Ready to Talk with Emma Barnett

By BBC Sounds

Experiences that have reshaped lives. Bold questions, unexpected truths, lots of tea... Emma Barnett invites you into her world for deeply human conversations.

... more

44 ratings

FAQs about Ready to Talk with Emma Barnett:

How many episodes does Ready to Talk with Emma Barnett have?

The podcast currently has 36 episodes available.

Best of Ready to Talk with Emma Barnett

The most played episodes among Podcast App listeners.

Number 1: Prescription Drugs Made Me a Shopping Addict with Sally Gardner
Author Sally Gardner’s addiction to shopping has cost her £700k. She has only just discovered this compulsive behaviour is side effect of drugs she’s been prescribed for 20 years. Sally is a Carnegie Medal and Costa Children’s Book Award-winning writer who suffers from a debilitating condition called Restless Legs Syndrome. To combat it she has taken drugs called dopamine agonists for two decades. When her children heard a BBC radio investigation revealing the extent of compulsive behaviour the drugs can induce, they realised her extreme behaviour was linked to these drugs. Sally is talking publicly about her ordeal for the first time. In Ready to Talk with Emma Barnett, the award-winning interviewer speaks to people you will know and people you should know about the experiences that are shaping their lives. If you want to join the conversation you can email the team at [email protected], or you can send a WhatsApp message or voice note to 08000 556 101. If you are affected by the issues raised in this programme, a list of organisations that can help is available at bbc.co.uk/actionline.
May 01, 202653min
Number 2: From Prison to Playwriting with Ric Renton
Ric Renton shares how reading the dictionary in prison aided his writing career. Following a school life, he describes as “absent” and a violent childhood involving drugs, Ric requested a dictionary to read cover to cover while in prison. Twenty years later, he has written and starred in plays and is a writer and actor in the BBC drama Waiting For The Out. With the latest reoffending rates stating that over 40% of adult criminals in England and Wales go on to reoffend within a year of being let out of prison, Emma and Ric talk about Ric’s experiences in prison, staying out of prison and establishing a career, and the criminal justice system. In Ready to Talk with Emma Barnett, the award-winning interviewer speaks to people you will know and people you should know about the experiences that are shaping their lives. If you want to join the conversation you can email the team at [email protected], or you can send a WhatsApp message or voice note to 08000 556 101.
March 20, 202649min
Number 3: Long Covid Stole My Olympic Dream with Oonagh Cousins
Oonagh Cousins was one of Britain's best rowers, and was awarded a place on Team GB at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. But after having Covid and being unable to fully recover, Oonagh lost her place in the squad. Oonagh now lives with Long Covid, which impacts roughly 2 million people in the UK. Having her Olympic dream taken from her by this illness has made her reflect on her own identity and the experience of sufferers of similar conditions. In Ready to Talk with Emma Barnett, the award-winning interviewer speaks to people you will know and people you should know about the experiences that are shaping their lives. If you want to join the conversation you can email the team at [email protected], or you can send a WhatsApp message or voice note to 08000 556 101.
May 22, 202654min
Number 4: They Weren't Ready for a Woman Like Me with Victoria Pendleton
Victoria Pendleton has suffered depression and grief since becoming an Olympic cycling champion. She's come out of it a stronger person, still on the lookout for a challenge. Having won her second Olympic gold medal at her home games in London in 2012, Victoria retired from cycling as a national hero. But she kept chasing sporting challenges, competing in horse racing then trying mountaineering. An unsuccessful attempt to climb Everest in 2019 - her first real failure - sent her into depression, but surviving that gave her the tools to cope with the loss of her twin brother and her father. She has now written a book, The Fear Opportunity, inspired by her experiences. In Ready to Talk with Emma Barnett, the award-winning interviewer speaks to people you will know and people you should know about the experiences that are shaping their lives. If you want to join the conversation you can email the team at [email protected], or you can send a WhatsApp message or voice note to 08000 556 101.
May 29, 202646min
Number 5: My Ex-Husband Controlled My Life with Ruth Dodsworth
Weather presenter Ruth Dodsworth's ex-husband was jailed in 2021 for coercive control and stalking her. Even though he is now free, he was given a lifetime restraining order stopping him from contacting Ruth or their two children. At times he would contact her up to 200 times a day while she was at work, but Ruth was unable to tell people the truth about her relationship. It took one extreme night for the police to become involved. Years on, Ruth is still learning to be fully free. In Ready to Talk with Emma Barnett, the award-winning interviewer speaks to people you will know and people you should know about the experiences that are shaping their lives. If you want to join the conversation you can email the team at [email protected], or you can send a WhatsApp message or voice note to 08000 556 101.
May 15, 202651min