It's a pleasure to welcome Paul Burrows as the guest for this episode. Paul is the Headteacher at Royal School for the Deaf Derby. His career in front line education spans over three decades, 25 years in mainstream secondary teaching and leadership and 8 years Special School Leadership. He is passionate about high expectations for all saying that “we don’t lower expectations, we build better scaffolding.” He is a global advocate for inclusion and deaf awareness and accessibility. In this powerfu...
May 21, 2025•41 min•Season 2Ep. 6
Frederick Afrifa is a motivational speaker and communication confidence coach. Born in Ghana and growing up in Milan, his family moved to London when he was a child. Frederick went on to become an Italian track star and was slated to take part in the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo. He has gone on to dedicate his career to helping people overcome their fear of public speaking. He cofounded the communication coaching business Believe in Greatness and is one of the stars of the 2025 UK version of The Appre...
May 08, 2025•41 min•Season 2Ep. 5
Simon Cusden is a former professional cricketer, who now helps high performing individuals and teams prevent and treat wellbeing and performance crisis. Born in Thanet in Kent, Cusden played for Kent County Cricket Club between 2004 and 2006. After being released by Kent at the end of the 2006 season he joined Derbyshire but was in turn released by them after making only one first-class appearance during 2007. He played a total of seven first-class matches and six List A matches in his playing c...
Apr 16, 2025•40 min•Season 2Ep. 4
007 is becoming a theme here on The Learning Bridge. Just a few weeks after welcoming "the real-life James Bond," Tim Bradshaw, we'll hear from French freerunner Sébastien Foucan, who you might remember from a memorable sequence in Daniel Craig's first Bond film, Casino Royale. Sébastien is the founder of freerunning and considered an early developer of parkour. In 2002, Foucan featured in a television advertisement for the Nike Presto running shoe. He became known in the United Kingdom after Mi...
Mar 27, 2025•46 min•Season 2Ep. 3
Sally Pepper is an accomplished and award-winning radio and TV broadcaster with over 25 years' experience, 18 of those years with the BBC. In that time she became one of the most trusted and loved voices in The UK Midlands. 2022 she began the process of reinventing herself, setting up her own media company specialising in supporting and training others in the art of communication. She also teaches part time in Universities and still broadcasts through her hugely popular podcast, Truly Madly Derb...
Mar 12, 2025•41 min•Season 2Ep. 2
Tim Bradshaw is a real life James Bond. He is a former Intelligence Officer and graduate of Sandhurst Military Academy. By 20 years old he was leading a unit of nearly 40 soldiers. His work as a Covert Human Intelligence Officer saw him recruit, run and build relationships with foreign agents worldwide. Often creating influence and affecting the outcome of extremely sensitive and dangerous situations. Tim founded, and is a director of Sandstone Communications, an international leadership and tea...
Feb 26, 2025•44 min•Season 2Ep. 1
In this episode, I’m excited to share my conversation with Erin Bailey, Vice President of Literacy Programs and Research at Reading Is Fundamental. This episode is part of our National Literacy Month series of podcasts , presented in partnership between the Be Podcast Network and Reading Is Fundamental (RIF). You’ll hear about the latest in literacy research, bringing joy to the classroom, the greatest successes in developing readers, and more. About the host Richard Gerver is a sought-after spe...
Sep 25, 2024•40 min•Season 1Ep. 12
In this special episode, we welcome award-winning actress, author, producer, and activist Sheetal Sheth to the show. She is the author of the best-selling and award-winning Always Anjali children's book series (Penguin Random House), the first picture book series centering an Indian American hero. Her book Making Happy is an ode to mental health and she is a contributor in Rebel Girls’ latest title Dear Rebel. This conversation is part of our National Literacy Month series of podcasts , presente...
Sep 11, 2024•46 min•Season 1Ep. 11
At the conclusion of The Learning Bridge's first season, I’ve reflected on the many key learnings we’ve uncovered. More of the same is simply not enough if we wish to create a better system and a better future. We need a much tighter narrative link between education and the wider world. Further, it’s time to find the untapped human potential in all of us. In this episode, I recap the conversations we’ve had over the past months and share my 10 provocations for the future. The crucial questions t...
Jun 08, 2024•24 min•Season 1Ep. 10
Karthik Krishnan is a global game changer. He started life in India and has gone on to become one of the world’s most influential leaders and thinkers. In this episode, we talk about his childhood and his rise to becoming CEO of Britannica Group, leading to extraordinary innovations and technological advancements in one of the world’s oldest and proudest publishing brands. He is now devoting his time to reforms in the healthcare sector and also is an adjunct professor at Stern School of Business...
May 01, 2024•54 min•Season 1Ep. 9
Having come from an abusive and challenging home, Dwain Chambers discovered a talent for athletics and became the fastest teenager in the world. He is the only man in the world to have broken 10 seconds in the 100-meter sprint in three different decades, is an 8-time British 100M champion, has won multiple world athletics medals, and has competed against the likes of Carl Lewis and Usain Bolt. But his career was blighted by doping and performance-enhancing drug use. In this candid and provocativ...
Apr 17, 2024•55 min•Season 1Ep. 8
Today it's an honour to bring you a conversation with the brave and inspirational Gill Hicks . Gill was a hugely successful young woman working in publishing and music, when, in a split second, her world was dramatically changed. On the morning of 7th July 2005, she was sat on a bus, on her way to work, two seats away from a suicide bomber. Gill was the last survivor dragged from the carnage of that horrific day, so badly injured that in hospital her name tag read, “One Unknown, probably female....
Apr 03, 2024•48 min•Season 1Ep. 7
As we've reached the midpoint of The Learning Bridge's first season, I'm taking an opportunity to reflect on the conversations we've featured to date and look ahead to the remaining episodes to come. In this episode, you'll hear some thoughts on wonderful conversations with: David and Carrie Grant, BAFTA-winning broadcasters and singing coaches to the stars Edu Rubio, UEFA and English Premier League coach Catherine Atkinson, accomplished lawyer and current candidate for Parliament Juan Verde, ad...
Mar 27, 2024•27 min•Season 1Ep. 6
In this episode, we get to share a joyful conversation with Dr. Manoj Krishna. Manoj grew up in India and built a highly successful career as a spine surgeon before, following a relationship breakdown, deciding to devote his life to helping others understand themselves, their actions and their emotions. He has gone on to design and launch one of the world’s most exciting wellbeing and personal development apps, HappierMe. We discuss his own life, his motivations for the work he does now and what...
Mar 06, 2024•44 min•Season 1Ep. 5
In this extraordinary episode, we hear how a young boy from the backstreets of Gran Canaria went on to work for three United States Presidents and become a global strategist, leading the fight for environmental change. Juan Verde shares personal insights into what it’s like to be “in the room” with global icons like Barack Obama and he talks passionately about the need for education reform and how we protect democracy around the world. He also discusses what we need to do to engage young people ...
Feb 21, 2024•35 min•Season 1Ep. 4
Catherine Atkinson, the Labour Party parliamentary candidate for Derby North (UK), shares insights into her upbringing and how she went from being a strong-minded and opinionated child to shattering the glass ceiling to become a lawyer at the highest level. Catherine explains what drove her, who encouraged her, and what we can do for more of our children to give them the very best chance of success. She talks about how and why she got involved in UK politics and what she hopes to achieve by bein...
Feb 07, 2024•48 min•Season 1Ep. 3
Edu Rubio, a UEFA pro coach who has been assistant manager for such storied clubs as Wolverhampton Wanderers, West Ham United Women, and Crystal Palace FC, is a wonderful guest on this episode of The Learning Bridge. Edu talks about his young life and his journey into professional football (soccer). He discusses the disappointment of realising that he would never make it as a player and how he coped with the setbacks to reimagine his career as a coach. He also shares incredible insights into the...
Jan 24, 2024•53 min•Season 1Ep. 2
In the premiere episode of The Learning Bridge, we have the distinct pleasure to hear from BAFTA award-winning broadcasters, legendary music industry veterans, and parents of four children, Carrie and David Grant. Hear about the very different, yet similarly challenging childhoods Carrie and David each navigated. We discuss their journeys into the entertainment industry, as well as the growth of their relationship, and their various roles as singers, presenters, talent show judges, and singing c...
Jan 10, 2024•52 min•Season 1Ep. 1
Introducing The Learning Bridge hosted by Richard Gerver, the newest show on the Be Podcast Network. Over the last three decades, Richard has worked first as a teacher and nationally-acclaimed school principal in the UK, before becoming a speaker and author covering human potential, leadership, and change for the past 15 years. Richard has never stopped learning. “It's amazing the number of times I've said to myself, ‘I wish I'd known that when I was working in school,’” he says. “Whether it's t...
Dec 20, 2023•3 min
