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

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

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

Think of Wimbledon and the name Andrew Castle won’t be far from your mind. 

A former British number one as a player, he took a chance in broadcasting and never looked back - his voice is now one of the most recognisable soundtracks to the British summer.

Andrew talks frankly and entertainingly about his early life, how he got his break in tennis, his trials on tour and why making it as a pro from an unlikely background is something he’s still proud of.

He also shares how he got his break in TV and looks back on the many highs and lows of a life in TV and radio - like why the stresses of covering news made him quit LBC, and why calling the Wimbledon final is a privilege he'll never take for granted.

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

How much can we slow down the ageing process and extend our healthspan? It’s a growing area of interest and a subject in which personal trainer Matt Roberts is a leading and hugely knowledgable voice.

Now in his fifties, Matt has the same body fat and measurements he had at 20. He believes - and is living proof - that we have more control over physiological ageing than we realise. 

It takes work, of course, and requires a systematic approach to our fitness, recovery and nutrition. He takes us through the precise habits to focus on each week including why zone 2 training is important, how sleep tracking can help you take control of your recovery and why cold showers should be your new morning habit.

A major part of the process is assessing and understanding the state of our health right now, using as much data as possible to assess our current health to take full ownership of what we are up against and to tweak our approach as we age.

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England rugby stalwart Lewis Moody was known for his all-action approach which left everything on the pitch. You don’t get the nickname 'mad dog’ for nothing.

Yet it was off the pitch that Lewis Moody had to overcome his biggest challenges, most notably having to deal with ulcerative colitis as a young player in an environment where sharing your vulnerabilities wasn't exactly encouraged.

Lewis credits these obstacles as opportunities to overcome difficult things and his incredible career is testament to that approach, as he went on to play in two world cup finals, coming off the bench in 2003 to win the line-out that set up Jonny Wilkinson’s winning drop-goal.

He also discusses how a ‘pay it forward’ approach helped him with the difficult transition into retirement and also led to his current role as a performance coach, where he now applies his own experiences and observations in sports culture into other areas of performance.

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Team GB’s Emma Finucane is on a whirlwind rise through women’s cycling and is heading to Paris with high hopes that she could become the next name in British Cycling royalty.

Just a year ago, this wasn’t even part of the plan. It all changed for the 21-year-old when she won the 2023 World Championships as a newcomer and she’s since had to manage the shift in expectations and attention that comes when you’re no longer an underdog but one of the favourites.

She discusses her rise to the top, how she uses nerves as a performance enhancer, why she doesn’t do mind games and why it’s statistically harder for women to become repeat winners.

With Paris 2024 approaching, she also looks ahead to the biggest summer of her life, sharing her thoughts on what it feels like to take on her first Olympics as one of the big guns, what she’ll do the day before the race to take her mind off things and what to expect where it matters - on the track.

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Michael Easter is a journalist and author whose two books ‘The Comfort Crisis’ and ‘Scarcity Brain’ reveal the ways in which the modern world has become incompatible with the way our animal brains are wired.

In fact, we’re living pretty much the opposite lives to those of our ancestors. We have an excess of food which makes us crave other fixes, we sit down all day indoors and have had to invent the concept of exercise.

His own journey to quitting alcohol made him realise that the greatest benefits in life come after short-term discomfort, and a trip to the Arctic made him appreciate the power of spending time outdoors, from lowering stress to increasing empathy levels. 

He also explains that boredom is good for us, why joining the 2% of people who take the stairs instead of the elevator can make the difference and puts forward a persuasive argument on why we should all plan an annual challenge with a 50% chance of failure.

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

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