Zoë Colville has gone from high end hairdresser in London to shepherdess on a farm in Kent. She’s also changed from a vegetarian to a farmer learning about death and going to abattoirs, an experience which surprised her. Far from being your typical farmer, with her trademark long curly red hair and gold hoop earrings as well as her humour and honesty, she has challenged people’s views of farmers and their relationship with the animals. In turn, despite many personal hurdles, she has found her purpose. Using her Instagram account, The Chief Shepherdess, Zoë shares stories from the farm and wants to educate people on how animals are reared and how farming is changing. Here, she talks about all of this, why she made her drastic life change, her relationship with her fiancé Kriss and the unexpected events in her life that have transformed her. You can buy a copy of Zoë’s book “The Chief Shepherdess, Lessons in Life, Love and Farming” here: https://www.waterstones.com/book/the-chief-shepherdess/zoe-colville/9781787635746Content warning: includes a detailed explanation of how animals are slaughtered.Changes is a deaf friendly podcast, transcripts can be accessed here: https://www.anniemacmanus.com/changes Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“Change is equal to hope”. Shiva Mahbobi has never lost hope for change in Iran. At the age of 12, living in Iran, Shiva was arrested for campaigning for women’s rights. At just 16 she was imprisoned and tortured for over 3 years. Over 25 years later, in 2022, huge protests were sparked in Iran and around the world after it was reported that a 22 year old Iranian woman, Mahsa Amini, died after being beaten by police for allegedly violating Iran’s strict rules by not wearing a hijab. Women in Iran burnt their hijabs, cut their hair and people took to the streets to demonstrate. Shiva knows their anger all too well and has worked tirelessly as an activist to make a difference. Once released from prison, Shiva sought asylum in Turkey before moving to Canada and eventually the UK where she lives now. Here, she is the spokesperson for the Campaign to Free Political Prisoners in Iran, which she co-founded. Last week, 20th of June, was an annual International day of action to support political prisoners in Iran. Here, Shiva talks to Annie about the reality in Iran for women and children, her own experiences as a child campaigner, in prison and solitary confinement, her own frustrations and family, her work as an activist and a psychotherapist, making change in Iran and how we can help. Content warning: references to physical abuse and torture, rape and mass killings.If you would like to help and Take Action by sending an email to the UK Foreign and Common Wealth Office (FCO) and/or your MP, you can find a template here: https://cfppi.org/take-action-2/Changes is a deaf friendly podcast, transcripts can be accessed here: https://www.anniemacmanus.com/changes Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“If I’d done this three years ago, I’d have been getting through it without revealing anything”. Josh Widdicombe is a changed man. The hilarious podcast Parenting Hell, which Josh co-hosts with fellow comedian Rob Beckett, has become a sensation. It’s changed him as well as the conversation around men being parents.  Described as an “ace observationist” by the Guardian, Josh is also known for being a star of Channel 4’s The Last Leg and this year has released a brand-new Sky Max series Hold the Front Page with co-star Nish Kumar. In this episode, he talks openly to Annie about being an obsessive child and his journey to comedy, how he dealt with his wife's labour, becoming a parent (of course), how he has changed since starting Parenting Hell and his very recent decision to go sober. Expect chat about Great Expectations and park poos, what else would you want? You can buy a copy of Parenting Hell here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Parenting-Hell-funniest-gift-Fathers/dp/1788707478/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=And find more about what Josh is up to and links to his memoir here: https://www.joshwiddicombe.com/Should you be affected by any of the issues raised in this episode around alcohol, in the UK, The Samaritans can be reached on 116 123. Hotlines in other countries can be found here. Changes is a deaf friendly podcast, transcripts can be accessed here: https://www.anniemacmanus.com/changes Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Laura Bates has dedicated her life to addressing gender inequality. She is the founder of the Everyday Sexism Project and a Sunday Times Bestselling author. Laura has released five books including Girl Up, Misogynation, Men Who Hate Women and her most recent book, Fix the System, Not the Women. She works closely with politicians, businesses, schools, police forces and organisations from the Council of Europe to the United Nations to tackle gender inequality. Here, Laura talks to Annie about the problem with today’s systems, shocking stories and statistics highlighted in her book and on the Everyday Sexism website, the ways her own life has changed doing this work, our relationship dynamics and how they can change, education, parenting and much more. No doubt every woman will recognise aspects of this conversation and everyone (of all genders) can learn something from it. Content warning:  sexual abuse, rape and violent threats are all mentioned.You can buy Laura’s book and find out about Everyday Sexism and her other work here: https://linktr.ee/laura_bates__The organisations which Laura mentions are here:Centre for Women’s Justice: https://www.centreforwomensjustice.org.uk/Rights of Women: https://rightsofwomen.org.uk/Level Up: https://www.welevelup.org/Women for Women: https://www.womenforwomen.orgChanges is a deaf friendly podcast, transcripts can be accessed here: https://www.anniemacmanus.com/changes Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Louis Theroux tells stories about what it is to be human. His unique documentaries explore the darker corners of the human condition, from cults and porn to eating disorders and dementia. After being given a break on Michael Moore’s TV Nation in America, Louis began his long career at the BBC with the BAFTA winning Louis Theroux’s Weird Weekends and When Louis Met…, which included that much discussed Jimmy Saville episode. Louis’ trademark informal and non-judgmental style has led to a cult following. Other award-winning specials include The Most Hated Family in America, Miami Mega Jail, Altered States and the feature-length documentary, My Scientology Movie. More recently, Louis has interviewed celebrities in his BBC podcast Grounded and TV series Louis Theroux Interviews… which featured Dame Judi Dench and Stormzy. Tomorrow, he launches a brand-new Spotify podcast, The Louis Theroux Podcast.Here, Louis joins Annie in her Kitchen in London to talk about life as a father, boarding school, family, his response to achievements, pushing the limits in TV including criticisms and personas, his curiosities and traits, how he has changed and how he wants to change, interviewing methods and so much more. It’s a true insight into the man most of us just know from the television. The Louis Theroux Podcast is available for free exclusively on Spotify, with new episodes weekly from 6th June.Changes is a deaf friendly podcast, transcripts can be accessed here: https://www.anniemacmanus.com/changes Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

How do you change your relationship with success? Writer and podcaster Emma Gannon has written a new book called ‘The Success Myth’ which, for one, has changed how Annie looks at her life. After experiencing burn out, Emma has become even more passionate about debunking the traditional ideas of success.  Emma is a Sunday Times bestselling author with five books to date, including The Multi-Hyphen Method, Sabotage, Disconnected and her novel Olive. In 2018, she was selected in the Forbes 30 under 30 list in media. She has been a columnist for the Times, the Telegraph and Elle and also writes a popular weekly newsletter on SubStack called The Hyphen that is an exploration of ideas that have got her thinking in new ways. Through her careers podcast ‘Ctrl, Alt, Delete’ she has spoken to hundreds of people about their work and idea of success. Clearly, Emma is successful. However, she found that traditional markers of success did not make her happy. So, what was the problem? In this conversation, Emma discusses helpful things she’s learnt about changing our idea of success, burn out, her decision to not have children and much more. You can buy The Success Myth here: https://linktr.ee/thesuccessmythFind out more about all of Emma's projects here: https://linktr.ee/emmagannonukChanges is a deaf friendly podcast, transcripts can be accessed here: https://www.anniemacmanus.com/changes Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Rosie Jones is an unstoppable force. Describing herself as a triple threat - disabled, gay and female, she is changing the world. A stand up comic, children’s author, TV writer and actor with cerebral palsy - Rosie challenges perceptions of people with disabilities (and people from Yorkshire). She has appeared on countless TV shows including 8 out of 10 cats, Would I Lie to You?, The Last Leg and Live at the Apollo. Her Channel 4 travel show Trip Hazard is BAFTA nominated. She has also written for Netflix’s Sex Education, wrote and starred in Channel 4’s Disability Benefits and has a new documentary for them on the way about ableism and abuse. Her books, the adventures of Edie Eckhart are about a young girl with cerebral palsy. Currently, she is touring the UK with her show Triple Threat. In this beautifully frank episode of Changes, Rosie speaks to Annie about growing up and living with cerebral palsy and how she has dealt with her disability (even as a 4 year old), the impact of the Disability Discrimination Act 1995, activism and comedy, being gay, handling relationships and of course, making change. Please enjoy the legendary Rosie Jones. You can find out more about Rosie and book tickets to her show here: https://rosiejonescomedy.com/Changes is a deaf friendly podcast, transcripts can be accessed here: https://www.anniemacmanus.com/changes Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

With the release of ‘The Mess We’re In’, the tables are turning and, for the first time on Changes, your host Annie Macmanus is the interviewee. Annie’s new novel, which is out now, is laced into her own life experience and changes. It’s a coming-of-age story with themes about moving from Ireland to London. So, the interviewer had to be someone who can relate, someone who is Irish, a fellow Dubliner who also currently lives in London; enter one of Ireland's best, a former guest on Changes, the wonderful comedian and host of the podcast My Therapist Ghosted me, Joanne McNally. It’s the first interview Joanne has ever done and we thought she nailed it. Together, Joanne and Annie chat about the novel, being Irish abroad, Annie’s biggest changes going right back to being a teenager on a different trajectory to DJing and writing, re discovering her childhood journals, having children as a female DJ, leaving BBC Radio 1 after 17 years, the yearn for Ireland, wanting to feel settled and so much more. There’s plenty of laughs along the way. Huge thanks go to Joanne for popping her interviewing cherry for Changes.You can buy ‘The Mess We’re In’ now here: https://geni.us/TheMessWereInChanges is a deaf friendly podcast, transcripts can be accessed here: https://www.anniemacmanus.com/changesYou can listen back to Joanne McNally's Changes episode here: https://play.acast.com/s/findingannie/joanne-mc Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Can you change yourself and heal from your past? Dr LePera believes so. With 6.6 million followers on Instagram, she has become the leading voice in psychological self-healing. Her accessible advice has been deemed life changing by many. Dr LePera’s first book How to Do the Work: Recognize Your Patterns, Heal from Your Past, and Create Yourself was an international bestseller recently followed by her new book How To Meet Yourself: the Workbook for Self Discovery. After qualifying as a clinical psychologist and running her own practice in Philadelphia, where she was born, Dr LePera actively pursued a new methodology based on the integration of the mind, the soul and the body called holistic psychology. She took her ideas online and created a self-healers circle with members all over the world. As part of her work, Dr Lepera has shared her own healing journey, including removing herself from her family for a period of time. She also recently announced that she is in a throuple with her wife Lolly and new partner Jenna who she hosts a podcast with called Self Healers Soundboard. Here, she speaks to Annie about behavioural patterns, authenticity, the definition of trauma, her own personal changes including navigating a three person relationship, and of course her ideas around healing. This conversation was a real pleasure.Changes is a deaf friendly podcast, transcripts can be accessed here: https://www.anniemacmanus.com/changesAlso mentioned in this conversation are these Changes episodes:Gabor Maté https://shows.acast.com/findingannie/episodes/gabor-mateAna Kirova (CEO of progressive dating app Feeld)https://shows.acast.com/findingannie/episodes/ana-kirova Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Coming out as non-binary publicly, in their own words, has been “the beginning of a happiness I’ve never known, not since childhood”. Kae Tempest is a poet, a writer, a lyricist, a performer and a recording artist. They have published 3 plays, a novel, a book-length essay, 7 books of poetry including their latest ‘Divisible by Itself and One’ and released 5 albums, two of which received nominations for the Mercury Prize (‘Everybody Down’ and ‘Let Them Eat Chaos’). They’ve also received two Ivor Novello nominations, received the Ted Hughes Award and they were named a Next Generation Poet in 2014 by the Poetry Book Society, a once-in-a-decade accolade. Their books have been translated into eleven languages and published to critical acclaim around the world.In 2020, Kae came out as non-binary and here speaks, incredibly beautifully as you may imagine, about the pain of going through puberty and struggling with being themselves. Their use of language to describe life, their relationship to change and their journey is, as you may expect, astounding. They are wise, thought provoking and generous, just like their work. This conversation was a privilege and could have extended for hours.Changes is a deaf friendly podcast, transcripts can be accessed here: https://www.anniemacmanus.com/changes Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.