; Zoom fatigue; and what happens when you become newly-single in your 30s. P.s. Sophia also shared the best (or indeed worst) so...
Aug 06, 2020•47 min•Season 2Ep. 14
Introducing my joint first guest of season two, mental health activist Jonny Benjamin MBE! I laughed and I cried in equal measure while producing this episode, which has themes ranging from Jonny’s mental health journey; his experience of growing up gay in the Jewish community; and the perils of hiding your phone from yourself when you live alone. Jonny was SO funny and easy to talk to – qualities that make him ever the more inspiring in the wake of what he’s been through. In 2008, Jonny stood o...
Jul 30, 2020•1 hr 1 min•Season 2Ep. 13
Florence Given is an illustrator, Instagram sensation and now a debut author, with the release of her bestselling book, Women Don’t Owe You Pretty. It’s not hard to understand why she was voted Cosmopolitan’s Influencer of the Year ‘19. Famous for slogans such as ‘Dump Him’ and ‘Don’t Raise Him He’s Not Your Son’, Florence is an intelligent and refreshingly original feminist voice. While speaking to Florence, I couldn’t help thinking – how is someone so wise at just 21? But then, why should ther...
Jul 30, 2020•45 min•Season 2Ep. 12
It’s the SEASON FINALE! Meeting Daisy Buchanan earlier this year for this recording felt strangely familiar. I’ve been reading Daisy’s wonderful words for years, and when she arrived at my flat it felt like she had leapt straight out of the page: thoughtful, funny and with superhuman levels of emotional intelligence. In this episode – the season finale for first ever Alonement series – we discuss everything from the trap of people pleasing to the difference between a drain and a radiator (don’t ...
May 14, 2020•46 min•Season 1Ep. 11
One of the great perks of recording this podcast is the chance to chat to some of my career idols. This week’s guest, former British Vogue editor Alexandra Shulman, is not only someone I’ve looked up to for years, but also my former boss. I began my career as a Vogue intern – where I picked up many of the skills that have seen me through my journalistic jobs, and got to see Alexandra – the longest-standing editor in Vogue’s history – in action. In this episode, Alexandra reveals how her natural ...
May 07, 2020•36 min•Season 1Ep. 10
It’s official: scientists are the new celebrities – which is why I’m so delighted to have one as my remote guest for the second special COVID-19 episode of the Alonement podcast. British-born nanotechnologist Dr Michelle Dickinson, a long-term friend to Jacinda Ardern, has been working with New Zealand’s Prime Minister to help communicate the science behind COVID-19 to the public. Day to day, Michelle runs Nanogirl’s Lab – under her alter-ego of Nanogirl – to teach children STEM skills. Self-ide...
Apr 30, 2020•42 min•Season 1Ep. 9
How will we live and spend time alone after COVID-19? I interview Eric Klinenberg, sociologist and author of 'Going Solo', about how our attitudes towards solitude might shift in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. What are the unique challenges towards valuing alone time in an age of social distancing? How will our romantic relationships change? Will companies push their employees towards remote home-working? And will it now be harder than ever to differentiate between alone and lonely? These...
Apr 24, 2020•43 min•Season 1Ep. 8
From the word go, Poorna Bell was one of my DREAM guests for the podcast – so I was a little bit delighted when she agreed to be on series one. We recorded this episode back in February, before Covid-19 worries really hit the UK, yet our conversation will resonate for anyone learning to value their alone time right now. Poorna shares how she discovered her need for time alone, with her thoughts, after her husband, Rob, died by suicide in 2015. She describes her life-changing solo travels – which...
Apr 17, 2020•45 min•Season 1Ep. 7
In this week’s episode, I interview one of the most exciting debut authors of the moment – Derek Owusu, the first novelist to sign with Stormzy's publishing imprint, Merky Books. We discuss the role of identity in Derek's writing – which is heavily inspired by his own life – and the difficulty he faces when separating his own emotions and experiences and that of his characters in his debut novel, ‘That Reminds Me’. Derek is committed to bringing so-called taboo subjects to light, and in this epi...
Apr 10, 2020•45 min•Season 1Ep. 6
