Crisis What Crisis with Andy Coulson

Johnny Mercer, government minister and former Commando, talks with brutal honesty about his childhood battles with mental illness, including severe OCD. And, with astonishing frankness, he describes his brutal and heart-breaking experiences in Afghanistan where he was witness to countless horrors, not least the death of his close friend Mark Chandler. An emotional, powerful – and for those looking for crisis lessons – useful episode. Johnny’s Crisis Cures: 1. Stay strategic: “You have your goals and they have to be realistic; but once they are set the key is to focus on those and not get distracted by the niff naff and trivia.” 2. Keep perspective: “So much is down to luck; whether it’s an accident, whether it’s your career, whether it’s war, luck has such a heavy hand to play that you have to bear everything you do in perspective.” 3. It will end: “Seize the initiative; you’re never going to be in a crisis forever... whatever you’re going through things will return to normal just stick it out.” Full transcript available here: https://www.crisiswhatcrisis.com/podcasts/johnny-mercer-on-mental-illness-grief-and-grit/Links: We Were Warriors – One Soldier’s Story of Brutal Combat is available via Amazon.co.uk OCD-UK: https://www.ocduk.org Tickets For Troops: https://www.ticketsfortroops.org.uk Help for Heroes: https://www.helpforheroes.org.uk Episode Notes: Johnny Mercer is the non-graduate who should never have succeeded at Sandhurst – but who went on to be one of the most combat experienced officers in Afghanistan. The non-voter who should never have got elected, but who is now a Government Minister tipped as a potential future PM. What’s more remarkable are the challenges – as both a child and adult – that Johnny has faced down. An upbringing in a strict religious household that almost, in his words, destroyed his mind. A childhood that led him to develop an extreme Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, the management of which Johnny describes as a continual ‘work in progress.’ His approach to these crises, with the support of CBT and other treatments, was to find a greater, tougher challenge to focus on. That came in his three Afghan tours during which he risked his life almost daily. But it also left him confronting visceral grief when his close colleague and friend Mark ‘Bing’ Chandler was killed instantly as they fought side by side. I found Johnny’s methods of coping in these extreme situations compelling. Accepting and embracing that luck plays such a huge part in crisis situations, understanding and accepting your limitations as well as your potential and, perhaps most powerfully, remembering always that courage is just as contagious as fear. Stream/Buy 'Allies' by Some Velvet Morning - https://ampl.ink/qp6bm Some Velvet Morning Website: www.somevelvetmorning.co.ukFOLLOW CRISIS WHAT CRISIS?Instagram – www.instagram.com/crisiswhatcrisispodcast/?hl=enTikTok – https://www.tiktok.com/@crisispod

Vicky Pryce is a whirlwind of positivity, productivity and energy - economist, academic, author and mother of five. But in 2013 her high-powered life took an unexpected and damaging twist when she was found guilty of accepting her ex-husband’s driving licence penalty points and was jailed for Perverting the Course of Justice. Vicky gives us a startlingly human account of her high-profile crisis. She talks of the lessons learned in prison and details the strategy she undertook to steer her life towards a successful recovery.Vicky’s Crisis Cures: 1. Football: “I support Chelsea, I’m a season ticket holder, I go with my kids and that’s a great release from tension – although of course you substitute one type of tension with another.” 2. Books: Doctor Fischer of Geneva or The Bomb Party by Graham Greene. “It’s a book about greed and it shows that the richer you are the greedier you are and the more risks you’ll be prepared to take to make more money. It’s an incredible book that I’ve read and re-read.” 3. The sea: “When I want to relax, I think of swimming and looking at the horizon on a beach in Greece.” Links: Twitter: https://twitter.com/realVickyPryce Pro Bono Economics: https://www.probonoeconomics.com Women in Prison: https://www.womeninprison.org.uk Working Chance: https://workingchance.org Women vs Capitalism – Why We Can’t Have It All in a Free Market Economy: https://amzn.to/3S1ysZtFull transcript available at: https://www.crisiswhatcrisis.com/podcasts/vicky-pryce-on-prison-pushing-on-and-the-healing-power-of-football/Episode Notes: Economists pride themselves as planners and forecasters. But Vicky Pryce is a woman who found herself in the midst of an extraordinary life experience that no-one could have predicted. Or as she puts it: “What I learnt about life is that things can just happen, just like that and you can’t control it”. How does someone whose successful career has been anchored in logic and data, cope when a chain of events lead to a prison cell in Holloway? Vicky leant heavily on her analytical skills – deciding to research and write her book whilst in prison. As she says: “I just decided in my mind to consider this as going off for a while to do a particular job... The way I survived was by almost becoming an observer, I found it fascinating, something I could learn from, you’ve got to avoid thinking of yourself as a victim right in the middle of it all.” But the fierce independence that led Vicky to leave Greece at 17 and pursue a career in London also played a key part in her recovery. For me, the most revealing moment of our conversation came when I asked Vicky if she still saw herself as that 12-year-old, riding a motorbike through the streets of Athens. “Yes,” she replied instantly, “You don’t change and I’m very much the same person .. I know more and through the process one has made loads of mistakes .. but one remains like that.” So, remember who you are, drive forward, don’t look back – the Vicky Pryce method of crisis recovery. Stream/Buy 'Allies' by Some Velvet Morning - https://ampl.ink/qp6bm Some Velvet Morning Website: www.somevelvetmorning.co.uk FOLLOW CRISIS WHAT CRISIS?Instagram – www.instagram.com/crisiswhatcrisispodcast/?hl=enTikTok – https://www.tiktok.com/@crisispod

If this podcast is about analysing crisis in all its forms then Richard Bacon, one of Britain’s brightest TV presenters and producers, is a guest who has survived more than anybody’s fair share. A career shattering scandal, addiction and mental health issues and a sudden illness that left him in a coma and fighting for life. In this episode Richard talks about what he has learnt from his dramas – self-inflicted and otherwise - with disarming frankness, brutal self-analysis and plenty of humour. Richard’s Crisis Cures: 1. Avoid alcohol: ‘I think if I’m going through a dark day the thing is to not drink because that can very quickly bring out anger.’ 2. Vinyl music: ‘I often play sixties bands, whether it’s The Who or The Kinks or The Beatles or The Stones… nothing makes me happier than putting on a piece of vinyl, I just love everything about it.’ 3. Babington House: ‘I got married there and it still retains its kind of magic quality…it’s hard not to go there and do anything other than feel much better.’ Links: Twitter: https://twitter.com/richardpbacon Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/richardpbacon The ADHD Foundation: https://www.adhdfoundation.org.uk ICR Everyman appeal: https://www.icr.ac.uk/support-us/appeals-campaigns/everyman-appeal Full transcript available at: https://www.crisiswhatcrisis.com/podcasts/richard-bacon-on-battling-scandal-addiction-and-nine-days-in-a-coma/ Episode Notes: Richard Bacon is a man on a mission. Already an established entertainment and news presenter in both Britain and the US, he recently signed a deal with NBCUniversal to devise and produce new show formats. All this a testament to his energy and optimism. But transatlantic success can also be traced directly back to a decision made in the white heat of a crisis in 1998. Caught taking cocaine by the News of the World (under a previous editor!) whilst he was presenter of the BBC’s flagship kids show Blue Peter - Richard could have taken the view that fame and TV were not for him. Instead, aged just 23 he decided to ‘own’ his crisis and march headlong into, not away, from the drama. The bold innocence of youth, perhaps. But it also took courage, focus and determined self-belief – three critical crisis management skills. But success has been a tough road for Richard in part because of ADHD. A condition that he believes has contributed to his dependencies. As he puts it: “I’m a run towards, not a run-away addict. I’m not running away from anything.” Richard’s restless curiosity, and the support of his wife Rebecca, have been his saviours professionally and personally. A willingness to engage with his own strengths and weaknesses and to confront the truths of them is another crisis lesson worth noting. A big believer in the power of therapy (and, fortunately, podcasts), he says the simple, but not always easy, act of talking about your problems takes you a long way towards being able to fix them. Stream/Buy ‘Allies’ by Some Velvet Morning: https://ampl.ink/qp6bm Some Velvet Morning Website: www.somevelvetmorning.co.ukFOLLOW CRISIS WHAT CRISIS?Instagram – www.instagram.com/crisiswhatcrisispodcast/?hl=enTikTok – https://www.tiktok.com/@crisispod

Baroness Martha Lane Fox is a force of nature – entrepreneur, philanthropist, cross bench peer and one of the most influential people in digital for the last 25 years. The co-founder of Lastminute.com, she also now sits on the board of Twitter, the Donmar Warehouse and Chanel. But Martha is also someone who can talk with power and authority on the subject of crisis. In 2004 she was left fighting for her life after a car accident in Morocco that broke 28 of her bones, including a shattered pelvis. In this episode Martha talks powerfully about the practical techniques – both mental and physical – she has developed to cope with a crisis she must confront every day of her life. Martha is, I think, an inspiration to anyone dealing with their own trauma. Martha’s Crisis Cures: 1. Boxing: ‘It’s so fundamental to my mental and physical wellbeing...even just imagining doing exercise can build the muscle mass. It’s quite extraordinary the relationship between our brains and our muscles.’ 2. Books & Poems: ‘The poem Don’t Hesitate by Mary Oliver, it’s about joy…even when the world is bleak and there’s always something awful happening it doesn’t mean you should begrudge yourself joy.’ 3. Pant Discos: ‘Putting some music on, blaring out way too loud (sorry neighbours) and having a couple of minutes moving about. Nothing beats it.’ Links: Twitter: https://twitter.com/Marthalanefox Peers for the Planet: https://www.peersfortheplanet.org Doteveryone: https://www.doteveryone.org.uk The Open University: http://www.open.ac.uk Queens Commonwealth Trust: https://www.queenscommonwealthtrust.org Just For Kids Law: https://justforkidslaw.org Lucky Voice: https://www.luckyvoice.com Full transcript available at: https://www.crisiswhatcrisis.com/podcasts/martha-lane-fox-on-near-death-denial-and-disco/Episode Notes: Two things strike you immediately about Baroness Martha Lane Fox. A total and utter absence of self-pity is first. But an authentic, compelling honesty about her crisis and its impact is second. Honest that nothing good came from her accident. Honest that, for her, denial has been an invaluable weapon in the years since. As she says: “Denial is a very, very important part of how I function. I’m sure there are lots of people who would say there is lots about that that’s not healthy. The way I don’t get scared or feel as though I am a fraction of what I was, is by denying that I might fall over, that I have massive physical challenges. Some things you have to park.” The power of denial is not a strategy for crisis that you’ll find in any self-help book but I thought it was incredibly valuable because, as Martha herself says, “Crisis is not a competition.” There is no authoritative manual for crisis because every crisis is different. The key is in taking the time to work out what is best for you. And for Martha, one of the most positive people I’ve had the good fortune to talk to, denial has – when she feels she needs it – absolutely worked. Stream/Buy ‘Allies’ by Some Velvet Morning: https://ampl.ink/qp6bm Some Velvet Morning Website: www.somevelvetmorning.co.ukFOLLOW CRISIS WHAT CRISIS?Instagram – www.instagram.com/crisiswhatcrisispodcast/?hl=enTikTok – https://www.tiktok.com/@crisispod

Jeremy Bowen is a man who has spent most of his professional life in the company of crisis. As the BBC’s Middle East Editor he has reported from more than 90 countries and conflicts including Iraq, Bosnia, Kosovo and Lebanon. In this first episode, Jeremy talks frankly about his addiction to danger – how and why he repeatedly put his life at risk in pursuit of a story. And he details how that addiction turned to deep anxiety and grief when his friend and fixer Abed Takkoush was killed while working alongside him. Jeremy talks openly about mental health, and his good and bad experiences with counselling. And how, ultimately, he conquered his demons, only to face down an altogether different challenge when he was diagnosed with bowel cancer. Throughout the episode Jeremy reveals the tools he’s relied on most to manage those moments of crisis. A revealing and thought-provoking conversation to kick off the series. Jeremy's Crisis Cures: 1. Quotidian, humdrum things: ‘I was working in Damascus, the war was going on, you can hear the war through the window, you could see the smoke rising from the suburbs…but it was quite nice putting an edited story together about the Syrian war with the sound of the washing machine in the background.’ 2. Exercise: ‘The natural anti-depressant. In Sarajevo I used to take a skipping rope, I used to skip in the stairwell of the hotel. In Baghdad I would jog around the streets – they thought I was insane.’ 3. Old World War II movies: ‘Often John Mills is involved in some way, and Jack Hawkins. I find those quite reassuring to leave on in the background. Maybe even past crises…those reminders that you do get out of them in the end.’ Links: Twitter: https://twitter.com/BowenBBC Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jeremy.bowen Bowel Cancer UK: https://www.bowelcanceruk.org.uk/ Look UK: https://www.look-uk.org/ Full transcript available at: https://www.crisiswhatcrisis.com/podcasts/jeremy-bowen-on-addiction-to-danger-facing-loss-and-battling-cancer/ Stream/Buy ‘Allies’ by Some Velvet Morning: https://ampl.ink/qp6bm Some Velvet Morning Website: www.somevelvetmorning.co.ukFOLLOW CRISIS WHAT CRISIS?Instagram – www.instagram.com/crisiswhatcrisispodcast/?hl=enTikTok – https://www.tiktok.com/@crisispod

In this new series, Crisis What Crisis? Andy Coulson – former newspaper editor, Downing Street Communications Director and inmate of HMP Belmarsh – talks to the embattled, shamed, courageous, ruined, resilient, unlucky (and lucky) survivors of crisis. Some names will be familiar, some less so. But they will talk honestly, with humour and in the hope that they have valuable lessons to share at a time when crisis has become the new normal. Crisis What Crisis? is all about frank, authentic and useful storytelling. First episode coming soon...