Ben Stokes has just announced his retirement from international cricket. And the person who can best explain what that decision truly costs — and what Stokes has meant as a captain and a human being — is Stuart Broad. Stuart retired in 2023 on his own terms: last ball, The Oval, England versus Australia. In this conversation, he tells the full story of the night he walked down the hotel corridor and knocked on Stokesy's door to tell him it was over. What happened in that room, and how he felt wh...
Jul 03, 2026•54 min
Jake and Damian go deep on one of the most universal struggles in high performance: why so many of us find it almost impossible to say no, and what it's actually costing us when we can't. Drawing on conversations with promoter Barry Hearn, who walked away from a £30 million deal because he didn't like the people behind it, comedian Katherine Ryan, who voluntarily gave up a career-defining TV slot so other women could have their chance, and leading psychologist Gabor Maté, who traces the roots of...
Jul 01, 2026•37 min
Professor Geir Jordet flips everything you think you know about high-stakes performance on its head, revealing that a penalty shootout is won or lost long before the foot ever hits the ball. In this episode, the world’s leading football psychologist breaks down the meticulous psychological warfare of the 2022 World Cup Final and explains how England transformed from the world’s worst shootout team into the absolute best through structural changes like the "buddy system." He exposes the hidden me...
Jun 29, 2026•1 hr 12 min•Ep. 419
Russ Cook, better known as the Hardest Geezer, became famous for running the length of Africa. 352 days. 10,000 miles. The first person ever to do it. But before all of that, he was a teenager scrubbing a Waitrose toilet at 4am, opening a cupboard to find a single tin of new potatoes, and hiding a gambling debt from his girlfriend. In this conversation, Jake goes back to before Africa - to the years of directionlessness, the arrogance that masked insecurity, the run home from a nightclub in Brig...
Jun 26, 2026•43 min•Ep. 418
Boris Becker burned out at 25. Former British No1 Jo Konta carried her family's sacrifice onto court every match and Irish tennise pr Conor Niland described a tennis player's self-worth as entirely tied to winning and losing — nothing else. Three players, the same problem: identity wrapped around results, the sport becoming something to survive. This week, in the run-up to Wimbledon, Jake and Damian go back into the archive to hear from all three — then hand over to leading performance coach, Be...
Jun 24, 2026•54 min
Racing Bulls Formula 1 driver Liam Lawson has lived through the highest stakes and the ruthless politics of motorsport. In this episode, Liam opens up about the reality of his Red Bull exit, revealing how he was blindsided, unfairly judged and left carrying the blame for a radical car setup experiment. He also shares where his self belief comes from, from finishing last in go karting to ignoring the people who said Formula 1 was impossible. Liam also reveals the unexpected habit that helps him h...
Jun 22, 2026•1 hr 21 min•Ep. 417
Sir Gareth Southgate is England's most successful manager since 1966. Two finals, four tournaments and by the end, fans were throwing beer at him in the stadium. Today, as England embark on another World Cup journey, we revisit one of the most candid leadership conversations we've ever recorded. Gareth explains why he knew it was time to leave before the final was even played, what he said to his players before England's penalty shootouts, and how it took him 52 years to silence the voice in his...
Jun 19, 2026•1 hr 13 min
The UK has announced a ban on under-16s using social media. Jake and Damian's reaction is immediate: the ban is right, but it cannot do the job alone. In this episode they go back into the archive to hear from the people who saw this coming. Jonathan Haidt on the phone-based childhood we built without realising what we were dismantling. Johann Hari on the 10,000 engineers paid to undermine your self-control. Alex Greenwood on the body image spiral that started at 15. And the guys talk Liam Lawso...
Jun 17, 2026•34 min
David Seaman is one of England's greatest ever goalkeepers, with 75 caps and multiple trophies with Arsenal. In this episode he shares the moments that shaped him, many of which have never been told like this before. David takes us from being released by Leeds United at 19 to walking out for England at the World Cup, opening up about the fear he felt after the Ronaldinho free kick and the untold story of packing Gazza's bags after he was left out of the 98 squad. He also shares his three non-neg...
Jun 15, 2026•1 hr 12 min•Ep. 416
Joe Hart was England's number one for over a decade, won two Premier Leagues at Manchester City, and was one of the most recognisable goalkeepers of his generation. Then Pep Guardiola arrived - and everything changed. In this conversation with Jake and Damian, Joe speaks with remarkable honesty about the mental block that nearly ended his City career before it peaked, the moment he felt genuinely unbeatable and how quickly that unravelled, and what it was really like inside England's tournament ...
Jun 12, 2026•1 hr 37 min
Jake and Damian take stock and draw on five years of conversations with some of the world's highest performers. This episode strips everything back to four questions — the ones that, according to existential psychologist Tatiana Schnell, sit at the foundation of a meaningful life. Does your life add up? Do you feel you matter? Do you have a sense of purpose? And do you truly belong to something bigger than yourself? With clips from Dr Pippa Grange on vulnerability and team culture, rapper Aitch ...
Jun 10, 2026•27 min
Andy Wilman is back for round two, bringing his signature blunt honesty as the creative force behind Top Gear, The Grand Tour and Clarkson's Farm. Few people in television have built more iconic shows or stayed more allergic to nonsense while doing it. In this episode, Andy dives straight into the chaos of creation, explaining why building something from scratch forges an unbreakable bond that makes walking away almost impossible. He shares his philosophy on embracing the happy accidents of tele...
Jun 08, 2026•1 hr 5 min•Ep. 415
Rio Ferdinand, Joe Cole, and Peter Crouch between them have won Champions League titles, Premier League medals, over 200 England caps. And yet not one of them ever lifted a major trophy for their country. In this roundtable, three men who were inside the 'Golden Generation' dressing room finally say what went wrong. The media that made players scared to perform. The manager who wouldn't listen. The moment the England coach was asking Beckham for a signed shirt. And why, for most of them, playing...
Jun 05, 2026•46 min
James Milner retired this week as the Premier League's all-time appearance record holder. 658 games. 24 years. Never once dropped his standards. This week Jake and Damian sit down to ask the question that nobody else is asking — not what he achieved, but how someone holds their standards every single day for that long. What does it cost? What does it give you? And what can the rest of us learn from a man who never once let it slip? Listen to the full episode with James here: https://pod.fo/e/20a...
Jun 03, 2026•38 min
Nico Rosberg spent 31 years building his identity around a single goal to become Formula 1 World Champion. In this episode Nico reveals the stark reality of achieving his ultimate dream, explaining why his 2016 triumph brought relief rather than euphoria and why he walked away from a £100m+ fortune at his absolute peak. He strips back the curtain on his legendary, fierce rivalry with childhood friend Lewis Hamilton, describing the psychological warfare of their title fights and the conscious rew...
Jun 01, 2026•1 hr 37 min•Ep. 414
What happens when the medical system tells you you’re clear, but the hardest part of your recovery is actually just beginning? In this special roundtable episode, brought to you in partnership with Postcode Lottery, we explore the unseen side of living through and beyond cancer. Joining Jake in the studio are legendary solo sailor Dame Ellen MacArthur, Frank Fletcher (CEO of the Ellen MacArthur Cancer Trust), and Josh Rands, a young survivor who rebuilt his life after a rare cancer diagnosis at ...
May 29, 2026•43 min•Ep. 413
Fear doesn't disappear when you become successful. It just changes shape. In this episode, Jake and Damian go into the archive to ask a question most of us avoid: what are you actually afraid of — and what's it costing you? They're joined by clips from some of High Performance's most memorable conversations: Phil Heath on navigating darkness to find your highest level, Scott McTominay on the self-doubt that never left him through 21 years at Manchester United, Jameela Jamil on 15 years of saying...
May 27, 2026•36 min
Steve McClaren has lived the full arc of elite football, from the immense pressure of managing England to lifting trophies in Europe and standing alongside Sir Alex Ferguson during Manchester United’s historic Treble campaign. In this episode, Steve takes us inside the uniquely brutal world of the England job and World Cup expectation, describing the psychological weight of carrying 70 million people on your shoulders and breaking down the volatile mix of camp chemistry, player fitness, and shee...
May 25, 2026•1 hr 49 min•Ep. 412
We packed up the studio in the Vauxhall Combo electric van and travelled to the Crystal Palace National Sports Centre for a deeply reflective conversation with Team GB athlete Georgia Hunter-Bell. Away from the heat of competition, Georgia opens up for the first time about a chapter of her life she has never publicly revealed before. She shares her experience going through dark times after walking away from the sport that had defined her identity for so many years. Georgia also explains how navi...
May 22, 2026•45 min•Ep. 411
Trust is the single most important currency in sport, business, and life - and in the age of AI, it's becoming scarcer by the day. This week Jake Humphrey is joined by producer Will to dig into why. Drawing on some of the most powerful conversations in the High Performance archive, they explore what trust really is, how it breaks down, and whether it can ever truly be rebuilt. Featuring: Rachel Botsman — Oxford lecturer and world expert on trust — on the three stages of how trust collapses. Jame...
May 20, 2026•30 min
Justin Cochrane is one of elite football’s most respected coaches and a vital part of the England Men's backroom team. Justin’s leadership focuses on reading a squad’s emotional temperature and providing players the freedom to be themselves. In this episode, Justin shares the moving story of losing his wife Leeanne to cancer and how her selfless approach to her final days redefined his perspective. He discusses the "medicine" of football, explaining how returning to coaching weeks after her deat...
May 18, 2026•1 hr 5 min•Ep. 410
Ronda Rousey is back in the spotlight on Netflix this weekend — and it felt like the perfect moment to revisit this conversation we had with her in Hollywood - one of the most funny and honest conversations we've ever had on this show. Sitting down with Jake and Damian in Hollywood, Ronda reveals the secret she hid from everyone: that she fought the final chapter of her UFC career already concussed, shutting herself in dark locker rooms between rounds to hide the damage. She talks about losing h...
May 15, 2026•58 min
Everyone talks about what it takes to win. Nobody talks about what comes the morning after. In this episode, Jake and Damian go deep into the HPP archive to explore one of the most uncomfortable truths in high performance: why the moment of victory so often leaves elite performers feeling empty, lost, and at a total loss for what comes next. Featuring conversations with Yaya Touré on the strange emptiness of retirement, Ben Ainslie on the post-Olympic blues that hit 24 hours after winning gold, ...
May 13, 2026•32 min
Paul Wight, known to millions as “The Big Show,” is one of the most recognisable figures in sports entertainment history. In this episode, Paul reveals the stark reality of a life lived under a terminal diagnosis, opening up about the decades he spent assuming he wouldn't grow old and the grueling work he is now doing to rebuild a body he never expected to still be using at 53. He discusses the radical selflessness that defined his thirty-year career, where he viewed himself as the "wall" for ot...
May 11, 2026•1 hr 42 min•Ep. 409
This special roundtable episode explores the vital role of mental fitness in reaching and sustaining peak performance. In this special roundtable episode, in partnership with BetterHelp, hosts Jake Humphrey, Spencer Matthews, and Matt Willis reframe therapy as an essential "performance tool." By comparing mental maintenance to physical training, the trio highlights how proactive support is key to navigating the pressures of modern life and sustaining peak performance. This conversation explores ...
May 08, 2026•58 min•Ep. 408
What separates the athlete who cheats from the one who doesn't? And is the answer as simple as character — or is something else going on entirely? This week, Damian sits down with sports journalist James Witts, author of Dope, a book that goes deep into the culture surrounding elite sport and the forces that push athletes across the line. They get into the Enhanced Games arriving in Las Vegas, the staggering gap between how many athletes self-report doping versus how many ever test positive, and...
May 06, 2026•1 hr 3 min
Bjørn Mannsverk is the former F-16 fighter pilot who swapped combat missions for football kits to lead Bodø/Glimt on a historic rise. Under his guidance, the small Norwegian club achieved the impossible, dismantling giants like Manchester City, Inter Milan, and Atletico Madrid despite a stadium capacity of just 8,200. In this episode, Bjørn explains how he transformed the team by strictly banning the word "winning" and replacing it with a performance-driven culture built on "awareness training."...
May 04, 2026•55 min•Ep. 407
This week we're revisiting one of the most beloved episodes in High Performance history — our conversation with Mel Marshall, former head coach to Adam Peaty and one of the most compelling thinkers on leadership, coaching and human development we've ever had on the show. Mel went to Athens in 2004 as the world's fastest swimmer in her event. She came home without a medal. From that moment, she built an entirely new philosophy — and went on to coach Adam Peaty to multiple Olympic gold medals from...
May 01, 2026•44 min
Pressure isn't coming... it's already here. This week Jake and Damian go deep into the High Performance archives to ask: what do the very best actually do when it arrives? Featuring Chrissie Wellington on racing imperfect races perfectly, Tom Aspinall on why admitting fear beats denying it, Dan Carter on the All Blacks' hardest lesson, James Milner on what Klopp did after losing two finals, and Yaya Touré on the video Pep showed Barcelona the night before the 2009 Champions League final. Listen ...
Apr 29, 2026•52 min
Oscar Piastri is a name synonymous with composure, but beneath the calm exterior lies a driver with a quietly radical approach to the pinnacle of motorsport. Recorded at the heart of the McLaren Technology Centre, this episode takes us inside the clinical, high-performance world of the young Australian as he navigates his rise through the F1 ranks. In this episode, Oscar reveals the psychological framework behind his success, explaining why he measures performance by control rather than results....
Apr 27, 2026•50 min•Ep. 406
