Crisis What Crisis with Andy Coulson

Jeremy King is the legendary restaurateur behind Le Caprice, The Ivy, The Wolseley and Simpson's on the Strand. His is a story of extraordinary gambles, of rooms that became London institutions, and of losing the company that carried his own name — and choosing to build all over again in his 70s. In this bonus episode of Crisis What Crisis, I sit down with Jeremy to discuss his Crisis Compass. The...

In April 2022, after a bruising auction battle with his own investors, Jeremy King lost the company that carried his name. He walked back into the Wolseley – the restaurant he had built into the highest grossing restaurant in Britain – to find his staff in tears and the new owners already arriving. His phone and laptop were taken from him, he felt, as he puts it, like a criminal – stripped of all...

Over 20 years in frontline politics, Sir Jeremy Hunt held three of the great offices of state – Health Secretary, Foreign Secretary, and Chancellor of the Exchequer. He survived some of the most bruising political battles of his generation, and grieved, throughout, the loss of his father, his mother, and his brother. In this bonus episode of Crisis What Crisis, I sit down with Jeremy to discuss hi...

In October 2022, the British economy was in freefall. Liz Truss's mini-budget had sent the pound into a nosedive, mortgage rates were climbing at a terrifying speed, and the IMF had issued a public warning to the government to reverse course. It was, by any measure, a national crisis. Into that emergency stepped Sir Jeremy Hunt who, over a single weekend, dismantled almost the entirety of the econ...

What is the single most important concept in crisis management? Andy Coulson believes it's control — a lesson he first learned sitting on a plastic mattress in a Glasgow police cell, with nothing to focus on but his own breathing. In this special compilation episode, he revisits four past guests who each arrived at the same conclusion through very different routes. POWERED BY KINGSLEY NAPLEY I kno...

Sir Richard Harpin wanted to be an entrepreneur since before he knew the word. He sold conkers in the playground, bred and sold rabbits in his garden, ran a tuck shop from his school locker, and by 15 was bunking off chemistry to cash cheques with the bank manager. In this special episode of Crisis What Crisis – recorded in front of a live audience at the Walbrook Club in the City of London – Andy...

Dame Anya Hindmarch started her global fashion business on a gap year trip to Italy aged just 18. Four decades on, she is the founder of one of Britain's most recognisable brands – worn by the Princess of Wales and a new holder of a royal warrant from Queen Camilla. In this bonus episode of Crisis What Crisis, I sit down with Anya to discuss her Crisis Compass. The four points of navigation that s...

Dame Anya Hindmarch started her global fashion business on a gap year trip to Italy aged just 18. Four decades on, she is the founder of one of Britain's most recognisable brands – worn by the Princess of Wales and a new holder of a royal warrant from Queen Camilla. Anya joins Andy for a candid conversation about courage, control and how treating fear and excitement as the same emotion has proved...

Esther Ghey's 16-year-old daughter Brianna was murdered in a park near their home in Warrington in February 2023. What followed — the campaigning, the memoir, the forgiveness, the compassion — has made her one of the most consequential reform voices in contemporary British life. In this bonus episode of Crisis What Crisis, I sit down with Esther to discuss her Crisis Compass. The four points of na...

In February 2023, Esther Ghey's 16-year-old daughter Brianna was murdered in a park near their home in Warrington, in a premeditated attack by two 15-year-olds. Today, Esther is a bereaved mother, but she is also one of the most significant voices for social reform in contemporary British life. She founded the Brianna Ghey Legacy Project, co-launched the Phone-Free Education campaign with Kate Win...

Kate Bowler is one of the most thought-provoking voices on pain and suffering you'll ever encounter. Living her dream life – married to her high school sweetheart, a baby boy, and her dream job – she was diagnosed with stage four cancer just as everything fell into place. In this bonus episode of Crisis What Crisis, I sit down with Kate to discuss her Crisis Compass. The four points of navigation...

At 35, Kate Bowler had the life she'd always wanted: she was a Duke University professor, married to her high school sweetheart, with a one-year-old son. Then she was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer. Today, Kate is a five time New York Times bestselling author, host of the Everything Happens podcast and one of the most inspiring and unique voices on the subject of suffering, the myth of the prosperi...

Charles Tyrwhitt founder, Nick Wheeler, started the business with just £99, a Morris Minor (with a hole rusted through the floor), and zero understanding of how you make a shirt. Today, it’s a £400m global empire – but his story is one not short of tragedy. In this bonus episode of Crisis What Crisis, I sit down with Nick to discuss his Crisis Compass. The four points of navigation that he turns t...

Nick Wheeler founded Charles Tyrwhitt with just £99 and a Morris Minor with a hole rusted through the floor (and zero understanding of how you make a shirt!). Today, it’s a £400m global empire – but his story is one not short of tragedy, with the loss of his mother aged just five years old, bankruptcy, and a catalogue of mistakes which meant he nearly lost everything. In this episode of Crisis Wha...

In this special tribute episode, we revisit my conversation with the legendary Dame Jenni Murray. Recorded in February 2021 in the early days of the podcast, Jenni joined me to discuss her remarkable 33-year tenure at BBC Radio 4’s Woman’s Hour , her harrowing battle with breast cancer, and the lifelong, deeply personal crisis of obesity that she detailed in her book, Fat Cow, Fat Chance . Jenni w...

Ryan Holiday – bestselling author of The Daily Stoic, Ego is the Enemy, and The Obstacle is the Way – joins me on Crisis What Crisis to explore why intelligence doesn't protect you from stupidity, why modern life's frictionlessness is making us weaker, and what ancient Stoic philosophy can teach us about navigating today's world. POWERED BY KINGSLEY NAPLEY: I know what it is to have the right lega...

Why do genius-level intellects fall for conspiracy theories? How does someone who taught himself rocket science from Soviet manuals end up believing nonsense on social media? Ryan Holiday – bestselling author of The Daily Stoic , Ego is the Enemy , and The Obstacle is the Way – joins me on Crisis What Crisis to explore why intelligence doesn't protect you from stupidity, why modern life's friction...

After building MTV and rising to the very top of the global media industry, Tom Freston experienced dramatic setbacks that forced him to rebuild - not for the first time. In this Crisis Compass segment, the co-founder of MTV and former CEO of Viacom reveals the personal habits, relationships and mindset that helped him navigate the highs and lows of an extraordinary life. Tom shares the quiet rout...

From building a multimillion-dollar clothing business in India only to be wiped out by a global trade embargo, to redefining pop culture for a generation at MTV and Nickelodeon, Tom Freston’s career is a masterclass for any aspiring entrepreneur. In this episode, Tom joins me to discuss the resilience required to reach the top and the sheer guts needed to start over when it's all taken away. He sh...

Following the loss of his daughter Sushila to anorexia, broadcaster Sir Trevor Phillips reveals the daily habits, personal anchors, and life advice that keep him grounded. In this "Crisis Compass" segment, we move away from the headlines to look at the personal resilience required to survive a 22-year battle with mental illness. THE COMPASS QUESTIONS: In this episode, Andy Coulson asks Trevor to r...

After a 22-year battle with anorexia, Sir Trevor Phillips' daughter Sushila died aged 36 in April 2021. Now he's calling for a radical shift in how we talk about mental illness – and he's not holding back. The broadcaster, writer, and equality campaigner joins Crisis What Crisis? to explain why banning social media for under-16s is "preposterous," why celebrity "mental health struggles" make him f...

In 2021, the UK energy market collapsed. More than 30 of the big energy suppliers went under. But, the business Greg Jackson founded, Octopus Energy, didn't just survive, it grew. In this bonus Crisis Compass episode of Crisis What Crisis? , Greg shares with us the four anchors he relies on when pressure mounts and uncertainty takes over. In this segment, Andy asks Greg for: 1) A person who shaped...

Greg Jackson, founder and CEO of energy giant Octopus Energy, is perhaps one of Britain’s most innovative CEOs. In 2021, the British energy market collapsed. Wholesale gas prices surged six-fold, thirty suppliers went under in months, while millions of families faced impossible bills. Rather than sticking his head in the sand, Greg went public, putting his own credibility on the line to explain wh...

Johnnie Boden, founder of Boden, reveals how he survives crisis as a business leader. In this Crisis Compass bonus episode of Crisis What Crisis?, Johnnie shares the person, piece of advice, the daily habit and comfort that he uses to navigate life under pressure. This is the second part of a longer conversation with Johnnie – if you enjoyed this be sure to check out the full episode on our podcas...

For three decades, Johnnie Boden has turned cheerful prints, quality fabrics, and unmistakable English charm into one of Britain's most distinctive retail brands – worn by royals, loved internationally, with nearly 2 million active customers and the second-biggest British clothing business in America. But as Johnnie so candidly reveals, his success has been far from linear… In this business specia...