How To Fail With Elizabeth Day

The legendary Jane Goodall is a scientist, convservationist and humanitarian, whose 60-year study of wild chimpanzees in Tanzania challenged and overturned much of the conventional scientific thinking at the time. Her tireless work over the years - she is now 88 - has won her a legion of admirers, including David Attenborough, Leonardo di Caprio, Prince Harry and Greta Thunberg who calls Goodall ‘a true hero’. She joins me to talk about the resilience of hope, whether chimpanzees have a sense of failure, her own failures in language, correspondence and motherhood, and her belief in the next generation. This was one of the most enlightening podcast interviews I've ever had the privilege of doing. Please listen!--Jane Goodall's latest book, The Book of Hope: A Survival Guide for Trying Times, is out next week in paperback and is available to pre-order here https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/320237/the-book-of-hope-by-goodall-jane/9780241479469--How To Fail With Elizabeth Day is hosted by Elizabeth Day, produced by Naomi Mantin and Chris Sharp. To contact us, email howtofailpod@gmail.com--Social Media:Elizabeth Day @elizabdayHow To Fail @howtofailpod Jane Goodall @janegoodalluk Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Kit de Waal, author of My Name Is Leon, talks about how reading saved her, being mixed race and working class, her failure to read enough women and adopt a child, and her failure to ride a bicycle. She also discusses her upcoming memoir about her childhood with a Caribbean father and an Irish Jehovah's Witness mother.

TW // descriptions of self-harmRussell Kane is a comedian, novelist, playwright, podcaster, memoirist and presenter. He's know for his sell-out stand-up gigs across and for his TV work, including Live At the Apollo and Celebrity Juice. Plus he has two -count 'em - podcasts, Evil Genius and Man Baggage.I think Russell is genuinely one of the smartest people I've ever interviewed and his mind functions at about three times the speed of everyone else's. It was a real honour to talk to him, especially because he's a fan of the podcast and came ready, willing and able to open up. His failures include his inability to relax, his 20s and his failure to be fully authentic. And, for the first time ever, he opens up about his experiences with self-harm, and how he finally sought help during one of the darkest episodes of his life.This is such a riveting and enlightening listen. Thank you so much, Russell.And this is the last episode of the season - but don't worry, you know me, we'll be back with a couple of brilliant bonuses before you know it.--How To Fail With Elizabeth Day is hosted by Elizabeth Day, produced by Naomi Mantin and Chris Sharp. To contact us, email howtofailpod@gmail.com--Social Media:Elizabeth Day @elizabdayHow To Fail @howtofailpod Russell Kane @russell_kane Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

As well as being a stone-cold legend, Asim Chaudhry is probably best known for co-creating the BAFTA-award-winning mockumentary sitcom People Just Do Nothing and if you’ve ever been on a British Airways flight and paid attention to the safety video, you’ll recognised him instantly as the inept director of a sketch involving national treasures Sir Michael Caine and Olivia Colman. He's an actor, writer, director and musician. And he's also hilarious.He joins me to chat about failing drama class and being kicked out of school with two GCSEs, the time he got deported from America (no, really) and a vicious mugging that left him questioning what life was all about. Along the way we discuss comedy as a defence mechanism, using his dad as creative inspiration and why he wasn't sure about the jeans he was wearing on the day he came to my house.--How To Fail With Elizabeth Day is hosted by Elizabeth Day, produced by Naomi Mantin and Chris Sharp. To contact us, email howtofailpod@gmail.com--Social Media:Elizabeth Day @elizabdayHow To Fail @howtofailpod Asim Chaudhry @asimc Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Dr. Benjamin Zephaniah discusses his failure as a 'gangsta' and his prison sentence. He talks about his struggles with dyslexia and leaving mainstream education. The emotional conversation revolves around his failure to have children and male infertility. The chapter explores the Speaker's journey from a troubled childhood, their dreams, family dynamics, and the story of their mother as part of the Windrush generation. They also touch on chosen family, frustration with history education, institutional inequality, and the power of personal stories.

Warsan Shire, a poet known for her powerful poem on the refugee crisis, talks about her failures in breastfeeding and math, her experience with an eating disorder, the meaning of 'home' and being a refugee. She also discusses her collaboration with Beyonce and the transformative power of support.

Caroline Stanbury, a reality TV star, reflects on her experience on Ladies of London and the challenges of being on a reality TV show. She discusses managing impatience as a multitasking CEO, mother, and wife. Caroline also opens up about the downfall of her business and the power of self-belief. In addition, she gives advice to women in unhappy marriages and emphasizes the importance of constructive pessimism.

My sound engineer Chris is a lovely man, but he is not easily impressed. After an interview, if Chris says 'yeah, that was good' I know I've struck GOLD. Today's episode garnered TWO SEPARATE 'yeah that was good'(s) from Chris which is why I know it's a very special one. And of course it would be, because my guest is the truly wonderful Michael Rosen. He is the author of more than 200 books, including some of the most beloved children’s stories of all time. We’re Going on a Bear Hunt is one of his, a book which is now (terrifyingly) over 30 years old. When the Covid-19 pandemic hit in March 2020, Michael was one of the first to be hospitalised. He spent 47 days in Intensive Care, some of them in an induced coma and on a ventilator. He returned home in June to discover that his poem, These Are The Hands, had become a viral anthem for NHS care workers.He joins me to talk about all of this, as well as his failures in cricket, academia and health. In one of the most moving conversations I've ever had on this podcast, we also talk about the death of his beloved son Eddie from meningitis at the age of 18 and how Michael still feels (misplaced) guilt over what happened.Thank you Michael for being so open and vulnerable. This is a wonderful listen - but do have tissues nearby.--Michael's latest book, Please Write Soon: a story of Two Cousins in World War II is out now an available to order here: https://blackwells.co.uk/bookshop/product/Please-Write-Soon-by-Michael-Rosen-author-Michael-Foreman-illustrator/9780702303180--How To Fail With Elizabeth Day is hosted by Elizabeth Day, produced by Naomi Mantin and Chris Sharp. To contact us, email howtofailpod@gmail.com--Social Media:Elizabeth Day @elizabdayHow To Fail @howtofailpod Michael Rosen @michaelrosenyes Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Natasha Brown is the author behind one of my favourite novels of recent years. Assembly runs to 100-pages and has already been compared to Virginia Woolf's Mrs Dalloway. It was shortlisted for both the Folio and the Goldsmiths Prize, as well as being named the Foyles Bookshop Book of the Year. It tells the story of an unnamed Black British woman working at a bank in the city, who is confronted with the numbing aggression of racist encounters and systems as she confronts a life-or-death decision.When I first met Natasha, I knew I had to get her on the podcast. She is so wise, clever and emotionally intelligent. She talks to me about failures in social media, learning French and a tele-sales job that taught her about the power of language itself. We also discuss how she feels about failure given her objective levels of success, the concept of separating your own identity from what it is you do, race as a construct and what 'privilege' really means (if anything). Also: what she learned from studying Maths at university (yes, she's one of a select bunch of novelists with a Maths degree, including David Foster Wallace...).--Assembly by Natasha Brown is now out in paperback and available here: https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/444/444275/assembly/9780241992661.html--How To Fail With Elizabeth Day is hosted by Elizabeth Day, produced by Naomi Mantin and Chris Sharp. To contact us, email howtofailpod@gmail.com--Social Media:Elizabeth Day @elizabdayHow To Fail @howtofailpod Natasha Brown @wordsbynatasha Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Todays' guest is Jarvis Cocker: musician, writer, broadcaster. He was the frontman of Pulp, one of the most successful 90s Britpop groups whose hit, Common People, turned Jarvis into a star at the age of 32. He joins me to talk about the vagaries of fame, his failures in acting and academia, abandonment by his father, being raised by a household of women and the impact this has had on him, as well as divorce, co-parenting, clearing out the loft and why ephemera is an important part of our culture. Plus, he gives me a Birmingham-based anecdote that I think might be one of the greatest metaphors for celebrity I've ever heard.Jarvis's book. Called Good Pop, Bad Pop, is out TOMORROW https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/111/1114959/good-pop--bad-pop/9781787330566.htmlHe will be in conversation at the Royal Festival Hall in London at 7.30pm on Friday 27th May. Book here: https://www.southbankcentre.co.uk/whats-on/literature-poetry/jarvis-cocker-good-pop-bad-pop--How To Fail With Elizabeth Day is hosted by Elizabeth Day, produced by Naomi Mantin and Chris Sharp. To contact us, email howtofailpod@gmail.com---Social Media:Elizabeth Day @elizabdayHow To Fail @howtofailpod Jarvis Cocker @jarvisbransoncocker Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices