This week’s episode is with one of my biggest writing inspirations: Dame Jacqueline Wilson. Her 111th novel Love Frankie is out now. We talk about her journey into being one of the nation's most loved writers, her writing process, why she's always wanted to discuss deeper issues and themes within her books for children, her trouble with computers and why she loves meeting her readers. It was such a thrill to also record this one in person. A real 'moment' for me and the podcast. Hope you enjoy a...
Oct 22, 2020•34 min
Today's guest is Dr Pragya Agarwal, a behavioural and data scientist, and the bestselling author of SWAY: Unravelling Unconscious Bias which came out this year. Her writing on bias and prejudice, motherhood, gender and racial inequality and mental health has appeared in The Guardian, Independent, Huffington Post,, Forbes, and many more. Her next book ‘Wish we knew what to say: Talking with children about race’ is a manual for parents, carers and educators of all backgrounds and ethnici...
Oct 08, 2020•30 min
Martha Beck is a Harvard-trained sociologist (she has three degrees from Harvard!) and a world-renowned coach (most famously she's been Oprah's life coach) and New York Times bestselling author. She has published nine non-fiction books, one novel, and more than 200 magazine articles. She has been a monthly contributor for O, The Oprah Magazine for 17 years. I discovered Martha Beck properly during lockdown and have been inhaling everything she's ever written. I really recommend reading Steering ...
Oct 01, 2020•41 min
Welcome back to Ctrl Alt Delete! Today's guest is clinical psychologist Dr Soph where we discuss the topic of self-sabotage and how it can be a useful thing that tells us about ourselves and what we want. My new book SABOTAGE is out TODAY and to celebrate I am publishing this conversation with the brilliant Dr Soph about the topic and about her career as a therapist. I recently discovered Dr Soph and her brilliant Instagram presence and am so glad I have. She also contributed some wise nuggets t...
Sep 24, 2020•36 min
Welcome back to Ctrl Alt Delete. I am excited to share a snippet of my SABOTAGE audiobook here for you! (Out on Sept 24th!) I wanted to give you lovely listeners a sneak peak of my SABOTAGE audiobook! SABOTAGE: How to Silence Your Inner Critic and Get Out of Your Own Way is my newest non-fiction book publishing on the 24th September (in both UK and US), available to pre-order now! (Links below!) The book is a personal exploration of my own journey of self-sabotage, and more broad...
Sep 17, 2020•8 min
Today's guest is with the brilliant activist and entrepreneur Seyi Akiwowo: the Founder and Executive Director of Glitch, a young not-for-profit organisation determined to end online abuse. Seyi travels the globe developing practical solutions with Governments, NGOs and companies to protect our online public spaces from hate and abuse. In 2018, she was named Stylist Magazine’s Woman of the Week, she is also Amnesty International’s Human Rights Defender and is part of the #To...
Sep 10, 2020•35 min
My guest today is the brilliant Zoe Sugg: author, entrepreneur, content creator and business owner. Zoe was one of my first ever guests back when I started this podcast in 2016, so I thought it would be really fun to invite her back on to talk all about what she's been up to in that time (aka a lot!). In this episode we talk about life in lockdown, her journey with anxiety, her mental health digital detox campaign with Lush and I Am Whole, why she decided to separate her Zoe Sugg and Zoella chan...
Sep 03, 2020•37 min
Hello and welcome back. I'm replaying some old favourite episodes this week while I am on holiday. This episode was recorded in April 2017 (three years ago, WHAT). Seth Godin is a legend. The author of 18 books that have been bestsellers around the world and have been translated into more than 35 languages. He is something spreads ideas and writes about marketing, leadership and change. Some of his most well-known books are Linchpin, Tribes, and Purple Cow which I mention on this podca...
Aug 27, 2020•26 min
Hello and welcome back. I'm replaying some old favourite episodes this week while I am on holiday. This episode with the wonderful guest June Sarpong was recorded in November 2017. We discuss her new book Diversify backstage at Stylist Live. I've wanted to meet June for ages, so this was a VERY exciting episode! June has enjoyed a 20-year career which has already seen her become one of the most recognisable faces of British television, as well as being one of the UK’s most intelligent ...
Aug 20, 2020•29 min
Hello and welcome back. I'm replaying some old favourite episodes this week while I am on holiday. This episode was recorded in February 2018. I met Greta in the Soho Hotel for the interview to talk about the release of her film Ladybird . Since then, of course she's gone on to make the incredible masterpiece that is her own version of Little Women that she wrote and directed. The film received six Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture, and it also recei...
Aug 13, 2020•25 min
Hello and welcome back to Ctrl Alt Delete! I'm replaying some old favourite episodes this week while I am on holiday. This episode was recorded in March 2019. Since then Jameela's 'i Weigh' movement has blossomed and grown - it originally started as a hashtag and has now turned into a media company with her own podcast called i weigh which I highly recommend listening to, plus a website and newsletter. You may know Jameela from her 2008 days as co-host of Channel 4’s Freshly...
Aug 06, 2020•42 min
Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey are the Pulitzer Prize winning journalists who broke the Harvey Weinstein story. They are also the bestselling authors of She Said , the book all about how they did it. I managed to catch up with them before their flight back to New York before lockdown when they were in the UK to promote the book. It was so incredible to meet them. On 5 October 2017, the New York Times published an article by Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey that helped change...
Jul 30, 2020•32 min
Hello and welcome to this special OLIVE mini series — all around the topic of my debut novel OLIVE which is out TODAY! In lieu of a launch party, I’ve decided to release this 4-part series on 4 different women’s varying experiences and attitudes towards motherhood, based on the topics within the book. The novel centres around Olive and her three best friends, Bea, Cecily and Isla. Bea is a mum of 3 who loves her busy chaotic home, Cecily is newly pregnant feeling apprehensive and excited, Isla i...
Jul 23, 2020•24 min
Hello and welcome to this special OLIVE mini series — all around the topic of my debut novel OLIVE which is out TODAY! In lieu of a launch party, I’ve decided to release this 4-part series on 4 different women’s varying experiences and attitudes towards motherhood, based on the topics within the book. The novel centres around Olive and her three best friends, Bea, Cecily and Isla. Bea is a mum of 3 who loves her busy chaotic home, Cecily is newly pregnant feeling apprehensive and excited, Isla i...
Jul 23, 2020•41 min
Hello and welcome to this special OLIVE mini series — all around the topic of my debut novel OLIVE which is out TODAY! In lieu of a launch party, I’ve decided to release this 4-part series on 4 different women’s varying experiences and attitudes towards motherhood, based on the topics within the book. The novel centres around Olive and her three best friends, Bea, Cecily and Isla. Bea is a mum of 3 who loves her busy chaotic home, Cecily is newly pregnant feeling apprehensive and excited, Isla i...
Jul 23, 2020•38 min
Hello and welcome to this special OLIVE mini series — all around the topic of my debut novel OLIVE which is out TODAY! In lieu of a launch party, I’ve decided to release this 4-part series on 4 different women’s varying experiences and attitudes towards motherhood, based on the topics within the book. The novel centres around Olive and her three best friends, Bea, Cecily and Isla. Bea is a mum of 3 who loves her busy chaotic home, Cecily is newly pregnant feeling apprehensive and excited, Isla i...
Jul 23, 2020•37 min
My guest today is the brilliant Sophie Heawood. I've followed Sophie's work for years, I've loved her columns in the Guardian, VICE and her brilliant newsletter. Sophie has written for many publications including The Times, Guardian, Observer and Vogue and writes the most incredible profiles of A-Listers — she doesn't just interview celebrities she tells incredibly stories while doing so, and crafts features in such a compelling interesting way that makes you feel like you ...
Jul 16, 2020•36 min
My guest today is one of the British Gymshark athletes, the wonderful fitness influencer Sophie Butler — someone I thoroughly enjoy following on Instagram and find extremely inspiring on every level. I jumped at this chance to collaborate with her for the podcast. (Apologies in advance for the patchy audio — lockdown issues!) *This episode is brought to you by Gymshark.* Gymshark is a sportwear brand who focuses on fitness and conditioning. ...
Jul 10, 2020•27 min
Today's guest is Ann Friedman , one half of the popular podcast Call Your Girlfriend and now author of the forthcoming book Big Friendship , out this month (July 2020). It is a friendship bible on how to keep each other close. This book is authored by both Ann Friedman and Aminatou Sow, (Aminatou has also been a guest on Ctrl Alt Delete, episode number #183 if you fancy going back and listening) and Big Friendship is a the story of their own ten-year, complex, loving friendship. They share ...
Jul 09, 2020•26 min
Julia Cameron is the bestselling author of The Artists' Way. She is a poet, playwright, fiction writer and essayist, she also has extensive credits in film, television and theatre, and is an award-winning journalist. Her groundbreaking books on creativity have become international bestsellers. In this episode we talk about The Artist's Way which has a new revamped cover which is very exciting. The book first came out in the early 90s and provides a twelve-week course that guides you through...
Jul 01, 2020•34 min
Glennon Doyle is someone I've wanted to have on the podcast for years, ever since I read her book LOVE WARRIOR (which was an Oprah Book Club selection), as well as her New York Times bestseller CARRY ON, WARRIOR. An activist and thought leader, Glennon is the founder and president of Together Rising, an all-women led nonprofit organisation that has revolutionised grassroots philanthropy – raising over $25 million for women, families, and children in crisis. She lives in Florida with her wife and...
Jun 25, 2020•41 min
Renay Richardson is the founder and CEO of Broccoli Content , a company she founded in 2018. Broccoli is a new multi-genre podcasting joint venture between Renay and Sony Music and is focused on the development and distribution of original programming. Renay is a producer who has previously worked for podcast platforms including Acast & Audible and a successful independent podcast creator in her own right - her credits including About Race with Reni Eddo-Lodge and The Receipts on 1xtra ...
Jun 18, 2020•31 min
My guest today is the brilliant Candice Brathwaite, Sunday Times Bestselling author of I Am Not Your Baby Mother. The book has been called 'an urgent part-memoir, part-manifesto about Black British motherhood' in Red magazine . When Candice fell pregnant and stepped into the motherhood playing field, she found her experience bore little resemblance to the photos of women in glossy magazines and Mumsnet and she found herself wondering: "Where are all the black mothers?". Can...
Jun 11, 2020•30 min
Today's guest is Layla F. Saad, #1 bestselling author of Me And White Supremacy and globally respected writer, speaker and host of the Good Ancestor Podcast . She speaks on the topics of race, identity, leadership, personal transformation and social change. As an East African, Arab, British, Black, Muslim woman who was born and grew up in the West, and lives in Middle East, Layla has always sat at a unique intersection of identities from which she is able to draw rich and intriguing perspectives...
Jun 04, 2020•47 min
Today's guest is Julia Ebner, bestselling author and Research Fellow at the Institute for Strategic Dialogue, where she leads projects on online extremism, disinformation and hate speech. She has acted as a consultant for the UN, NATO, and the World Bank. Her journalism has appeared in the Guardian , Independent , Prospect and Newsweek , and she was a key contributor to a documentary for ITV on militant responses to Brexit, and a Radio 4 piece on women in the far ri...
May 28, 2020•32 min
Hello! Today's guest is journalist and consultant Jessica Evans. She has previously written for the likes of Stylist, Refinery29, Elle and all the top magazines. She is also the founder and CEO of The Freelance Sessions, which is an indie organisation that helps both aspiring writers become freelance journalists and established journalists in their career. The heart behind the one-to-one sessions is to help more northern, working class women break into the elitist world of journalism. I cam...
May 21, 2020•20 min
My guest today is Emma Jane Unsworth - the award-winning novelist and screenwriter. Her latest novel, ADULTS, a comedy about a thirty-something woman whose life is falling apart and has been described as a "witty" and "virtuoso" satire by The Guardian and "sharp and funny" by The Times. Her previous novel, ANIMALS, was adapted into a film, for which Unsworth wrote the screenplay. The film premiered at Sundance Film Festival 2019 and Unsworth won the award for Best Debut Screenwriter at the Briti...
May 14, 2020•37 min
Kate Hamilton is my guest today. For five years she worked at SUITCASE magazine and for two of those years she held the position of Editor-in-Chief. She is also Co-Founder and Content Director at Sonder & Tell, a new agency that helps brands find their voice and express themselves. Their practice involves bringing an editorial approach to brand content, applying storytelling techniques to creates work that cuts through the noise. I've worked with Sonder & Tell in the past on the boo...
May 11, 2020•30 min
Today's guest is Angela D’Orazio, master blender and chief nose officer at Mackmyra – a multi-award-winning Swedish whisky distillery, and the producer of the world’s first AI-created whisky. Really excited to bring you a special bonus episode in partnership with Microsoft all about how AI is changing the whisky industry. I loved hearing about how us humans can work with AI to achieve a different kind of creativity. We spoke about how she got into her job as a master blender; AI adds a new ...
May 07, 2020•20 min
Laura Dockrill is an award-winning author and illustrator. What Have I Done? is Laura's first book for adults. I have loved Laura's fiction and poems for years, and now this. I can already say it's one of the best memoirs I've ever read on mental health. It's about postpartum psychosis. It's moving, incredibly vivid and well written. Laura made me feel like I was standing in the corner of the hospital room with her when giving birth and then in her living room afterwards as she embar...
May 04, 2020•37 min
