Ready to Talk with Emma Barnett

By BBC SoundsSociety & Culture Personal Journals

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Ready to Talk with Emma Barnett episodes

February 20 My Breast Cancer Surgeon Mutilated Me with Deborah Douglas
Deborah Douglas is one of the many victims of disgraced Birmingham surgeon Ian Paterson, who maimed many of his patients.
After a breast cancer diagnosis in 2003, Deborah thought she was in the best hands possible. But Paterson subjected her to a mastectomy, reconstructive surgery, and extensive chemotherapy, all of which were entirely unnecessary. Paterson has been sentenced to 20 years in prison after carrying out unnecessary operations, while Deborah Douglas has campaigned for justice for his many victims. She recently published her account of her ordeal, The Cost of Trust.
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.
50 min
February 13 My Brain Surgery with Maribou State’s Chris Davids
Chris Davids of electronic duo Maribou State discusses suffering from a rare brain condition, how it affected his passion for making music and the surgery and experimental procedure that led to his recovery.
Chris was experiencing extreme headaches while working on the group’s third album, Hallucinating Love, during lockdown. Eventually he was diagnosed with a Chiari malformation, meaning the lower part of his brain was pushing down into his spinal canal. He talks to Emma about a complex period which has now ended with a creative renewal.
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.
47 min
February 06 Postpartum Psychosis with Laura Dockrill
Writer Laura Dockrill discusses the extreme delusions and psychotic breakdown that she suffered after her son's birth. She shares how she got beyond them and how she is today.
Just weeks after becoming a mother, Laura found herself is a desperate state. It took an intervention from her best friend, the singer Adele, to have her admitted to a psychiatric ward. With the support of her husband she is now thriving, and has published a memoir, What Have I Done?, about her illness.
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 suffering distress or despair and need support, including urgent support, a list of organisations that can help is available at bbc.co.uk/actionline.
55 min
January 30 Surviving a Daughter's Death with Jason Watkins
On the morning of New Year's Day 2011, actor Jason Watkins' two-year-old daughter Maude died. He and his wife had taken her to hospital the previous day, but only after an inquest did they come to the realisation that she had been suffering from undiagnosed sepsis. The couple have since campaigned for a better understanding of the condition among healthcare professionals.
Watkins has since become known for his roles in sitcoms W1A and Trollied, and won a BAFTA in the title role of drama The Lost Honour of Christopher Jefferies in 2015. He discusses the depth of his grief, how he threw himself into his career after Maude's death, and how his family have survived as a unit.
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.
52 min
January 23 I was Strip Searched by the Police with Dr Koshka Duff
Dr Koshka Duff was arrested and detained in 2013 after offering a legal advice card to someone being stopped and searched.
Dr Duff was then subject to a strip search by Metropolitan police officers, an experience she describes as "terrifying".
On CCTV footage, officers were heard laughing about her hair, clothes and talking about her underwear and her smell. The Metropolitan Police have since apologised and paid the academic compensation for their "sexist, derogatory and unacceptable language".
She talks to Emma about why she decided to take action against the police and how the experience has shaped her view and work around police abolition.
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.
56 min
January 16 I Lost My Voice on Live TV with Polly Evans
After BBC local news anchor Polly Evans found herself unable to speak while doing a live broadcast, she disappeared from screens overnight.
Polly had been having trouble with her voice for months following a virus and believed the stresses of a high-pressure workplace and a busy home life were to blame. But unknown to her she had a serious neurological disorder. She explains how coming to terms with it has changed her life and her identity.
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.
46 min
January 09 Life Without Children with Caroline Stafford
After years of trying to have a baby and unsuccessful IVF treatment, Caroline Stafford and her husband decided to build a future without the thing that they wanted the most.
Long
After years of trying to have a baby and unsuccessful IVF treatment, Caroline Stafford and her husband decided to build future without the thing that they wanted the most.
Caroline shares the couple’s difficult experiences trying to have children, before they made the empowering decision to find an alternative meaning in their lives.
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.
44 min
January 02 I Was Dead for 40 Minutes with Patrick Charnley
After a cardiac arrest brought on by a hereditary heart condition and the stress of work, Patrick Charnley was clinically dead. He came back to life a changed man.
Patrick suffered a brain injury that affects his sight and stamina. He is no longer able to work or live as he did before and he cannot remember nearly a year of his life before the heart attack. Despite these impairments, he prefers the life he now lives. He has left a stressful life as a lawyer and has now written a novel, This, My Second Life, inspired by his new perspective.
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.
46 min
December 19, 2025 My Baby Stopped Breathing with Archie Bland
Journalist Archie Bland talks about his son, Max, who nearly died one night when he was just seven weeks old.
Archie shares the extraordinary ordeal his family went through that night, as his home filled with police and paramedics, and the extreme circumstances of the following weeks. Max survived, but his life was forever changed. Archie now says Max is “more interesting than anyone he’s ever met”, and his son has radically altered Archie’s own understanding of disability, and of life itself.
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.
48 min
December 12, 2025 I Survived a Witch Hunt with Tulisa Contostavlos
Tulisa Contostavlos spent a decade fighting court battles, from an ex releasing a sex tape to being caught up in an elaborate tabloid sting. She shares what life has taught her.
Tulisa rose to fame in UK R&B and hip hop trio N-Dubz and became a judge on The X Factor aged just 23. She talks candidly about some of the desperate lows she has suffered since, how she has processed being targeted by the press, and how she is feeling today.
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.
Warning: This episode contains discussion of suicide. If you are suffering distress or despair and need support, including urgent support, a list of organisations that can help is available at bbc.co.uk/actionline.
49 min

About Ready to Talk with Emma Barnett

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