How To Fail With Elizabeth Day

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• Richard Bacon - ‘I Was Betrayed By My Best Friend’ 15.07.2026 57Min.

  What connects Barack Obama, a tabloid sting and Love Islander Alex George? Have a Blue Peter badge if you were thinking of Richard Bacon... 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? 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 official @sonymusic.com emails Elizabeth and Richard answer listener questions in our subscriber series: www.howtofail.supportingcast.fm/#content Have a failure you’re trying to work through for Elizabeth to discuss? Click here to get in touch: howtofailpod.com Production & Post Production Coordinator: Eric Ryan Engineer: Matias Torres Assistant Producer: Shania Manderson Senior Producer: Hannah Talbot Executive Producer: Alex Lawless 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
• Remembering Bonnie Tyler 09.07.2026 49Min.

  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.    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 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
• Charlie Mackesy – ‘Grief propelled me into work that saved me’ 08.07.2026 53Min.

  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. 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 + MENTIONS: Charlie’s latest book, Always Remember: The Boy, the Mole, the Fox, the Horse and the Storm, is available from all major UK booksellers. Join the How To Fail community: www.howtofail.supportingcast.fm/#content Elizabeth’s Substack: www.theelizabethday.substack.com 📚 WANT MORE? Jacqueline Wilson - this episode explores how Jacqueline Wilson’s life and career never followed a predictable path. She didn’t become a bestseller until her 40s and the setbacks she faced helped shape the writer she became. It reflects on the imagination and resilience behind unforgettable characters like Tracy Beaker, her ability to reinvent herself, most recently with The Primrose Railway Children and the creativity and determination that have sustained a career spanning more than 100 books. Ultimately, it’s about a woman interrogating creativity, perseverance and the determination required to keep going: swap.fm/l/PawxjS1dFBaohoKZXfpL 💌 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 official @sonymusic.com emails Elizabeth and Charlie answer listener questions in our subscriber series: www.howtofail.supportingcast.fm/#content Have a failure you’re trying to work through for Elizabeth to discuss? Click here to get in touch: howtofailpod.com Production & Post Production Coordinator: Eric Ryan Engineer: Matias Torres Assistant Producer: Shania Manderson Senior Producer: Hannah Talbot Executive Producer: Alex Lawless 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
• Anastacia – All My Songs Have Been Good Therapy 01.07.2026 54Min.

  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. 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 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 official @sonymusic.com emails Elizabeth and Anastacia answer listener questions in our subscriber series: www.howtofail.supportingcast.fm/#content Have a failure you’re trying to work through for Elizabeth to discuss? Click here to get in touch: howtofailpod.com Production & Post Production Coordinator: Eric Ryan Engineer: Matias Torres Assistant Producer: Shania Manderson Senior Producer: Hannah Talbot Executive Producer: Alex Lawless 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
• Mel Giedroyc and AJ Odudu on Body Confidence, Midlife Reinvention and Female Friendship 29.06.2026 45Min.

  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.  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 official @sonymusic.com emails Production & Post Production Coordinator: Eric Ryan   Engineer: Matias Torres Assistant Producer: Shania Manderson Senior Producer: Hannah Talbot Executive Producer: Alex Lawless 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
• Kristin Scott Thomas – ‘Having children allowed me to see where I’d gone wrong’ 24.06.2026 52Min.

  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. 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 platforms such as Amazon Prime and Apple TV Join the How To Fail community: www.howtofail.supportingcast.fm/#content Elizabeth’s Substack: www.theelizabethday.substack.com 📚 WANT MORE? Rosamund Pike - this episode explores how her career has resisted tidy narratives, how she’s navigated fame without reading reviews for 25 years and how her so‑called “failures” – not getting married, struggling with fear, raising two sons while working, even a disastrous attempt at cooking a rabbit – have shaped her. It’s ultimately about a woman interrogating identity, courage and the stories she tells herself:http://swap.fm/l/tePOA4HZ2PoaBBwudnv7 💌 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 official @sonymusic.com emails Elizabeth and Kristin answer listener questions in our subscriber series: www.howtofail.supportingcast.fm/#content Have a failure you’re trying to work through for Elizabeth to discuss? Click here to get in touch: howtofailpod.com Production & Post Production Coordinator: Eric Ryan Engineer: Matias Torres Assistant Producer: Shania Manderson Senior Producer: Hannah Talbot Executive Producer: Alex Lawless 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
• Patrick Radden Keefe - ‘Lying Is More Prevalent Than People Think’ 17.06.2026 56Min.

  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. 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 of storytelling, what being bullied at school taught him and why truth-telling is vital: swap.fm/l/3Uwm2GCNCBpHQVZc6dwr Malcolm Gladwell - on being mediocre at running, failing to be a friend and whether prejudice can ever be a force for good: swap.fm/l/CxIsEyNtJcyXROPZQCvh 💌 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 official @sonymusic.com emails Elizabeth and Patrick answer listener questions in our subscriber series: www.howtofail.supportingcast.fm/#content Have a failure you’re trying to work through for Elizabeth to discuss? Click here to get in touch: howtofailpod.com Production & Post Production Coordinator: Eric Ryan Engineer: Matias Torres Assistant Producer: Shania Manderson Senior Producer: Hannah Talbot Executive Producer: Alex Lawless 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
• Natalie Imbruglia - ‘I love the wisdom of being in my 50s’ 10.06.2026 52Min.

  *triggers: This episode includes discussion of depression and mental health crises. 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’s latest album, ‘Algorithm’ is to be released on 4th September. Pre-order here: republicofmusic.lnk.to/algorithm Join the How To Fail community: www.howtofail.supportingcast.fm/#content Elizabeth’s Substack: www.theelizabethday.substack.com 📚 WANT MORE? Shania Twain - this episode reflects on a childhood marked by poverty, early fame, loss and self-doubt: swap.fm/l/JyU54nvq2muyBpNFq3B9 Lily Allen - talks about failing to be famous, body image, children, marital breakdown, addiction and songwriting: swap.fm/l/8Otj3tpmbH5SF4xjVHTJ 💌 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 official @sonymusic.com emails Elizabeth and Natalie answer listener questions in our subscriber series: www.howtofail.supportingcast.fm/#content Have a failure you’re trying to work through for Elizabeth to discuss? Click here to get in touch: howtofailpod.com Production & Post Production Coordinator: Eric Ryan Engineer: Matias Torres Assistant Producer: Shania Manderson Senior Producer: Hannah Talbot Executive Producer: Alex Lawless 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
• Hannah Murray - ‘Everything Fell Apart’ 03.06.2026 1Std. 1Min.

  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. 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 say that at a dinner party... there is still a big taboo around psychosis, bipolar, schizophrenia, and other conditions that are less palatable and less kind of cozy." 🔗 LINKS + MENTIONS: The Make-Believe by Hannah Murray is available now in hardback and audio, read by Hannah https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/471422/the-make-believe-by-murray-hannah/9781529155211 Hannah will be in conversation with Jessie Cave at Kings Place on Friday 5th June. Link to tickets here: https://www.kingsplace.co.uk/whats-on/words/hannah-murray-in-conversation-with-jessie-cave/ Join the How To Fail community: www.howtofail.supportingcast.fm/#content Elizabeth’s Substack: www.theelizabethday.substack.com 📚 WANT MORE? Jennette McCurdy - discusses childhood fame, toxic family dynamics, eating disorders, grief and how reclaiming her own identity after her mother’s death ultimately set her free: swap.fm/l/DqqwmylXlnMvnfOmG53z Marian Keyes - the bestselling writer on addiction, creative insecurity and body image: swap.fm/l/3opU8XRCVTQLV4v994U5 💌 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 official @sonymusic.com emails Elizabeth and Hannah answer listener questions in our subscriber series: www.howtofail.supportingcast.fm/#content Have a failure you’re trying to work through for Elizabeth to discuss? Click here to get in touch: howtofailpod.com Production & Post Production Coordinator: Eric Ryan Engineer: Matias Torres Assistant Producer: Shania Manderson Senior Producer: Hannah Talbot Executive Producer: Alex Lawless 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
• Emily Atack - ‘I’ve forgiven people for unforgivable things’ 27.05.2026 1Std.

  *triggers: contains description of physical assault 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 journey from awkward outsider to one of Britain’s most beloved actors: swap.fm/l/CplscDFzT9oyNGV1Oan0 Danny Dyer – the actor and national treasure on identity, anger, vulnerability and learning to break the patterns you were born into: swap.fm/l/L192dU5DZHQnCUjFWuX8 💌 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 official @sonymusic.com emails Elizabeth and Emily answer listener questions in our subscriber series, Failing with Friends. Join our community of subscribers here: www.howtofail.supportingcast.fm/#content Have a failure you’re trying to work through for Elizabeth to discuss? Click here to get in touch: howtofailpod.com Production & Post Production Coordinator: Eric Ryan Engineer: Matias Torres Assistant Producer: Shania Manderson Senior Producer: Hannah Talbot Executive Producer: Alex Lawless 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
• Katherine Parkinson – ‘I’m Still Learning How to Be Me’ 20.05.2026 48Min.

  *triggers: contains description of physical assault 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 want to be an astronaut.” 🔗 LINKS + MENTIONS: All episodes of Rivals are now available to stream on Disney+ in the UK and internationally, with new episodes dropping weekly and a second instalment arriving later in the year. In the US, the series is available exclusively on Hulu. Join the How To Fail community: www.howtofail.supportingcast.fm/#content Elizabeth’s Substack: www.theelizabethday.substack.com 📚 WANT MORE? Danny Dyer – the actor and national treasure on identity, anger, vulnerability and learning to break the patterns you were born into: swap.fm/l/L192dU5DZHQnCUjFWuX8 Miranda Hart – the beloved comedian and writer on anxiety, belonging, people-pleasing and finding the courage to take up space: swap.fm/l/oTScN30b80GflJtO4rgu 💌 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 official @sonymusic.com emails Elizabeth answers listener questions in our subscriber series, Failing with Friends. Join our community of subscribers here: www.howtofail.supportingcast.fm/#content Have a failure you’re trying to work through for Elizabeth to discuss? Click here to get in touch: howtofailpod.com Production & Post Production Coordinator: Eric Ryan Engineer: Matias Torres Assistant Producer: Shania Manderson Senior Producer: Hannah Talbot Executive Producer: Alex Lawless 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
• Emilia Clarke - ‘I’m A Bad Celebrity’ 13.05.2026 54Min.

  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. 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.substack.com 📚 WANT MORE? Kate Winslet – the Oscar‑winning actor on reinvention, self‑doubt and the power of starting again at any age: swap.fm/l/qrRLW000eyVDrBz3ZtbI Gillian Anderson – the Emmy- and Golden Globe-winning icon on fame, burnout, womanhood and refusing to shrink herself for anyone: swap.fm/l/7NyZMzkfVOpGyDtlB6k0 💌 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 official @sonymusic.com emails Elizabeth answers listener questions in our subscriber series, Failing with Friends. Join our community of subscribers here: www.howtofail.supportingcast.fm/#content Have a failure you’re trying to work through for Elizabeth to discuss? Click here to get in touch: howtofailpod.com Production & Post Production Coordinator: Eric Ryan Engineer: Matias Torres Assistant Producer: Shania Manderson Senior Producer: Hannah Talbot Executive Producer: Alex Lawless 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
• Aline Brosh McKenna - The Rom Com Queen Who Wrote The Devil Wears Prada 06.05.2026 51Min.

  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. 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 - Another genius comedy writer who talks about heartbreak, humour, adoption and meeting Jennifer Saunders: swap.fm/l/NJDrzxLKhyi6icOrxmHT 💌 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 official @sonymusic.com emails Elizabeth and Aline answer listener questions in our subscriber series, Failing with Friends. Join our community of subscribers here: www.howtofail.supportingcast.fm/#content Have a failure you’re trying to work through for Elizabeth to discuss? Click here to get in touch: howtofailpod.com Production & Post Production Coordinator: Eric Ryan Engineer: Matias Torres Assistant Producer: Shania Manderson Senior Producer: Hannah Talbot Executive Producer: Alex Lawless 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
• Richard Gadd - On Shame, Sexuality and Success 29.04.2026 49Min.

  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. 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-up and what he learned from Ricky Gervais when he co-wrote The Office: swap.fm/l/Lta5mlFbVnPHyFb8R1n2 Phoebe Waller-Bridge - the creator of Fleabag talks about ambition, doubt and creating bold work: swap.fm/l/gTCOCJUmXX9t22mTABSa 💌 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 official @sonymusic.com emails Elizabeth and Richard answer listener questions in our subscriber series, Failing with Friends. Join our community of subscribers here: www.howtofail.supportingcast.fm/#content Have a failure you’re trying to work through for Elizabeth to discuss? Click here to get in touch: howtofailpod.com Production & Post Production Coordinator: Eric Ryan Engineer: Matias Torres Assistant Producer: Shania Manderson Senior Producer: Hannah Talbot Executive Producer: Alex Lawless 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
• Rita Wilson - ‘I’m 69. I’m At My Most Unfiltered.’ 22.04.2026 51Min.

  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. 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 Fail community: www.howtofail.supportingcast.fm/#content Elizabeth’s Substack: www.theelizabethday.substack.com 📚 WANT MORE? Ruth Wilson – on refusing Botox, being rejected from Oxford and living with her father’s Alzheimer's: swap.fm/l/ZbkfbAmZFOX0zB2u1iiC Melanie Chisholm – the former Spice girl on mental health, identity and navigating fame: swap.fm/l/OAU4TwoXfjVLvCdrcSYY Gloria Steinem – my personal hero: on activism, ageing and redefining success: swap.fm/l/WbcOneXzQpdLfYriAQXE 💌 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 official @sonymusic.com emails Elizabeth and Rita answer listener questions in our subscriber series, Failing with Friends. Join our community of subscribers here: www.howtofail.supportingcast.fm/#content Have a failure you’re trying to work through for Elizabeth to discuss? Click here to get in touch: howtofailpod.com Production & Post Production Coordinator: Eric Ryan Engineer: Matias Torres Assistant Producer: Shania Manderson Senior Producer: Hannah Talbot Executive Producer: Alex Lawless 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
• Emma Grede - ‘Ambition Is Something I Am Entitled to’ 15.04.2026 54Min.

  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. 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 Gates Foundation, the world's largest private charitable organization, for 24 years: swap.fm/l/Zr3OTH30YZpvPRiXIkeX Mo Gawdat - an incredible guest who has been on How to Fail FOUR times - most recently in December last year to talk about the most common mistakes we make in love: swap.fm/l/Daw9T2DZbicGt0aOZZVX 💌 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 Elizabeth and Emma answer listener questions in our subscriber series, Failing with Friends. Join our community of subscribers here: www.howtofail.supportingcast.fm/#content Have a failure you’re trying to work through for Elizabeth to discuss? Click here to get in touch: howtofailpod.com Production & Post Production Coordinator: Eric Ryan Engineer: Matias Torres Assistant Producer: Shania Manderson Senior Producer: Hannah Talbot Executive Producer: Alex Lawless 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
• Sophie Habboo - I Wish I Had More Boundaries 08.04.2026 47Min.

  This week we are joined by podcasting royalty, Sophie Habboo! 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 relationship [spoiler alert: it all worked out just fine!]: swap.fm/l/QXKrzzpg5hULgBpXWMBY Dorinda Medley - on young widowhood, dealing with anger and what The Real Housewives of New York taught her: swap.fm/l/Q3MPl0zGn9MShaUdGEi4 💌 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 Elizabeth and Sophie answer listener questions in our subscriber series, Failing with Friends. Join our community of subscribers here: www.howtofail.supportingcast.fm/#content Have a failure you’re trying to work through for Elizabeth to discuss? Click here to get in touch: howtofailpod.com Production & Post Production Coordinator: Eric Ryan Engineer: Matias Torres Assistant Producer: Shania Manderson Senior Producer: Hannah Talbot Executive Producer: Alex Lawless 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
• Elizabeth's New Show: History’s Greatest Fails 07.04.2026 33Min.

  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 Researcher - Phoebe Joyce  Executive Producer - Simon Poole  Executive 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 Ream Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
• Amy Jackson Westwick - I Was A Magnet For Narcissists 01.04.2026 55Min.

  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? 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/7NyZMzkfVOpGyDtlB6k0 💌 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 Elizabeth and Amy answer listener questions in our subscriber series, Failing with Friends. Join our community of subscribers here: www.howtofail.supportingcast.fm/#content Have a failure you’re trying to work through for Elizabeth to discuss? Click here to get in touch: howtofailpod.com Production & Post Production Coordinator: Eric Ryan Engineer: Matias Torres Assistant Producer: Shania Manderson Senior Producer: Hannah Talbot Executive Producer: Alex Lawless 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
• ON FINDING THE ONE… With Miranda Hart, Celeste Barber and Glennon Doyle 29.03.2026 24Min.

  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. 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 podcastadsales@sonymusic.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices