Who are you and what is your podcast about?

My name is Bruce Whitfield. I am a nosy sod who has worked as a financial journalist and broadcaster for 25 years challenging business leaders, founders and policymakers live on radio about their decisions.

It struck me that if the world was to have just one more podcast, it should be about learning from those who successfully make complex, high quality decisions from which I distil key lessons for my audience to help them make better choices.

We all make thousands of decisions everyday ranging from the mundanity of what to wear, what to have for lunch, the words we utter, the ideas we act on, to what brands we consume. Plus of course, there are those life-altering calls around our relationships or where we should live, work and spend our lives.

Why did you decide to start The Art of Deciding?

I am fascinated by brilliant people. I have a deep curiosity about what makes those who are the most successful in their fields great at what they do. I have learned that it all boils down to the quality of their decision making, the trade-offs they are prepared to make and the risks they will take in order to bring an idea or project to fruition. The Art of Deciding is about drawing lessons from those people and challenging ourselves to think more deeply about the decisions we make.

The Art of Deciding host, Bruce Whitfield

What was the first podcast you ever listened to?

The News Quiz! It was hosted by Sandi Toksvig who uttered the immortal line: “…and the Tories who have put the ‘n’ into cuts….” I was hooked. I know it was a radio show that became a podcast but it was the first time that I became aware that there was a new way of sharing audio content via smartphones on demand and that it was going to change everything.

Which podcasts do you take inspiration from?

I love great storytelling – I found Stephen Fry’s Seven Deadly Sins captivating. I enjoy Dan Snow’s approach to history, the depth of “The Rest is…” series and the choreographed madness of No Such Thing as a Fish. There is so much really good, focussed work by specialists in their field available, but those are great examples of professionals sharing their brilliance.

Which episode would you say is the perfect introduction to your podcast?

That depends on what you want. and no, that is not a cop out.

The content on The Art of Deciding podcast is massively diverse and each episode is connected to the others via the single golden thread of decision making.

In episode one, the Jack Reacher creator Lee Child explains why he moulded his hero in the way that he did, why he chose to “write a bestseller” instead of following his ex TV colleagues into new jobs doing the same thing as they always had. His is a story of courage in the face of disaster. It also contains a vital parable around the myth of job security. His biggest decision was to create his own income stream without being beholden to the vagaries of corporate life.

Sharmadean Read is also all about self belief and the power of implementing your own ideas and your ability to execute those in a unique way.

Former Bank of England chairman Sir Brad Fried’s desire to expand his global horizons and how the decision to pick up the phone to the most respected man on Wall Street at the time, changed his life. What is the worst that could have happened if he had asked for help and had been rejected?

Lee Child at Bouchercon XLI, 2010. Photograph: Mark Coggins (CC by 2.0)

Lord Karan Bilimoria’s decision to break with a long family tradition of joining the Indian army led to the creation of Cobra beer. He is a big believer in serendipity. Some might call it luck; but his definition: “Serendipity is seeing what everyone else sees, but thinking what no one else has thought,” is a key differentiator between those who always seem to be in the right place at the right time and those who wonder how they do it.

So often we make decisions from a position of fear or insecurity, and invariably that makes us more risk averse than perhaps we can afford to be. Having options, and calculating the odds in the knowledge that no decision is ever likely to be perfect is preferable to leaving our lives to chance.

As former world poker champion Liv Boree tells us, it is all about rational decision making – she describes rationality as a dance between intuition and logic – and what is intuition but the result of our experience which shapes the way we approach new situations?

We’ve all watched police dramas with interrogators hammering their fists on a table with paper cups of half drunk “coffee” as they have sought to badger confessions out of suspects. Former police superintendent Asbjorn Rachlew, charged with overseeing the interrogation of mass murderer Anders Breijvik is revolutionising the way police question suspects – insisting they take nothing at face value. Ever. “What if the opposite is true?” is his mantra. It’s an approach all of us can use when making a big decision. We vote for our favourite candidate based on their campaign promises – can we live with our call if they prove disappointing?

Any one of the episodes is a perfectly good entry point to the series, and series two, poised for the new year, includes one of the most successful West End producers of this generation, a world leading expert on how to decide who does and does not remain within your inner circle, and a wonderful discussion about whether AI is going to make it easier or harder for us to make decisions that will serve us well.

Are there any decision-making tips or skills mentioned by your guests that have particularly stood out to you?

Brad Fried: Never allow yourself to be in a position where you are forced to make a decision, which if it does not work out, can break you, financially, emotionally or reputationally.

Lee Child: Be wary of being timid. His biggest regrets stem from being fearful about taking big decisions as a younger man. Ironic, considering his biggest was sitting down to write a book he hoped would be a bestseller rather than find a safer, salaried job.

Sharmadean Reid: Back yourself, but also never launch anything new until you have done proper market research. Never stop asking questions. You do not know everything, no matter how smart and connected you think you are.

Karan Bilimoria: Fortune favours the brave. Trust serendipity, provided of course you are able to think what no-one else is thinking when presented with an opportunity, using precisely the same dry facts.

Liv Boree: Suspend emotion. Focus on the facts. And never, ever, allow your emotions to get the better of you at critical inflection points in life.

Asbjorn Rachlew: Keep an open mind. Mind your own incentives, emotions and beliefs, they can often cloud your judgement.

What do you hope listeners will gain from listening to your podcast?

They will learn that there is no such thing as a perfect decision. Everything worthwhile requires a trade-off of some kind. They will also learn that it’s perfectly acceptable and even essential to own up to a bad call and deal with it sooner rather than later. They will learn to keep an open mind at all times and realise that the moment you make a decision, every assumption and piece of information you used to reach your conclusion, is already out of date. It doesn’t provide an opt-out and leave critical outcomes to chance, it just means that you should never allow yourself to be boxed into a corner where you are forced to choose a least-worst outcome rather than what is best for you. Lee Child speaks about decision making as a writer: “When you have a blank sheet in front of you, you have endless possibilities, the moment you write a single line, you have reduced the number of potential outcomes considerably.” The same is true for any decision you make. Your viable options reduce each time you make a decision.

Who would be your dream guest for The Art of Deciding?

Give me a break! I have had six, but if there was to be one more…it seems too easy to say Elon Musk…how about Salman Rushdie on forgiveness…but also Richard Shotton, Nuala Walsh, Annie Duke, Adam Grant, Gary Kasparov, Brené Brown, Steven Levitt, Dan Ariely, Angela Duckworth, Malcolm Gladwell…right now, just one? Would have to be Rushdie, followed by all the others and I wouldn’t be picky about the order.

If you could go back to just before you recorded the first episode of your podcast and give yourself one piece of advice, what would it be? Are there any decisions that you would change?

Trust the process. The concept is strong. The guests are brilliant. Stay insanely curious…That’s lots of one things…Trust the process, understand it will take longer than you hope, cost more than you want, but that the end result is non-negotiable. It’s a massively competitive landscape. You are asking potential listeners to give you some of their most valuable and finite commodity: time. Respect that. One thing: Focus on making it great.

Where can the Pod Bible readers find out more about you/the podcast?

www.brucewhitfield.com is the central repository for all information into the World of Bruce.

Listen to The Art of Deciding on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and other popular podcast apps >>

This article was produced as part of a paid advertising package. To enquire about advertising with Pod Bible email info@podbiblemag.com

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With over 380 episodes, interviewing some of the most recognisable names in show business, White Wine Question Time is a hive of fascinating conversations with a huge range of star-studded guests. From insights with TV legends like Joe Lycett and Bruno Tonioli, to esteemed actors like Sam Neil and Steve Pemberton and even conversations with royalty such as HRH Princess Eugenie, Kate brings out a new side of guests we know and love, blending warmth with her quick wit to reveal stories you won’t hear anywhere else.

To help you explore the White Wine Question Time universe – whether you’re after hidden gems, unheard stories, or simply the perfect chat to wind down your evening – we spoke with producers Charlie Morgan and Tayler Owen. Here are their top episode picks to guide you through some of the best moments yet. Take it away, Charlie and Tayler!

Charlie Recommends:

Sarah Parish on acting adventures, her worst jobs, and overcoming unthinkable tragedy

If White Wine Question Time is about spending time in the amazing company of some fascinating people, Sarah Parish is as good a guest as you could hope for. She’s whip-smart, fun, and hugely affable – I could’ve spent all day listening to her! She was also incredibly open and vulnerable about the realities of losing a child, and to hear about her charitable work to help those going through the tragic situation her family went through was both moving and inspiring.

Michel Roux Jr. on why selling La Gavroche was never an option, leaving Masterchef and what’s next

Kate is a fantastic interviewer and I think the show’s at its absolute best when she’s sharing the airwaves with a guest with a fascinating story. Michel Roux joined us just as he was closing his legendary restaurant Le Gavroche, so we caught him in a period of deep reflection and gratitude. To hear about what the restaurant had meant to his family, some of the hilarious and at times unbelievable stories from its hallowed halls and to dig into his life away from the stovetop was an absolute pleasure.

Tayler Recommends:

Sam Neill on the importance of friendship, discovering acting at 30, and life beyond Hollywood

Kate’s chat with Hollywood legend Sam Neill simply feels like a warm hug. Diving into his extraordinary life, Sam shares how he found acting at 30, his passion for producing world-class Pinot Noir, and how he balances life away from Hollywood on his peaceful New Zealand Vineyard. He also opens up about his battle with cancer – and how that inadvertently led him to writing his much-loved memoir – as well as his commitment to “not letting the old man in” as he celebrates his 77th birthday. This episode is as heartwarming as it is charming!

Lynda La Plante on a remarkable life in showbiz, a career in crime fiction, and parenthood in later life

This episode is one of our juiciest listens! Here, Kate sits down with the incredible no-holds-barred writer Lynda La Plante who takes a deep dive into her storied 60-year career, opening up about her storytelling brilliance, embracing motherhood later in life, and the shocking end to her marriage. Her life behind the scenes is just as enthralling as her writing. Trust me, you’ll definitely want to grab a glass of wine for this one!

To listen and subscribe to Charlie and Tayler’s suggested episodes, check out White Wine Question Time wherever you get your podcasts, with new episodes dropping every Tuesday and Friday!

This article was provided by Stak as part of a paid advertising package. Stak produces podcasts that entertain and inform, including some of the UK’s biggest and most popular shows – boasting a combined 4 million monthly listen and over 45 years of podcasting experience. Whether recording remotely or in our broadcast-grade London studio, we special in every stage of the podcasting process. To find out more or get in touch, visit our website at stak.london.

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What inspired you to start The Starting Line podcast, and how has your podcasting journey evolved since your very first episode?

I spotted a gap in the podcast market for straight white men in their thirties and just ran at it, before anybody else could have the same idea.

In seriousness, the show is a love letter to my family, and a message to people that no matter where we start in life, and what challenges we face – and we all will, we can do and achieve amazing things. God, I sound properly bleeding heart, don’t I?

The first episode was with Levi Roots, and since then – he showed up in a three piece suit, dripping with gold, and I was in shorts and a t-shirt, looking like a toddler who’d been allowed to dress himself for the day – I’d like to think I’ve been able to forget the mics and the cameras, and really just get to who each guest is, why they are who they are, and have fun in the process. I’ve loved every second of it.

You’ve had some fantastic guests on the show so far – who has been your favourite or most memorable guest, and why?

I’m going to have to pick splinters out of my backside here and say – I honestly don’t have a favourite. Some have made more of a splash than others, as with Brian Cox, but how lucky am I?

It’s been the biggest pleasure to sit and get to know these incredible people and share our conversations. What I will say is – I think I’ve cracked the code of what makes a successful person. It’s not a drive to earn money, beyond financial security. It’s these two things: I’m-going-to-learn-like-I’ll-live-forever curiosity, and unadulterated obsession.

Brian Cox and Rich Leigh

Being shortlisted for the Independent Podcast Awards is a huge achievement! How did it feel to get that recognition, and what do you think sets The Starting Line apart from other shows?

I’m god-awful at feeling proud of myself for various reasons, but to have a group of people far better versed in podcasting than me take a subjective look at something I’d created and respond positively made my entire week.

As for what I think sets it apart – I create it as if it will be watched or listened to by millions, in the hope it one day will be. I research like I’m at a cork board with pins and string, trying to solve a murder. I listen to and watch as much as I can of everything my guests have done, and I write notes I memorise, and know I might not even use.

The production quality has to be as perfect as can be, and I try to move heaven and earth to speak to the best and most interesting, entertaining, and inspiring guests. When all that is done, the conversation is the easy, fun part.

As you look back on your podcasting journey, what challenges have you faced, and how have you overcome them to keep the show growing?

Everybody that’s ever published even one episode of a podcast will tell you – the main issue is discoverability.

I’ve worked in public relations for almost seventeen years now, and that has its advantages. I could have the best, most incredible episode – but if nobody listens or watches, I’m wasting time, money and effort. So, I aim to spend about as much time promoting each episode as we do producing it.

Short form content creation is an art, and I’m scratching the surface of being anywhere near good at it, relying on colleagues that are far smarter than me. Combining that with other aspects of promotion is essential.

Rich with Ellie Simmonds, Wynne Evans, James Cracknell

Your podcast explores the stories behind people’s personal and professional starts –has any guest’s story particularly resonated with or inspired you?

In terms of inspiring me – who people are, and why they are who they are, is hugely inspiring, so every conversation lights a fire under me. That said, I do have an answer here.

I’d say that Robin Ince has had the biggest lasting impact on me. I volunteered to be his taxi to the nearby Cheltenham Science Festival after our chat, in which I’d mentioned that I was thinking about how to go from good to great with the podcast, and I talked about branding. Robin asked if I’d read the book Factfulness by Hans Rosling, in which Rosling says ‘I’m not an optimist, I’m a possiblist’, and said that on the basis of our two-to-three hour conversation, he thought that applied to me. That’s really got me thinking.

With the new series coming up, what can listeners expect? Are there any exciting guests or themes we should be looking forward to?

This answer follows on nicely from the last.

Listeners and viewers can expect similar conversations, where I’m very happy to be the curious and excitable idiot in the room, with amazing guests. The difference will be a slight reframing, which will possibly come with a name change and rebrand.

I believe the show is good, but I want it to be great. The guests deserve the biggest audiences, and I want to have the biggest, most positive impact I can too – and given I’m not a celebrity with a big, existing audience, branding matters hugely here.

Levi Roots, Robin Ince

What advice would you give to someone just starting their own podcast, based on your experiences with The Starting Line?

I think, on reflection, it’s to stay consistent. If you set a scheduled day of release, respect your audience enough to stick to it.

And more than that – have fun doing it. It’s like when you play sport as a kid – you did that for free because you enjoyed it, and only a few people will realistically ‘make’ it. So, while pointing in the direction of having a successful show and getting better as you do it is important, if you’re not enjoying it, would big numbers change that?

Huge thanks to Pod Bible and the Independent Podcast Awards!

Listen to The Starting Line on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and other popular podcast apps and watch on YouTube >>

Follow The Starting Line on Instagram and X/Twitter to be the first to know when the new series is launching! 

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Full Chat launched on 24th April and has had an abundance of  celebrity guests already, including Paul Ainsworth, Kriss Akabusi, Peter Hickman and James Cracknell. The podcast is powered by Bikesure, the UK’s largest specialist motorbike insurer.

We spoke to Iwan and David about podcasting, their dream guests and where to start with their podcast…

David Prutton and Iwan Thomas interview James Cracknell on Full Chat

Who are you and what’s your podcast about?

Iwan: I’m Iwan Thomas, a former European, Commonwealth and world champion athlete and I’ve always been a total bike nut. The podcast is about not only my love for bikes but our guest’s life stories of what riding motorbikes brings them.

David: My name is David Prutton, former footballer now presenter and motorbike nut. Now, with the lovely Iwan Thomas, we speak to the great and the good about our shared two-wheeled passion!

Why did you decide to start podcasting in the first place?

Iwan: I started to do the podcast because I believe it’s a brilliant way to get across my passion, enthusiasm and love for a subject close to my heart and in doing so chat to like-minded people who also have brilliant stories to share.

David: I love the medium and the pace of it. It’s as thrilling as working on live TV but in a different gear.

Which podcasts do you take inspiration from?

Iwan: There’s a number of different podcasts I like for different reasons but being a father of three at the moment I really love listening to Parenting Hell with Rob Beckett and Josh Widdicombe.

David: I Love SmartLess, The Rest is Entertainment, Not The Top 20 (NTT20) and Armchair Expert.

Who’s your dream guest for the podcast?

Iwan: I think my dream guest for Full Chat would be Valentino Rossi.

David: We’ve had some corkers so far but would I love Ewan McGregor or, on a totally unrelated non-bike vibe, Robert Plant. I LOVE (Led) Zeppelin!

What’s the biggest lesson you’ve learnt so far as a podcaster?

Iwan: The biggest lesson I’ve learned so far as a podcaster is don’t let Kriss Akabusi on the mic for too long!

David: More succinct questions!

Which episode would you say is the perfect introduction to your podcast?

Iwan: I’ve enjoyed all of our episodes so far, but if you want energy and excitement listen to the Kriss Akabusi one, which was our second episode.

David: Kriss Akabusi on episode two; energetic, irreverent and passionate!

Where can the Pod Bible readers find out more about you?

Iwan: Probably the best place to find out more about me would be on my social media, @iwanrunner.

David: Wherever you get your podcasts from, and via socials!

Listen to Full Chat on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube and other popular podcast apps >>

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Lou Sanders is a recognisable face on our TVs, often stealing the show. Seemingly out of nowhere she put in side splitting appearances on Hypothetical, 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown and, of course, Taskmaster. But to those in the podcast world it wasn’t out of nowhere, because she has been tearing it up as a guest on a wide range of podcasts for years now!

Lou’s unique takes on subjects have been what made her stand out on TV and they’re exactly what makes her a consistently hilarious and rarely repetitive podcast guest. Here’s some of our favourite episodes…

DRUNK WOMEN SOLVING CRIME
15: The Mother of All Criminals and Stolen Bermuda Shorts // Nov 2018

DWSC has been one of the blow up successes of podcasting, and, as luck would have it, two of Lou’s favourite things are drunk women and solving crime! The perfect guest, right? Not quite. She’s now sober. But fear not, as that doesn’t hinder her ability to approach the crimes in question from the strangest of angles. It makes no sense that she’s the only sober person. Listen now >>

UNEXPECTED FLUIDS
E4 S2: Sex tech Fails //Sep 2019

Taking your podcast live can throw up all sorts of issues but going live with a podcast about sexual mishaps and mistakes presents its own set of… unique hurdles. So who better for the London Podcast Festival appearance of Unexpected Fluids than the often uncomfortably comfortable Sanders! Lou gleefully shares tales of Tinder  terrors, fiancé foibles and so much more… Listen now >>

BIRTHDAY GIRLS’ HOUSE PARTY
New Year’s Eve // Dec 2018

The birthday girls bring party after party to the podcast world… but you don’t bring out a party pro like Lou Sanders for just any do. No, no no. You save Lou for THE NEW YEAR’S EVE PARTY! Resolutions, choosing who to kiss at midnight and international New Year’s traditions all combine to make it a Birthday Girls’ House Party you really don’t want to miss. Listen now >>

FLIMS TO BE BURIED WITH
Christmas Special // 2018

After interrupting many episodes while living with host Brett at the Edinburgh Fringe, listeners were eagerly awaiting Lou’s full appearance on Films To Be Buried With. Sadly, things didn’t go quite to plan. As something of a precursor to her own podcast, instead of “first film you saw?” or “scariest/funniest film”, Lou proceeded to change the questions to “first cuddle you saw?” and so on. Ridiculous, but an unexpectedly tender and bloody lovely. Listen now >>

THE COMEDIAN’S COMEDIAN
110 // Feb 2015

Recorded three years before the episodes above, Lou’s chat with Stuart Goldsmith on The Comedian’s Comedian finds her in a much more calm and reflective mood as she discusses her career to date. Although there are sneak peaks of Lou’s performing persona, the majority of the podcast shows a side that we perhaps hadn’t heard before and allows us to learn about her journey as a comedian. Listen now >>

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We hope you enjoy these Lou Sanders podcasts. Read more Podcast Prophet articles in the Pod Bible magazine, which you can read online or buy in our shop.

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In each episode, Philip and his co-host Liam Billingham analyse a different action film that has some kind of connection to Die Hard – be it through premise, personnel or otherwise. Some of these movies involve classic ‘Die Hard on a blank’ scenarios, like the boarding-school based Toy Soldiers, the U.S. Battleship-based Under Siege and plane-based Passenger 57. But others have more subtle and surprising connections to the original 1988 classic, such as Road House, Ricochet and Harrison Ford thriller The Fugitive.

An LA-based podcast, Die Hard on a Blank is produced by Sugar23 and Michael Sugar (the Oscar-winning producer of 2016’s Spotlight) and it’s already attracting some stellar guests. We talked to Philip when the podcast first launched, but now that the show is really gathering steam, we asked him to reflect on his favourite episodes so far…

Die Hard (Episode 1A and 1B)

We kicked off the show with a two-part double-header on the daddy of the genre: Die Hard. First, we talked through the entire movie scene by scene, discussing moments, creative choices and characters that we love. In the second part we talked about the origins of the film, which was based on a terrific novel called Nothing Lasts Forever and was influenced by earlier movies such as The Taking of Pelham 123, The Towering Inferno and First Blood. I’d only met Liam twice before recording the episode (and never in person) but we just clicked instantly, so I love this ep on a personal level because it also captured the beginning of our friendship.

Licence to Kill (Episode 3)

It’s Die Hard in a Bond movie! I took my research for this episode very seriously because I know how much James Bond means to people, especially in the UK, where 007 is arguably our greatest pop-cultural export. The links to Die Hard might not be immediately obvious, but they are there, and it was also a really fun experience for me and Liam to unpack this film, and its context within the wider Bond canon, from our differing cultural perspectives (I’m British, Liam’s American). Liam grew up on Sean Connery, whereas I was weaned on Roger Moore, but we both love what Timothy Dalton did with the role. Although it’s not necessarily “the best”, this is actually my favourite Bond movie!

The Last Boy Scout (Episode 9)

It’s Die Hard in an LA noir! This is one of the episodes I’m most proud of, and it was also the most vulnerable for me, because the director of the film – the late, great Tony Scott – is one of my biggest heroes, so I got a little emotional talking about him. It led to a wide-ranging, deep dive discussion that encompassed film noir, American distraction and the dark history of Los Angeles. We also talked about (gridiron) football, as I’m obsessed with the NFL, so much so that Kyle Brandt (the effervescent host of ‘Good Morning Football’ on the NFL Network) will be guesting on the pod for our Hard Target episode (out August 2nd). In my first interview with you guys, I said that Kyle would be my dream guest for the show, so to get him was an incredible coup!

Hard Boiled (Episode 10)

It’s Die Hard in a hospital! We were so excited to talk about this incredible movie that we went into a state of hyperactive mania! I absolutely love John Woo and Chow Yun-fat and I just cannot get over how astonishing this movie is to watch. For me, Hard Boiled is like this magnificent, exotic, phantasmagoric vision that was beamed to us from another world – it’s exuberant action cinema at its absolute zenith. By this point we were pretty dialed in to our format, that also includes the ‘Die Hard Oscars’ (with categories such as The Dick Thornberg award for ‘Dick of the Movie’) and our ‘Double Jeopardy’ trivia quiz. We were just having a blast.

Cliffhanger (Episode 14)

It’s Die Hard on a mountain! This was a particularly cool episode as we were joined by Jamelle Bouie, a brilliant and highly influential opinion writer for The New York Times. Jamelle also co-hosts a fantastic podcast called Unclear and Present Danger, where he analyses the action movies of the 1990s through a political lens, and he’s just an incredibly smart, yet completely unpretentious, person. Cliffhanger is one of the more obvious ‘Die Hard on blank’ films, in that it directly replicates the classic ‘Die Hard formula’ (i.e. ‘bad guys take over a blank and it’s up to one person to fight back’) in a different setting, but that setting is a really interesting and unusual one here. We also talked about Sylvester Stallone, Michael Rooker, John Lithgow and the director Renny Harlin, whose background in horror may have influenced this surprisingly gory movie!

Listen to Die Hard on a Blank now on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and all other popular podcast apps >>

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This article was produced as part of a paid advertising package. To enquire about advertising with Pod Bible email info@podbiblemag.com.

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The below is my whittled-down selection of podcast episodes from various shows featuring Fi & Jane as guests, including a couple of respective solo episodes I enjoyed – a sure-fire way to get to know this much-loved duo in a whole new way, as podcast guests, with their ‘host’ personas left behind. The result is that we see their more vulnerable, personal side, together with revelations about their careers and lives to date. Listen and enjoy.

The Shift
Fi Glover and Jane Garvey on Fortunately, friendship and pushing boundaries in your 50s // Nov 2021

I’ve long been a huge fan of former Red magazine editor Sam Baker’s podcast The Shift, which explores the experience of midlife (i.e. after your fifties) and features a smorgasbord of high-profile, interesting guests. Fi & Jane come on, aptly, as a pair for this one – they discuss openly how they became a collective ‘voice of a generation for p*ssed off older women’, open up about their own friendship and the success of their former podcast Fortunately. Listen on your podcast app >>

White Wine Question Time
Fi Glover & Jane Garvey – Leaving the BBC and podcast ‘Fortunately’; Oversharing; the fight for gender pay parity and their return to live radio. // Oct 2022

Hosted by Kate Thornton, Yahoo UK’s White Wine Question Time (WWQT), which (as it says on the tin) takes place over the course of three glasses of wine, has enjoyed a slew of brilliant guests over the past four years. In this episode (which you can also view a filmed version of), Fi & Jane are fresh from their announcement of moving from the BBC to Times Radio – they speak candidly about this decision, while Jane opens up about her sister’s comments that she didn’t ‘sound like herself’ while hosting Woman’s Hour together with her much-publicised fight against the gender pay gap at the BBC. Listen on your podcast app >>

How To Academy Podcast
Fi Glover and Jane Garvey – Did I Say That Out Loud? // Feb 2022

The How To Academy podcast invites influential guests to share new ideas for changing ourselves, our communities, and the world. In this episode, recorded live in London just before Christmas 2021, Fi & Jane get a bit meta when discussing the freedom associated with podcasting as a medium compared to radio, plus the power of social media to ‘tell your own story’. Listen on your podcast app >>

How To Fail
S6, Ep 8 How To Fail: Jane Garvey // Nov 2019

In this moving episode of Elizabeth Day’s How To Fail, Jane Garvey presents the host with not three examples of failure (as the format demands) but actually seven, as she ‘struggled to narrow it down’. She speaks honestly about the grief of having gone through multiple miscarriages (as Day has herself), together with sharing her secret to being a good interviewer. Listen on your podcast app >>

Women’s Prize For Fiction Podcast
S2 Ep6: Bookshelfie: Fi Glover

Fi shares her selection of favourite books with journalist Zing Tseng as part of this popular Women’s Prize for Fiction series, including I Feel Bad About My Neck by Nora Ephron, plus why she’s chosen them. Memorably, Fi discusses her experience of growing up in Hong Kong – an experience which influenced her love of another book, After You’d Gone by contemporary bestselling author Maggie O’Farrell. Listen on your podcast app >>

To learn more about Fi & Jane and their show, read our interview in Issue 25 of the Pod Bible Magazine now!

What’s your favourite Fi & Jane guest appearance? Let us know in the comments or on Twitter!

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Who are you and what’s your podcast about?

We are Dave Hastie, George Ashwell and Josh Betteridge. We own and run Before The Lights which is a private gym and rehab facility in London, specialising in preparing actors for film and television roles. Over the years we’ve built a unique community of people across the creative industry from film and TV to music and YouTube.

Each episode of our podcast, we sit down with one of our clients to discuss their relationship with fitness and how they keep on top of their physical and mental health. We cover a lot of ground from what it’s like working out with X-Men, to the hand-dolls Maisie Williams sews to help her switch off.

Why did you decide to start podcasting in the first place?

We’re very lucky to have close relationships with some incredibly interesting people. When we’re in the gym they’ll often end up chatting to us really openly about the challenges they face on and off screen. There tends to be a lot of focus on their image, with little thought for how health and fitness can play a much larger role in their lives beyond how they look.

With that in mind, one of the aims of the podcast was to change the narrative that has dominated fitness culture for so long and highlight how looking after yourself is more than just looking good, whether you’re in the public eye or not.

We also wanted to give listeners an insight into what it really takes to be ready for various roles in the film industry, from bulking up to play a superhero to how we help our clients embody real-life people. We’ve been able to have great conversations about the ups and downs of working in film and TV as well as how the industry is changing it’s approach to body image.

Which podcasts do you take inspiration from?

We listen to a real range of different podcasts between us; from This American Life to Elis James and John Robins on 5Live. But to be honest we’re not really trying to emulate anyone else’s particular style, mostly because we just take our relationships from the gym and just start talking in front of microphones instead of fitness equipment…There’s not a huge amount more to it than that.

The three of us met at university, which helps shape the character of our show. We’re very comfortable around each other and the people we work with so that encourages a slightly different environment and dynamic that some of our guests and listeners might not be used to from more routine interviews when actors are on a usual run of “press”.

Co-host Dave in the studio

What’s the key to being a good podcast host?

Thinking of ourselves as hosts still feels strange. For the first few recordings the three of us, our guests and our producer Jimmy literally sat in the gym, huddled around microphones on a tiny table. We have to give so much credit to Jimmy, without him I think the show would be a shambles!

If we have any particular strength I’d say we capture authentic conversations. We’re lucky to be really good friends with the people we talk to, which probably goes a long way to making our show feel different to other sports or entertainment podcasts. The guests don’t feel like they’ve come on to plug a TV show or film.

Co-host Josh

What’s the key to being a good podcast guest?

Being open and up for having a laugh. We do talk about some serious topics on the show but it’s always easier and more engaging when we can go between the heavier stuff and the lighter stuff…just like you would do if you were having a pint or catching up with friends.

Who’s your dream guest for the podcast?

Dave: From our clients I’d love to get [Get Out star] Daniel Kaluuya on. He’s so busy so it’s something we haven’t been able to make work yet…but we will keep trying.

George: We haven’t worked with them (yet) but Christian Bale or Tom Hanks would be great. They’re some of the kings of the on-screen transformations so it would be fun to get into how it’s affected their bodies and how they motivate themselves every time to change their body so drastically.

Co-host George

What’s the biggest lesson you’ve learnt so far as a podcaster?

That it’s good to take a gamble and step outside of your comfort zone. None had any sort of presenting experience before the podcast and it all started as a conversation between Dave and Jimmy on a dog walk.

We didn’t really know what it would be initially but with a little bit of work figuring out the format and what would get the most out of us and our guests it’s become a real extension of what Before The Lights represents and has opened up an entirely new side to us as a business. It’s so much fun to make and we are just really glad people like it.

Listen to Before The Lights now on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and other popular podcast apps

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In The Proper Class Podcast, working class and queer actor Laura Checkley and working class theatre director Hannah Chissick discuss and celebrate all things working class. Each week they are joined by a different guest who grew up working class, from actors like The Inbetweeners star Blake Harrison, to Labour politician Jess Philips and podcast regular Romesh Ranganathan.

We spoke to Laura and Hannah to find out more…

You ask guests to tell us about a moment in their working class roots that is pivotal, and we get to hear yours in the first episode BUT is there a pivotal moment when you decided to start podcasting?

We had talked about doing something positive with working class stories for a while but we didn’t know what that would look like or in what capacity we’d do it. Then one day Laura called Hannah raging about an article that she’d come across that said ‘There is a real sense that being working class is something you wish to escape from’ and it really pissed us off because it’s simply not true. We’ve always felt immensely proud of our working class roots and thought others must too. We were so fed up with all the negativity attached to being working class that we thought ‘Enough’s enough’ let’s talk about it. Let’s talk about what it means to be working class and let’s celebrate it. Let’s big up working class success stories, challenge some pre-conceived ideas and hopefully inspire a few a long the way.

What was the first podcast you ever listened to?

Laura: You know I’m such a nana that I didn’t really know much or care about podcasts until a few years back. A mate told me about this thing she was listening to called Serial She was totally obsessed with it and then it was suddenly everywhere and it’s all my mates were talking about so I eventually caved and asked one of them to set me up and that was that, I was totally hooked too. I actually had to stop listening to all the murder podcasts cos I was terrified going to bed.

Hannah: This might be a bit of cliché answer but a few years ago I was on a tube and a woman next to me had headphones on but was crying with laughter, so much so I started laughing at her laughing. She took her headphones out to tell me she was listening to a podcast called My Dad Wrote a Porno. She of course assured me it wasn’t as dodgy as it sounded and so I had a listen and loved it. I too found myself explaining my hysterics to fellow commuters.

You both have a background in theatre – what are the similarities and differences with podcasting?

Hannah: In all honesty they are very different in most ways. For a start theatre is always live and although we have just done our first live episode of the podcast, the listener is still not listening live, mostly people listen to podcasts alone where theatre is nearly always a communal activity. I suppose the way in which they are similar is that they both work best when they have a unique voice that connects to the audience.

Laura: Also, anyone can make a podcast. Theatre is quite a closed shop.

I just want to do a shout out to the great music on the podcast! Who was in charge of that?

Laura: The brilliant Thomas Nelstrop aka Tommy Music was the brains behind it all. We had a discussion about the feel etc and then I sent a rubbish voice note over humming and beat boxing a rough idea and luckily for everyone he ignored me worked his magic and came up with the brilliant tune we have now. Small fact, If you listen carefully you can hear me shouting the “Oi’ and being all cockney in the background.

Which podcasts do you take inspiration from?

We didn’t really, we just knew what we wanted to say and how it should feel. We purposely didn’t want to copy any other shows because we just wanted it to feel honest, genuine and not be influenced by anything else.

Who’s your dream guest for the podcast?

That’s a no brainer, our queen…Kathy Burke and we WILL get her on one day, we will! *Cries in to near by pillow ‘Why won’t Kathy be my friend?’

What’s the biggest lesson you’ve learnt so far as a podcaster?

I think tapping in to something or a subject matter that’s not already out there is a good place to start. But you have to believe in it if you want people to connect to it. Be honest, be yourself and create content you believe in. Not everyone is going to love it or listen to it and it’s really hard to compete with the biggies and the famous people so don’t… if people want to listen they will. Word of mouth is everything.

Your first episode (bonus) is a great intro to yourselves and the reasons behind the podcast, but is there a particular interview you would you say is the perfect introduction to your podcast?

Laura: Oh no that’s not fair!! They’re of course all fantastic in their own way but one of my all time faves has to be Vicky McClure’s. It’s just everything I imagined our podcast would be, a real meeting of minds and values. I could listen to it over and over. She’s a top person.

Hannah: We genuinely feel so inspired by all of our guests’ stories, but when we first talked about the Podcast right at the top of the wish list was MP Jess Philips and interviewing her was a real pinch me moment.

Where can the Pod Bible readers find out more about you?

You can find us both on Twitter and Instagram – Laura’s twitter is @Laucheckley and her Insta page is @lauracheck and Hannah @hannahinlondon and her Insta @hannahinlondon Or follow our joint Insta page @theproperclasspodcast for all the latest TPCPC news and goss.

Listen to The Proper Class Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and other popular podcast apps.

The post Hannah Chissick and Laura Checkley share working class stories in The Proper Class Podcast appeared first on POD BIBLE.