Happy Place

A listener shares an unbearably embarrassing moment, prompting some wonderfully awkward stories and plenty of reassurance. Another caller explores the pressure of carrying everyone else’s needs, while a relatable question tackles the struggle to slow down and rest. Expect candid conversations about boundaries, burnout, self-care and finding humor in life’s most cringe-worthy moments.

Dr Sophie Bostock, a sleep researcher and endurance rower, joins a conversation about rest, stress and feeling safe. They explore racing thoughts, nighttime anxiety, journaling, cognitive shuffling, parenting, shift work and hormonal changes. Sophie also shares the challenge ahead: rowing 3,000 miles across the Atlantic while sleeping in two-hour stretches.

Fearne tackles a friendship that feels increasingly judgmental and competitive, exploring whether honesty could help repair it. She also celebrates winter’s slower rhythm, recommends books for embracing hibernation, and reassures parents that childhood magic can come from simple, unplanned days, cozy routines, and guilt-free downtime.

Gemma Cairney, a British broadcaster, writer and DJ, joins a candid conversation about the pressure to be a “palatable woman,” cruel media scrutiny and Caroline Flack’s legacy. They explore sisterhood, shame, postpartum transformation and messy, nonlinear healing. Gemma shares stories of Grace Jones and Erykah Badu, and celebrates mischief, creativity and liberation over perfectionism.

Chris Olsen, the TikTok creator and author of I Think My Therapist Hates Me, opens up about fame, addiction, recovery, and self-forgiveness. He reflects on a life-changing intervention, complicated family history, rehab, sobriety, and the pressure of online validation. He also explores boundaries, substitute behaviors, and why there is no single path through recovery.

Jesse Tyler Ferguson, the Modern Family star and acclaimed stage actor, opens up about using fear as fuel when performing alone onstage. He reflects on fame, privacy and the show’s global impact, while sharing how playing Mitchell shaped his approach to fatherhood. He also reveals behind-the-scenes White House stories from interviewing Jill Biden and explains why theatre remains his happy place.

Megan McKenna, the English TV personality, singer, and cookbook author, opens up about life beyond her reality-TV image. She discusses motherhood, fertility treatment, social anxiety, and swapping heavy drinking for home comforts. Megan also reveals the hidden pressures of reality television, while sharing how a traumatic robbery led to PTSD, night terrors, and sleep paralysis. She talks family, cooking, and returning to country music.

Stephen Graham, acclaimed actor and filmmaker, and Orly Klein, a psychology researcher focused on young men, explore masculinity, fatherhood and raising boys with empathy. They discuss generational silence, toxic online influencers, community spaces, and giving teenagers love alongside freedom. Their memorable sex-talk framework? Consent, compassion and condoms. Stephen also shares what it was like filming Adolescence in one take.

Susie Dent, lexicographer, author and longtime Countdown broadcaster, discusses her murder mystery Death Writ Large, Oxford’s shadowy world and the clues hidden in lost words. She traces the origins of “Flaming Nora” and “Gordon Bennett,” explores why swearing can help with pain, and introduces delightfully precise emotional vocabulary, from confelicity to kuchi sabishi.

Miquita Oliver, broadcaster and former Popworld and T4 presenter, joins a long-awaited conversation about a rivalry built on media-fuelled assumptions. They unpack insecurity, projection, racism in press coverage and the loneliness behind public success. Miquita also discusses drinking, recovery, self-forgiveness, entrepreneurship and why play, movement and reconnecting can help us dream bigger.