Ctrl Alt Delete

Welcome to Ctrl Alt Delete! My guest today is one of my favourite authors, the incredibly inspiring force of nature that is Naomi Alderman! She is the multi-award-winning novelist of Disobedience and The Power. Disobedience has been adapted into a film directed by Sebastián Lelio, based on the novel of the same name by Naomi and stars both Rachael McAdams and Rachel Weiz. It is out in cinemas now. And The Power is one of Obama's favourite books! No big deal.Speaking of cinemas: I'm excited that this episode is in partnership with Curzon Cinemas. http://bit.ly/2P1WwKZFor nearly a century, Curzon has been pioneering ways to bring audiences exclusive access to a brilliant selection of award winning, classic and contemporary independent films from around the world. I'm excited to tell you about Curzon Home Cinema. By registering you get access to a selection of the latest cinema releases available now to watch from the comfort of your own home. I love going to the cinema but I also love staying in (especially during this dark winter months). So wherever you are in the UK and Ireland, you can watch new films at home! So the choice is yours: watch your films at the cinema, or instantly at home, Curzon offers you both choices. Why not try out watching Disobedience at home?So, a bit more about the iconic Naomi Alderman. Her literary début came in 2006 called Disobedience, a well-received yet slightly controversial novel about a North London rabbi's lesbian daughter living in New York, which won her the 2006 Orange Award for New Writers, the 2007 Sunday Times Young Writer of the Year Award, and a feature as one of the Waterstones 25 Writers for the Future.Her other novel, The Power, won the Baileys Women's Prize for Fiction in 2017. The Power was THE book of the year last year, an incredible sci-fi/dystopian novel about gendered violence and the fetishisation of power. The premise of the book is that women are more powerful than men. God becomes a “she”; and men are frightened to walk alone at night.We discuss life as a polymath, what it's like having Rachel Weisz ring you up and want to turn your book into a film and how to know whether something is a good or bad idea when it comes to creating stuff. Thank you, Naomi. Such an inspiring episode. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

My guest today is the wonderful Hari Nef: model, actress, activist and first trans woman signed to IMG Worldwide​​, one of the biggest model management firm​s in the world. ​She has grace​d​ the cover​s ​​​of​ publications such as Elle UK, Love Magazine and Interview, and has appeared in editorials in Vogue and Wonderland Magazine, among others. She may be currently best known for her ​role ​in the  Emmy award-winning series TRANSPARENT. ​​ ​Hari currently lives in LA and ​is currently starring​ in the Gucci Bloom fragrance campaign alongside Dakota Johnson and Petra Collins. Most recently Hari has starred in black comedy thriller Assassination Nation ​(also starring Suki Waterhouse) which ​i​​​​s out now in UK cinemas​. It is about ​​a group of best friends live in a world of selfies, emojis, snaps and sexts. But when their town of Salem is besieged by a massive data hack, resulting in half the citizens’ private info spewed into the public view, the community descends into anarchy. ​The Times have called it "The Crucible for the Instagram era​" and critics at The Guardian have said it "feels like the product of a one-night stand between Spring Breakers and The Purge."In this episode we chat about the film, dealing with internet storms, how to follow your gut when choosing which projects to work on and why she loves working on thrillers that centre around social media. Hope you enjoy! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Pandora Sykes is a journalist and co-host of The High Low podcast. Pandora is a former colleague of mine; we were part of the launch team of the now defunct website The Debrief back in 2014. She was the fashion editor, I was the social media editor. She then went on to hold the iconic position of Fashion Features Editor and Wardrobe Mistress columnist of The Sunday Times Style magazine.Now, Pandora is now doing many different things; she is a journalist, brand consultant, podcast co-host and speaker. She is a Contributing Editor at Man Repeller and ELLE, she has written for titles including The Guardian, Marie Claire, Vogue, Red magazine, i-D, The Cut, Vogue Australia, The Spectator and The Sunday Times.Pandora is the co-host of an iTunes No.1 weekly culture podcast, The High Low (one of my faves) which she created with author and journalist, Dolly Alderton which has a major cult following.We discuss sharing, multi-hyphenate careers, career evolution, writing, authenticity and sticking to what feels right for you. This is Pandora's Manrepeller piece about online sharing that we discuss: https://www.manrepeller.com/2018/09/maintaining-selective-privacy-online.html   Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

E. Lockhart is a New York Times bestselling author of ten novels, including We Were Liars, which was a New York Times bestseller and Zoella Book Club pick, and the novel Genuine Fraud, soon to be a film produced by Lena Dunham and Jenni Konner of HBO series Girls.In this episode we talk about writing, writing writing! The art of writing novels, how to keep your momentum when writing, how to study the books you love and how to manage your ego and ignore reviews, good and bad.Favourite quote from the episode:"The me who can write a novel is not the same me who goes to the grocery stores and swimming pool and does things with my family. That person doesn't know how to write a novel." Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This episode is with Scott Harrison, founder of Charity:Water and Joshua Coombes, founder of Do Something For Nothing. I had the best time getting to know two amazing entrepreneurs last week when I hosted a master class called "Passion to Purpose" at the WeWork Creator Awards in London. Scott has the most interesting story and has helped millions get access to clean water. Joshua is probably best known for the haircuts he offers to homeless people all over the world and whose stories he shares shares their stories to encourage people to connect with others. These two guys essentially created their own opportunities in social entrepreneurialism using cultural norms like water and grooming to serve marginalised communities. I learned a lot and I hope you find this episode as inspiring as I did. Thank you to WeWork for having me host this.  If you're an entrepreneur, you're going to want to know more about the Creator Awards pitch competition -  check out the WeWork London Creator recap  to learn more.  In the episode I mention the WeWork London Economic Impact Report which has a ton of interesting stats surrounding entrepreneurs.  Stay up to date with WeWork on IG and Twitter.     Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Estée Lalonde is a returning guest! Estée is a U.K.-based lifestyle vlogger, author and fellow podcaster, who shares her beauty and fashion expertise with more than 1.2 million subscribers on her YouTube channel every week. She has served as a brand ambassador for the likes of Lancôme, Garnier, and Adidas, and last year, she launched a podcast called The Heart Of It, in which she explores subjects that close to her heart — including feminism, travel, and tattoos — alongside guests. This year she launched a new podcast called On The Line, and she has also brought out a jewellery collection with DAISY London. We catch up on life, work, dates, crystals and everything in between. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jodi Picoult ​is the bestselling author​ of 25 novels.​​ Her books have sold over 15 million copies worldwide, and have been translated into​ almost 50 languages.​In this episode -- (recorded live at Foyles Charing Cross as part of Jodi's UK tour) -- we discuss her newest book A Spark Of Light, which centres around women, choice and abortion rights in America​. It unravels backwards, with characters held hostage in an abortion centre in Mississippi. As the novel goes on, you start to realise what brought all the different characters there.Jodi has always centred her novels around important topics. In her novel Nineteen Minutes, she wrote about the aftermath of a school shooting in a small town, and it was her first book to debut at number 1 on the New York Times best-seller list. Her book Change of Heart, published on March 4, 2008, was her second novel to debut at number 1 on that list.​ One of the books she might be also best known for is My Sister's Keeper, which was made into a film starring Cameron Diaz. In her book, Small Great Things​, she tackled racism and white supremacy.In 2016, Jodi joined the advisory board of Vida: Women in Literary Arts, which is a "non-profit feminist organization committed to creating transparency around the lack of gender parity in the literary landscape and to amplifying historically-marginalized voices, including people of color; writers with disabilities; and queer, trans and gender nonconforming individuals."Quotes from the episode:"When women don't tell their stories, narratives are written for us. And they are narratives of blame and shame.""Women's rights are universal rights.""We have to reach across the aisle. We have to speak to people who think differently to us. Instead of judging and talking, you have to sit back and listen, and hope they will give you the grace to do the same thing." Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This episode is with Areeq Chowdhury, founder and chief executive of the voluntary, youth-led, think tank WebRoots Democracy. I wanted to do an episode of Ctrl Alt Delete all about online voting. Can it happen? Will it happen? When will it happen?Other countries are already experimenting with online voting and we do everything with our phones, so I wanted to explore the pros and cons for this conversation. We discuss the benefits (research says online voting would make more people more likely to vote) and the push-backs, including security concerns, privacy and hacking and clicktivism. One thing that stood out from chatting to Areeq was that the people who would benefit the most from this would be people living with disabilities. For a lot of people, it's not a case of 'can't be bothered' it's a case of 'can't physically get there'.Areeq Chowdhury was born and brought up in Manchester and studied Economics and Political Science at the University of Birmingham where he began researching the relationship between the internet and political participation. After graduating in 2013, he moved to London and has worked at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, the London Assembly, the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, and KPMG.At the age of 21, he founded WebRoots Democracy which has been leading the campaign for online voting and has been working with politicians, charities, thinktanks, and technology companies on researching the benefits and challenges of a digital democracy. He has authored and edited two reports on the topic: Viral Voting (2015) and Secure Voting (2016). Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This is the second part of this interview, recorded live, which focuses on the audience Q&A! Katherine Ormerod is a journalist, influencer and author. She has worked as a journalist for over a decade, starting her career as a fashion assistant at Sunday Times Style, moving to Grazia to become Senior Fashion News & Features Editor then on to Glamour where she was Fashion Features Editor at Large. Prior to her career, she graduated with a MA(Hons) in History from the University of Edinburgh and went on to get a Master's in Fashion History & Theory from the London College of Fashion. Katherine has written for the FT, the Telegraph, Harper's Bazaar and the Mail on Sunday.In January 2017, she launched workworkwork.co, an anti-perfectionism platform where high-profile social media stars and women with aspirational careers share stories from their 'unedited' lives.​She's now written a book 'Why Social Media Is Ruining Your Life' a no-holds-barred, no-filter look at what social media is doing to us as a society, and how we can deconstruct the online fantasy to change our own attitudes about modern womanhood.Quotes from the episode:​"​S​ocial media takes all the WORK out."​ ​'Social media has to be ONE of the ​pans frying in our general life, it can't be the only pan frying. It can't be every part of the way you validate yourself. It can't be the only way you promote your career."  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Katherine Ormerod is a journalist, influencer and author. She has worked as a journalist for over a decade, starting her career as a fashion assistant at Sunday Times Style, moving to Grazia to become Senior Fashion News & Features Editor then on to Glamour where she was Fashion Features Editor at Large. Prior to her career, she graduated with a MA(Hons) in History from the University of Edinburgh and went on to get a Master's in Fashion History & Theory from the London College of Fashion. Katherine has written for the FT, the Telegraph, Harper's Bazaar and the Mail on Sunday.In January 2017, she launched workworkwork.co, an anti-perfectionism platform where high-profile social media stars and women with aspirational careers share stories from their 'unedited' lives.​She's now written a book 'Why Social Media Is Ruining Your Life' a no-holds-barred, no-filter look at what social media is doing to us as a society, and how we can deconstruct the online fantasy to change our own attitudes about modern womanhood.Quotes from the episode:​"​S​ocial media takes all the WORK out."​ ​'Social media has to be ONE of the ​pans frying in our general life, it can't be the only pan frying. It can't be every part of the way you validate yourself. It can't be the only way you promote your career."  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This is a special live recording of Ctrl Alt Delete focused on​ all things​ periods, from cramps to menstrual mishaps, bloody good anecdotes, mind-boggling facts and incredible stories as we delve into a raw discussion about all aspects periods around the world.This was recorded at Hoxton Square Bar & Grill in collaboration with Project Period, a campaign bringing together activists to maximise momentum on efforts to put period poverty onto the global agenda.On the panel were three brilliant women talking about periods: gynecologist and Instagram influencer Anita Mittra “The Gynae Geek”, period poverty activist Holly Bantleman, and social entrepreneur Tasha Bishop of “The Pants Project’.The aim of this conversation is to raise awareness (and money) for women affected by period stigmas and the lack of access to sanitary products and relevant information related to menstruation around the world. We want to change perspectives and attitudes on periods, and drive any one listening to take action to end period poverty and put stigmas to an end.Want to take action?We are uniting our voices under www.thisisourperiod.org. Please click the link and sign the period promise, where you can find out more about organisations and activists working on the issue. You can follow recent events and projects by signing the period promise and following the latest on Instagram @thisisourperiod.**100% of proceeds from the live recording will support Juliana's project in Kenya; a hub to create jobs for women and ensure a steady supply of sanitary pads in rural Kenya** Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

My guest today is the incredible entrepreneur Amy Thomson​. She was the founder of SEEN, a global marketing agency working with brands such as Nike, Microsoft and RBS. She is also the co-founder of a business school for future female leaders called Future Girl Corp (alongside Sharmadean Reid, another Ctrl Alt DElete guest), which has a simple mission to inspire the new generation of female leaders. Now, she, alongside her team, has ​launched the Moody Month App. ​The mission ​of the app i​s to empower every woman to harness their moods through understanding their hormonal and emotional selves. The Moody Month App will allow you to track your monthly moods and cycle, along with plugging straight into your calendar and giving you mood forecasts for your month. ​The message behind the app is that being moody is your biggest asset, it's what makes you human not a robot. By having more awareness of your moods, means you can optimise your happiness. Let’s all re-connect and embrace the things that make us humans​.​​​​​Amy has shared her story and inspiration behind the app so honestly and openly in this episode. In 2015, when​ her periods stopped due to ​stress, she ​start​ed​ a diary, and began to see patterns linking her bad moods and her hormonal imbalance.​ ​​She then sold her agency, broke up with ​her boyfriend and set out on a mission to build this​ new​ technology​ which has turned into ​Moody. The​ site​ and app​ offers advice, from books recommendations, t​o articles ​to superfood tips. There’s an online shop, too​. I found this conversation SO inspiring and I hope you do too.​My favourite quote from the episode:"I'm getting Ubers, I'm ordering food, I'm using Nike Plus to track my running, but I'm a writing an analogue diary for my periods??" Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Helena Morrissey who is one of the best-known women in the City.She handles billions of pounds worth of assets for many years and is now Head of Personal Investing at Legal and General Management, a new role aimed at engaging the nation to save and invest more.In 2010, Helena founded the 30% Club, a cross-business initiative to achieve better gender-balanced UK company boards. She wrote a book earlier this year called A Good Time to be a Girl: Don’t Lean In, Change the System. The Ft said about her book "At its heart is a conviction that diversity in any workplace will lead to a better, fairer and more prosperous society". She was named one of Fortune Magazine’s World’s 50 Greatest Leaders. She has twice been voted one of the 50 Most Influential People in Finance globally by Bloomberg Markets. she was awarded an Honorary Doctorate by Cambridge University in 2016. She was appointed CBE in the 2012 New Year’s Honours list for her contribution to the role of women in business. In 2017, she was made a dame.Helena is married to a Buddhist meditation teacher and they have nine children, six girls and three boys whose ages range from 8 to 26.In this episode we talk about the importance of investing your future in this episode, how you don't have to be like a man to be successful and what it's like having 9 kids and making your career work.Quotes from the episode:"You don't have to be formidable to be a successful business woman.""I have a Dame-hood, but actually I'm no better or worse a person than before that. I want to use any influence I have for good." Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Chloe Milligan runs a florist company called MUD Urban Flowers. Unlike a traditional florist, MUD operates solely online and this innovative, contemporary take on the trade soon became a great success. MUD Urban Flowers has now expanded into Edinburgh and has plans to continue growing UK wide via franchises from early 2019.In a landmark year celebrating 100 years since women were granted the vote, I teamed up with Royal Bank of Scotland to bring together Scotland’s most inspiring, like-minded and motivated women at a series of four networking events across the country to encourage businesswomen to connect, support one another and thrive together. The events were held in Aberdeen, Dundee, Edinburgh and Glasgow. The events come on the back of a report commissioned by Royal Bank of Scotland that revealed the challenges facing women in business and what they do to overcome them.*This episode is part of a paid partnership with Royal Bank Of Scotland.* Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Farrah Storr is the award-winning editor-in-chief of the UK's Cosmopolitan magazine. She took over the brand in 2015 where she was tasked with reimagining it for the millennial woman. The October issue of Cosmo magazine has model and body-positivity advocate Tess Holliday on the cover. It was celebrated across the internet by many who lauded the magazine for championing body positivity and embracing larger bodies but it was also battled out on Good Morning Britain (by Piers Morgan) arguing that it glorifies obesity. Over her 17-year career as a journalist Farrah has done everything from undercover investigations in the world of cut-price cosmetic surgery to reporting from inside some of the world’s most luxurious fashion houses. She was also the founding editor-in-chief of Women’s Health magazine – the most successful women’s magazine launch of the decade.In 2017 Farrah was cited as one of only 36 BAME leaders in The Guardian UK’s 1000 Most Powerful list.Her first book is out now called The Discomfort Zone all about the power of discomfort, published by Piatkus, which we discuss a lot in this episode.Quotes from the episode:"Being vulnerable is what you have to do as a writer, that is your job.. sometimes that means putting yourself up for scrutiny from other people, but that's what makes the best writers.""You can have it all....ish. It's naive to think you can have everything.""True heroes are never that popular.""Most of success is the climb; the grind to actually get to success. The grind should be the enjoyable bit." Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This episode of Ctrl Alt Delete is in collaboration with CityFibre, talking all about connectivity and the future of tech. I wanted to do an episode on the future of work, tech, modern cities and Internet connection. Chatting to me on these topics is Laura Osborne who works with CityFibre. Laura’s background is in public affairs, government communications and more recently consumer campaigning. She was Which?’s first Head of Corporate Affairs, working with businesses to improve the banking, energy and telecoms markets for consumers.Now she is helping to lead the campaign calling on the Advertising Standards Authority to change the rules on how “fibre” is used in broadband adverts, so that consumers are no longer misled. In this episode we talk about the impact of smart technology in our homes, online doctors, digital assistants who can pick up on your mood and health data, how the internet connection you have matters, how connectivity affects or can improve the way we work and lots more. We also discuss how in 2016, only 5% of engineering modern apprenticeships were taken up by women, and how only 24% of those in digital technology jobs in the UK are women and what can be done about that. We discuss the future of modern connected cities too, as in cities like Tallinn, people engage with their government effortlessly via digital platforms that enable them to sign contracts, file their taxes, and vote. Can the UK follow? In general, we discuss what’s in store of the future of our technology as we become more and more connected. For more info on the campaign to change the broadband advertising rules visit www.coppersaurus.com. #ad Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Fearne Cotton is a TV presenter, podcast host and author. Fearne has been presenting live TV since the age of 15 when she was spotted by ITV’s ‘Disney Club’ Her warmth, natural interview skills and ability to make presenting live TV seem effortless and has given her the opportunity to present a variety of shows over the years.In 2005 she joined Radio 1 where she spent 10 incredible years, initially co-hosting morning shows with Reggie Yates and then moving onto the UK Top 40 show before taking over the prestigious weekday morning slot in 2009; here she mixed big celebrity interviews with exclusive acoustic performances in the Live Lounge. The show attracted over 4 million listeners and in 2012 she won a Sony Gold Award for the show.An enthusiastic cook, Fearne released her first cookbook in June 2016. She is also the author of Calm, Happy, Yoga Babies and Hungry Babies.Fearne is a mother of two and continues to find time to support a range of charities with seemingly no challenge too big for her, whether it be climbing Kilimanjaro for Comic Relief, or trekking the Inca Trail for Breast Cancer Care. Fearne is an ambassador for The Prince’s Trust and also a patron for Post Pals, Tyler’s Trust and Coppafeel!, the latter of which she curates the charity’s music festival, FESTIFEEL.In this episode we talk about Fearne's multi-hyphenate career, being a mum, mental health, writing and how social media can help further positive conversations.Favourite quotes from the episode:"There are less taboo subjects these days and if there are taboos there's definitely someone out there trying to break them." "Sometimes I feel like I'm nailing it, and other times it's all falling apart." On juggling multiple projects and being a mum. "in my twenties [success] was purely work-based - that's all I cared about. It was about being on a big TV show and being seen. Whereas now, that really doesn't factor into what I'm doing." "When I left Radio 1, I'd had a second child and literally had no work lined up, I was quite scared at that point." Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Yasmin Khan is an award-winning author, campaigner and cook.In 2013, after suffering a debilitating burnout and having to step back from her human rights work, Yasmin switched careers and turned to food as a tool through which to share people’s stories. She ran a Kickstarter to write a book that would offer a window into Iran, the result of which is her best-selling debut book The Saffron Tales: Recipes From the Persian Kitchen (Bloomsbury, 2016). The book was chosen by the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal and the BBC Food Programme as one of the best cookbooks of 2016.Yasmin’s second book, Zaitoun: Recipes and Stories from the Palestinian Kitchen was published in July 2018 and immediately became a number 1 best-seller on Amazon. The book is a collection of recipes and stories gathered from her travels through Israel, the West Bank and Gaza and was heralded by the late, great, Anthony Bourdain as “A moving, hugely knowledgeable and utterly delicious book”.In this episode we talk burn-out, Kickstarter, career changes, micro-communities and how to manage multiple projects. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Justin Myers is a journalist who for a long time wrote under his pseudonym The Guyliner.​ I first started reading his hilarious writing back in 2012 when his blog posts started getting published on the Huffington Post.​ He has written for Gay Times, GQ and the Guardian. His first novel, The Last Romeo, was published by Little, Brown in Spring this year. We talk about writing non fiction and how his fiction has some similarities to his journalistic career.His book The Last Romeo tells a story of the character James -  his long relationship with Adam ends, decides to try out the dating scene for the first time, writing about his exploits for a small, loyal audience under a secret identity: the Last Romeo. An account of a date with a closeted celebrity boosts the blog’s popularity, not to mention its notoriety, and soon James finds himself reluctantly internet-famous, and dealing with the associated perks and pitfalls; the fans, trolls, and haters, who all want to know one thing: who the hell is Romeo?We talk about what it's like coming out as your real self from behind an anonymous blog and how to use your experiences for a novel. We also talk about age and I like this quote from Justin: "There is no new rule that once you hit 35 or 40, you are suddenly no longer interested in new things around you or new stuff." Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Sharmadean Reid founded WAH Nails as a side project in 2009 – now it is a huge global well-known business.In this episode I chat to Sharmadean about productivity and distraction. She has a brilliant Guardian column called Bossing It where she answers modern work questions.She wrote two WAH nails books, delivered global pop up nail salons for 100s of brands, created a product line with Walgreen Boots Alliance and was awarded an MBE for services to Beauty.So now she is building a new way to book beauty online with her new company Beauty Stack.We talk about what she’d learned from starting businesses. Sharmadean’s also working on a new campaign with NatWest which is all about helping small businesses be the best they can be. A big focus is on helping small businesses do more with less and improve their productivity through the NatWest Productivity Blueprint.The medium article I reference in the opening section of the interview is called “Growing Up Too Fast — Or Why I Closed WAH Nails Topshop”.Soundbites I love from this episode:“Why not write a completely new rule for how we determine success?”“Create your own pic ‘n’ mix from other people’s successful bios”“You can’t copy someone else’s path”“Being productive doesn’t mean being chained your desk the whole time.” Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Charly Cox is a 22-year-old writer, producer, poet and author of She Must Be Mad.Her writing focuses on destigmatizing mental health and the coming-of-age of a young woman surviving the modern world. In January 2017, she published her first poem on Instagram, showing her internet followers her poetry for the first time; since then she’s been asked to be Virgin Radio’s poet in residence, she’s been published on Refinery29, hosted poetry nights to raise money and awareness for MQ Mental Health and been named by ELLE magazine as one of their 20 power players to watch out for in 2018. She Must Be Mad is Charly’s first book.She Must be Mad explores coming-of-age: the pain and beauty of love, the relief and the agony of turning from girl to woman, the isolation of an untethered mind and the power and subjugation of the body.We discuss writing, success, mental health, how as a poet, people might worry they are "fodder" for your work, the insanity of being alone for long periods of time when writing, crying for two weeks over book covers and the importance of the phrase "I have a mental illness but I have really good mental health".   Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

My guest today is the actress Gemma Arterton.We spoke about the new film she's in called The Escape, which she also executive produced. Her breakthrough role was in the James Bond film Quantum of Solace (2008), playing Bond Girl Strawberry Fields, which won her an Empire Award for Best Newcomer. She played the lead role in the film Their Finest (2017). She was the title star of the film The Disappearance of Alice Creed (2009). She is known for her roles in the fantasy films Clash of the Titans (2010), Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time (2010), Byzantium (2013), and as the character Gretel in Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters (2013). She played Joan in Bernard Shaw's Saint Joan at Donmar Warehouse, December 2016.The Escape is an intimate portrait of a married woman who seemingly has it all. Married young, shehas all the trappings of a successful life: a house, a husband, children and a nice lifestyle. But she is unhappy and yearns for more, something that she is unable to put her finger on.We discuss escapism, acting, social media, relationships, improvising on set and why the topics in this film are close to her heart. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

​So excited to interview ​Rose, a writer & creative director and author of PURE.​This episode was recorded at the BFI Southbank for my live mini series there called ​From Book to Screen.I first came across Rose’s work in 2014 when I pledged for the book on Unbound called PURE – about Pure ‘O’ a type of OCD – in Rose’s case she would get intrusive sexual thoughts.Pure is the true story of her life with intrusive sexual thoughts – a rampant but little-known symptom of the disorder. It tracks her journey from when she was first seized by graphic mental images to her eventual recovery through therapy, acceptance and love.At its core, Pure is about uncertainty and insecurity- it’s about finding beauty in greyness, and embracing the unfathomable weirdness of the human mind.I wanted to ask her about the process of how her book PURE is being turned into a TV show as part of this mini series I'm doing called #FromBookToScreen. It is being adapted into Channel 4 adaptation of her memoir on the story of her life with intrusive sexual thoughts. It’s produced by Drama Republic (who have made Mad Fat Diary, The Honourable Woman, Doctor Foster) and adapted by the very talented Kirstie Swain) and airing on Channel 4 soon.​She has fingers in pies, currently ​writing a film for FKA Twigs. Past projects include the relaunch of Channel 4’s Random Acts; writing the world’s first OCD chatbot; and developing This Girl Can – Phenomenal Women. Rose used to publish under her mother’s maiden name, Bretécher. Hope you enjoy this episode! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

My guests today are authors and best friends Yomi Adegoke and Elizabeth Uviebinené​.​ They are the authors of SLAY IN YOUR LANE.SLAY IN YOUR LANE is the long-awaited, inspirational guide to life for a generation of black British women inspired to make lemonade out of lemons, and find success in every area of their lives.It was​ included in top Elle’s 12 addictive books of 2018, Metro’s best new books in 2018 and BBC’s hotly anticipated debut authors for 2018.Yomi Adegoke and Elizabeth Uviebinené searched for a book that addressed the​ ​challenges​ ​for young black women and​ ​they realised none existed. So Slay in Your Lane – the lovechild of exasperation and optimism – was born. From education, to work, to dating, to representation, money and health,​ ​this is an ​ ​inspirational, honest and provocative Black Girl Bibl​e​ – the book​ ​offers advice and encouragement​ ​from the authors and​ ​interviews with dozens of the most successful black women in Britain – including Charlene White, Jamelia, Denise Lewis, Malorie Blackman and Dawn Butler MP.Yomi​ ​is an award-winning journalist and senior writer at The Pool. She writes about race, feminism, popular culture and how they intersect, as well as class and politics.Elizabeth is a​ ​former​ ​Marketing Manager​ ​and has a degree in​ ​Politics and International relations degree and specialises in creating marketing campaigns that are both culturally progressive and commercially relevant. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Amika George is an 18-year-old student from North London. She started the #FreePeriods campaign, which calls on the government to give free menstrual products to children from low-income families​.This episode was recorded at #SheInspiresMe Live, a feminist festival put on by Women For Women International. Sorry that it's a bit echoey, it was a really large room and the mics sadly weren't perfect for podcasting.Women for Women International are a charity passionate about empowering the world’s most marginalised women. For 25 years, we’ve worked with women in countries affected by conflict, equipping over 472,000 women with skills, confidence and connections to advocate for their rights and make their voices heard.The first #SheInspiresMe Live Feminist Festival aims to capitalise on recent momentum around women’s rights, and get more people involved and empowered to build a more equal future. Women for Women International is built on solidarity and sisterhood. They are committed to strengthening and connecting this global movement, and want every woman, everywhere, to know she can be a part of it.I hope you enjoy this episode, we talk digital activism, how to maintain a campaign online, how to use your voice and how to juggle multiple projects. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Welcome back to Ctrl Alt Delete Podcast – this is a very special one! I got to record a very special episode at the Queen’s Young Leaders Ceremony from Buckingham Palace…(and I got meet the Queen!)I was there to celebrate the Queen’s Young Leaders Award. It’s a real honour to be there for the final ever Queen’s Young Leader Award ceremony and celebrate the amazing work these young people are doing all over the Commonwealth. Collectively, they’re tackling a huge range of issues, from climate change, to mental health stigma, to gender based violence. These guys really show just how important young people are to tackling some of the world’s most pressing problems.I chatted to Siposetu Sethu Mbuli from South Africa. Siposetu is developing new ways to end the stigma of albinism in South Africa. Growing up with albinism herself, and mindful of the misconceptions that still exist around it, Siposetu co-founded Love, This Skin. I also chatted to Harry Phinda, who promotes the rights of women and girls through education. He is the co-founder of Youth for Change (YFC), which is a global youth led organisation that works in partnership with organisations and governments to tackle gender-based violence and to create positive change. You will also be inspired by Alexia Hilbertidou, who is inspiring young women in New Zealand to become leaders in the fields of science, technology, engineering and maths (also known as STEM), leadership and entrepreneurship.In the Green Drawing Room at Buckingham Palace, I chatted with YouTuber Caspar Lee, Nicola Adams OBE and some more of the Queens Young Leaders themselves.The young people dedicated to changing the world received a Queen’s Young Leader Award from Her Majesty The Queen at Buckingham Palace. This year’s group of Award winners are from 38 Commonwealth countries and work across a wide range of issues and are finding solutions to global issues such as climate change, food scarcity, gender-based violence, mental health, and access to education.Now in its fourth and final year, the Programme has created a powerful network of 240 Award winners who have incredible leadership potential and passion to make the world a better place.The now complete Queen’s Young Leaders network is a lasting legacy to Her Majesty The Queen, as they connect, collaborate and continue to change lives for years to come. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Adam Kay is a best-selling and award-winning author, script writer and performer.We recorded this episode as part of Independent Book Shop Week in Lutyens & Rubenstein in Notting Hill to a live audience, thanks to everyone who came along!He writes extensively for TV and film. He is author of the number one bestselling and multi-award-winning book "This is Going to Hurt", about his former career as a junior doctor, which was an instant Sunday Times number one bestseller, topping the charts for five months. It has been translated into 20 languages.Adam first achieved success as frontman of Amateur Transplants, with 20 million hits (including the iconic London Underground Song), and as a solo performer has had multiple sell-out Edinburgh Fringe and West End seasons as well as sell-out international tours.Hope you enjoy this episode!  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

My guest today is Esther Perel, a psychotherapist of 35 years, and New York Times bestselling author.Esther Perel is recognised as one of today’s most insightful and original voices on modern relationships. Fluent in nine languages, she has a therapy practice in New York City and is an consultant for Fortune 500 companies around the world. Her celebrated TED talks have garnered more than 20 million views and her international bestseller Mating in Captivity which became a global phenomenon translated into 25 languages. Her newest book The State of Affairs: Rethinking Infidelity (HarperCollins) is also a New York Times bestseller . Esther is also an exec producer and host of the popular podcast Where Should We Begin? It is an incredible podcast where you can listen into live therapy sessions. Learn more at EstherPerel.com or by following @EstherPerelOfficial on Instagram. Favourite quotes from the episode:​"Today you don't choose between 2 people in the village, or 6 people at school, you choose between ​1,000 at your fingertips. That swiping culture gives you a dizzying level of options.""How do I know I've found ~the one~? You're going to delete your dating apps.""The burdens of the self have never been heavier. Today all the big decisions are on us.""Friendship is one of the most beautiful relationships. You cannot be friends with someone that isn't friends with you. You can love someone who doesn't love you back, but friendship is a reciprocal relationship.""We can't only use longevity in relationships as a marker of success."On her podcast Where Do We Begin: "It's so raw and intimidate, it's almost scary."On giving advice to friends: "What works for me, might not be what works for you." Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This is a special live episode recording live at Waterstones Tottenham Court Road as part of my Multi-Hyphen Method book tour.I spoke to the amazing Chidera Eggerue aka The Slumflower, author of WHAT A TIME TO BE ALONE, viral sensation and inspirational speaker who makes the Internet a better place. We were also joined by Louise Troen, VP of International marketing at Bumble (one of the sponsors of my UK book tour!) In this episode, I discuss topics from my book The Multi-Hyphen Method - we discuss confidence, self-promotion, new definitions of success, creativity in the workplace, flexi-hours and how to foster diverse thought at work. I absolutely loved recording this episode, and hope you enjoy listening! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What's your side-hustle? I chat to my literary agent Abbie Bergstrom (head of Gleam Titles) about her side hustles. I ask Abbie her thoughts on each section of my new book The Multi-Hyphen Method (success, motivation, money, life) as a bonus episode of the podcast. Abbie worked at the publisher Simon & Schuster for 5 years before launching an exciting literary agency called Gleam Titles. Normal author/guest interviews resume next week! The Multi-Hyphen Method is available to buy now. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A special one-off episode where I AM THE GUEST on my own podcast! I am interviewed in this episode by my literary agent and head of Gleam Titles, Abigail Bergstrom, about my new book.We talk about my brand new book The Multi-Hyphen Method: Work less, create more and design your own career.The first question on the back of my book is: world of work is changing – so how do you keep up?In this episode we talk about multi-hyphenate careers, the new definitions of success, flexible working, the work-life blend, talking about money, unconventional careers and how to design your own career.If you’ve been itching to convert your craft into a career, or your side-hustle into a start up, then The Multi-Hyphen Method is for you.The internet and our phones mean we can work wherever, whenever and allows us to design our own working lives. Forget the outdated stigma of being a jack of all trades, because having many strings to your bow is essential to get ahead in the modern working world. We all have the skills necessary to work less and create more, and The Multi-Hyphen Method is the source of inspiration you need to help you navigate your way towards your own definition of success.Listen to the podcast below and pre-order the book HERE. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Sam Conniff Allende is a multi award-winning serial social entrepreneur, acclaimed public speaker, consultant and author of Be More Pirate.Be More Pirate (or How To Take On The World and Win) is out now by Penguin Random House and is a manifesto for radical action and change based on the true and untold strategy and success of the Golden Age of Pirates as agents of change, leadership and social innovation. Sam is a brilliant public speaker on a range of topics and has worked with clients ranging from Netflix to PlayStation, Facebook and Google.He is on board of Livity, a youth-led creative network and has helped thousands of young people across the world.In this episode we discuss trusting your instinct, defining success, how success is a mess, why you should break rules and how to take back power into your own hands.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

​This episode is with Louise O'Neill, the award-winning Irish novelist. Louise has written a​ feminist retelling of The Little Mermaid​ which has ​just been​ published by Scholastic​. ​A spokesperson for ​the​ publisher said ofThe Surface Breaks: “Christian Andersen’s dark, original fairy tale is reimagined through a searing feminist lens, with the stunning, scalpel-sharp writing that has won Louise her legions of devoted fans.”​ In the Disney version of The Little Mermaid, Ariel changes her body to please a man, is at the beck and call of her father and she even has her voice taken away from her. I got to interview Louise O'Neill at Waterstones Piccadilly in May (2018) about the book as part of a live podcast recording. We discussed feminism, writing fantasy literature, her inspirations ​and why Mermaids are back on trend again.​"It's funny once you become a feminist you can't enjoy any pop culture, everything is fucking ruined"."On her main character Gaia: "I just wanted to see her as a girl who wanted to take up more space in the world."​ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Holly McGlynn is an award-winning fashion photographer.Her clients include Chanel, Mulberry, Louis Vuitton and she's been shortlisted for Irish Fashion Photographer of the Year twice and won a gold medal in the Prix de la Photographie Paris 2015. We talk about how photography is a competitive industry, how to get into it, how it is a male-dominated industry still, the intimacy of the job and taking someone's picture. There's also lots of honesty in this episode about having a baby and going back to work, especially when you have a very physical job and are self-employed. We also discuss having inclusion riders on your set when working on a project.Hope you enjoy this episode, don't forget to rate and review! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Today's guest is Harriet Hall is Stylist's Head of Digital Features and Author of SHE: A Celebration of Renegade Women.Harri specialises in fashion and feminism, and edits the Stylist Ask a Feminist column. Her book SHE: A Celebration of Renegade Women is available on Amazon and all good books shops. SHE is a love letter to all the women who have thrown out the rulebook and threatened the status quo. It's a toast to the brave, bold and brilliant women who make us proud.We talk about the process of what happens when an editor commission you to write a book without a literary agent, dealing with trolls and branded feminism.Hope you enjoy this one! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Reni Eddo-Lodge is an award winning journalist, author, and podcaster.Her debut non-fiction book, Why I’m No Longer Talking to White People About Race was published in summer 2017 to critical acclaim.She also has a new podcast out which you can find on iTunes! You can listen to it now, it’s called About Race with Reni Eddo-Lodge and launched in March 2018.Her book instantly became a Sunday Times bestseller and won the 2018 Jhalak Prize. It has also been shortlisted for a British Book Award in the category of narrative non-fiction. The book earned a spot on the longlist for the prestigious Baillie Gifford Prize for non-fiction, and was shortlisted for the Books Are My Bag Readers Awards (non-fiction). It was voted non-fiction book of the year for 2017 by booksellers at both Foyles and Blackwells , and selected by actress Emma Watson as an Our Shared Shelf book pick.We forgot to reference a few names when quoting, so here they are:-Reni quoted Malcolm Gladwell "3 people" in the Tipping Point.-I quoted Lauren Bravo's "quotas analogy are like Invisalyn braces" tweet.Huge thank you to producers Shola Aleje and Marcus Hessenberg and Mark and Elizabeth from Waterstones Gower St for being amazing.Enjoy!  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Clover Stroud is a journalist and award-winning author.We chatted a lot before the episode, I felt like I'd met Clover before. I think that's what happens when you read so much about someone's life in a book. We met at Hodder (our shared publisher) and we really did just jump straight into it from the minute I pressed record. Clover is such an articulate, warm, brilliant person in person. Her unique and beautiful voice shines all the way through her memoir.Clover’s book The Wild Other is my favourite memoir of last year. A memoir that stays with you with so long afterwards, it is warm, it is sad, it is hopeful.The book is about Clover Stroud's idyllic childhood in rural country - which was then shattered when Clover was 16 a horrific riding accident left her mother permanently brain-damaged.The memoir is Clover’s journey to dealing with everything. It’s a memoir of travel and adventure too - travels to Ireland, to the rodeos of Texas and then to Russia's war-torn Caucasus, Clover eventually found her way back home.The Wild Other is a grippingly honest account of love, loss, family and the healing strength of nature.“Clover Stroud is a force of nature, and a woman who is fearless in the face of life and death. I loved it." - Elizabeth Gilbert Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Stacey Dooley is one of Britain’s most loved documentary presenters. In her series Stacey Dooley Investigates she has looked at a variety of topics from sex trafficking and underage sex slavery and the dark side of tourism in Thailand and Kenya – all of which have had amazing reviews. In 2015 Stacey presented a BBC3 documentary looking at domestic abuse in the UK in Beaten By My Boyfriend and prime time, three-part series for BBC3 lifting the lid on the global war on drugs culminating in Cannabis Smugglers.Stacey immersed herself in different groups with extreme ideologies and beliefs in her most recent two part series Brainwashing Stacey Dooley for BBC3 last year and in 2016, Stacey travelled to Syria and presented the critically acclaimed documentary, Stacey Dooley on The Frontline: Gun Girls and ISIS, also for BBC3.Many of Stacey’s docs have won the title of ‘Most Watched Documentaries’ on BBC iPlayer. And if she doesn't sound busy enough, she also released her debut Sunday Times Bestselling book this year called On the Front Line with the Women Who Fight Back which documents just some of the amazing women she’s encountered in the past ten years of her career. We talk about the book and her career making documentaries in this episode. Love this episode! I fell even more in love with Stacey and you will too. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Today's guest is Elina Berglund, a particle physicist and app entrepreneur.She was part of the Nobel Prize-winning team that discovered Higgs Boson particle, an amazing achievement. After that, she left her job to co-found and develop the NaturalCycles algorithm and app - a prototype she had already been using herself.I've been quite intrigued by Natural Cycles "the first ever contraceptive app" and wanted to interview Elina for the podcast all inventing an algorithm and also being a scientist. I haven't used the app myself, but the link between contraception and tech got me very intrigued.Natural Cycles is the only certified contraceptive app personalised with data from your unique cycle. It has has been certified in the EU to be marketed as a contraceptive device like the pill or the coil.You measure your temperature first thing in the morning before you get out of bed. This reading is an indirect measure of your hormone levels and the information the app needs to effectively analyse your cycle and calculate your red or green day.Natural Cycles is backed by a unique algorithm that takes your temperature and many other factors like sperm survival, temperature fluctuations and cycle irregularities into account. It not only detects ovulation, fertility and the different stages of your cycle, it also calculates accurate predictions for upcoming cycles. It has been clinically tested to be highly accurate in detecting and predicting ovulation.Just worth keeping in mind that Natural Cycles does not protect against Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs) in any way.Hope you enjoy the episode! As Elina is based in Sweden, this episode is over the phone.*This bonus episode is in collaboration with Natural Cycles* Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

My guest today is Trinny Woodall, author, fashion advisor and beauty entrepreneur.You may know her from the hugely popular Trinny and Susannah makeover days. Her and Susannah met in 1994 and wrote a weekly fashion column for The Daily Telegraph. This led to the launch of their own fashion-advice business and first book.They were then commissioned by the BBC to host What Not to Wear in 2001. The following year they released their second book with the same name as the show What Not to Wear. In total they co-wrote eleven style advice books, many of which became hugely successfully best-sellers in the UK and America.They co-hosted What Not to Wear for five series and appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show as style and make-over advisors, Trinny still makes regular appearances on ITV’s This Morning show as their fashion style expert.In this episode we talk about the launch of her Trinny London make-up range, her new Facebook show, how your career can move in cycles, and why she doesn’t do sponsored posts.(ps. I am loving the Trinny London make-up, they come in little metal pots that you can stack together and it’s super simple. If you’re a fan of Glossier, you’ll really like Trinny’s range. It’s creamy, effective and easy to use. I love it because I can use it quickly when I’m running late!) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This is a live recorded one-off episode, hosted in Jigsaw's London Piccadilly store, all about working in the creativity industries from the perspectives of three generations of creative women. I invited Charly Cox (poet, Gen Z), Serena Guen (founder of Suitcase, Millennial) and Lucia White (Head of design at Jigsaw, Gen X) to talk abut the highs, lows and lessons of getting paid to be creative.This month, Jigsaw is launching their “creativity doesn’t discriminate” campaign, to champion women leaders in the creativity industry, through film, photography, prose and art. Government statistics show that women are still under-represented in the creative industries in the UK - there's never been a more important time to champion creative women.In collaboration with Kodak, Jigsaw are re-launching a 125 year-old campaign – Kodak Girl – into the modern era to celebrate new creative talent. The collaboration - now called Kodak Woman (she has grown up!) - will be supported by a capsule collection of T-shirts and sweatshirts. Check out Jigsaw's blog, where they are showcasing young female talent across the UK: https://www.jigsaw-online.com/blogThanks to those who came along to listen to this special in-store recording, shopped, and had prossecco!Here are some things we spoke about:- How does social media impact our creativity? - How can a branded campaign stand the test of time? - How do you deal with people who don't believe in you? - How can we make money and still remain creatively pure? - How can be help the younger generations to get into the creative industry? - How commercially-minded do you want to be? - How do you switch off from an all-encompassing creative role?*This was event was in partnership with Jigsaw*​ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ava Duvernay is an Oscar-nominated film director. Ava made her feature film debut with the documentary This in the Life (2008), a history on the hip hop movement in Los Angeles in the 1990's. This was followed by series of television music documentaries and her first narrative feature film, I Will Follow (2010), secured her the African-American Film Critics Association award for best screenplay. Her follow-up, Middle of Nowhere (2012) won the Best Director Prize at the 2012 Sundance film festival, making her the first African-American woman to receive the award.Fast forward to the last few years, she is best know for her work directing Selma (2014), Ava was the first black female director to be nominated for a Golden Globe Award. With Selma, she was also the first black female director to have her film nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture. In 2017, she was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature for her film 13thHer latest film, out now, is the 2018 fantasy film A Wrinkle in Time, which has a mega cast of Reese Witherspoon, Mindy Kaling and Oprah, and had a budget exceeding $100 million. She is amazing. I hope you love this episode as much as I do.Some of the favourite quotes from the episode:“I didn’t pick up a camera until I was 32 years old.”“I had made 13th and I had made Selma, and that was really dark subject matter, and just to make something about lightness and joy and black girls flying, and designing talking flowers, brought me joy.”“What do we treat each other so poorly? How broken are we?”“I reject the word workaholic. I work all the time but I love what i do, and to not do it would make me less happy.”   Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jerico Mandybur is the editorial director at GIRLBOSS MEDIA. We recorded it in LA in the GIRLBOSS offices. You might have read the book GIRLBOSS by Sophia Amoruso (the original founder of Nasty Gal) which was a New York Times bestseller in 2014. Jerico is currently the editorial director of Girlboss media.I had the best time in LA! thank you to Air New Zealand for my flight and Visit California for the most amazing trip. There's lots of content going on my site in the next few weeks.So back to Girlboss Media - it was founded for women redefining success on their own terms. It was also founded by Sophia Amoruso. Girlboss Media was born from the Girlboss book that inspired a generation of women to take action in their own lives.We talk about Jerico's career journey up to now: she previously held senior positions at sites like Mashable (a huge online tech magazine), Oyster Magazine, MTV and ASOS.Jerico also hosts of the podcast Self Service, and weekly guest on Girlboss Radio. Self Service is the second show to launch on Girlboss Radio. It’s described as your cosmic comfort zone where self-care is celebrated, they get real about emotions, have thoughtful, funny conversations, and astrology is discussed in a fun way.We have a great chat about podcasting, work, astrology and imposter syndrome.Fave quotes from the episode:“I think there’s a huge tradition in Western Culture of dismissing anything that goes against materialist rationalist White Male Thought.”“We really want to give equal weight to work and wellness.”“Why hustle if you feel like shit? You need to feel good, to do good.” Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Dawn O'Porter is a novelist, columnist and broadcaster who lives in Los Angeles with her husband Chris, two songs, cat Lilu and dog Potato. She has made numerous documentaries about all sorts of things: polygamy, childbirth, Geisha, body image, breast cancer and even the movie Dirty Dancing. She is the critically acclaimed author of Paper Aeroplanes and Goose and The Sunday Times Bestseller The Cows.Dawn helped launch ‘Help Refugees’ in 2015, a charity that sends urgent care to refugees across Europe. She is also the host of ‘Get It On’, a weekly podcast where she interviews interesting people about why they wear what they wear.The Cows is a powerful novel about three women – judging each other, but also themselves. In all the noise of modern life, they need to find their own voice. Tara, Cam and Stella are strangers living their own lives as best they can – though when society’s screaming you should live life one way, it can be hard to like what you see in the mirror.When an extraordinary event ties invisible bonds of friendship between them, one woman’s catastrophe becomes another’s inspiration, and a life lesson to all. The book is all about how it’s sometimes OK to not follow the herd.In this episode we talk about writing novels, motherhood, growing up, the power of quitting and the importance of knowing yourself the best out of everyone.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Gina Martin is a writer and activist in London and currently campaigning to change the law around "upskirting", the act of someone taking a photo up someone's skirt.Gina recently partnered with Refinery 29 UK and created the hashtag #stopskirtingtheissue. In a nutshell, Gina was watching The Killers perform at a music festival last summer, when two guys kept hitting on her and wouldn't take no for an answer. After this happened and after she told the police, she later learned that taking pictures up skirts is not legally classed as a sexual offence under UK law.Taken from Refinery29UK: "Martin threw herself into research and found out that there is no specific legislation against upskirting. Upskirting is already illegal in Scotland after the law was changed by the Sexual Offences (Scotland) Act 2009. But, under the Sexual Offences Act 2003—a law which pertains to the whole UK—upskirting is not considered a sexual offence."In this episode we discuss how to start a campaign from scratch, the power spreading the word on social media, small acts of activism and how the people around you really matter.A favourite quote from this episode: “I can sound pushy, I can sound bossy, I can sound like I’m being cheeky, but at the end of the day I’m trying to change the law.”If you were inspired by this episode PLEASE do sign the petition to make this illegal under the Sexual Offences Act of 2003: https://www.thepetitionsite.com/en-gb/takeaction/887/239/401/  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

I know I say “exciting episode” every week but this really is. I’ve been a huge fan of Greta Gerwig for years. I fell in love with her in the film Frances Ha, 20th Century Women, Mistress America and her brilliant supporting role in Jackie. Now she's nominated for an Oscar for her amazing directorial debut called Ladybird. I saw Ladybird last year at a special press screening and cried and laughed and loved it. Universal then asked if I wanted to interview Greta for my podcast and honestly, I nearly cried again when I got the email. I love her! Ladybird is a comedy-drama written and directed by Greta with a seriously amazing cast: Saoirse Ronan, Laurie Metcalf, Timothée Chalamet, Beanie Feldstein. Set in Sacramento, California, it is a coming-of-age story of a high-school senior played by Saoirse and her turbulent relationship with her mother. The story of female friendship is also really lovely throughout.Go and see LADYBIRD! It’s out in the UK now.Favourite quotes from the episode: “I do not want to perpetuate the myth that I’m a superior being. I do not have gifts outside of the realm of a normal ability to work. I’m super distractible, I can be really lazy."“The older you get, the better you feel.”"I'm not on social media. I was told ‘You have to get on Twitter for your career’." Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Emily Hill is journalist and author of Bad Romance. In 2016, she was the commissioning editor at The Spectator. Last August, she was responsible for the magazine’s first ever all-female cover. She has written comment for The Guardian, books reviews for the New Statesman and features for the Mail on Sunday, as well as gathering gossip for the Evening Standard and profiling cult figures for Dazed & Confused. Emily is also a collage artist and she gave me a beautiful collage when we met to record the podcast!This is going live around Valentine's Day and I wanted to dedicate it to talking about being single and what that means right now. Bridget Jones seems outdated and a bit patronising at times, and she ends up with the man in the end, like most literature and film.Emily's book Bad Romance is dark, funny and feminist debut short story collection and I totally loved it. They tell of defiant single women in all shapes and sizes - of career girls, sisters, mothers and lovers, battling through sleepless nights, never-ending parties, grotesque flat shares and office nightmares.These are super-short stories, ideal for anyone on the run who wants to be distracted from the daily commute by plunging into a vivid fictional world. This is a collection made for snatched moments – to be flicked through between deadlines, scrolled through in the bus queue on the screen of a smartphone, devoured along with lunch. Or, like a classic bedtime story, finished in that precious time between putting on pyjamas and collapsing into sleep. Each comic vignette may be read fast but will linger long in the mind.This is a book for fans of Roald Dahl, Saki, Fleabag and Sex in the City.We talk about writing, getting your confidence back (Emily was rejected by lots of literary agents at the beginning) and why getting married or getting engaged aren't necessarily the only big achievements that need celebrating, lots of other parts of our lives deserve parties too. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Welcome to a bonus episode of Ctrl Alt Delete, recorded live at the Soho Hotel after a screening of Home Again, a film with the amazing Reese Witherspoon playing the main character Alice Kinney. Recently separated from her husband, (played by Michael Sheen), Alice decides to start over by moving back to her hometown of Los Angeles with her two young daughters. During a night out on her 40th birthday, Alice meets three aspiring filmmakers who happen to be in need of a place to live. Alice agrees to let the guys stay in her guesthouse temporarily, but the arrangement ends up unfolding in unexpected ways. Alice's unlikely new family and new romance comes to a crashing halt when her ex-husband shows up, suitcase in hand. It's the perfect escapism film, to watch with mates and have a night-in. I also loved how unexpectedly funny it is.The film was written and directed by Hallie Meyers-Shyer and produced by Nancy Meyers (who directed The Holiday and The Intern, both so good). The film is a modern romantic comedy about love, friendship, and the families we create - themes I wanted to explore further on the podcast.So after the screening, I interviewed my friend and author Kate Leaver, who's book The Friendship Cure comes out in March. She moved from Sydney to London post-break up and knows a lot about friendship, so I wanted to theme this episode around moving away from home, moving to a new place and starting afresh. Thank you to Sony Pictures Home Entertainment for making this live recording happen, and just so you know, the DVD and Blu Ray of Home Again is available now, from Feb 5th! Thank you also to the brilliant Shola Aleje who produced this live episode.*This episode is sponsored by Sony Pictures at Home*.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jayne Hardy is the Founder and CEO of The Blurt Foundation – a Social Enterprise dedicated to helping those affected by depression. She lost most of her twenties to depression. At the height of her illness she was unable to work, leave the house or even undertake the most basic acts of self-care – in her book she talks about how she lost a tooth because she didn’t feel worthy enough to clean them. She has spoken, and written, about her experiences of depression and self-care, on BBC Radio 2, at TEDxBrum, and in publications such as Huffington Post, Grazia, Virgin.com, to name a few - and now her book is out called The Self-Care Project. She won the TalkTalk Digital Hero Award in 2011, and in 2014 was included in Marketing Magazine’s list of Top 10 Digital Mavericks. Jayne has been mentioned as one of 19 inspirational women leading the way in mental health by Rethink as part of their International Women’s Day celebrations. In 2016, Jayne led the viral #whatyoudontsee Social Media campaign.Hope you find this episode informative - I definitely did talking to Jayne. We talk about self-care, how it can be other word of ‘recovery’ when you are ill. We talk about how to help friends who might be pushing you away, the loneliness epidemic, how to be kinder to yourself, and how dismissing the ~self-care trend~ as being fluffy and self-indulgent is kind of missing the point. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jojo Moyes is a novelist, best known for her bestselling book Me Before You. Jojo has been a full time novelist since 2002, before that she was a journalist for 10 years. Her first book Sheltering Rain was published in 2002 Since then she has written a further eleven novels, all of which have been widely critically acclaimed. Jojo has won the Romantic Novelist’s Award twice, and Me Before You has been nominated for Book of the Year at the UK Galaxy Book Awards. Me Before You has since gone on to sell over 8 million copies worldwide. The film adaptation of Me Before You starring Sam Claflin (The Hunger Games) and Emilia Clarke (Game of Thrones) was released in June 2016 and was a huge box-office success. The screenplay was written by Jojo. We spoke about dealing with rejected manuscripts, changing jobs, her new book Still Me, the power of listening to feedback and the excitement of being on a film set when you wrote the main characters.Favourite quotes from this episode:“My publishing career was in such a perilous state at that point I just wanted a book that sold enough for me to keep going as a writer.”“You can only do so much as an author, so much of it depends on timing, it depends on retailers, it depends on whether people like the cover, it can be a million different factors that you have no control over.”“It’s not about how you fail, it’s about how you respond to that failure.” Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.