Will Storr has been gaining a reputation as one of the foremost non-fiction writers in the UK over the past few years, starting with his exploration of people with extreme beliefs in his book Heretics. His phenomenal follow-up Selfie about how the West became so self-obsessed and individualistic put him in the big leagues of journalistic writers. He then wrote the Science of Storytelling, which is supposed to be brilliant, but I’ve not had the chance to read yet – and today we’re here to talk ab...
Aug 30, 2021•1 hr 14 min•Ep. 68
Writer Ian Leslie discusses how to argue better from his book Conflicted. We discuss the Wright Brothers, relationship scientists and much more. --- Thanks to my sponsor ExpressVPN. For an extra 3 months free with a subscription, and to be able to watch shows in different countries, go to expressvpn.com/edge. Get the ads-free early-access episodes, as well as the bonus extra episode each week by subbing on Apple Subscriptions or going to patreon.com/andrewgold --- Ian Leslie Links: Buy the book ...
Aug 23, 2021•1 hr 9 min•Ep. 67
Today, we've got Kerry Daynes, a famous forensic psychologist who has worked in prisons and police stations with some of the most dangerous or sometimes misunderstood criminals and patients. One such patient stabbed her with a kebab skewer. Let's take a trip inside dangerous minds. -- Thanks to my sponsors, digital publishing platform Issuu, and Express VPN, for watching shows in different countries. Go to http://issuu.com/podcast and use the promo code EDGE on a premium account. Get three month...
Aug 16, 2021•1 hr 13 min•Ep. 66
Former scientologist Chris Shelton talks about his time in the cult of scientology and exposes the truth about Tom Cruise and David Miscavige. Thanks to my sponsor, MasterClass. Go to http://masterclass.com/edge to get 15% off a membership - check it out, it's a really cool platform for self-improvement! Get the bonus interview by signing up to http://patreon.com/andrewgold or joining Apple Subscriptions or YouTube Membership. --- Chris Shelton Links: Chris' full channel: https://www.youtube.com...
Aug 09, 2021•1 hr 9 min•Ep. 65
My dear listeners, I'm posting one of my weekly bonus episodes - which are typically behind a pay wall. It's just that this one with John McWhorter was too darn good not to share with the wider public as a full release. Now that I've gotten my membership channels all up to date and functioning, I wanted to include it to show you the kind of thing you can be getting each week, if you become a member. Sign up through one of the below options: Patreon: http://patreon.com/andrewgold Apple Subscripti...
Aug 06, 2021•17 min•Ep. 66
Today, we’re taking a walk down the corridors of the world’s strictest school. Of course, I’m talking metaphorically, because if we were walking down the corridors of Michaela, a school in Brent, north London, we’d have to be dead silent. That’s how headmistress and founder, Katharine Birbalsingh likes it, and given the exceptional results of the children – many of whom come from inner-city poverty – who am I to argue with it? Katharine Birbalsingh Links: https://twitter.com/Miss_Snuffy Michaela...
Aug 02, 2021•1 hr 11 min•Ep. 64
Ex-scientologist Jon Atack exposes the cult of scientology, talking about everything from Tom Cruise and Mao Zedong to free will and the difference between religion and cult. Jon Atack Links: YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCI4tcSMV2kEh3BooY_XFSYQ/featured Poetry Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC9HjRxCl6L-FkUp9qBybNGg Opening Our Minds book: https://www.amazon.co.uk/opening-minds-manipulation-influence-brainwashing/dp/0997109637 Let's Sell These People a Piece of Blue...
Jul 26, 2021•1 hr 21 min•Ep. 63
Thomas Leeds was hit by a car when he was 20, flipping over its roof, crushing the vehicle and landing on his head. Remarkably, he had few physical signs of trauma, so was released from hospital, before being taken back in later to remove a blood clot on his brain. On his return home, he found he didn’t recognise home, or the people around him who were apparently his family. In fact, he’d pretty much lost all memory of anything from before the accident. Moreover, he developed face blindness, mea...
Jul 19, 2021•1 hr•Ep. 62
Dr. James Fallon is renowned for his work in psychopathy. But a chance occurrence led him to realise something dark about his own family history...and the brain scans concurred... Listen to the bonus segment: http://patreon.com/andrewgold https://www.youtube.com/c/AndrewGold1/membership Subscribe on Apple Podcasts Dr. James Fallon Links: The Psychopath Inside book: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Psychopath-Inside-Neuroscientists-Personal-Journey/dp/1591846005 https://twitter.com/jameshfallon Andrew Go...
Jul 12, 2021•1 hr 11 min•Ep. 61
today on the show is Angela Maxwell, who walked 20,000 miles or 32,000 kilometres around the entire globe. It took her the best part of six years to do so, and she learned about as much about life as is humanly possible. She’s just back now – having overcome all sorts of adversity on the trip - she suffered from sunburn blisters and heatstroke in the Australian desert and dengue fever in Vietnam. Things hit a real low point, when a man broke into her tent in Mongolia, and raped her. We’ll discus...
Jul 05, 2021•1 hr 9 min•Ep. 60
Leading linguistics professor at Columbia University John McWhorter talks about his brilliant book Nine Nasty Words, and the origin of swearing. Why are some words profane, and others not? How has it changed over time, and what will the unmentionable words of the future be? John McWhorter Links: Nine Nasty Words: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Nine-Nasty-Words-English-Forever/dp/0593188799 https://twitter.com/JohnHMcWhorter Andrew Gold Links: http://youtube.com/andrewgold1 http://instagram.com/andrewg...
Jun 28, 2021•1 hr 7 min•Ep. 59
Today’s guest, James Bloodworth, is an intrepid journalist who went undercover to work in an Amazon warehouse and expose the torrid conditions within. His acclaimed book Hired details his journey back into the working classes from which he came for six months, also working as an Uber driver and a care worker in impoverished parts of the UK for the book. James Bloodworth Links: Hired book: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Hired-Months-Undercover-Low-Wage-Britain/dp/1786490161 https://twitter.com/j_bloodw...
Jun 21, 2021•1 hr 12 min•Ep. 58
Top barrister Chris Daw QC talks about how more and more people are being incarcerated with tougher sentences. Being tough on crime is a vote winner – it appeals to our primal urges as well as our sense of schadenfreude – there but for the grace of god go I - punish them! But there’s sufficient evidence that such tough sentences and appalling prison conditions in the US and the UK in particular lead to more crime, making the world a less safe place for you and your family. Thanks to today's spon...
Jun 15, 2021•1 hr 21 min•Ep. 57
Gary Cliffe is one of the 800 survivors of child sexual abuse at the hands of former football coach and paedophilic serial offender Barry Bennell. Bennell terrorised children in the late 80s and 90s, while working with the children coming through the youth academies of Manchester City, Crewe Alexandra and later, Stoke City. Despite suspicions and complaints made about Bennell, he was allowed to continue in his depravity, staying at the homes of the children’s families. His actions quickly turned...
Jun 07, 2021•1 hr 8 min•Ep. 56
Olivia Jackson is one of the most talented and impressive people I’ve had on the show. She is a South African Muay Thai champion, kickboxer and stunt performer who has worked on huge films like Guardians of the Galaxy. But something happened to Olivia back in 2015 that would change everything for her life going forward. Find Olivia on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/oliviathebandit Get your free beer on me here: http://beer52.com/edge Andrew Gold Links: http://youtube.com/andrewgold1 http:/...
May 31, 2021•1 hr 8 min•Ep. 55
Today, I talk to Professor Sue Black about how she helped to save Bletchley Park, the home of the codebreakers during the Second World War. She tells some fabulous stories about the people who worked there, and also talks about meeting the Queen and Stephen Fry, and her own tough upbringing, before becoming a celebrated professor at the University of Durham. Sue Black Links: Buy Saving Bletchley Park: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Saving-Bletchley-Park-socialmedia-codebreakers/dp/1908717920 https://t...
May 24, 2021•1 hr 6 min•Ep. 54
Meet Coche Inciarte, the most marvellous and loveliest man, who tells me about what it was like to survive a plane crash and live for 72 days in the most awful conditions imaginable. Eventually, he and his friends had to resort to desperate measures. It's a captivating story of human survival. Thanks to sound recordist and editor Gonzalo Kaplanski for doing the English voice-over. Find his photography and video work here: https://gonkaplanski.myportfolio.com/ And thank you to the book's brillian...
May 17, 2021•51 min•Ep. 53
British journalist Jenny Kleeman - a mix of Louis Theroux and Margaret Atwood - talks to the On the Edge with Andrew Gold podcast about the near-future of sex, food, birth and death, with some startling, worrying and fascinating science. Get the bonus content on my YouTube and Patreon pages (links below). --- Jenny Kleeman Links: https://twitter.com/jennykleeman https://www.amazon.co.uk/Sex-Robots-Vegan-Meat-Adventures/dp/1509894888 On the Edge with Andrew Gold Links: http://youtube.com/andrewgo...
May 10, 2021•1 hr 16 min•Ep. 52
This episode with Philip Nitschke (Dr. Death) is really controversial, because it's with the first doctor to perform an assisted suicide in Australia. He has some interesting things to say, but listener discretion is advised. Get the bonus content on my YouTube and Patreon pages (links below). Thanks to the episode's sponsor, the language-learning app Babbel. Sign up using my promo code of EDGE on http://babbel.co.uk/play. --- Philip Nitschke Links: https://twitter.com/philipnitschke https://www...
May 03, 2021•1 hr 5 min•Ep. 51
I asked self-confessed psychopath M.E. Thomas (Confessions of a Sociopath) to celebrate my 50th episode with me. Things get heated! Thanks to the episode's sponsor, the language-learning app Babbel. Sign up using my promo code of EDGE on http://babbel.co.uk/play. ME Thomas Links: Psychopathy Is YouTube videos: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LbzIdxoEI7Y&ab_channel=PsychopathyIs Twitter: https://twitter.com/sociopathworld Confessions of a Sociopath: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0307956644/re...
Apr 26, 2021•1 hr 15 min•Ep. 50
Madeleine Black told her story in her book Unbroken, which is now also a podcast. At just 13, she was led drunk to a bedroom in a vacant flat in London by two American 17-year-olds, who raped her. Thanks to the episode's sponsor, the language-learning app Babbel. Sign up using my promo code of EDGE on http://babbel.co.uk/play. Madeleine Links: Unbroken Podcast: https://podfollow.com/1534721507 Unbroken Book: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Unbroken-Journey-Shattered-Violence-Survival/dp/1786062763 http...
Apr 19, 2021•1 hr 7 min•Ep. 49
Naama Kates is an actress and musician best known for her work with extremists and incels. An incel is an involuntary celibate: men who feel they're physically or mentally too unattractive for women. While many of these men are depressed or lonely, when they come together through online communities, things can get toxic. Naama Links: Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/incel/id1469915971 https://twitter.com/naamakates Andrew Links: http://youtube.com/andrewgold1 http://instagram.com/a...
Apr 12, 2021•1 hr 22 min•Ep. 48
Today, I’m talking to Telegraph journalist Cara McGoogan, the host and journalist behind acclaimed podcast Bed of Lies. [By the way, join me in an old 90's-style chat room Thursday 8pm GMT (it's free, and you don't have to sign up): https://discord.gg/RWH7fs6ygb] The series follows the lives of several fairly innocuous and harmless Left-Wing activists in the 80s, 90s and 2000s who fell in love, married and, on occasion, had children with men they had met on the activist scene. They would then go...
Apr 05, 2021•1 hr 2 min•Ep. 47
Hey, are you ready for part 2 of my super long interview with the glorious Sadia Hameed. If you haven’t yet heard part 1, it was just a couple of weeks ago, when Sadia told us about how social services in the UK actually helped her family to kidnap her when she was 15, and move her to Pakistan, where they starved and tortured her. They suspected her of sleeping with a white man. She later became a spokesperson for the Council of Ex-Muslims of Britain, although she is no longer involved with them...
Mar 29, 2021•1 hr 6 min•Ep. 46
Today I’ve got one of the smartest and most interesting people I’ve ever met on the podcast in the form of Jesse Morton, a former jihadist who now counters violent extremism with his organisation Parallel Networks. Jesse has done some pretty terrible things – he was a Far-Left extremist who became the most prominent white American Jihadist and a recruiter for al-Qaeda. He was also responsible for threatening the South Park creators and forcing them at the last minute to censor their image of the...
Mar 22, 2021•1 hr 8 min•Ep. 45
Science writer David Robson talks about his book, The Intelligence Trap. It’s a brilliantly written and researched book about how the cleverest people in the world…are often the ones who make the biggest mistakes. Which is why I never make any errors! Join me on at 8pm GMT Thursday 18th March 2021 in a free chat room (no sign up etc needed!): https://discord.gg/RWH7fs6ygb David Robson Links: https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-robson-5761791b twitter.com/d_a_robson Buy The Intelligence Trap https:...
Mar 15, 2021•1 hr 11 min•Ep. 44
Join us at 7pm on Thursday March 11th 2021 here (it's free, and you don't have to sign up): https://discord.gg/RWH7fs6ygb Today, I’m speaking with Sadia Hameed, a former spokesperson for the Council of Ex-Muslims of Britain who has a quite remarkable story to tell. She holds some strong and damning views, and has a knack for getting them across in a way that is both persuasive and, often, comical. Having grown up in England, Sadia was tricked in her teens into moving to Pakistan, where she was a...
Mar 08, 2021•57 min•Ep. 43
Come to my old-fashioned chatroom on Thursday at 8pm GMT (noon in California): https://discord.gg/RWH7fs6ygb. It's free and no need to sign up! Hello, and welcome to another episode of On the Edge with Andrew Gold. Today, I’m talking – well actually I spoke to him a couple of weeks ago – to comedian Andrew Doyle, who has just released his new book Free Speech. It’s a modern manifesto on why free speech is so important, and how even extremely offensive speech should be protected. Andrew Doyle Lin...
Mar 01, 2021•1 hr 24 min•Ep. 42
Joshua Baker is simply one of the most impressive journalists out there working today. -- Join me on Discord Chat Room, free and you don't need to sign up, just follow this link at 8pm GMT on Thursday 25th Feb 2021: https://discord.gg/RWH7fs6ygb -- You may know him for his current podcast series with the BBC, I’m Not a Monster, or his related documentary Return from ISIS. The two follow his attempts to track down and understand Samantha, the woman who took her family to live with ISIS in Syria. ...
Feb 22, 2021•1 hr 13 min•Ep. 41
Justin Brooks is the co-founder of the California Innocence Project, which is a non-profit that is part of the California Western School of Law in San Diego. Catch me (plus maybe Justin) on Discord on Thursday 11th Feb at 8pm GMT (Noon in California). Here's the link: https://discord.gg/RWH7fs6ygb Justin Links: http://twitter.com/justinobrooks http://instagram.com/justinobrooks https://www.facebook.com/pages/category/Public-Figure/Justin-Brooks-160642841283018/ http://californiainnocenceproject....
Feb 15, 2021•1 hr 15 min•Ep. 40
