"I had an early midlife crisis. I ended up at a work event rearranging the downstairs of a restaurant."

Alex Wade is a lawyer, a writer, and a surfer ; in that order of discovery, maybe the reverse order of importance. Fleet Street defamation lawyer. Night lawyer at the Mirror. Head of legal affairs for Richard Desmond. White-collar boxer. Journalist at The Times and The Guardian. Author. Mont Blanc climber. Now co-CEO of Clear Draft, an AI-powered legal clearance business for publishers and broadcasters.

In this conversation, James Kirkham and Alex talk about being risk-friendly as a life strategy; what the ocean and a boxing ring have in common when it comes to telling you the truth about yourself; working for Richard Desmond on Fantasy Channel election night; the moment he sat on a bench outside a church and thought he'd ruined his life; the bedtime poem his 8-year-old daughter preferred in its AI-assisted form; and what Clear Draft is trying to fix.

StoryCo : the podcast about the business of story featuring the people who built it.

Hosted by James Kirkham. Produced by Jago Lee. A Telltale Industries production.

Alex Wade, Clear Draft, StoryCo, James Kirkham, storytelling, AI, legal clearance, surfing, boxing, reinvention