For this special centenary episode I am joined by one of my all time heroes: hip-hop pioneer and voice of a generation, Chuck D. We spoke about the relationship between art and mental health, his activism, his music career and the reasons behind his lifelong sobriety.

Plus, his secret life painting nudes.

Buy Chuck’s new book of illustrations Livin’ Loud here

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Susanna Hoffs scored a series of hits in the 1980’s with her all-girl band, The Bangles. She has since become a solo artists and recently published her first novel, This Bird Has Flown - a romantic comedy about a one hit wonder.

She joined me on the show to discuss how quitting drink changed her life for the better, why she took a therapist on the road with her and her life-changing relationship with Prince.

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Simon Waterson trains some of the biggest stars in Hollywood, from Daniel Craig to Tom Hiddlestone to Chris ‘Captain America’ Evans. He joined me to talk about his military background, the relationship between mental and physical health and what it’s like working with James Bond.

This episode was recorded in front of a live audience at Olympic Studios in Barnes.

Buy Simon’s new book “The Ten Week Intelligence Fitness Challenge” here

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Dr Thomas Curran is a social psychologist at LSE and author of brilliant new book ‘The Perfection Trap.’ In it, he examines our increased obsession with perfection, where it comes from, the damage it does to our mental health and how we can try to stop it. Essential listening for anyone who ever struggles with feelings of failure or a sense of not being good enough.

Buy the book here

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Dr Thomas Curran is a social psychologist at LSE and author of brilliant new book ‘The Perfection Trap.’ In it, he examines our increased obsession with perfection, where it comes from, the damage it does to our mental health and how we can try to stop it. Essential listening for anyone who ever struggles with feelings of failure or a sense of not being good enough.

Buy the book here

Jonathan Harding is the author of the critically acclaimed book ‘Soul’ - a fascinating look at how elite athletes are often forced to sacrifice their human side for success.

His research has led him to be highly sceptical about the ‘high performance’ culture that is currently so pervasive in society at large. Do we really need to be getting up as 4am and smashing our goals every day to lead happy, fulfilled lives? Jonathan suspects not.

You can buy Soul - Beyond The Athlete here

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

When Alex Messenger was 17 years old he was attacked in the Canadian wilderness by a 600 pound grizzly bear. It was an incident that changed his life forever. He joined me to talk about his dramatic fight, how he survived and the impact it had on his mental health.

Buy Alex’s book The Twenty Ninth Day here

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