The BEYOND Podcast

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A high-signal masterclass in human behaviour with Gavin Stone — an ex-intelligence officer, body-language expert, and real-world spy strategist. Alongside host Aleksandra King, he decodes the animal instincts behind human influence: bold lioness energy, cheetah-like calm, chameleon adaptability, and the “wolf” that won’t be trained. You’ll hear practical spy-grade tools for negotiations, leadership, and sales — and a few secret agent-level insights for reading people fast and gaining the upper hand.

Aleksandra — a charismatic business interviewer — isn’t one to tolerate deception or BS; she even walked out of BBC’s The Apprentice rather than compromise her values. Now she finds common ground with Gavin’s espionage-honed approach to reading people. Together, they explore how mastering deception detection can give you more control in the boardroom and beyond.

• One tell is not enough: Why a single cue (like a gaze drop or arm fold) means little on its own — and how clusters of 3+ signals (e.g. compressed lips, fidgeting, blinking fast) expose real lies.
• Baseline before judging: How to “calibrate” someone’s normal behavior across different contexts (home vs. work vs. high-pressure) before labeling any behavior as deceptive.
• Instant room reads: A 10-second trick to gauge group dynamics — ask a tough question and watch where everyone’s eyes go to immediately spot the key players and power balance.
• Body’s stress signals: What a spike in blink rate and whether someone is chest-breathing or belly-breathing reveals about their stress level (and how calm, controlled people breathe) — plus why even a polygraph machine only detects stress, not lies.
• Statement Analysis 101: The difference between answers that pacify (“I wouldn’t do that”) vs. answers that truly deny wrongdoing (“I did not do that”) — and why it matters.
• Identity-based influence: Why people “buy who they are,” how tribes and an owner’s-club mentality drive decision-making, and how to frame your message to fit someone’s identity.

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Brande Roderick went from Baywatch bombshell to Playboy Playmate of the Year, from Hugh Hefner’s inner circle to Celebrity Apprentice and now film director and entrepreneur. In this episode of Beyond with Aleksandra King, Aleksandra sits down with the actress, model and producer for an unapologetic conversation about attraction, power, and the price of being every man’s fantasy.

From late nights at the Playboy Mansion to the pressure of Baywatch, Hollywood casting rooms and reality TV, Brande opens up about what women really want in men, why confidence is the ultimate turn-on, and how she rebuilt herself as a businesswoman and director with her latest project,

. This isn’t just celebrity nostalgia — it’s a story of confidence, resilience, femininity and reinvention in a judgmental industry.

Aleksandra’s fearless, direct style cuts through the image to reveal the woman behind the headlines, while giving men a rare, honest look at modern masculinity, attraction, and how women actually think.

🔗 Highlights:

• Baywatch to Playboy: how Brande handled being cast as the fantasy and kept hold of her real identity.

• Inside the Mansion: what life with Hugh Hefner was really like behind the glamour and gossip.

• What women really want: why confidence, clarity, and direction beat looks and money.

• Breaking the “blonde” stereotype: proving herself in Hollywood, business and on Celebrity Apprentice.

• Reinventing as a director: creating and leading her own projects, including Wineville.

• Modern masculinity: are men now too scared to be masculine — and what does healthy strength look like?

🎧 Watch the full episode with Brande Roderick

Join the Conversation

Do you agree with Brande — are men today too afraid to be masculine? Drop your thoughts in the comments. Aleksandra reads them.

📣 Featured Press:

Cosmopolitan on Aleksandra calling out The Apprentice’s production tactics

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What really keeps a founder moving when the pressure mounts, the numbers wobble, and other people’s livelihoods sit on their shoulders? In this episode of Beyond with Aleksandra King, she sits down with Michael Howard, CEO of

, who quietly scaled a seven-person team into a 250-strong, multi-million-pound company — without chasing fame or validation.

From a broken home and brief homelessness at 17, to building one of the UK’s most respected interiors firms, Michael shares the unfiltered realities of entrepreneurship: the maths, the mindset, and the “away-from-pain” drive that keeps him going. This is grounded, no-fluff business talk about stress, sacrifice, and what it really takes to build something that lasts.

If you’re a founder, leader, or future entrepreneur, this conversation pulls back the curtain on what happens after the inspirational quotes — when it’s just you, the numbers, and the people who depend on you.

🔗 Highlights:

• From homelessness to CEO: how a chaotic start in life shaped Michael’s hunger and standards.

• Away-from-pain motivation: why some entrepreneurs are driven more by what they refuse to go back to.

• Business as maths: capacity, conversion, repeat custom — and why feelings can’t argue with a spreadsheet.

• Hiring for character: building a culture where people admit mistakes and still want to come back tomorrow.

• Saying no to bad clients: how protecting margin (and sanity) is a leadership decision, not a luxury.

• Leading under pressure: stress, sobriety, and the mindset required when the pressure never really stops.

🎧 Watch the full episode with Michael Howard

Join the Conversation

Which lesson hit you hardest — the numbers, the mindset, or the people side? Share your thoughts below. Aleksandra reads them.

📣 Featured Press:

Evening Standard on Aleksandra’s decision to walk out of The Apprentice

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Want to co-create branded podcast content, explore corporate podcast sponsorship opportunities, or put your CEO story in front of a serious business audience?

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What if the loudest thing holding you back isn’t the economy, your boss, or your skills — but your own mind? In this episode of Beyond with Aleksandra King, Aleksandra sits down with Rebecca Nwankwo — author of

and Global Executive MBA graduate from

IESE Business School

— to decode how top leaders turn mindset into their ultimate performance advantage.

Together, they unpack how to silence self-doubt, reprogram your thinking, and apply elite MBA principles to real life. From limiting beliefs and imposter syndrome to militant time management and visualisation, this is a practical roadmap for anyone who knows they’re capable of more but keeps getting in their own way.

This is more than motivation — it’s a masterclass in mental agility, self-discipline, and growth for ambitious people who are done playing small.

🔗 Highlights:

• The inner critic exposed: spotting the toxic inner voice quietly sabotaging ambition.

• Rejection as redirection: turning “no” and failure into fuel instead of shame.

• Visualisation as strategy: using mental rehearsal like a top performer, not a daydreamer.

• Militant time management: scheduling your day so results become non-negotiable.

• The high-achiever mindset: shared patterns that make top performers feel “unstoppable.”

🎧 Watch the full episode with Rebecca Nwankwo

🧠 Key Search Phrases:

Rebecca Nwankwo interview, The Lies We Tell Ourselves book, mindset for high performers, overcoming self-doubt and imposter syndrome, executive MBA mindset, IESE Business School Global Executive MBA, visualisation for success, time management for leaders, limiting beliefs and performance, leadership mindset podcast, female podcast host UK, charismatic business interviewer, entrepreneur journey podcast, inspiring business stories podcast, YouTube business show UK, podcast host for business storytelling

Join the Conversation

Which limiting belief is holding you back right now? Share your thoughts — your story could be the one that frees someone else.

📣 Featured Press:

Irish Mirror on the dramatic moment Aleksandra walked out of The Apprentice

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Want to co-create branded podcast content, explore corporate podcast sponsorship opportunities, or bring this level of conversation into your organisation?

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🔗 Connect with Aleksandra

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From champagne-fueled reality TV parties to a fight for survival in a hospital, Sam Vanderpump’s journey is anything but ordinary. In this episode of Beyond with Aleksandra King, our host sits down with Sam Vanderpump – Made in Chelsea star turned entrepreneur – for an unfiltered conversation about fame, business, and resilience. Sam shares how he transformed brief TV fame into real business success and how a near-death experience changed his perspective forever.

For a quick preview of Sam’s story, check out the surviving sepsis trailer on Aleksandra’s site. But the full discussion goes far beyond the headlines. Sam tackles the “nepo baby” label head-on, revealing how he built his company from scratch despite the Vanderpump name. He also opens up about leveraging advice from his aunt, Lisa Vanderpump, to turn reality-TV notoriety into a platform for his brokerage business. And when life threw a crisis his way, Sam recounts how he found purpose in the pain, emerging stronger and more driven.

Aleksandra’s interviewing style is charismatic and fearless – she isn’t afraid to ask the tough questions or delve into emotional territory. (This comes as no surprise, given she famously walked off The Apprentice to stay true to her values.) Beyond isn’t just another talk show; it’s a business podcast with famous guests that uncovers the human side of entrepreneurship. Sponsors appreciate the authentic engagement, and fans love how each episode balances raw honesty with actionable insights.

Episode Highlights:

• From reality to real business: Sam reveals how he went from working on a building site to founding his own brokerage, Vanderpump FX, which recently exchanged over £10 million in a month.
• Debunking the “Nepo Baby” myth: He addresses assumptions about his famous surname, sharing how he self-funded his ventures and even took on debt after his father’s passing – proving his success is earned, not given.
• Advice from Lisa Vanderpump: Sam recounts the smartest guidance from his aunt (the Queen of Reality TV) – leveraging his TV platform as a springboard for business, while staying humble amid the spotlight.
• Love, loyalty & resilience: A candid discussion on trust and relationships – including how his fiancée saved his life by recognizing a critical medical emergency – and what that taught him about loyalty in both life and business.
• Surviving sepsis & finding purpose: He shares the harrowing tale of a common infection that spiraled into organ failure. After a miraculous recovery, Sam became an ambassador for the UK Sepsis Trust, turning personal trauma into a mission to save others.

To explore corporate sponsorships or guest opportunities on the show, please get in touch. You can also connect with Aleksandra on LinkedIn for updates and professional insights into her work.

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Why am I always tired? It’s rarely “just age” or bad luck — it’s what you’re feeding your body. Food is information, and the wrong foods quietly wreck your metabolism, energy and long-term health. In this episode of Beyond with Aleksandra King, Aleksandra sits down with expert nutritionist Nicola Vaughan to decode what your meals are really doing to your body.

From feeling sleepy after lunch to the “thin on the outside, fat on the inside” trap, Nicola explains how modern food is driving insulin resistance, inflammation and burnout — even in people who look healthy. She breaks down how to rewire your metabolism with simple changes to what you eat and how you move, without fad diets or fear.

This is not wellness fluff. It’s a science-led conversation about energy, metabolic health and cancer risk that every busy, ambitious person needs to hear.

🔗 Highlights:

• Always tired after eating: why post-meal sleepiness can be an early warning sign of insulin resistance.




• “Thin on the outside, fat on the inside”: what TOFI really means for your organs, hormones and long-term health.




• Rewiring your metabolism: simple nutrition and movement shifts that stabilise blood sugar and energy.




• Ultra-processed danger zone: the hidden link between refined foods, sugar and rising cancer rates.




• Your body isn’t broken: how to stop blaming yourself and start fuelling for focus, mood and longevity.

🎧 Watch the full episode with Nicola Vaughan

Join the Conversation

Do you feel drained after eating? Do you believe food could be the reason? Share your thoughts — your story might be the wake-up call someone else needs.

📣 Featured Press:

Daily Mail on Aleksandra challenging The Apprentice’s production tactics

🤝 Work With Aleksandra

Want to co-create branded podcast content, explore corporate podcast sponsorship opportunities, or put evidence-based health and performance conversations in front of your audience?

Get in touch directly to discuss guest opportunities, co-branded episodes, or corporate partnerships.

📬 Stay in the Loop

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🔗 Connect with Aleksandra

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In this Beyond with Aleksandra King episode, Aleksandra sits down with Professor Robin Dunbar, the world-renowned evolutionary psychologist from the University of Oxford who formulated the famous *Dunbar’s Number*. They explore the science behind how humans form social connections and challenge common assumptions about friendship circles. Drawing on Dunbar’s research, the conversation reveals why social media “friends lists” can be misleading and why most people can realistically maintain only about **150 meaningful relationships. Aleksandra, a female podcast host UK known for her fearless, no-holds-barred style, guides the discussion from personal anecdotes to hard science, cutting through the noise to uncover what truly drives human bonding.

Episode Highlights

• Dunbar’s Number – The 150-person limit: discover why your online network has strict boundaries. In this episode Dunbar explains why your extended “friends list” isn’t what it seems and how roughly **150 stable relationships** is the cognitive limit for most adults.
• Intimacy Layers – The human social spectrum: learn about the circles of connection from your core 5 “shoulders-to-cry-on” friends to the 15-person sympathy group and the 50-person “weekend barbecue” layer. Aleksandra and Dunbar unpack how often you truly connect with each group.
• Time Investment – The cost of closeness: understand why building one new close friendship demands about **200 hours** of in-person time. Dunbar lays out the brutal math: to add a person to your inner circle, someone else may have to slip out.
• Positive Gossip & Trust – Rediscover gossip: Dunbar reframes gossip as an information-sharing tool that helps manage social networks. He also exposes why breakdowns of trust in families are so catastrophic and how “over-investment” in loved ones can make splits painfully raw
• The “Icebreaker” of Singing – The surprising power of song: singing together is revealed as one of the most powerful ways to create instant bonds. Learn how group singing synchronizes emotions and rapidly builds community trust
• Homophily (The “Jane Austen Problem”) – Similarity and friendship: explore our instinct to seek friends like ourselves and why chasing a “perfect” connection (the Jane Austen problem) can actually limit our social growth.
• Spotting Toxic People – Navigating the outliers: understand the psychology of toxic individuals. Dunbar outlines how some people are simply genetically wired to be selfish or manipulative, and offers insight on keeping your social circle healthy.

Throughout the episode, Dunbar provides a fresh lens for evaluating your own social world. The conversation is both entertaining and packed with actionable insights. Whether discussing trust and family bonds or practical “social toolkit” strategies for business and life, Aleksandra’s boardroom energy pushes the dialogue beyond surface-level chatter. By the end, listeners gain a clearer understanding of what makes friendships thrive (or fail) and how *social science* can inform our everyday relationships

Enjoyed this exploration of friendship science? Be sure to subscribe for more. Connect with Aleksandra on LinkedIn at Aleksandra to get updates on future episodes and content.

Surviving war. Outsmarting big tech. Reinventing health tech. In this episode of Beyond with Aleksandra King, Aleksandra sits down with Mohammed Al-Ubaidi, a doctor-turned-founder who grew up in war-torn Yemen and went on to build a pioneering digital health record platform that challenges billion-dollar tech giants.

From dodging bombs as a child to studying medicine and computer science, Mohammed shares how he learned to think clearly in chaos, protect patient data from corporate interests, and use technology to give people control over their own health. This is a conversation about courage, code, and calling — and what it really takes to stand your ground when you’re the smallest player in the room.

This is not media training and it’s not PR. It’s Aleksandra doing what other interviewers won’t: asking direct questions about war, power, money, and integrity — and refusing to look away when the answers get uncomfortable.

🔗 Highlights:

• From war zone to boardroom: how surviving conflict shaped Mohammed’s risk tolerance, empathy and leadership style.




• Turning trauma into resilience: the mindset shifts that stop chaos defining you — and start it strengthening you.




• Medicine + computing: why combining clinical training with code became his survival guide for broken systems.




• Outsmarting big tech: how a smaller, values-driven team can win against global corporations without selling out.




• Health tech with a spine: why integrity, family and education are the anchors behind every major decision.

🎧 Watch the full episode with Mohammed Al-Ubaidi

Join the Conversation

Which part of Mohammed’s story hit you hardest — the war, the tech, or the integrity? Share your thoughts below. Aleksandra reads them.

📣 Featured Press:

The Mirror on why Aleksandra quit The Apprentice over “emotional abuse” and task sabotage

🤝 Work With Aleksandra

Want to co-create branded podcast content, explore corporate podcast sponsorship opportunities, or put fearless, high-impact conversations like this in front of your audience?

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🔗 Connect with Aleksandra

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Addiction, Recovery & Building a Purpose-Driven Life. In this episode of Beyond with Aleksandra King, Aleksandra sits down with Jane Couper, who opens up about nearly losing everything to addiction and depression before rebuilding her life and leading two purpose-driven businesses in healthcare. Jane’s story, captured in Addiction, Loss and Entrepreneurial Recovery, strips away the gloss and shows what change really looks like.

From drugs, alcohol and darkness to sobriety, motherhood and entrepreneurship, Jane speaks frankly about relapse, shame, and the slow, unglamorous work of rebuilding trust in yourself and in life. She shares how she built a tech-enabled healthcare business serving the NHS and why purpose—not perfection—became the foundation of everything she does.

This episode is raw, real and ultimately uplifting. It’s for anyone who’s battled inner demons and still dares to dream of success.

🔗 Highlights:

• Falling apart in public and in private: Jane’s spiral into drugs, alcohol and depression—and the moment she knew she had to choose life.
• What recovery really looks like: the timeline, the setbacks and the daily disciplines that don’t fit into a social media quote.
• Coming out and motherhood: finding her identity, navigating stigma and building true self-worth as a gay woman and a parent.
• Purpose-driven healthcare: how she built tech-enabled businesses that serve the NHS and put patients before ego.
• Love that doesn’t leave: the role of her father’s unconditional love—even after his death—in saving her life.

🎧 Watch the full episode with Jane Couper
Listen to the conversation on Beyond the Boardroom

Join the Conversation
Which part of Jane’s story hit you hardest—the addiction, the recovery, or the purpose-driven business she built afterwards? Share your thoughts below. Aleksandra reads them.

📣 Featured Press:
Bucks Free Press on Aleksandra’s column reviewing The Apprentice

🤝 Work With Aleksandra
Want to co-create branded podcast content, explore corporate podcast sponsorship opportunities, or share your own story of resilience and leadership with a serious audience?
Get in touch directly to discuss guest opportunities, co-branded episodes or corporate partnerships.

📬 Stay in the Loop
Want more episodes, behind-the-scenes clips and early guest drops?
Subscribe at aleksandra.media/subscribe

🔗 Connect with Aleksandra
Follow Aleksandra for updates on new episodes, live recordings and brand partnership news.

Dive into the hidden world of espionage as host Aleksandra King sits down with international investigator Mike LaCorte, CEO of Conflict International. This fearless episode of Beyond with Aleksandra King pulls back the curtain on secrets that affect us all.

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