The Convex Conversation

Model maker Ethan Goodbody - founder of Mon Studios - takes us behind the scenes of the new BBC series The Marvellous Miniature Workshop, hosted by DJ and broadcaster Sara Cox. Ethan is one of a team of miniaturists who recreate someone’s meaningful place or room, beautifully crafting it in tiny proportions and fine detail.  From scaling down a 36-metre iconic mural to painting the spots on minute...

Nicholas Hopton – former UK Ambassador to Iran, Qatar, Yemen, and Libya – reveals how his diplomatic skills have come in handy as he’s breathed new life into a run-down olive farm in a little-known area of Tuscany.  Encounters with wild boar, leaky pipes, colourful local characters, attempts at olive oil production and wading through Italian bureaucracy are all part of Nick’s beautifully written a...

Avalanche Search and Rescue expert Caroline Elliott shares some of her life-saving missions in the mountains. She was the first British woman to join the French Fire and Rescue Specialist Mountain Unit as a dog handler, with retriever Fjord by her side, and the first to qualify in all disciplines for the elite French ski patrol. Every second counts when saving lives – teamwork and communication ar...

As Lauren Child celebrates 25 years of writing and illustrating her much-loved Charlie and Lola children’s books, we chat at her London studio about everything from libraries, art galleries, dolls houses and writers’ block to growing up in the seventies.  Lauren has worked with UNESCO in places like Mongolia - where she adopted her daughter from - and was Children’s Laureate. I Am Wishing Every Mi...

ITV/Lorraine producer and breast cancer survivor Helen Addis MBE on ‘making noise’ with her Change & Check Campaign which has saved lives and earned her the MBE.  TV star Davina McCall has just revealed she has breast cancer and has caught it early thanks to seeing the campaign’s stickers. Helen documented her gruelling treatment for aggressive grade 3 cancer to emphasise the importance of ear...

The founder of 2wish, Rhian Mannings MBE, caught the world’s attention when Prince William joined her for a cup of tea in her kitchen in Cardiff to discuss her experience of suicide and find out more about its devastating impact. The future King was overcome with emotion at one point as Rhian spoke openly about the double tragedy of her 33-year-old husband Paul unexpectedly taking his own life fiv...

Deaf actor, comedian and podcaster Samantha Baines takes us on her fascinating life journey – from acting in some of Britain’s top dramas, working with stars like John Lithgow, Channing Tatum and Miriam Margolyes; creating an award-winning podcast out of her divorce to the challenges of stand-up comedy. She’s a passionate champion and advocate for the deaf and disabled communities - diagnosed as d...

Founder of The Good Grief Trust Linda Magistris OBE has shared her vision for ensuring everyone who is bereaved finds the help and hope they need during a conversation with HRH the Prince of Wales at her investiture at Windsor Castle.  Linda started the charity nine years ago after struggling to find the support she needed when her partner, BAFTA-winning director Graham Theakston, died aged 62. In...

As Editor-in Chief, journalist George Webster helped conceive CNN Style, working in the dynamic world of global media, until he discovered a passion for functional mushrooms and the fascinating fungi kingdom.  Describing himself as an amateur mycologist, George turned entrepreneur. Frustrated by the seeming lack of high-quality mushroom supplements on the market, he founded The Functional Mushroom...

Former Sky Sports presenter and Yorkshireman Dave Clark was diagnosed with Parkinson’s when his children were just seven and four, but he continued to host live sport for another decade.  Dave is credited with transforming darts, helping to make it the second most popular sport on Sky, taking the World Championships from a strip club on the A13 to Ally Pally where a million pints were supped! Dave...

Acclaimed children’s author Sir Michael Morpurgo OBE recalls being captivated by watching Much Ado About Nothing, aged just seven, sitting in the cheap seats with his brother in the gods of Shakespeare’s Stratford theatre.  Michael believes all children should see Shakespeare and enjoy the magnificent tales the Bard re-told for everyone. His latest book – More Tales from Shakespeare – re-tells eig...

Tech/AI journalist Lara Lewington reveals how technology and AI can save our health - and our lives - and unravels some of the myths and fears. Lara says the biggest positive change is coming in the diagnosis and treatment of cancer.  Lara has travelled all over the world interviewing longevity experts, scientists and doctors - often testing out the latest tech herself - for documentaries and her...

Natalie Queiroz MBE shares her story of survival and determination to make a difference after being stabbed 24 times with a carving knife in a frenzied nine-minute assault whilst eight months pregnant. She recounts the moment she realised her hooded attacker was her partner Bob – the love of her life – and father of her unborn child. He’s now in prison for attempted murder. Natalie’s life changed...

Former Assistant Commissioner of the Met Police Neil Basu talks candidly about serving in Counter Terror when the threat level against Britain was at its highest since the Northern Ireland troubles of the ‘70s.  In part two of our special, Neil quotes Dickens when he describes those seven years as “the best of times and the worst of times”, liaising closely with MI5 to stop terrorists attacking th...

Neil Basu - former Assistant Commissioner of the Met Police - retired as the most senior officer of colour in the UK, dedicated to a service that has a problem with race and, according to the Casey Review, remains institutionally racist.  As a mixed-race detective, he stuck with it through bombings, murders, kidnaps, extortion and during his time running counter terrorism, working closely with MI5...

New York Magazine/Vogue journalist Jon Gluck was living the dream at 38 - married, loving his first New York apartment and enjoying his baby daughter.  But, after a minor, innocuous slip on a patch of ice, he was devastated to be diagnosed with a rare, incurable blood cancer and given just 18 months to 3 years to live.  22 years on and counting, Jon has written a searingly honest account of his su...

At 5.44am on May 15th, 17-year-old Emma Schwerin from Montana reached the summit of Mount Everest with her dad, Sam, and earned not one, but three world records!  She’s the youngest American female ever to summit Everest, as well as Mount Vinson in Antarctica, and the youngest woman in the world to conquer the Seven Summits, the highest mountains on each continent.  Emma – who describes herself as...

Cian Adams and his brother Jordan have a gene mutation which means they will almost certainly develop devastating symptoms of a rare form of frontotemporal dementia in their 40s. The same gene robbed them of their mum, Geraldine, when she was just 52, as well as their aunt, nana and other relatives. Known as the FTD Brothers, Cian and Jordan take on epic running challenges – including a 903-mile r...

There’s a small square of the Arctic – 3 metres by 3 metres - behind the UK Research Station in Svalbard, which Encounter Edu Founder & former teacher Jamie Buchanan-Dunlop calls his own. Huddled in sub-zero temperatures on the ice, he’s spent hours there, broadcasting to more than 150,000 children from 57 countries, sharing the magical northernmost region of the Earth with them, bringing scie...

When 18-year-old Arsenal & England star Myles Lewis-Skelly showed serious potential on the pitch as a young lad, his mum Marcia experienced how confusing and lonely the world of youth football can be, and realised she needed expert knowledge for their journey ahead.  So, she studied for a Masters in Football Business and took agency exams, before setting up No1Fan.club – the UK’s first platfor...

David Lowe was outed on TikTok as the composer of some of TV's most iconic music when his 'how I created the BBC News themes' post to mark the 25th anniversary went viral!  He's the man behind the opening music for programmes like The One Show, Panorama, Grand Designs and BBC Countryfile, as well as top TV ads. And he arranged a special version of Chariots of Fire by Vangelis for the 2012 Olympic...

Nikki Scott shares the story behind founding Scotty’s Little Soldiers after her husband, 26-yr-old Corp Lee Scott of the 2nd Royal Tank Regiment, was killed on active duty in Afghanistan.  As Nikki navigated her devastating loss with their 5-yr-old son & baby, she realised there was little help for children and young people grieving the death of a military parent.  Scotty’s supports hundreds o...

Sahar Hashemi OBE reveals how her love of skinny lattes in '90s New York led to her giving up her career as a lawyer and starting Coffee Republic with her brother, Bobby. Sahar talks openly about the highs and lows of growing the business from the kitchen table to a £30 million empire with 110 American-style coffee bars, as well as the pain of leaving.  As well as mentoring executives in how to re...

Mud on the seabed and the diverse, weird and wonderful invertebrates who live in it are having their climate moment, according to Marine Biologist Dr Ceri Lewis. Based at the University of Exeter – Ceri is part of the five-year Convex Seascape Survey researching how a healthy ocean can help fight climate change. She’s passionate about worms – from microscopic to 3 metres long - and how they influe...

Wendy Fulcher shares the story of losing her husband and soulmate John when he was just 52 to an aggressive stage 4 glioblastoma and how it led to her setting up a powerful, research charity.  John was under the care of TV star Davina McCall’s consultant neurosurgeon Kevin O’Neill who we featured in our last episode.  Kevin and Wendy set up the Brain Tumour Research Campaign together more than 20...