How To Fail With Elizabeth Day

Sir Ranulph Fiennes, globally renowned adventurer, joins Elizabeth Day to talk about his failure to follow in his late father's footsteps, solo expeditions, and his struggles with fertility. They discuss his harrowing experience with frostbite and self-amputation, raising money for charity through expeditions, and the importance of facing fear and overcoming challenges. A particularly moving exchange is about his inability to have a child with his late wife and his happy ending with a teenage daughter with his second wife.

TW: SuicideDiana Evans is the award-winning, bestselling author of A House for Alice, Ordinary People, The Wonder and 26a. Her third novel, Ordinary People, was one of my favourites of the year when it was published in 2018 - and it was shortlisted for the Women's Prize. Now, she's written a critically acclaimed follow-up, A House for Alice, set against the backdrop of the Grenfell Tower tragedy. Diana joins me to discuss how she writes (and manages failure in her writing), the curse of perfectionism, the importance of tackling social justice in fiction and her abject inability to complete her list of '10 Things To Do Before I'm 50' in time. She also talks movingly about the death of her twin sister by suicide and how this forever shapes the life she now lives.Thank you Diana, for opening up to me and for the magical words you put on the page.--A House for Alice by Diana Evans is out now.--How To Fail With Elizabeth Day is hosted and produced by Elizabeth Day. To contact us, email howtofailpod@gmail.com--Social Media:Elizabeth Day @elizabdayHow To Fail @howtofailpodDiana Evans @dianaevansop Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Bear Grylls has achieved worldwide fame as one of the most recognized faces of survival and outdoor adventure. A former SAS soldier, he has climbed Everest, circumnavigated the British Isles on a jet ski, rowed naked in a bathtub along the Thames and once broke his back in a parachuting accident. But he's most famous for his TV career. He starred in seven seasons of the Discovery Channel’s Emmy Award-nominated Man vs. Wild TV series and hosted Running Wild, which has featured Bear taking President Obama, Julia Roberts, Roger Federer, Will Ferrell, Channing Tatum, and Kate Winslet on extreme adventures.I'm so thrilled to have him on How To Fail because Bear has been talking about the need for bravery to co-exist with fear for as long as he's been in the public eye. He's got a really enlightening take on failure - and our need to learn from it.He joins me to talk about losing his Dad young, failing SAS selection and the cancellation of his first TV show.--Never Give Up by Bear Grylls, is out now and available to order here.--How To Fail With Elizabeth Day is hosted and produced by Elizabeth Day. To contact us, email howtofailpod@gmail.com--Social Media:Elizabeth Day @elizabdayHow To Fail @howtofailpodBear Grylls @beargrylls Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

TW: A heads-up that we talk about racism in this episode, and that we mention the murder of George Floyd and how this impacted Rachel's anti-racism work.Rachel Cargle is a public academic, activist and author. Her debut book, A Renaissance of Our Own, is out TODAY and asks us to have the courage to live life according to our own values, rather than the ones we might have inherited or been conditioned to believe in. She joins me to talk about her anti-racism work, the 'weathering' effect such work has on Black bodies and her new-found understanding ease and joy have to form part of the same fight for equity. We also discuss her upbringing as the child of a disabled single mother, her divorce, her decision to be childfree, what happened when she dropped out of conventional academia, as well as her failures in business and what they have ended up teaching her about who she is.Rachel is one of those people I just want to sit and listen to for hours. I barely had to ask any questions because I realised, very quickly, that the most powerful thing was simply for me to shut up and hear her speak.--Rachel's book, A Renaissance of Our Own, is out today and available to order here.--How To Fail With Elizabeth Day is hosted and produced by Elizabeth Day. To contact us, email howtofailpod@gmail.com--Social Media:Elizabeth Day @elizabdayHow To Fail @howtofailpodRachel Cargle @rachel.cargle Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

102-year-old Dr Gladys McGarey, Mother of Holistic Medicine, imparts wisdom on pursuing a well-lived life. Topics include gratitude, boundaries, dyslexia, finding voice, coping with divorce, surviving loss, and living by her own mantra: BE GLAD.

Legendary war correspondent Alex Crawford shares her experiences covering conflicts in Libya, Syria, and the Ukraine. She talks about being taken hostage in Afghanistan, the challenges of motherhood, and maintaining optimism amidst the manipulation of war. She discusses overcoming rejection, imposter syndrome, and the importance of trusting instincts. A candid conversation with a phenomenal journalist.

Former monk-turned-self-help-guru Jay Shetty discusses his struggles to fit in, coping with rejection and heartbreak, making compassionate decisions, and the lessons he learned during his time in the monastery. He shares insights on finding purpose, evaluating opportunities, and unlearning societal conditioning. They also delve into the importance of gratitude, appreciating love, and the value of growth and closure in relationships.

We're back with a brand new season (17 but who's counting? I AM!) and to open the series, I truly could not have asked for a better guest.Rylan Clark is a familiar presence on TV and radio and one of the BBC's hosts for Eurovision 2023. But he started out as the X Factor 'joke' performer in 2012. So how did he manage the transition from national laughing stock to national treasure?We talk about the failures that made him: not fitting in at school, the end of his marriage, his struggles with body image and how he survived 'hitting rock bottom'. We also have a fascinating conversation about the nature of fame, and how he feels his 'real' self is separate from his public persona.I adored this chat because Rylan is super-smart and willing to go deep. But he's also hilarious and had me crying with laughter.I hope you enjoy the episode. And if you do, I'd love it if you could give How To Fail a nice little five-star rating wherever you get your podcasts!It's good to be back.--How To Fail With Elizabeth Day is hosted and produced by Elizabeth Day. To contact us, email howtofailpod@gmail.com--Social Media:Elizabeth Day @elizabdayHow To Fail @howtofailpodRylan @rylan Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

TW: fertilityRegular listeners will know I'm a devoted watcher of Married At First Sight, so I squealed with joy when the brilliant Mel Schilling agreed to come on the pod. Not only is she one of Australia's foremost dating experts, but as a former psychologist and a specialist in human behaviour and performance, she's the perfect person to ask about how to find true love in the dating wilderness, how to feel more confident and what it's really like filming MAFS behind the scenes. And rest assured, I asked ALL OF THIS AND MORE.We also discuss how she only found the courage to pursue her passion later in life, why she dated 'all the emotionally unavailable men' in her 20s and 30s and her fertilty journey - please be aware, if you're currently going through a fertilty struggle yourself that you might find this part triggering (but you might also find it helpful - I know I did).I love Mel so much and she's even better in person. I hope you enjoy the episode, and then enjoy catching up with all the latest MAFS episodes, of course...--Mel's book, The C Word (Confidence): Make friends with fear and build confidence from the ground up, is available to buy here.--My new book, FRIENDAHOLIC: Confessions of a Friendship Addict, is out now and available to purchase here.--How To Fail With Elizabeth Day is hosted and produced by Elizabeth Day. To contact us, email howtofailpod@gmail.com--Social Media:Elizabeth Day @elizabdayHow To Fail @howtofailpodMel Schilling @mel_schilling1 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Fearne Cotton and Elizabeth Day collaborate in a special episode featuring highlights from their respective podcasts. They discuss mental health, feminism, race, step-parenting, and share a funny encounter involving Meryl Streep. Guests include Emily Ratajowski, Mo Gawdat, Roman Kemp, and Phoebe Waller-Bridge.