How To Fail With Elizabeth Day
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Greg Wise - ‘Therapy Saved My Life. And My Marriage.’
4 november 2026 · 52 min
You might know Greg Wise as swoonsome Willoughby in the 1995 Sense and Sensibility TV adaptation (where he met his future wife, Dame Emma Thompson, on set); or from his roles in Cranford, The Outcast, The Crown or The Buccaneers. But Wise’s career spans far beyond the world of film and TV. A passionate advocate for talking openly about grief, particularly among men, Greg is an ambassador for Marie Curie, Carers Trust and the Good Grief Trust, and a patron of End of Life Doula UK. His new book, Grief Talking, uses his own personal stories of loss to provide the reader with an emotional and practical map to exploring the most difficult human landscapes. Lees meer
In this conversation, we discuss the depths of trauma and grief, how you have to be able to take rejection as an actor, his and Emma’s experience of IVF, and the unconventional way they built their family.
IN THIS EPISODE
00:00 Introduction
03:07 Why He Wrote Grief Talking
05:05 Masculinity And Mourning
06:20 Trauma Versus Grief
08:03 End Of Life Doula Work
14:12 Rejection In Acting
24:40 IVF And Secondary Infertility
28:26 IVF Strain on Couples
29:17 Failure Language in Fertility
30:20 Dehumanising Medical Labels
32:22 IVF as Grief and Absence
33:48 Rebuilding Family and Therapy
35:11 Unexpected Family with Tindy
40:22 Gaia Acting and Resilience
41:42 Strictly, Risk and Clare Tribute
💬 QUOTES TO REMEMBER:
Men and women grieve in different ways: men are thinking grievers. Women (more generally speaking) are emotional grievers.
Trauma needs to be looked at before the grief is handled.
If you can’t take rejection, you shouldn’t be an actor.
🔗 LINKS + MENTIONS:
Greg’s book, Grief Talking, is available to pre-order now and is out on 5th November: www.panmacmillan.com/authors/greg-wise/grief-talking/9781035058297
Join the How To Fail community: www.howtofail.supportingcast.fm/#content
Elizabeth’s Substack: www.theelizabethday.substack.com
📚 WANT MORE?
Mo Gawdat (2022) - swap.fm/l/xg1simb4t2cTTqO3…
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Hanif Kureishi - ‘I Write To Stay Alive’
28 oktober 2026 · 50 min
Hanif Kureishi is one of Britain’s most celebrated writers. His debut screenplay, My Beautiful Laundrette, was nominated for an Academy Award, and he went on to write novels including The Buddha of Suburbia and Intimacy, as well as screenplays for Venus and The Mother. Lees meer
But in 2022, Kureishi’s life changed irrevocably. A fall in his partner’s apartment left him paralysed and unable to use his hands. His extraordinary journey through the aftermath and rehabilitation became the subject of his 2024 memoir, Shattered. Now, in Are You With Me Now?, a collection of essays written with his son Carlo, he explores what it means to survive when the life you knew has fallen apart.
In this episode, Hanif talks about the accident itself, subsequent years, his changing relationship with writing and his body… and why Elton John came to his wedding!
IN THIS EPISODE
00:00 Introduction
03:53 Accident to Viral Blogs
06:49 Work, Disability, Identity
07:31 Conflict as Intimacy
12:27 Failures at School
19:32 Loss, Suicide, Wedding Twist
24:27 Quitting Directing
24:46 Writing The Buddha Of Suburbia
26:17 Comedy From Pain
27:02 Oscar Nominee Whirlwind
29:19 Why Directing Failed
31:56 Success And Jealousy
34:34 Body Failing Bomb
42:28 Love Dependence
💬 QUOTES TO REMEMBER:
I was writing to keep myself alive as a person.
I think boredom is really important.
If someone becomes glamorous and successful, it f***s with your head.
🔗 LINKS + MENTIONS:
Hanif’s book Are You With Me Now? is out on 5th November: www.penguin.co.uk/books/481825/are-you-with-me-now-by-kureishi-hanif-kureishi-with-carlo/9780241831595
Join the How To Fail community: www.howtofail.supportingcast.fm/#content
Elizabeth’s Substack: www.theelizabethday.substack.com
📚 WANT MORE?
Salman Rushdie - swap.fm/l/3qh3lMa8mCxLSv8AL7ys
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Bill Bailey - ‘Rejection Made Me A Better Performer’
21 oktober 2026 · 49 min
Bill Bailey is a comedian, musician, writer, actor, director and presenter, known for his brilliant live tours and panel appearances on shows including Never Mind the Buzzcocks and QI. Lees meer
In this episode, Bill discusses being rejected from drama school, an Edinburgh Fringe show which flopped and the death of his best friend Sean Lock. Plus: the moment he decided to cut off his legendary hair (after it got stuck in some train doors).
Now, Bill is back on the road with his new UK arena tour, Bill Bailey: Vaudevillian, culminating in a two-month residency at London’s Theatre Royal Haymarket.
IN THIS EPISODE
00:00 Introduction
03:05 Live Shows vs Screens
06:30 Love Letters and Marriage
10:24 Drama School Rejection
15:30 Music Teacher and Confidence
19:49 Haircut and Next Failure
22:51 Comeback Rocker Concept
23:20 Bill Best Backstory
24:28 Props Songs and Craft
25:16 Great Reviews No Crowd
25:46 One Person Audience Night
28:06 Friendship and Grief
34:22 Leaving Academia Behind
41:51 Animals Curiosity and Wallace
💬 QUOTES TO REMEMBER:
Being on stage in front of an audience - there's nothing quite like it. There isn't really anything that replicates that experience.
You have to cherish every moment. Cherish those friendships that you have. Cultivate them. Cultivate relationships with everyone that you feel a bond with, because you never know when they're not gonna be around.
🔗 LINKS + MENTIONS:
Get tickets for Bill’s tour, Vaudevillean, here: www.billbailey.co.uk/live
Join the How To Fail community: www.howtofail.supportingcast.fm/#content
Elizabeth’s Substack: www.theelizabethday.substack.com
📚 WANT MORE?
Stephen Merchant - swap.fm/l/Lta5mlFbVnPHyFb8R1n2
Miranda Hart - swap.fm/l/oTScN30b80GflJtO4rgu
💌 LOVE THIS EPISODE?
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Bella Mackie - ‘I Will Never “Fix” My Mental Health’
19 oktober 2026 · 50 min
Bella Mackie began her career as a journalist, writing for publications including the Guardian, Vice and Vogue, before writing her bestselling debut, Jog On. The book explored how running helped her rebuild her life after the end of her first marriage triggered debilitating anxiety and panic attacks. Lees meer
She followed it with How To Kill Your Family, a darkly comic novel about a young woman methodically murdering her wealthy relatives. It spent 47 weeks on the Sunday Times bestseller list and is now being adapted for Netflix, starring Anya Taylor-Joy. Two more novels followed, including her latest, Claws Out - another bestseller, this time taking aim at the absurdities of North London’s liberal elite.
It’s a world Mackie knows well. She grew up in North London, the daughter of journalist and campaigner Lindsay Mackie and former Guardian editor Alan Rusbridger, and still lives there today with her husband, Radio 1 DJ Greg James.
In this episode we cover her OCD, how she feels she hasn’t ‘fixed’ her mental health - and perhaps never will, her ‘failure’ to leave home and what it’s like to be married to someone painfully level-headed.
This bonus episode is brought to you by @arlalactoFREE - all the taste, easier to digest.
IN THIS EPISODE
00:00 Intro
02:51 True Crime Origins
04:11 Rewriting Crime Tropes
07:17 Funny Draft Fail
10:37 Success Fuels Anxiety
14:57 Living With OCD
22:02 Childfree Choice Backlash
30:41 Cozy Season Sponsor Break
31:35 Failure to Launch Confession
32:15 Living Near Mum and Dad
33:48 Therapy Rejection and Detachment
34:43 Anxiety and Codependency Roots
37:31 Privilege Nepotism and Validation
39:26 Tony Blair as the Adult
44:01 Driving Cycling and Creative Life
💬 QUOTES TO REMEMBER:
Anyone else’s mental health is an island you can’t get to.
OCD is like Pokemon, you can catch them all.
Greg [my husband] lies down on me when I have an intrusive thought and does a chicken dance on me to make me laugh.
🔗 LINKS + MENTIONS:
Bella’s…
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Anthony Scaramucci - My Biggest Failure? Working For Donald Trump
14 oktober 2026 · 1 uur 7 min
Scaramucci’s 11-day tenure as the White House Communications Chief under President Donald Trump’s first term ended in a blaze of recrimination. Scaramucci was advised by a PR consultant to disappear for five years. He refused - and reinvented his career. Lees meer
Now, he is the co-host of the US version of The Rest is Politics podcast alongside British journalist Katty Kay.
After Harvard Law School, he joined Goldman Sachs and built a career in finance, eventually founding the investment firm SkyBridge Capital.
In this revealing conversation we discuss what working on Wall Street in the 80s was like, getting fired from Goldman Sachs, his failed first marriage, not being there for his son’s birth, getting fired from The White House and rebuilding his current marriage.
His book, All the Wrong Moves, looks at how three catastrophic decisions and years of ‘sh*tshow politics’ led to Trump.
IN THIS EPISODE:
00:00 Introduction montage
03:22 Learning optimism and pronoia
05:02 Self forgiveness after failure
06:40 Growing up and getting to Tufts
11:58 Why he wrote the book
14:03 Fired then rehired at Goldman
25:23 Money mindset and marriage cracks
30:48 Work Taxes Burnout
31:26 Marriage Neglect Regrets
34:07 Conflict Avoidance Trap
34:55 Affair Self Forgiveness
37:46 Fatherhood After Divorce
40:44 Trump Ego Decision
45:00 Firing from The Whitehouse
57:03 Rebuilding and Looking Ahead
💬 QUOTES TO REMEMBER:
When bad things happen, take a step back, and get into a channel that is the adult channel. Act in a rational way.
I trained my brain to be optimistic.
If you’re not careful, wealth can make you very depressed and lonely.
Trump's bullying reminded me of my dad… but I was better prepared for it.
🔗 LINKS + MENTIONS:
Anthony’s book, All the Wrong Moves, is available to buy now: www.penguin.co.uk/books/476667/all-the-wrong-moves-by-scaramucci-anthony/9781847929235
Join the How To Fail community: www.howtofail.supportingcast.fm/#content
Elizabeth’s Substack: …
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Luke Evans, Sarah Solemani & Elizabeth Day: The Making of The Party
12 oktober 2026 · 38 min
Luke Evans and Sarah Solemani join Elizabeth to talk about the journey of Elizabeth’s 2017 novel The Party to its new five-part ITV adaptation. Lees meer
Luke stars as the show’s protagonist, Martin Gilmour, and Sarah stars as his wife, Lucy… oh and she also brilliantly adapted the novel for screen.
The trio discuss the making of this exciting new drama for TV, how Luke discovered the book and kick-started the process and what the show is about. They discuss themes including: sexuality, the class system in the UK, shame, women leading production, culture on sets in today’s world and friendship.
This bonus episode is brought to you by @arlalactoFREE - all the taste, easier to digest.
IN THIS EPISODE
00:00 Introduction
01:42 Luke Discovers the Novel
02:51 Finding the Screenwriter
04:45 Adapting Into Five Episodes
07:13 What The Party Is About
09:44 Casting Lucy and Onscreen Marriage
13:04 Collaboration and Set Rewrites
18:09 Women Leading the Production
19:35 Set Culture and Final Day Speech
21:15 Author Visits Set and Craft Details
22:26 Friendship, Desire and Identity
25:08 Class, Shame and Final Takeaways
WANT MORE?
Luke Evans - swap.fm/l/2AAJhVeDNGdKIJGdznR9
LINKS + MENTIONS:
The Party starts Sunday 11th October 9pm on ITV1 and ITVX. The series airs for three consecutive nights: Sunday, Monday and Tuesday, concluding with the fourth and final episode the following Sunday 18th and Monday 19th. Or you can binge all five episodes on ITVX.
Join the How To Fail community: www.howtofail.supportingcast.fm/#content
Elizabeth’s Substack: www.theelizabethday.substack.com
Subscribe on Spotify, Apple or wherever you get your podcasts
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Instagram: @elizabday
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Podcast Instagram: @howtofailpod
Website: www.elizabethday.org
Join our community of subscribers here: https://lnk.to/7i0moR
Have a failure you’re trying to work through for Elizabeth to discuss? Click here to get in to…
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Bonnie Garmus - ‘Adoption Gave Us A Family’
7 oktober 2026 · 59 min
Bonnie Garmus was 64 when her debut novel, Lessons in Chemistry, was published. It went on to sell more than eight million copies, spend almost two years on the New York Times bestseller list, was translated into more than 40 languages and become an eight-part Apple TV+ series. At its centre was Elizabeth Zott, a fiercely intelligent, forthright chemist turned 1950s TV cooking star. Lees meer
Bonnie and I talk about the misogyny that inspired Lessons in Chemistry, her love of dogs, working through a stutter, adopting her two daughters from China and what it took to overcome years of rejection.
Her new novel, Peck & Peck, is out in the UK on 13 October.
IN THIS EPISODE:
00:00 Intro
03:41 Arts Versus Science
05:44 Sexism Sparks Novel
08:58 Greed And AI Warning
12:19 Dogs Behind Characters
16:30 Childhood Failures
30:26 Living With A Stutter
31:50 Letters And Workarounds
32:53 Adoption Journey To China
36:10 What Adoption Really Means
37:23 Family Bonds And Fate
39:17 Jeopardy Husband Spotlight
40:10 98 Rejections And Resilience
47:05 Finding An Agent And Writing Life
💬 QUOTES TO REMEMBER:
I’ve had a lot of dogs in my life, and not a single one has disappointed me.
I never look back on my career and think I have regrets.
I had a therapist who was a stutterer… he gave me the courage to embrace it, and then I got better.
🔗 LINKS + MENTIONS:
Bonnie’s new novel Peck & Peck is available to pre-order now: www.waterstones.com/book/peck-and-peck/bonnie-garmus/9781786588975
Join the How To Fail community: www.howtofail.supportingcast.fm/#content
Elizabeth’s Substack: www.theelizabethday.substack.com
📚 WANT MORE?
Alain De Botton - swap.fm/l/dnU4ieYPW7eCbesQFNSf
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie - swap.fm/l/YiA3DPR1awzdCrHfEMfPv
💌 LOVE THIS EPISODE?
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Russell T Davies - On Dr Who, Grief and Gay Representation on TV
30 september 2026 · 57 min
Russell T Davies has spent decades creating some of Britain’s most beloved and groundbreaking television. After studying English at Oxford, he went from writing for children’s programmes and Coronation Street to creating Queer As Folk in 1999 - a show that changed the conversation around gay representation on TV. Since then, he’s written hit after hit, from Bob & Rose and A Very English Scandal to Years and Years, It’s A Sin and his hugely successful revival of Doctor Who. He’s won four BAFTAs and was awarded an OBE in 2008. Lees meer
In this episode we talk about where his obsession and passion for TV came from, how his exceptionally busy mind works, losing his husband to a brain tumour, his love of Dr Who and…finding love again.
His new memoir, The Queerest of Folk, is out on 8th October.
IN THIS EPISODE:
00:00 Intro
02:35 TV Obsession Origins
03:24 Memoir and Andrew
08:35 AIDS and Its a Sin
10:36 Queer as Folk Shockwaves
12:37 Failure to Drive
16:45 Writing in Images
28:05 Early Illustration Gigs
28:54 Obsessed With Drawing
30:20 Losing the Habit
31:52 Comics and Story Beats
33:54 Writing Geniuses Doctor Who
37:13 Staying a Fan
41:41 Legacy and Family Roots
49:59 Aging Love and Goodbye
💬 QUOTES TO REMEMBER:
When I dream I invent people who don’t exist.
I’ve saved for decades, I saved for a rainy day, and then one day it rained.
Please never get rid of the Tardis.
🔗 LINKS + MENTIONS:
Russell’s memoir, The Queerest Of Folk is available to buy now: uk.bookshop.org/p/books/the-queerest-of-folk-a-life-in-television-russell-t-davies/a290496f474a1f8c
Join the How To Fail community: www.howtofail.supportingcast.fm/#content
Elizabeth’s Substack: www.theelizabethday.substack.com
📚 WANT MORE?
Phoebe Waller-Bridge - swap.fm/l/gTCOCJUmXX9t22mTABSa
Bernardine Evaristo - swap.fm/l/EH5cvO3uPdNCQN9tYyiJ
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Sir Paul Smith - ‘People In Fashion Are Insecure’
23 september 2026 · 52 min
Sir Paul Smith is one of Britain’s most iconic fashion designers, renowned for his sharp tailoring and his sartorial flair. His clothes have an innate sense of mischief: brightly coloured linings, unexpected stripes and a determination never to take themselves too seriously. His devoted clients include Gary Oldman, Bill Nighy and Matty Healy, who wore a Paul Smith suit for his recent wedding. Lees meer
Behind the stripes and the suits is a man with a simple life philosophy: stay humble, work hard, be kind. On this episode we talk about the cycling accident that set him on a path to fashion and how he’s kept his global business independent for 56 years. Plus, the secret to a long marriage, what tailoring teaches him about people’s insecurities - and why he wore a suit every day during the Covid lockdowns.
IN THIS EPISODE:
00:00 Intro
03:40 Tailoring for Everyone
06:48 The Pink Wall Story
08:31 Stripes and Reinvention
10:20 Turning 80
11:33 Cycling Freedom and Family
18:20 Crash That Changed Everything
24:20 Pauline Sets The Standard
25:19 Keeping Love And Work Balanced
26:19 Step Parenting And Playfulness
27:28 The Trap Of Comparison
32:43 Brexit COVID And Staying Independent
36:02 Choosing The Right Collaborations
37:21 Believing Your Own Hype
42:47 Creativity Legacy And Farewell
💬 QUOTES TO REMEMBER:
Pauline [my wife] set the standard - it’s been very important for longevity.
A successful relationship is about balance. Knowing when to talk, when to listen… and have both feet on the ground.
The danger is losing your focus, and worrying too much about ‘them’.
🔗 LINKS + MENTIONS:
Sir Paul Smith’s Memoir ‘Threads’ is available to buy now: www.paulsmith.com/uk/threads-by-sir-paul-smith-special-edition-book
Join the How To Fail community: www.howtofail.supportingcast.fm/#content
Elizabeth’s Substack: www.theelizabethday.substack.com
📚 WANT MORE?
Edward Enninful - swap.fm/l/NOAt5NDZeBTgX6qZUWpB
Bella Freud - swap.fm/l/mQntNELQPRhZ9CjFQO77
💌 LOVE THIS E…
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Louise O’Neill - ‘Full Recovery Is Possible’
16 september 2026 · 59 min
This episode contains references to and descriptions of eating disorders. Lees meer
Louise O’Neill is a bestselling, award-winning Irish author whose fearless writing has helped shape modern feminism. Her fiction is taught on the Irish curriculum and Paul Mescal starred in a critically acclaimed stage adaptation of her work. Her second novel, Asking For It, catapulted her into the public eye in 2015.
Now, with her eighth book, A Bigger Life, O’Neill turns that same unflinching gaze on herself. Her memoir follows the extraordinary dating experiment she embarked on in her late 30s after the end of a long-term relationship: dating a different man every night, across three cities - Paris, London and New York. What began as a challenge, inspired by something her father said, became an unexpected journey of self-discovery.
In this episode we discuss topics covered in her memoir, A Bigger Life, including: finding hope after heartbreak, pressure on women, extraordinary dating experiences and recovering from a debilitating two-decade-long eating disorder.
A Bigger Life is out this month.
IN THIS EPISODE:
00:00 Introduction
03:24 Writing Her First Memoir
04:58 Roots in West Cork
08:21 Dating for a Bigger Life
09:26 Choosing Hope After Heartbreak
13:22 Marriage Expectations and Milestones
16:57 Beauty Pressure and Aging Fears
27:12 Fear of Vulnerability
28:48 Aging and Shame
30:34 Trusting Your Instincts
33:35 The Millionaire Date
36:40 Recovery After 17 Years
42:57 Rewiring the Mind
48:35 Good Girl Burnout
52:07 Redefining Success
💬 QUOTES TO REMEMBER:
I didn’t want the break-up to define me.
Life falls apart around us, and then we have to rebuild. The trick is to keep your heart soft.
If I’m setting the narrative, I want it to be hopeful .
I had to rewire my brain - I had to become an entirely new person. Then it became second nature.
🔗 LINKS + MENTIONS:
Louise O’Neill’s memoir A Bigger Life is out now: https://harpercollins.co.uk/products/a-bigger-life-lou…
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Nish Kumar - Failure Is Information. Comedians Call It Material.
9 september 2026 · 57 min
Nish Kumar is one of the UK’s best-known comedians, known for his impassioned political progressiveness. Lees meer
You might remember him as the host of the topical BBC comedy show, The Mash Report, which ran to great acclaim until it was abruptly cancelled in 2021 - one of his failures addresses this head-on. Kumar now co-hosts the popular podcast, Pod Save The UK and his 2026 tour, Angry Humour From A Really Nice Guy tackles the existential angst and political disquiet of a 40-year-old man.
We talk through his failed Edinburgh show, the fact he would never consume Huel, ‘the whole bread roll Mash Report thing’, his people pleasing tendencies, how his experiences of racism led to therapy and a PTSD diagnosis…and how his friendship with Ed Gamble has changed over the years. It’s not one to miss.
IN THIS EPISODE:
00:00 Intro
02:29 Immigrant Parents and Fear
04:41 Comedy Obsessed Teen
08:22 Nice Guy Angry Comic
11:31 Rage as Fuel
13:04 Edinburgh Show Failure
23:31 Bread Roll Fallout
27:20 Empathy and Comedy
27:53 The Bread Roll Incident
28:29 Clips, Context, and Backlash
29:49 Turning Failure into Material
31:24 Therapy and PTSD
34:28 Racism and Political Architecture
39:52 Progress, Parents and Politics
46:14 Friendship and Growing Up
💬 QUOTES TO REMEMBER:
Intellectual intelligence is useless without emotional intelligence
2013 was the most important year because I learnt everything about what I didn’t want to do in stand-up
My partner said I should seek therapy, but at the time that felt like an indulgence. I don’t feel that now.
🔗 LINKS + MENTIONS:
Nish Kumar is touring across the UK with Angry Humour from a Really Nice Guy until the end of November. Tickets are available from www.nishkumar.co.uk/gigs
Join the How To Fail community: www.howtofail.supportingcast.fm/#content
Elizabeth’s Substack: www.theelizabethday.substack.com
📚 WANT MORE?
Stephen Merchant - swap.fm/l/Lta5mlFbVnPHyFb8R1n2
John Bishop - swap.fm/l/wRGKwuonJFQoujFlmDHI
💌 LOVE THIS…
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Remembering Gloria Steinem
3 september 2026 · 58 min
It was a privilege to have one of my all-time heroes, the feminist activist, writer and icon Gloria Steinem on How to Fail back in 2020 and we are heartbroken to hear of her passing at the age of 92. To celebrate her life, we’re re-releasing this very special episode. Lees meer
We talked about her failure to understand her mother, her failure to be at her father's deathbed and her failure to learn lessons quickly enough - yes, we go deep... She also talked to me about how (then) at the age of 86, she is joyfully outliving society's expectations of her; of how fear can often be a sign of growth (let that sink in), about how 'anger is an energy cell', about how we are 'linked not ranked', about not having children, about spending a lifetime combatting misogyny and racism and sexism and injustice, and about the counteracting forces of love and compassion and friendship which keep her going.
Whoever said never meet your heroes clearly never met Gloria Steinem.
We love you Gloria Steinem, rest in power.
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David Sedaris - ‘My Father Said I Was A Bad Influence Because I Was Gay’
2 september 2026 · 52 min
David Sedaris is one of America’s best-loved humorists, famous for turning the absurdities of everyday life into razor-sharp, deeply human essays. He joins Elizabeth Day on How to Fail to talk about the moments that have shaped him: from dropping out of university and ending up in his parents’ basement at 20, to being thrown out by his father and growing up with a parent who seemed to actively invest in his failure. Lees meer
He talks candidly about heartbreak after a breakup at 32, the fear of being alone, grief at losing the people we love and his past crystal meth addiction and sobriety.
We also hear about the embarrassment of dropping out of Japanese school in Tokyo at 50…and the possibility of a cameo on The Archers.
IN THIS EPISODE:
00:00 Intro
03:39 How His Writing Evolved
04:27 Train Music Confrontation
07:03 Failure One: Dropping Out
10:38 A Father Rooting Against Him
13:16 Money Promises and Betrayal
18:03 Thrown Out and Self Worth
20:31 Friendship and Grief
23:22 Failure Two: Breakup at 32
27:38 Writing Love And Routine
28:46 Sharon The Practical Mom
33:08 Heartbreak Versus Grief
35:54 Crystal Meth And Fear
38:59 Conceptual Art On Fire
40:24 Tokyo Japanese School Quit
46:08 The Archers Cameo
💬 QUOTES TO REMEMBER:
“I just took every bit of advice [my father] ever gave me and did the opposite, and it was a really good strategy.”
“Fear kept me drinking. Fear kept me smoking. Fear kept me from leaving.”
“You’re never going to get what you want if you don’t work for it.”
“Every day is a new beginning.”
🔗 LINKS + MENTIONS:
The Land and Its People by David Sedaris is widely available across both online retailers and physical bookstores in the US and the UK.
Join the How To Fail community: www.howtofail.supportingcast.fm/#content
Elizabeth’s Substack: www.theelizabethday.substack.com
📚 WANT MORE?
Dawn French - on fertility, friendship and being an anti-perfectionist http://swap.fm/l/NJDrzxLKhyi6icOrxmHT
Simon Cowell - on judgement, power and…
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Failure Throwback: Mo Gawdat
26 augustus 2026 · 1 uur 2 min
This episode with Mo Gawdat originally went out in 2019, but its message feels as relevant as ever. We’re re-releasing it to celebrate the 500th episode of How to Fail. Lees meer
Just occasionally, you meet someone who changes the way you think about the world. That’s what happened when Elizabeth met Mo Gawdat, former Chief Business Officer at Google X, who spent years trying to solve a problem that seemed impossible to quantify: how can one individual be happy?
After 12 years of research, Gawdat developed an algorithm for happiness: happiness is greater than or equal to your perception of the events in your life, minus your expectations of how life should be. He wrote about it in his international bestseller Solve for Happy.
But that algorithm was put to the ultimate test when his beloved 21-year-old son, Ali, died in tragic circumstances. Mo joins me to talk about grief and depression, happiness as a form of fitness, coping with break-ups, the isolating effects of social media, why life is like a computer game, the illusion of time - and why we should always be polite to Siri.
IN THIS EPISODE:
00:00 Intro
03:23 Success Yet Depressed
06:14 Chasing Stuff for Joy
07:22 Engineering Happiness Reset
11:37 Six Modern Illusions
15:17 Happiness as Equation
20:35 Taming Your Inner Voice
28:51 Useful vs Joyful Thoughts
29:55 Grief Without Suffering
31:02 Ali Lived Reframing
32:47 Life as a Video Game
35:02 Halo Lessons on Purpose
40:13 Preventable Death and Resentment
45:09 Tech Promise and AI Risk
55:26 1 Billion Happy Mission
LINKS + MENTIONS:
Join the How To Fail community: www.howtofail.supportingcast.fm/#content
Elizabeth’s Substack: www.theelizabethday.substack.com
WANT MORE?
Mo Gawdat’s episode from 2025 -
Dr Gabor Maté -
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Failure Throwback: Phoebe Waller Bridge
19 augustus 2026 · 52 min
To mark 500 episodes of How to Fail! To we’re re-releasing the first ever episode with Phoebe Waller Bridge, which originally went out in July 2018. Lees meer
Phoebe Waller-Bridge, creator and star of Fleabag, writer of Killing Eve, superstar feminist and human embodiment of a Star Wars droid, joins How To Fail to talk about how she failed at her 20s (but got lots of brilliant material from the terrible dates she endured), failing at drama school, terrible auditions (including one for Downton Abbey) and how her female best friend is quite possibly the love of her life.
She also talks about emotional vulnerability, why women fail at anger and about finding glory in one’s mistakes. There’s a great exchange about whether women should be open about whether or not they want children and a whole segue into the desirability of alabaster foreheads. Oh, and we cover the time Phoebe met Meryl Streep and embarrassed herself horribly, in what might be one of the greatest celebrity anecdotes of all time involving apple crumble.
IN THIS EPISODE:
00:00 Introduction
02:04 Sudden Fame Reality
04:33 RADA And Early Rejection
07:50 Emotional Acting Truth
08:41 Love Life Failures
13:14 Fleabag And Female Voice
18:05 Auditions Power And Ambition
25:37 Creative Lifeline Friendship
26:21 How They Met Vicky
27:40 Muses Not Mistresses
29:15 Women And Anger
30:55 Female Killers Fascination
33:20 The Babies Question
40:54 Feminism And Body Image
44:40 Celebrity Encounters Finale
LINKS + MENTIONS:
Join the How To Fail community: www.howtofail.supportingcast.fm/#content
Elizabeth’s Substack: www.theelizabethday.substack.com
WANT MORE?
Dolly Alderton - swap.fm/l/XM98joc3GFEMTsLfkEfR
Miranda Hart - swap.fm/l/oTScN30b80GflJtO4rgu
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Podcast Instagram: @howtofailp…
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Mel Giedroyc - I Lost My Biggest Fan When Mum Died
12 augustus 2026 · 58 min
Mel Giedroyc is a comedian, writer and TV presenter who has been entertaining the nation for over 30 years. Lees meer
Hired in 1996 as a writer for French and Saunders (alongside best friend Sue Perkins), Mel’s career took off and she went on to co-present hit Channel 4 series Light Lunch and Late Lunch, and then the Great British Bake Off.
Since then, Giedoryc has written a Sunday Times bestselling novel and fronts the podcast, Where There’s A Will There’s A Wake. Now she returns with a new book, The Comeback, a funny, big-hearted novel about second chances set in a community.
In this hilarious and moving episode, we talk about how she feels she is always ‘getting away with it’, life post-Bake Off, having children, not making it to her mother’s deathbed due to a big night out, and the recurring nightmare that she has never been able to shake…
IN THIS EPISODE:
00:00 Introduction
02:55 Getting Away With It
05:43 Bake Off
08:43 Life After Bake Off
09:45 The Comeback Novel
10:21 Theatre And Family Roots
17:18 Cambridge Degree Disaster
28:49 Mums Deathbed Regret
30:46 Strokes And Stolen Years
32:05 Boozy Night Missed Call
36:10 Work As Grief Shelter
39:36 Remembering Rosemary
43:50 VHS Shame Spiral
52:00 Goodbyes And Final Thoughts
LINKS + MENTIONS:
Listen to Mel’s podcast, Where There’s A Will There’s A Wake here: swap.fm/l/ZuaKfvomuCzS7P3cLJzx and watch here: https://www.youtube.com/@WhereTheresAWillTheresAWake
The Comeback is available to pre-order now: www.hachette.co.uk/titles/mel-giedroyc/the-comeback/9781472256263/
Join the How To Fail community: www.howtofail.supportingcast.fm/#content
Elizabeth’s Substack: www.theelizabethday.substack.com
WANT MORE?
Miranda Hart - swap.fm/l/oTScN30b80GflJtO4rgu
Celeste Barber - swap.fm/l/qLmwfjyeSolWuFeaHGdt
Stephen Merchant - swap.fm/l/Lta5mlFbVnPHyFb8R1n2
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Prime Minister Andy Burnham - ‘I’m a better politician for having failed.’
5 augustus 2026 · 49 min
Andy Burnham is the first Prime Minister on How to Fail. Past leaders have run scared of doing a podcast with ‘fail’ in the title - but not this one. As he says in this conversation: ‘if you’ve not succeeded, you have to understand why it happened, and what you’re going to do about it.’ Wise words from a global leader. Lees meer
Burnham is now our 7th Prime Minister in 10 years, having won a decisive by-election in Makerfield and having received nominations from 94% of Labour MPs in an unopposed leadership contest.
In this exclusive episode, recorded at No. 10 North, Andy talks about growing up, how his Catholic faith has shaped his outlook (and whether or not he snuck some communion wine as an altar boy). Plus: imposter syndrome, what he learned from his past failed leadership bids, friendships within politics, how his wife responded to his desire to run for PM, the meaning of ‘home’ and whether or not his dad, who suffers from Alzheimer’s, knows his son has become Prime Minister.
A must-listen, even if we do say so ourselves.
IN THIS EPISODE:
00:00 Introduction
03:12 Imposter Syndrome and Authenticity
06:13 Faith and Catholic Roots
08:32 English Degree and Power of Words
10:19 Failed Leadership Bids
16:50 Politics Friendships and Family
21:07 Post Cambridge Job Hunt
25:06 What Home Means
26:26 Hillsborough and Two Britains
27:36 Number 10 North Vision
28:43 Building Safety and Hope
32:49 Radical Yet Sensible Politics
35:35 Fixing Social Care
38:16 Roy and Alzheimer’s
43:10 Faith Power and Farewell
LINKS + MENTIONS:
Join the How To Fail community: www.howtofail.supportingcast.fm/#content
Elizabeth’s Substack: www.theelizabethday.substack.com
WANT MORE?
Ed Miliband - swap.fm/l/YTnZMo8h78DZNf7ZmKnF
Sadiq Khan - swap.fm/l/FcuzDh396Ul76Sc46KRb
Jess Phillips - swap.fm/l/EHHLbfGCH6oBDbOaMhbX
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Nikita Gill - Everyone Wants to Be Heard But No One Wants to Listen
29 juli 2026 · 55 min
Before becoming a No. 1 New York Times bestselling author, and one of the most widely read poets on Instagram, Nikita worked as a cleaner and carer while sharing her poetry online. She moved from New Delhi to Britain in her early twenties to study for a master's degree at the University for the Creative Arts, and felt she ‘disappointed’ her parents and faced repeated rejection and misogyny in the process. Lees meer
In this episode, she tells Elizabeth about her unusual childhood at sea, growing up in places marked by contested borders, where bomb scares at school felt routine, and the many obstacles she faced throughout her career. She also reflects on the power of poetry to connect us, why myths still resonate today and how writing became both a form of resistance and survival.
IN THIS EPISODE:
00:00 Introduction
03:10 Archivist Heart
04:33 Unheard Voices
07:10 Borders Bomb Scares
09:49 Childhood
11:30 Mythical Power
13:52 Rejection To Breakthrough
25:51 Success Highs and Lows
26:31 Rejection as Return
27:45 Dating and Being Returned
28:11 BuzzFeed Fame Backlash
33:36 Shame and Misogyny Online
34:51 Surviving Internet Pile Ons
39:16 Chronic Pain Finally Named
48:34 Family Grief and Goodbye
LINKS + MENTIONS:
Nikita’s new book, Styx: The River is out this Autumn: www.simonandschuster.co.uk/books/Styx-The-River/Nikita-Gill/9781398537194
Join the How To Fail community: www.howtofail.supportingcast.fm/#content
Elizabeth’s Substack: www.theelizabethday.substack.com
WANT MORE?
Michael Rosen - swap.fm/l/TCjvDZaxrZsq4iZRCccm
LOVE THIS EPISODE?
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Website: www.elizabethday.org
Guest bookings for How To Fail only come from official @sonymusic.com emails
Elizabeth and Nikita answer listener questions in our subscriber series:…
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Miquita Oliver - I Drank Half a Bottle of Wine Every Morning
22 juli 2026 · 57 min
Miquita Oliver is a podcaster, TV presenter and all-round brilliant woman. She was just 16 when she burst onto our screens co-hosting Channel 4’s cult music show Popworld alongside Simon Amstell. Twenty-five years later, she’s still one of Britain’s most distinctive broadcasters and interviewers. She co-created Miss Me?, with Lily Allen, and now co-hosts it with musician Jordan Stephens of Rizzle Kicks. Lees meer
You may also know Miquita from the acclaimed BBC series The Caribbean with Andi and Miquita, in which she and her mother, Andi Oliver, travelled to Antigua to reconnect with their family, heritage and identity.
We talk about Miquita surviving the 2004 tsunami in Thailand, the shame she associates with going bankrupt, her struggle with alcoholism in her thirties, love, family, and why she still can't quite conquer her driving theory test. She even opens up about her hopes and fears around motherhood. This is an essential conversation for any one who survived the noughties diet culture or who has grappled with financial hardship. Frank, funny and unexpectedly moving: just like Miquita herself.
IN THIS EPISODE:
00:00 Introduction
02:42 Heritage and Caribbean Roots
04:19 Tsunami Trauma and Healing
07:04 Iconic Co-Hosts and Craft
10:51 Losing Home
13:03 Miss Me Origins and Honesty
15:26 Bankruptcy Shame and Survival
30:58 Weight and Work Comeback
32:02 Second Reinvention Switch
33:01 Money Lessons After Bankruptcy
34:21 Why Aren’t We Taught Tax
35:50 Alcoholism
39:19 Leaving Richmond and Getting Clear
43:12 Motherhood Without Shame
48:03 Driving Test Fail
LINKS + MENTIONS:
Listen to Miss Me? wherever you get your podcasts
Join the How To Fail community: www.howtofail.supportingcast.fm/#content
Elizabeth’s Substack: www.theelizabethday.substack.com
WANT MORE?
Andi Oliver - swap.fm/l/kcBWNXdPsg7LhgcGhvoF
Lily Allen - swap.fm/l/8Otj3tpmbH5SF4xjVHTJ
Neneh Cherry - swap.fm/l/r5YD9vNivp5t6yw1gN1U
Mabel - swap.fm/l/bfOzGVjFFpo13LK7MHUu
LOVE THIS EPIS…
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Richard Bacon - ‘I Was Betrayed By My Best Friend’
15 juli 2026 · 58 min
What connects Barack Obama, a tabloid sting and Love Islander Alex George? Have a Blue Peter badge if you were thinking of Richard Bacon... Lees meer
While the broadcaster and producer is perhaps best known for the time his Blue Peter contract was terminated - following a tabloid reveal of his cocaine use - there is so much more to the man. His storied time in television led to him founding a production company and creating numerous TV shows on both sides of the Atlantic. He credits this restless creativity to his ADHD, a diagnosis he only received later in life.
We discuss how neurodivergence fuels him; how the cocaine exposé in the 90s impacted who he is; his relationship with his parents; his failed move to America, landing an interview with Barack Obama... and being tracked by the Secret Service.
Richard talks movingly about being an addict, going to AA, his failure to quit drinking and a near-death experience that could have been averted by a certain doctor on Love Island. Trust me, an hour with Richard Bacon is quite the ride - strap in!
IN THIS EPISODE:
00:00 Intro
03:57 Defining Success Today
04:15 Botox Water And Moisturizer
05:32 Parents And Upbringing
10:05 ADHD Intelligence
11:38 Blue Peter Cocaine Exposé
21:06 Fallout Press And Shame
25:42 Dad Crying in Secret
26:35 Public Humiliation to Resilience
29:01 Trust After Betrayal
30:05 America Move
32:37 Woody Harrelson
33:30 Obama Interview Whiplash
35:36 Work as Identity and Failure
37:53 Addiction Coma and Gratitude
LINKS + MENTIONS:
Richard’s podcast ‘Why Are You More Successful Than Me?’ is available now
Join the How To Fail community: www.howtofail.supportingcast.fm/#content
Elizabeth’s Substack: www.theelizabethday.substack.com
WANT MORE?
Claudia Winkleman – swap.fm/l/Q65AatVGMWgB27BoS0g2
LOVE THIS EPISODE?
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Remembering Bonnie Tyler
9 juli 2026 · 49 min
It was a privilege to have Bonnie Tyler on How to Fail back in 2024 - and we are heartbroken to hear of her passing today. Lees meer
Bonnie was open, funny and moving when she joined me on How to Fail. Total Eclipse of the Heart made her a global star, and at the time of this recording, she managed to squeeze in an hour on How to Fail between gigs and the release of her new album, In Berlin. It was also her first ever podcast interview.
You might want to bring the tissues for this one, as we have a bit of a weep when Bonnie talks about losing her amazing mum. We also touched on miscarriage and a childfree life. Plus her failure at elocution lessons, the fascinating story behind her friendship with Tina Turner, performing for Putin (no, really), being a bit of a hoarder and the secret to a 50-year marriage.
We love you Bonnie Tyler, rest in peace.
Production & Post Production Coordinator: Lily Hambly
Engineer: Gulliver Tickell and Josh Gibbs
Senior Producer: Hannah Talbot
Executive Producer: Carly Maile
How to Fail is an Elizabeth Day and Sony Music Entertainment Production.
Find more great podcasts from Sony Music Entertainment at sonymusic.com/podcasts
To bring your brand to life in this podcast, email podcastadsales@sonymusic.com
Guest bookings for How To Fail only come from official @sonymusic.com emails
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Charlie Mackesy – ‘Grief propelled me into work that saved me’
8 juli 2026 · 54 min
In this episode, I sit down with bestselling author‑illustrator Charlie Mackesy, whose work – The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse – has become a global touchstone for kindness, vulnerability and hope. Lees meer
Yet Charlie’s path was anything but straightforward: he grew up feeling inherently at fault, shaped by the pressures of competitive schooling and the emotional weight of carrying the painful stories readers now share with him.
He talks about failing his driving test four times and the devastating loss of his best friend, Jamie, in a car crash – a grief that propelled him to London and sparked the first moment he began drawing compulsively, with music as solace.
Charlie reflects on not achieving what he calls “conventional success” through marriage or children, the underrated importance of friendship and the power of kindness and self‑compassion.
We also explore his years of not earning a living as an artist – a period he now sees not as failure, but as an essential process. Charlie urges us to create without fear, to let go of perfection and to live fully in the imperfect present.
✨ IN THIS EPISODE:
00:00 Intro
03:44 Feeling at Fault
04:30 Outsider and School Years
05:55 Carrying Others Stories
13:57 Animals and Ducklings
17:08 Driving Test Failure
18:06 Loss and Aftermath
20:05 Grief Fuels Art
23:14 Bottling Emotions
25:07 Remember Mothers Word
28:28 Mum’s Tactile Reading
29:44 Dementia and Story Comfort
33:21 Redefining Success
37:46 Friendship Essentials
40:37 Kindness and Self Talk
46:09 Failing as an Artist
💬 QUOTES TO REMEMBER:
“When people tell you their weight, their sadness, anything, their failings, whatever it is they tell you, treat it like they’re giving you gold.”
“I just wrote a book about a mole who likes cake and friends who are journeying in a difficult way with each other… but I think people just want to be heard and seen.”
“None of us get out of here alive, so why not try? What have you got to lose?”
🔗 LINKS + MENTION…
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Anastacia – All My Songs Have Been Good Therapy
1 juli 2026 · 54 min
Anastacia has released eight albums and sold over 50 million records worldwide. She has collected a total of 227 gold and platinum certifications and counts Elton John as one of her biggest fans. Lees meer
In 2000, she released "I'm Outta Love", her debut single, which quickly topped charts worldwide and paved the way for her first album, Not That Kind. This year sees her embark on a major arena tour to celebrate that album’s 25th anniversary.
In this episode we talk about her experience with breast cancer - she underwent a double mastectomy in 2013 after being diagnosed for the second time, dealing with sexism in the music industry and being a mother beyond the traditional sense.
✨ IN THIS EPISODE:
00:00 Intro
02:32 Brodie Joins the Studio
03:15 Day Jobs Before Fame
04:16 Not That Kind at 25
05:31 Finding Her Sound
08:25 Celebrity Gig Stories
11:34 Failures Tech and Glasses
26:04 Dream Glasses Partnership
26:57 Tinted Lenses Origin Story
28:31 Sexism and Image Pressure
31:45 Redefining Femininity
32:32 Cancer Advocacy Fire
37:40 Self Care Birthday Hack
41:44 Writing Singable Songs
44:22 Mothering Beyond Biology
💬 QUOTES TO REMEMBER:
Give yourself a self-care birthday - go and get a mammogram
There are so many different ways to be a mother
So the word cancer, I didn't like it, but I looked at the first three letters
🔗 LINKS + MENTIONS:
Anastacia is celebrating 25 years since the release of her debut album ‘Not That Kind’ and is taking her #NTK2026 on the road
Join the How To Fail community: www.howtofail.supportingcast.fm/#content
Elizabeth’s Substack: www.theelizabethday.substack.com
📚 WANT MORE?
Shania Twain - took us back to her childhood, where she felt she grew up too fast, singing in smoke-filled bars at a young age. There are some real similarities between these two episodes - see what you think: swap.fm/l/JyU54nvq2muyBpNFq3B9
💌 LOVE THIS EPISODE?
Subscribe on Spotify, Apple or wherever you get your podcasts
Leave a 5⭐ review – it helps …
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Mel Giedroyc and AJ Odudu on Body Confidence, Midlife Reinvention and Female Friendship
29 juni 2026 · 45 min
Welcome to the FIRST EVER How To Fail Roundtable - a format we enjoyed so much we might just keep it. Today, Elizabeth is joined by broadcaster, actor, author and comedian Mel Giedroyc, and presenting powerhouse AJ Odudu for a candid conversation about body confidence, midlife reinvention and self-acceptance. Brought to you by Dove Whole Body Deodorant, they discuss navigating public scrutiny, aging, personal experiences of the menopause and the importance of friendship. Lees meer
Together, they explore how honesty, resilience and everyday rituals can help us feel more confident and comfortable in our own skin.
✨ IN THIS EPISODE:
00:00 Intro
02:39 Mel on body confidence
05:50 AJ on self appreciation
06:53 Freshness and shoot day hacks
09:08 Mel career and live TV
11:46 Screen scrutiny and representation
18:05 Midlife reinvention begins
22:15 The Power of Invisibility
23:51 Slowing Down to Go Deeper
24:58 AJ on Reinvention and Grief
27:32 Daily Rituals as Survival
28:45 Perimenopause Reality Check
30:47 HRT and Finding Relief
33:46 Owning ‘No’ and the Crone Era
35:42 Women Supporting Women Finale
💬 QUOTES TO REMEMBER:
Mel: Body confidence, to me, is literally getting closer to the mirror.
AJ: We don't worship ourselves and honour our bodies in the way that we should.
Elizabeth: Everything is data acquisition about the thing that went wrong… you can do better next time or make different choices.
🔗 LINKS + MENTIONS:
Dove Whole Body Deodorant: www.dove.com/uk/collections/whole-body.html
Join the How To Fail community: www.howtofail.supportingcast.fm/#content
Elizabeth’s Substack: www.theelizabethday.substack.com
💌 LOVE THIS EPISODE?
Subscribe on Spotify, Apple or wherever you get your podcasts
Leave a 5⭐ review – it helps more people discover these stories
👋 Follow How To Fail & Elizabeth:
Instagram: @elizabday
TikTok: @howtofailpod
Podcast Instagram: @howtofailpod
Website: www.elizabethday.org
Guest bookings for How To Fail only come from offic…
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Kristin Scott Thomas – ‘Having children allowed me to see where I’d gone wrong’
24 juni 2026 · 53 min
In a career spanning four decades, Dame Kristin Scott Thomas has become one of Britain’s most celebrated actors: Four Weddings and a Funeral, The English Patient, The Horse Whisperer, Tell No One and Slow Horses, alongside acclaimed stage work including her Olivier‑winning performance in The Seagull. Lees meer
Yet her path was far from straightforward: discouraged at drama school, she moved to Paris as an au pair and rebuilt her training from scratch. Her childhood had already been shaped by profound loss after the deaths of her father and stepfather in near‑identical accidents. She has now channelled these experiences into her directorial debut, My Mother’s Wedding, which she also co‑wrote and stars in, alongside Scarlett Johansson, Sienna Miller and Emily Beecham.
We talk about her early grief, the emotional armour she built as a teenager, the chaotic experience of filming with Prince, making My Mother’s Wedding, the power of women writing women, her unforgettable Fleabag monologue and the joy and clarity she has found in her 60s.
✨ IN THIS EPISODE:
00:00 Intro
03:15 Reclaiming a Tragic Narrative
04:59 Joy in her 60s
06:22 Co Writing With Her Husband
07:03 Animation and Childhood Memory
09:07 Casting and Creative Reunions
12:23 Failure One: Prince Film Debut
17:06 Fame Theater and Radical Roles
24:09 Under the Cherry Moon Lessons
25:28 Failure Two: Teenage Grief
26:24 Childhood Losses
27:58 Eldest Sibling Burden
28:37 Acting Through Sadness
29:59 English Patient Reflections
33:19 Four Weddings Role
36:39 Therapy and Healing
43:41 Grief Advice and Faith
45:45 Football and Identity
49:16 Aging and Gratitude
💬 QUOTES TO REMEMBER:
“I wanted to take my past and make it into something positive.”
“If people enjoy what you do, it’s not bad.”
“Having children allowed me to see where I’d gone wrong and where I was beating myself up.”
🔗 LINKS + MENTIONS:
Kristin’s directorial debut, My Mother’s Wedding, is now available in UK cinemas and streaming platform…
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Patrick Radden Keefe - ‘Lying Is More Prevalent Than People Think’
17 juni 2026 · 56 min
What draws an award-winning writer to the darkest corners of human behaviour? Patrick Radden-Keefe is a New York Times bestselling author and staff writer at The New Yorker. He is known for his acclaimed books, including Empire of Pain and Say Nothing - the latter was adapted into a BAFTA and Emmy-nominated drama series. Lees meer
Radden Keefe’s latest book, London Falling, investigates the life and untimely death of Zac Brettler, a North London teenager drawn into the criminal underworld. In this conversation, Patrick reflects on why he is so fascinated by “the bad guys”, how the extraordinary story behind London Falling unfolded and his unconventional writing process.
Patrick also talks about the years of rejection that preceded his success and how it has shaped him. I hope you enjoy this conversation with one of the world’s finest narrative journalists (oh, and Patrick). JUST KIDDING.
✨ IN THIS EPISODE:
03:25 Why He Writes Bad Guys
05:12 London Falling Origin Story
08:01 Reinvention and Secret Lives
10:06 Holocaust Legacy and Lying
14:58 Carrying Grief and First Failure
31:47 Parents Read First Drafts
33:13 Family Themes And Fixations
34:22 Chasing The New Yorker Dream
36:49 Rejection Resentment And Drive
41:14 What To Leave Out
43:28 Research Outline
48:13 Screenplays That Never Get Made
50:51 Growth Outside Comfort Zone
💬 QUOTES TO REMEMBER:
I tend to look at people, even people who do pretty monstrous things, as human beings... The question for me is always, how did they get there? And usually they got there by degrees.
I'd like to think that the sense of who you are as a person isn't contingent on the dopamine hit of people telling you you've done a good job.
🔗 LINKS + MENTIONS:
London Falling is out now: www.patrickraddenkeefe.com
Join the How To Fail community: www.howtofail.supportingcast.fm/#content
Elizabeth’s Substack: www.theelizabethday.substack.com
📚 WANT MORE?
Jon Ronson - another journalistic hero of mine, Jon talked about his love …
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Natalie Imbruglia - ‘I love the wisdom of being in my 50s’
10 juni 2026 · 52 min
*triggers: This episode includes discussion of depression and mental health crises. Lees meer
In 1997 Natalie Imbruglia released her first single, Torn, which sold more than 4 million physical copies worldwide. In her homeland of Australia, it became the most played song on the radio, being played an average of 75 times a day over the two decades following its release.
She landed a part in Neighbours in 1985, when she was just 16 years old, and stayed on the hugely popular soap for two years before moving to London. Her first album, Left Of Middle, went multi-platinum. Five further albums followed but it wasn’t always easy: in 2009 she took a six-year break from music to concentrate on acting, appearing on stage and in film and also as a judge on the Australian X Factor. Since then, she has released further music, become a mother to a son and won The Masked Singer.
Now she returns with her seventh studio album, Algorithm.
We talk about how writing this album coincided with the perimenopause, reflect on her time in Neighbours, her experience of dating apps, going through solo IVF to have her son, the sexism she faced in the music industry, plus the wisdom she has found in her 50s.
✨ IN THIS EPISODE:
03:08 Making Natalie’s new album Algorithm
04:55 Neurodivergence and Menopause
08:59 Death Scrolling
10:47 Dropped by Label
16:07 Neighbors and Rejection
25:35 Dating in Your 30s
27:15 Rejection Builds Clarity
27:37 Choosing Love Over Biology
30:47 IVF Reality Check
34:13 Single Mother Headlines
35:48 Manifesting With Lists
38:11 Living After Torn
43:53 Sexism and Aging Power
💬 QUOTES TO REMEMBER:
It doesn't matter who it is, never give your power over to another human being. Never think somebody knows you better than you know yourself.
I'm quite good at being the underdog. I find it much scarier to be at the top, waiting to fall off a pedestal.
Sometimes the universe is working for you, it just doesn't feel that way at the time.
🔗 LINKS + MENTIONS:
Natalie…
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Hannah Murray - ‘Everything Fell Apart’
3 juni 2026 · 1 uur 2 min
Hannah Murray found fame when she was just 17, playing the self-destructive Cassie in E4’s Skins. She juggled an English degree at Cambridge University alongside playing Gilly in HBO’s Game Of Thrones and went on to film Detroit, directed by Kathryn Bigelow. Lees meer
When the physical and mental stress required from these roles began to take its toll, Murray sought treatment from a reiki healer. From there, her life began to spiral as she became heavily involved with a ‘healing’ organisation whose promises of real-life magic and enlightenment were increasingly seductive. She ended up being sectioned after a psychotic break and was diagnosed with bipolar disorder.
Now, she has written her first book. The Make-Believe: A Memoir of Magic and Madness is a deeply personal account of these events, written with compulsive lyricism. It takes readers on a journey to the edges of reality, where magic is possible, and where the liminal space between what is real and what is imagined becomes ever more porous.
In this episode we delve into Hannah’s breakdown and what it taught her. We discuss living with BPD, her decision to quit acting and why, as a society, it’s so important to talk about severe mental health conditions - even if it makes us uncomfortable. Plus: when does our modern obsession with ‘wellness’ go too far?
✨ IN THIS EPISODE:
00:00 Introduction
04:30 Acting Roles and Emotional Toll
07:51 The Memoir
09:17 Traumatic Filming and Aftermath
11:57 Failure to Be Happy Always
16:06 Rapture Highs and Bipolar
18:14 Reiki Rabbit Hole and Cult Questions
28:50 Wellness as Addiction
30:25 Hotel Breakdown Begins
32:17 Exorcism and Delusions
33:26 Realizing You're Sectioned
35:18 Medication and Coming Back
36:12 Shame to Compassion
42:55 Bipolar Mania Explained
48:41 Leaving Acting and Moving On
💬 QUOTES TO REMEMBER:
On the nature of modern mental health discourse: "What if I want to talk about when I was drinking my own urine on a psychiatric ward? You can’t really …
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Emily Atack - ‘I’ve forgiven people for unforgivable things’
27 mei 2026 · 1 uur 1 min
*triggers: contains description of physical assault Lees meer
Emily Atack left school at 16, confident she wouldn’t need a GCSE for what she wanted to do: act. It turns out, she was correct. She starred as Charlotte Hinchcliffe in the smash-hit comedy The Inbetweeners when she was just 17 and is currently on our screens as Sarah Stratton in Disney+’s hit drama Rivals, as well as co-hosting a new ITV game show, Nobody’s Fool, with Danny Dyer.
But it hasn’t always been easy: she faced sexual harassment and abuse from the age of 10. We talk about the impact this has had on how she now understands her own capabilities and about how her unbreakable bond with her sister, Martha, has helped her survive the toughest challenges.
✨ IN THIS EPISODE:
00:00 Introduction to Emily
03:19 Learning Boundaries
05:33 Class and Growing Up
07:39 Paul McCartney Connection
10:00 Failing to Believe In Herself
14:58 Leaving Home at Sixteen
25:10 Inbetweeners Fame Fallout
30:18 Praise for Rivals
31:23 Earning Creative Trust
32:51 Emotional Regulation Struggles
35:40 Forgiveness and Loneliness
37:20 Childhood Trauma and Sex
41:35 Alistair and Finding Home
46:52 Motherhood and Body Image
55:19 Keeping Nice Things and Goodbye
💬 QUOTES TO REMEMBER:
So many people don’t take responsibility for their failures…. Which is why this podcast is so great.
Forgiveness is something you have to find in yourself
I hate being called fat - it hurts my feelings.
🔗 LINKS + MENTIONS:
Emily hosts ‘Nobody’s Fool’, a brand new strategic quiz show with Danny Dyer, available to stream on ITVX, with the final three episodes airing on 30th, 31st May and the final on 1st June at 9pm on ITV1 and ITVX
Join the How To Fail community: www.howtofail.supportingcast.fm/#content
Elizabeth’s Substack: www.theelizabethday.substack.com
📚 WANT MORE?
Katherine Parkinson - Fresh from her latest BAFTA win, Katherine Parkinson joined Elizabeth to discuss the self-doubt, trauma, humour and resilience that shaped her jo…
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Katherine Parkinson – ‘I’m Still Learning How to Be Me’
20 mei 2026 · 49 min
*triggers: contains description of physical assault Lees meer
Katherine Parkinson is the two‑time BAFTA‑winning actor beloved for The IT Crowd, Doc Martin, Humans and most recently, Rivals, the hit Jilly Cooper adaptation that became an international Emmy winner. Fresh from her latest BAFTA win, she joins Elizabeth to reflect on the unexpected turns that shaped her life – from Surbiton to Oxford, from comedy to chaos, and from self‑doubt to a hard‑won sense of confidence.
In this episode, we talk about her childhood dreams of becoming an astronaut, how her brothers are convinced she’s in MI5 (we will never know), the class anxieties that coloured her university years, her lifelong battle with disorganisation and the pressure she put on herself to “earn her place”. Katherine also opens up – for the first time – about a violent assault she minimised for years, the shame she carried and how motherhood has reframed her understanding of fear, safety and resilience.
We also explore the joy she found in acting, the liberation of embracing her own contradictions, the friendships that sustained her and the work that goes into rebuilding after trauma.
✨ IN THIS EPISODE:
00:00 Intro
03:48 Northern Ireland Roots
04:06 Why Rivals Works
05:34 Class and Oxford
08:08 Lizzie and Fred Fred
10:51 Jilly Cooper Loss
14:03 Failure One Disorganised
15:46 Exam Breakdown Story
19:14 Fear of Winning
20:52 MI5 and Astronaut Dreams
22:07 Academia vs Acting
23:07 Pressure and Perfectionism
23:59 Choosing the Actor Path
25:23 Facing Unprocessed Trauma
26:04 Assault
30:03 Shame and Cultural Context
33:45 Anxiety and Motherhood
38:56 Anger and Survival Instincts
40:08 Oboe Failure and Braces
42:21 Failing Freely as an Actor
43:49 Happiness and Goodbye
💬 QUOTES TO REMEMBER:
“My mum has always said to me, ‘You’re not afraid to fail’”
“I don’t think I’ve ever been in a company [as Rivals] where everybody makes me laugh so much, and that is literally all I care about.”
“I used to w…
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Emilia Clarke - ‘I’m A Bad Celebrity’
13 mei 2026 · 55 min
Emilia Clarke is the Emmy‑nominated actor who became a global cultural icon as Daenerys Targaryen in Game of Thrones, a role that catapulted her from fresh drama‑school graduate to one of the most recognisable faces on the planet. Since then she’s starred in everything from Me Before You to Solo: A Star Wars Story, won acclaim on the West End and now leads Ponies, a Cold War spy thriller she also produces. Lees meer
In this episode, we talk about her childhood love of acting, the imposter syndrome that followed early fame, her failure to master mathematics, the terror and denial surrounding her aneurysms, the shattering grief of losing her Dad, the joy of female friendships and…yes, ok…Game Of Thrones.
✨ IN THIS EPISODE:
00:00 Cheating Death Opener
00:14 Emilia Clarke Intro
02:54 Ponies And Friendship
03:39 Learning Russian Lines
06:45 Why Acting Means Failure
08:33 Failing At Maths
11:44 Early Acting Spark
14:10 Losing Her Dad
21:09 Failure At Recovery
24:30 Aneurysm In The Gym
27:10 Misdiagnosed Stroke Scare
28:01 Second Aneurysm
29:25 Surgery Goes Wrong
31:37 Relearning and Emotional Shutdown
33:30 Back to Work Too Soon
35:43 Recovery Without Grace
37:40 Healing and New Diagnoses
40:12 Bad at Celebrity
43:01 Game of Thrones Aftermath
46:08 Body Image and Press
48:11 Brows and Beauty Culture
50:40 Self Knowledge and Closing
💬 QUOTES TO REMEMBER:
You spend your 20s and 30s trying to be somebody else, and then your 40s are the moment when you go back to who you actually are.
I was blessed that after each of my brain injuries, in my mind, there was no other option but to carry on.
The only good thing about having someone that you love pass away is that every good thing that ever happens, you know it's them.
🔗 LINKS + MENTIONS:
All episodes of PONIES will be available on Sky and steaming service NOW in the UK & Ireland from 22 May
Join the How To Fail community: www.howtofail.supportingcast.fm/#content
Elizabeth’s Substack: www.theelizabethday.s…
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Aline Brosh McKenna - The Rom Com Queen Who Wrote The Devil Wears Prada
6 mei 2026 · 51 min
Aline Brosh McKenna is the brilliant writer behind some of the most iconic films and TV of our time: The Devil Wears Prada, 27 Dresses, Morning Glory and Crazy Ex-Girlfriend. Now, she’s back with The Devil Wears Prada 2. Lees meer
Before Hollywood, Aline studied literature at Harvard and worked as a freelance magazine writer in New York. She was 38 when everything changed with the release of The Devil Wears Prada - and she’s been creating sharp, funny, deeply relatable stories ever since.
In this episode, we talk about writing for Meryl Streep (no biggie) the acting and magazine career that never happened and what life as an award-winning screenwriter *really* looks like. Plus: the motivating advice every single woman needs to hear.
✨ IN THIS EPISODE:
00:00 Introduction
03:15 27 Dresses and People Pleasing
04:24 Learning Not to Smallify
07:09 Writing Bold Characters
08:11 Devil Wears Prada Two Return
12:35 ‘Failed’ Acting Dreams
17:31 Working With Great Actors
23:20 Writing Meryl’s Big Speech
25:35 Scrappy Creativity Mindset
26:34 ‘Failed’ Magazine Career
29:00 Screenwriting Doors Open
32:07 Comedy Cred And Awards
35:23 Nine Pilots No Series
41:57 Ask For What You Want
💬 QUOTES TO REMEMBER:
I wasn't taught to “smallify” myself by my mother, and that's maybe one of her greatest gifts.
If it becomes necessary to apologise to get what you want, I think that’s okay. As long as you're aware that you're doing it... as a tactic or a strategy.
Learning to withstand and be amused by failure is so key and so critical.
🔗 LINKS + MENTIONS:
Devil Wears Prada 2 is in cinemas now!
Join the How To Fail community: www.howtofail.supportingcast.fm/#content
Elizabeth’s Substack: www.theelizabethday.substack.com
📚 WANT MORE?
Stanley Tucci - A DWP cast member no less! The iconic Nigel…sorry, Stanley came on HTF and talked about dealing with the loss of his late wife, surviving cancer, finding love again and…failing to swim: swap.fm/l/WCW054IGNZnSnTzEXPTN
Dawn French - …
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Richard Gadd - On Shame, Sexuality and Success
29 april 2026 · 50 min
Richard Gadd is the creative talent behind Baby Reindeer - the Netflix show which won six Primetime Emmys, two Golden Globes and garnered 84.5 million views within its first 45 days. Lees meer
Gadd began in stand-up, and by 2016 he’d won a Perrier Award at the Edinburgh Fringe. His work became known for its compulsive storytelling, blending dark comedy with a kind of philosophical kink for asking audiences the most uncomfortable questions.
Now Gadd returns with Half Man, a six-part drama co-production between HBO and the BBC, which Gadd created, wrote, executive produced and stars in.
In this episode we talk through his childhood, how it felt to be abruptly catapulted into being the most googled man on the planet following the release of Baby Reindeer and the complexity of identity and sexuality.
✨ IN THIS EPISODE:
03:13 Fame and Self Worth
05:37 Writing Dark Truths
06:52 Baby Reindeer Explosion
08:00 Becoming Ruben
09:40 Half Man Meaning
10:57 Workaholism Origins
23:58 Family Support After Trauma
24:30 Comedy Meets Abuse Healing
26:13 Rebuking Shame
27:51 Fame And Re Triggering
29:12 Stubbornness And Casting Martha
33:03 Sexuality Beyond Labels
36:15 Grudges Empathy Forgiveness
40:13 Athlete Failure And Closing
💬 QUOTES TO REMEMBER:
I never wanted fame. I just liked the idea that one day I would make a piece of art that was culturally important because then maybe I would learn to like myself.
It doesn't matter your intelligence, where you come from, your upbringing, anything… it’s about the hours you put into it. Hard work trumps everything.
I think actually that we have but scratched the surface of sexuality in a way... there are so many complications to it.
🔗 LINKS + MENTIONS:
You can watch Half Man on BBC iPlayer every week
Join the How To Fail community: www.howtofail.supportingcast.fm/#content
Elizabeth’s Substack: www.theelizabethday.substack.com
📚 WANT MORE?
Stephen Merchant - the actor, writer and director on turning 50, failure in stand-…
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Rita Wilson - ‘I’m 69. I’m At My Most Unfiltered.’
22 april 2026 · 52 min
The acclaimed actor, singer and producer was born in Los Angeles to a Greek mother and a Bulgarian father who emigrated to the United States in 1949. Lees meer
You might know her from early roles like Bosom Buddies, where she met her future husband Tom Hanks, and from standout turns in films including Runaway Bride, It's Complicated and her unforgettable scene-stealing in Sleepless in Seattle.
Behind the camera, she helped bring My Big Fat Greek Wedding and Mamma Mia! to the big screen.
Alongside her film career, Wilson has built a powerful musical voice, releasing albums since 2012 and collaborating with artists like Elvis Costello and Willie Nelson. She now returns to her solo work with her sixth album, Sound Of A Woman, released on 1st May.
In this episode, we talk about growing up in a traditional, private family but later living in the public eye, bringing My Big Fat Greek Wedding to the screen, her friendships with Nora Ephron and Bruce Springsteen - and how her experience of breast cancer reshaped her life and friendships.
✨ IN THIS EPISODE:
02:39 Sleepless In Seattle Scene Secrets
04:32 Finding Her Voice
07:53 Labels and Late Blooming
13:07 Privacy to Speaking Out
14:56 Greek Wedding Breakthrough
17:43 Drama School Rejections
27:57 Proving Them Wrong
29:03 Onscreen Friendship Magic
31:03 What Friendship Means
32:12 Breast Cancer and Blame
35:07 Honoring Her Father
39:55 Family Secrets and Privacy
45:50 Building Family Values
47:20 Fired as Ticket Taker
💬 QUOTES TO REMEMBER:
I’ve come to a stage in my life where I’m only now just finding my voice, both metaphorically and literally.
We spend so much of our lives shedding those identities that don't work for us anymore until we get to a place where I am now, which is literally the most unfiltered place you can be when you get to a certain age where you just don’t care what anybody thinks and you can tell the truth more fully.
🔗 LINKS + MENTIONS:
Sound Of A Woman is out on 1st May
Join the How To…
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Emma Grede - ‘Ambition Is Something I Am Entitled to’
15 april 2026 · 54 min
Today’s guest is a female billionaire: the co-founder and CEO of the Good American inclusive fashion brand and a founding partner of SKIMS, the shapewear and loungewear company. Emma Grede’s close working partnerships with the Kardashian family have led her to become an advocate for empowering women through business. Lees meer
Now, she’s publishing her first book, Start With Yourself, in which she explores everything from building personal resilience to developing self-forgiveness.
In this episode we discuss her East London mindset, her famously controversial (!) attitude towards work-life balance, being a mother of four (her twins were born via a surrogate) and her experience of miscarriage. Female ambition, fertility, the discomfort of hard work…I’m so grateful to Emma for opening up on subjects that are so often shrouded in silence.
✨ IN THIS EPISODE:
03:02 Ambition Loves Discomfort
05:57 Growing Up East London
07:31 ‘Too Ambitious’
08:34 East London Business Code
11:15 An Employee Mindset
19:13 Work-Life Balance Myth
26:34 Fearless Hustle Mindset
27:53 ITB Rise and Influencers
29:08 LA Office Ego Crash
31:40 Parenting as a Team
32:56 Fertility Reality Check
38:19 Good American Expansion Misstep
46:25 Mother’s Influence
💬 QUOTES TO REMEMBER:
I have always thought about ambition as something that I am entitled to as long as I work for it.
If you want to be extraordinarily successful… Then extraordinary work is required.
You become confident because you know you can get through things and you know what's on the other side of failure.
🔗 LINKS + MENTIONS:
Emma’s debut book ‘Start With Yourself’ - is available to buy now
The Testaments, a new Hulu original series, streaming exclusively on Disney+
Join the How To Fail community: www.howtofail.supportingcast.fm/#content
Elizabeth’s Substack: www.theelizabethday.substack.com
📚 WANT MORE?
Melinda French Gates - another extraordinarily successful female philanthropist, who co-chaired the Bill & Melinda Ga…
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Sophie Habboo - I Wish I Had More Boundaries
8 april 2026 · 47 min
This week we are joined by podcasting royalty, Sophie Habboo! Lees meer
Habboo found fame on Made In Chelsea, E4’s structured-reality show following the lives of affluent 20-something Londoners where she met fellow cast-mate Jamie Laing in 2017. The two began dating - and then launched a media empire. Their podcast, NearlyWeds was an instant hit and was rebranded as NewlyWeds when they got married in 2023.
Habboo now runs the hugely successful JamPot podcast production company with her husband and the two served as executive producers on Raising Chelsea, a new three-part Disney+ documentary following the couple as they face the messy, scary and comic reality of becoming parents for the first time.
In this episode Sophie talks openly about her feelings of overwhelm and anxiety in the run up to their wedding, her ADHD diagnosis, the challenges of being a new mum and the importance of setting boundaries.
✨ IN THIS EPISODE:
03:50 Family Roots And Motherhood
06:39 Ziggy Bay And Marathon Madness
08:35 Failure One: No Boundaries
10:23 One Day Office Job Disaster
16:01 Wedding Overwhelm And ADHD
20:52 Insecurities and Social Situations
21:53 Anxiety and Imposter Feelings
23:05 Therapy and Psychic Rituals
24:18 Sponsor Break The Testaments
26:12 Motherhood and Fear of Failing
29:36 Love Story With Jamie
33:54 A Surprise Voice Note
💬 QUOTES TO REMEMBER:
I do always have imposter syndrome and maybe even as a mother... I really struggle with ‘mum guilt’.
Had I been diagnosed with ADHD earlier, I would've been able to understand and have more compassion for myself.
🔗 LINKS + MENTIONS:
Raising Chelsea is available to watch now on Disney+
The Testaments, a new Hulu original series, streaming April 8 exclusively on Disney+
Join the How To Fail community: www.howtofail.supportingcast.fm/#content
Elizabeth’s Substack: www.theelizabethday.substack.com
📚 WANT MORE?
Jamie Laing - on anxiety, insecurity and the pressure of fame. Plus his ‘failure’ to have a long-term rel…
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Elizabeth's New Show: History’s Greatest Fails
7 april 2026 · 34 min
In this debut preview episode of History’s Greatest Fails, Elizabeth Day and Dan Jones argue that the story of Richard’s rise and fall (and rise again) is much more modern that you’d first believe. Not least because of the reality-TV-style discovery of his remains under a Leicester council car park in 2022.
To listen to the full mini-series, head to This is History: History’s Greatest Fails wherever you listen to podcasts and on YouTube.
And more about this episode: In many ways, Richard’s alleged ‘failures’ — which include allegedly killing the Princes in the Tower and overseeing the demise of Plantagenet rule — overshadow Richard III as the reformer that also existed. He introduced trial by jury and translated many laws into English. But those facts are not often what’s associated with him. He’s more likely to be seen as the villainous caricature of Shakespeare’s Richard III.
He died at the Battle of Bosworth in 1485. And we haven’t been able to stop talking about him since.
Yes, it’s time to consider the story of England’s last Plantagenet king, Richard III — a centuries-old tangle involving alleged murder, Shakespeare, vanquish and one mighty rediscovery.
–
A Sony Music Entertainment production.
Find more great podcasts from Sony Music Entertainment at sonymusic.com/podcasts
To bring your brand to life in this podcast, email podcastadsales@sonymusic.com
Learn more about your ad choices.
Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
––
Presented by Dan Jones and Elizabeth Day
Producer - Alan Weedon
Senior Producer - Dominic Tyerman Lees meerResearcher - Phoebe Joyce
Executive Producer - Simon PooleExecutive Producer for Daylight Productions - Elizabeth Day
Executive Producer - Dan Jones Production Manager - Jen Mistri Production coordinator - Eric Ryan Head of content - Chris Skinner
Special thanks to Alex Lawless, Hannah Talbot, and Selina ReamLearn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Amy Jackson Westwick - I Was A Magnet For Narcissists
1 april 2026 · 55 min
Amy Jackson Westwick is a major Bollywood film star with some 14 million followers on social media. Yet she grew up in a working class family in Liverpool. So how did a teenager from Merseyside become one of the most recognisable British actors working in Bollywood? Lees meer
Today on How To Fail, she tells us her story.
We discuss growing up too fast, how she broke free from a cycle of narcissistic relationships and how she now manages a blended family (Amy has two sons - one with her husband, the actor Ed Westwick, and one from a previous partner). Plus: what she learned from her years in Bollywood and why she’s ’a petty cow’.
✨ IN THIS EPISODE:
00:00 Intro
03:13 Chasing Security Not Fame
04:08 Finding Yourself Again
06:35 Growing Up Too Fast
06:50 Liverpool Childhood Roots
11:27 Pageants to Bollywood Break
24:04 Perfect Family Fantasy
25:21 Romanticising Love
26:40 Back To Back Relationships
27:30 People Pleasing Patterns
29:06 Narcissists And Boundaries
31:53 Leaving And Healing
36:39 Blended Family Reality
39:52 Step Parenting Rules
47:05 Listening To Yourself
💬 QUOTES TO REMEMBER:
Security comes in so many different forms - and for me it's peace of mind.
If it doesn't feel right, then it's not right... you've got to actually know how you're feeling and not be afraid to voice it.
[On narcissistic relationships]: I confused controlling behavior for somebody who was loving and caring, and in actual fact it was the complete opposite.
🔗 LINKS + MENTIONS:
Amy’s podcast ‘What’s the Tea Amy?’ is out now
The Testaments, a new Hulu original series, streaming April 8 exclusively on Disney+
Join the How To Fail community: www.howtofail.supportingcast.fm/#content
Elizabeth’s Substack: www.theelizabethday.substack.com
📚 WANT MORE?
Lily Allen - on early fame, mistakes, relationships and motherhood: swap.fm/l/8Otj3tpmbH5SF4xjVHTJ
Gillian Anderson - on body image, rebellion and refusing to fit in with other people’s expectations: swap.fm/l/7NyZMzkfVOpGyDtl…
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ON FINDING THE ONE… With Miranda Hart, Celeste Barber and Glennon Doyle
30 maart 2026 · 25 min
This is a special episode, sponsored by Bumble, taking a look at all the different ways we can meet someone: whether you meet young, in your 50s, or post-divorce. The three women in this episode (and four if you count me!) - are here to show us that finding the love of your life isn’t always straight-forwards, or linear. Lees meer
First up, you'll hear from the brilliant and hilarious Miranda Hart, who got married when she was 51, and talks through her first date with her now husband. Then Australian comedian Celeste Barber talks about meeting her ‘hot husband’ young, and quickly becoming a step-mum to two young children. Finally, American author Glennon Doyle talks about leaving her marriage for the love of her life, Abby – and co-parenting her three children with her ex-husband in a blended family.
I hope this episode brings you as much laughter, reassurance and warmth as each of those guests have brought me. And hopefully it inspires you to refresh your Bumble profile, or download Bumble now!
Listen to Miranda’s full episode here: swap.fm/l/oTScN30b80GflJtO4rgu
Listen to Celeste’s full episode here: swap.fm/l/qLmwfjyeSolWuFeaHGdt
Listen to Glennon’s full episode here: swap.fm/l/Nd3ZzVy73FXUMupJ4i1q
🔗 LINKS + MENTIONS:
Elizabeth’s Substack: https://theelizabethday.substack.com/
Join the How To Fail community: https://howtofail.supportingcast.fm/#content
💌 LOVE THIS EPISODE?
Subscribe on Spotify, Apple or wherever you get your podcasts
Leave a 5⭐ review – it helps more people discover these stories
👋 Follow How To Fail & Elizabeth:
Instagram: @howtofailpod @elizabday
TikTok: @howtofailpod @elizabday
Website: www.elizabethday.org
Have a failure you’re trying to work through for Elizabeth to discuss? Click here to get in touch: howtofailpod.com
How to Fail is an Elizabeth Day and Sony Music Entertainment Production.
Find more great podcasts from Sony Music Entertainment at sonymusic.com/podcasts
To bring your brand to life in this podcast, email podcastadsa…
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Chris Appleton - ‘I Felt Shame Before I Felt Love’
25 maart 2026 · 45 min
Celebrity hair stylist Chris Appleton has a slew of devoted clients including Kim Kardashian, Kris Jenner and Martha Stewart, as well as millions of Instagram followers and a regular slot offering advice on The Drew Barrymore Show. His memoir, Your Roots Don’t Define You, is a New York Times bestseller. Lees meer
But growing up was hard on Appleton: he was the middle of five children and struggled with undiagnosed dyslexia at school. He was bullied by his classmates for being gay - something he didn’t yet understand about himself. At 16, he left school to work full-time and began a serious relationship with his colleague, Kate. By 19, he was a father.
In this episode we discuss imposter syndrome, the darkest moments of his life, shame and the work he’s done to overcome the hurdles he’s faced. And, of course, we talk about the Kardashians.
✨ IN THIS EPISODE:
02:33 Imposter Syndrome as Fuel
04:24 Red Carpets and Online Pressure
05:27 Hair as Celebrity Identity
07:15 Memoir and Health Wake Up
08:48 Dash the Dog and Comfort
11:02 Shame Coming Out and Healing
22:26 Kids First After Divorce
23:05 Holiday Triggers and Boundaries
24:31 Success Doesn't Heal
25:18 Inner Child Healing Work
27:22 Envy Into Mentorship
30:08 Kardashians on Failure
31:25 Hair Identity and Change
35:18 Comparison and Social Media
💬 QUOTES TO REMEMBER:
It’s okay to make mistakes, but I love learning from them and understanding why we make those decisions.
Hair is such a big part of people's identity. It tells who you are.
You can externally excite yourself... But if you're not aligned internally, you still have that sad and lonely feeling.
I think imposter syndrome to an extent is healthy... It keeps me turning up to jobs prepared. I treat every job like it's the first time I've done it.
🔗 LINKS + MENTIONS:
Chris Appleton’s book Your Roots Don’t Define You, is out now
Join the How To Fail community: www.howtofail.supportingcast.fm/#content
Elizabeth’s Substack: www.theelizabethday.s…
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Mel Schilling - ‘She was the embodiment of vibrant life’
24 maart 2026 · 1 uur 20 min
I never thought I would have to write these words, but here we are. In the wake of my dear friend’s passing, I wanted to reflect on the life of one of the most radiant people I’ve ever met: Mel Schilling. I never quite understood the truth of the phrase ‘she lights up a room’ until I met Mel. It wasn’t just the sparkling smile or the sequins she loved wearing or the glittery eyeshadow; it was deeper than that: she wanted others to shine, to feel special and to be loved. To believe themselves worthy of love. Lees meer
To be in Mel’s company was to feel anything was possible.
I wanted to re-release this very special episode of How to Fail because it shows so much of the woman she was. It was also the first time I met Mel in person after admiring her for years from afar on our TV screens. I’m so lucky to have known her.
Please enjoy getting to know my friend Mel.
And if you want to hear more of her extraordinary insights and wisdom, you can listen to her on How To Date [link here: swap.fm/l/92EWhbCOZtcpVjwW1ZhD].
👋 Follow How To Fail & Elizabeth:
Instagram: @elizabday
TikTok: @howtofailpod
Podcast Instagram: @howtofailpod
Website: www.elizabethday.org
Have a failure you’re trying to work through for Elizabeth to discuss? Click here to get in touch: howtofailpod.com
How to Fail is an Elizabeth Day and Sony Music Entertainment Production.
Find more great podcasts from Sony Music Entertainment at sonymusic.com/podcasts
To bring your brand to life in this podcast, email podcastadsales@sonymusic.com
_________________________________________________________________________
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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ON STARTING OVER AFTER GRIEF… With Stanley Tucci and Geri Halliwell-Horner
23 maart 2026 · 21 min
Starting over can feel heartbreaking and overwhelming, especially after losing a loved one, and the idea of rebuilding a life can seem impossible. In this episode, Stanley and Geri show us that sometimes moving forward isn’t about letting go of the past, but learning to carry it with you in a way that allows life to continue. Lees meer
Stanley Tucci speaks with brave honesty about the death of his first wife, Kate – the guilt he felt as he tried to move on and the difficult choices he faced while creating a new life for his children.
Geri Halliwell Horner reflects on losing her father as a teenager, how that loss shaped her ambition and how writing her novel unexpectedly helped her make sense of long‑held grief.
This episode explores love, loss and the resilience that allows us to keep going after such events. I hope it brings you a sense of solidarity or confirmation that we don’t need to erase what came before; sometimes, it becomes the very force that helps us begin again.
Listen to Stanley’s full episode of How to Fail here: http://swap.fm/l/WCW054IGNZnSnTzEXPTN
Listen to Geri’s full episode of How to Fail here: swap.fm/l/a7i32bvmHld3JFuDmShl
🔗 LINKS + MENTIONS:
Bereavement support: https://www.cruse.org.uk/
Elizabeth’s Substack: https://theelizabethday.substack.com/
Join the How To Fail community: https://howtofail.supportingcast.fm/#content
💌 LOVE THIS EPISODE?
Subscribe on Spotify, Apple or wherever you get your podcasts
Leave a 5⭐ review – it helps more people discover these stories
👋 Follow How To Fail & Elizabeth:
Instagram: @howtofailpod @elizabday
TikTok: @howtofailpod @elizabday
Website: www.elizabethday.org
Have a failure you’re trying to work through for Elizabeth to discuss? Click here to get in touch: howtofailpod.com
How to Fail is an Elizabeth Day and Sony Music Entertainment Production.
Find more great podcasts from Sony Music Entertainment at sonymusic.com/podcasts
To bring your brand to life in this podcast, email podcastadsales@sony…
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Atomic Kitten’s Natasha Hamilton - ‘We were young and working-class. We were dismissed.’
18 maart 2026 · 1 uur
Natasha Hamilton was 16 when she signed a record deal with the girl band, Atomic Kitten. The group went on to sell over 10 million records and achieve three UK Number One singles including Whole Again and The Tide Is High. But the pressures of fame affected her mental health and made her feel isolated and judged. After five years and the birth of her first son, Hamilton quit the band. Lees meer
Today, Hamilton tells that story - the one that existed behind the headlines. We talk about the toxicity of 90s and early Y2K media, surviving postnatal depression and financial catastrophe after divorce. Plus we talk about why she set up her own record label, Morpho, to focus on nurturing and empowering young talent rather than - as she puts it - ‘moulding them into a product’. An amazing woman whose resilience should be an inspiration to us all!
Natasha Hamilton’s new single Fantasy is out now.
✨ IN THIS EPISODE:
00:00 Introduction
03:15 Forties And Clarity
04:47 Writing Numb
06:03 Morpho Records And Duty Of Care
08:11 Bullied But Born To Sing
14:13 Fame Tabloids And Numbness
21:40 Whole Again And Industry Bias
29:37 Making Peace With The Band
31:17 Rebuilding Sisterhood Again
31:37 Losing Pop Star Identity
32:43 Shock Pregnancy And Isolation
35:17 Postnatal Breakdown And Help
38:12 CBT And Taking Control
40:40 New Career In Beauty
46:00 Divorce Money Chaos And Recovery
💬 QUOTES TO REMEMBER:
From the age of 16 I was constantly told who to be: what to do, how to look, how to act - I’d never been given the reins of my own life before.
There is no wrong decision, if it works it works.
I thought: everyone’s judging me for not being thin enough.
Fame was so isolating.
If you’re struggling - talk to someone.
It’s incredible what can happen when you back yourself.
🔗 LINKS + MENTIONS:
Natasha Hamilton’s new single, Numb, is out now
If you need someone to talk to, the Samaritans are available 24 hours a day: www.samaritans.org or call on 116 123
Join the How To F…
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ON MOTHERHOOD… with Jessie Ware and Francesca Segal
16 maart 2026 · 19 min
Motherhood is often portrayed purely as a joyful, magical chapter of life – and while it certainly can be – we rarely speak openly about the hard, exhausting and deeply challenging truths. Lees meer
In this episode, singer‑songwriter Jessie Ware reflects on becoming a parent while building a career in the public eye. She talks about the pressure she felt to prove she could do everything at once, the exhaustion that followed and the grounding process of learning to be present rather than perfect.
We also hear from novelist Francesca Segal, who shares the story of her twins’ premature birth and the unexpected reality of early motherhood inside a neonatal ward. She describes the chasm between the idealised story of birth and the lived experience many mothers face.
I hope this episode brings comfort to anyone navigating the complexities of motherhood. May it remind you that every journey is different, that there is no single right way to parent and that you are never alone in this experience.
Listen to Jessie’s full episode of How to Fail here: http://swap.fm/l/8cUuwGs4vc7tAXiPcDab
Listen to Francesca’s full episode of How to Fail here: swap.fm/l/MsPtRFvgP8z18GLPgpdL
🔗 LINKS + MENTIONS:
Maternal Support: https://maternalmentalhealthalliance.org/ https://mothersformothers.co.uk/
Elizabeth’s Substack: https://theelizabethday.substack.com/
Join the How To Fail community: https://howtofail.supportingcast.fm/#content
💌 LOVE THIS EPISODE?
Subscribe on Spotify, Apple or wherever you get your podcasts
Leave a 5⭐ review – it helps more people discover these stories
👋 Follow How To Fail & Elizabeth:
Instagram: @howtofailpod @elizabday
TikTok: @howtofailpod @elizabday
Website: www.elizabethday.org
Have a failure you’re trying to work through for Elizabeth to discuss? Click here to get in touch: howtofailpod.com
How to Fail is an Elizabeth Day and Sony Music Entertainment Production.
Find more great podcasts from Sony Music Entertainment at sonymusic.com/podcasts
To brin…
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Rosamund Pike - ‘Failure Is Pretending To Be Someone You’re Not’
11 maart 2026 · 57 min
Rosamund Pike! What a woman. Famed for her portrayals of razor-sharp, morally complex and deliciously unpredictable characters, she brings that same intriguing duality to this conversation. Thoughtful and quietly rebellious, she reflects on a career that has defied neat narratives from the very beginning. Lees meer
After taking a year out from studying English at University of Oxford to pursue acting, she graduated and stepped straight into the global spotlight as Bond girl Miranda Frost in Die Another Day. From there came a string of unforgettable movies: Pride & Prejudice, Jack Reacher, A Private War and Saltburn. Her chilling performance in Gone Girl earned her an Oscar nomination and she took home a Golden Globe for I Care a Lot. In 2025, she returned to the stage for the first time in 15 years in the National Theatre’s production of Inter Alia.
In this episode, she talks about her ‘failure’ to get married, the realities of raising two sons and her decision not to read a single review of her work for the past 25 years. Plus why she’s ‘constantly in battle’ with her own fear, her failure to be an action movie hero, her miserable attempt to cook a rabbit and whether or not she’s ‘cool’.
✨ IN THIS EPISODE:
00:00 Intro
03:18 No reviews rule
06:57 Early perfectionism and stage craft
07:58 Inter Alia and modern womanhood
10:09 Luminate meditation mask
12:42 Failure to learn Chinese
19:09 Onstage mishaps and acting roles
28:59 What Cool Really Means
29:26 Cool Girl vs Amy
32:21 Failing at Being An Action Star
36:52 Failure to Get Married
45:17 Mothering Two Boys
47:28 Smells and Teen Hygiene
48:44 Rabbit Dinner and Being Enough
💬 QUOTES TO REMEMBER:
Failure is usually pretending to be someone you’re not.
I don’t think you ever regret having a big love affair - even if goes to shit.
I’m quite a coward. I like to play brave people because I’m not. I’m constantly in battle with my own fear.
Cool means that you can go your own way. You don't give too many, f**…
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SPECIAL EP: On Fertility and Finding Your Family… with Rebecca Coxon
9 maart 2026 · 41 min
In this one‑off special, Elizabeth sits down with author Rebecca Coxon to discuss family, fertility and the secrets that have shaped her life: after uploading her DNA to an ancestry site, Rebecca discovered that the man who raised her was not her biological father – a revelation that sent her on a remarkable search for the truth about her origins. Lees meer
Her memoir Inconceivable launches Elizabeth’s new imprint, Big Day Books. Rebecca writes with clarity and compassion about being a donor‑conceived IVF triplet, later donating her own eggs and facing fertility treatment herself – a story of family secrets, shame, resilience and deep love.
You don’t need personal experience of IVF or DNA surprises to be moved by this conversation. Rebecca is thoughtful, emotionally perceptive and quietly courageous. She speaks about having her identity reshaped overnight, the coexistence of gratitude and grief, and the invisible threads that bind us across generations.
This is a discussion about truth, belonging and the ethics and emotions of creating new life – and about redefining family not by biology alone, but through love, choice and understanding.
A deeply honest, intimate and ultimately hopeful discussion – and a very special moment for How to Fail.
✨ IN THIS EPISODE:
00:00 Intro
01:15 Donor Conceived Truth
02:52 Test Results Moment
05:26 Endometriosis Reality
07:57 Choosing Egg Donation
08:36 US Donor Market
10:26 Recipient Letter Impact
13:58 Dating And Time Pressure
15:53 James And IVF Collapse
20:50 Meeting Donor Rodney
30:47 Pregnancy After Book
💬 QUOTES TO REMEMBER:
The experience of watching your friends have babies. Every milestone in their lives feels like a splinter in mine.
I'm still on the shoreline waiting for my time, and I'm standing alongside people who are struggling." — Rebecca describes the mindset she had while finishing her book, just before discovering she was pregnant.
🔗 LINKS + MENTIONS:
Rebecca’s new book Inconceivable is available to bu…
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Toni Laites - Love Island Healed My Toxic Dating Patterns
4 maart 2026 · 55 min
Toni Laites made history last year as the first American to win Love Island, but her journey to the villa was anything but ordinary. Lees meer
Discovered in Las Vegas working as a cabana girl by the show’s creative director, Toni was persuaded to fly 6,000 miles to Mallorca. The rest, as they say, is history.
But you don’t need to be a Love Island superfan to love this episode. Toni is funny, emotionally intelligent and disarmingly honest. She opens up about living with the chronic illness Ulcerative Colitis, her pattern of choosing the wrong men in the past, working through anxious attachment and the hard-won strength it takes to forgive yourself.
This is a conversation about resilience, self-awareness and what it really means to back yourself - even when the odds (and the public vote) are against you.
✨ IN THIS EPISODE:
03:18 Vegas Sales to Villa Casting
05:36 Saying Yes to Love Island
07:21 Life Inside the Villa
08:33 Votes, Outcasts and Forgiveness
10:57 The Big Three Friendship
14:18 Health Scare and Ulcerative Colitis
28:10 Tourist In London
28:43 Toxic Dating Patterns
32:22 Pressure On Her Relationship
34:57 Fame And Social Media
37:34 Family And Attachment
44:28 Self Criticism And Hate
49:44 Plan For The Future
💬 QUOTES TO REMEMBER:
There is value in doing nothing and taking a step back and waiting for good things to come.
I always say not all disabilities are visible and people don't really understand what that's like.
🔗 LINKS + MENTIONS:
Join the How To Fail community: https://howtofail.supportingcast.fm/#content
Elizabeth’s Substack: https://theelizabethday.substack.com/
📚 WANT MORE?
Olivia Attwood - on heartbreak, public scrutiny and building a successful career after Love Island.
Jessel Taank - on infertility, identity and The Real Housewives of New York.
💌 LOVE THIS EPISODE?
Subscribe on Spotify, Apple or wherever you get your podcasts
Leave a 5⭐ review – it helps more people discover these stories
👋 Follow How To Fail & Elizabeth:…
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ON AMBITION… With Gillian Anderson and Munroe Bergdorf
2 maart 2026 · 12 min
Ambition can be a powerful force: it propels us forward, sharpens our focus and pushes us to dream bigger. But it can also whisper that we are only as good as our latest achievement - and these two brilliant former How to Fail guests explore what it really means to live a driven life. Lees meer
Gillian Anderson reflects on her lifelong drive to prove herself, the guilt she feels when stepping back from work and the tension between motherhood and a demanding career.
Munroe Bergdorf shares how rejection and gatekeeping in fashion shaped her ambition. Once treated as a token gesture, she has become a leading voice for representation, speaking openly about resilience, self‑worth and creating space for others to follow.
An episode about striving and self‑belief – and about whether ambition truly supports us, or whether we end up chasing it at our own expense.
Listen to Gillian’s full episode of How to Fail here: swap.fm/l/7NyZMzkfVOpGyDtlB6k0
Listen to Munroe’s full episode of How to Fail here: swap.fm/l/tu153m3gHYreWBZSrcY1
🔗 LINKS + MENTIONS:
Elizabeth’s Substack: https://theelizabethday.substack.com/
Join the How To Fail community: https://howtofail.supportingcast.fm/#content
💌 LOVE THIS EPISODE?
Subscribe on Spotify, Apple or wherever you get your podcasts
Leave a 5⭐ review – it helps more people discover these stories
👋 Follow How To Fail & Elizabeth:
Instagram: @howtofailpod @elizabday
TikTok: @howtofailpod @elizabday
Website: www.elizabethday.org
Have a failure you’re trying to work through for Elizabeth to discuss? Click here to get in touch: howtofailpod.com
How to Fail is an Elizabeth Day and Sony Music Entertainment Production.
Find more great podcasts from Sony Music Entertainment at sonymusic.com/podcasts
To bring your brand to life in this podcast, email podcastadsales@sonymusic.com
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Baz Luhrmann - ‘I self-medicate with creativity’
25 februari 2026 · 50 min
Few filmmakers have a style as bold, romantic and unmistakable as Baz Luhrmann. From his breakout debut Strictly Ballroom to the glittering spectacle of The Great Gatsby starring Leonardo DiCaprio, and the fever-dream energy of Elvis, Luhrmann has built a career on transforming familiar stories into cinematic events. Lees meer
In this episode, he takes us inside one of his most iconic creative decisions: the unforgettable fish tank scene in his 1996 adaptation of Romeo + Juliet - and reveals how that moment came to life.
We also explore his latest project, EPiC: Elvis Presley in Concert, a return to Elvis Presley through newly uncovered footage from the legendary Las Vegas residency.
Beyond the films, Luhrmann reflects on the journey that shaped him. Raised in Herons Creek, a tiny rural town in New South Wales, Australia, he grew up surrounded by performance and storytelling: his father ran a quirky petrol station and cinema, while his mother owned a dress shop and taught ballroom dancing. We discuss the setbacks that tested him, his unconventional audition process, his enduring creative partnership with his wife and the viral TikTok moment that sent the internet into a frenzy.
I hope you enjoy this candid, wide-ranging conversation with one of modern cinema’s great showmen.
✨ IN THIS EPISODE:
02:28 Creativity as Self‑Medication
05:52 Why Elvis?
09:22 The Romeo + Juliet Fish Tank Origin Story
11:01 Everybody’s Free to Wear Sunscreen: The Accidental Hit
13:56 Failure #1: Losing Instincts, Depression and Finding the Way Back
26:16 Casting Without Auditions: Baz’s Workshop Method
27:58 Creating a Fear-Free Room
28:47 The Big Break That Became a Public Flop
30:56 Rebounding with Strictly Ballroom
32:19 Choosing Collaborators
33:36 Marriage and Deep Trust
35:42 Criticism and Staying Humble (Plus the Viral TikTok Moment)
40:38 Future-Focused Filmmaking & Final Reflections
💬 QUOTES TO REMEMBER:
I see my job as keeping fear out of the room. I take the fear on in …
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ON SELF ACCEPTANCE... With Pamela Anderson and Rylan Clark
23 februari 2026 · 24 min
Welcome back to this How to Fail special where we revisit conversations from the archive to highlight particular themes and tap into the wisdom they contain. Lees meer
This week we look at two guests who have learned self acceptance: first, we hear from actress and global icon Pamela Anderson. She reflects on the toll that being in the public eye had on her body image and the long road to self-acceptance.
Rylan Clark then takes us back to his childhood, where he opens up about growing up feeling different, navigating his sexuality and surviving bullying, which left him with a fractured skull. Rylan’s resilience is a reminder that truly owning who we are not only empowers us, but also shapes the individuals we are meant to become.
I hope this episode provides understanding, solidarity and light to anyone who may be struggling or supporting someone they love.
Listen to Pamela Anderson’s full episode of How to Fail here: swap.fm/l/zmy4u62s9lEvccugjBY6
Listen to Rylan Clark’s full episode of How to Fail here: swap.fm/l/GHulEMW6rrAc9o5qEv5O
🔗 LINKS + MENTIONS:
Self Esteem Guidance: www.supportline.org.uk/problems/self-esteem-and-self-confidence
Mental Health Charity: www.mind.org.uk
Elizabeth’s Substack: theelizabethday.substack.com
Join the How To Fail community: https://howtofail.supportingcast.fm/#content
💌 LOVE THIS EPISODE?
Subscribe on Spotify, Apple or wherever you get your podcasts
Leave a 5⭐ review – it helps more people discover these stories
👋 Follow How To Fail & Elizabeth:
Instagram: @howtofailpod @elizabday
TikTok: @howtofailpod @elizabday
Website: www.elizabethday.org
Have a failure you’re trying to work through for Elizabeth to discuss? Click here to get in touch: howtofailpod.com
How to Fail is an Elizabeth Day and Sony Music Entertainment Production.
Find more great podcasts from Sony Music Entertainment at sonymusic.com/podcasts
To bring your brand to life in this podcast, email podcastadsales@sonymusic.com
Learn more about your ad choices…