Right Side of the Brain

Send a text Stroke survivor John Gordon in conversation with Nirjay Mahindru.  John met InterAct whilst at Newcastle hospital and was inspired to write poetry afterwards.  He's published book of poetry Popcorn is available online.   John's story was the inspiration behind InterAct's recent BBC Radio 4 Charity appeal.    A civil servant during his working life, John talks about his b...

Send a text Ronald Ferguson is a music producer and stroke survivor who now campaigns for what he describes as "social prescribing enterprise".  Ronald is now a director of the charity  Arts4dementia In this interview Ronald talks about his experiences of suffering a stroke and his treatment during his hospital stay, and how the organisation Headway , the brain charity, put him back toge...

Send a text Allie Esiri’s best-selling anthologies SHAKESPEARE FOR EVERY DAY OF THE YEAR, A POET FOR EVERY DAY OF THE YEAR, A POEM FOR EVERY DAY OF THE YEAR and A POEM FOR EVERY NIGHT OF THE YEAR have lit an explosion of interest in poetry in the UK, are regularly chosen for National Poetry Day and have been picked as best books of the year in The Observer, The Times and the New Statesman. Live pe...

Send a text Robin Norton-Hale is an English theatre and opera director. She is the Artistic Director of OperaUpClose, having founded the company alongside Adam Spreadbury-Maher and Ben Cooper in October 2009 and an Artist in Residence at Oxford Playhouse. She studied English Literature at Hertford College, Oxford and was a Clore Cultural Leadership Fellow (2013/14). Her directing credits for Opera...

Send a text Nirjay Mahindru in conversation with musician Lisa Lux.  As a professional drummer Lisa has banged the skins for various UK chart bands inc, Girls Aloud, Hepburn, Sigue Sigue Sputnik, Michelle Gayle. Current band: The Priscillas   This interview was recorded during the lockdown period.   Support the show

Send a text Baroness Royall of Blaisdon is a British Labour Co-operative Party politician. She was Leader of the House of Lords and Lord President of the Council.  Jan Royall grew up in Hucclecote and Newnham on Severn, where her parents ran a shop. She was educated at the Royal Forest of Dean Grammar School and Westfield College, University of London, where she gained a BA in Spanish and French i...

Send a text In conversation with Vanessa Bailey.  Founder of award-winning production company NINE YARDS FILMS, creating powerful stories. Multi award-winning director, screenwriter and actress. Irrepressible storyteller. https://www.nineyardsfilms.com  Support the show

Send a text Nirjay Mahindru in conversation with actor Alex Hassell.  As well as being an actor, he is a co- founder of the highly influential Factory Theatre.  Alex was born in Southend, the youngest of four, to a vicar. He trained at the Central School of Speech and Drama after completing GCSE and A-Level courses at Moulsham High School, in Chelmsford, Essex. He has appeared in a number of stage...

Send a text Nirjay Mahindru in conversation with Stephen Haywood.  Stephen is a former businessman and was a member of the Territorial Army for over 30 years.  He is also a stroke survivor. Support the show

Send a text Helen Brice is an  existential psychotherapist, a Dialectical Behaviour Therapy Practitioner, and founder of Stimmung, a busy private practice in Piccadilly. She works trans-diagnostically, with or without diagnosis. Passionate about bringing equal status to psychotherapy alongside  psychologist colleagues and associates, whether in the NHS, private hospital or forensic settings. She i...

Send a text Nirjay Mahindru in conversation with actor Mitchell Mullen.  As well as being a performer, Mitchell is also a teacher.  Mitchell has been teaching at the London studio since it first opened its doors in 2013. He holds an MFA from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and has been teaching acting since 1996. TV credits include: Deep State (Epix), Catastrophe (Amazon Prime/Channel 4), The...

Send a text Tara Lakin of the Stroke Association in conversation with Nirjay Mahindru. She is the Service Lead for the South East covering Kent, Surrey, Sussex, Oxfordshire, Berkshire and Buckinghamshire. She is interested in all aspects of stroke recovery and has dedicated the past 12 years to this field. Support the show

Send a text with alan Support the show

Send a text Half-German, and born in Cuckfield, West Sussex Daniel  Betts trained at the Drama Centre London.  He trained under Yat Malmgren and Christopher Fettes at the Drama Centre, London, graduating in 1993. His varied career has included many roles on the British and International stage, as well as TV and film work including Fury (2014), and the Brad Pitt films War Machine (2016) and Allied...

Send a text Jacob Sam-La Rose is a poet, performer, educator and editor who has performed and taught internationally. His work has been published in several anthologies, including Identity State: New British and Irish Poets (2010); Penguin's Poems for Love (2009); City State: New London Poetry (2009); and Michael Rosen's A-Z: The Best Children's Poetry from Agard to Zephaniah (2009)...

Send a text Born in Coventry, London resident for 30 years Fayon Dixon is a broadcaster, host and facilitator with her purpose embedded in motivation, encouragement and inspirational interactions. Fayon is a regular commentator with BBC Radio London and a newspaper reviewer for a variety of broadcasters on Talk Radio. Fayon is the creator, host and producer of ‘The Kids Are Alright Show’ where she...

Send a text Alan Johnson was General Secretary of the Communication Workers Union before entering Parliament as Labour MP for Hull West and Hessle in 1997. He served as Home Secretary from June 2009 to May 2010. Before that, he filled a wide variety of cabinet positions in both the Blair and Brown governments, including Health Secretary and Education Secretary. Until 20 January 2011 he was Shadow...

Send a text Nell Dunn came to notice with the publication of Up the Junction (1963), a series of short stories set in South London, some of which had already appeared in the New Statesman. The book, awarded the John Llewellyn Rhys Prize, was a controversial success at the time for its vibrant, realistic and non-judgmental portrait of its working-class protagonists. It was adapted for television by...

Send a text Support the show

Send a text Dr Kate Allatt is a , keynote/webinar speaker, THRIVE trainer, TEDx, health consultant, internationally published author, researcher, global stroke advocate and peer mentor.  Kate’s unique leadership messages support businesses operating in the health sector ie, the  NHS Leadership, assisted tech providers, home care providers and pharma sectors points of difference in crowded markets....

Send a text Maria Grazia Turri is a Lecturer at Queen Mary University of London and the co-director of the MSc Creative Arts and Mental Health. She is a medical doctor and worked as psychiatrist and psychotherapist for the NHS for 15 years. She is a member of the Critical Psychiatry Network.   Maria advocates for reform of the dominant paradigm in contemporary psychiatry and is passionate about pr...

Send a text Nirjay Mahindru in conversation with the founder of the ARNI. Support the show

Send a text Peter G Levine is a researcher, author, clinician, professor and science communicator, dedicated to finding and reporting on the best systems for driving post-stroke brain plasticity. Pete has been at the forefront of testing many of the most innovative stroke neuro-rehab options including EMG-based gaming, wearable robotics, mental practice, functional E-Stim, transcranial magnetic st...

Send a text Nirjay Mahindru in conversation with Steph Harland, the CEO of Age UK.   Steph has been CEO of Age UK since January 2018.  She joined one of our predecessor organisations, Age Concern England, in 2002.  Before that Steph had worked in the voluntary sector locally, nationally and internationally mainly on issues to do with older people and other groups of adults with care needs. She fir...

Send a text Nirjay Mahindru and Megan Mckie Smith in conversation with stroke consultant Amith Sitaram, stroke consultant at Glasgow Queen Elizabeth hospital.  Amith is an experienced Stroke Clinician and researcher with a demonstrated history of working in the higher education industry. Skilled in Imaging Research, Clinical Research, Medicine, Healthcare, and Neuroscience. Strong Clinical and res...