Ctrl Alt Delete

My guest today is the incredible Elizabeth Gilbert, one of my biggest inspirations​ of all time​. I turn to her work whenever feeling a bit lost. She is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Eat, Pray, Love, Big Magic and The Signature of All Things (plus many others). Big Magic is the book I recommen​d​ to anyone struggling with a creative project. It is really practical, fun and helps creatives understand how to work alongside fear.Elizabeth's NEW book is already a #1 bestseller and is called City Of Girls, a delicious novel of glamour, sex, and adventure, about a young woman discovering that you don’t have to be a good girl to be a good person. We discuss all sorts: the weather forecast in our minds; how being a relaxed women (not a strong women) is a radical move; why we should check in which people more often; how creativity changes everything (and us) and how to break the habit of negative self talk. Hope you enjoy this one :)  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out

Dame Stephanie Shirley ​is tech pioneer, entrepreneur and philanthropist. She also goes by the name "Steve" which she used to sign business letters to potential clients when they were not responding to her.​ If you haven't already, go and watch her Ted Talk it is funny and moving and super interesting to hear what it was like being a woman in tech during the 60s.In 1939 ​Steve arrived in ​B​ritain unaccompanied​, a​s child refugee during the war, and​ when she was 29​ she started what became her multimillion-pound IT software consultancy, from which she made a £150m fortune - on her dining room table with £6 in 1962​. ​She retired in 1993 to concentrate on philanthropic work, since then she has given away at least £65 million via her charity Shirley Foundation. She continues to give to a range of causes including autism research, a cause she was drawn to through her late son Giles who had autism.​ Her Damehood in the Millennium honours was for services to IT.​She w

*Please go to charitywateruk.org/emma*My guest today is Scott Harrison, founder of Charity Water, and New York Times Bestselling Author of Thirst.Really excited for you to hear Scott's story behind setting up this incredible charity that has now raised more than 360 million dollars, provided over 9.5 million people with clean, safe drinking water.and funded over 35,000 water projects in 27 countries.Scott set up Charity Water in 2006, having seen the effects of dirty water firsthand. The organisation set out on a big mission, to bring clean water to every person living without it, and an even bigger vision - to reinvent charity with an innovative 100% model and radical transparency, proving every single water project funded.And I'm SUPER excited to also share that I am doing a Charity Water fundraiser for my 30th birthday. I am 30 this week!so if you enjoy this podcast, I'm asking you for a small gift for my birthday, to go to charity water...it would absolutely amazing if you could do this one small thing an

Dustin Lance Black is my guest today! Lance has been named as one of the 50 most powerful LGBTQ+ people in America for the last decade. He is an Academy Award® winning filmmaker, writer, and social activist. He won the Oscar and two WGA Awards for his screenplay MILK, the biopic of activist Harvey Milk starring Sean Penn. He was also a founding board member of the American Foundation for Equal Rights, which successfully led the federal cases for marriage equality in California and Virginia. Lance's memoir MAMA’S BOY is out now, an absolutely incredible book, aboutgrowing up in a conservative Mormon household outside San Antonio, Texas. The book is about his relationship with his mother, Anne, who sadly contracted polio when she was two years old and endured many surgeries throughout her life. Lance came out to his mother at twenty-one, and Mama's Boy explores what it took to remain a family despite such division of belief. Mama's Boy is the story of building bridges, of family, foundations

My guest today is Jessica Pan, author of Sorry I'm Late, I Didn't Want to Come: An Introvert’s Year of Living Dangerously. This is an incredibly funny and frank book all about how Jess decided to drastically change her life for a whole year. An introvert by nature, she decides to live like an extrovert for a year with the help of some experts and mentors along the way. She embraces some horrors. She takes on a series of challenges: improv, a solo holiday, public speaking and talking to strangers on the tube. Jess reports back, and it's laugh out loud, but also rather inspiring.We talk about getting out of our comfort zones, how talking to strangers actually makes us happier, how at a certain age we lose friends and how to make new ones and much more. Hope you enjoy this one!  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Poorna Bell is award-winning journalist of 15 years and a digital expert having worked as UK Exec Editor and Global Lifestyle Head for Huffington Post. She currently writes for Grazia, The iPaper, The Guardian, Red magazine, and Stylist. She was recently named one of Balance magazine’s top 100 wellness personalities, a Stylist magazine Rising Star, a judge for the Mind Media Awards and British Book Awards, plus so much more.Her debut non-fiction book Chase The Rainbow (Simon & Schuster) came out last year; a moving memoir about how Poorna's life was affected —but not defined—by the suicide of her husband Rob. Ariana Huffington said about the book: ‘Chase the Rainbow is a game-changing book. Poorna Bell’s moving account of the pressures on modern men could be a life-saver." Poorna's second book In Search Of Silence is out now, all about her deeply personal journey which asks us all to define what 'happiness' truly means to each of us. In this episode we discuss the inspiration behind this second memoi

Philippa Perry is an author, psychotherapist, factual presenter for radio and television and someone I've been a fan of ever since I read her book called How to Stay Sane back in 2012. After volunteering with the Samaritans, Philippa trained as a psychotherapist and worked in the mental health field for several years before writing her graphic novel, Couch Fiction which lays bare the process of psychotherapy, published in 2010. Philippa is also an agony aunt for Red Magazine and contributes to The Guardian. She has presented several documentaries including The Truth about Children Who Lie for BBC Radio 4, Being Bipolar for Channel 4 and How To Be A Surrealist with Philippa Perry for BBC Four.Her most recent book, The Book You Wish Your Parents Had Read (and Your Children Will Be Glad That You Did), was a number one Sunday Times bestseller - a book all about what really matters and what behaviour it is important to avoid - the vital dos and don'ts of parenting.  See acast.com/priv

My guest today is the hugely inspiring activist, writer, and lecturer Rachel Cargle. I recorded this episode at The Wing in New York, which was fun. I first came across Rachel's work on Instagram. She was recently on Red Table Talk a US roundtable show streamed on Facebook and hosted by Jada Pinkett Smith and Rachel's clip on white privilege went viral, and I really wanted to spread her message on this podcast. Her activist and academic work are rooted in providing intellectual discourse, tools, and resources that explore the intersection of race and womanhood. Her social media platforms now have a community of over 250k people which have grown pretty quickly since one of her signs at the Woman's March in 2018 went viral.  Rachel guides conversations, encourages critical thinking and nurtures meaningful engagement with people all over the world. She is one busy woman, currently teaching and attending Columbia University where she is studying anthropology and women's studies. I a

Elizabeth Day is an author, journalist and broadcaster. She has written 4 critically aclaimed novels, including The Party which was a Richard and Judy bookclub pick. Elizabeth is a currently columnist for You magazine on the Mail on Sunday and a feature writer for numerous publications in the UK and US including The Telegraph, The Times, the Guardian, New York Magazine, the Observer, Vogue, Grazia, Elle, The Pool and Vanity Fair. Her chart-topping podcast, How To Fail With Elizabeth Day, is a celebration of the things that haven't gone right. Every week, in a one-on-one interview, a guest discusses what they have learned from failure. Interviewees have included Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Lily Allen, Alastair Campbell and Dolly Alderton. Her book How To fail, based on the podcast, is out now, a brilliantly honest memoir about celebrating the things that go wrong.We talk about personal writing, success 'triggers', fertility, friendship, failures and why your own definition of success is super imp

Candice Carty-Williams is an author, culture writer and journalist based in London. Her book Queenie came out recently in the UK and US, about a 25-year-old Jamaican British woman living in London called Queenie Jenkins, straddling two cultures and slotting neatly into neither. Oprah has called it 'brazenly hilarious" and it's been called The Black Bridget Jones. She writes regularly to i-D, Refinery29, BEAT Magazine, and more, and her pieces, especially those about blackness, sex, and identity have been shared and read globally. Candice created and launched the Guardian and 4th Estate BAME Short Story Prize, before moving to Vintage Books. We discuss writing Queenie, the universal topics within it, how to get published and why you should proactively ask for criticism, however hard that might be.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

My guest today is the brilliant Anna Newton (aka @TheAnnaEdit) who is an award-winning online content creator and author. Her first book, the life organisation manual ‘An Edited Life’, was published in January 2019. She is the Millennial Marie Kondo in my eyes. She resides by the sea in Brighton, and this episode was recorded at the Komedia as part of Brighton's First Podcast Festival. It was really fun to record with a live audience with a local Brighton resident! She has fronted her blog and YouTube channel ‘The Anna Edit’ since 2010. Her blog is ranked as the 5th biggest in the world in the lifestyle category and she’s been featured in Grazia, Stylist, YOU, Metro and The Guardian. She co-hosts the chart-topping podcast, At Home With… , alongside fellow blogger Lily Pebbles and has collaborated with brands such as Space NK, Estée Lauder and Selfridges. We chatted about how to streamline your life online and offline; why it pays off to have less stuff; how to say no more and how to make day-to-day life

Today's guest is Mrs Hinch (real name Sophie Hinchliffe) who became an overnight sensation by sharing her cleaning tips and tricks on Instagram last year, growing from 1k to 1m followers in six months. She's now at 2 million with no sign of slowing down. Her witty and entertaining Instagram Stories are part advice, part entertainment and absolutely brilliant.  Sophie coined the term 'Hinching' making cleaning genuinely a lot of fun, and she's opened a conversation about how cleaning can be quite relaxing and much needed 'me time'.Her book Hinch Yourself Happy is out today (on the day of this podcast release) and is packed with lots of tips to help shine your sink and soothe your soul. Hope you enjoy.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

My guest today is a slightly different one. It’s with Sarah Thompson, a 21 year pro-skater in Huntington Beach who I interviewed on International Women’s Day 2019. She campaigns for helmet safety and raises awareness of head injury after two serious consecutive concussions in 2017. No one had warned her about it or told her what to do if it happened. In the male-dominated skate community it's not "cool" to wear a helmet so Sarah wants more people to make sure they wear one. A few weeks before this interview Sarah also broke her pelvis and is recovering before a skate competition in Sweden.You might know by now if you’ve listened to the other episodes but I am thrilled to have partnered with Visit California for this special six part mini-series, The California Innovation Tour. I’ve worked with them for a few years now, and they’re doing some incredible things in the tourism landscape and it’s been really exciting to work with them on this podcast mini-series with a variety of different California-based g

My guest today is bestselling author Caroline Kepnes. I first met the amazing @carolinekepnes in 2016 when I first interviewed her about her books YOU and Hidden Boddies aka "the Joe books". In 2017 we met up again and the casting had began for YOU to be a TV show on Lifetime! Then, Netflix wanted it too and now 40 million people have now watched it. I chatted to her about this crazy year, her books, her career and her life in LA.You might know by now if you’ve listened to the other episodes that I am thrilled to have partnered with Visit California for this special six part mini-series, The California Innovation Tour. I’ve worked with them for a few years now, and they’re doing some incredible things in the tourism landscape and it’s been really exciting to work with them on this podcast mini-series with a variety of different California-based guests. Over the course of my trip I met with some of California’s most forward thinking dreamers and pioneers, and I’m really excited bring you this mini-series. Make

Today's interview is with Erica Williams Simon (we recorded it at The Mondrian hotel in West Hollywood). She is the host of one of my favourite interview podcasts The Call, hosted currently on the Man Repeller website. She is a full blown multi-hyphenate: head of the Creator’s Lab at Snapchat, podcast host, author of the forthcoming book You Deserve the Truth, published in May, which unpicks the lies we are constantly told. Prior to that, she worked in politics in Washington, leading Generation Progress among other roles, and was named one of POLITICO’s youngest Top 50 To Watch. We talk about why California is a great place to be an activist, what she knows about burnout and how her family have shaped her.Welcome back to Ctrl Alt Delete.You might know by now if you’ve listened to the other episodes but I am thrilled to have partnered with Visit California for this special six part mini-series, The California Innovation Tour. I’ve worked with them for a few years now, and they’re doing some incredible thi

This episode is with Taylor Jenkins Reid, recorded at the Mondrian hotel in West Hollywood, all about her new book Daisy And The Six (one of the most hotly anticipated book for 2019). It's a novel all about the rock-scene in California in the 70s. Excitingly, Reese Witherspoon's company @hellosunshine is turning it into an Amazon TV show. We talk about her love for Los Angeles and the Hollywood Hills, how she defines success, how she writes a book a year, how she went from casting assistant in Hollywood to author, how her friends inspired her to write after reading her funny long emails, and how our career shouldn't be the only definition of success.I am thrilled to have partnered with Visit California for this special six part mini-series, The California Innovation Tour. I’ve worked with them for a few years now, and they’re doing some incredible things in the tourism landscape and it’s been really exciting to work with them on this podcast mini-series with a variety of different California-based guests

This episode is with Dr Megan Jones Bell, the Chief Science Officer at Headspace. I went to go to the Headspace HQ in Santa Monica and it was just as cool as I’d imagined. Megan's work is all about making mental healthcare more effective, more affordable, and more accessible while changing the culture around mental health and wellness. This conversation is about why she moved to California and all the exciting stuff Headspace is going, plus tips on welcoming more mindfulness into your life.This episode is in collaboration with Visit California. I am thrilled to have partnered with Visit California for this special six part mini-series, The California Innovation Tour. I’ve worked with them for a few years now, and they’re doing some incredible things in the tourism landscape and it’s been really exciting to work with them on this podcast mini-series with a variety of different California-based guests. Over the course of my trip I met with some of California’s most forward thinking dreamers and pioneers, make s

I am thrilled to have partnered with Visit California for this special mini-series for Ctrl Alt Delete. I first started working with Visit California a few years ago, and they’re doing some incredible things in the tourism landscape and it’s been really exciting to work with them on this podcast mini-series which we’ve called ‘The California Innovation Tour.”There is something about the place that keeps drawing me back: the positive mind-set of the people who live there, the laid-back lifestyle, the incredible diversity and beauty of the landscape and so much more. For years California has been the inspiration for songs, films, and novels, as well as the birthplace of emerging trends, from the tech world and fitness and health. So together with Visit California I got to meet a handful of incredible minds to cover these topics. Megan Jones-Bell from Headspace, bestselling thriller author Caroline Kepnes, happiness expert Ruth Whippman on happiness, activist Erica Williams Simon - just to name few.If you’ve bee

Steve Bartlett is the 26-year-old CEO of Social Chain Group - a global, social-first marketing agency and production house. He first built his business from his bedroom in Manchester after dropping out of university and he now runs the group’s two flagship companies - Social Chain and Media Chain which continue to grow, now with an office space of almost 300 people.​ He is also as a speaker, investor and hosts the podcast 'Diary Of A Ceo'.We chat about the influencer world,​ how marketing can shrink your soul, ​how to grow a business from scratch, what to do if your parents don't get what you do/ if your family don't support you, the problem with the 'you can do whatever you want" mentality, and why millennials are burning out.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Vicki Turk is a senior editor at WIRED magazine, working across print and digital. She has just written a book called Digital Etiquette all about modern manners. It's described as 'an indispensable guide to minding our manners in a brave new online world.' In this episode we discuss how to email better; how our friendships have changed and the future of technology. Digital Etiquette is out now, published by Penguin, in all good bookshops.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.