Crisis What Crisis with Andy Coulson
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- 11. Nov. 2026
Über den Podcast
Hard-earned lessons from people who've faced the worst and come back stronger. Hosted by Andy Coulson. Follow for weekly insights into the art of the rebuild. Crisis What Crisis? is powered by Kingsley Napley — the lawyers you want in your corner when the pressure is on. Visit kingsleynapley.co.uk
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LEWIS MOODY: His Ultimate Campaign
Lewis Moody was one of the most fearless players in world rugby. Known as “Mad Dog” for the reckless courage he brought to the pitch, he won seven Premiership titles and two Heineken Cups with Leicester, earned …
Shownotes
Lewis Moody was one of the most fearless players in world rugby. Known as “Mad Dog” for the reckless courage he brought to the pitch, he won seven Premiership titles and two Heineken Cups with Leicester, earned 71 England caps, and played every match of the triumphant 2003 World Cup campaign – coming off the bench in the final to win the lineout that set up Jonny Wilkinson’s unforgettable drop goal.
But his career was also a relentless test of how much his body could take: sixteen operations, repeated fights back to fitness, and years of severe colitis before a shoulder injury forced him to retire in 2012. Then, in September 2025, aged just 47, Lewis was diagnosed with motor neurone disease – a fatal, incurable condition that attacks the brain and spinal cord.
His response has been characteristically fearless, and strikingly open. He announced the diagnosis within weeks, let cameras into his family’s most difficult conversations for the deeply moving documentary Lewis Moody vs MND, and has raised well over a million pounds for MND causes. This is the crisis that can’t be trained, tackled or competed into submission – where the challenge is no longer to keep pushing, but to accept help and find purpose in what comes next.
POWERED BY KINGSLEY NAPLEY
I know what it is to have the right legal support around you when facing a crisis. Kingsley Napley are the kind of lawyers I wish more people knew about – there to help you make the right decisions, protect what matters, and build real resilience when the pressure is on. This episode is powered by Kingsley Napley. Visit www.kingsleynapley.co.uk for more details.
FOUR LESSONS FROM LEWIS
- Break the mountain into daily steps. When a challenge is too big to face as a whole, shrink it to what you can do today.
- Get to clarity fast, then act. Lewis can reach a decision with very little information and move – sometimes a flaw, but in a crisis, a gift. Once he was clear on going public with his diagnosis, he didn’t agonise; he acted within weeks. Don’t let the search for certainty keep you frozen.
- Pressure is a positive; stress is the pile-up. Lewis came alive under pressure – he used the anxiety to focus his energy and perform. Stress was different: the moment too many things stacked up and the container overflowed.
- The single most freeing thing he learned was that the brain can be trained like any other muscle. Give the critical inner voice a name, create a little distance from it, and you stop mistaking its noise for the truth.
- You don’t have to fight the sadness. His instinct was always to stay upbeat and distract himself. A therapist told him it was okay to let the sadness be sad. Accepting it, rather than battling it, turned out to be the stronger thing.
CHAPTERS
04:12 – Sent off at Twickenham: the day control left his body
09:23 – Finding opportunity in adversity
11:33 – Intrusive thoughts he never spoke about
16:47 – We are not our thoughts
19:50 – A promise to his dad at Twickenham, aged 14
22:01 – Losing his father to Alzheimer’s
23:28 – Turning anxiety into performance
27:48 – The colitis he hid at the height of his career
31:00 – The 2003 World Cup
35:23 – Why losing rugby hit harder than his MND diagnosis
37:58 – The twitching muscle, and the two weeks that followed
42:49 – Why he chose to go public
45:38 – Lewis’s greatest fear
48:28 – The conversations he’ll treasure
55:02 – “Just keep on rowing”: what resilience means now
BUY LEWIS’S BOOK
Fronting Up – https://www.headline.co.uk/titles/lewis-moody/fronting-up/9781035447800/
FOLLOW LEWIS MOODY
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This was a Crisis What Crisis Production – Rex Fisher (producer), Ioana Barbu (studio manager), Fred Sharp (research), Johnny Seifert (audio).
RICHARD DEARLOVE'S CRISIS COMPASS
Former Chief of MI6 Sir Richard Dearlove has spent much of his life at the heart of crises that have shaped the world. From Cold War espionage behind the Iron Curtain to 9/11, the war in Afghanistan and even a …
Shownotes
Former Chief of MI6 Sir Richard Dearlove has spent much of his life at the heart of crises that have shaped the world. From Cold War espionage behind the Iron Curtain to 9/11, the war in Afghanistan and even a rocket attack on MI6 headquarters, Richard knows what it means to operate under extraordinary pressure.
As the man known as ‘C’, he was responsible for decisions with Britain's national security at stake.
In this bonus episode of Crisis What Crisis?, I sit down with Richard to discuss his Crisis Compass. The four points of navigation he turns to when facing crisis — a person, a habit, a comfort and a piece of advice.
If you haven’t heard our full conversation yet, we explore his extraordinary 38-year career in intelligence, from being recruited at just 21 to leading MI6 through 9/11, and what a lifetime in the shadows has taught him about resilience, making difficult decisions and keeping a cool head in a crisis.
POWERED BY KINGSLEY NAPLEY:
I know what it is to have the right legal support around you when facing crisis. Kingsley Napley are the kind of lawyers I wish more people knew about – there to help you make the right decisions, protect what matters and build real resilience when the pressure is on.
This episode is powered by Kingsley Napley. Visit www.kingsleynapley.co.uk for more details.
CHAPTERS:
01:07 A Person – His wife Rosalind, the influence of his parents and his instinct for self-reliance.
01:43 A Habit – Fly-fishing. The challenge of fishing on the Tamar and the Test, where nothing else matters.
02:22 A Comfort – Joseph Conrad’s Nostromo, a good glass of red wine and a collection of 700 bottles.
03:37 A Piece of Advice – Making a decision is the easy part. The real challenge is putting it into action.
FOLLOW THE ONE DECISION PODCAST
https://www.instagram.com/onedecisionpodcast/
LISTEN TO THE ONE DECISION PODCAST
https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/one-decision/id1583753742
FOLLOW CRISIS WHAT CRISIS?
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This was a Crisis What Crisis Production – Rex Fisher (producer), Ioana Barbu (studio manager), Fred Sharp (research), Johnny Seifert (audio), Gem Hall (video)
SIR RICHARD DEARLOVE: The Making of a Spymaster
Sir Richard Dearlove is one of the world’s greatest living spymasters. He joined MI6 in 1966 at the age of 21, and over nearly four decades ran agents under intense Cold War surveillance in Nairobi, Prague …
Shownotes
Sir Richard Dearlove is one of the world’s greatest living spymasters. He joined MI6 in 1966 at the age of 21, and over nearly four decades ran agents under intense Cold War surveillance in Nairobi, Prague, Paris, Geneva and Washington, before rising in 1999 to become Chief of the Service — the role known simply as C. His five years at the top were among the most turbulent in the Service’s history: his headquarters was struck by a rocket, 9/11 remade the global security landscape, and Britain went to war in Afghanistan and Iraq.
Since leaving the shadows, Sir Richard has built a second, very public life — Master of Pembroke College, Cambridge, business adviser, outspoken commentator, and co-host of the hugely successful foreign-affairs podcast One Decision.
In this conversation, Andy Coulson lifts the bonnet, as far as Sir Richard will allow, on the experiences that formed him, the decisions that defined him, and the lessons a lifetime in intelligence can offer the rest of us.
POWERED BY KINGSLEY NAPLEY
I know what it is to have the right legal support around you when facing a crisis. Kingsley Napley are the kind of lawyers I wish more people knew about – there to help you make the right decisions, protect what matters, and build real resilience when the pressure is on. This episode is powered by Kingsley Napley. Visit www.kingsleynapley.co.uk for more details.
FOUR LESSONS FROM RICHARD
- Grasp your opportunities – don’t wait for luck. A successful career isn’t handed to you by chance. It comes from spotting the opening when it appears, and trusting your instinct for how to handle it.
- Build a team you can trust. Pick dependable, loyal, focused people, lean on them, and let them carry the weight.
- Self-pity gets you nowhere. The Dearlove family creed was simple: you get on with life. Whatever you’re facing, someone has faced worse and carried on.
- The most dangerous problems don’t arrive with a bang; they build quietly while no one's looking. Start putting them right today, not when it’s too late.
CHAPTERS
07:15 – What resilience really means to a spymaster
08:54 – His father: an amputee who won Olympic silver on crutches
11:50 – Boarding school at four, and the making of a tough character
13:18 – The tap on the shoulder: joining MI6 at 21
18:58 – Prague: a life lived under constant surveillance
21:07 – Running a double agent behind the Iron Curtain
24:36 – How to read who holds up under pressure – and who cracks
28:03 – Becoming C
30:22 – The rocket attack on MI6
33:36 – 9/11: a shock, but not a surprise
39:07 – Iraq, the intelligence, and his quarrel with Chilcot
42:10 – Leaving the Service
46:51 – Russia, China and the end of the rules-based order
56:25 – Bond, Le Carré, and the myth of MI6
FOLLOW THE ONE DECISION PODCAST
https://www.instagram.com/onedecisionpodcast/
LISTEN TO THE ONE DECISION PODCAST
https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/one-decision/id1583753742
FOLLOW CRISIS WHAT CRISIS?
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This was a Crisis What Crisis Production – Rex Fisher (producer), Ioana Barbu (studio manager), Fred Sharp (research), Johnny Seifert (audio), Gem Hall (video)
RICHARD COLES'S CRISIS COMPASS
Reverend Richard Coles has lived multiple lives — pop star, priest, broadcaster, novelist. But the greatest crisis of his life came in the form of someone he loved deeply. Richard watched helplessly as his …
Shownotes
Reverend Richard Coles has lived multiple lives — pop star, priest, broadcaster, novelist. But the greatest crisis of his life came in the form of someone he loved deeply.
Richard watched helplessly as his partner David grappled with an addiction that cost David his job, his licence from the bishop, and ultimately his life.
In this bonus episode of Crisis What Crisis, I sit down with Richard to discuss his Crisis Compass. The four points of navigation that he turns to in order to help survive a crisis – a person, a habit, a comfort and a piece of advice.
If you haven’t heard the full conversation yet — his journey from pop star to priest, the AIDS epidemic that shaped his generation, his years with David, and what he’s learned about hope in the aftermath of loss — go back and find it in the feed. It’s well worth your time.
POWERED BY KINGSLEY NAPLEY:
I know what it is to have the right legal support around you when facing crisis. Kingsley Napley are the kind of lawyers I wish more people knew about – there to help you make the right decisions, protect what matters and build real resilience when the pressure is on.
This episode is powered by Kingsley Napley, visit www.kingsleynapley.co.uk for more details.
CHAPTERS:
00:50 A Person – His circle of friends since his teenage years, now neighbours on the South Coast.
01:23 A Habit – Singing. Every Tuesday in the Brighton Festival Chorus.
01:49 A Comfort – Cooking. The whole ritual, start to finish — yes, including the washing up
02:31 A Piece of Advice – From a friend’s motto: “Be authentic and engage.” Work out who you are. Step into the world.
BUY RICHARD’S BOOK
A Carol and a Killing – https://geni.us/ACAROLANDAKILLING
FOLLOW RICHARD COLES
Instagram – www.instagram.com/revrichardcoles/?hl=en
FOLLOW CRISIS WHAT CRISIS?
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This was a Crisis What Crisis Production – Rex Fisher (producer), Ioana Barbu (studio manager), Fred Sharp (research), Johnny Seifert (audio).
REVEREND RICHARD COLES: Beginning Again When the Life You Knew Is Taken Away
Few people have lived as many lives as Richard Coles. In the 1980s he was the keyboard-playing half of the Communards, whose “Don’t Leave Me This Way” was the biggest-selling single of 1986 – taking him, almost …
Shownotes
Few people have lived as many lives as Richard Coles. In the 1980s he was the keyboard-playing half of the Communards, whose “Don’t Leave Me This Way” was the biggest-selling single of 1986 – taking him, almost overnight, from the dole queue to flying aboard Concorde and the full pop-star life.
Then, the gay socialist atheist who set out, in all seriousness, to bring down the government through the power of pop, became, of all things, a Church of England priest. Then a celebrated broadcaster, a best-selling novelist, a Strictly contestant, and the inspiration for the BBC sitcom Rev.
But behind the reinventions runs a thread of profound loss. As AIDS swept through his world in the 1980s, Richard watched a third of his circle die – the formative crisis, he says, of his adult life. At 17, before any of the fame, he survived a breakdown and an overdose he fully intended to be his last act. And decades later came the greatest loss of all: his partner David.
In this conversation, Andy Coulson explores a life in which crisis has repeatedly been the doorway to transformation – and what Richard has learned about loss, faith, forgiveness, and how we begin again when the life we knew is taken from us. His latest crime novella, A Carol and a Killing, is out this month.
POWERED BY KINGSLEY NAPLEY
I know what it is to have the right legal support around you when facing crisis. Kingsley Napley are the kind of lawyers I wish more people knew about – there to help you make the right decisions, protect what matters, and build real resilience when the pressure is on. This episode is powered by Kingsley Napley. Visit www.kingsleynapley.co.uk for more details.
FOUR LESSONS FROM RICHARD
- Sometimes you just have to step forward. You may be uncertain, apprehensive, but stepping forward, into the unknown, is how a new chapter begins. Crises are unavoidable; the opportunity is in not being defeated by them.
- When you get something badly wrong, face it, own it, make amends – and then let yourself be forgiven. Richard did a thing he remains ashamed of. What mattered wasn’t that he deserved forgiveness, but that he sought it, took his medicine, and learned to live with having been forgiven.
- Get less interested in yourself. The habits of self-loathing are hard to shake, but Richard found relief not through endless self-examination but through caring less about his own importance – and turning his attention outward, to other people.
CHAPTERS
05:34 – Realising he was gay in a hostile world
12:10 – Seventeen, a breakdown, and the overdose he meant to be final
15:37 – Escape to London, and the friendships that still anchor him
18:26 – Bringing down the government through the power of pop
20:50 – The socialists who were, secretly, perfect Thatcherites
21:40 – Dole queue to Concorde – and the toll fame takes
29:35 – AIDS – the formative crisis
31:29 – The lie he told, the shame he carries, and seeking forgiveness
35:02 – The atheist who walked into a church and came out a believer
38:07 – Walking away from a life he loved to train for the priesthood
45:21 – Loving an addict
50:51 – Learning to live a life around the loss, not without it
BUY RICHARD’S BOOK
A Carol and a Killing – https://geni.us/ACAROLANDAKILLING
FOLLOW RICHARD COLES
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This was a Crisis What Crisis Production – Rex Fisher (producer), Ioana Barbu (studio manager), Fred Sharp (research), Johnny Seifert (audio), Jasper Cullen (video), Gem Hall (video).
JO TUTCHENER SHARP'S CRISIS COMPASS
Jo Tutchener Sharp is the founder of fashion brand Scamp & Dude. In 2015, with two young boys at home, she suffered a brain haemorrhage and was told she needed major, life-saving surgery. Faced as she saw it …
Shownotes
Jo Tutchener Sharp is the founder of fashion brand Scamp & Dude. In 2015, with two young boys at home, she suffered a brain haemorrhage and was told she needed major, life-saving surgery. Faced as she saw it with the pearly gates, she felt regret that her positive impact on the world had not been significant enough — so she made herself a promise. If she survived, she would change all that...
In this bonus episode of Crisis What Crisis, I sit down with Jo to discuss her Crisis Compass. The four points of navigation that she turns to in order to help survive a crisis – a person, a habit, a comfort and a piece of advice.
Our full conversation was recorded live at the BizFest Festival in Essex. If you haven't heard it yet, go back and find it in the feed. It's well worth your time.
POWERED BY KINGSLEY NAPLEY:
I know what it is to have the right legal support around you when facing crisis. Kingsley Napley are the kind of lawyers I wish more people knew about – there to help you make the right decisions, protect what matters and build real resilience when the pressure is on.
This episode is powered by Kingsley Napley, visit www.kingsleynapley.co.uk for more details.
CHAPTERS:
01:29 A Person – Her husband Rob, business partner and the man who literally saved her life in a hospital room
03:55 A Habit – Paddle every morning. At the club she's not Scamp & Dude Jo, she's Paddle Jo
05:10 A Comfort – A hot bubble bath with the door locked, and cold-water lake swims — being in water
05:50 A Piece of Advice – Stay positive. Good things can come from bad things, if your mind is open to it
FOLLOW JO
Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/scampanddudejo/?hl=en
FOLLOW SCAMP & DUDE
Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/scampanddude/?hl=en
FOLLOW CRISIS WHAT CRISIS?
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This was a Crisis What Crisis Production – Rex Fisher (producer), Ioana Barbu (studio manager), Fred Sharp (research), Johnny Seifert (audio)
JO TUTCHENER SHARP: I faced the pearly gates and felt regret
Recorded live at BizFest in Essex, this is the story of how a near-death moment became a £16 million business.Jo Tutchener Sharp had built a successful career – running the beauty division of Purple PR, leading …
Shownotes
Recorded live at BizFest in Essex, this is the story of how a near-death moment became a £16 million business.
Jo Tutchener Sharp had built a successful career – running the beauty division of Purple PR, leading communications at Estée Lauder, then founding her own agency, Beauty Scene, and growing it to a turnover of around £5 million. In 2015, with two young boys at home, she decided to step away. But the stress of the exit took a physical toll, and shortly afterwards she suffered a brain haemorrhage that could bleed again at any moment, with potentially fatal consequences.
Facing what she calls her "pearly gates" moment, Jo was overwhelmed not by fear but by regret – the feeling that, were she to die tomorrow, she would not have made a big enough mark on the world.
So Jo made herself a promise: if she survived, she would dedicate the rest of her life to doing good. Just eleven months after brain surgery, Scamp & Dude was born, a clothing brand with purpose stitched into its heart. Today Scamp & Dude turns over £16 million a year, has donated 4.5 million products to charitable causes, and given more than 95,000 scarves to women starting chemotherapy. For her work Jo was awarded an OBE for services to fashion and charity.
In this business episode, Andy Coulson explores how Jo turned a life-threatening crisis into a moment of opportunity, and what it really takes to build a brand where purpose, family and commercial success pull in the same direction.
POWERED BY KINGSLEY NAPLEY
I know what it is to have the right legal support around you when facing crisis. Kingsley Napley are the kind of lawyers I wish more people knew about – there to help you make the right decisions, protect what matters, and build real resilience when the pressure is on. This episode is powered by Kingsley Napley. Visit www.kingsleynapley.co.uk for more details.
FOUR LESSONS FROM JO
- Take the calculated risk, not the leap of faith. Jo lined up five clients and £25,000 a month in fees before she resigned from Estée Lauder. De-risk the jump before you make it.
- Build the business around the life you actually want. Jo walked away from a £5m agency because it cost her time with her kids. Scamp & Dude was designed the opposite way – with her family built into it. Success isn't just the turnover; it's whether the business gives you the life you wanted.
- Purpose is the engine that keeps you going when it gets hard. For Jo it's charity; for you it might be something else entirely – but find the reason you're really doing it, because that's what stops you quitting.
- Awareness can be worth more than margin. Know which parts of your business are there to make money and which are there to build the brand, and don't confuse the two.
CHAPTERS
07:04 – Why a great job still wasn't enough
08:50 – How to de-risk backing yourself before you jump
10:11 – Walking away from a £5m business to get her life back
10:24 – Stress and the warning she ignored
13:54 – Choosing one last Christmas before brain surgery
15:30 – Waking up alive, and the promise made in a hospital bed
19:42 – Hospital bed to product in eleven months
24:34 – The Super Scarf mission, and 95,000 women starting chemo
26:54 – How to turn your hardest moment into your superpower
READ MORE ABOUT THE SUPER SCARF MISSION
https://scampanddude.com/pages/superscarvesmission
FOLLOW JO
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This was a Crisis What Crisis Production – Rex Fisher (producer), Ioana Barbu (studio manager), Fred Sharp (research), Johnny Seifert (audio), Jasper Cullen (video)
MIKE SOUTAR'S CRISIS COMPASS
Mike Soutar is an entrepreneur, publishing titan and the forensic interviewer familiar to millions from BBC’s The Apprentice.In this bonus episode of Crisis What Crisis, Mike shares the four points of personal …
Shownotes
Mike Soutar is an entrepreneur, publishing titan and the forensic interviewer familiar to millions from BBC’s The Apprentice.
In this bonus episode of Crisis What Crisis, Mike shares the four points of personal navigation he relies on when life gets hard: a person, a habit, a comfort and a single piece of advice.
If you haven’t heard our full conversation yet, go back and find it in the feed. It’s packed with hard-earned lessons about risk, resilience and leadership.
POWERED BY KINGSLEY NAPLEY
I know what it is to have the right legal support around you when facing crisis. Kingsley Napley are the kind of lawyers I wish more people knew about – there to help you make the right decisions, protect what matters and build real resilience when the pressure is on.
This episode is powered by Kingsley Napley. Visit https://www.kingsleynapley.co.uk for more details.
CHAPTERS
00:42 A Person – His wife Bev, the rock and centre of his world
01:27 A Piece of Advice – “A great day in the office is when you lose more arguments than you win”
02:48 A Comfort – The jangly optimism of 1980s Scottish pop
04:28 A Habit – The daily wet-shaving ritual that centres him
BUY MIKE'S BOOK
Next Gen CEO: Leadership Lessons for an Uncertain World – https://www.amazon.co.uk/Next-Gen-CEO-Lessons-Uncertain/dp/1035095726
FOLLOW MIKE SOUTAR
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LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/mike-soutar/
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This was a Crisis What Crisis Production – Rex Fisher (producer), Ioana Barbu (studio manager), Fred Sharp (research), Johnny Seifert (audio), Jasper Cullen (video).
MIKE SOUTAR: The Apprentice star on the real ingredients for success
Millions know Mike Soutar as the forensic interviewer on The Apprentice, the Scottish voice across the boardroom table for the last 15 years. But long before the television, he built one of the most remarkable …
Shownotes
Millions know Mike Soutar as the forensic interviewer on The Apprentice, the Scottish voice across the boardroom table for the last 15 years. But long before the television, he built one of the most remarkable careers in British media – on a deceptively simple formula of hard work, optimism and self-belief.
In this business episode, we go back to the beginning. Mike started out at 17 writing horoscopes and romantic fiction at DC Thomson in Dundee, working on hot metal presses with a pencil he wasn't allowed to replace until it was a stub. By his early 20s he was editing Smash Hits. He went on to turn FHM into the biggest-selling monthly magazine in Britain, launched some of the country's best-known titles, and sat on the board of IPC when it was sold to Time Warner for more than £1 billion.
But the biggest turning point of his career came not in a boardroom, but in a hospital bed. In 2006, at the height of his corporate success, a chicken Caesar wrap left him seriously ill, his organs beginning to fail, unsure whether he'd survive. Lying there, he asked himself whether he had ever really tested himself — and the honest answer was no. So he walked away from the security of corporate life, raised £4 million in five weeks, remortgaged his home and launched ShortList.
His new book, Next Gen CEO, is about how the next generation of leaders can navigate an age of AI and uncertainty by becoming, of all things, more human.
POWERED BY KINGSLEY NAPLEY
I know what it is to have the right legal support around you when facing crisis. Kingsley Napley are the kind of lawyers I wish more people knew about – there to help you make the right decisions, protect what matters, and build real resilience when the pressure is on.
This episode is powered by Kingsley Napley. Visit www.kingsleynapley.co.uk for more details.
FOUR LESSONS FROM MIKE
- Optimism without a plan is just naivety. When ShortList failed on day one, hope didn't save it, a plan did.
- Investors back people first, ideas second. Ideas change the moment they meet the real world. What backers are really buying is you.
- When you're fighting a difficult boss, keep it principled, not personal. Argue for the customer, not for yourself, and keep bringing the data. It's very hard for anyone to argue against a case built on what's genuinely right for the people you serve.
- Chasing purpose. Mike had sold his company, had the money and the status, and still felt hollow. He thought what was missing was a job, instead it was a purpose..
CHAPTERS
06:38 – Why AI makes human leadership more valuable, not less
10:13 – Whether a self-made career is still possible in a flat economy
14:59 – How instability early on can forge the drive to control your own destiny
21:42 – Fake it till you make it: backing yourself into a job you're not ready for
24:27 – The FHM playbook: build in service of your customer, not your advertiser
28:43 – Why he left a hit at its peak – and what fear of failure does to founders
32:12 – How to stand your ground with a boss who holds all the cards
39:41 – The near-death moment that asked him: have you ever really tested yourself?
44:23 – Losing control, and what to do when you're forced out
46:27 – How he raised £4 million in five weeks – and why investors really said yes
50:16 – The launch-day disaster, and the case for protecting your team from the panic
53:22 – The £1 million opportunity he turned down – and the lesson in why
55:03 – Why success and status left him feeling hollow – and what actually fixed it
59:15 – Knowing when a job isn't worth your reputation, and walking away
01:03:27 – What 15 years on The Apprentice taught him about how to treat people
BUY MIKE'S BOOK
Next Gen CEO: Leadership Lessons for an Uncertain World – https://www.amazon.co.uk/Next-Gen-CEO-Lessons-Uncertain/dp/1035095726
FOLLOW MIKE SOUTAR
Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/mike_soutar/?hl=en
LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/mike-soutar/
FOLLOW CRISIS WHAT CRISIS?
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This was a Crisis What Crisis Production – Rex Fisher (producer), Ioana Barbu (studio manager), Fred Sharp (research), Johnny Seifert (audio), Jasper Cullen (video)
UNDERSTANDING PERSPECTIVE: How to Find It When You Need It Most
Perspective is one of the most useful tools we have in crisis – a way of taking pressure out of a difficult moment, stepping back and working out what really matters.In this special compilation episode of …
Shownotes
Perspective is one of the most useful tools we have in crisis – a way of taking pressure out of a difficult moment, stepping back and working out what really matters.
In this special compilation episode of Crisis What Crisis, I share the story of the five most terrifying days of my own life and revisit four extraordinary guests whose lives have been shaped, and sometimes almost undone, by the pursuit of perspective.
POWERED BY KINGSLEY NAPLEY:
I know what it is to have the right legal support around you when facing crisis. Kingsley Napley are the kind of lawyers I wish more people knew about – there to help you make the right decisions, protect what matters and build real resilience when the pressure is on.
This episode is powered by Kingsley Napley, visit www.kingsleynapley.co.uk for more details.
CHAPTERS:
00:41 The worst experience of my life
05:06 Timbaland – the bullet that's still inside him, and why he refuses to take it out
06:05 Dame Stephanie Shirley – the Kindertransport and the neighbours who kept asking, "aren't you lucky to be saved?"
12:48 James Landale – seeing death across a crowded room, and the tank of coloured poison he can still return to
14:30 Rory Stewart – the frozen body in the snow, sitting down happy to die, and the dog that saved him
19:29 The Belmarsh swear jar – how the words you use shape the size of the crisis
21:50 Four things I take from all of this
LISTEN TO THE FULL EPISODES:
Timbaland – https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/crisis-what-crisis-with-andy-coulson/id1517015748?i=1000634317774
Dame Stephanie Shirley – https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/crisis-what-crisis-with-andy-coulson/id1517015748?i=1000680629888
James Landale – https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/crisis-what-crisis-with-andy-coulson/id1517015748?i=1000642157416
Rory Stewart – https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/crisis-what-crisis-with-andy-coulson/id1517015748?i=1000608962048
FOLLOW THE GUESTS:
Timbaland – https://www.instagram.com/timbaland/?hl=en
Rory Stewart – https://www.instagram.com/rorystewartuk/?hl=en
FOLLOW CRISIS WHAT CRISIS?
Instagram – www.instagram.com/crisiswhatcrisispodcast
TikTok – www.tiktok.com/@crisispod
This was a Crisis What Crisis Production – Rex Fisher (producer), Johnny Seifert (audio)
UNDERSTANDING ANXIETY: Why It Isn't the Enemy
In this country, one in six of us will experience significant anxiety at some point in our lives. It's an epidemic that doesn't care about class, wealth, gender, age or race – and yet, as this episode argues …
Shownotes
In this country, one in six of us will experience significant anxiety at some point in our lives. It's an epidemic that doesn't care about class, wealth, gender, age or race – and yet, as this episode argues, anxiety isn't the enemy. It's information. A signal to be read, not a fault to be removed.
In this special compilation episode, Andy Coulson draws on his own experience of anxiety attacks and revisits six past guests – a broadcaster, a journalist, a content creator, an adventurer, a designer and a cellist – who each faced anxiety in a very different form and found their own way to live alongside it.
POWERED BY KINGSLEY NAPLEY
I know what it is to have the right legal support around you when facing crisis. Kingsley Napley are the kind of lawyers I wish more people knew about – there to help you make the right decisions, protect what matters, and build real resilience when the pressure is on. This episode is powered by Kingsley Napley.
Visit www.kingsleynapley.co.uk for more details.
FULL EPISODES:
Steve Peters: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/crisis-what-crisis-with-andy-coulson/id1517015748?i=1000547878428
Christian O'Connell: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/crisis-what-crisis-with-andy-coulson/id1517015748?i=1000659675816
Bryony Gordon: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/crisis-what-crisis-with-andy-coulson/id1517015748?i=1000650752366
Alex Goldie: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/crisis-what-crisis-with-andy-coulson/id1517015748?i=1000729186695
Mark Beaumont: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/crisis-what-crisis-with-andy-coulson/id1517015748?i=1000618838895
Anya Hindmarch: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/crisis-what-crisis-with-andy-coulson/id1517015748?i=1000768689727
Julian Lloyd Webber: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/crisis-what-crisis-with-andy-coulson/id1517015748?i=1000779874143
FOLLOW THE GUESTS:
Christian O'Connell: https://www.instagram.com/mrchristianoconnell/?hl=en
Bryony Gordon: https://www.instagram.com/bryonygordon/?hl=en
Alex Goldie: https://www.instagram.com/goldiealexx/?hl=en
Mark Beaumont: https://www.instagram.com/mrmarkbeaumont/?hl=en
Anya Hindmarch: https://www.instagram.com/anyahindmarch/?hl=en
Julian Lloyd Webber: https://www.instagram.com/julian.lloydwebber/?hl=en
FOLLOW CRISIS WHAT CRISIS?
Instagram – www.instagram.com/crisiswhatcrisispodcast
TikTok – www.tiktok.com/@crisispod
This was a Crisis What Crisis Production – Rex Fisher (producer), Johnny Seifert (audio)
ERIN BAKER'S CRISIS COMPASS
Most guests give me their Crisis Compass looking back on a crisis they've survived. Erin Baker is different. Her partner died just 12 weeks before this recording, and she is, by her own account, exhausted by …
Shownotes
Most guests give me their Crisis Compass looking back on a crisis they've survived. Erin Baker is different. Her partner died just 12 weeks before this recording, and she is, by her own account, exhausted by the demand to keep being strong.
These four points aren't hard-won wisdom viewed from calmer shores — they're the things holding her up as we speak. That, I think, makes them rarer and more valuable than almost any compass I've been given.
In this bonus episode of Crisis What Crisis, I sit down with Erin to discuss her Crisis Compass. The four points of navigation that she turns to in order to help survive a crisis – a person, a habit, a comfort and a piece of advice.
If you haven't heard the full conversation yet, go back and find it in the feed. It's well worth your time.
POWERED BY KINGSLEY NAPLEY:
I know what it is to have the right legal support around you when facing crisis. Kingsley Napley are the kind of lawyers I wish more people knew about – there to help you make the right decisions, protect what matters and build real resilience when the pressure is on.
This episode is powered by Kingsley Napley, visit www.kingsleynapley.co.uk for more details.
CHAPTERS:
00:52 A Person – Her Frant village church community, and the stability they've offered when everything else is in flux
01:23 A Piece of Advice – A day at a time. The most hypocritical advice she could pass on — and the only one that works now
01:57 A Comfort – Writing. It's her career because it was her comfort first
02:09 A Habit – Paint by numbers. Half an hour of something absolutely mindless
FOLLOW ERIN'S WRITING
Postcards from Grief – https://erinbaker1001.substack.com/
FOLLOW ERIN BAKER
Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/erinbakerauto/?hl=en
LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/erin-baker-58901a48/
FOLLOW CRISIS WHAT CRISIS?
Instagram – www.instagram.com/crisiswhatcrisispodcast
TikTok – www.tiktok.com/@crisispod
This was a Crisis What Crisis Production – Rex Fisher (producer), Ioana Barbu (studio manager), Fred Sharp (research), Johnny Seifert (audio), Jasper Cullen (video)
ERIN BAKER: “I'm sick and tired of being resilient”
This is a very unusual episode. It is rare that we would choose to have someone join us on the podcast so close to their crisis – usually our guests come to these conversations with the clarity that a few …
Shownotes
This is a very unusual episode. It is rare that we would choose to have someone join us on the podcast so close to their crisis – usually our guests come to these conversations with the clarity that a few years' distance can bring. Erin Baker is just weeks on from the death of her partner, James, and still very much living in it. What she offers instead of distance is something rarer: the raw, unfiltered honesty of someone grieving out loud, in real time.
A warning – this conversation is powerful and at times very difficult, and some of the themes may be upsetting.
Erin Baker is one of the most respected motoring journalists in the country – the youngest and only female motoring editor on Fleet Street in her day. But in the autumn of last year, her life came apart. Her partner of thirteen years, James, was diagnosed with an aggressive, terminal brain tumour, and the blows kept coming: her father died, one of her sons was rushed to hospital, the family dog was put down, and a car was written off in a collision with a deer. Wave after wave, all at once. Then, this year, James died. He was 53.
Rather than retreat, Erin made the conscious decision to grieve in public, writing for The Times and keeping a diary on Substack called Postcards from Grief, documenting James's dying, the days since, and the unexpected things his death has taught her. She joins Andy for a conversation about resilience and its limits, about loss and control, about black humour and love, and about what actually carries us through the very worst of it. She is, without a shadow of a doubt, someone we can all learn from.
POWERED BY KINGSLEY NAPLEY
Kingsley Napley are the kind of lawyers I wish more people knew about – there to help you make the right decisions, protect what matters, and build real resilience when the pressure is on.
Visit www.kingsleynapley.co.uk for more details.
FOUR LESSONS FROM ERIN
- Being "strong" can be a trap. If people decide you're resilient, they assume you're coping – and leave you to it. Sometimes the bravest thing is to admit you're not fine, and to ask for the help you need.
- Honesty is what makes people feel less alone. It's not the tidy, theory-shaped version of grief that helps others but the messy, unguarded truth. Say the thing that feels too close to the bone; it's often the thing someone else desperately needs to hear.
- You can't control the future, because it doesn't exist yet. Make your plans, but hold them loosely, they're only ideas of what you'd like to happen. Learning to live a day at a time is the only way through.
- Find your release. For Erin it was writing, walking in nature, even paint-by-numbers – something meditative to pour the fear and grief into. When you can't carry it all in your head, give it somewhere to go.
CHAPTERS
03:37 – “I'm sick and tired of being resilient”: the exhaustion of always being the strong
07:52 – Grieving out loud: the decision to write through it
11:55 – The formidable mother, and a childhood that built the muscle
13:55 – Keep buggering on
15:20 – Fighting her way to Cambridge, and up a male-dominated newsroom
20:23 – Meeting James
23:05 – The life that looked perfect from the outside – and wasn't
25:08 – The Amazon night shift: the proudest she ever was of him
30:30 – The diagnosis
39:49 – When the blows kept coming
47:02 – Her son's seizure: the worst thing she's ever seen
51:02 – Learning to hold your plans loosely
53:22 – The last night, and a hug she'll never forget
57:04 – The chaos of loss
1:06:05 – The stranger by the roadside who knew exactly what to say
FOLLOW ERIN'S WRITING
Postcards from Grief – https://erinbaker1001.substack.com/
FOLLOW ERIN BAKER
Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/erinbakerauto/?hl=en
LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/erin-baker-58901a48/
FOLLOW CRISIS WHAT CRISIS?
Instagram – www.instagram.com/crisiswhatcrisispodcast
TikTok – www.tiktok.com/@crisispod
This was a Crisis What Crisis Production – Rex Fisher (producer), Ioana Barbu (studio manager), Fred Sharp (research), Johnny Seifert (audio), Jasper Cullen (video)
JULIAN LLOYD WEBBER'S CRISIS COMPASS
Julian Lloyd Webber spent half a century as one of the world's great cellists — and then had to discover who he was without the instrument that had defined his existence. In this bonus episode of Crisis What …
Shownotes
Julian Lloyd Webber spent half a century as one of the world's great cellists — and then had to discover who he was without the instrument that had defined his existence.
In this bonus episode of Crisis What Crisis, Andy sits down with Julian to discuss his Crisis Compass. The four points of navigation that he turns to in order to help survive a crisis – a person, a habit, a comfort and a piece of advice.
If you haven't heard the full conversation yet, go back and find it in the feed. It's well worth your time.
POWERED BY KINGSLEY NAPLEY:
I know what it is to have the right legal support around you when facing crisis. Kingsley Napley are the kind of lawyers I wish more people knew about – there to help you make the right decisions, protect what matters and build real resilience when the pressure is on.
This episode is powered by Kingsley Napley, visit www.kingsleynapley.co.uk for more details.
CHAPTERS:
00:58 A Person – His wife Jiaxin, and why he's not sure he'd have got through it without her
01:20 A Habit – A couple of pints of lager every night
02:49 A Comfort – Leyton Orient
03:25 A Piece of Advice – "Don't waste a second."
BUY JULIAN'S BOOK
Bows & Arrows – https://www.amazon.co.uk/Bows-Arrows-Julian-Lloyd-Webber/dp/1837360588
SEE JULIAN LIVE
Julian's Irish tour with his wife, Jiaxin – https://julianlloydwebber.com/events/
FOLLOW JULIAN LLOYD WEBBER
Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/julian.lloydwebber/
FOLLOW CRISIS WHAT CRISIS?
Instagram – www.instagram.com/crisiswhatcrisispodcast
TikTok – www.tiktok.com/@crisispod
This was a Crisis What Crisis Production – Rex Fisher (producer), Ioana Barbu (studio manager), Fred Sharp (research), Johnny Seifert (audio), Jasper Cullen (video)
JULIAN LLOYD WEBBER: The Day the Music Stopped
Julian Lloyd Webber is undoubtedly one of the country's greatest living musicians – the man who, perhaps more than anyone of his generation, took classical music out of the concert hall and into the mainstream …
Shownotes
Julian Lloyd Webber is undoubtedly one of the country's greatest living musicians – the man who, perhaps more than anyone of his generation, took classical music out of the concert hall and into the mainstream. But in October 2013, ten minutes into a recital in a Suffolk seaside town, the power drained from his right arm and he found he could barely draw the bow across his cello.
Within six months, at 63, he was forced to retire – unemployed overnight and stripped of the thing that had defined him since he was a boy of thirteen.
For half a century, the cello had been Julian's whole life. He toured the world, playing with everyone from Yehudi Menuhin to Elton John, took an Elgar recording to a Brit Award and his brother's Variations to number two in the pop charts. He was the first officially licensed busker on the London Underground and the only classical soloist at the London Olympics closing ceremony.
Then, at 64, he sat the first job interview of his life and went on to lead the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire into a £57 million new home, winning it royal status along the way. On his 75th birthday – and while quietly managing a prostate cancer diagnosis – he walked back onto the Wigmore Hall stage and played again. And now, twelve years after the power drained from his arm, Julian is touring – a full run across Ireland this autumn with his cellist wife, Jiaxin.
His memoir, Bows & Arrows, is out now, and this conversation is about the abuse he survived as a boy, the instrument he loved and lost, and how you rebuild an identity when the thing that made you who you are is taken away.
POWERED BY KINGSLEY NAPLEY
I know what it is to have the right legal support around you when facing a crisis. Kingsley Napley are the kind of lawyers I wish more people knew about – there to help you make the right decisions, protect what matters, and build real resilience when the pressure is on. This episode is powered by Kingsley Napley.
Visit www.kingsleynapley.co.uk for more details.
FOUR LESSONS FROM JULIAN
- Talent and hard work aren't enough on their own – you need passion, because that's the only thing that gets you up to do it all again after a bad night.
- A second string to your bow can end up saving your life. When you lose the thing that defined you, throw yourself into whatever else genuinely moves you – even if it's nothing like what you did before. Find something that truly absorbs you, and the healing takes care of itself.
- When a setback knocks you down, picture the alternative. For Julian, the fear of ending up disappointed with his life was the fuel that kept him going.
- Healing is not forgetting; it's reaching the point where the trauma you carry doesn't drag you down.
CHAPTERS
04:01 – Growing up in a chaotic, bohemian home
09:12 – The day on the Tube that took his childhood
11:03 – Why some things you don't get over – and shouldn't have to
15:21 – His father's warning that lit the fire
17:39 – Fifty years at the top: how he kept the flame alive
27:25 – The longest relationship of his life
33:12 – A football bet, a number two record, and a gold disc
35:01 – The night the power drained from his arm
39:02 – Losing your job, your income and your identity overnight
39:59 – The first job interview of his life, at 64
44:22 – The daughter's remark that brought him back to the cello
47:57 – Facing a cancer diagnosis
51:32 – Why he refuses to slow down, even now
BUY JULIAN'S BOOK
Bows & Arrows – https://www.amazon.co.uk/Bows-Arrows-Julian-Lloyd-Webber/dp/1837360588
SEE JULIAN LIVE
Julian's Irish tour with his wife, Jiaxin – https://julianlloydwebber.com/events/
FOLLOW JULIAN LLOYD WEBBER
Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/julian.lloydwebber/
FOLLOW CRISIS WHAT CRISIS?
Instagram – www.instagram.com/crisiswhatcrisispodcast
TikTok – www.tiktok.com/@crisispod
This was a Crisis What Crisis Production – Rex Fisher (producer), Ioana Barbu (studio manager), Fred Sharp (research), Johnny Seifert (audio), Jasper Cullen (video)
FRANK GARDNER'S CRISIS COMPASS
Frank Gardner has lived, by his own description, two very different lives — and found a way to carry the best of the first into the second. Twenty years on from the attack in Riyadh that nearly killed him, the …
Shownotes
Frank Gardner has lived, by his own description, two very different lives — and found a way to carry the best of the first into the second. Twenty years on from the attack in Riyadh that nearly killed him, the BBC Security Correspondent is still reporting from the places most of us wouldn't dare go.
In this bonus episode of Crisis What Crisis, Andy sits down with Frank to discuss his Crisis Compass. The four points of navigation that he turns to in order to help survive a crisis.
Frank is the BBC's Security Correspondent and the author of a series of best-selling thrillers — the latest, Ballistic, is out now. If you haven't heard the full conversation yet, go back and find it in the feed. It's well worth your time.
POWERED BY KINGSLEY NAPLEY:
I know what it is to have the right legal support around you when facing crisis. Kingsley Napley are the kind of lawyers I wish more people knew about – there to help you make the right decisions, protect what matters and build real resilience when the pressure is on.
This episode is powered by Kingsley Napley, visit www.kingsleynapley.co.uk for more details.
CHAPTERS:
00:53 A Person – Himself
01:21 A Habit – Lifting his eyes to the horizon, the birdwatcher's discipline of really looking
02:23 A Comfort – Driving.
03:40 A Piece of Advice – Grieve it, deal with it, but don't keep defining yourself by what happened
BUY FRANK'S BOOK
Ballistic – https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/178763549X?tag=prhmarketing2552-21
FOLLOW FRANK GARDNER
Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/frank.gardner/?hl=en
X – https://x.com/FrankRGardner
FOLLOW CRISIS WHAT CRISIS?
Instagram – www.instagram.com/crisiswhatcrisispodcast
TikTok – www.tiktok.com/@crisispod
This was a Crisis What Crisis Production – Rex Fisher (producer), Ioana Barbu (studio manager), Fred Sharp (research), Johnny Seifert (audio), Jasper Cullen (video)
FRANK GARDNER: The day I should have died
On June 6th 2004, Frank Gardner was in Riyadh filming what was meant to be a routine piece of background footage when an Al-Qaeda cell opened fire. His cameraman, Simon Cumbers, was killed. Frank was shot six …
Shownotes
On June 6th 2004, Frank Gardner was in Riyadh filming what was meant to be a routine piece of background footage when an Al-Qaeda cell opened fire. His cameraman, Simon Cumbers, was killed. Frank was shot six times and left for dead. One surgeon later told him he'd arrived at hospital the colour of a lab coat, bleeding from every wound faster than they could pour the plasma in. It was, in the truest sense, the day Frank should have died.
That day split his life in two. Before it, he was a restless Arabist who'd hitchhiked across the Middle East with nothing in his pocket, spent a decade in banking, turned down MI6, and talked his way into the BBC in his mid-30s to become its first ever security correspondent. After it, he was partially paralysed and in daily pain – yet back at work within ten months, and has spent the twenty years since reporting from the very places that nearly killed him. He describes crossing an invisible bridge to a new version of himself, this conversation is about what that crossing actually cost.
POWERED BY KINGSLEY NAPLEY
I know what it is to have the right legal support around you when facing a crisis. Kingsley Napley are the kind of lawyers I wish more people knew about – there to help you make the right decisions, protect what matters, and build real resilience when the pressure is on.
This episode is powered by Kingsley Napley. Visit www.kingsleynapley.co.uk for more details.
FOUR LESSONS FROM FRANK
- Don't waste your energy mourning what you can no longer change. Pour it into what you still can.
- When crisis hits, there's a fork in the road. One path is self-pity – and it's entirely justifiable. The other is deciding to make the most of what you've got left. Choosing the second is a daily struggle.
- Look outwards, not inwards. Fill your life with the things that make you feel useful and alive. Fixating on your own troubles is a trap – curiosity about the world around you is the way out.
- Volunteer for the work no one else wants – the weekends, the bank holidays, the night shifts. It's how you make yourself indispensable, and how you get your shot when it finally comes.
CHAPTERS
05:18 – The daily indignities most people never see
08:57 – Why he refuses to let it define him
11:33 – Where his grit really came from: two extraordinary parents
14:19 – The bold early decisions that shaped a life
20:38 – Turning down MI6 – and the self-awareness to know why
27:45 – How to break into a career when there's no job at the end of it
30:27 – The attack: what actually happened that day
31:02 – Seven months in hospital, and living with the what-ifs
39:45 – The one thing he's still bitter about
42:15 – Losing Simon, and finding a way through the grief
44:37 – "You'll never walk again" – the second hammer blow
48:05 – The letter from the BBC that gave him something to aim for
50:42 – Going back to Saudi Arabia to face it down
53:52 – Why he doesn't spend his life grieving
BUY FRANK'S BOOK
Ballistic – https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/178763549X?tag=prhmarketing2552-21
FOLLOW FRANK GARDNER
Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/frank.gardner/?hl=en
X – https://x.com/FrankRGardner
FOLLOW CRISIS WHAT CRISIS?
Instagram – www.instagram.com/crisiswhatcrisispodcast
TikTok – www.tiktok.com/@crisispod
This was a Crisis What Crisis Production – Rex Fisher (producer), Ioana Barbu (studio manager), Fred Sharp (research), Johnny Seifert (audio), Jasper Cullen (video)
UNDERSTANDING SHOCK: The body's crisis handbreak
Shock is a fundamental part of almost any crisis. It's a state of complete operating system override which, when left unacknowledged, can turn into something far more damaging.In this special compilation …
Shownotes
Shock is a fundamental part of almost any crisis. It's a state of complete operating system override which, when left unacknowledged, can turn into something far more damaging.
In this special compilation episode, Andy Coulson revisits five past guests who each experienced shock in very different ways, and found very different routes through it.
POWERED BY KINGSLEY NAPLEY
I know what it is to have the right legal support around you when facing crisis. Kingsley Napley are the kind of lawyers I wish more people knew about – there to help you make the right decisions, protect what matters, and build real resilience when the pressure is on. This episode is powered by Kingsley Napley. Visit www.kingsleynapley.co.uk for more details.
FULL EPISODES:
Johnny Mercer: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/crisis-what-crisis-with-andy-coulson/id1517015748?i=1000482235919
Rupert Soames: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/crisis-what-crisis-with-andy-coulson/id1517015748?i=1000700198554
Dr Richard Shepherd: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/crisis-what-crisis-with-andy-coulson/id1517015748?i=1000533310865
Jill Halfpenny: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/crisis-what-crisis-with-andy-coulson/id1517015748?i=1000661591052
Kate Bowler: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/crisis-what-crisis-with-andy-coulson/id1517015748?i=1000762523544
FOLLOW THE GUESTS:
Johnny Mercer: https://www.instagram.com/johnnymercermp/?hl=en
Dr Richard Shepherd: https://www.instagram.com/drrichardshepherd/?hl=en
Jill Halfpenny: https://www.instagram.com/jillhalfpenny/?hl=en
Kate Bowler: https://www.instagram.com/katecbowler/?hl=en
JEREMY KING'S CRISIS COMPASS
Jeremy King is the legendary restaurateur behind Le Caprice, The Ivy, The Wolseley and Simpson's on the Strand. His is a story of extraordinary gambles, of rooms that became London institutions, and of losing …
Shownotes
Jeremy King is the legendary restaurateur behind Le Caprice, The Ivy, The Wolseley and Simpson's on the Strand. His is a story of extraordinary gambles, of rooms that became London institutions, and of losing the company that carried his own name — and choosing to build all over again in his 70s.
In this bonus episode of Crisis What Crisis, I sit down with Jeremy to discuss his Crisis Compass. The four points of navigation that he turns to in order to help survive a crisis – a person, a habit, a comfort and a piece of advice.
If you haven't heard the full conversation yet, go back and find it in the feed. It's well worth your time.
POWERED BY KINGSLEY NAPLEY:
I know what it is to have the right legal support around you when facing crisis. Kingsley Napley are the kind of lawyers I wish more people knew about – there to help you make the right decisions, protect what matters and build real resilience when the pressure is on.
This episode is powered by Kingsley Napley, visit www.kingsleynapley.co.uk for more details.
CHAPTERS:
00:59 A Person – Himself. The only person he can absolutely trust in a crisis.
02:43 A Habit – Up at 5am, every day, it's the ritual that stabilises him before the world wakes up
03:44 A Comfort – His children, and the different perspective they bring
04:26 A Piece of Advice – Why get inordinately upset about something you'll forget about in future?
BUY JEREMY'S BOOK
Without Reservation: Lessons from a Life in Restaurants – https://www.amazon.co.uk/Without-Reservation-Lessons-Life-Restaurants/dp/0008599025
FOLLOW JEREMY KING
Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/jeremyrbking/?hl=en
FOLLOW CRISIS WHAT CRISIS?
Instagram – www.instagram.com/crisiswhatcrisispodcast
TikTok – www.tiktok.com/@crisispod
This was a Crisis What Crisis Production – Rex Fisher (producer), Ioana Barbu (studio manager), Fred Sharp (research), Johnny Seifert (audio), Jasper Cullen (video)
JEREMY KING: “Let them take your money but never your soul”
In April 2022, after a bruising auction battle with his own investors, Jeremy King lost the company that carried his name. He walked back into the Wolseley – the restaurant he had built into the highest …
Shownotes
In April 2022, after a bruising auction battle with his own investors, Jeremy King lost the company that carried his name. He walked back into the Wolseley – the restaurant he had built into the highest grossing restaurant in Britain – to find his staff in tears and the new owners already arriving. His phone and laptop were taken from him, he felt, as he puts it, like a criminal – stripped of all his possessions and then cast out onto the street.
But that was just the latest chapter in a career defined again and again by gambles, diligence, loss, and extraordinary success. Jeremy once handed the biggest decisions of his life to the roll of a dice. He built and sold an empire, built another, and now, at 72, is rebuilding for a third time – with Simpson's in the Strand, London’s most talked about restaurant of the moment and a venue he first tried to buy 26 years ago.
Across the last forty-five years Jeremy has revived or built from scratch some of London’s most loved restaurants: Le Caprice, The Ivy, J Sheekey, The Wolseley and The Delaunay. His patrons have ranged from royalty to the greatest artists of the age, yet his gift has always been to make anyone who walks through his doors feel like they are the most important person in the room.
POWERED BY KINGSLEY NAPLEY
I know what it is to have the right legal support around you when facing a crisis. Kingsley Napley are the kind of lawyers I wish more people knew about – there to help you make the right decisions, protect what matters, and build real resilience when the pressure is on.
This episode is powered by Kingsley Napley. Visit www.kingsleynapley.co.uk for more details.
FOUR LESSONS FROM JEREMY
- Look for the good before the crisis has even hit. Whatever's going wrong, there's almost always something to salvage.
- Let them take your money. Never let them take your soul. You'll always find another way to make money.
- Don't act fast just to feel in control. People panic and make the wrong moves because they think a crisis demands speed. Often the bravest, smartest thing you can do is wait and see.
- Do the job better than it's ever been done – even sweeping a floor. Pride is yours to keep. That standard, once set, never leaves you.
CHAPTERS
04:54 – Why the best operators watch before they speak
08:04 – How an early knock to your confidence can shape a whole career
25:00 – Where a true standard of excellence actually comes from
30:08 – What it really feels like to lose the company with your name on it
39:26 – Why selling too early can be the smartest deal you ever do
45:00 – Holding your nerve on the worst day of your business life
49:16 – Protecting your reputation when the story's out of your hands
51:44 – What five years with Lucian Freud taught him about risk and danger
57:18 – Why integrity is simply never trying to get away with anything
58:32 – The art of defusing a crisis before it becomes one
01:03:20 – Keeping perspective: why every crisis is relative
01:07:09 – Starting over at 72
BUY JEREMY'S BOOK
Without Reservation: Lessons from a Life in Restaurants https://www.amazon.co.uk/Without-Reservation-Lessons-Life-Restaurants/dp/0008599025
FOLLOW JEREMY KING
Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/jeremyrbking/?hl=en
FOLLOW CRISIS WHAT CRISIS?
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This was a Crisis What Crisis Production – Rex Fisher (producer), Ioana Barbu (studio manager), Fred Sharp (research), Johnny Seifert (audio), Jasper Cullen (video)
JEREMY HUNT'S CRISIS COMPASS
Over 20 years in frontline politics, Sir Jeremy Hunt held three of the great offices of state – Health Secretary, Foreign Secretary, and Chancellor of the Exchequer. He survived some of the most bruising …
Shownotes
Over 20 years in frontline politics, Sir Jeremy Hunt held three of the great offices of state – Health Secretary, Foreign Secretary, and Chancellor of the Exchequer. He survived some of the most bruising political battles of his generation, and grieved, throughout, the loss of his father, his mother, and his brother.
In this bonus episode of Crisis What Crisis, I sit down with Jeremy to discuss his Crisis Compass. The four points of navigation he turns to on his darker days – a person, a habit, a comfort and a piece of advice.
POWERED BY KINGSLEY NAPLEY:
I know what it is to have the right legal support around you when facing crisis. Kingsley Napley are the kind of lawyers I wish more people knew about – there to help you make the right decisions, protect what matters and build real resilience when the pressure is on.
This episode is powered by Kingsley Napley, visit www.kingsleynapley.co.uk for more details.
CHAPTERS:
01:02 A Person — the one who'll still be there when the job, the title, and the headlines are long gone
01:21 A Habit — the cross-country team he was forced into at school, and why he still hasn't stopped
01:55 A Comfort — six and a half weeks of Lent torture, and why Easter makes it worth it
02:15 A Piece of Advice — why criticism only hurts when it comes from someone you know
BUY JEREMY'S BOOK:
Can We Be Rich Again? The Surprising Potential of Britain's Economy – https://shorturl.at/4Kv0D
FOLLOW JEREMY:
Instagram — https://www.instagram.com/jeremyhuntmp/
TikTok — https://www.tiktok.com/@jeremyrshuntmp
LinkedIn — https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeremyhuntuk/
FOLLOW CRISIS WHAT CRISIS?
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TikTok — www.tiktok.com/@crisispod
This was a Crisis What Crisis Production — Rex Fisher (producer), Ioana Barbu (studio manager), Fred Sharp (research), Johnny Seifert (audio), Jasper Cullen (video)
JEREMY HUNT: Frontline politics is poisonous and I'll never go back
In October 2022, the British economy was in freefall. Liz Truss's mini-budget had sent the pound into a nosedive, mortgage rates were climbing at a terrifying speed, and the IMF had issued a public warning to …
Shownotes
In October 2022, the British economy was in freefall. Liz Truss's mini-budget had sent the pound into a nosedive, mortgage rates were climbing at a terrifying speed, and the IMF had issued a public warning to the government to reverse course. It was, by any measure, a national crisis.
Into that emergency stepped Sir Jeremy Hunt who, over a single weekend, dismantled almost the entirety of the economic programme he'd inherited.
But that was just the latest chapter in a political career defined again and again by an extraordinary capacity to absorb difficulty and get on with the job. All while managing a private grief that would have broken most people in any role, let alone one of the most demanding in the country. The loss of his father, mother, and brother, all lost to cancer.
His new book, Can We Be Rich Again? The Surprising Potential of Britain's Economy, is an act of deliberate optimism in a country that has largely forgotten how to be optimistic. Sir Jeremy Hunt joins Andy Coulson for a conversation about loss, resilience, reputation, and what it really takes to keep your nerve when everything is falling apart.
POWERED BY KINGSLEY NAPLEY
I know what it is to have the right legal support around you when facing a crisis. Kingsley Napley are the kind of lawyers I wish more people knew about – there to help you make the right decisions, protect what matters, and build real resilience when the pressure is on.
This episode is powered by Kingsley Napley. Visit www.kingsleynapley.co.uk for more details.
FOUR LESSONS FROM JEREMY:
- Start a business in your 20s if you possibly can. You've got no mortgage, no kids, no dependents – it doesn't matter if things go wrong, and you'll learn more from failure than you ever will from success.
- You can cope with one thing going wrong. It's when two or three things go wrong at once that life gets really hard – so close down the smaller crisis as fast as you can, even if that means caving in.
- The most important thing any leader can build is a team that will tell you when you're wrong. If people are afraid to speak truth to power, you will make bad decisions.
- Grief gives you something a successful career can't: a sense of what actually matters.
CHAPTERS
03:34 – Why naive goals are sometimes the most powerful ones
05:20 – His father's greatest lesson
07:50 – The tragedy his family never spoke about
10:35 – What unconditional belief from a parent actually does to a child
13:37 – Why failure in your 20s is an asset, not a setback
17:07 – Why business and politics require completely different skills
22:11 – Starting a business with your best friend
26:43 – The junior doctors dispute
30:09 – How to survive being the most unpopular politician in the country
33:01 – Losing his brother Charlie: what grief teaches you that success never can
36:56 – Walking into the eye of the storm as Chancellor
40:59 – How to restore trust when trust is the only thing that matters
44:20 – Why knowing who you are is the foundation of every crisis skill worth having
44:59 – Why Britain thinks far worse of itself than the rest of the world does
BUY JEREMY'S BOOK
Can We Be Rich Again? The Surprising Potential of Britain's Economy – pick up a copy here: https://shorturl.at/DfIZa
FOLLOW JEREMY HUNT
Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/jeremyhuntmp/
TikTok – https://www.tiktok.com/@jeremyrshuntmp
LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeremyhuntuk/
FOLLOW CRISIS WHAT CRISIS?
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This was a Crisis What Crisis Production – Rex Fisher (producer), Ioana Barbu (studio manager), James Quinn (research), Johnny Seifert (audio), Jasper Cullen (video)
LESSONS ON CONTROL: How to manage a crisis
What is the single most important concept in crisis management? Andy Coulson believes it's control — a lesson he first learned sitting on a plastic mattress in a Glasgow police cell, with nothing to focus on …
Shownotes
What is the single most important concept in crisis management? Andy Coulson believes it's control — a lesson he first learned sitting on a plastic mattress in a Glasgow police cell, with nothing to focus on but his own breathing.
In this special compilation episode, he revisits four past guests who each arrived at the same conclusion through very different routes.
POWERED BY KINGSLEY NAPLEY
I know what it is to have the right legal support around you when facing crisis. Kingsley Napley are the kind of lawyers I wish more people knew about – there to help you make the right decisions, protect what matters, and build real resilience when the pressure is on. This episode is powered by Kingsley Napley. Visit www.kingsleynapley.co.uk for more details.
FEATURING
Ryan Holiday — bestselling author of The Obstacle is the Way and The Daily Stoic, on why Stoicism is history's greatest crisis management framework, and the remarkable story of Admiral James Stockdale tapping Epictetus through a prison wall in Vietnam.
Alix Popham — former Welsh international rugby player, diagnosed with early-onset dementia and probable CTE, on how the athlete's instinct for discipline becomes a survival strategy when the stakes are as high as they get.
Natasha Silver Bell — international model turned recovery coach, on the moment she stopped blaming her external circumstances and took control of her internal state.
Cally Beaton — comedian, writer, and former Viacom CBS executive, on surrender, mayhem, and why she refuses to call herself a stoic — despite sounding exactly like one.
Control the controllables. It sounds simple. It isn't. But as every guest in this episode shows, it is learnable — and it might just be the most important lesson crisis has to offer.
FULL EPISODES:
Ryan Holiday: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/crisis-what-crisis-with-andy-coulson/id1517015748?i=1000755722247
Alix Popham: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/crisis-what-crisis-with-andy-coulson/id1517015748?i=1000712166764
Natasha Silver Bell: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/crisis-what-crisis-with-andy-coulson/id1517015748?i=1000722574377
Cally Beaton: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/crisis-what-crisis-with-andy-coulson/id1517015748?i=1000717250391
FOLLOW THE GUESTS:
Ryan Holiday: https://www.instagram.com/ryanholiday/
Alix Popham: https://www.instagram.com/alix_popham/
Natasha Silver Bell: https://www.instagram.com/natashasilverbell/
Cally Beaton: https://www.instagram.com/callybeatoncomedian/
HOMESERVE FOUNDER: Going from broke to billions | Sir Richard Harpin
Sir Richard Harpin wanted to be an entrepreneur since before he knew the word. He sold conkers in the playground, bred and sold rabbits in his garden, ran a tuck shop from his school locker, and by 15 was …
Shownotes
Sir Richard Harpin wanted to be an entrepreneur since before he knew the word. He sold conkers in the playground, bred and sold rabbits in his garden, ran a tuck shop from his school locker, and by 15 was bunking off chemistry to cash cheques with the bank manager.
In this special episode of Crisis What Crisis – recorded in front of a live audience at the Walbrook Club in the City of London – Andy sits down with the founder of HomeServe, the company Richard built over 30 years and sold in 2023 for £4.1 billion. Richard was knighted in the 2024 New Year Honours. His Sunday Times bestselling book, How to Make a Billion in Nine Steps, is out now.
This episode is for anyone who has ever wanted to start something, scale something, or is simply looking for guidance on how to manage the day-to-day crises of running a business.
POWERED BY KINGSLEY NAPLEY
I know what it is to have the right legal support around you when facing crisis. Kingsley Napley are the kind of lawyers I wish more people knew about – there to help you make the right decisions, protect what matters, and build real resilience when the pressure is on. This episode is powered by Kingsley Napley. Visit www.kingsleynapley.co.uk for more details.
FIVE BUSINESS LESSONS FROM SIR RICHARD HARPIN
1) Copy. Richard didn't invent the HomeServe model – he openly admits that he copied it (and then did it better). If someone else is doing it and it works, the risk is lower.
2) Prove the model before you scale it. HomeServe burned through half a million pounds trying to grow a loss-making business. With modern technology, Richard says, you really don't have to do that.
3) The best time to build is when conditions are hardest. Comfortable conditions produce cautious thinking. The best businesses are built with their backs against the wall.
4) Admitting the mistake is often the fastest route out of it. Richard told the stock market he'd wasted £130 million, wrote off the assets, and said sorry. The share price went up £250 million the same day. The market doesn't punish honesty. It punishes opacity.
5) Not taking a risk is itself a risk. Staying still has a cost that compounds invisibly. The test isn't whether the risk is scary. It's whether you can live with not taking it.
CHAPTERS
04:52 – Why Richard wanted to be an entrepreneur
10:35 – His first businesses
13:28 – What working at P&G taught him
19:22 – How HomeServe started
19:22 – Running out of money at Christmas
21:07 – Taking investment at the wrong terms
22:00 – The moment he nearly quit
23:00 – The £50 letter that saved the business
24:43 – The importance of copying
25:34 – Why he hired someone to replace himself
27:06 – Breaking America
30:01 – The £100m mistake he made publicly
30:59 – How he structures his day
36:10 – Negotiating a £4.1bn exit
37:37 – What selling actually feels like
38:55 – Why he's still working
42:25 – His advice on AI and careers
44:46 – Starting over with nothing
BUY SIR RICHARD'S BOOK
How to Make a Billion in Nine Steps – Sunday Times Bestseller https://www.amazon.co.uk/How-Make-Billion-Nine-Steps/dp/034944644X
FOLLOW SIR RICHARD HARPIN
LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/rharpin/
Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/richard_harpin/
TikTok – https://www.tiktok.com/@richard.harpin
FOLLOW CRISIS WHAT CRISIS
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FOLLOW THE WALBROOK CLUB
This episode was recorded live at the Walbrook Club, London. Special thanks to Philip Palumbo and his team for hosting us.
Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/thewalbrookclub/
ANYA HINDMARCH'S CRISIS COMPASS
Dame Anya Hindmarch started her global fashion business on a gap year trip to Italy aged just 18. Four decades on, she is the founder of one of Britain's most recognisable brands – worn by the Princess of Wales …
Shownotes
Dame Anya Hindmarch started her global fashion business on a gap year trip to Italy aged just 18. Four decades on, she is the founder of one of Britain's most recognisable brands – worn by the Princess of Wales and a new holder of a royal warrant from Queen Camilla.
In this bonus episode of Crisis What Crisis, I sit down with Anya to discuss her Crisis Compass. The four points of navigation that she turns on her darker days – a person, a habit, a comfort and a piece of advice.
POWERED BY KINGSLEY NAPLEY:
I know what it is to have the right legal support around you when facing crisis. Kingsley Napley are the kind of lawyers I wish more people knew about – there to help you make the right decisions, protect what matters and build real resilience when the pressure is on.
This episode is powered by Kingsley Napley, visit www.kingsleynapley.co.uk for more details.
CHAPTERS:
01:00 A Person
01:36 A Habit
03:01 A Comfort
03:45 A Piece of Advice
BUY ANYA'S BOOK
If In Doubt Wash Your Hair – https://www.anyahindmarch.com/products/if-in-doubt-wash-your-hair-paperback-book-in-paper-off-white
FOLLOW ANYA:
Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/anyahindmarch/
TikTok – https://www.tiktok.com/@anyahindmarch
FOLLOW CRISIS WHAT CRISIS?
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ANYA HINDMARCH: “Everyday is a crisis when you’re running a business”
Dame Anya Hindmarch started her global fashion business on a gap year trip to Italy aged just 18. Four decades on, she is the founder of one of Britain's most recognisable brands – worn by the Princess of Wales …
Shownotes
Dame Anya Hindmarch started her global fashion business on a gap year trip to Italy aged just 18. Four decades on, she is the founder of one of Britain's most recognisable brands – worn by the Princess of Wales and a new holder of a royal warrant from Queen Camilla. Anya joins Andy for a candid conversation about courage, control and how treating fear and excitement as the same emotion has proved to be her superpower.
This is a masterclass in resilience from a founder who has dealt with the ‘daily stomach punches’ of being an entrepreneur
POWERED BY KINGSLEY NAPLEY:
I know what it is to have the right legal support around you when facing crisis. Kingsley Napley are the kind of lawyers I wish more people knew about – there to help you make the right decisions, protect what matters and build real resilience when the pressure is on. This episode is powered by @kingsleynapley – visit www.kingsleynapley.co.uk for more details.
FOUR BUSINESS LESSONS:
- Doubt is your friend. Don't try to silence it. The moment you stop being scared is the moment things will go wrong.
- Cling on to your equity. Getting investment isn't winning a prize. When you do it the hard way, you stay in control.
- Be honest about the journey. Admitting what you've got it wrong buys you more credit than pretending you've got it right.
- Sometimes you have to crack a few eggs to make an omelette. You will get things wrong. Get them wrong, correct, and learn.
CHAPTERS:
03:09 – Learning to accept that in life you’ll never be fully satisfied
06:47 – How Thatcher's Britain created a generation of founders
08:19 – Dyslexia and the entrepreneur's brain
15:55 – Starting at 18 with no network, no internet, no clue
18:09 – "Stupid determination" – the trait every founder shares
20:09 – The lonely years of building a business
21:17 – Anxiety vs stress
24:07 – Why imposter syndrome is healthy
24:58 – I'm Not A Plastic Bag: changing national behaviour with a £5 product
27:35 – Honesty as a brand strategy
30:10 – Building a blended family without dropping the business
35:06 – The mistake of stepping away as CEO
40:16 – Buying it back: how to turn a crisis into a restructure
41:32 – Localising in a global business
44:20 – Her creative process
46:30 – Outside investment: why she'd tell founders to wait
48:08 – Perspective: what a child's illness teaches a CEO
52:06 – Brand Britain – what we're selling and what we're missing
54:41 – AI: "Stop moaning and get really good at it"
BUY ANYA'S BOOK
If In Doubt Wash Your Hair – https://www.anyahindmarch.com/products/if-in-doubt-wash-your-hair-paperback-book-in-paper-off-white
FOLLOW ANYA:
Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/anyahindmarch/
TikTok – https://www.tiktok.com/@anyahindmarch
FOLLOW CRISIS WHAT CRISIS?
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ESTHER GHEY'S CRISIS COMPASS
Esther Ghey's 16-year-old daughter Brianna was murdered in a park near their home in Warrington in February 2023. What followed — the campaigning, the memoir, the forgiveness, the compassion — has made her one …
Shownotes
Esther Ghey's 16-year-old daughter Brianna was murdered in a park near their home in Warrington in February 2023. What followed — the campaigning, the memoir, the forgiveness, the compassion — has made her one of the most consequential reform voices in contemporary British life.
In this bonus episode of Crisis What Crisis, I sit down with Esther to discuss her Crisis Compass. The four points of navigation that she turns on her darker days – a person, a habit, a comfort and a piece of advice.
Esther is the founder of the Brianna Ghey Legacy Project and Peace in Mind UK, a social enterprise focused on mental health in schools. She launched the Phone Free Education campaign, has campaigned in parliament, and last month received an honorary doctorate from the University of Chester. She was named The Independent's Most Influential Woman of 2024. Her memoir Under a Pink Sky, published by Penguin, is out now in paperback.
POWERED BY KINGSLEY NAPLEY:
I know what it is to have the right legal support around you when facing crisis. Kingsley Napley are the kind of lawyers I wish more people knew about – there to help you make the right decisions, protect what matters and build real resilience when the pressure is on.
This episode is powered by Kingsley Napley, visit www.kingsleynapley.co.uk for more details.
CHAPTERS:
01:16 A Person
02:04 A Habit
03:10 A Comfort
03:39 A Piece of Advice
FOLLOW ESTHER GHEY:
Instagram – www.instagram.com/esther.ghey/
Peace in Mind UK – www.peaceinminduk.com
Under a Pink Sky – available now in paperback
FOLLOW CRISIS WHAT CRISIS?
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TikTok – www.tiktok.com/@crisispod
ESTHER GHEY: The fight to free children from their phones
In February 2023, Esther Ghey's 16-year-old daughter Brianna was murdered in a park near their home in Warrington, in a premeditated attack by two 15-year-olds. Today, Esther is a bereaved mother, but she is …
Shownotes
In February 2023, Esther Ghey's 16-year-old daughter Brianna was murdered in a park near their home in Warrington, in a premeditated attack by two 15-year-olds. Today, Esther is a bereaved mother, but she is also one of the most significant voices for social reform in contemporary British life.
She founded the Brianna Ghey Legacy Project, co-launched the Phone-Free Education campaign with Kate Winslet, and has helped force a national reckoning on children, smartphones and social media. She was named the Independent's Most Influential Woman of 2024 and a GQ Hero.
Her bestselling memoir Under a Pink Sky - now available in paperback - is a searing and hopeful account of love, loss and rebuilding. It is one of the most breathtaking tales of resilience I have ever read.
POWERED BY KINGSLEY NAPLEY:
I know what it is to have the right legal support around you when facing crisis. Kingsley Napley are the kind of lawyers I wish more people knew about – there to help you make the right decisions, protect what matters and build real resilience when the pressure is on.
This episode is powered by Kingsley Napley, visit www.kingsleynapley.co.uk for more details.
FIVE LESSONS FROM ESTHER:
- Grief doesn't get easier – you learn to build your life around the hole the person left.
- Don't blame other people for your own decisions.
- Perception is everything: You can walk the same street looking down at the dog mess or up at the blossom – the choice is yours.
- Mindfulness isn't a wellness trend. It's a tool that rewires how you respond to stress.
- Compassion costs nothing.
CHAPTERS:
03:56 – The cherry blossom and the sign
05:20 – Growing up with mum
07:55 – Leaving school with no GCSEs, becoming a mum at 18
09:13 – The sludge-green walls and the addiction
12:17 – Why she refuses to blame anyone but herself
15:43 – Going back to school in her 30s
16:07 – Discovering mindfulness
17:51 – When Brett became Brianna
21:17 – The phone, the bedroom, the 3am email
27:24 – The day it happened
30:16 – The dream that became acceptance
32:47 – What she'd say to anyone in early grief
34:35 – Grieving in public
36:33 – Why she won't name the killers
37:55 – Meeting Emma
43:23 – Building Brianna's legacy
48:05 – Could I have done more?
51:16 – Phones don't build resilience
54:26 – Where the campaign goes next
FOLLOW ESTHER GHEY:
Instagram – www.instagram.com/esther.ghey/
Brianna Ghey Legacy Project – www.instagram.com/briannagheylegacyproject/
Phone-Free Education – www.instagram.com/phonefreeeducation/
BUY ESTHER'S BOOK:
Under a Pink Sky – www.amazon.co.uk/Under-Pink-Sky-Esther-Ghey/dp/0241738733
FOLLOW CRISIS WHAT CRISIS?
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KATE BOWLER'S CRISIS COMPASS: 4 points of navigation for when life flips upside down
Kate Bowler is one of the most thought-provoking voices on pain and suffering you'll ever encounter. Living her dream life – married to her high school sweetheart, a baby boy, and her dream job – she was …
Shownotes
Kate Bowler is one of the most thought-provoking voices on pain and suffering you'll ever encounter. Living her dream life – married to her high school sweetheart, a baby boy, and her dream job – she was diagnosed with stage four cancer just as everything fell into place.
In this bonus episode of Crisis What Crisis, I sit down with Kate to discuss her Crisis Compass. The four points of navigation that she turns to in order to help survive a crisis – a person, a habit, a comfort and a piece of advice. We'd love to know yours, let us know in the reviews...
Kate is a four-time New York Times bestseller, professor at Duke University, host of the Everything Happens podcast, and author of an exceptional Substack. Her latest book, Joyful Anyway, hit the shelves this month.
POWERED BY KINGSLEY NAPLEY:
I know what it is to have the right legal support around you when facing crisis. Kingsley Napley are the kind of lawyers I wish more people knew about – there to help you make the right decisions, protect what matters and build real resilience when the pressure is on.
This episode is powered by Kingsley Napley, visit www.kingsleynapley.co.uk for more details.
CHAPTERS:
00:49 A Person – Be a Roger: the quiet librarian who showed her what service really looks like
01:47 A Habit – Praying with her son every night
02:27 A Comfort – Roadside America, a 40-foot ceramic turtle, and how she befriended Tom Holland
03:49 A Piece of Advice – "It comes undone though, so don't skip to the end"
BUY KATE'S NEW BOOK:
Joyful Anyway – www.amazon.co.uk/Joyful-Anyway-Finding-Delight-Impossible/dp/1037202562
FOLLOW KATE BOWLER:
Instagram – www.instagram.com/katecbowler/
YouTube – www.youtube.com/@katecbowler
TikTok – www.tiktok.com/@katecbowler
Substack – https://katebowler.substack.com/
Podcast – Everything Happens
FOLLOW CRISIS WHAT CRISIS?
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TikTok – www.tiktok.com/@crisispod
KATE BOWLER: Everything DOES NOT happen for a reason
At 35, Kate Bowler had the life she'd always wanted: she was a Duke University professor, married to her high school sweetheart, with a one-year-old son. Then she was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer.Today, Kate …
Shownotes
At 35, Kate Bowler had the life she'd always wanted: she was a Duke University professor, married to her high school sweetheart, with a one-year-old son. Then she was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer.
Today, Kate is a five time New York Times bestselling author, host of the Everything Happens podcast and one of the most inspiring and unique voices on the subject of suffering, the myth of the prosperity gospel and the reality of the human condition.
POWERED BY KINGSLEY NAPLEY:
I know what it is to have the right legal support around you when facing crisis. Kingsley Napley are the kind of lawyers I wish more people knew about – there to help you make the right decisions, protect what matters and build real resilience when the pressure is on. This episode is powered by Kingsley Napley, visit www.kingsleynapley.co.uk for more details.
FIVE LESSONS FROM KATE:
- Don't trust your 2 am self. Your 2 a.m. self is despairing and terrified.
- People want to help. Give them small, specific ways to show they love you.
- Put an expiry date on bitterness.
- Saying yes opens up untold opportunities – often it’s worth it.
- Happiness is cheap. Meaning isn't. A happy person isn't necessarily living a meaningful life – they're often just extremely lucky.
CHAPTERS:
04:42 – Defining resilience
10:49 – Growing up with depressed person
14:46 – The prosperity gospel
16:48 – When it all came apart
20:33 – The diagnosis
22:07 – Performing gratitude
35:23 – Rules for surviving cancer
43:33 – The reality of being cured
45:12 – Joyful Anyway
48:19 – The happiness industry
51:23 – On stoicism
55:35 – Fear, sharks and risk
58:18 – Tasked with love
BUY KATE'S NEW BOOK:
Joyful Anyway – www.amazon.co.uk/Joyful-Anyway-Finding-Delight-Impossible/dp/1037202562
FOLLOW KATE BOWLER:
Instagram – www.instagram.com/katecbowler/
YouTube – www.youtube.com/@katecbowler
TikTok – www.tiktok.com/@katecbowler
Substack – https://katebowler.substack.com/
Podcast – Everything Happens
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