One to One - podcast cover

One to One

BBC Radio 4www.bbc.co.uk

Series of interviews in which broadcasters follow their personal passions by talking to the people whose stories interest them most

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Episodes

Gospel in Cornwall: Gillian Burke and Richard Penrose

In 2014 the biologist and presenter Gillian Burke joined a community choir in Falmouth in a bid to strengthen her voice. Singing is Gillian's passion and it's her way of switching off from work and the pressures of life. In this second programme Gillian delves deeper into the mechanics of gospel music and asks Musical Director Richard Penrose exactly what makes a Gospel song. They discuss Richard's own route into Gospel music which began when he was a teenager in his home town of Porthleven. Pro...

Sep 13, 202214 min

Gospel music in Cornwall: Gillian Burke and Ley Adewole

In 2014 the biologist and presenter Gillian Burke joined a community choir in Falmouth in a bid to strengthen her voice. Singing is Gillian's passion and it's her way of switching off from work and the pressures of life. Ley Adewole is the Director of the Falmouth Community Gospel Choir. Ley began singing in a Pentecostal church in Coventry; she joined various singing groups, got spotted and went on to do session work. She relocated to Falmouth and set-up a gospel music workshop to fill-in the w...

Sep 06, 202214 min

Emma Garland and Kiri Pritchard-McLean on living in Wales

Emma Garland lives in London but was born in Wales. Welsh stand up queen Kiri Pritchard-McLean has returned to her roots in Anglesey and she explores hiraeth in her latest tour ... hiraeth being Welsh for a sense of longing for your home. So what is this draw both of them clearly feel, and can you be Welsh if you don't speak Welsh? Emma Garland was born in the valleys of South Wales and writes about culture for numerous magazines. Kiri Pritchard-McLean's latest show is called Home Truths. The pr...

Jun 28, 202214 min

Emma Garland and Mike Parker on living in Wales

Emma and Mike have done a kind of cultural house swap - Emma left South Wales when she was 18 and is now London-based. Mike left England over two decades ago and has learnt to speak Welsh. So which of them is more Welsh? Emma Garland was born in Ynysybwl. She writes for Dazed, Vice and Rolling Stone magazine. Mike Parker lives in Powys and is the author of Neighbours from Hell and the forthcoming All the Wide Border, which is about the frontier between England and Wales. The producer in Bristol ...

Jun 21, 202214 min

The Thrill of Fear: Felicity Hannah talks to Dr Margee Kerr

Before her life as a financial journalist began, Felicity Hannah could more often be found wearing a top hat, leading tourists round the ghostly streets beneath Edinburgh. She loves sudden startles and that sense of creeping enjoyable fear in person, in books and on screen, but she wants to know why. Why are some humans wired to get a thrill out of fear? Why not all of us? Felicity talks to fear expert Dr Margee Kerr, sociologist and author of Scream: Chilling Adventures in the Science of Fear, ...

Jun 14, 202214 min

The Thrill of Fear: Felicity Hannah talks to Neil Gaiman

Spooky tour guide turned financial journalist Felicity Hannah wants to know why being scared can feel so good. Why do we frighten ourselves for fun? Why do we love scary stories and terrifying TV? She asks Neil Gaiman, author of Coraline, The Graveyard Book, Neverwhere and The Sandman – a storyteller who knows all about the power of fear to fascinate and delight us. Felicity and Neil talk about what scares them the most, when fear loses its thrill, and, of course, ‘horror for four year olds’. Pr...

Jun 10, 202214 min

The Beat of Change: Faranak Amidi and Dr Martha Newson

Faranak Amidi, World Service radio presenter and women's affairs reporter, talks to anthropologist Dr Martha Newson, who has studied rave, about why humans have always partied, how it can bond us, and whether rave can change society for the better. Producer: Beth Sagar-Fenton

Jun 10, 202214 min

The Beat of Change: Faranak Amidi and Eris Drew

Faranak Amidi, World Service radio presenter and women's affairs reporter, talks to DJ Eris Drew about how rave culture triggered massive changes in each of their lives. For Faranak, it meant rebelling against the strict culture of her home country of Iran, and finding a new life elsewhere. And for Eris, it meant even more profound questions about identity. But what is it about the "motherbeat", as Eris calls it, that makes it so powerful? Producer: Beth Sagar-Fenton

Jun 10, 202214 min

Faces of Fame: Janet Ellis meets Vee Kativhu

Vee Kativhu has a kind of fame incomprehensible to most people aged over 40. She makes videos in which she struggles with essay deadlines, gives study tips and celebrates getting the keys to her first flat. Tens of thousands of people watch each vlog she posts, so with so much of her life public, how does she maintain her privacy? Producer Sally Heaven

Oct 26, 202114 min

Faces of Fame: Janet Ellis and Sophie Ellis Bextor

Sophie Ellis-Bextor has the kind of fame which brings with it high profile television shows and recognition in the street. Her mum, Janet Ellis was in millions of living rooms every week but the only perk Sophie can remember was jumping the queue at Madame Tussauds. Mother and daughter talk about fame, and how the whole experience has changed over the decades. Producer Sally Heaven

Oct 19, 202114 min

Changing Language: Cindy Yu meets Asifa Majid

A move from China to the UK aged 9 meant a new language for journalist and broadcast editor at The Spectator, Cindy Yu. How did that change her upbringing and view of the world? She meets Asifa Majid, professor of language, communication and cultural cognition at the University of York. Produced for BBC Audio in Bristol by Chris Ledgard

Oct 11, 202114 min

Changing Language: Cindy Yu meets Leslie Orozco

Journalist and broadcast editor at The Spectator, Cindy Yu, moved from China to the UK aged 9. That meant switching languages. So how did that change her childhood and her view of the world? Cindy meets Leslie, who moved from the US to Mexico at a similar age. Leslie says it was traumatic at the time but now she feels the experience was a positive one, and she is proudly bilingual. Produced for BBC Audio in Bristol by Chris Ledgard

Oct 11, 202114 min

Faces of Fame: Janet Ellis meets Jackie Weaver

Jackie Weaver was the name on everyone's lips when she successfully shut down several unruly attendees of a local government Zoom meeting. So what does instant fame feel like?

Oct 05, 202114 min

Escapes: Anna Freeman talks to Sheyi Thomas

The writer Anna Freeman speaks to Sheyi Thomas, who runs an escape room in Dalston. Anna delves into the world of escape rooms and explores how creating the experience of escape for people in a safe and cathartic way can be useful when facing our own fears. Producer for BBC Audio in Bristol: Caitlin Hobbs

Sep 16, 202113 min

Escapes: Anna Freeman talks to Brian Robson

In this episode of One to One, the writer Anna Freeman speaks to Brian Robson. In 1962, Brian was so desperate to return home to the UK from Australia, that he hatched a plan to mail himself home in a crate. He became the first person in history to fly for nearly five days in a crate across the Pacific Ocean; an incredibly dangerous feat. Anna hears how behind this daring tale was a young man willing to risk his life, just to make it home. Producer for BBC Audio in Bristol: Caitlin Hobbs...

Sep 08, 202114 min

Escapes: Anna Freeman talks to Miranda Allen

In this episode of One to One, writer Anna Freeman speaks to escape artist Miranda Allen. Together they explore their mutual love of escapes as a concept, and the delicate balance of peril and catharsis that makes Miranda's work so compelling. Producer for BBC Audio in Bristol: Caitlin Hobbs

Sep 08, 202114 min

Learning a Skill: Kieran Yates talks to Colin

Journalist Kieran Yates hears from people who have taught themselves new skills as adults and overcome fears or hesitation. In this programme, Kieran speaks to Colin Brien who, in his seventies, is entering the world of technology and learning how to stay connected. Kieran meets Colin at a community hub in Romford and hears how technology has opened up the world for him, enabling him to keep in touch with friends and family. Colin tells how learning to dance has seen him through lockdown and Kie...

Jun 01, 202113 min

Learning A Skill: Kieran Yates speaks to Yewande Adesida

Like much of the country, the last year has seen people picking up new skills to pass the time, from cooking, yoga or becoming knitting experts. But what about the small things that many people have learned before adulthood? In this set of programmes, journalist Kieran Yates explores how adopting seemingly simple skills in later life - that maybe we missed out on learning when we were younger, or that we have to face now - can lead to radical changes in our well-being. In this programme she spea...

May 28, 202114 min

Learning A Skill: Kieran Yates speaks to Ellie

What happens when you do something you thought you could never do? In this programme, journalist Kieran Yates speaks to Ellie who has been managing her agoraphobia for a few years, to hear how she has learned the mighty task of how to leave the house. Kieran hears how Ellie has faced up to her fears and learnt how to cope through breathing and disco music. Producer for BBC Audio in Bristol: Caitlin Hobbs

May 28, 202113 min

Tech for Good: Marcus Smith speaks to Kriti Sharma

What do you think of when you hear the words "A.I." or "Artificial Intelligence"? Thanks to science-fiction it's often strange-looking humanoids or futuristic robots hell-bent on destruction. But as Kriti Sharma points out, we are probably using A.I. hundreds of times a day without even thinking about it. It could be, she says, a bank deciding whether to accept or reject your application, or an algorithm might decide whether you get a job interview or what exam grade you receieve. She made her f...

May 11, 202114 min

OCD: Tuppence Middleton talks to David Adam

Actress Tuppence Middleton has Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD). It's not something she's really talked about before, except with a therapist. That is, until now. In this series, she's on a mission to find out more about the disorder - and herself - and to bust some myths along the way. Today, she talks journalist David Adam, writer of the best-selling book 'The Man Who Couldn't Stop' with the strap-line 'OCD and the true story of a life lost in thought.' David's OCD was triggered by an illog...

May 04, 202114 min

OCD: Tuppence Middleton talks to Rose Cartwright

Actress Tuppence Middleton has Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD). It's not something she's really talked about before, except with a therapist. That is, until now. In this series, she's on a mission to find out more about the disorder - and herself - and to bust some myths along the way. Today, she talks to screenwriter and author Rose Cartwright, who wrote her memoir 'Pure' after a ten-year struggle with 'Pure O'. What is Pure O? Why are the intrusive thoughts that come with it often violent ...

May 04, 202114 min

OCD: Tuppence Middleton talks to Gazal Jones

Actress Tuppence Middleton has Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD). It's not something she's really talked about before, except with a therapist. That is, until now. In this series, she's on a mission to find out more about the disorder - and herself - and to bust some myths along the way. Today, she talks to clinical psychologist Dr Gazal Jones. What's going on in the brain? How does it affect people differently? And what's the best way to get treatment? Photo credit: Robert Harper. Producer: B...

May 04, 202114 min

Tech for Good: Marcus Smith speaks to Tristan Harris

Have you ever scrolled through social media and been surprised by an advert for something you were looking at the other day? This is no accident. Every view, every like, every click is stored, assessed and calculated, and allows the companies who run these platforms to target you with increasingly accurate advertising. But if you're not paying for the platform you're using, is there anything wrong with that? Well yes, according to Tristan Harris, one of the contributors to the successful Netflix...

May 04, 202114 min

Friendship: Sima Kotecha and her mum Hansa Kotecha.

Can mothers and daughters ever truly be friends? In this episode of the One to One series, BBC News correspondent Sima Kotecha speaks to her mother Hansa about their own relationship; from the love they have to the topics that are absolutely off limits. Produced by Caitlin Hobbs for BBC Audio in Bristol

Mar 10, 202114 min

Friendship: Sima Kotecha with Ella Risbridger

BBC News correspondent Sima Kotecha talks to the cook and writer Ella Risbridger about friendship - from declaring someone your best friend after a drunken party to longer term, deeper relationships. Are group friendships better than one on one relationships, and how much can you really depend on friends when the chips are down? Produced by Caitlin Hobbs for BBC Audio in Bristol

Mar 02, 202114 min

My Donation Story: Sabet Choudhury talks to Saj Khan

BBC journalist Sabet Choudhury donated a kidney to his mother five years ago. He says it was not a difficult decision to make. Once he heard she only had 3 years to live unless he stepped up, his decision was already made. The transplant transformed her life and Sabet says it opened his eyes to the whole issue of organ donation. During his personal donation journey he discovered that there is a lack of organ donors from Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic communities in the UK and this can lead to ...

Feb 24, 202114 min

My Donation Story: Sabet Choudhury meets Faruk Choudhury

Five years ago BBC journalist Sabet Choudhury donated a kidney to his mother. She’d been given just three years to live and the transplant transformed her life. Sabet, who is of Bangladeshi origin, says it wasn’t a difficult decision to make once he realised she could be waiting for years, because of a shortage of Asian donors in the UK. In this, the second of three programmes, Sabet talks to Faruk Choudhury. He is no relation, but he was Lord Mayor of Bristol in 2013 and he set out to increase ...

Feb 24, 202114 min

My Donation Story: Sabet Choudhury with Kay Hamilton

Five years ago Sabet Choudhury donated a kidney to his mother. It transformed her life. Sabet, a BBC journalist, says the experience changed his life for the better too. He’s now fitter and healthier than before and he’s forged a closer relationship with his parents. Organ donation was never on his radar before his mother became so ill, but it’s an issue that’s very real to him now. In this, the first of three programmes, Sabet talks to Kay Hamilton, his Kidney Coordinator, who played such an im...

Feb 24, 202114 min

The Dream of Success: Rosie Millard and actor Ben Hopwood

For more than 30 years arts journalist and broadcaster Rosie Millard has reported on people following their dreams and striving for success in the unpredictable world of the creative arts. But just what is success and failure, particularly in the creative industries? And who makes that judgement anyway? The fairy story we love to hear is that all you need to do is follow your dream, and success will be yours. But for many the dream does not materialise. They don’t get that lucky break. For other...

Jan 25, 202114 min
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