Bristol2Beijing

This week I talk to Leon McCarron - an adventurer, journalist and presenter. He has walked across China, kayaked down Iran's longest river and is now establishing walk trails in Iraq and beyond.

We talk about how his adventures were at first a step into the unknown, before he then decided that greater, and more worthwhile, challenges lay elsewhere.

For more on Leon check out: https://www.leonmccarron.com/

Watch the short film "How To Save A Tribe" here on Amazon.

Emma Sky has led an extraordinary life. Having worked hard to bring about peace between Palestine and Israel she then volunteered to help Iraq, post invasion, in 2003. Within weeks she running a province and later went on to advise the most senior American generals in Iraq.

Emma and I discuss the challenges - internal as well as external - of her position as governor coordinator of Kirkuk, working with the American military, and refinding her purpose.

Emma is also the author of two books: the first, The Unravelling is an insightful account of her experiences in Iraq, explaining what went wrong; A Time of Monsters deals with Emma's post Iraq travels, including the heady optimism and then crushing disappointment that followed the so-called Arab spring.

Emma is now the director of Yale's World Fellows Programme and is the co-founder of the Good Society Forum: https://www.goodsocietyforum.com/

Ryan and I chat about his life as an adventurer and TV producer, which has taken him all around the world, yet is a lifestyle that has challenges along with the glamour. We also discuss how he had to forge a new career after the financial crisis of 2008, and his favourite whiskey.

Click for Ryan's new podcast: https://open.spotify.com/show/6NyyE3IGnlqOudSL605iaM

Watch Ryan’s “Tough Rides” series on YouTube

• Tough Rides China: https://bit.ly/YT_TRC
• Tough Rides India: https://bit.ly/YT_TRI
• Tough Rides Brazil: https://bit.ly/TY_TRB

And head to Amazon Prime for his Extreme Treks

In this episode, liberally laced with anecdotes, Charlotte Roach and I discuss her complex relationship with sport: its role as a powerful formative experience; and with a goal of racing at the 2012 Olympics, which took primacy over all others - only for it to leave her fighting for her life. We also discuss how Charlotte left elite sport and came to set up Rabble, the organisation, which exhorts "stop exercising, start playing".

Check out Rabble: https://joinrabble.com/

"I think celebrity is one of the most ironic phrases. What do you want to be celebrated for?"

This week, I chat to Joseph Daniels, one of the most dynamic and exciting people I know. He has come to success the hard way; homeless during his teens before setting up Project Etopia at the age of 23.

He's now on his way to change the world for the better: increasing living standards and tackling climate change. This is 50 minutes of your time well-spent. 

More about Joe: https://placetech.net/analysis/big-interview-project-etopia/

More about Project Etopia: https://www.projectetopia.com/

Gemma and I discuss her journey, beginning in the elite athletic environs of Loughborough University, and taking her to Nike, before receiving life-changing news at 24.

From fighting for her life, she then achieves the remarkable: gaining an England running vest and setting up a charity, Move.

For those interested in the work of Move: https://movecharity.org/

That uber-inspirational video I mentioned: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hbkZrOU1Zag

'How to make friends and not intimidate people'

Jeremy is one of my best friends, but we only met relatively recently, at Oxford; he as a dynamic and outgoing uber-networking American, me as a shy guy, with no hair, going through chemotherapy. In this episode, we discuss the challenges of becoming friends, from both Jeremy’s perspective – who is this guy and what can I say to him? – and mine:  I don’t really want to talk right now. Tune in for an exploration into friendship.

Jeremy mentions a podcast on lonely adult American males. Find it here: https://tinyurl.com/y6rnsf3v

Sehar Naz Janani speaks with an intensity and depth uncommon amongst students. I met Sehar at the University of Central Asia, and was struck hard by her story then. In this episode I am frequently speechless listening to the challenges she has faced growing up as a girl in Pakistan.

Sehar set up Sapiens of Abuse, a community challenging the status quo in Pakistan and refusing to accept the unacceptable.

Check it out here: https://www.facebook.com/sapiensofabuse/

Lucy Gossage is a thirteen times Ironman champion, an oncologist, and the founder of 5KYourWay, an organisation that helps those with cancer get active.

Lucy and I discuss the challenges of turning from PhD student to pro triathlete, the difficulties of the consultant-patient relationship and the power of exercise in treating cancer.

Inspired by hearing Lucy talk about 5K Your Way? Want to get involved? Check them out here: https://5kyourway.org/