Billy Porter is a man at the peak of his powers. Emmy, check. Tony, check. Grammy, check. Critically acclaimed memoir, first directorial film, major label recording contract; check, check, check. With a CV that reads like that, you'd be forgiven for assuming that Billy Porter has never had any trouble finding recognition for his creative powers. But the truth is, the man you see before you today, strolling up and down red carpets in a staggering ballgowns, is the product of so much change, trauma, and healing. Before booking the succession of parts that changed his life (Angels in America, Kinky Boots, and Pose), he spent a decade teetering on the brink of total obscurity, running on nothing but his own determination. The path that has delivered Billy Porter to the pinnacles of success was, at times, almost unbearably difficult, and it has gifted him with a laser sharp perspective on the tides of fate and the nature of change itself.You can hear Billy Porter's new single, Children, here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0CbrteAcXGI&ab_channel=BillyPorter Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Emily Ratajkowski has made an unbelievably successful life by commodifying her body. She'd be the first person to tell you that. And for the first part of her career, she felt very comfortable with that reality. On all of her shoots, she believed herself to be strong, capable, and in control. But somewhere along the line, something changed, and Emily began questioning the truth of her out look. She started looking back at the situations she'd been placed into as a young model, and finding new depths of nuance in the power dynamics at play there. She started writing things down, largely to figure out her what she really felt about her life, and was surprised to discover two things: firstly, that much of what she'd told herself about the world she moved in was wrong; secondly, that she felt a deep, powerful connection to the act of writing – and that it could offer her something she'd never experienced in her modelling work. This is a conversation about a fundamental change in world view and belief systems, all the more radical for arriving at the very pinnacle of success.You can buy Emily Ratajkowski's book, My Body, here: https://www.waterstones.com/book/my-body/emily-ratajkowski/9781529420906 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

When you discover that your entire world is based upon a lie, how do you begin to pick up the pieces and move ahead? Bexy Cameron spent the first part of her life convinced that the apocalypse was coming, and that she'd be dead by the age of 15. That's because she was brought up, alongside her 11 siblings, in a cult called the Children of God. No school, no TV, no contact with the outside world; all she knew was what the cult's mysterious and dangerous leader told them. The details of what Bexy went through, during the first part of her life, are harrowing to hear about – but they are not the end of her story. Bexy has lived a brilliant life since leaving the Children of God as a teenager, and she has now written about her experiences, as well as the unbelievable journey she went on to make sense of it all, in a memoir called Cult Following. In this conversation, she recounts some of the unbelievable things that she's been through, and offers rare perspective on the most earth-shattering changes imaginable. You can buy Cult Following here: https://www.waterstones.com/book/cult-following/bexy-cameron/9781786580924 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

When your entire life has been about working towards one goal, what happens when you've reached it? For Nick Grimshaw – that goal was becoming a presenter on BBC Radio 1, and specifically, hosting its famous breakfast show. It's a dream that came true for him in 2012. But now, like Annie, he has decided to leave Radio 1, and set off in pursuit of a new adventure – the specifics of which remain pleasantly undecided in his mind. For both Annie and her old pal, Grimmy, it's been a year of big changes. So, this conversation is an opportunity to catch up and connect over the shared experience of it all – the nerves, the thrills, the weirdness – as well as reminisce about the days in which they knocked around the BBC together. It's a chance for two old friends to sit round the kitchen table and put the world to rights.Transition – Galaxy 2 Galaxy: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kkZ_vKWF8e8&ab_channel=Scubadevils Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Are we making progress in the war against gender inequality? If anyone should know, it's Caroline Criado Perez. A couple of years ago, she released Invisible Women: Exposing Gender Bias in a World Designed for Men. It was a book, founded upon an enormous amount of research, that made explicit something known instinctively by many: the world we move in was not created with women in mind, and that the repercussions of that oversight are too many to count, ranging in impact from minor annoyance to potentially life-threatening. With the recent murders of Sabina Nessa and Sarah Everard once again focusing attention on the treatment of women in society, we thought it a pertinent time to ask Caroline onto Changes, to discuss the ways things have and haven't shifted since her book exploded onto the scene. As you will hear, there is cause for sadness and frustration, as always, but there is also more reason than ever to educate yourself and join the fight. You can buy Invisible Women here: https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/111/1113605/invisible-women/9781784706289.html Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

How can a stutter or a stammer change the way you move through the world? If you speak fluently, you've likely never given it a great deal of thought, but talk to Lisa Nealan and you'll start to understand the ways a speech impairment might dominate your day-to-day existence. That was the case with Lisa for years. At the age of eight, she suffered an accident that left her speech permanently changed, and she subsequently built her entire life around her stutter, avoiding any and all situations that might require her to speak. Though you'd never know it to hear her talk, now. That's because at the depths of one of the most desperate periods of her life, Lisa managed to carry out some awe-inspiring personal changes, that have left her entire world expanded and transformed. This is a thrilling and powerful conversation about one woman finding her voice after so many years of silence.If you're affected by some of the themes in today's episode, you can reach the Samaritans by phone on 116 123, or email them at jo@samaritans.org.In the US, the National Suicide Prevention Line can be reached 1-888-628-9454.You can find the Change – The Glow of Love (referenced in her intro) here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eMrDJLPlq20&ab_channel=AuntieSoul34 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Perez Hilton is not a popular man. He'd be the first one to tell you that, by his own estimation, 80% of people hate him. That's because he pioneered a certain type of celebrity gossip blog – the kind that trades in secrets, scandal and shame – and he was rewarded handsomely for it. To the outside world, he seemed perfectly comfortable playing the villain, but if Perez is to be believed, something was amiss the entire time. These days, Perez Hilton says he has changed a great deal, even though he knows full well that many will never forgive him for the way he behaved during the peak of his success. This is a conversation about what might drive a person to behave venomously, what could cause that person to stop, and whether it's ever too late for true, meaningful change. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

When Jimmy Carr was 25 years old, his life looked very different. He was a marketing exec at an oil company, a practicing Catholic, a virgin. And he was sad. In order to change that. He asked himself one question: "What do I want?" He soon discovered that knowing the answer to that question was half the battle. In this conversation, you'll hear exactly how Jimmy Carr turned a quarter-life crisis into an astonishingly successful career in comedy – and why he'd recommend a similar degree of upheaval to anyone stuck in a rut.You can purchase Jimmy Carr's new book, Before & Laughter, here: https://www.quercusbooks.co.uk/titles/jimmy-carr/before-laughter/9781529413076/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What's it like to say goodbye to your family, your friends, your entire life – and head out into the unknown, never to return? As the Migrant Crisis continues to displace hundreds of thousands of people around the world each year, and as Priti Patel weighs up policies to deter those who wish to seek asylum in the UK, Annie zeroes in on the human experience at the centre of something too often reduced to statistics and rhetoric. Hassan Akkad has lived the world-upending change of seeking asylum. Born and raised in Damascus, Syria, he was arrested and imprisoned for taking part in protests against the Assad dictatorship. He was subjected to horrific abuse at the hands of his captors, and eventually fled the country. His journey to the UK began on a rubber dinghy off the coast of Greece, and ended, months later, in the arrival hall of Heathrow airport. What happened in-between transformed his world, forever. But Hassan's story does not end with his arrival in the UK. He is a teacher, an activist, a filmmaker – and now, an author. His memoir, Hope Not Fear, is a powerful and moving account of the treacherous journey that Hassan and countless others have been forced to make. It is also a vital, optimistic portrait of resilience and the human spirit – which makes fertile ground for one of the most inspiring conversations we've heard on Changes.Hope Not Fear is available for purchase here: https://www.panmacmillan.com/authors/hassan-akkad/hope-not-fear/9781529059830 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What does it feel like to stand on the brink of a total, all-encompassing change? Abbey Smith, who releases music as Yebba, would be a good person to ask. After collaborating with Ed Sheeran, Stormzy, Sam Smith, and Drake – and being touted as a 'once in a generation' voice – she is now releasing her long-awaited debut album, and it's poised to make her a superstar. That's about as dramatic a change as life can throw at you, but Yebba is used to upheaval. Five years ago, just as her singing career was really beginning to take off, she lost her mother to suicide, and she has spent much of the time since wrapping her head around the grief and trauma that followed – often in the form of the songs that comprise the album. When the album was finished, she called it Dawn, after her mother. In this conversation, Abbey is open and honest about the impact of her grief, and the ways it still plays out in her day-to-day, but she is also defiant, strong, and powerfully inspirational – ready to finally release the album that took so much out of her, and to face whatever comes next.If you have been affected by the themes of this episode, there is help on hand. In the UK, the Samaritans can be reached from any phone on 116 123In the USA, the Suicide Prevention Line is 1-800-273-8255 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.