Nick Cave hates giving interviews. It’s the first thing he mentions in his new book, “Faith, Hope & Carnage”, which comprises a series of conversations between Cave and the writer Seán O’Hagan. 

So it’s with some trepidation that Krishnan Guru-Murthy sits down with the post punk legend, to discuss the book, along with Cave’s attending the coronation, the tragic death of his son, his attitudes towards free speech and political correctness, and his journey to find - and define - happiness.

With thanks to  the London Review Bookshop, where this interview was filmed. 

Produced by Alice Wagstaffe.

 

When Suzanne Simard discovered that trees could communicate through underground networks of fungi in 1997, her work was largely dismissed.But today, as a Professor of Forest Ecology at the University of British Columbia, her work is recognised as pioneering within the scientific community.

In her book ‘Finding Mother Tree’, she explores how forests have ‘hub trees’ that play an important role in plant communication.In today’s episode of Ways to Change the World, Suzanne looks back at her work, and explains to Krishnan Guru-Murthy how it could help protect forests from climate change.

Produced by Imahn Robertson and Annie La Vespa.

In 2017, Azeem Rafiq’s world collapsed around him. He lost his baby son, and shortly after, the career that he had worked his entire life for, after he blew the whistle on racism and bullying at Yorkshire County Cricket Club. Azeem found himself at the centre of a long-running scandal which unlocked a long process which is now international. 

 

In the years that followed, Rafiq’s grief, his battle with the club, and numerous allegations of poor behaviour against himself, saw him reach the lowest of lows - struggling for money, often staying in bed for days at a time. 

 

Fast forward to 2023, Azeem has written a new book, “It’s Not Banter, It’s Racism: What Cricket’s Dirty Secret Reveals About Our Society”, and is looking ahead to a brighter future; hoping to get back into the game that he has devoted his life too, and campaigning for meaningful change in sport. 

 

In today’s episode of Ways to Change the World, Azeem looks back at several years of pain and growth, and tells Krishnan Guru-Murthy about his hopes for the future.  

 

Produced by Freya Pickford, Imahn Robertson and Alice Wagstaffe.

 

Warning: this episode includes offensive language. 

 

He is an actor who would be hard to typecast, but Eddie Marsan always plays the villain. “I think it has a lot to do with my upbringing”, he says, “there was a lot of violence, criminality and a lot of toxic masculinity.” 

“I remember being afraid of white working class men. When you see Danny Dyer, Ray Winstone… they have an appeal to them, and I've never been able to do that. And it's because of my experience growing up within the white working class; there was always an element of fear.”

Today on Ways to Change the World, Eddie Marsan joins Krishnan Guru-Murthy to discuss his chaotic upbringing, lessons in Buddhist teachings, and how actors from privileged backgrounds can find success despite being “mediocre”. 

Produced by Imahn Robertson 

Warning: This episode contains offensive language

“I don't think you can expect someone to change their life by putting them in a room and locking the door.” Michael Balogun might not believe that prison “helps” people to turn their life around, but it was undoubtedly his experience serving time that led him to where he is today - a star of the West End, currently appearing in a version of the Lehman Trilogy at the National Theatre. 

But there’s more to Balogun than a zero to hero story; his is one of extraordinary resilience, the power of manifestation, and a chance encounter with someone who saw his potential that changed everything. 

Michael Balogun joins Krishnan Guru-Murthy on Ways to Change the World to discuss how he turned his life around through acting, and why the power of your thoughts matter.

Produced by: Imahn Robertson

“On the television, they were saying we were thieves, that we were raised with no morals”. Growing up Black in 1970s Britain, writer Gary Younge didn’t feel fully accepted - he didn’t even feel British. “Someone would go, “it’s cold today isn’t it, I bet it’s not like this where you come from,” and you’d be like, "I come from just down the road mate!”

His latest book, Dispatches from the Diaspora, looks at a lifetime of writing about Black life, spanning a 30-year career, based in Britain and America, that goes from Mandela to Obama and from Stormzy to Black Lives Matter.  

He joins Krishnan Guru-Murthy on Ways to Change the World to discuss significant events that have impacted the Black diaspora, his mother’s influence and what he can teach the next generation of journalists.

Produced by: Imahn Robertson

 

How can the government attract the country’s best minds to work for them? How do we know when a private sector contract is a good one? And what can we learn from NASA about business and efficiency? 

Mariana Mazzucato is a professor of Economics at the University College London and an advisor to many governments. In her latest book, ‘The Big Con’, she looks at the relationship between the consulting industry and government, and the way business and governments are run, and plans executed. 

She joins Krishnan Guru-Murthy on Ways to Change the World to discuss how economic theory can streamline everything from school lunches to handling a pandemic, and the link between knife crime and the economy. 

Produced by Imahn Robertson and Ka Yee Mak

 

“We're the only species who have worked out to blow up everything and kill everyone”. In his latest book, The Earth Transformed, Peter Frankopan takes on the entirety of the history of planet earth, and looks at how our lives have been shaped by environmental changes since the dawn of our planet, 4.5 billion years ago, until the present day. He tackles the transformation of the earth, teasing apart the connection between humans and climate, explaining how “we are the product of massive climate change in the past”, and looks ahead to crises anew. 

In this episode of Ways to Change the World, Peter Frankopan sits down with Krishnan Guru-Murthy to discuss how humans have impacted the world, the existential threat posed by nuclear war and global superpowers, and what happens “when the music stops”. 

 

Produced by: Imahn Robertson

 

He’s the frontman of one of the most iconic bands of the 80s. 

Four decades on, Simon Le Bon says that New Wave  legends Duran Duran are still going strong, making new music and announcing that they’re going on tour again. 

In today’s episode of Ways to Change the World, Simon Le Bon sits down with Krishnan Guru-Murthy to discuss why the band doesn't make political statements, the state of the music industry, and the secret to Duran Duran’s longevity. 

Produced by : Imahn Robertson

 

Sebastian Payne is an author and the Director of centre-right think tank Onward, where he explores the bigger problems and challenges facing Britain today. 

He recently left his post as Whitehall Editor of the Financial Times, where he spent years navigating the corridors of Parliament, detangling the latest scandals and finding out what politics really means for people up and down the country. His childhood, growing up in Gateshead, influenced him to write one of his books, ‘Broken Heartlands’, and he went on to write ‘The Fall of Boris Johnson’, charting the former PM’s final weeks in office. 

In today’s Ways to Change the World, Sebastian Payne sits down with Krishnan Guru-Murthy to discuss Brexit, Boris, and what we can expect from the next general election. 

Produced by Imahn Robertson.