The Hidden 20%

For two years, Ben Branson has sat in the green interviewer chair - asking the hard questions, holding the space, and speaking on behalf of The Hidden 20% community. Today, the chair is flipped. Phoebe De Leiburné - Production Manager and Head Producer of The Hidden 20% steps in as host to interview Ben for the first time. In this conversation, Ben opens up about what drove him to create The Hidde...

Psychiatrist, researcher and brain-body medicine specialist Dr. Jessica Eccles joins Ben for a fascinating conversation about the overlooked physical side of neurodivergence - and why ADHD and autism are often talked about as “brain-only” experiences when the body is deeply involved too. Dr Jess is an Associate Professor in Brain-Body Medicine at Brighton and Sussex Medical School, a Consultant Ps...

Writer, podcast host and mental health advocate Gemma Styles joins Ben for a deeply honest conversation about ADHD, anxiety, depression and the emotional weight of going through life feeling constantly overwhelmed without understanding why. Gemma reflects on being treated for mental health struggles long before anyone recognised ADHD, and how her diagnosis reframed years of self-blame, exhaustion...

Dyslexic entrepreneur and Talamo co-founder Jamie Wace joins Ben for a conversation about why so many children with dyslexia are still being missed - and how technology could radically change access to support. Jamie reflects on his own experience of school, including being told not to pursue subjects he loved because his dyslexia was misunderstood. He shares how years working in tech and entrepre...

Content creator and author Luke Grosch joins Ben for an honest conversation about late-diagnosed autism, emotional overwhelm, grief, identity and learning to understand yourself in a world that often misunderstands autistic people. Luke reflects on losing his dad at a young age, and how many of his autistic traits - meltdowns, sensitivity and shutdowns - were mistaken for grief rather than signs o...

Chef, content creator and food waste activist Martyn Odell - better known online as Lagom Chef - joins Ben for a chaotic, funny and emotional conversation about ADHD, creativity, food, and finally understanding his brain. Diagnosed with ADHD midway through writing his first cookbook, Martyn reflects on growing up in kitchens where chaos and intensity were normalised, and why that made it difficult...

Clinical neuroscientist and nutrition researcher Dr Miguel Toribio-Mateas returns to The Hidden 20% to challenge one of the most persistent myths in ADHD: that it’s just about the brain. In this conversation, Ben and Dr Miguel explore ADHD through a whole-body lens - from nervous system regulation and eating patterns to capacity, sensory sensitivity and the gut–brain axis. They unpack why food isn...

Executive Director at the RSPB, Emma Marsh, joins Ben for a conversation that connects leadership, late autism diagnosis, and the often-overlooked role of nature in how we regulate and function. Diagnosed autistic in 2023, Emma reflects on what it means to navigate senior leadership as an autistic woman, the decision to disclose at work after years of masking, and how that moment reshaped both her...

Pablo Lambrechts, Architect and Director at L+ Architects, joins Ben to explore something most of us feel but rarely question - the impact our environment has on our nervous system. Drawing on his work designing neurodiversity-informed spaces (including Google HQ), Pablo explains how light, sound, layout and materials can either support regulation or quietly work against it.  This isn’t about...

Dr Ann Ozsivadjian, Clinical Psychologist specialising in autism, joins Ben to unpack the reality of mental health in neurodivergent children and adults - and why so much of it is misunderstood. Drawing on decades of clinical experience, Ann explains how anxiety, depression and low self-esteem often sit on top of something deeper: emotional dysregulation, unmet needs and environments that don’t fi...

Warda Farah, an autistic Independent Researcher and Speech & Language Therapist, joins Ben for a powerful conversation about identity, language and what happens when the systems designed to support you don’t see you properly. Drawing on both lived experience and clinical insight, Warda reflects on leaving the NHS after recognising how standardised assessments were failing marginalised children...

Content creators Lori-Jade and Max Siegel join Ben for an honest, deeply human conversation about late diagnosis, identity and what it means to build a life together as a neurodivergent couple. Both diagnosed with AuDHD in adulthood, they reflect on being missed for decades - from masking and misdiagnosis to the quiet grief of realising how different things could have been.  They explore how...

In this episode, Ben is joined by Dr Tony Lloyd, former CEO of the ADHD Foundation, for a conversation that steps back and looks at the bigger picture of neurodiversity at a moment when the landscape is rapidly changing. Now retired, Tony reflects on decades at the forefront of ADHD and neurodiversity advocacy, and why we’re still asking the wrong questions. They explore why more people are recogn...

In this episode, Ben is joined by Kelly and Hester Grainger, the married co-founders of Perfectly Autistic . Together they work with major organisations to build workplaces that actually work for neurodivergent people but as Kelly (AuDHD) and Hester (ADHD) explain, inclusion isn’t about a single training session or a handful of adjustments. They reflect on careers shaped by masking, burnout and tr...

Today Ben is joined by Andy and Gaz, hosts and founders of The Autism Dadcast Podcast, which has quickly become a vital voice for parents raising profoundly autistic children - gaining tens of thousands of followers and millions of views in just weeks. They share candid insights about parenting, grief, and the day-to-day realities of life with children who have profound autism, from navigating mel...

In part two of Ben’s conversation with Dr Shyamal Mashru , they unpack what actually makes a good ADHD assessment - and why so many people are still waiting, misdiagnosed, or left without answers. Dr Shyamal, an NHS Consultant Psychiatrist and Medical Lead for Adult ADHD, explains what happens inside a thorough assessment, who is qualified to diagnose ADHD, and why emotional dysregulation is so of...

In this episode, Ben sits down with Dr Shyamal Mashru , Consultant Psychiatrist and Medical Lead for Adult ADHD, for a clear and compassionate deep dive into Rejection Sensitive Dysphoria (RSD). Often misunderstood or dismissed as being “too sensitive,” RSD is explored here as a real, neurological experience - one that can hijack rational thought, flood the body with emotional pain, and quietly sh...

Semi-Professional cyclist, Connie Hayes, joins Ben for a deeply personal conversation about growing up autistic, dyslexic and dyspraxic - and how cycling became both a regulator and a place of safety. Connie reflects on the early signs of autism that were missed, the self-esteem battles that came with puberty, hormones and friendships, and the long road to understanding her neurodivergence. She sh...

In part two of this conversation, neurobiologist and author of The Lost Girls of Autism , Gina Rippon, rejoins Ben to focus on the women autism research left behind. Picking up where part one ends, Gina traces how early brain science, diagnostic bias and cultural assumptions combined to hide autistic women in plain sight. She unpacks why autism was framed as a “male condition,” how masking became...

In part one of this two-part conversation, neurobiologist and author of The Gendered Brain and The Lost Girls of Autism - recently awarded the British Psychological Society’s Popular Science Book Prize - Gina Rippon joins Ben to unpack what we really know, and don’t know, about the human brain. From left-brain/right-brain myths to the rise of gendered brain science, Gina explains why many of the i...

Comedian, presenter and creator Holly Morris joins Ben for a candid conversation about living with AuDHD, the hidden cost of masking, and why being “funny” is often a survival strategy rather than a personality trait. Holly shares how her comedy career grew out of lifelong hyper-vigilance - constantly scanning rooms, people and conversations and how that same awareness fuels both her humour and he...

Dr Renata Fialho is back in the green chair. In this conversation, Renata and Ben pick up where they left off - this time with Renata sharing her own ADHD diagnosis, what it was like to receive it later in life, and how it has quietly reshaped both her inner world and her clinical work. Together, they unpack the realities of autism and ADHD assessments across the NHS and private sector, why certai...

In this episode, Ben sits down with bestselling author, psychologist and behaviour change expert Shahroo Izadi for a deep, honest conversation about ADHD, addiction and how habits really form. Diagnosed with ADHD later in life, Shahroo reflects on how years spent working in addiction services helped her make sense of her own impulsivity, shame cycles and coping strategies - long before she had the...

As another year closes, we’re taking a gentler approach to New Year’s thinking. In this special episode, Ben is joined by familiar voices from across the year and a hint of who’s to come in 2026 - as he sits down with clinicians, creators, advocates and friends of  The Hidden 20%  to talk about goals, not resolutions. From Dr Renata Fialho to Shahroo Izadi, Céin McGillicuddy, Dr Alison L...

Our Refocus series rewinds the moments too good to miss. Short takes. Big takeaways. No attention span required. To celebrate Christmas 2025, we rewind to Carrie and David Grant talking about life post-diagnosis for Carrie, neurodivergent parenting, unmasking as a family, and how letting go of Christmas pressure can transform life for neurodivergent children and their parents. Join us at  hid...