The day after St Patrick’s day, we welcome an astonishing Irish woman who epitomises change; Katriona O’Sullivan’s incredible no.1 bestselling memoir ‘Poor’ has dominated Irish bestseller lists for 10 months. The book documents her life - from living in poverty raised by parents who were heroin addicts, becoming pregnant and homeless at 15 to changing everything and completing a PHD at Trinity College in Dublin after a life changing encounter. Today Katriona is a psychologist and award winning l...
Mar 18, 2024•55 min•Season 14Ep. 11
Ken Loach is one of the greatest film directors of all time and a true British icon. He is known for his powerful, socially engaged films including ‘I Daniel Blake’, which won him a BAFTA for outstanding British film. At 87 years old, Ken’s career spans nearly six decades and his long list of awards includes the first ever British Independent Film Award and the Palme d'Or at the Cannes film festival, which he has won twice. His films shine a light on real human stories and the social injustices ...
Mar 11, 2024•39 min•Season 14Ep. 10
On the week of International Women’s Day we speak to the Guilty Feminist herself, Deborah Frances White. Host of the hugely successful, award winning podcast ‘The Guilty Feminist’, Deborah is also a bestselling author, screenwriter and comedian. Growing up in Australia as part of a restrictive Jehova's Witness community, Deborah describes her teenage years as “being controlled by a male cult”. This experience steered her towards comedy and feminism and ultimately led her to establish the G...
Mar 04, 2024•39 min•Season 14Ep. 9
Fourteen months after starting a relationship online, Anna discovered that she was a victim of romance fraud. ‘Antony’ wasn’t in fact who he said he was. Now, Anna is using her story to fight for change and is considered an expert in this field. Catfishing, romance fraud and scams are more prevalent than ever. Last year alone the National Fraud Intelligence Bureau in the UK received 8,036 reports of romance fraud resulting in a loss of more than £92m. But how does this happen? How do you f...
Feb 26, 2024•53 min•Season 14Ep. 8
Anthony Ray Hinton spent 30 years on death row for a murder he did not commit. There was no evidence against him, he was charged because he is black. During his time on death row, he made some unlikely friends and never lost hope. Anthony’s incredible story is one of unimaginable injustice but also of resilience and forgiveness. During his incarceration, Anthony watched 54 inmates walk to their deaths on the electric chair. The same death penalty that sentenced Anthony in Alabama...
Feb 19, 2024•55 min•Season 14Ep. 7
This Valentine’s week we’re celebrating romance with an unlikely agony uncle - the legendary punk poet, also known as the bard of Salford, John Cooper Clarke. A self-confessed romantic, John’s iconic love poem ‘I Wanna Be Yours’ has become one of the most popular poems to be performed at weddings in Britain and was famously used by the Arctic Monkeys in their song of the same name. John first began performing his poetry amidst the punk scene of the 1970s sharing stages with the Sex Pistols, the ...
Feb 12, 2024•27 min•Season 14Ep. 6
In 2020, Scottish comedian Fern Brady was diagnosed with autism. Her award-winning Sunday Times Bestselling book ‘Strong Female Character’ is an incredibly honest and hilarious account of Fern’s life as an autistic girl and woman. Fern regularly appears on comedy panel shows like 8 Out of 10 Cats and Taskmaster as well as touring her own shows all over the world. In this episode, she discusses her catholic upbringing in Scotland and when she realised that she was different to other people,...
Feb 05, 2024•37 min•Season 14Ep. 5
From Deptford to the Amazon - For the final episode in our Joy January mini-series we’re joined by a very inspiring guest. Kwesia, also known as City Girl in Nature, grew up on an estate in South East London and struggled with violence and trauma from an early age but after a life-changing expedition to the Amazon she connected with nature in a way that sparked joy and transformed her perspective on life. Kwesia is now the award-winning host of the birdwatching podcast ‘Get Birding’. Throu...
Jan 29, 2024•39 min•Season 14Ep. 4
How do you find joy in the aftermath of tragedy or immense adversity? Celebrated poet, author, professor and broadcaster, Michael Rosen has had to learn to do just that after his son passed away suddenly from meningitis aged 18. Michael himself also came close to losing his own life twice, the second time to Covid in 2020. Despite this, in 2023, he was awarded the prestigious PEN Pinter Prize for his ‘ability to address the most serious matters of life in a spirit of joy, humour, and hope.’ ...
Jan 22, 2024•45 min•Season 14Ep. 3
What small changes can you make to your daily life to cultivate more joy? As we continue Joy Month, we welcome to Changes one of the most influential experts in Happiness globally, Gretchen Rubin. Gretchen is a bestselling author who has written six books on the topic of happiness (all of which have become New York Times Best Sellers), including the widely acclaimed ‘The Happiness Project’. She is host of the hit podcast “Happier with Gretchen”, has been interviewed by Oprah and has walked arm i...
Jan 15, 2024•36 min•Season 14Ep. 2
Welcome to JOY January - a mini series! The aim is for you to finish these episodes with more joy to start your 2024. Who better to lead us than the most joy filled musician around - the incredibly talented bandleader and drummer of the award-winning jazz group Ezra Collective, Femi Koleoso. When Femi hits the drums, the world listens. He is on a mission to bring joy to all through music. His career has seen him play all across the world including with Gorillaz and Jorja Smith, and last year Ezr...
Jan 08, 2024•44 min•Season 14Ep. 1
As we get ready to bid farewell to 2023, it’s time to retrace the highs and lows of the year as we bring you our annual Changes End of Year Special! Annie is joined by comedian, tv presenter and co-host of the new political podcast Pod Save the UK, Nish Kumar. Together they dive into some of the year's biggest political, cultural and societal changes, offering their perspectives on the moments that defined 2023; a year of war and conflict, AI becoming more powerful (can it replace Nish?), Prince...
Dec 11, 2023•42 min•Season 13Ep. 15
“Addressing loneliness is a public health issue as important as tobacco or obesity”. In a world that is more interconnected than ever via technology and social media, why do so many of us feel lonely? And how can we change that? Dr. Vivek Murthy, the 21st Surgeon General of the United States is the man putting loneliness at the top of the public health agenda. Nominated by Barack Obama and Joe Biden as ‘the Nation’s Doctor’, his ground-breaking work on the physical and mental impact of social di...
Dec 04, 2023•39 min•Season 13Ep. 14
‘I am a woman but a different kind’. The double Olympic gold medalist and three time World Championship winner Caster Semenya has spent her entire adult life trying to change people’s minds on the definition of womanhood. One of the most recognisable intersex women in the world with a condition called DSD (differences in sex development), Caster’s has an elevated level of testosterone, which according to World Athletics, must be reduced by taking hormones in order for her to...
Nov 27, 2023•42 min•Season 13Ep. 13
Can we alter the course of climate change? One woman who can answer with authority is the internationally recognised leader on global climate change, Christiana Figueres. An absolutely remarkable woman, Ms Figueres was formerly the Executive Secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. Demonstrating immense diplomacy, resilience and determination, she successfully orchestrated negotiations with 196 countries to reach the historical Paris Agreement of 2015. Now hugely d...
Nov 20, 2023•41 min•Season 13Ep. 12
Charlotte Church is full of surprises. An opera singer turned alt-pop star and political activist who’s now turned to nature and sound healing. Famous at 11 with a no 1 album in the classical charts at 12. She celebrated her 15th birthday at the Grammys, sang for the pope, the queen and presidents including at George Bush’s inauguration and even sat a GCSE exam at the White House. She has sold more than 10 million albums worldwide. Her fame was stratospheric but she always remained true to her r...
Nov 13, 2023•36 min•Season 13Ep. 11
Born in Jamaica to a father who belonged to the 'strictest and most radical sect of Rastafari', Safiya Sinclair was made to wear dreadlocks and subjugated from a young age. She was forbidden from climbing trees, riding a bike, wearing trousers, and told her virtue was in her silence and submission. Rastas were ostracised in Jamaica and Safiya’s dreadlocks came to define her. In her isolation, Safiya’s only refuge was when her mum introduced her to literature and poetry, which changed t...
Nov 06, 2023•41 min•Season 13Ep. 10
Described by Lena Dunham as ‘the bard of modern love’, Dolly Alderton is an award-winning author and journalist, as well as agony aunt for the Sunday Times with her phenomenally popular column Dear Dolly. Her books have all become Sunday Times Bestsellers and her brilliant memoir Everything I Know About Love was adapted into a TV series last year. Her other books include her first novel Ghosts, and Dear Dolly, a collection of her agony aunt columns. Now, she is back with a brand new novel Good M...
Oct 30, 2023•43 min•Season 13Ep. 9
In 2010, aged 22, whilst on leave from deployment to Iraq, Chelsea Manning leaked half a million US military incident reports on Wikileaks. She had 12 hours before her flight back to Iraq and was relying on a wifi connection at Barnes and Nobles. Chelsea knew she’d lose her job but instead she was made an example of by the military and lost her anonymity and her freedom. Since then she has also changed her name and her gender, her identity being something she had questioned for many years. ...
Oct 23, 2023•45 min•Season 13Ep. 8
Our guest this week is the beloved Bolton broadcaster Sara Cox! Currently BBC Radio 2's drive time host , Sara started out as a model before turning to TV. In the 90s she was on Channel 4 presenting the Girlie Show. She went on to work on Channel 5, presented MTV Hot and became a regular on the hugely popular programme The Big Breakfast. Sara was in her early twenties, incredibly beautiful, effortless funny and deliciously northern. An irresistible booking for Radio 1, who...
Oct 16, 2023•40 min•Season 13Ep. 7
Casey Armstrong defied the odds of many young care leavers but her experience with foster care came at a huge personal cost. Entering foster care at fourteen after a turbulent upbringing, Casey didn’t realise the clock was ticking before she would be forced to leave her stable foster home. Due to something called the Care Cliff, Casey was expected to be independent at eighteen. The relationships and support she knew suddenly ended and her life fell apart. Now, 5 years later Casey is at Universit...
Oct 09, 2023•38 min•Season 13Ep. 6
We give you global superstar Idris Elba. Idris is an award-winning actor, a film director, a producer, a DJ and rapper, entrepreneur, podcaster, UN goodwill ambassador, kickboxer, the list goes on. Suffice to say this is a man who is comfortable with change. Or is he? In this conversation Idris zooms in on the big changes in his life, being sickly as a child, moving schools, discovering acting, becoming a father, starting therapy, and the bigger changes in his professional life, namely the SAG-A...
Oct 02, 2023•40 min•Season 13Ep. 5
Lorraine Candy does not mess around when it comes to midlife and the menopause. In this impassioned episode, her heartfelt desire for sharing information about both, including HRT and how society views women’s pain, is palpable. Lorraine is the former Editor in Chief of Elle, Cosmopolitan and the Sunday Times Style, now co-host of the podcast ‘Postcards from Midlife’ and author of ‘What’s Wrong With Me: 101 Things Midlife Women Need To Know’. Midlife is often a huge period of...
Sep 25, 2023•36 min•Season 13Ep. 4
“I am the girl accused of murder”. Amanda Knox is an exoneree, a writer, activist and podcaster. In 2007, when she was 20, Amanda was studying abroad in Italy when her roommate, British student Meredith Kercher, was raped and murdered. Meredith was 21 years old. Amanda was arrested and vilified by the press. She spent the following 8 years either on trial or in prison, for a crime she didn’t commit. Here, Amanda talks about how her life has changed, including surviving prison with a 26-yea...
Sep 18, 2023•44 min•Season 13Ep. 3
The number of adults receiving an ADHD diagnosis has skyrocketed in recent years. In one of the most popular episodes ever of Changes, Annie’s husband Tom Bell (AKA music producer Toddla T) shared his experience of being diagnosed with ADHD. Eighteen months on the couple get back together to see what’s changed for him (and them) since. However, this time, to get a female perspective on ADHD, Annie and T are also later joined by multi-award-winning comedian, writer, podcaster, and film-maker, Jos...
Sep 11, 2023•50 min•Season 13Ep. 2
We are starting series 10 with a bang. Described as the “voice of the 21st Century” by the Sunday Times, the multi award winning author Zadie Smith is back with a brand new novel, ‘The Fraud’. Zadie's first historical novel, the book is inspired by a legal trial dividing Victorian Britain looking at truth and fiction, Jamaica and Britain. It’s a great excuse to get Zadie back on Changes to talk about her biggest life changes and the changes she'd like to see. Zadie Smith became famous and h...
Sep 04, 2023•52 min•Season 13Ep. 1
Women’s football is more popular than ever. One key player leading the change is England captain Leah Williamson. Her mum had to pretend to be a boy to play football and Leah had to play on a boys' team as a young girl. Yet, a year ago today, Leah captained the Lionesses to victory in the UEFA Women's Euros 2022 and again, this year, in the Finalissima against Brazil. The team's success has changed the landscape of women’s football. This year, as the World Cup gets underway, Leah has had to chan...
Jul 31, 2023•46 min•Season 12Ep. 16
Angela Hartnett has become one of the most high-profile women in the restaurant world. Now, as well as running her many restaurants, she has turned her hand to podcasting as the co-host of the Waitrose podcast ‘Dish’ with Nick Grimshaw. Having first studied history, Angela went on to work for Gordon Ramsey for 17 years, despite many of her male colleagues thinking she would last a week or two at most, something she discusses here. She got her first Michelin star at The Connaught in London in 200...
Jul 24, 2023•39 min•Season 12Ep. 15
This is one of our favourite episodes. An Irish writer, Louise Kennedy is funny boned and great craic, with a remarkable life story to tell. Louise grew up in Belfast before moving when her family's pub was targeted with bombs twice. A chef for 30 years, Louise was dragged along reluctantly by a friend to a writing group and her life changed. Inspired by her own experiences in Northern Ireland, Louise’s debut novel ‘Trespasses’ is a love story between a protestant and a catholic set in a s...
Jul 17, 2023•29 min•Season 12Ep. 14
Will Young has dealt with huge changes both in his personal and professional life. The original Pop Idol winner turned writer and actor has had eight albums, four of which went to number one, won two brit awards and a Laurence Olivier nomination for his performance in Cabaret in the West End. He is currently starring in the one man play Song From Far Away at Hampstead Theatre in London and hosts his own podcast 'The Wellbeing Lab’ which discusses mental health and wellbeing. He's also written fi...
Jul 10, 2023•37 min•Season 12Ep. 13
