Changes with Annie Macmanus – Details, episodes & analysis

In this final Changes Focus of the series we are focusing on Bodies, one of the topics from our popular mini series earlier this year which seemed to resonate with so many of you. With that in mind we’ve pulled out some of the highlights. 

You’ll hear from the brilliant musician (and fellow Dubliner) CMAT, who gives her refreshing perspective on body image and being a female pop star. We’ve also got the fantastic writer Marian Keyes who talks about her journey with self acceptance and brings some home truths around being honest about ageing and botox. Journalist and author Afua Hirsch shares some shocking revelations on the origins of when and why we started to remove our body hair, and the internets go to gynaecologist and author Dr Jen Gunter answers one of our listener questions on sex after giving birth and cultivating desire in a relationship. 

You can find all the featured episodes in full wherever you get your podcasts.

Vote for Changes at the British Podcast Awards! 

Voting is open until 29th August. Just click this link and search for Changes. 

https://www.britishpodcastawards.com/voting

GET IN TOUCH

Contact us at [email protected] with your emails and voice notes.

Changes is a deaf friendly podcast, transcripts can be accessed here: https://www.anniemacmanus.com/changes

Please Note: The transcript is automatically generated in case you come across any typos or misquotes during your reading. Enjoy the episode.

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

This weeks episode of Changes Focus is a celebration of Trans lives. 

On this podcast we try to build empathy and connectedness through sharing people’s personal stories and the only way we can understand what it’s like to be a Trans person is by actually listening to those people who are living it every day. 

In this episode we’ve got Chelsea Manning, the former U.S. Army intelligence analyst and whistleblower, who discusses her journey of transitioning while in military prison, the incredible poet and musician Kae Tempest shares their thoughts on going through puberty as a Trans teenager and the importance of being your authentic self. Performance artist and author of ‘None of The Above’ Travis Alabanza shares their definition of transness and talks about how they got to the point of feeling able to come out as gender non conforming. And finally, activist and author of ‘The Transgender Issue’ Shon Faye shares her experiences of transphobia and her thoughts on why people are so scared of change when it comes to gender. 

You can find all the featured episodes in full wherever you get your podcasts.

Vote for Changes at the British Podcast Awards! 

Voting is open until 29th August. Just click this link and search for Changes. 

https://www.britishpodcastawards.com/voting

GET IN TOUCH

Contact us at [email protected] with your emails and voice notes.

Changes is a deaf friendly podcast, transcripts can be accessed here: https://www.anniemacmanus.com/changes

Please Note: The transcript is automatically generated in case you come across any typos or misquotes during your reading. Enjoy the episode.

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

Vernon Kay is one of the most recognised people on British TV and radio known for his infectious smile and warm Bolton accent. He first made his mark on Channel 4’s T4 in the early 2000s and has since hosted popular shows like All Star Family Fortunes and Comic Relief. In 2020 he appeared on I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here! He has been presenting shows on BBC radio since 2004, most recently taking over the coveted mid-morning radio show on BBC Radio 2, following in the footsteps of Ken Bruce. Last year, Vernon raised over £6,000,000 for Children In Need, by running an Ultra-Ultramarathon from Leicester to Bolton.

Vernon has been married to Strictly Come Dancing host Tess Daly for 20 years. Together, they have two daughters and are one of the UK's most beloved showbiz couples.

In this funny and candid conversation, Vernon discusses joining BBC Radio 2 and the connection he built with listeners during his Children In Need challenge, navigating his career and how showbusiness has changed since he started, his youth, his enduring marriage to Strictly Come Dancing host Tess Daly and the joys and challenges of balancing family life with a demanding career. He also talks about his work encouraging men to talk openly about their feelings and his evolving perceptions of happiness and success.

GET IN TOUCH

Contact us at [email protected] with your emails and voice notes.

Changes is a deaf friendly podcast, transcripts can be accessed here: https://www.anniemacmanus.com/changes

Please Note: The transcript is automatically generated in case you come across any typos or misquotes during your reading. Enjoy the episode.

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

This week we are revisiting highlights from two very prominent people in British Media - Romesh Ranganathan and Katie Price.

Romesh is one of the UK’s most successful comedians but as you will hear in this conversation he experienced seismic changes in his life before he became famous. His whole world was turned upside down as a child when within the space of six months, his house was repossessed, he changed schools, his mum found out his dad was having an affair and his dad went to prison! Here we revisit him telling us about his childhood and relationship with his Dad after these events. 

Katie Price, best known as a glamour model ‘Jordan’ has had a rollercoaster of a life, so this episode in March 2021 was the same. She discussed her early days and fame, her relationships (she’s been married 3 times), her five children, online abuse and feeling more herself. But here we revisit Katie telling us about her mental health, what was then her recent stay in the Priory and her relationship with the press. 

Listen to the full episodes here:

Romesh Ranganathan

https://podfollow.com/changeswithanniemacmanus/episode/6c73fb35adf9f5a1b1667634f5086aeb09d98778/view

Katie Price

https://podfollow.com/changeswithanniemacmanus/episode/ca37ffd7ecfa29c243f45d9a3caaaca2b2b55144/view

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

Why do people commit violent crimes? Do we all have the capacity to be evil? And is it possible to change the mind of a murderer? 

This week on Changes, we speak to one of Britain’s leading forensic psychiatrists Dr Gwen Adshead, co-author of the Sunday Times Bestseller The Devil You Know: Encounters in Forensic Psychiatry. Dr Adshead has spent over thirty years providing therapy inside secure hospitals and prisons like Broadmoor working with violent offenders who have committed terrible crimes - serial homicide, stalking, arson. Her job is to help them to better know their minds and in turn understand why people do what they do. In this conversation, we look at the concept of evil, her work and lessons learnt, her experiences and the benefits of therapy. It will challenge you, it may even change how you think about offenders and evil. 

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

Denise Gough is a double Olivier Award winning actress having blown away critics in the plays People, Places and Things and Angels in America, but before seeing her name in lights, Denise was a homeless drug addict begging on Shaftesbury Avenue. This is her account of her remarkable story of change, from a small town in Ireland to being one of the most in demand actresses today. That success includes starring alongside Keira Knightly in Collette, giving a phenomenally powerful performance in a psychological crime drama Too Close on ITV with Emily Watson and this summer becoming an even bigger star in the new Star Wars series Andor. Denise’s story is one of tragic revelations from her childhood in Ireland, where she grew up with 10 brothers and sisters, coming to terms with the experiences that she lived through and ultimately now owning her past and using it to be able to touch people through her acting today.

Content warning: references to child abuse, sexual abuse and drug addiction.

Should you be affected by any of the issues raised in this episode, in the UK, The Samaritans can be reached on 116 123. In the US, the National Suicide Prevention Hotline is 1-800-273-8255. Hotlines in other countries can be found here http://www.suicide.org/international-suicide-hotlines.html

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

Big Zuu is changing the face of television. From growing up on the Mozart Estate in West London to winning two BAFTAs for Big Zuu's Big Eats, delivering a powerful acceptance speech, he is a shining example of what people can achieve given the chance. Big Zuu’s mum arrived in the UK from Sierra Leone when she was pregnant. Since then, together, they have navigated changing circumstances, with Big Zuu studying to be a youth worker before becoming a rapper/grime MC and now huge TV personality and chef, winning people over by being unapologetically himself - upbeat, fun, charismatic, warm. He’s a man people want around and luckily for us we will be seeing much more of him. In this conversation he walks us through the biggest changes in his life from his humble beginnings to now and importantly, the changes he’d like to see. 

Watch

Hungry For It, out now on BBC Three

Big Zuu’s Big Eats Series 3, just returned to Dave on Mondays 

Sneakerhead, Zuu’s acting debut, out on Wednesday 13th July on Dave

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

At the age of 20, Lady Unchained went to prison. She didn’t believe she was the type of person who would ever do that. She went to church, was about to launch her own business and had no former convictions, but one day everything changed. She spent eleven months behind bars and five months tagged. Inside, she faced systemic racism and had to adapt to survive. It changed her, and leaving prison, she realised she was facing an uphill battle in changing people’s perceptions. Here, she shares her gripping account of her story leading up to, during and after her prison sentence. 

Since her release, Lady Unchained has made it her mission to become an advocate for life after prison - a poet, performer, award winning broadcaster and now author with her new book ‘Behind Bars: On punishment, prison & release’. She is the Founder and Creative Director of Unchained Poetry, an artistic platform for artists with lived experience of the Criminal Justice System and runs poetry workshops in prisons and in Women Centres. 

This is an inspiring and moving conversation. It will make you think, perhaps even change you.

Content warning: references to suicide and racist abuse. 

Should you be affected by any of the issues raised in this episode, in the UK, The Samaritans can be reached on 116 123. In the US, the National Suicide Prevention Hotline is 1-800-273-8255. Hotlines in other countries can be found here http://www.suicide.org/international-suicide-hotlines.html

You can buy Lady Unchained’s book Behind Bars: On punishment, prison & release here:

https://linktr.ee/lady_unchained

https://www.unchainedpoetry.com/

Changes is now a deaf friendly podcast. You can access transcripts here: https://www.anniemacmanus.com/changes

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

This is a conversation about class, identity, ambition and grief. It's Grace Dent stripped back. Grace is a broadcaster, columnist, author, award winning food critic and now host of the brilliant podcast Comfort Eating. But she is also just a woman from humble working-class beginnings who grew up in Carlisle in the north of England and grafted and adapted to get to where she is today. Despite now living a glittering media life in London, appearing on MasterChef, dining in some of the best restaurants in the world and critiquing the food of Michelin star chefs, Grace has never forgotten where she is from or shied away from who she is - her accent, relationship to money, her perspective, all of which is covered here. She also lost her mum last year and dealt with her Dad having dementia before he died, experiences that changed her and which she doesn’t shy away from. 

In her own words, “why on earth did I choose those subjects, they’re so intimate and confessional”. But that is why this conversation is so illuminating, from Carlisle to London to facing mortality, it’s real, relatable and heartfelt. 

Grace's memoir Hungry: A memoir of wanting more can be bought here:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Hungry-Highly-Anticipated-Greatest-Writers/dp/0008333173

You can also currently watch Grace hosting a new show with Ainsley Harriott called Best of British By The Sea for Channel 4

https://www.channel4.com/programmes/best-of-britain-by-the-sea

Changes is now a deaf friendly podcast please spread the word. You can access transcripts here: https://www.anniemacmanus.com/changes

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

It’s been 3 years but finally Glastonbury will be back in all its magnificent glory this week. The biggest festival in the world. A festival like no other. To get excited, co-organiser Emily Eavis made a visit to Annie’s rave shed to talk about all things change; personal change and changes at the festival which turned 50 in 2020! This year back on Worthy Farm in Somerset, the family and 200,000 revellers will finally be able to properly celebrate. Emily grew up on Worthy Farm so has witnessed it evolve since the 80s, taking on the role of co-organiser after her mum died when Emily was 19. Since then, she has had her own family and made her mark on Glastonbury, a festival with the most legendary line ups of all time. Annie and Emily talk through early memories, the festival's beginnings and roots, personal highlights and that defining moment of booking Jay Z to headline in 2008. All hail Emily Eavis.

Changes is now a deaf friendly podcast. You can access transcripts here: https://www.anniemacmanus.com/changes

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