Crisis What Crisis?

My guest for this special episode – talking to me from the world’s crisis capital Kyiv – is BBC broadcaster Jeremy Bowen.Jeremy’s dramatic dispatches, with his trademark focus on the moving, at times frankly horrific, human stories of loss and despair, have revealed the appalling impact of Russia’s invasion.This is a truly frontline crisis conversation with a man who felt compelled to put himself in danger once more to tell what he describes as the most important story of his 38year career in news.A love for, and perhaps even an addiction to, the story is what led him to join the BBC team in Ukraine. As Jeremy played down the risks of his assignment, our pod was interrupted by a tannoy message from the hotel suggesting to guests that they should use the bomb shelter below to stay safe through the night. Jeremy, of course, was having none of it.In this conversation he gives us his brilliant analysis of how we got here and where this war might take us. But Jeremy also is able to give us a powerful, first-person account of how the people of Ukraine have dealt with an existential crisis for them, their families and for their country. “They are surviving because they are stoic,” says Jeremy.So, this is a unique episode packed with real-time crisis insight. I hope you enjoy it and we’ll be back with a new series of Crisis What Crisis? soon.Jeremy and I would ask that that if you find this episode useful please donate to: https://donation.dec.org.uk/ukraine-humanitarian-appealHost – Andy CoulsonProducer – Louise DiffordFull transcript available at: https://www.crisiswhatcrisis.com/podcasts/ukraine-special-episode-jeremy-bowen-speaks-to-andy-coulson-from-kyiv/

Nick Robinson is a man who for more than 25 years has had a seat in the front row of so many political crises.  First as a news producer and then in front of the camera as political editor for ITN and the BBC Nick really has witnessed it all when it comes to Westminster drama.Since 2015 Nick has also, of course, fronted Radio 4’s Today Programme, a role in which his piercing interview style has made him respected and feared by our politicians in equal measure.But Nick is also someone who has faced down a personal crisis of the most dramatic and tragic nature. Aged just 18 whilst on holiday in France, he was involved in a head on car crash which instantly claimed the lives of his two friends James Nelson and Will Redhead. Nick was left  trapped in the back seat as the car exploded into flames.  How he escaped is still a mystery to him.  How he came to terms with such an appalling trauma is one of the issues we discuss in depth here.Another is the desperate moment in February 2015 when Nick was told by his doctor that he had lung cancer. He underwent emergency surgery and chemotherapy. Thankfully the tumour was removed but in the process the nerves leading to Nick’s vocal chords were damaged. He feared that he’d lost his voice forever – and with it the career he had worked so hard to build.So, although this is a fascinating and revealing podcast about what Nick has seen and learnt about political crisis, it’s more usefully, I think,  a conversation about his approach to those challenges much closer to home. The Nick Robinson Crisis Formula is stoic and no-nonsense. But it’s also respectful to the ever-present danger …  that long tail of crisis that can suddenly whip around and hit you when you least expect it. Something Nick has experienced himself very recently.My thanks to Nick for such a valuable conversation – and for giving us such a great end to Series 5.Nick's Crisis Cures: 1. A hot bath - gets you relaxed, opens your mind to recovery.2. Fresh Air - it’s a cliché but a walk round the park. Put the phone away, breathe and everything seems clearer.3. Communication – if your crisis is caused by others, try to work out what’s going on in their head. See it from their perspective.Links:Election Notebook – https://amzn.to/3xlLOaYLive From Downing Street – https://amzn.to/3BflrET Host – Andy CoulsonProducer – Louise DiffordFull transcript available here: https://www.crisiswhatcrisis.com/podcasts/nick-robinson-on-political-crisis-cancer-and-the-long-tail-of-grief/Stream/Buy ‘Allies’ by Some Velvet Morning: https://ampl.ink/qp6bm Some Velvet Morning Website: www.somevelvetmorning.co.ukFull transcript available here: https://www.crisiswhatcrisis.com/podcasts/nick-robinson-on-political-crisis-cancer-and-the-long-tail-of-grief/

For our first outdoor episode media business leader and one of a kind motivational speaker Ellis Watson joins me for a walk in the Scottish Highlands.Ellis has worked at the sharp end of corporate crisis – heading a national newspaper business, turning around The Greyhound bus operation in the US and as Global CEO of Simon Cowell’s Syco Corporation, before taking charge of UK media group DC Thomson.But behind his professional success is a personal story of resilience and hope. Ellis was given up for adoption as a baby and his teenage search for his birth parents ended with a truly astonishing revelation.This is a story told with humour and passion but without a scintilla of self-pity. He speaks with incredible candour about the extreme ups and downs of a career spent in the company of billionaires, one of whom was Rupert Murdoch – the boss he walked out on in a scene worthy of Succession. Ellis also reflects on the mountain top drama that almost cost him his life.Known as one of the most inspiring and entertaining keynote speakers in the country, Ellis is one of the few people to have been invited back to deliver a second TEDx talk. In this conversation he provides brilliant insights for anyone interested in how crisis can fuel and drive growth and deliver life-changing perspective.Ellis’ Crisis Cures:1. Exercise – I hate the thought of doing it but afterwards it gives a sense of calm and perspective. In crisis it makes you feel like you’ve achieved something, no matter how modest. It makes you feel like you can take control and overcome adversity and difficulty.2. Sleep – Crisis causes you to have interrupted or poor sleep and of course when you have poor sleep you’re much, much worse at handling crisis. As vicious circles go, it’s about as destructive a thing as you can get.3. Dogs – I get excellent counsel and feedback from a chat with my dogs. Mine think I’m pretty clever and agree with me – especially just before they’re about to get fed.Host – Andy CoulsonProducer – Louise DiffordFull transcript available here: https://www.crisiswhatcrisis.com/podcasts/ellis-watson-on-the-search-for-his-mum-success-from-crisis-and-how-to-spot-a-bad-billionaire/Stream/Buy ‘Allies’ by Some Velvet Morning: https://ampl.ink/qp6bm Some Velvet Morning Website: www.somevelvetmorning.co.uk

In this week’s Shortcut episode, we are joined by award-winning author and junior doctor, Roopa Farooki. In February 2020, Roopa - who is the daughter of the celebrated Pakistani novelist, Nasim Ahmed Farooki - lost her sister Kiron to breast cancer.  Then weeks later she found herself struggling to cope in an overstretched and under-resourced ITU department, caring for the critically ill Covid-19 patients who were arriving daily at an alarming rate.Her powerful memoir Everything is True, acclaimed by the Guardian as a 2022 must read, is a story of bravery at a time of personal grief and professional crisis - written in snatched moments between 13-hour shifts.   It’s both moving and at times shocking with its brutally honest account of life on the NHS frontline.Roopa is not a woman to hold back about the challenges she and her colleagues faced, not least for her and others in the higher risk BAME demographic, but also of the betrayal she and others have felt following the No10 party revelations.As she says: “It still makes me angry, that while we were giving up an ITU bed for our Prime Minister they were not even personally following the rules that they put in place for the population, rules which were robbing relatives of their last moments with their families.”This is an immensely revealing and timely Crisis Shortcut episode providing a powerful perspective on the Covid crisis.Roopa's Crisis Cures: 1 - Routine. I think stick to what creates comfort in your routine. I always do half an hour of exercise and that includes a bit of yoga and I always feel better for doing it.2 – Writing.  I write a bit every day to try make some sense of what’s happening in my life. As opposed to reading or doom-scrolling through what everyone else has thought, I think sometimes collect your own thoughts and to put them down. I think that’s really, really helpful for me.3 - Believe in what you’re passionate about. For me I’ve always been passionate about looking after my patients and providing care. There is nothing else that I would rather do than do what I do every day.Links: Everything is True: A junior doctor’s story of life, death and grief in a time of pandemic – https://amzn.to/3U6KfrpHost – Andy CoulsonProducer – Louise DiffordFull transcript available here: https://www.crisiswhatcrisis.com/podcasts/shortcuts-roopa-farooki-on-grief-betrayal-and-boris/Stream/Buy ‘Allies’ by Some Velvet Morning: https://ampl.ink/qp6bm Some Velvet Morning Website: www.somevelvetmorning.co.uk

In this episode we have something different as I’m joined by the brilliant psychiatrist Prof. Steve Peters, author of the best-selling The Chimp Paradox.Steve’s landmark book has become a bible for anyone looking to cope with crisis or break down the barriers that can prevent us from living a fuller, happier life. During an illustrious career Steve has worked with people facing life threatening challenges to athletes looking to improve performance - most famously the British cycling team.The Chimp Paradox, which gave Steve rock star status as a psychiatrist, sets out a mind management system based on the premise that there are three forces at play in our brains.  The emotional and primal ‘inner chimp’ - who thinks and acts for us without our permission, the ‘inner human’ who is the real person – rational and humane - and our memory bank, the ‘computer’.   For me it’s been a powerful and entirely logical toolkit for handling stress and those moments of difficulty in my life.  In our chat Steve talks about how the chimp system applies itself to crisis and how it can help anyone, to navigate their way through a world increasingly influenced by those black and white judgements of social media.  His new book – ‘A Path Through the Jungle’ (link below) sits neatly alongside The Chimp Paradox as a ‘Hayne’s Manual’ for the brain.This episode is a fascinating analysis of what crisis actually is and how our minds work when we’re in the midst of significant trouble. Full of gems I guarantee you’ll want to make a note of.Steve's Crisis Cures: 1 – My values – I get myself on my own and ask myself, ‘Have I done the right thing? Have you got integrity, honesty?  Are you working with compassion? If I know that to be true, I can’t stop the world thinking what it thinks.  Therefore, whatever the crisis is, that stops me being thrown around. 2 – Acceptance – I find this as soon as I can so I can work forward in the situation, rather than fighting the injustice or crisis.3 – Perspective.  At the end of the day, we have very short lives.  Now I’m older, perspective is really important to maintaining the status quo in my mind.Links: https://chimpmanagement.com/https://profstevepeters.com/A Path Through the Jungle – https://amzn.to/3eRPhYoThe Chimp Paradox – Book - https://amzn.to/3DsJWBdHost – Andy CoulsonProducer – Louise DiffordFull transcript available here: https://www.crisiswhatcrisis.com/podcasts/prof-steve-peters-on-how-to-train-your-brain-for-crisis/ Stream/Buy ‘Allies’ by Some Velvet Morning: https://ampl.ink/qp6bm Some Velvet Morning Website: www.somevelvetmorning.co.uk

Peter Owen Jones is the former ad man who gave it all up to become a parish priest. By the late 1980s, the former farm boy had carved out a successful career working as a creative director for a top London agency.  But shortly before his 30th birthday, Peter walked away from his lucrative career to embrace a simpler, more meaningful life.Known to many as the ‘vicar in the hat’, and seen often on TV, Peter is an unconventional priest – whose views and approach are often at odds with classic Church of England doctrine. Given up for adoption at six weeks old, he says this void left him feeling as though he had a space inside himself, full of unanswered questions. So, when he himself became a father, he set out to find his birth mother. Six months later they met for the first time on a train platform in Scotland.During our conversation Peter discusses the power of embracing vulnerability and putting it to work. As we all reach the end of another difficult year, there are some useful lessons here which can be put to good use, regardless of your faith.  A perfect Crisis Shortcut for Christmas.Peter's Crisis Cures:1 – Lie down.  When you are feeling overwhelmed, when you’re feeling deeply distraught and the full force of crisis hits – lie down.2 – Pray.  To open yourself to feel the full force of the pain you are experiencing and invite healing into that place.3 – Walk.  St Francis of Assisi said “Solvitur ambulando – it can be solved by walking.”Host – Andy CoulsonProducer – Louise DiffordFull transcript available here: https://www.crisiswhatcrisis.com/podcasts/36-shortcuts-peter-owen-jones-on-adoption-authenticity-and-unanswered-questions/ Stream/Buy ‘Allies’ by Some Velvet Morning: https://ampl.ink/qp6bm Some Velvet Morning Website: www.somevelvetmorning.co.uk

Pauline Stonehouse found herself at the centre of what is one of Britain’s biggest miscarriages of justice. Between 2000-2015, the post office bullied and prosecuted more than 700 innocent sub post masters and post mistresses. Those prosecutions carried out by the post office’s criminal law division were based on evidence gathered from a recently installed but as it turned out fatally flawed computer system. Some went to prison following convictions for false accounting and theft. Many were financially ruined and shunned by their communities. Others died before their names were cleared. Pauline was forced into bankruptcy, lost her home and in 2007 was convicted of six counts of false accounting. Convictions which were formally overturned only very recently.This is an appalling story of an entirely unnecessary crisis, driven by a misguided, institutional belief that hundreds upon hundreds of sub post masters were not pillars of their communities but instead that they were all, individually and quite independently – sophisticated criminals. In Pauline’s case, the post office decided to trust a machine over a mum and an employee who was both respected and experienced. And then they set out to ruin her life, with her husband and two daughters as collateral damage.This was a very British scandal, uncovered with thanks to journalists like the brilliant Nick Wallis and those victims are now set to get compensation.Pauline handled the unravelling of her happy life with incredible strength, without a hint of self-pity and as you’ll hear, with a heavy reliance on her sense of humour – a much undervalued crisis tool.This is the story of an ordinary woman thrown into the centre of a truly extraordinary crisis and it’s packed with lessons for anyone who has lost or fears they might lose control of their lives.Pauline’s Crisis Cures: 1 – Sense of humour2 – Reading – I love the sense of escaping into another world. I read anything and everything on my kindle. I download books constantly. Whatever spikes my fancy. From love stories to thrillers, to historical.. whatever floats my boat at the time3 – Jigsaw puzzles – I love them. A big 2000 piece on my dining table! I’ve been doing them since before my daughter was born. It’s another form of methodical escapism. It occupies your mind in a different way.Links:Justice For Sub postmasters Alliance https://www.jfsa.org.uk/Pauline Stonehouse twitter https://twitter.com/PaulineStoneho2/status/1466494526655283207Nick Wallis’ book – https://amzn.to/3U9sCqPHorizon Scandal Fund - https://www.horizonscandalfund.org/ Host – Andy CoulsonProducer – Louise DiffordFull transcript available here: https://www.crisiswhatcrisis.com/podcasts/pauline-stonehouse-on-injustice-scandal-and-survival/ Stream/Buy ‘Allies’ by Some Velvet Morning: https://ampl.ink/qp6bm Some Velvet Morning Website: www.somevelvetmorning.co.uk

Bill Browder describes himself, with justification, as Vladimir Putin’s number one enemy. His best-selling book Red Notice – an autobiography that reads like a thriller - tells the story of how the grandson of one of America’s best-known communists became one of Russia’s most successful capitalists.Bill is founder of The Hermitage Fund which at its peak became not only the largest foreign portfolio investor in Russia but the best performing fund in the world. But when Bill fell foul of Putin’s personal agenda, he was suddenly and dramatically kicked out of Russia. Bill reacted by setting out to expose a shocking case of state-sponsored corruption. His lawyer, Sergei Magnitsky was later arrested, tortured and in Nov 2009, whilst in custody, brutally murdered.Bill has since devoted his life to creating a legacy for Sergei and his family.  Something he achieved against the odds with the implementation of The Magnitsky Act – a law to punish Russian human rights violators - since adopted in a number of other countries. To say that this one-man crusade has irritated the Russian President would be an understatement. Putin has repeatedly abused Interpol’s Red Notice system in a number of failed attempts to have Bill arrested and brought to Russia.Bill continues to live in fear that the shifting sands of global politics will somehow allow Putin to one day get his revenge. Bill is certainly no friend of President Trump and fears that were he to return to the White House that this could lead to him being a pawn in a Russian/US deal.Though a staggering story of crisis for Bill, he maintains that it is a much more important one for Sergei and the family that he left behind.  The way in which Bill describes his burden of guilt over the death of his friend, who demonstrated astonishing bravery in the weeks before his death, is deeply moving.But it is the way in which he has come to terms with a life of constant crisis and threat, at least for as long as Putin is in power, which is for me the most fascinating and chilling aspect of this conversation. Bill's Crisis Cures: 1. I have a Peloton in my basement and the worse things get, the harder I work out – so I’m in the best shape when times are really bad.2. I focus on my family. It’s kind of weird to be fighting murderers on the one hand and then being at the school gates.  The normalcy of bringing up a family is incredibly helpful in these situations.3. I listen to country music. There’s a song called ‘Beer For My Horses”. It’s about a bunch of Texas lawmen who after they’ve rounded up a bunch of bad guys and hanged them, serve beer for their horses and Whiskey for their men. I love it.Links:Freezing Order – https://amzn.to/3eDnLhg Red Notice – https://amzn.to/3RJ7AxI Host – Andy CoulsonProducer – Louise DiffordFull transcript available here: https://www.crisiswhatcrisis.com/podcasts/bill-browder-on-murder-guilt-and-with-fear/Stream/Buy ‘Allies’ by Some Velvet Morning: https://ampl.ink/qp6bm Some Velvet Morning Website: www.somevelvetmorning.co.uk

In this first episode of our fifth series I talk to Guy Hands - a man who Tom Wolfe would have described as ‘A Master of the Universe’. A private equity titan who through his skill and sheer force of personality has been one of the most successful dealmakers of the last three decades.Not every deal has gone well though – some in fact have gone spectacularly wrong. Most famously his acquisition of EMI was a multi-million-pound failure which still stings. Guy talks with candid honesty about those professional crises and peels back the lid on the secretive world of private equity.But what’s truly remarkable about this episode is not the riches gained or lost. It’s the personal challenges that Guy faced before the success and indeed since, that really makes this a crisis story worth listening to.Challenges like his severe dyslexia – Guy still has a reading age of 13 and the spelling level of a seven-year-old, dyspraxia, chronic OCD and a number of other crippling conditions.Guy’s life under its successful veneer has often been one of significant struggle which at times has taken him to the darkest of places in terms of his mental health. A battle against what he describes (quoting from the World According To Garp) as The Under Toad – the constant fear of being dragged down to disaster.A reminder that whoever you think someone is – however perfect and successful a life they appear to be leading – the reality will almost certainly be something very, very different. Guy’s Crisis Cures:1. Gardens – Being able to smell the garden. If it’s raining a bit softly – even better.2. Yoga – I find it very, very useful. Partly the stretching which I really enjoy. Partly a little bit of physical exercise, but not too much. And partly just to clear my mind to think.3. Listening to music – The one that gets me up when I’m really down is Mama’s & Papas – Dedicated To The One I Love. It has that wonderful line about the darkest time being just before dawn. I can play that line over and over again. Links:Guy's book - https://amzn.to/3xqV5i7https://engagebritain.org Host – Andy CoulsonProducer – Louise Difford Full transcript available here: https://www.crisiswhatcrisis.com/podcasts/guy-hands-on-fortune-failure-and-the-fear-of-the-under-toad/Stream/Buy ‘Allies’ by Some Velvet Morning: https://ampl.ink/qp6bm Some Velvet Morning Website: www.somevelvetmorning.co.uk

Dr Richard Shepherd (Dick) is an Expert Forensic Pathologist who has conducted over 20,000 post-mortems throughout his illustrious career. Many of these have been in the aftermath of some of the world’s most shocking disasters of recent times – including 9/11, the Clapham rail disaster, 7/7 and the death of Princess Diana.But in 2016 Dick suddenly struggled to separate his work and homelife, something he’d always prided himself on being able to do. It started with a panic attack whilst flying a light aircraft over the town of his first high profile assignment, Hungerford. And it culminated with the simple chink of ice in his wife’s gin and tonic – the moment which, as he says, snapped his links with reality and sent him back to the mortuary at the Bali bombings.Dick is brutally honest during our conversation, about his inability at that moment to carry on, and the dramatic unravelling that followed which led him to consider suicide. Thankfully, with the support of his wife, herself a doctor, and the help of counsellors, Dick made a full recovery and was able to return to his work. Now aged 69, his passion for pathology is as strong as ever. Dick has written two insightful and brilliant books which I urge you to read before the summer ends. They provide a detailed account of what it is to be pathologist and the critical role it plays for us all. Including the ‘inconvenient truths found during a post-mortem’, as Dick puts it, that have ensured justice has been done and answers provided to those who have lost loved ones.Richard’s Crisis Cures: 1. FLYING – It just has nothing to do with my day-to-day life. To climb into my little plane and take off into a blue sky over the coast to France for lunch. Intellectually it is interesting to learn but it’s the freedom and it is a very good clearer of minds.2. MUSIC – I love music of all types. I’m very broad-church. If I’m very stressed it’s Marriage of Figaro and Cosi Fan Tutti – Mozart. When I’m a bit grumpier, it’s the other end of the spectrum – and there’s always, Pink Floyd – Another Brick in the Wall.3. Reading – I’m not very good because I usually fall asleep. Holidays are when I read most. 100 years of solitude by Gabriel García Márquez. It’s a tremendous story – I can keep going back to it.The Seven Ages of Death by Dr Richard Shepherd: https://amzn.to/3dcVw8R The Unnatural Causes tour is starting on October 5th – find events at: https://drrichardshepherd.com/eventsUnnatural Causes: https://amzn.to/3QCilAFHost – Andy CoulsonProducer – Louise DiffordFull transcript available here: https://www.crisiswhatcrisis.com/podcasts/dr-richard-shepherd-on-a-career-immersed-in-crisis-his-unravelling-and-why-brits-are-so-bad-at-death/Stream/Buy ‘Allies’ by Some Velvet Morning: https://ampl.ink/qp6bm Some Velvet Morning Website: www.somevelvetmorning.co.uk