Zoë Colville has gone from high end hairdresser in London to shepherdess on a farm in Kent. She’s also changed from a vegetarian to a farmer learning about death and going to abattoirs, an experience which surprised her. Far from being your typical farmer, with her trademark long curly red hair and gold hoop earrings as well as her humour and honesty, she has challenged people’s views of farmers and their relationship with the animals. In turn, despite many personal hurdles, she has found h...
Jul 03, 2023•43 min•Season 12Ep. 12
“Change is equal to hope”. Shiva Mahbobi has never lost hope for change in Iran. At the age of 12, living in Iran, Shiva was arrested for campaigning for women’s rights. At just 16 she was imprisoned and tortured for over 3 years. Over 25 years later, in 2022, huge protests were sparked in Iran and around the world after it was reported that a 22 year old Iranian woman, Mahsa Amini, died after being beaten by police for allegedly violating Iran’s strict rules by not wearing a hijab. Women in Ira...
Jun 26, 2023•45 min•Season 12Ep. 11
“If I’d done this three years ago, I’d have been getting through it without revealing anything”. Josh Widdicombe is a changed man. The hilarious podcast Parenting Hell, which Josh co-hosts with fellow comedian Rob Beckett, has become a sensation. It’s changed him as well as the conversation around men being parents. Described as an “ace observationist” by the Guardian, Josh is also known for being a star of Channel 4’s The Last Leg and this year has released a brand-new Sky Max series Hold...
Jun 19, 2023•43 min•Season 12Ep. 10
Laura Bates has dedicated her life to addressing gender inequality. She is the founder of the Everyday Sexism Project and a Sunday Times Bestselling author. Laura has released five books including Girl Up, Misogynation, Men Who Hate Women and her most recent book, Fix the System, Not the Women. She works closely with politicians, businesses, schools, police forces and organisations from the Council of Europe to the United Nations to tackle gender inequality. Here, Laura talks to Annie abou...
Jun 12, 2023•51 min•Season 12Ep. 9
Louis Theroux tells stories about what it is to be human. His unique documentaries explore the darker corners of the human condition, from cults and porn to eating disorders and dementia. After being given a break on Michael Moore’s TV Nation in America, Louis began his long career at the BBC with the BAFTA winning Louis Theroux’s Weird Weekends and When Louis Met…, which included that much discussed Jimmy Saville episode. Louis’ trademark informal and non-judgmental style has led to...
Jun 05, 2023•1 hr 5 min•Season 12Ep. 8
How do you change your relationship with success? Writer and podcaster Emma Gannon has written a new book called ‘The Success Myth’ which, for one, has changed how Annie looks at her life. After experiencing burn out, Emma has become even more passionate about debunking the traditional ideas of success. Emma is a Sunday Times bestselling author with five books to date, including The Multi-Hyphen Method, Sabotage, Disconnected and her novel Olive. In 2018, she was selected in the For...
May 29, 2023•46 min•Season 12Ep. 7
Rosie Jones is an unstoppable force. Describing herself as a triple threat - disabled, gay and female, she is changing the world. A stand up comic, children’s author, TV writer and actor with cerebral palsy - Rosie challenges perceptions of people with disabilities (and people from Yorkshire). She has appeared on countless TV shows including 8 out of 10 cats, Would I Lie to You?, The Last Leg and Live at the Apollo . Her Channel 4 travel show Trip Hazard is BAFTA nominated. She has also written ...
May 22, 2023•1 hr 5 min•Season 12Ep. 6
With the release of ‘The Mess We’re In’, the tables are turning and, for the first time on Changes, your host Annie Macmanus is the interviewee. Annie’s new novel, which is out now, is laced into her own life experience and changes. It’s a coming-of-age story with themes about moving from Ireland to London. So, the interviewer had to be someone who can relate, someone who is Irish, a fellow Dubliner who also currently lives in London; enter one of Ireland's best, a former guest on Changes, the w...
May 15, 2023•1 hr 4 min•Season 12Ep. 5
Can you change yourself and heal from your past? Dr LePera believes so. With 6.6 million followers on Instagram, she has become the leading voice in psychological self-healing. Her accessible advice has been deemed life changing by many. Dr LePera’s first book How to Do the Work: Recognize Your Patterns, Heal from Your Past, and Create Yourself was an international bestseller recently followed by her new book How To Meet Yourself: the Workbook for Self Discovery. After qualifying as a clin...
May 08, 2023•53 min•Season 12Ep. 4
Coming out as non-binary publicly, in their own words, has been “ the beginning of a happiness I’ve never known, not since childhoo d”. Kae Tempest is a poet, a writer, a lyricist, a performer and a recording artist. They have published 3 plays, a novel, a book-length essay, 7 books of poetry including their latest ‘Divisible by Itself and One’ and released 5 albums, two of which received nominations for the Mercury Prize (‘Everybody Down’ and ‘Let Them Eat Chaos’). They’ve also received two Ivo...
May 01, 2023•47 min•Season 12Ep. 3
From unknown train fan to viral trainspotting sensation, Francis Bourgeois has changed the face of what it is to be a trainspotter. His heartwarming and contagious videos of his euphoric reaction to spotting trains have made millions of people happy. He is now the world's most famous trainspotter with over 2.8 million followers on Tik Tok, more than 60 million likes and 1.6 million followers on instagram. Many celebs are fans too, with Joe Jonas and Thierry Henry joining Francis trainspotting an...
Apr 24, 2023•40 min•Season 12Ep. 2
This week we bring you a conversation that has been on the cards for a long time! A TV and radio presenter turned businesswoman with her ever expanding brand of Happy Place, Fearne Cotton has both experienced and enabled big change in her life. One significant change for Fearne was making the decision to leave her job presenting one of the biggest shows on BBC Radio 1 after 10 years. Fearne and Annie were colleagues, and as part of this episode, they finally get a chance to revisit their time at...
Apr 17, 2023•52 min•Season 12Ep. 1
This Easter Monday we give you comedian Joe Lycett and producer Mark Ronson. Joe Lycett has got a reputation for cleverly using comedy to bring our attention to issues he believes need addressing. He calls out people who exploit or capitalise off marginalised people and, in the process, makes us question things. His show ‘More, More, More, How Do you Lycett? How Do you Lycett?’ brilliantly highlighted LGBTQ issues. It’s a masterpiece. In this revisited episode Annie asks Joe when he r...
Apr 10, 2023•29 min•Season 11Ep. 13
This week we are revisiting Irish comedian Joanne McNally and Lottery winner Susan Herdman. One of the most popular guests ever on Changes, Joanne McNally is currently touring her acclaimed show The Prosecco Express. She is also the co-host of the hugely successful podcast ‘My Therapist Ghosted Me’ with her friend Vogue Williams. Here, we revisit her talking about the end of her struggles with bulimia and move into comedy in her 30s. Susan Herdman’s life changed when she won almost £...
Apr 03, 2023•28 min•Season 11Ep. 12
Norman Cook has been a fixture as superstar DJ Fat Boy Slim since the 90s. He started his musical career as part of the band the Housemartins but it was Fat Boy Slim that changed his life. In 1998, his second album "You've Come Along Way Baby" went to number 1, featuring the now classic dance tracks "Praise You”, "Right Here Right Now” and “Rockafeller Skank”. His legendary party Big Beach Boutique II, took place on Brighton beach 20 years ago and made the history books as the biggest outdoor pa...
Mar 27, 2023•48 min•Season 11Ep. 11
This is a story about intense love, immeasurable loss and incredible strength. Behind the happy positive personality that is Sarah Gwonyoma, founder of @WhatSarahReadNext (a platform that she uses to review books and interview authors), is a woman who has been through unbelievable changes. After meeting Tim, Sarah moved to the other side of the world to be with him. It’s a beautiful film-like story but sadly, in 2017, Sarah’s world was turned upside down when both her brother and husband died un...
Mar 20, 2023•52 min•Season 11Ep. 10
Jake Shears is the opposite of a fun sponge, he’s the life and soul of every party, a positive force. Jake is the frontman of Scissor Sisters, a band which made a huge impression on pop and club culture; their debut album was the biggest album in the UK in 2004. Jake and Scissor Sisters came up in the gay scene of New York and with their fun loving, extravagant performances, the band were instrumental in paving the way for other mainstream queer artists. Now a solo artist, Jake has written for a...
Mar 13, 2023•48 min•Season 11Ep. 9
Jen Brister calls herself the ‘other mother’, the non-biological one, a gay comedian raising twin boys with her partner Chloe. She draws on this in her comedy with millions of views on instagram of her hilarious observations about mothers and their relationships with their children. Jen is currently touring her show The Optimist described by the Guardian as “expertly calibrated crabbiness”, “no one rages against the world better”. Jen is a regular on UK TV having performed on Live at the A...
Mar 06, 2023•46 min•Season 11Ep. 8
At the age of 18, just about to start her adult life, Sophie Morgan was in a car crash which instantly paralysed her from the chest down. She was told she would never walk again. Since that day, rather than let her disability defeat her, Sophie has used it as nothing but motivation and is now one of the first, and only, female disabled television hosts in the world as well as an award-winning disability advocate. Sophie has presented at the Paralympics in London, Rio and Tokyo, led ground-breaki...
Feb 27, 2023•50 min•Season 11Ep. 7
This week we welcome double Oscar nominated, golden globe and BAFTA winning actor Samantha Morton. She is one of the finest actors of her generation, acting since the early 90s, in Hollywood, independent movies and TV. You may know Samantha from the films Emma and Jane Eyre, Steven Spielberg’s Minority Report with Tom Cruise, Woody Allen’s Sweet and Lowdown, Elizabeth the Golden Age and the TV series Harlots and The Walking Dead. This year, she stars in The Whale alongside Brendan Fraser, who is...
Feb 20, 2023•46 min•Season 11Ep. 6
Have you ever been curious about changing things up in your love life? Or changing the way you view romantic partnerships? Would you consider an open relationship? What about jealousy? Ana Kirova is the CEO of the progressive dating app Feeld for open minded couples and singles to look for potential partners. In 2022, she featured in Forbes 30 under 30 list for technology and ELLE Magazine described her as “the woman taking responsibility for bringing a new era of radical sexual honesty to the m...
Feb 13, 2023•40 min•Season 11Ep. 5
Trevor Nelson is a legendary broadcaster. He changed the world of radio and what was played, becoming a figurehead of R&B and black music. He has had a phenomenally successful career broadcasting for 35 years. The list of people he has interviewed is hard to rival - Whitney Houston, Mariah Carey, Beyonce, Janet Jackson, Lauryn Hill, Jay Z, Kanye, P Diddy, Muhammed Ali. It goes on. Trevor started on Kiss, when it was a pirate station, before joining Radio 1 in 1996 hosting the first ever nati...
Feb 06, 2023•54 min•Season 11Ep. 4
How do you live after surviving the holocaust? This is a story of hope and determination against all odds. Edith Eva Eger is a holocaust survivor. Her parents were killed in Auschwitz. She got out and dedicated her life to helping others with PTSD by becoming a psychologist. Once a ballerina and part of the Hungarian Olympic gymnastics team, Edith was sent to Auschwitz with her sister and parents when she was 16. After being separated from her parents, she was made to dance for Josef Mengele kno...
Jan 30, 2023•39 min•Season 11Ep. 3
Is there anything Jayde Adams can’t do? Acting, comedy, cooking, hosting, dancing, all things she’s had huge success in. After her sister died of a brain tumour, Jayde has done her proud; she co-hosted the BAFTA nominated series Snackmasters and Crazy Delicious with Heston Blumenthal, starred in the BAFTA winning series Alma’s Not Normal, made an Amazon prime stand up special called Serious Black Jumper sharing her views on the Kardashians and celebrity life, and performed on Strictly Come Danci...
Jan 23, 2023•1 hr 1 min•Season 11Ep. 2
Last year, America’s Nickelodeon child star Jennette McCurdy released her memoir ‘I’m Glad My Mom Died’ and it exploded, becoming a number one New York Times Best Seller. Hugely famous in the US starring in ‘iCarly’ and alongside Ariana Grande in ‘Sam and Cat’, no one would have guessed that behind the all smiles, successful glitz of child fame, Jennette was being unbearably controlled by her mother who was obsessed with Jennette becoming famous. In the book, which is full of dark humour, ...
Jan 16, 2023•52 min•Season 11Ep. 1
This week we are revisiting Annie sitting down with her husband Tom (known as producer Toddla T) to talk about his adult diagnosis of ADHD and speaking to Danila Khomutovsky, a Ukrainian man as he sheltered in Ukraine immediately after Russia invaded. T and Annie had been together 13 years when this conversation was recorded and spoke openly about how T's ADHD impacts their relationship and family life. Danila Khomutovsky, a voice artist and co-founder of a Ukrainian radio station, woke up...
Jan 09, 2023•26 min•Season 10Ep. 19
For the first week of 2023, when you might be thinking about changing some things in your life, big or small, we are revisiting two very different guests who could change your view of things personally and in the world. One, a pop star sensation from Sweden and another a teacher, a filmmaker and an activist who is also a Syrian refugee who experienced crossing the sea to Greece in a rubber Dingy. Robyn is a hugely loved sad banger connoisseur and to get to speak to her about her life and t...
Jan 02, 2023•27 min•Season 10Ep. 18
Oceans and Porn - this boxing day we have a unique and intriguing offering for you courtesy of highlights from Orla Doherty and Caitlin Moran. Orla Doherty is a TV producer and environmentalist making change through deep sea filming. Orla produced ‘the Deep’ episode and the finale of Blue Planet II with David Attenborough. We revisit her Changes episode as she describes in precise detail the magic of diving and filming in the deep ocean. It’s as if you are there. A perfect escape. &nb...
Dec 26, 2022•24 min•Season 10Ep. 17
Over the festive period we are revisiting some previous Changes episodes. This week we look back at highlights from presenter and now author Nick Grimshaw and Bake Off’s Prue Leith. Both episodes discuss changing as we get older, which as we end another year, seems appropriate. Nick Grimshaw was the host of BBC Radio 1’s breakfast show, something he had dreamed of forever but in this conversation he and Annie had just left Radio 1 after many years and talked about the big change, moving on...
Dec 19, 2022•27 min•Season 10Ep. 16
It’s that time of year again, an end of year special! Who better to join Annie to look back at the madness and events of 2022 than Rebecca Taylor aka, Self Esteem; a popstar who not only speaks her mind and does not hold back (yes, this is no exception), but has also had a phenomenal year and seen her career change irrevocably after releasing her album Prioritise Pleasure. There’s been Brit and NME nominations, a Mercury Prize nomination, which she will never forget, not least because the Queen ...
Dec 12, 2022•59 min•Season 10Ep. 15
