Ctrl Alt Delete

Welcome to Ctrl Alt Delete! My guest today is one of my favourite authors, the incredibly inspiring force of nature that is Naomi Alderman! She is the multi-award-winning novelist of Disobedience and The Power. Disobedience has been adapted into a film directed by Sebastián Lelio, based on the novel of the same name by Naomi and stars both Rachael McAdams and Rachel Weiz. It is out in cinemas now. And The Power is one of Obama's favourite books! No big deal.Speaking of cinemas: I'm excited that this episode is in partnership with Curzon Cinemas. http://bit.ly/2P1WwKZFor nearly a century, Curzon has been pioneering ways to bring audiences exclusive access to a brilliant selection of award winning, classic and contemporary independent films from around the world. I'm excited to tell you about Curzon Home Cinema. By registering you get access to a selection of the latest cinema releases available now to watch from the comfort of your own

My guest today is the wonderful Hari Nef: model, actress, activist and first trans woman signed to IMG Worldwide​​, one of the biggest model management firm​s in the world. ​She has grace​d​ the cover​s ​​​of​ publications such as Elle UK, Love Magazine and Interview, and has appeared in editorials in Vogue and Wonderland Magazine, among others. She may be currently best known for her ​role ​in the  Emmy award-winning series TRANSPARENT. ​​ ​Hari currently lives in LA and ​is currently starring​ in the Gucci Bloom fragrance campaign alongside Dakota Johnson and Petra Collins. Most recently Hari has starred in black comedy thriller Assassination Nation ​(also starring Suki Waterhouse) which ​i​​​​s out now in UK cinemas​. It is about ​​a group of best friends live in a world of selfies, emojis, snaps and sexts. But when their town of Salem is besieged by a massive data hack, resulting in half the citizens’ private info spewed

Pandora Sykes is a journalist and co-host of The High Low podcast. Pandora is a former colleague of mine; we were part of the launch team of the now defunct website The Debrief back in 2014. She was the fashion editor, I was the social media editor. She then went on to hold the iconic position of Fashion Features Editor and Wardrobe Mistress columnist of The Sunday Times Style magazine.Now, Pandora is now doing many different things; she is a journalist, brand consultant, podcast co-host and speaker. She is a Contributing Editor at Man Repeller and ELLE, she has written for titles including The Guardian, Marie Claire, Vogue, Red magazine, i-D, The Cut, Vogue Australia, The Spectator and The Sunday Times.Pandora is the co-host of an iTunes No.1 weekly culture podcast, The High Low (one of my faves) which she created with author and journalist, Dolly Alderton which has a major cult following.We discuss sharing, multi-hyphenate careers, career evolution, writing, authenticity and sticking to what feels righ

E. Lockhart is a New York Times bestselling author of ten novels, including We Were Liars, which was a New York Times bestseller and Zoella Book Club pick, and the novel Genuine Fraud, soon to be a film produced by Lena Dunham and Jenni Konner of HBO series Girls.In this episode we talk about writing, writing writing! The art of writing novels, how to keep your momentum when writing, how to study the books you love and how to manage your ego and ignore reviews, good and bad.Favourite quote from the episode:"The me who can write a novel is not the same me who goes to the grocery stores and swimming pool and does things with my family. That person doesn't know how to write a novel."  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

This episode is with Scott Harrison, founder of Charity:Water and Joshua Coombes, founder of Do Something For Nothing. I had the best time getting to know two amazing entrepreneurs last week when I hosted a master class called "Passion to Purpose" at the WeWork Creator Awards in London. Scott has the most interesting story and has helped millions get access to clean water. Joshua is probably best known for the haircuts he offers to homeless people all over the world and whose stories he shares shares their stories to encourage people to connect with others. These two guys essentially created their own opportunities in social entrepreneurialism using cultural norms like water and grooming to serve marginalised communities. I learned a lot and I hope you find this episode as inspiring as I did. Thank you to WeWork for having me host this.  If you're an entrepreneur, you're going to want to know more about the Creator Awards pitch competition -&nbs

Estée Lalonde is a returning guest! Estée is a U.K.-based lifestyle vlogger, author and fellow podcaster, who shares her beauty and fashion expertise with more than 1.2 million subscribers on her YouTube channel every week. She has served as a brand ambassador for the likes of Lancôme, Garnier, and Adidas, and last year, she launched a podcast called The Heart Of It, in which she explores subjects that close to her heart — including feminism, travel, and tattoos — alongside guests. This year she launched a new podcast called On The Line, and she has also brought out a jewellery collection with DAISY London. We catch up on life, work, dates, crystals and everything in between.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Jodi Picoult ​is the bestselling author​ of 25 novels.​​ Her books have sold over 15 million copies worldwide, and have been translated into​ almost 50 languages.​In this episode -- (recorded live at Foyles Charing Cross as part of Jodi's UK tour) -- we discuss her newest book A Spark Of Light, which centres around women, choice and abortion rights in America​. It unravels backwards, with characters held hostage in an abortion centre in Mississippi. As the novel goes on, you start to realise what brought all the different characters there.Jodi has always centred her novels around important topics. In her novel Nineteen Minutes, she wrote about the aftermath of a school shooting in a small town, and it was her first book to debut at number 1 on the New York Times best-seller list. Her book Change of Heart, published on March 4, 2008, was her second novel to debut at number 1 on that list.​ One of the books she might be also best known for is My Sister's Keeper, which was made into a film starrin

This episode is with Areeq Chowdhury, founder and chief executive of the voluntary, youth-led, think tank WebRoots Democracy. I wanted to do an episode of Ctrl Alt Delete all about online voting. Can it happen? Will it happen? When will it happen?Other countries are already experimenting with online voting and we do everything with our phones, so I wanted to explore the pros and cons for this conversation. We discuss the benefits (research says online voting would make more people more likely to vote) and the push-backs, including security concerns, privacy and hacking and clicktivism. One thing that stood out from chatting to Areeq was that the people who would benefit the most from this would be people living with disabilities. For a lot of people, it's not a case of 'can't be bothered' it's a case of 'can't physically get there'.Areeq Chowdhury was born and brought up in Manchester and studied Economics and Political Science at the University of Birmingham where he began researching the relations

This is the second part of this interview, recorded live, which focuses on the audience Q&A! Katherine Ormerod is a journalist, influencer and author. She has worked as a journalist for over a decade, starting her career as a fashion assistant at Sunday Times Style, moving to Grazia to become Senior Fashion News & Features Editor then on to Glamour where she was Fashion Features Editor at Large. Prior to her career, she graduated with a MA(Hons) in History from the University of Edinburgh and went on to get a Master's in Fashion History & Theory from the London College of Fashion. Katherine has written for the FT, the Telegraph, Harper's Bazaar and the Mail on Sunday.In January 2017, she launched workworkwork.co, an anti-perfectionism platform where high-profile social media stars and women with aspirational careers share stories from their 'unedited' lives.​She's now written a book 'Why Social Media Is Ruining Your Life' a no-holds-barred, no-filter look at what social media is doing to us as a s

Katherine Ormerod is a journalist, influencer and author. She has worked as a journalist for over a decade, starting her career as a fashion assistant at Sunday Times Style, moving to Grazia to become Senior Fashion News & Features Editor then on to Glamour where she was Fashion Features Editor at Large. Prior to her career, she graduated with a MA(Hons) in History from the University of Edinburgh and went on to get a Master's in Fashion History & Theory from the London College of Fashion. Katherine has written for the FT, the Telegraph, Harper's Bazaar and the Mail on Sunday.In January 2017, she launched workworkwork.co, an anti-perfectionism platform where high-profile social media stars and women with aspirational careers share stories from their 'unedited' lives.​She's now written a book 'Why Social Media Is Ruining Your Life' a no-holds-barred, no-filter look at what social media is doing to us as a society, and how we can deconstruct the online fantasy to change our own attitudes about modern wo

This is a special live recording of Ctrl Alt Delete focused on​ all things​ periods, from cramps to menstrual mishaps, bloody good anecdotes, mind-boggling facts and incredible stories as we delve into a raw discussion about all aspects periods around the world.This was recorded at Hoxton Square Bar & Grill in collaboration with Project Period, a campaign bringing together activists to maximise momentum on efforts to put period poverty onto the global agenda.On the panel were three brilliant women talking about periods: gynecologist and Instagram influencer Anita Mittra “The Gynae Geek”, period poverty activist Holly Bantleman, and social entrepreneur Tasha Bishop of “The Pants Project’.The aim of this conversation is to raise awareness (and money) for women affected by period stigmas and the lack of access to sanitary products and relevant information related to menstruation around the world. We want to change perspectives and attitudes on periods, and drive any one listening to take action to end p

My guest today is the incredible entrepreneur Amy Thomson​. She was the founder of SEEN, a global marketing agency working with brands such as Nike, Microsoft and RBS. She is also the co-founder of a business school for future female leaders called Future Girl Corp (alongside Sharmadean Reid, another Ctrl Alt DElete guest), which has a simple mission to inspire the new generation of female leaders. Now, she, alongside her team, has ​launched the Moody Month App. ​The mission ​of the app i​s to empower every woman to harness their moods through understanding their hormonal and emotional selves. The Moody Month App will allow you to track your monthly moods and cycle, along with plugging straight into your calendar and giving you mood forecasts for your month. ​The message behind the app is that being moody is your biggest asset, it's what makes you human not a robot. By having more awareness of your moods, means you can optimise your happiness. Let’s all re-connect

Helena Morrissey who is one of the best-known women in the City.She handles billions of pounds worth of assets for many years and is now Head of Personal Investing at Legal and General Management, a new role aimed at engaging the nation to save and invest more.In 2010, Helena founded the 30% Club, a cross-business initiative to achieve better gender-balanced UK company boards. She wrote a book earlier this year called A Good Time to be a Girl: Don’t Lean In, Change the System. The Ft said about her book "At its heart is a conviction that diversity in any workplace will lead to a better, fairer and more prosperous society". She was named one of Fortune Magazine’s World’s 50 Greatest Leaders. She has twice been voted one of the 50 Most Influential People in Finance globally by Bloomberg Markets. she was awarded an Honorary Doctorate by Cambridge University in 2016. She was appointed CBE in the 2012 New Year’s Honours list for her contribution to the role of women in business. In 2017, she was made a dame.Helena

Chloe Milligan runs a florist company called MUD Urban Flowers. Unlike a traditional florist, MUD operates solely online and this innovative, contemporary take on the trade soon became a great success. MUD Urban Flowers has now expanded into Edinburgh and has plans to continue growing UK wide via franchises from early 2019.In a landmark year celebrating 100 years since women were granted the vote, I teamed up with Royal Bank of Scotland to bring together Scotland’s most inspiring, like-minded and motivated women at a series of four networking events across the country to encourage businesswomen to connect, support one another and thrive together. The events were held in Aberdeen, Dundee, Edinburgh and Glasgow. The events come on the back of a report commissioned by Royal Bank of Scotland that revealed the challenges facing women in business and what they do to overcome them.*This episode is part of a paid partnership with Royal Bank Of Scotland.*  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and

Farrah Storr is the award-winning editor-in-chief of the UK's Cosmopolitan magazine. She took over the brand in 2015 where she was tasked with reimagining it for the millennial woman. The October issue of Cosmo magazine has model and body-positivity advocate Tess Holliday on the cover. It was celebrated across the internet by many who lauded the magazine for championing body positivity and embracing larger bodies but it was also battled out on Good Morning Britain (by Piers Morgan) arguing that it glorifies obesity. Over her 17-year career as a journalist Farrah has done everything from undercover investigations in the world of cut-price cosmetic surgery to reporting from inside some of the world’s most luxurious fashion houses. She was also the founding editor-in-chief of Women’s Health magazine – the most successful women’s magazine launch of the decade.In 2017 Farrah was cited as one of only 36 BAME leaders in The Guardian UK’s 1000 Most Powerful list.Her first book is out now called The Dis

This episode of Ctrl Alt Delete is in collaboration with CityFibre, talking all about connectivity and the future of tech. I wanted to do an episode on the future of work, tech, modern cities and Internet connection. Chatting to me on these topics is Laura Osborne who works with CityFibre. Laura’s background is in public affairs, government communications and more recently consumer campaigning. She was Which?’s first Head of Corporate Affairs, working with businesses to improve the banking, energy and telecoms markets for consumers.Now she is helping to lead the campaign calling on the Advertising Standards Authority to change the rules on how “fibre” is used in broadband adverts, so that consumers are no longer misled. In this episode we talk about the impact of smart technology in our homes, online doctors, digital assistants who can pick up on your mood and health data, how the internet connection you have matters, how connectivity affects or can improve the way we work and lots more. W

Fearne Cotton is a TV presenter, podcast host and author. Fearne has been presenting live TV since the age of 15 when she was spotted by ITV’s ‘Disney Club’ Her warmth, natural interview skills and ability to make presenting live TV seem effortless and has given her the opportunity to present a variety of shows over the years.In 2005 she joined Radio 1 where she spent 10 incredible years, initially co-hosting morning shows with Reggie Yates and then moving onto the UK Top 40 show before taking over the prestigious weekday morning slot in 2009; here she mixed big celebrity interviews with exclusive acoustic performances in the Live Lounge. The show attracted over 4 million listeners and in 2012 she won a Sony Gold Award for the show.An enthusiastic cook, Fearne released her first cookbook in June 2016. She is also the author of Calm, Happy, Yoga Babies and Hungry Babies.Fearne is a mother of two and continues to find time to support a range of charities with seemingly no challenge too big for he

Yasmin Khan is an award-winning author, campaigner and cook.In 2013, after suffering a debilitating burnout and having to step back from her human rights work, Yasmin switched careers and turned to food as a tool through which to share people’s stories. She ran a Kickstarter to write a book that would offer a window into Iran, the result of which is her best-selling debut book The Saffron Tales: Recipes From the Persian Kitchen (Bloomsbury, 2016). The book was chosen by the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal and the BBC Food Programme as one of the best cookbooks of 2016.Yasmin’s second book, Zaitoun: Recipes and Stories from the Palestinian Kitchen was published in July 2018 and immediately became a number 1 best-seller on Amazon. The book is a collection of recipes and stories gathered from her travels through Israel, the West Bank and Gaza and was heralded by the late, great, Anthony Bourdain as “A moving, hugely knowledgeable and utterly delicious book”.In this

Justin Myers is a journalist who for a long time wrote under his pseudonym The Guyliner.​ I first started reading his hilarious writing back in 2012 when his blog posts started getting published on the Huffington Post.​ He has written for Gay Times, GQ and the Guardian. His first novel, The Last Romeo, was published by Little, Brown in Spring this year. We talk about writing non fiction and how his fiction has some similarities to his journalistic career.His book The Last Romeo tells a story of the character James -  his long relationship with Adam ends, decides to try out the dating scene for the first time, writing about his exploits for a small, loyal audience under a secret identity: the Last Romeo. An account of a date with a closeted celebrity boosts the blog’s popularity, not to mention its notoriety, and soon James finds himself reluctantly internet-famous, and dealing with the associated perks and pitfalls; the fans, trolls, and haters, who all want to know one thing: who the

Sharmadean Reid founded WAH Nails as a side project in 2009 – now it is a huge global well-known business.In this episode I chat to Sharmadean about productivity and distraction. She has a brilliant Guardian column called Bossing It where she answers modern work questions.She wrote two WAH nails books, delivered global pop up nail salons for 100s of brands, created a product line with Walgreen Boots Alliance and was awarded an MBE for services to Beauty.So now she is building a new way to book beauty online with her new company Beauty Stack.We talk about what she’d learned from starting businesses. Sharmadean’s also working on a new campaign with NatWest which is all about helping small businesses be the best they can be. A big focus is on helping small businesses do more with less and improve their productivity through the NatWest Productivity Blueprint.The medium article I reference in the opening section of the interview is called “Growing Up Too Fast — Or Why I Closed WAH Nails Topshop”.Soundbit