

How To Fail With Elizabeth Day
Elizabeth Day and Sony Music Entertainment
How To Fail with Elizabeth Day is a podcast that celebrates the things in life that haven’t gone right and what we might learn from them along the way. Every week, Elizabeth’s guest explores three failures, and what these failures have taught them about how to grow and succeed, better.
We’d love to hear from you! Get in touch with Elizabeth to share your failures, problems or questions - anonymously or otherwise. She'll go through these each week with the help of her very special guests. And remember: a fail shared is a fail halved. https://forms.sonymusicfans.com/campaign/how-to-fail-uk-2023/
An Elizabeth Day and Sony Music Entertainment Original Production.
Find more great podcasts from Sony Music Entertainment at sonymusic.com/podcasts and follow @sonypodcasts
To bring your brand to life in this podcast, email podcastadsales@sonymusic.com
We’d love to hear from you! Get in touch with Elizabeth to share your failures, problems or questions - anonymously or otherwise. She'll go through these each week with the help of her very special guests. And remember: a fail shared is a fail halved. https://forms.sonymusicfans.com/campaign/how-to-fail-uk-2023/
An Elizabeth Day and Sony Music Entertainment Original Production.
Find more great podcasts from Sony Music Entertainment at sonymusic.com/podcasts and follow @sonypodcasts
To bring your brand to life in this podcast, email podcastadsales@sonymusic.com
Episodes
Mentioned books

Jul 5, 2023 • 46min
S17, Ep10 Elliot Page on the transcendence of showing up as himself
Elliot Page, a powerful and honest individual, shares experiences of living a 'closeted' life and struggles with friendship and reaching out for help. Topics include abusive homophobia in Hollywood, battles to connect with true self, euphoria of presenting physically as oneself, and troubling experiences during a magazine photoshoot.

Jun 28, 2023 • 52min
S17, Ep9 Mae Muller on failing to win Eurovision - but finding her voice
Mae Muller, Great Britain's 2023 Eurovision entry, talks about failing to win Eurovision, pressure in the music industry, toxic relationships, struggles with school, and a personal connection to their Jewish roots.

Jun 21, 2023 • 59min
S17, Ep8 Yomi Adegoke on social media, mental health and reality TV
This week's guest is the journalist and author Yomi Adegoke. You might know her from her column in the Guardian or as the co-author of the brilliant 2018 non-fiction book, Slay In Your Lane or you might follow her on Instagram for her glamorous serving of LEWKS. And even if you don't know her, you should because she's the definition of good energy and you will love this episode.Yomi joins me to talk about her failures in hodling down a 9-to-5, her experiences with depression while at university and her debut novel, The List, which has already been snapped up by HBO Max for TV adaptation.In this episode, we touch on issues of race, gender and cultural influence and, thrillingly, I get to chat about reality TV with someone who takes it as seriously as I do. Lol.Enjoy!--Signed copies of The List by Yomi Adegoke are available to pre-order here.Yomi will be in conversation with Bernardine Evaristo at the Southbank Centre in London on 20th July. Tickets are available 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 @howtofailpodYomi Adegoke @yomi.adegoke Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Jun 14, 2023 • 57min
S17, Ep7 Sir Ranulph Fiennes on adventure, fertility and living up to his father's memory
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.

10 snips
Jun 7, 2023 • 55min
S17, Ep6 Diana Evans: the bestselling author on writing routines, dealing with her inner critic and living life to the fullest
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

May 31, 2023 • 57min
S17, Ep5 Bear Grylls on turning fear into courage
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

May 25, 2023 • 56min
S17 BONUS EPISODE: Rachel Cargle on reimagining the life we want to live.
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

May 24, 2023 • 46min
S17, Ep4 Dr Gladys McGarey: a 102-year-old doctor shares the secret to health and happiness
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.

May 17, 2023 • 1h 4min
S17, Ep3 Alex Crawford: the legendary war correspondent on staying alive, motherhood and the resilience of hope
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.

May 10, 2023 • 1h 8min
S17, Ep2 Jay Shetty on failing to fit in, learning to love and how to survive heartbreak
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.