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Reverend Richard Coles has lived multiple lives — pop star, priest, broadcaster, novelist. But the greatest crisis of his life came in the form of someone he loved deeply. Richard watched helplessly as his partner David grappled with an addiction that cost David his job, his licence from the bishop, and ultimately his life. In this bonus episode of Crisis What Crisis, I sit down with Richard to discuss his Crisis Compass. The four points of navigation that he turns to in order to help survive a crisis – a person, a habit, a comfort and a piece of advice. If you haven’t heard the full conversation yet — his journey from pop star to priest, the AIDS epidemic that shaped his generation, his years with David, and what he’s learned about hope in the aftermath of loss — go back and find it in the feed. It’s well worth your time. POWERED BY KINGSLEY NAPLEY: I know what it is to have the right legal support around you when facing crisis. Kingsley Napley are the kind of lawyers I wish more people knew about – there to help you make the right decisions, protect what matters and build real resilience when the pressure is on. This episode is powered by Kingsley Napley, visit www.kingsleynapley.co.uk for more details. CHAPTERS: 00:50 A Person – His circle of friends since his teenage years, now neighbours on the South Coast. 01:23 A Habit – Singing. Every Tuesday in the Brighton Festival Chorus. 01:49 A Comfort – Cooking. The whole ritual, start to finish — yes, including the washing up 02:31 A Piece of Advice – From a friend’s motto: “Be authentic and engage.” Work out who you are. Step into the world. BUY RICHARD’S BOOK A Carol and a Killing – https://geni.us/ACAROLANDAKILLING FOLLOW RICHARD COLES Instagram – www.instagram.com/revrichardcoles/?hl=en FOLLOW CRISIS WHAT CRISIS? Instagram – www.instagram.com/crisiswhatcrisispodcast TikTok – www.tiktok.com/@crisispod This was a Crisis What Crisis Production – Rex Fisher (producer), Ioana Barbu (studio manager), Fred Sharp (research), Johnny Seifert (audio).

Few people have lived as many lives as Richard Coles. In the 1980s he was the keyboard-playing half of the Communards, whose “Don’t Leave Me This Way” was the biggest-selling single of 1986 – taking him, almost overnight, from the dole queue to flying aboard Concorde and the full pop-star life. Then, the gay socialist atheist who set out, in all seriousness, to bring down the government through the power of pop, became, of all things, a Church of England priest. Then a celebrated broadcaster, a best-selling novelist, a Strictly contestant, and the inspiration for the BBC sitcom Rev. But behind the reinventions runs a thread of profound loss. As AIDS swept through his world in the 1980s, Richard watched a third of his circle die – the formative crisis, he says, of his adult life. At 17, before any of the fame, he survived a breakdown and an overdose he fully intended to be his last act. And decades later came the greatest loss of all: his partner David. In this conversation, Andy Coulson explores a life in which crisis has repeatedly been the doorway to transformation – and what Richard has learned about loss, faith, forgiveness, and how we begin again when the life we knew is taken from us. His latest crime novella, A Carol and a Killing, is out this month. POWERED BY KINGSLEY NAPLEY I know what it is to have the right legal support around you when facing crisis. Kingsley Napley are the kind of lawyers I wish more people knew about – there to help you make the right decisions, protect what matters, and build real resilience when the pressure is on. This episode is powered by Kingsley Napley. Visit www.kingsleynapley.co.uk for more details. FOUR LESSONS FROM RICHARD Sometimes you just have to step forward. You may be uncertain, apprehensive, but stepping forward, into the unknown, is how a new chapter begins. Crises are unavoidable; the opportunity is in not being defeated by them.When you get something badly wrong, face it, own it, make amends – and then let yourself be forgiven. Richard did a thing he remains ashamed of. What mattered wasn’t that he deserved forgiveness, but that he sought it, took his medicine, and learned to live with having been forgiven.Get less interested in yourself. The habits of self-loathing are hard to shake, but Richard found relief not through endless self-examination but through caring less about his own importance – and turning his attention outward, to other people. CHAPTERS 05:34 – Realising he was gay in a hostile world 12:10 – Seventeen, a breakdown, and the overdose he meant to be final 15:37 – Escape to London, and the friendships that still anchor him 18:26 – Bringing down the government through the power of pop 20:50 – The socialists who were, secretly, perfect Thatcherites 21:40 – Dole queue to Concorde – and the toll fame takes 29:35 – AIDS – the formative crisis 31:29 – The lie he told, the shame he carries, and seeking forgiveness 35:02 – The atheist who walked into a church and came out a believer 38:07 – Walking away from a life he loved to train for the priesthood 45:21 – Loving an addict 50:51 – Learning to live a life around the loss, not without it BUY RICHARD’S BOOK A Carol and a Killing – https://geni.us/ACAROLANDAKILLING FOLLOW RICHARD COLES Instagram – www.instagram.com/revrichardcoles/?hl=en FOLLOW CRISIS WHAT CRISIS? Instagram – www.instagram.com/crisiswhatcrisispodcast TikTok – www.tiktok.com/@crisispod This was a Crisis What Crisis Production – Rex Fisher (producer), Ioana Barbu (studio manager), Fred Sharp (research), Johnny Seifert (audio), Jasper Cullen (video), Gem Hall (video).

Jo Tutchener Sharp is the founder of fashion brand Scamp & Dude. In 2015, with two young boys at home, she suffered a brain haemorrhage and was told she needed major, life-saving surgery. Faced as she saw it with the pearly gates, she felt regret that her positive impact on the world had not been significant enough — so she made herself a promise. If she survived, she would change all that... In this bonus episode of Crisis What Crisis, I sit down with Jo to discuss her Crisis Compass. The four points of navigation that she turns to in order to help survive a crisis – a person, a habit, a comfort and a piece of advice. Our full conversation was recorded live at the BizFest Festival in Essex. If you haven't heard it yet, go back and find it in the feed. It's well worth your time. POWERED BY KINGSLEY NAPLEY: I know what it is to have the right legal support around you when facing crisis. Kingsley Napley are the kind of lawyers I wish more people knew about – there to help you make the right decisions, protect what matters and build real resilience when the pressure is on. This episode is powered by Kingsley Napley, visit www.kingsleynapley.co.uk for more details. CHAPTERS: 01:29 A Person – Her husband Rob, business partner and the man who literally saved her life in a hospital room 03:55 A Habit – Paddle every morning. At the club she's not Scamp & Dude Jo, she's Paddle Jo 05:10 A Comfort – A hot bubble bath with the door locked, and cold-water lake swims — being in water 05:50 A Piece of Advice – Stay positive. Good things can come from bad things, if your mind is open to it FOLLOW JO Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/scampanddudejo/?hl=en FOLLOW SCAMP & DUDE Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/scampanddude/?hl=en FOLLOW CRISIS WHAT CRISIS? Instagram – www.instagram.com/crisiswhatcrisispodcast TikTok – www.tiktok.com/@crisispod This was a Crisis What Crisis Production – Rex Fisher (producer), Ioana Barbu (studio manager), Fred Sharp (research), Johnny Seifert (audio)

Recorded live at BizFest in Essex, this is the story of how a near-death moment became a £16 million business. Jo Tutchener Sharp had built a successful career – running the beauty division of Purple PR, leading communications at Estée Lauder, then founding her own agency, Beauty Scene, and growing it to a turnover of around £5 million. In 2015, with two young boys at home, she decided to step away. But the stress of the exit took a physical toll, and shortly afterwards she suffered a brain haemorrhage that could bleed again at any moment, with potentially fatal consequences. Facing what she calls her "pearly gates" moment, Jo was overwhelmed not by fear but by regret – the feeling that, were she to die tomorrow, she would not have made a big enough mark on the world. So Jo made herself a promise: if she survived, she would dedicate the rest of her life to doing good. Just eleven months after brain surgery, Scamp & Dude was born, a clothing brand with purpose stitched into its heart. Today Scamp & Dude turns over £16 million a year, has donated 4.5 million products to charitable causes, and given more than 95,000 scarves to women starting chemotherapy. For her work Jo was awarded an OBE for services to fashion and charity. In this business episode, Andy Coulson explores how Jo turned a life-threatening crisis into a moment of opportunity, and what it really takes to build a brand where purpose, family and commercial success pull in the same direction. POWERED BY KINGSLEY NAPLEY I know what it is to have the right legal support around you when facing crisis. Kingsley Napley are the kind of lawyers I wish more people knew about – there to help you make the right decisions, protect what matters, and build real resilience when the pressure is on. This episode is powered by Kingsley Napley. Visit www.kingsleynapley.co.uk for more details. FOUR LESSONS FROM JO Take the calculated risk, not the leap of faith. Jo lined up five clients and £25,000 a month in fees before she resigned from Estée Lauder. De-risk the jump before you make it.Build the business around the life you actually want. Jo walked away from a £5m agency because it cost her time with her kids. Scamp & Dude was designed the opposite way – with her family built into it. Success isn't just the turnover; it's whether the business gives you the life you wanted.Purpose is the engine that keeps you going when it gets hard. For Jo it's charity; for you it might be something else entirely – but find the reason you're really doing it, because that's what stops you quitting.Awareness can be worth more than margin. Know which parts of your business are there to make money and which are there to build the brand, and don't confuse the two. CHAPTERS 07:04 – Why a great job still wasn't enough 08:50 – How to de-risk backing yourself before you jump 10:11 – Walking away from a £5m business to get her life back 10:24 – Stress and the warning she ignored 13:54 – Choosing one last Christmas before brain surgery 15:30 – Waking up alive, and the promise made in a hospital bed 19:42 – Hospital bed to product in eleven months 24:34 – The Super Scarf mission, and 95,000 women starting chemo 26:54 – How to turn your hardest moment into your superpower READ MORE ABOUT THE SUPER SCARF MISSION https://scampanddude.com/pages/superscarvesmission FOLLOW JO Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/scampanddudejo/?hl=en FOLLOW SCAMP & DUDE Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/scampanddude/?hl=en FOLLOW CRISIS WHAT CRISIS? Instagram – www.instagram.com/crisiswhatcrisispodcast TikTok – www.tiktok.com/@crisispod This was a Crisis What Crisis Production – Rex Fisher (producer), Ioana Barbu (studio manager), Fred Sharp (research), Johnny Seifert (audio), Jasper Cullen (video)

Mike Soutar is an entrepreneur, publishing titan and the forensic interviewer familiar to millions from BBC’s The Apprentice. In this bonus episode of Crisis What Crisis, Mike shares the four points of personal navigation he relies on when life gets hard: a person, a habit, a comfort and a single piece of advice. If you haven’t heard our full conversation yet, go back and find it in the feed. It’s packed with hard-earned lessons about risk, resilience and leadership. POWERED BY KINGSLEY NAPLEY I know what it is to have the right legal support around you when facing crisis. Kingsley Napley are the kind of lawyers I wish more people knew about – there to help you make the right decisions, protect what matters and build real resilience when the pressure is on. This episode is powered by Kingsley Napley. Visit https://www.kingsleynapley.co.uk for more details. CHAPTERS 00:42 A Person – His wife Bev, the rock and centre of his world 01:27 A Piece of Advice – “A great day in the office is when you lose more arguments than you win” 02:48 A Comfort – The jangly optimism of 1980s Scottish pop 04:28 A Habit – The daily wet-shaving ritual that centres him BUY MIKE'S BOOK Next Gen CEO: Leadership Lessons for an Uncertain World – https://www.amazon.co.uk/Next-Gen-CEO-Lessons-Uncertain/dp/1035095726 FOLLOW MIKE SOUTAR Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/mike_soutar/?hl=en LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/mike-soutar/ FOLLOW CRISIS WHAT CRISIS? Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/crisiswhatcrisispodcast TikTok – https://www.tiktok.com/@crisispod This was a Crisis What Crisis Production – Rex Fisher (producer), Ioana Barbu (studio manager), Fred Sharp (research), Johnny Seifert (audio), Jasper Cullen (video).

Millions know Mike Soutar as the forensic interviewer on The Apprentice, the Scottish voice across the boardroom table for the last 15 years. But long before the television, he built one of the most remarkable careers in British media – on a deceptively simple formula of hard work, optimism and self-belief. In this business episode, we go back to the beginning. Mike started out at 17 writing horoscopes and romantic fiction at DC Thomson in Dundee, working on hot metal presses with a pencil he wasn't allowed to replace until it was a stub. By his early 20s he was editing Smash Hits. He went on to turn FHM into the biggest-selling monthly magazine in Britain, launched some of the country's best-known titles, and sat on the board of IPC when it was sold to Time Warner for more than £1 billion. But the biggest turning point of his career came not in a boardroom, but in a hospital bed. In 2006, at the height of his corporate success, a chicken Caesar wrap left him seriously ill, his organs beginning to fail, unsure whether he'd survive. Lying there, he asked himself whether he had ever really tested himself — and the honest answer was no. So he walked away from the security of corporate life, raised £4 million in five weeks, remortgaged his home and launched ShortList. His new book, Next Gen CEO, is about how the next generation of leaders can navigate an age of AI and uncertainty by becoming, of all things, more human. POWERED BY KINGSLEY NAPLEY I know what it is to have the right legal support around you when facing crisis. Kingsley Napley are the kind of lawyers I wish more people knew about – there to help you make the right decisions, protect what matters, and build real resilience when the pressure is on. This episode is powered by Kingsley Napley. Visit www.kingsleynapley.co.uk for more details. FOUR LESSONS FROM MIKE Optimism without a plan is just naivety. When ShortList failed on day one, hope didn't save it, a plan did.Investors back people first, ideas second. Ideas change the moment they meet the real world. What backers are really buying is you.When you're fighting a difficult boss, keep it principled, not personal. Argue for the customer, not for yourself, and keep bringing the data. It's very hard for anyone to argue against a case built on what's genuinely right for the people you serve.Chasing purpose. Mike had sold his company, had the money and the status, and still felt hollow. He thought what was missing was a job, instead it was a purpose.. CHAPTERS 06:38 – Why AI makes human leadership more valuable, not less 10:13 – Whether a self-made career is still possible in a flat economy 14:59 – How instability early on can forge the drive to control your own destiny 21:42 – Fake it till you make it: backing yourself into a job you're not ready for 24:27 – The FHM playbook: build in service of your customer, not your advertiser 28:43 – Why he left a hit at its peak – and what fear of failure does to founders 32:12 – How to stand your ground with a boss who holds all the cards 39:41 – The near-death moment that asked him: have you ever really tested yourself? 44:23 – Losing control, and what to do when you're forced out 46:27 – How he raised £4 million in five weeks – and why investors really said yes 50:16 – The launch-day disaster, and the case for protecting your team from the panic 53:22 – The £1 million opportunity he turned down – and the lesson in why 55:03 – Why success and status left him feeling hollow – and what actually fixed it 59:15 – Knowing when a job isn't worth your reputation, and walking away 01:03:27 – What 15 years on The Apprentice taught him about how to treat people BUY MIKE'S BOOK Next Gen CEO: Leadership Lessons for an Uncertain World – https://www.amazon.co.uk/Next-Gen-CEO-Lessons-Uncertain/dp/1035095726 FOLLOW MIKE SOUTAR Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/mike_soutar/?hl=en LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/mike-soutar/ FOLLOW CRISIS WHAT CRISIS? Instagram – www.instagram.com/crisiswhatcrisispodcast TikTok – www.tiktok.com/@crisispod This was a Crisis What Crisis Production – Rex Fisher (producer), Ioana Barbu (studio manager), Fred Sharp (research), Johnny Seifert (audio), Jasper Cullen (video)

Perspective is one of the most useful tools we have in crisis – a way of taking pressure out of a difficult moment, stepping back and working out what really matters. In this special compilation episode of Crisis What Crisis, I share the story of the five most terrifying days of my own life and revisit four extraordinary guests whose lives have been shaped, and sometimes almost undone, by the pursuit of perspective. POWERED BY KINGSLEY NAPLEY: I know what it is to have the right legal support around you when facing crisis. Kingsley Napley are the kind of lawyers I wish more people knew about – there to help you make the right decisions, protect what matters and build real resilience when the pressure is on. This episode is powered by Kingsley Napley, visit www.kingsleynapley.co.uk for more details. CHAPTERS: 00:41 The worst experience of my life 05:06 Timbaland – the bullet that's still inside him, and why he refuses to take it out 06:05 Dame Stephanie Shirley – the Kindertransport and the neighbours who kept asking, "aren't you lucky to be saved?" 12:48 James Landale – seeing death across a crowded room, and the tank of coloured poison he can still return to 14:30 Rory Stewart – the frozen body in the snow, sitting down happy to die, and the dog that saved him 19:29 The Belmarsh swear jar – how the words you use shape the size of the crisis 21:50 Four things I take from all of this LISTEN TO THE FULL EPISODES: Timbaland – https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/crisis-what-crisis-with-andy-coulson/id1517015748?i=1000634317774 Dame Stephanie Shirley – https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/crisis-what-crisis-with-andy-coulson/id1517015748?i=1000680629888 James Landale – https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/crisis-what-crisis-with-andy-coulson/id1517015748?i=1000642157416 Rory Stewart – https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/crisis-what-crisis-with-andy-coulson/id1517015748?i=1000608962048 FOLLOW THE GUESTS: Timbaland – https://www.instagram.com/timbaland/?hl=en Rory Stewart – https://www.instagram.com/rorystewartuk/?hl=en FOLLOW CRISIS WHAT CRISIS? Instagram – www.instagram.com/crisiswhatcrisispodcast TikTok – www.tiktok.com/@crisispod This was a Crisis What Crisis Production – Rex Fisher (producer), Johnny Seifert (audio)

In this country, one in six of us will experience significant anxiety at some point in our lives. It's an epidemic that doesn't care about class, wealth, gender, age or race – and yet, as this episode argues, anxiety isn't the enemy. It's information. A signal to be read, not a fault to be removed. In this special compilation episode, Andy Coulson draws on his own experience of anxiety attacks and revisits six past guests – a broadcaster, a journalist, a content creator, an adventurer, a designer and a cellist – who each faced anxiety in a very different form and found their own way to live alongside it. POWERED BY KINGSLEY NAPLEY I know what it is to have the right legal support around you when facing crisis. Kingsley Napley are the kind of lawyers I wish more people knew about – there to help you make the right decisions, protect what matters, and build real resilience when the pressure is on. This episode is powered by Kingsley Napley. Visit www.kingsleynapley.co.uk for more details. FULL EPISODES: Steve Peters: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/crisis-what-crisis-with-andy-coulson/id1517015748?i=1000547878428 Christian O'Connell: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/crisis-what-crisis-with-andy-coulson/id1517015748?i=1000659675816 Bryony Gordon: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/crisis-what-crisis-with-andy-coulson/id1517015748?i=1000650752366 Alex Goldie: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/crisis-what-crisis-with-andy-coulson/id1517015748?i=1000729186695 Mark Beaumont: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/crisis-what-crisis-with-andy-coulson/id1517015748?i=1000618838895 Anya Hindmarch: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/crisis-what-crisis-with-andy-coulson/id1517015748?i=1000768689727 Julian Lloyd Webber: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/crisis-what-crisis-with-andy-coulson/id1517015748?i=1000779874143 FOLLOW THE GUESTS: Christian O'Connell: https://www.instagram.com/mrchristianoconnell/?hl=en Bryony Gordon: https://www.instagram.com/bryonygordon/?hl=en Alex Goldie: https://www.instagram.com/goldiealexx/?hl=en Mark Beaumont: https://www.instagram.com/mrmarkbeaumont/?hl=en Anya Hindmarch: https://www.instagram.com/anyahindmarch/?hl=en Julian Lloyd Webber: https://www.instagram.com/julian.lloydwebber/?hl=en FOLLOW CRISIS WHAT CRISIS? Instagram – www.instagram.com/crisiswhatcrisispodcast TikTok – www.tiktok.com/@crisispod This was a Crisis What Crisis Production – Rex Fisher (producer), Johnny Seifert (audio)

Most guests give me their Crisis Compass looking back on a crisis they've survived. Erin Baker is different. Her partner died just 12 weeks before this recording, and she is, by her own account, exhausted by the demand to keep being strong. These four points aren't hard-won wisdom viewed from calmer shores — they're the things holding her up as we speak. That, I think, makes them rarer and more valuable than almost any compass I've been given. In this bonus episode of Crisis What Crisis, I sit down with Erin to discuss her Crisis Compass. The four points of navigation that she turns to in order to help survive a crisis – a person, a habit, a comfort and a piece of advice. If you haven't heard the full conversation yet, go back and find it in the feed. It's well worth your time. POWERED BY KINGSLEY NAPLEY: I know what it is to have the right legal support around you when facing crisis. Kingsley Napley are the kind of lawyers I wish more people knew about – there to help you make the right decisions, protect what matters and build real resilience when the pressure is on. This episode is powered by Kingsley Napley, visit www.kingsleynapley.co.uk for more details. CHAPTERS: 00:52 A Person – Her Frant village church community, and the stability they've offered when everything else is in flux 01:23 A Piece of Advice – A day at a time. The most hypocritical advice she could pass on — and the only one that works now 01:57 A Comfort – Writing. It's her career because it was her comfort first 02:09 A Habit – Paint by numbers. Half an hour of something absolutely mindless FOLLOW ERIN'S WRITING Postcards from Grief – https://erinbaker1001.substack.com/ FOLLOW ERIN BAKER Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/erinbakerauto/?hl=en LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/erin-baker-58901a48/ FOLLOW CRISIS WHAT CRISIS? Instagram – www.instagram.com/crisiswhatcrisispodcast TikTok – www.tiktok.com/@crisispod This was a Crisis What Crisis Production – Rex Fisher (producer), Ioana Barbu (studio manager), Fred Sharp (research), Johnny Seifert (audio), Jasper Cullen (video)

This is a very unusual episode. It is rare that we would choose to have someone join us on the podcast so close to their crisis – usually our guests come to these conversations with the clarity that a few years' distance can bring. Erin Baker is just weeks on from the death of her partner, James, and still very much living in it. What she offers instead of distance is something rarer: the raw, unfiltered honesty of someone grieving out loud, in real time. A warning – this conversation is powerful and at times very difficult, and some of the themes may be upsetting. Erin Baker is one of the most respected motoring journalists in the country – the youngest and only female motoring editor on Fleet Street in her day. But in the autumn of last year, her life came apart. Her partner of thirteen years, James, was diagnosed with an aggressive, terminal brain tumour, and the blows kept coming: her father died, one of her sons was rushed to hospital, the family dog was put down, and a car was written off in a collision with a deer. Wave after wave, all at once. Then, this year, James died. He was 53. Rather than retreat, Erin made the conscious decision to grieve in public, writing for The Times and keeping a diary on Substack called Postcards from Grief, documenting James's dying, the days since, and the unexpected things his death has taught her. She joins Andy for a conversation about resilience and its limits, about loss and control, about black humour and love, and about what actually carries us through the very worst of it. She is, without a shadow of a doubt, someone we can all learn from. POWERED BY KINGSLEY NAPLEY Kingsley Napley are the kind of lawyers I wish more people knew about – there to help you make the right decisions, protect what matters, and build real resilience when the pressure is on. Visit www.kingsleynapley.co.uk for more details. FOUR LESSONS FROM ERIN Being "strong" can be a trap. If people decide you're resilient, they assume you're coping – and leave you to it. Sometimes the bravest thing is to admit you're not fine, and to ask for the help you need.Honesty is what makes people feel less alone. It's not the tidy, theory-shaped version of grief that helps others but the messy, unguarded truth. Say the thing that feels too close to the bone; it's often the thing someone else desperately needs to hear.You can't control the future, because it doesn't exist yet. Make your plans, but hold them loosely, they're only ideas of what you'd like to happen. Learning to live a day at a time is the only way through.Find your release. For Erin it was writing, walking in nature, even paint-by-numbers – something meditative to pour the fear and grief into. When you can't carry it all in your head, give it somewhere to go. CHAPTERS 03:37 – “I'm sick and tired of being resilient”: the exhaustion of always being the strong 07:52 – Grieving out loud: the decision to write through it 11:55 – The formidable mother, and a childhood that built the muscle 13:55 – Keep buggering on 15:20 – Fighting her way to Cambridge, and up a male-dominated newsroom 20:23 – Meeting James 23:05 – The life that looked perfect from the outside – and wasn't 25:08 – The Amazon night shift: the proudest she ever was of him 30:30 – The diagnosis 39:49 – When the blows kept coming 47:02 – Her son's seizure: the worst thing she's ever seen 51:02 – Learning to hold your plans loosely 53:22 – The last night, and a hug she'll never forget 57:04 – The chaos of loss 1:06:05 – The stranger by the roadside who knew exactly what to say FOLLOW ERIN'S WRITING Postcards from Grief – https://erinbaker1001.substack.com/ FOLLOW ERIN BAKER Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/erinbakerauto/?hl=en LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/erin-baker-58901a48/ FOLLOW CRISIS WHAT CRISIS? Instagram – www.instagram.com/crisiswhatcrisispodcast TikTok – www.tiktok.com/@crisispod This was a Crisis What Crisis Production – Rex Fisher (producer), Ioana Barbu (studio manager), Fred Sharp (research), Johnny Seifert (audio), Jasper Cullen (video)

Julian Lloyd Webber spent half a century as one of the world's great cellists — and then had to discover who he was without the instrument that had defined his existence. In this bonus episode of Crisis What Crisis, Andy sits down with Julian to discuss his Crisis Compass. The four points of navigation that he turns to in order to help survive a crisis – a person, a habit, a comfort and a piece of advice. If you haven't heard the full conversation yet, go back and find it in the feed. It's well worth your time. POWERED BY KINGSLEY NAPLEY: I know what it is to have the right legal support around you when facing crisis. Kingsley Napley are the kind of lawyers I wish more people knew about – there to help you make the right decisions, protect what matters and build real resilience when the pressure is on. This episode is powered by Kingsley Napley, visit www.kingsleynapley.co.uk for more details. CHAPTERS: 00:58 A Person – His wife Jiaxin, and why he's not sure he'd have got through it without her 01:20 A Habit – A couple of pints of lager every night 02:49 A Comfort – Leyton Orient 03:25 A Piece of Advice – "Don't waste a second." BUY JULIAN'S BOOK Bows & Arrows – https://www.amazon.co.uk/Bows-Arrows-Julian-Lloyd-Webber/dp/1837360588 SEE JULIAN LIVE Julian's Irish tour with his wife, Jiaxin – https://julianlloydwebber.com/events/ FOLLOW JULIAN LLOYD WEBBER Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/julian.lloydwebber/ FOLLOW CRISIS WHAT CRISIS? Instagram – www.instagram.com/crisiswhatcrisispodcast TikTok – www.tiktok.com/@crisispod This was a Crisis What Crisis Production – Rex Fisher (producer), Ioana Barbu (studio manager), Fred Sharp (research), Johnny Seifert (audio), Jasper Cullen (video)

Julian Lloyd Webber is undoubtedly one of the country's greatest living musicians – the man who, perhaps more than anyone of his generation, took classical music out of the concert hall and into the mainstream. But in October 2013, ten minutes into a recital in a Suffolk seaside town, the power drained from his right arm and he found he could barely draw the bow across his cello. Within six months, at 63, he was forced to retire – unemployed overnight and stripped of the thing that had defined him since he was a boy of thirteen. For half a century, the cello had been Julian's whole life. He toured the world, playing with everyone from Yehudi Menuhin to Elton John, took an Elgar recording to a Brit Award and his brother's Variations to number two in the pop charts. He was the first officially licensed busker on the London Underground and the only classical soloist at the London Olympics closing ceremony. Then, at 64, he sat the first job interview of his life and went on to lead the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire into a £57 million new home, winning it royal status along the way. On his 75th birthday – and while quietly managing a prostate cancer diagnosis – he walked back onto the Wigmore Hall stage and played again. And now, twelve years after the power drained from his arm, Julian is touring – a full run across Ireland this autumn with his cellist wife, Jiaxin. His memoir, Bows & Arrows, is out now, and this conversation is about the abuse he survived as a boy, the instrument he loved and lost, and how you rebuild an identity when the thing that made you who you are is taken away. POWERED BY KINGSLEY NAPLEY I know what it is to have the right legal support around you when facing a crisis. Kingsley Napley are the kind of lawyers I wish more people knew about – there to help you make the right decisions, protect what matters, and build real resilience when the pressure is on. This episode is powered by Kingsley Napley. Visit www.kingsleynapley.co.uk for more details. FOUR LESSONS FROM JULIAN Talent and hard work aren't enough on their own – you need passion, because that's the only thing that gets you up to do it all again after a bad night.A second string to your bow can end up saving your life. When you lose the thing that defined you, throw yourself into whatever else genuinely moves you – even if it's nothing like what you did before. Find something that truly absorbs you, and the healing takes care of itself.When a setback knocks you down, picture the alternative. For Julian, the fear of ending up disappointed with his life was the fuel that kept him going.Healing is not forgetting; it's reaching the point where the trauma you carry doesn't drag you down. CHAPTERS 04:01 – Growing up in a chaotic, bohemian home 09:12 – The day on the Tube that took his childhood 11:03 – Why some things you don't get over – and shouldn't have to 15:21 – His father's warning that lit the fire 17:39 – Fifty years at the top: how he kept the flame alive 27:25 – The longest relationship of his life 33:12 – A football bet, a number two record, and a gold disc 35:01 – The night the power drained from his arm 39:02 – Losing your job, your income and your identity overnight 39:59 – The first job interview of his life, at 64 44:22 – The daughter's remark that brought him back to the cello 47:57 – Facing a cancer diagnosis 51:32 – Why he refuses to slow down, even now BUY JULIAN'S BOOK Bows & Arrows – https://www.amazon.co.uk/Bows-Arrows-Julian-Lloyd-Webber/dp/1837360588 SEE JULIAN LIVE Julian's Irish tour with his wife, Jiaxin – https://julianlloydwebber.com/events/ FOLLOW JULIAN LLOYD WEBBER Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/julian.lloydwebber/ FOLLOW CRISIS WHAT CRISIS? Instagram – www.instagram.com/crisiswhatcrisispodcast TikTok – www.tiktok.com/@crisispod This was a Crisis What Crisis Production – Rex Fisher (producer), Ioana Barbu (studio manager), Fred Sharp (research), Johnny Seifert (audio), Jasper Cullen (video)

Frank Gardner has lived, by his own description, two very different lives — and found a way to carry the best of the first into the second. Twenty years on from the attack in Riyadh that nearly killed him, the BBC Security Correspondent is still reporting from the places most of us wouldn't dare go. In this bonus episode of Crisis What Crisis, Andy sits down with Frank to discuss his Crisis Compass. The four points of navigation that he turns to in order to help survive a crisis. Frank is the BBC's Security Correspondent and the author of a series of best-selling thrillers — the latest, Ballistic, is out now. If you haven't heard the full conversation yet, go back and find it in the feed. It's well worth your time. POWERED BY KINGSLEY NAPLEY: I know what it is to have the right legal support around you when facing crisis. Kingsley Napley are the kind of lawyers I wish more people knew about – there to help you make the right decisions, protect what matters and build real resilience when the pressure is on. This episode is powered by Kingsley Napley, visit www.kingsleynapley.co.uk for more details. CHAPTERS: 00:53 A Person – Himself 01:21 A Habit – Lifting his eyes to the horizon, the birdwatcher's discipline of really looking 02:23 A Comfort – Driving. 03:40 A Piece of Advice – Grieve it, deal with it, but don't keep defining yourself by what happened BUY FRANK'S BOOK Ballistic – https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/178763549X?tag=prhmarketing2552-21 FOLLOW FRANK GARDNER Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/frank.gardner/?hl=en X – https://x.com/FrankRGardner FOLLOW CRISIS WHAT CRISIS? Instagram – www.instagram.com/crisiswhatcrisispodcast TikTok – www.tiktok.com/@crisispod This was a Crisis What Crisis Production – Rex Fisher (producer), Ioana Barbu (studio manager), Fred Sharp (research), Johnny Seifert (audio), Jasper Cullen (video)

On June 6th 2004, Frank Gardner was in Riyadh filming what was meant to be a routine piece of background footage when an Al-Qaeda cell opened fire. His cameraman, Simon Cumbers, was killed. Frank was shot six times and left for dead. One surgeon later told him he'd arrived at hospital the colour of a lab coat, bleeding from every wound faster than they could pour the plasma in. It was, in the truest sense, the day Frank should have died. That day split his life in two. Before it, he was a restless Arabist who'd hitchhiked across the Middle East with nothing in his pocket, spent a decade in banking, turned down MI6, and talked his way into the BBC in his mid-30s to become its first ever security correspondent. After it, he was partially paralysed and in daily pain – yet back at work within ten months, and has spent the twenty years since reporting from the very places that nearly killed him. He describes crossing an invisible bridge to a new version of himself, this conversation is about what that crossing actually cost. POWERED BY KINGSLEY NAPLEY I know what it is to have the right legal support around you when facing a crisis. Kingsley Napley are the kind of lawyers I wish more people knew about – there to help you make the right decisions, protect what matters, and build real resilience when the pressure is on. This episode is powered by Kingsley Napley. Visit www.kingsleynapley.co.uk for more details. FOUR LESSONS FROM FRANK Don't waste your energy mourning what you can no longer change. Pour it into what you still can. When crisis hits, there's a fork in the road. One path is self-pity – and it's entirely justifiable. The other is deciding to make the most of what you've got left. Choosing the second is a daily struggle.Look outwards, not inwards. Fill your life with the things that make you feel useful and alive. Fixating on your own troubles is a trap – curiosity about the world around you is the way out.Volunteer for the work no one else wants – the weekends, the bank holidays, the night shifts. It's how you make yourself indispensable, and how you get your shot when it finally comes. CHAPTERS 05:18 – The daily indignities most people never see 08:57 – Why he refuses to let it define him 11:33 – Where his grit really came from: two extraordinary parents 14:19 – The bold early decisions that shaped a life 20:38 – Turning down MI6 – and the self-awareness to know why 27:45 – How to break into a career when there's no job at the end of it 30:27 – The attack: what actually happened that day 31:02 – Seven months in hospital, and living with the what-ifs 39:45 – The one thing he's still bitter about 42:15 – Losing Simon, and finding a way through the grief 44:37 – "You'll never walk again" – the second hammer blow 48:05 – The letter from the BBC that gave him something to aim for 50:42 – Going back to Saudi Arabia to face it down 53:52 – Why he doesn't spend his life grieving BUY FRANK'S BOOK Ballistic – https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/178763549X?tag=prhmarketing2552-21 FOLLOW FRANK GARDNER Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/frank.gardner/?hl=en X – https://x.com/FrankRGardner FOLLOW CRISIS WHAT CRISIS? Instagram – www.instagram.com/crisiswhatcrisispodcast TikTok – www.tiktok.com/@crisispod This was a Crisis What Crisis Production – Rex Fisher (producer), Ioana Barbu (studio manager), Fred Sharp (research), Johnny Seifert (audio), Jasper Cullen (video)

Shock is a fundamental part of almost any crisis. It's a state of complete operating system override which, when left unacknowledged, can turn into something far more damaging. In this special compilation episode, Andy Coulson revisits five past guests who each experienced shock in very different ways, and found very different routes through it. POWERED BY KINGSLEY NAPLEY I know what it is to have the right legal support around you when facing crisis. Kingsley Napley are the kind of lawyers I wish more people knew about – there to help you make the right decisions, protect what matters, and build real resilience when the pressure is on. This episode is powered by Kingsley Napley. Visit www.kingsleynapley.co.uk for more details. FULL EPISODES: Johnny Mercer: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/crisis-what-crisis-with-andy-coulson/id1517015748?i=1000482235919 Rupert Soames: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/crisis-what-crisis-with-andy-coulson/id1517015748?i=1000700198554 Dr Richard Shepherd: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/crisis-what-crisis-with-andy-coulson/id1517015748?i=1000533310865 Jill Halfpenny: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/crisis-what-crisis-with-andy-coulson/id1517015748?i=1000661591052 Kate Bowler: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/crisis-what-crisis-with-andy-coulson/id1517015748?i=1000762523544 FOLLOW THE GUESTS: Johnny Mercer: https://www.instagram.com/johnnymercermp/?hl=en Dr Richard Shepherd: https://www.instagram.com/drrichardshepherd/?hl=en Jill Halfpenny: https://www.instagram.com/jillhalfpenny/?hl=en Kate Bowler: https://www.instagram.com/katecbowler/?hl=en