How I Found My Voice

Samira Ahmed is joined by Friends star David Schwimmer and comedy writer Nick Mohammed. David Schwimmer is one of the most recognisable faces on television. His iconic role as Ross Geller in all 236 episodes of Friends has made him TV royalty. And beyond the global cultural impact of Friends, Schwimmer is a seasoned stage actor and has gone on to direct the hit comedy Run Fatboy Run and gain critical acclaim as Robert Kardashian in American Crime Story: The People v. O.J. Simpson. For his latest project, Schwimmer crossed the pond to collaborate with the British writer, comedian and actor Nick Mohammed. Together they star in the workplace comedy sitcom Intelligence, created by Mohammed, which chronicles a disastrously humorous partnership between a pompous NSA agent (Schwimmer) and an inept GCHQ computer analyst (Mohammed). In this conversation they join Samira Ahmed to talk about what shaped them and how they found their voices.

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Samira Ahmed speaks to award-winning comedian Russell Kane. They speak about his life and career, growing up in Essex, his break into comedy at the prestigious Edinburgh Fringe, and his relationship with class and identity as a comedian. The recording for this episode took place in April 2021.

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Samira Ahmed speaks to best-selling author Kate Mosse. Together they discuss her life and career, the success of her historical fiction novels - including Labyrinth which won Best Read of the Year at the 2006 British Book Awards - and her contribution to the recognition of female writers. The recording for this episode took place in February 2021.

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We’d love to hear your feedback and what you think we should talk about next, who we should have on and what our future debates should be. 

Send us an email or voice note with your thoughts to [email protected] or Tweet us @intelligence2. 

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Samira Ahmed speaks to model and actress Emily Ratajkowski. Together they discuss her rise to fame after appearing in the music video for the controversial song ‘Blurred Lines’, as well as the fraught relationship between feminism, capitalism, and exploitation.

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We’d love to hear your feedback and what you think we should talk about next, who we should have on and what our future debates should be. 

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Samira Ahmed speaks to Academy Award-nominated actor Jude Law. They speak about his life and career, skipping school to go to the cinema in London as a teenager, his foray into acting, and the wide range of characters he’s covered in his career, from Dr. John Watson to the Pope.

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We’d love to hear your feedback and what you think we should talk about next, who we should have on and what our future debates should be. 

Send us an email or voice note with your thoughts to [email protected] or Tweet us @intelligence2. 

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Samira Ahmed speaks to journalist, satirist, and editor of the magazine Private Eye, Ian Hislop. They speak about his life and career, from an upbringing in Nigeria, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and Hong Kong before returning to Britain to attend boarding school where he began his satirical career. Ian Hislop became editor of the British satirical magazine Private Eye at just 25, in his 37 years as editor he has been reported as the most sued man in English legal history. This episode was recorded in April 2021 when Boris Johnson was still the prime minister of the UK.

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We’d love to hear your feedback and what you think we should talk about next, who we should have on and what our future debates should be. 

Send us an email or voice note with your thoughts to [email protected] or Tweet us @intelligence2. 

And if you’d like to support our mission to foster honest debate and compelling conversations, as well as ad-free podcasts, exclusive bonus content, early access and much more, become a supporter of Intelligence Squared.

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Samira Ahmed is joined by Friends star David Schwimmer and comedy writer Nick Mohammed in a special preview of an episode coming out in the autumn as part of Season 4 of How I Found My Voice. David Schwimmer is one of the most recognisable faces on television. His iconic role as Ross Geller in all 236 episodes of Friends has made him TV royalty. Fans around the world still gleefully recount some of his most famous lines including ‘Pivot!’, “Unagi” and ‘We were on a break!’ Beyond the global cultural impact of Friends, Schwimmer is a seasoned stage actor and has gone on to direct the hit comedy Run Fatboy Run and gain critical acclaim as Robert Kardashian in American Crime Story: The People v. O.J. Simpson. For his latest project, Schwimmer crossed the pond to collaborate with the British writer, comedian and actor Nick Mohammed. Together they star in the workplace comedy sitcom Intelligence, created by Mohammed, which chronicles a disastrously humorous partnership between a pompous NSA agent (Schwimmer) and an inept GCHQ computer analyst (Mohammed). Season 2 of Intelligence will be available to watch on Sky One and Now TV from 8 June. 

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We’d love to hear your feedback and what you think we should talk about next, who we should have on and what our future debates should be. 

Send us an email or voice note with your thoughts to [email protected] or Tweet us @intelligence2. 

And if you’d like to support our mission to foster honest debate and compelling conversations, as well as ad-free podcasts, exclusive bonus content, early access and much more, become a supporter of Intelligence Squared.

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Samira Ahmed speaks to the journalist and former chief speechwriter to Prime Minister Tony Blair, Philip Collins. They speak about his life and career, from growing up in a household that strongly supported Margaret Thatcher to becoming a supporter of the Labour party and speechwriter for the then Prime Minister. He is a former political columnist for The Times and author of When They Go Low, We Go High: Speeches that Changed the World and Why We Need Them. This is the last episode for this Season 3 of How I Found My Voice. We will be back later in the year with a new season. In the meantime, please spread the word to your friends and family. You can attend live recordings of the next season here: https://www.intelligencesquared.com/attend/ IF YOU ENJOY THIS PODCAST PLEASE RATE AND REVIEW US ON APPLE PODCASTS: https://podcasts.apple.com/za/podcast/how-i-found-my-voice/id1455089930 How I Found My Voice is an Intelligence Squared podcast that explores how some of the world's greatest artists and thinkers became such compelling – and unique – communicators. The Executive Producer is Farah Jassat.

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We’d love to hear your feedback and what you think we should talk about next, who we should have on and what our future debates should be. 

Send us an email or voice note with your thoughts to [email protected] or Tweet us @intelligence2. 

And if you’d like to support our mission to foster honest debate and compelling conversations, as well as ad-free podcasts, exclusive bonus content, early access and much more, become a supporter of Intelligence Squared.

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Samira Ahmed speaks to the novelist and author of An American Marriage, Tayari Jones. They speak about her life and career from growing up in Atlanta and taking a stand on ethical issues as a child to developing her voice as a writer, the role that children's author Judy Blume played in her life, and being selected for President Barack Obama's summer reading list and Oprah's Book Club.

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We’d love to hear your feedback and what you think we should talk about next, who we should have on and what our future debates should be. 

Send us an email or voice note with your thoughts to [email protected] or Tweet us @intelligence2. 

And if you’d like to get ad-free access to all Intelligence Squared podcasts, including exclusive bonus content, early access to new episodes and much more, become a supporter of Intelligence Squared today for just £4.99, or the equivalent in your local currency . 

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Join Samira Ahmed as she speaks to the incredible Gloria Estefan - Grammy award-winning singer, international superstar, and survivor of both political and physical adversity. From fleeing Cuba as a young child to selling over 120 million records worldwide, Gloria's journey is truly awe-inspiring. Discover how she helped bring Latin-flavoured pop music to the world stage and hear her reflections on a career spanning four decades.

This episode was recorded in 2020. The Producer was Head of Podcasts Farah Jassat and your host was Samira Ahmed

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We’d love to hear your feedback and what you think we should talk about next, who we should have on and what our future debates should be about. Send us an email or voice note with your thoughts to [email protected] or Tweet us at @intelligence2. 

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