On this week's episode, I welcome the all-singing, all-writing, all-dancing POWERHOUSE that is Geri Halliwell-Horner. She started out as Ginger Spice, in the most iconic girl band of all time (simple facts), the Spice Girls, selling over 100 million records worldwide. After the birth of her first child in 2006, she started writing while a single mother and released a series of bestselling children’s books - the Ugenia Lavender novels. Now, she returns with the publication of the young adult nove...
Oct 04, 2023•53 min•Season 18Ep. 5
Arlo Parks is a singer, songwriter and poet. Her debut album, Collapsed in Sunbeams was released when she was just 21 and earned her two Grammy nominations, a BRIT Award and the Mercury Music Prize. Her second, My Soft Machine, came out earlier this year. This month also marks the publication of her first volume of poetry, The Magic Border, a collection of never-before-seen poems and song lyrics. Parks joins me to talk about her faiure to create a perfect piece of work, her failure to save other...
Sep 27, 2023•59 min•Season 18Ep. 4
Rory Stewart is a bestselling writer, podcaster, former politician, adventurer and charity boss. You might know him from his chart-topping podcast, The Rest is Politics, which features Stewart and Alastair Campbell disagreeing agreeably about issues of the day. After Eton and Oxford, Stewart briefly joined the army and then the diplomatic service. In his 30s, he was elected as an MP, rising to become the Secretary of State for International Development. He stood - unsuccessfully - against Boris ...
Sep 20, 2023•54 min•Season 18Ep. 3
TW: fertility and miscarriage Sara Pascoe is a critically acclaimed comedian, writer and actor. Her latest stand-up tour is called - aptly enough for this podcast - Success and her debut novel, Weirdo, is published tomorrow. It's a dark, funny, stream-of-consciousness narrative ride through the internal machinations of Sophie, an anxious, sometimes obsessive, often unhappy woman trying to feel less lost. I gobbled it up. Sara joins me to talk about failing at acting, why every year she promises ...
Sep 13, 2023•1 hr 3 min•Season 18Ep. 2
WAHOOOOO! A whole new season of How To Fail, and WHAT an opening guest we have for you. Yes, it's the one and only Miriam Margolyes: actor, bestelling author and the nation's favourite talkshow guest. She's been described by Vogue as 'Britain's mischief-maker in chief' and started her career in radio and theatre, before moving into films (she won a Bafta for her role in Martin Scorcese’s The Age of Innocence and is beloved by legions of younger fans for playing Professor Sprout in the Harry Pott...
Sep 06, 2023•53 min•Season 18Ep. 1
Welcome to The How To Fail F-Word miniseries! Three days, three guests, three different F-words.In this final episode, the tables are turned and I’m the one being interviewed on...friendships. My interviewer is non other than my dear friend and beloved How To Fail repeat guest, the wonderful Mo Gawdat. And, as ever with us, the conversation goes both ways. This was recorded for Mo’s own podcast, Slow Mo, and released on his channels last month. Enjoy.--You can find Mo's own podcast, Slo Mo, here...
Aug 17, 2023•1 hr 22 min
Welcome to The How To Fail F-Word miniseries! Three days, three guests, three different F-words.Today, we have Nigel Morris...on fuel.Nigel Morris is the definition of a self-made man: born in Essex, the son of an army sergeant father and a Welsh mother, he left school at 15 before going on to co-found one of the biggest banks in the world, Capital One. How did he do it? What motivates him? How does he manage his ambition?A slightly different How To Fail episode from usual, but perhaps an even m...
Aug 16, 2023•54 min
Welcome to The How To Fail F-Word miniseries! Three days, three guests, three different F-words.Today, we start with Gabor Maté...on feelings.Gabor is a renowned speaker, physician and author; a practitioner who has revolutionised our understanding of stress, addiction and childhood development. He has written four bestselling books, including the worldwide best-seller When the Body Says No which argued - controversially at the time - that stress had a major role in the onset of most chronic dis...
Aug 15, 2023•58 min
TW: discussion of sensitive issues including sexual assault, suicide and addictionThis interview contains Lucy's account of sexual assault. That account starts about 30 minutes in and is flagged before we discuss it.I don't have many words to write about this extraordinary guest because I really need you to listen to her story, in her own words. The singer and songwriter Lucy Spraggan shot to fame as an X Factor contestant in 2012. She was just 20 when she was scouted to take part in the ITV ser...
Jul 19, 2023•1 hr 18 min
Dan Carter is one of the greatest rugby players in the history of the sport. The former All Black is one of only a handful of players to have won multiple World Cups and holds the all-time international points scoring record. His other achievements include - ahem - being voted the world’s sexiest male athlete in 2010.Today, in a very special bonus episode, Carter joins me to talk about how he learned to live alongside failure and how this made him into a better champion. I promise you this is no...
Jul 14, 2023•1 hr 8 min
This is one of those encounters that felt profoundly special because, no matter how much preparation I might have done, I truly don't think anything could have fully prepared me for the powerful honesty of Elliot Page.In his only UK podcast interview to mark the publication of his bestselling memoir, Pageboy, Elliot joins me in our season finale to talk about his self-perceived failure at living a 'closeted' life, his failures in friendship and his inabilty to reach out for help when he needed i...
Jul 05, 2023•47 min•Season 17Ep. 10
Mae Muller is a queen, icon and a legend and I won't hear anyone say differently. At 25, she is one of the hottest new talents in music. She was Great Britain's 2023 Eurovision entry with her own track, I Wrote A Song, and sure she came second last, but that didn't dim her shine for one single second. Her debut album, Sorry I'm Late, is released in September.She joins me to chat about failing to win Eurovision and the pressure she felt in the run-up to the competition; failing in school exams an...
Jun 28, 2023•53 min•Season 17Ep. 9
This week's guest is the journalist and author Yomi Adegoke. You might know her from her column in the Guardian or as the co-author of the brilliant 2018 non-fiction book, Slay In Your Lane or you might follow her on Instagram for her glamorous serving of LEWKS. And even if you don't know her, you should because she's the definition of good energy and you will love this episode.Yomi joins me to talk about her failures in hodling down a 9-to-5, her experiences with depression while at university ...
Jun 21, 2023•1 hr•Season 17Ep. 8
TW: infertilityYou wait years for one globally renowned adventurer to come onto How To Fail, and then two appear in the same season! First it was Bear Grylls and now it's the turn of his mentor, Sir Ranulph Fiennes. I spoil you, I really do.Sir Ranulph is one of the greatest British explorers - a man who has raised millions of pounds for charity through his exploits, which include the first north-south surface circumnavigation of the world, crossing Antarctica on foot and running seven marathons...
Jun 14, 2023•58 min•Season 17Ep. 7
TW: SuicideDiana Evans is the award-winning, bestselling author of A House for Alice, Ordinary People, The Wonder and 26a. Her third novel, Ordinary People, was one of my favourites of the year when it was published in 2018 - and it was shortlisted for the Women's Prize. Now, she's written a critically acclaimed follow-up, A House for Alice, set against the backdrop of the Grenfell Tower tragedy. Diana joins me to discuss how she writes (and manages failure in her writing), the curse of perfecti...
Jun 07, 2023•56 min•Season 17Ep. 6
Bear Grylls has achieved worldwide fame as one of the most recognized faces of survival and outdoor adventure. A former SAS soldier, he has climbed Everest, circumnavigated the British Isles on a jet ski, rowed naked in a bathtub along the Thames and once broke his back in a parachuting accident. But he's most famous for his TV career. He starred in seven seasons of the Discovery Channel’s Emmy Award-nominated Man vs. Wild TV series and hosted Running Wild, which has featured Bear taking Preside...
May 31, 2023•58 min•Season 17Ep. 5
TW: A heads-up that we talk about racism in this episode, and that we mention the murder of George Floyd and how this impacted Rachel's anti-racism work.Rachel Cargle is a public academic, activist and author. Her debut book, A Renaissance of Our Own, is out TODAY and asks us to have the courage to live life according to our own values, rather than the ones we might have inherited or been conditioned to believe in. She joins me to talk about her anti-racism work, the 'weathering' effect such wor...
May 25, 2023•57 min
The word 'inspiration' is bandied about with a bit too much alacrity these days, but Dr Gladys McGarey truly is one of the most inspirational women you'll ever meet.At 102 years old, she's still a practising doctor - she trained in conventional medicine but her innate curiosity led her to explore alternative healing therapies and she became the first physician ever to use acupuncture in the United States, where she is now known as the Mother of Holistic Medicine.She joins me to impart her consid...
May 24, 2023•47 min•Season 17Ep. 4
If you've ever watched a television news dispatch from a warzone, the chances are you've seen Alex Crawford in a flak jacket and helmet, doing a piece to camera punctuated by the whistle of bullets. For 30 years, she has been the special correspondent for Sky News and has covered conflicts in Libya, Syria and the Ukraine. She has scooped multiple Baftas and Emmys for her work, as well as being the only journalist to have won the Royal Television Society’s Journalist of the Year Award five times....
May 17, 2023•1 hr 5 min•Season 17Ep. 3
Jay Shetty is the monk-turned-self-help-guru who grew up in Wood Green, North London and now counts Will Smith among his closest friends. His mission - to make 'wisdom go viral' - has seen him become a number one bestselling New York Times author with over 14 million Instagram followers. His podcast - On Purpose - is the biggest health and wellbeing podcast in the world. His latest book, Eight Rules of Love, is a guide to finding, keeping, and sometimes, letting go of love.In this interview, Jay...
May 10, 2023•1 hr 9 min
We're back with a brand new season (17 but who's counting? I AM!) and to open the series, I truly could not have asked for a better guest.Rylan Clark is a familiar presence on TV and radio and one of the BBC's hosts for Eurovision 2023. But he started out as the X Factor 'joke' performer in 2012. So how did he manage the transition from national laughing stock to national treasure?We talk about the failures that made him: not fitting in at school, the end of his marriage, his struggles with body...
May 03, 2023•59 min•Season 17Ep. 1
TW: fertilityRegular listeners will know I'm a devoted watcher of Married At First Sight, so I squealed with joy when the brilliant Mel Schilling agreed to come on the pod. Not only is she one of Australia's foremost dating experts, but as a former psychologist and a specialist in human behaviour and performance, she's the perfect person to ask about how to find true love in the dating wilderness, how to feel more confident and what it's really like filming MAFS behind the scenes. And rest assur...
Apr 05, 2023•1 hr 19 min
Welcome to a very special episode of How To Fail where we join forces with one of our favourite podcasts, Happy Place. The wonderful Fearne Cotton and I sit down to chat about three of our personal highlights from each of our respective back catalogues. You'll hear from Emily Ratajowski, Mo Gawdat, Roman Kemp, Phoebe Waller-Bridge and more. We'll talk about mental health, feminism, race, step-parenting and an unforgettable comedy encounter involving apple crumble and Meryl Streep...This was such...
Apr 03, 2023•55 min
SURPRISE! I thought I'd treat you to another bonus episode - not a conventional How To Fail but an exclusive extract from the audio version of my new book, Friendaholic: Confessions of a Friendship Addict which is published today. I hope you enjoy it - and if you do, feel free to order a copy here.Thank you so much for listening to this season of How To Fail. I appreciate you!--How To Fail With Elizabeth Day is hosted and produced by Elizabeth Day. To contact us, email [email protected]...
Mar 30, 2023•29 min
TW: addictionRegular listeners of How To Fail will know that I love Peloton: the one-stop fitness workout which offers cycling, strength, yoga and more. THIS IS NOT AN AD, JUST A GENUINE FEELING! Anyway, the undisputed King of Peloton is Cody Rigsby - an instructor who brings a combination of poptastic joy and savage sass to the bike. He is one of the most popular instructors on the platform, with over 1 million Instagram followers, and counts Prime Minister Rishi Sunak amongst his die-hard fans...
Mar 29, 2023•58 min
PINCH ME, IS THIS ACTUALLY HAPPENING? Yes, yes it is. Ok. Deep breaths. For my season finale, I bring you the one and only Bernie Sanders: the longest-serving independent member of Congress in American history; unofficial leader of the US progressive movement and a two-time former Presidential candidate.He joins me to talk about his failed attempts to win the Democratic Party nomination, his failure to make his high school basketball team and the time he unwittingly went viral for wearing a pair...
Mar 15, 2023•44 min•Season 16Ep. 11
For International Women's Day, I bring you - NO BIG DEAL - Margaret Atwood. The Booker-Prize winning author of numerous works including The Blind Assassin, Cat's Eye and Alias Grace, has been a pioneer in the depiction of women in literature, redefining the dystopian novel with her revolutionary 1985 book, The Handmaid's Tale, which went on to sell eight million copies and been adapted into a hit TV show.Atwood's work is visceral, wise and sharply intelligent, so it's safe to say I was ever so s...
Mar 08, 2023•1 hr 7 min•Season 16Ep. 10
One of the only times my friend Fran has been truly impressed by a podcast guest was when I sent her a picture of me recording with Greg James. During the pandemic, Fran and her family would listen to him on Radio 1 every morning and he helped them through those long lockdown days with a necessary a dose of good cheer.Many people around the country will relate to that story: since 2018, Greg has hosted BBC Radio 1’s iconic breakfast show, attracting around five million listeners every day. He's ...
Mar 01, 2023•1 hr 4 min•Season 16Ep. 9
For a long time, Joan Bakewell has been a professional inspiration to me: a broadcasting superstar whose professional longevity is a testament to her talent, curiosity and hard work. She is a few months shy of her 90th birthday but still as busy as ever, presenting Portrait and Landscape Artist of the Year for Sky Arts. She’s also a peer of the realm and the president of Birkbeck, University of London.Baroness Bakewell joins me to talk about her extraordinary career interviewing everyone from Ma...
Feb 22, 2023•1 hr 5 min•Season 16Ep. 8
TW: rape, racism and transphobiaI have admired this woman from afar for many years and was so honoured when she agreed to sit down with me for How To Fail. Munroe Bergdorf is impossible to summarise: she is an activist, model, writer and broadcaster but those words can't accurately convey how much she has done to shape our culture.In her UTTERLY BRILLIANT new book, Transitional, Munroe draws on her own experience to reveal just how deeply ingrained transitioning is in human experience. It's a bo...
Feb 15, 2023•1 hr 8 min•Season 16Ep. 7
