Changes with Annie Macmanus

Casey Armstrong defied the odds of many young care leavers but her experience with foster care came at a huge personal cost. Entering foster care at fourteen after a turbulent upbringing, Casey didn’t realise the clock was ticking before she would be forced to leave her stable foster home. Due to something called the Care Cliff, Casey was expected to be independent at eighteen. The relationships and support she knew suddenly ended and her life fell apart. Now, 5 years later Casey is at University studying Astrophysics, a subject that inspired her to change her life. However, her journey could have been different and she desperately wants to see change in the care system. 

Here, she talks to Annie about her experience before and after going into care, what she endured due to the Care Cliff and how, despite this, she managed to change her life for the better. 

Content warning: multiple references to attempted suicide. 

Thank you to Become Charity for partnering us with Casey (The charity for children in care and young care leavers). The charity is campaigning to end the Care Cliff. You can find out more about Become Charity here: https://becomecharity.org.uk/

Should you be affected by any of the issues raised in this episode, in the UK, The Samaritans can be reached on 116 123. Hotlines in other countries can be found here.  

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We give you global superstar Idris Elba. Idris is an award-winning actor, a film director, a producer, a DJ and rapper, entrepreneur, podcaster, UN goodwill ambassador, kickboxer, the list goes on. Suffice to say this is a man who is comfortable with change. Or is he?

In this conversation Idris zooms in on the big changes in his life, being sickly as a child, moving schools, discovering acting, becoming a father, starting therapy, and the bigger changes in his professional life, namely the SAG-AFTRA strikes and how streaming has changed things for working actors. Viva le Idris! Enjoy!

Changes is a deaf friendly podcast, transcripts can be accessed here: https://www.anniemacmanus.com/changes

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Lorraine Candy does not mess around when it comes to midlife and the menopause. In this impassioned episode, her heartfelt desire for sharing information about both, including HRT and how society views women’s pain, is palpable. Lorraine is the former Editor in Chief of Elle, Cosmopolitan and the Sunday Times Style, now co-host of the podcast ‘Postcards from Midlife’ and author of ‘What’s Wrong With Me: 101 Things Midlife Women Need To Know’. Midlife is often a huge period of great change for women, whether it’s yourself or someone you know. Lorraine, like many women, has been through seismic changes - from leaving her career after 30 years, seeing her children leave home and experiencing perimenopause.

Here, she talks to Annie about these changes, how they materialise, the Void, changing systems, societal expectations and ultimately how to navigate what can be a destabilising period and come through invigorated. 

You can buy Lorraine’s books and find her other content here:

https://linktr.ee/lcandyclub

Changes is a deaf friendly podcast, transcripts can be accessed here: https://www.anniemacmanus.com/changes

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“I am the girl accused of murder”. Amanda Knox is an exoneree, a writer, activist and podcaster. In 2007, when she was 20, Amanda was studying abroad in Italy when her roommate, British student Meredith Kercher, was raped and murdered. Meredith was 21 years old. Amanda was arrested and vilified by the press. She spent the following 8 years either on trial or in prison, for a crime she didn’t commit. 

Here, Amanda talks about how her life has changed, including surviving prison with a 26-year sentence, how Meredith's death and her own story are able to coexist, being blamed for her own wrongful conviction and how she navigates life today. 

You can listen to Amanda’s podcast Labyrinths here:

https://www.knoxrobinson.com/labyrinths.html

Changes is a deaf friendly podcast, transcripts can be accessed here: https://www.anniemacmanus.com/changes

Should you be affected by any of the issues raised in this episode, The Samaritans can be reached on 116 123. You can also contact Mind on 0300 123 3393 or head to mind.org.uk.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The number of adults receiving an ADHD diagnosis has skyrocketed in recent years. In one of the most popular episodes ever of Changes, Annie’s husband Tom Bell (AKA music producer Toddla T) shared his experience of being diagnosed with ADHD. Eighteen months on the couple get back together to see what’s changed for him (and them) since. However, this time, to get a female perspective on ADHD, Annie and T are also later joined by multi-award-winning comedian, writer, podcaster, and film-maker, Josie Long. Josie was diagnosed with ADHD in lockdown when she was trying for her second child. Josie has had nine critically acclaimed tours, has made series for Radio 4 and has comedy specials on Amazon Prime (Cara Josephine) and Netflix (Something Better).

In this frank and hilarious episode, Josie and T both discuss living with ADHD and how it shows up for them in different and similar ways, how they manage it around family life and how a diagnosis has changed their opinion of themselves and their relationships. 

Josie is touring the UK with her brand-new show ‘Re-Enchantment’ till the end of October this year. Tickets are available at josielong.com. There, you can also get a copy of her book of short stories called ‘Because I Don’t Know What You Mean and What You Don’t’.

You can stream all of Toddla T’s music on streaming platforms and find his YouTube channel here: Toddla T You Tube.

The original Changes episode with Toddla T is here.

Changes is a deaf friendly podcast, transcripts can be accessed here: https://www.anniemacmanus.com/changes

You may find the following resources useful:

https://adhdaware.org.uk/what-is-adhd/getting-nhs-diagnosis/

https://aadduk.org/help-support/specialists-support-and-coaches/

Should you be affected by any of the issues raised in this episode, The Samaritans can be reached on 116 123. You can also contact Mind on 0300 123 3393 or head to mind.org.uk.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We are starting series 10 with a bang. Described as the “voice of the 21st Century” by the Sunday Times, the multi award winning author Zadie Smith is back with a brand new novel, ‘The Fraud’. Zadie's first historical novel, the book is inspired by a legal trial dividing Victorian Britain looking at truth and fiction, Jamaica and Britain. It’s a great excuse to get Zadie back on Changes to talk about her biggest life changes and the changes she'd like to see. Zadie Smith became famous and hugely praised aged 24 for her debut novel ‘White Teeth’. She is also the author of ‘The Autograph Man’, ‘On Beauty’, ‘NW’ and ‘Swing Time’, among others. Two years ago, Zadie appeared on Changes in lockdown, around the release of her collection of short stories ‘Intimations’. Then, she talked about the major changes from the pandemic and moving from New York to London during that time. In this episode, we go back to the start as she shares personal stories from her time at school and University, talks openly about her childhood and family, what freedom means and looks at the reasoning and history behind her incredible new novel ‘The Fraud’.

As with her writing, Zadie has an encapsulating and wise way of speaking that you can’t help feeling reassured by. She is a voice of reason and makes you look at life in a whole new way. 

‘The Fraud’ is out on Thursday 7th September. You can pre order / buy the book here:

https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/308246/the-fraud-by-smith-zadie/9780241336991

Changes is a deaf friendly podcast, transcripts can be accessed here: https://www.anniemacmanus.com/changes

VOTE FOR CHANGES!

If you love the podcast, please vote for Changes in the British Podcast Awards here:

https://www.britishpodcastawards.com/voting

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Women’s football is more popular than ever. One key player leading the change is England captain Leah Williamson. Her mum had to pretend to be a boy to play football and Leah had to play on a boys' team as a young girl. Yet, a year ago today, Leah captained the Lionesses to victory in the UEFA Women's Euros 2022 and again, this year, in the Finalissima against Brazil. The team's success has changed the landscape of women’s football. This year, as the World Cup gets underway, Leah has had to change her goals after an ACL injury meant she can't join the England team in Australia and New Zealand.

Here, as the World Cup kicks off, Leah talks about life not always going to plan, changing tactics and mindset, commitment to change in the face of resistance, family, what she’s learnt about winning and losing, the challenges and discrepancies in football and ultimately how football has changed her. 

You can order Leah's books here: https://www.waterstones.com/author/leah-williamson/611710

Changes is a deaf friendly podcast, transcripts can be accessed here: https://www.anniemacmanus.com/changes

VOTE FOR CHANGES!

If you love the podcast, please vote for Changes in the British Podcast Awards here:

https://www.britishpodcastawards.com/voting

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Angela Hartnett has become one of the most high-profile women in the restaurant world. Now, as well as running her many restaurants, she has turned her hand to podcasting as the co-host of the Waitrose podcast ‘Dish’ with Nick Grimshaw. Having first studied history, Angela went on to work for Gordon Ramsey for 17 years, despite many of her male colleagues thinking she would last a week or two at most, something she discusses here. She got her first Michelin star at The Connaught in London in 2004 and opened her restaurant Murano in Mayfair in 2008, winning a Michelin star within 4 months of opening. In 2022 she was awarded an OBE for services to the hospitality industry and the NHS during Covid. 

Here, Angela gets personal and shares her biggest changes covering family, reactions to change and winning people over, when she decided to go it alone, the hardest challenges she has faced, her wedding and of course her new friendship with Annie’s mutual friend Nick Grimshaw.

You can listen to the podcast Dish here:

https://podfollow.com/1626354833/view

You can watch the documentary “Gordon Ramsay - Trouble at the Top: A New Menu, Angela Hartnett” which Annie and Angela discuss here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IA791WOIehM

VOTE FOR CHANGES!

If you love the podcast, please vote for Changes in the British Podcast Awards here:

https://www.britishpodcastawards.com/voting

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This is one of our favourite episodes. An Irish writer, Louise Kennedy is funny boned and great craic, with a remarkable life story to tell.  Louise grew up in Belfast before moving when her family's pub was targeted with bombs twice. A chef for 30 years, Louise was dragged along reluctantly by a friend to a writing group and her life changed. Inspired by her own experiences in Northern Ireland, Louise’s debut novel ‘Trespasses’ is a love story between a protestant and a catholic set in a small town near Belfast in 1975 at the height of The Troubles. It became a number 1 bestseller, was novel of the year for publications like the Times and the Guardian, won The British Book Awards Book Of The Year for Debut Fiction, the An Post Irish Book Awards Novel Of The Year 2022, was shortlisted for the Women's Prize of Fiction 2023 and many more. 

Here, Louise catches up with Annie about the stories from her childhood in Belfast and the huge transitions that have happened in her life, including a cancer diagnosis. In typical Irish fashion, Louise is hilariously self-deprecating and despite her huge success and challenges plays everything down with a wit and humour that will make you laugh out loud at times. You may even be inspired to take up something new, you never know what could happen. 

You can buy Louise’s book ‘Trespasses’ here:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Trespasses-Louise-Kennedy-ebook/dp/B09G1MHJFM

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Will Young has dealt with huge changes both in his personal and professional life. The original Pop Idol winner turned writer and actor has had eight albums, four of which went to number one, won two brit awards and a Laurence Olivier nomination for his performance in Cabaret in the West End. He is currently starring in the one man play Song From Far Away at Hampstead Theatre in London and hosts his own podcast 'The Wellbeing Lab’ which discusses mental health and wellbeing. He's also written five books including 'Anything is Possible', 'To Be a Gay Man' and 'Be Yourself and Happier, the A-Z of Wellbeing'.

In this compelling episode, Will talks to Annie about his relationship with change, snobbery in music, courage and standing up to Simon Cowell, his childhood at boarding school, learning boundaries, his brother's suicide and his search for joy. 

You can listen to The Wellbeing Lab here:

https://podfollow.com/1614065266/view

Content warning: this episode discusses suicide. 

Should you be affected by any of the issues raised in this episode, in the UK, The Samaritans can be reached on 116 123. Hotlines in other countries can be found here.  

Changes is a deaf friendly podcast, transcripts can be accessed here: https://www.anniemacmanus.com/changes

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.