Changes with Annie Macmanus

DJ Fat Tony is one of the most iconic figures of London’s nightlife scene. Tony’s extraordinary four-decade career at the heart of music and clubbing has seen him spinning tracks for everyone from Madonna to Prince, but his rise to stardom was paired with a drug addiction that almost killed him. Tony’s 2022 Sunday Times bestselling memoir ‘I Don’t Take Requests’, is a shocking, honest yet also at times hilarious account of his life...

There are few writers more renowned for pushing the boundaries of modern fiction than Scottish literary icon and author of the 90s cult classic Trainspotting, Irvine Welsh.

Irvine grew up as a working class boy in Edinburgh surrounded by drugs, crime, poverty and unemployment. It was this harsh environment and the people he grew up around that became the influence for the literary worlds he went on to create. After a tough start...

Sometimes to move forward, you have to look back and in today’s episode Annie is joined by her dear friend Clara Amfo who opens up for the first time publicly about the life-altering event in her childhood that changed her forever. Broadcaster, pop culture aficionado and British ‘it girl’ Clara Amfo is an unstoppable force when it comes to British tv and radio. She has hosted many of the UK's biggest music and cultural moments, fro...

Bestselling author of ‘The Outrun,’ Amy Liptrot is proof that change is not only possible but life-saving. When Amy found herself in rehab for alcoholism aged 30, she left London behind and returned to her family’s farm on Orkney, a remote Island off the coast of Scotland. Overcoming addiction on an isolated island, Amy found solace in the wild landscapes that she’d grown up in. Her outstanding memoir ‘The Outrun’ is an accoun...

AJ Tracey is one of the most influential artists in the UK music scene today but his life could have taken a very different direction had he not made some serious changes. AJ is known for his groundbreaking contributions to grime, drill and UK garage. Last year he celebrated 1 billion streams in the UK and was honoured with the Brits Billion Award. His triple platinum-selling hit Ladbroke Grove is an homage to his West London neigh...

Model turned comedian Michelle de Swarte’s life story has more twists and turns than most novels. A born and bred South Londoner, Michelle was scouted aged 19 and moved to New York to begin her modelling career working for the likes of Dolce and Gabbana and Versace. After two decades on the runway Michelle started doing stand up comedy and eventually moved back to London. Now making it as a successful writer and actor, Michelle is ...

Our first guest of the series is the phenomenally popular author Bella Mackie. Bella’s debut novel ‘How To Kill Your Family’ was a #1 Sunday Times Bestseller and lined the top 10 book charts for a staggering 47 weeks. It has just been announced that Netflix will adapt the book with Anya Taylor-Joy starring as Grace Bernard. 

Bella is back with a brand new novel ‘What a Way To Go’ which comes out on 12th September. It’s a st...

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 Mar...

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...

In this episode of Changes Focus we’re zooming in on a big change that we will probably all experience at some point - grief. 

Grief shapes us in different ways and hearing other people’s experiences of how they have coped with their loss can help in moving through our own. In this tender and insightful episode, Annie revisits conversations with Cariad Lloyd, comedian and creator of the podcast 'Griefcast', who shares her r...

Welcome to a new series of Changes Focus where we focus on a specific area of change and hear multiple perspectives from some of our incredible guests. In this episode the focus is on Changemakers - people who are working hard to drive meaningful, positive change in the world.

In this powerful episode, Annie revisits her conversation with poet and advocate for prison reform Lady Unchained. She talks about her own experience with...

Aged 24 in Ibiza, Matt Haig’s life changed forever when he had a breakdown. Now 49 he has returned to the island, facing his past head on, returning with a whole new perspective, more optimism, and now, a new book called ‘The Life Impossible’. 

Matt has sold over 9 million copies of his books worldwide, and they have been translated into 58 languages. His bestselling book ‘Reasons to Stay Alive’ has touched millions of live...

Hello folks, for this episode I took myself into the rave shed and reflected on the big changes that have taken place in my life over the last year. 

It’s my birthday week, as I’m a Cancer I am trying to extend it into a whole month. I love any excuse for a party so there will be one of those happening for sure, but I also love, more and more, an opportunity to reflect and remember the events of my life, partly because my m...

This conversation is astonishing. Prepare to be completely engrossed and moved beyond belief by the phenomenal Decca Aitkenhead. The Chief Interviewer at the Sunday Times, Decca talks so beautifully with a warmth and lightness that contrasts with what she has lived through. The love story between her and her late husband Tony is like nothing else you have ever heard before.

Tragically, in 2014, Decca Aitkenhead’s husband Tony di...

From inside Ruby Wax’s bedroom, Annie gets up close and personal about Ruby’s life changes - from her troubled childhood and creating a comic persona as a result, feeling like a freak when she became a mother to those famous interviews on ‘When Ruby Wax Met,’ which changed how she was perceived. 

Ruby’s latest book and touring one-woman play, ‘I’m Not as Well as I Thought I Was’ saw Ruby trying to find meaning by ...

Jack Rooke is the recent BAFTA winning comic genius behind the incredible multi award winning sitcom Big Boys. 

Jack won his BAFTA for Best Comedy Writer after using his own life experience of losing his Dad, when Jack was 15, to write and narrate Big Boys. The show follows Jack leaving his mum to go to University where he navigates making new friends and exploring being gay, something he hasn’t told his mum yet. 

B...

Imagine being forced to leave your country for being gay or face death. This Refugee Week, we welcome Aderonke Apata, a Nigerian refugee who had to leave Nigeria under threat of persecution for being in love with a woman. When she reached the UK, she embarked on a 13-year battle through the UK immigration system including periods of homelessness, detention and near deportation. She was also accused of lying about her sexuality. Her...

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 r...

Miranda July’s staggering new novel ‘All Fours’ might just completely change the way you think about your life. 

Miranda is not one for sticking to the rules. An LA based artist, writer and award-winning filmmaker, she has been creating unapologetic, boundary pushing work since her involvement in the Riot Grrrl feminist movement of the 1990s, where she gained recognition for her zines and performance art. She has gone on to...