To open a new mini series on Bodies we welcome boundary pushing musician, CMAT whose low cut, bum crack exposing dress created one of the most viral moments at the BRIT Awards this year. Her unapologetic attitude towards body image caused a storm on the internet attracting a wave of opinions. CMAT, real name Ciara Mary-Alice Thompson is a one in a million artist. She writes songs that are both hilarious and heartbreaking, and she is utterly captivating on stage. She’s a future superstar in...

Spring is here(!) and we begin our new season with global phenomenon Marian Keyes. Marian is one of Ireland’s most prolific and successful writers of all time with her books having sold over 35 million copies worldwide. Marian has won multiple awards and is an expert in honest storytelling. She writes characters you’ll love with imperfections you’ll recognise and her wisdom is felt in every story she tells.  In this refreshing, funny and unfiltered conversation, Marian discusses her...

In this week’s Changes Focus we are zooming in on parenting. Whether you are a parent yourself or not, we have all been parented in some way and many of us spend time around people who are parents. We therefore all have experience of parenting and the huge effect it has on our lives. It is no surprise that many of our guests on Changes choose becoming a parent as the biggest change of their adult life.  In this hilarious and heartwarming episode, author Zadie Smith gives her profound thoughts...

Introducing Changes Focus! where we zoom in on one popular Changes theme and bring you multiple takes from different guests.  In this episode the focus is Education. Our younger educational years can really define us, so much change and growth can happen. Many of our amazing guests have cited their school or university years as experiences that shaped their lives drastically. Their stories explore the highs and lows of education such as bullying, fitting in, integrating into new schools and...

Viva la season finale! Where we welcome a total trailblazer and change maker, the iconic sports broadcast Gabby Logan. In her almost 30 year career, Gabby has been at the centre of phenomenal change in a predominantly male dominated industry. She has presented many of the country's biggest sporting events including the Olympics, the Commonwealth games, the World Cup and the 2022 Euros which changed the face of women's football in Britain when the Lionesses won. Gabby has paved the way for...

The day after St Patrick’s day, we welcome an astonishing Irish woman who epitomises change; Katriona O’Sullivan’s incredible no.1 bestselling memoir ‘Poor’ has dominated Irish bestseller lists for 10 months. The book documents her life - from living in poverty raised by parents who were heroin addicts, becoming pregnant and homeless at 15 to changing everything and completing a PHD at Trinity College in Dublin after a life changing encounter. Today Katriona is a psychologist and award...

Ken Loach is one of the greatest film directors of all time and a true British icon. He is known for his powerful, socially engaged films including ‘I Daniel Blake’, which won him a BAFTA for outstanding British film. At 87 years old, Ken’s career spans nearly six decades and his long list of awards includes the first ever British Independent Film Award and the Palme d'Or at the Cannes film festival, which he has won twice. His films shine a light on real human stories and the social...

On the week of International Women’s Day we speak to the Guilty Feminist herself, Deborah Frances White. Host of the hugely successful, award winning podcast ‘The Guilty Feminist’, Deborah is also a bestselling author, screenwriter and comedian.  Growing up in Australia as part of a restrictive Jehova's Witness community, Deborah describes her teenage years as “being controlled by a male cult”. This experience steered her towards comedy and feminism and ultimately led her to establish the...

Fourteen months after starting a relationship online, Anna discovered that she was a victim of romance fraud. ‘Antony’ wasn’t in fact who he said he was. Now, Anna is using her story to fight for change and is considered an expert in this field.  Catfishing, romance fraud and scams are more prevalent than ever. Last year alone the National Fraud Intelligence Bureau in the UK received 8,036 reports of romance fraud resulting in a loss of more than £92m. But how does this happen? How do you...

Anthony Ray Hinton spent 30 years on death row for a murder he did not commit. There was no evidence against him, he was charged because he is black. During his time on death row, he made some unlikely friends and never lost hope. Anthony’s incredible story is one of unimaginable injustice but also of resilience and forgiveness.  During his incarceration, Anthony watched 54 inmates walk to their deaths on the electric chair. The same death penalty that sentenced Anthony in Alabama has been in...

This Valentine’s week we’re celebrating romance with an unlikely agony uncle - the legendary punk poet, also known as the bard of Salford, John Cooper Clarke. A self-confessed romantic, John’s iconic love poem ‘I Wanna Be Yours’ has become one of the most popular poems to be performed at weddings in Britain and was famously used by the Arctic Monkeys in their song of the same name. John first began performing his poetry amidst the punk scene of the 1970s sharing stages with the Sex Pistols,...

In 2020, Scottish comedian Fern Brady was diagnosed with autism. Her award-winning Sunday Times Bestselling book ‘Strong Female Character’ is an incredibly honest and hilarious account of Fern’s life as an autistic girl and woman.  Fern regularly appears on comedy panel shows like 8 Out of 10 Cats and Taskmaster as well as touring her own shows all over the world. In this episode, she discusses her catholic upbringing in Scotland and when she realised that she was different to other people,...

From Deptford to the Amazon - For the final episode in our Joy January mini-series we’re joined by a very inspiring guest. Kwesia, also known as City Girl in Nature, grew up on an estate in South East London and struggled with violence and trauma from an early age but after a life-changing expedition to the Amazon she connected with nature in a way that sparked joy and transformed her perspective on life.  Kwesia is now the award-winning host of the birdwatching podcast ‘Get Birding’. Through...

How do you find joy in the aftermath of tragedy or immense adversity? Celebrated poet, author, professor and broadcaster, Michael Rosen has had to learn to do just that after his son passed away suddenly from meningitis aged 18. Michael himself also came close to losing his own life twice, the second time to Covid in 2020. Despite this, in 2023, he was awarded the prestigious PEN Pinter Prize for his ‘ability to address the most serious matters of life in a spirit of joy, humour, and...

What small changes can you make to your daily life to cultivate more joy? As we continue Joy Month, we welcome to Changes one of the most influential experts in Happiness globally, Gretchen Rubin. Gretchen is a bestselling author who has written six books on the topic of happiness (all of which have become New York Times Best Sellers), including the widely acclaimed ‘The Happiness Project’. She is host of the hit podcast “Happier with Gretchen”, has been interviewed by Oprah and has walked...

Welcome to JOY January - a mini series! The aim is for you to finish these episodes with more joy to start your 2024. Who better to lead us than the most joy filled musician around - the incredibly talented bandleader and drummer of the award-winning jazz group Ezra Collective, Femi Koleoso. When Femi hits the drums, the world listens. He is on a mission to bring joy to all through music. His career has seen him play all across the world including with Gorillaz and Jorja Smith, and last year...

As we get ready to bid farewell to 2023, it’s time to retrace the highs and lows of the year as we bring you our annual Changes End of Year Special! Annie is joined by comedian, tv presenter and co-host of the new political podcast Pod Save the UK, Nish Kumar. Together they dive into some of the year's biggest political, cultural and societal changes, offering their perspectives on the moments that defined 2023; a year of war and conflict, AI becoming more powerful (can it replace Nish?),...

“Addressing loneliness is a public health issue as important as tobacco or obesity”. In a world that is more interconnected than ever via technology and social media, why do so many of us feel lonely? And how can we change that? Dr. Vivek Murthy, the 21st Surgeon General of the United States is the man putting loneliness at the top of the public health agenda. Nominated by Barack Obama and Joe Biden as ‘the Nation’s Doctor’, his ground-breaking work on the physical and mental impact of social...

‘I am a woman but a different kind’. The double Olympic gold medalist and three time World Championship winner Caster Semenya has spent her entire adult life trying to change people’s minds on the definition of womanhood.  One of the most recognisable intersex women in the world with a condition called DSD (differences in sex development), Caster’s has an elevated level of testosterone, which according to World Athletics, must be reduced by taking hormones in order for her to be allowed to...

Can we alter the course of climate change? One woman who can answer with authority is the internationally recognised leader on global climate change, Christiana Figueres. An absolutely remarkable woman, Ms Figueres was formerly the Executive Secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. Demonstrating immense diplomacy, resilience and determination, she successfully orchestrated negotiations with 196 countries to reach the historical Paris Agreement of 2015. Now...

Charlotte Church is full of surprises. An opera singer turned alt-pop star and political activist who’s now turned to nature and sound healing. Famous at 11 with a no 1 album in the classical charts at 12. She celebrated her 15th birthday at the Grammys, sang for the pope, the queen and presidents including at George Bush’s inauguration and even sat a GCSE exam at the White House. She has sold more than 10 million albums worldwide. Her fame was stratospheric but she always remained true to...

Born in Jamaica to a father who belonged to the 'strictest and most radical sect of Rastafari', Safiya Sinclair was made to wear dreadlocks and subjugated from a young age. She was forbidden from climbing trees, riding a bike, wearing trousers, and told her virtue was in her silence and submission. Rastas were ostracised in Jamaica and Safiya’s dreadlocks came to define her. In her isolation, Safiya’s only refuge was when her mum introduced her to literature and poetry, which changed the...

Described by Lena Dunham as ‘the bard of modern love’, Dolly Alderton is an award-winning author and journalist, as well as agony aunt for the Sunday Times with her phenomenally popular column Dear Dolly. Her books have all become Sunday Times Bestsellers and her brilliant memoir Everything I Know About Love was adapted into a TV series last year. Her other books include her first novel Ghosts, and Dear Dolly, a collection of her agony aunt columns. Now, she is back with a brand new novel...

In 2010, aged 22, whilst on leave from deployment to Iraq, Chelsea Manning leaked half a million US military incident reports on Wikileaks. She had 12 hours before her flight back to Iraq and was relying on a wifi connection at Barnes and Nobles. Chelsea knew she’d lose her job but instead she was made an example of by the military and lost her anonymity and her freedom. Since then she has also changed her name and her gender, her identity being something she had questioned for many...