Ready to Talk with Emma Barnett

Comedian Eleanor Thom struck up a friendship with Emma after they discussed their shared struggles with endometriosis. Eleanor has undergone 12 surgeries for the condition, and the pair have decided to air publicly some of what they say to each other about it in private.

Endometriosis is a system-wide inflammatory disease that causes tissues like the lining of the womb make their way around the body, and its hallmark is pain. Although it affects as many as one in 10 women, it is not well understood and there is no cure. Emma has been trying to make sense of it for the BBC's first documentary on the subject, while Eleanor chronicled her own experiences with it in her book, Private Parts: How to Really Live with Endometriosis.

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.

Edd Hedges is a stand up comedian. He grew up in a small village, and was bullied throughout his childhood by a neighbour named Brett.

Edd had come back to the village one evening to perform a charity gig. After going to bed at his parents’ house, Ed was awoken when someone was banging at the door. That person turned out to be his bully, who had just murdered two people, one of whom was Brett’s mother. Brett himself was killed whilst serving a prison sentence for his crimes.

The incident has cast a long shadow over Edd’s life. He talks to Emma about why he chose to turn the experience into a comedy set, and how that became the award winning podcast Wisecrack.

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.

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.

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.

As Labour leadership hopeful Wes Streeting vows to bring the UK back into the EU Emma asks - do we really want to have that fight again? Or is it fair enough if many of us have changed our minds?

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.

We’re doing a new thing on Ready to Talk: News – a short series of three episodes where we find the news stories that really pique your interest and get us talking.

With, as you might expect, some explicit language.

Comedian John Robins talks about how he stopped drinking booze and why he’s happiest alone. He had his last drink in 2022 but only accepted he was an alcoholic after he had quit.

John is known for his Edinburgh award-winning stand up shows and podcasts like How Do You Cope? and partnership with Elis James. He’s just written a book, Thirst: Twelve Drinks That Changed My Life, which chronicles his lifelong relationship with alcohol.

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.

We're doing a new thing on Ready to Talk: News - a short series of three episodes where we find the news stories that really pique your interest and get us all talking.

On this episode - why are some in middle class Britain swiping things from supermarkets and then bragging about their five-fingered discounts? While the former New York Police Chief tells us crime is crime and should be tackled, the man who used to advise Jeremy Corbyn argues this is the consequence of rich corporations making spectacular profits while we all tighten our belts.

And is Britney Spears worse off now she's free of the conservatorship that controlled her life? Does the #FreeBritney movement bear responsibility for her very public problems? We'll hear a defence of the fandom.

Ready to Talk News is a Long Form Audio production for BBC Sounds.

Emma has some exciting news about a special spin-off series, Ready to Talk News, publishing over the next three weeks on Thursdays.

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