Ctrl Alt Delete

Dan Murray-Serter is the co-founder of brain health and mental wellness company Heights. He is also the host of the UK's #1 business podcasts Secret Leaders and Braincare, and previously co-founder of Grabble, the UK's top shopping app. He is a thought-leader on topics such as mental health, spirituality & entrepreneurship and also writes about these topics for Forbes and Entrepreneur magazine. It was so great getting to chat to him about these topics - we talk about start-up founder burnout, brain nutrition, why he wanted to create a smart supplement to look after our brains, and the importance of breaks and naps. I hope you enjoy this episode!

Dan has been VERY generous and given Ctrl Alt Delete listeners a code to use if you are interested in trying the smart supplement! Just use 'emmagannon' at checkout for £10 off a quarterly subscription of Heights! https://www.yourheights.com/products/the-smart-supplement/

Check out Dan’s Secret Leaders podcast here: https://www.secretleaders.com/

Check out Dan’s Braincare podcast here: https://www.yourheights.com/blog/podcast/

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

Georgina Lawton is a twenty-something journalist, weekly Guardian columnist, travel writer and host of Audible's DNA podcast, The Secrets In Us — a series that looks into 'do-it-yourself' DNA testing kits and Georgina follows the stories of those learning to live with the results. 

Georgina’s debut book Raceless is out now, a stunning family memoir exploring race, identity and the devastating effect of long-held secrets within a happy family. It is a moving examination of how racial identity is constructed—through the author’s own journey grappling with secrets and stereotypes, having been raised by white parents with no explanation as to why she looked black. The memoir investigates the question: what constitutes our sense of self? In this beautifully written memoir she grapples with difficult questions about love, shame, grief, and prejudice, and reveals the nuanced and emotional journey of forming one’s identity. Hope you enjoy this conversation.

Buy Raceless here: https://uk.bookshop.org/a/153/9780751579383

Listen to Georgina's Audible original series here: https://www.audible.co.uk/pd/The-Secrets-in-Us-Audiobook/B08LLHGGF4

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Cate Sevilla is my guest today, author of How to Work Without Losing Your Mind. She has led and managed editorial teams for some of the world's largest media and tech companies including Google, BuzzFeed and Microsoft. She was a founding member of BuzzFeed UK. She later became editor-in-chief at The Pool, at the helm when the company collapsed (which we talk more about in this episode), and we discuss how Cate is using these difficult experiences in her own career to help others with advice.

In this episode, we focus on her brilliant book, which draws from loads of lessons learned in Cate’s career and interviews with other women, it is a relatable and reassuring guide to the messy, stressful and sometimes bizarre side of work that everyone experiences but no one talks about. Whether you're drowning in a toxic work environment, battling burnout, recovering from redundancy, suffering from comparison, or just struggling to figure out what you actually want from your career, Cate Sevilla is here to help coach you through the shitty bits and get you back on your feet. She has launched a podcast to accompany the publication of her debut book called The Heart Of It. If you enjoyed this conversation, please do leave a little review somewhere! Thank you!

Cate’s book: https://uk.bookshop.org/a/153/9780241439661

Cate's podcast: https://catesevilla.com/podcast

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 Kate Elizabeth Russell is a writer, based in Oregon. Her debut novel, My Dark Vanessa, was published in 2020 and has been translated into thirty-five languages. It’s been both a Sunday Times Bestseller and a New York Times Bestseller. Stephen King himself described it as ‘a hard story to read and a harder one to put down … a package of dynamite’. The story alternates between Vanessa’s past and present, juxtaposing memory and trauma - its been described as an era-defining novel that brilliantly captures and reflects our shifting culture that is transforming our relationships and society itself.

Here is a link to My Dark Vanessa on Bookshop.org: https://uk.bookshop.org/a/153/9780008342241

Just a quick mention that Kate’s book My Dark Vanessa touches on sexual abuse and trauma which we do talk about in this episode - just a heads up before you continue listening.

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Cathy Heller is the host of the popular podcast Don’t Keep Your Day Job, which has had over 16 million downloads - in this episode we talk about her book of the same name Don’t Keep Your Day Job which was released in November 2019 with Macmillan. It reminded me of all the advice I would have benefitted from a few years ago when I first knew I wanted to quit my job and do my own thing. The book goes into detail about how to find the work you’re meant to do, grow your business, and wake up to a life you love. 

Her book also tells her own story of her experience in the music industry, song writing, building a licensing business and running workshops showing others how to do it. She has been featured in Billboard, LA Weekly, Variety and tons more for having licensed her songs over hundreds of times to film, TV and ads. 

I have really enjoyed Cathy’s podcast during these lockdowns - they’re really lovely soulful interviews with people like Matthew McConaughey, Malcolm Gladwell, Bobbi Brown, Adam Grant and lots more.

Check out Cathy’s course: Here's the link for Made to Do This http://madetodothis.com/ 

Check out Cathy’s book here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Dont-Keep-Your-Day-Job/dp/1250193605

Hope you enjoy this conversation! 

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Welcome back to Ctrl Alt Delete! Today’s guest is with the amazing Laura Mucha, an ex-lawyer, author, award-winning poet, and speaker. Her first book, Love Factually / We Need to Talk About Love is the result of ten years of interviews with hundreds of strangers aged 8-95 years old across every continent, and it is fascinating. The Guardian describes her as “a fantastic nosy parker”. She is such a talented writer and researcher and I think you’ll fall in love with her like I did when you hear this episode. Her debut poetry collection, Dear Ugly Sisters is out now and her debut picture book, Rita’s Rabbit is out in 2021, so keep your eye out for that! We talk about SO much in this episode, I hope you enjoy, if you did, please do leave a review somewhere on Apple podcasts!

Link to Laura's book here: https://uk.bookshop.org/a/153/9781472982438

- My books:.https://uk.bookshop.org/contributors/emma-gannon

- My favourite 2020 books: https://uk.bookshop.org/lists/my-favourite-reads-of-2020-9bf19342-f535-4856-ab1a-d523f5ecd98a

- My 2021 picks: https://uk.bookshop.org/lists/2021-books-i-m-excited-about-619ab32f-f22e-4282-a0e7-71732055e3c7

- Twitter: Twitter.com/emmagannon

- Instagram: Instagram.com/emmagannonuk

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This is a replay of a January 2019 episode. Ruby Warrington is a lifestyle writer and former features editor of the UK's Sunday Times Style. In 2013, she created The Numinous, an online magazine that bridges the gap between the mystical and the mainstream.  I wanted to invite Ruby onto the podcast to discuss her bestselling and hugely popular book Sober Curious which has been described as a bold guide to choosing to live hangover-free.

Her bestselling book Sober Curious is a radical take down of the myths that keep so many of us drinking. Inspiring, timely, and blame free, Sober Curious is both conversation starter and handbook essential reading that empowers readers to transform their relationship with alcohol, so we can lead our most fulfilling lives. As you'll see from our conversation there is a nuance to the sober curious movement, it's not that you can never drink again, nor is it a book necessarily for anyone with a problem, it's really for anyone who wants to be more curious about their drinking habits. 

Link to Sober Curious here: https://uk.bookshop.org/a/153/9780062869043

Ruby's NEW book The Sober Curious Reset: Change the Way You Drink in 100 Days or Less is an upbeat, practical new guide from Ruby Warrington, author, journalist and leading voice of the 'sober curious' movement. Link to buy here: https://uk.bookshop.org/a/153/9780762472703

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My guest today is Rebecca Seal, an episode all about working from home. Rebecca is the author of Solo: How to Work Alone (and Not Lose Your Mind) it’s a fantastic book absolutely filled to the brim with wfh advice and tips and anecdotes. It's a science and evidence-based exploration of what working alone does to your brain and well-being, and how to cope with the more difficult aspects of solo work. She doesn’t shy away from talking about her own tough times in her own freelance life which I personally found super helpful. Initially, she thought it was a book for freelancers and self-employed people...and then 2020 happened. 

She also specialises in food, drink, travel, lifestyle and human interest stories and has written or co-authored eight cookbooks, many with the LEON restaurant group, including her latest, LEON Happy Fast Food, which came out in May 2020.

Hope you enjoy this one!

Link to Rebecca's book here: https://uk.bookshop.org/a/153/9781788164856

- My books:.https://uk.bookshop.org/contributors/emma-gannon

- My favourite 2020 books: https://uk.bookshop.org/lists/my-favourite-reads-of-2020-9bf19342-f535-4856-ab1a-d523f5ecd98a

- My 2021 picks: https://uk.bookshop.org/lists/2021-books-i-m-excited-about-619ab32f-f22e-4282-a0e7-71732055e3c7

- Twitter: Twitter.com/emmagannon

- Instagram: Instagram.com/emmagannonuk

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This is reply of my episode with the wonderful Gillian Anderson! You might remember my episode from two years ago when Gillian came on the podcast as a guest with her friend and co-author Jennifer Nadel; they wrote the bestselling book We: The uplifting manual for women seeking happiness.Today, Gillian is back in the Ctrl Alt Delete studio.

Stay tuned for the second half of this episode to hear about Gillian in THE CROWN where she will join the cast in season 4 as UK Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher and SEX EDUCATION, Gillian has also collaborated with WINSER. After a successful first collection last Autumn, she has collaborated again with Winser London’s design team again to create her second womenswear capsule collection for the brand, which includes a unique fundraiser jumper featuring a design of her lips with 20 percent of sales going o Gillian's chosen charity, @womenforwomen which helps women survivors of war rebuild their lives. Gillian’s collection is now live online at winserlondon.com.

We spoke about turning fan art into charity merchandise, dipping a toe into another industry, trying new things, being a homebody, how TV has changed since the 90s, mental health anxiety, living with chronic pain and the joy of being in bed by 9. I love this quote from the episode:'It should be become so natural for people to talk freely [about mental health] without it making headlines. It's still in the press slightly mocked in headlining it. Ultimately, it should be discussed as easily as what we eat for breakfast. The majority of human beings on this planet do struggle with some form of fear, anxiety, depression and there are constant contributors in our world that are making those numbers grow." I hope you enjoy this episode, I absolutely loved recording it!

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