The Convex Conversation

When Wing Commander Andy Green OBE broke the sound barrier in a supersonic jet car in 1997, he became the fastest person on land – a world record he still holds, almost three decades on.  Andy explains the risks involved, the spectacularly small mathematical margins for error, lessons learned, and reveals the thrills of driving more than 763 mph across Nevada’s Black Rock Desert in the British-des...

101-year-old Jack Dark reflects on life in WW2 as part of the RAF’s elite Pathfinder Force. Just a lad at 18, Jack was a Bomb Aimer and Navigator in the Lancaster Bomber. The Pathfinders went in first to find and mark the targets. Their accuracy is said to have changed the course of the Second World War. Jack is one of a few surviving Pathfinders and is in demand by film and documentary-makers for...

Artist Chris Levine, renowned for his portraits of the late Queen, describes 7.83 Hertz – his new immersive installation featuring cutting edge lasers - which he hopes can be scaled to highlight the vital role our ocean plays in tackling the world’s climate crisis. Created in collaboration with the Convex Seascape Survey, Chris explains how understanding more about the Benthic zone, a living ecosy...

Golden Globe, BAFTA & Emmy-winning drama producer Gareth Neame OBE shares stories behind some of the most-watched original dramas he’s created – from global phenomena Downton Abbey to the BBC hit Spooks. As filming for the third Downton film nears the end with a cast who are like family, Gareth gives a sneak peek into other dramas he’s making, including The Day of the Jackal with Eddie Redmayn...

As Britain experiences the first two weeks of a Labour Government, award-winning Chief Political Commentator of The Sunday Times, Tim Shipman, assesses where we’re at and what’s in store under Prime Minister Keir Starmer. Tim gives an insight into what it takes to be a trusted political insider, likening it to the spy world where members of the Cabinet, ministers, special advisors and so on are su...

When reigning Olympic Gold triathlete Dame Flora Duffy takes her place on the pontoon on the Seine in Paris in three weeks’ time, it marks the end of a long, frustrating battle to make the start line. Flora finished 2022 on a high, winning her second Commonwealth Gold, but was devastated not to race at all in 2023 due to a painful, complicated knee injury which she feared might end her incredible...

Four time British FIM Enduro World Champion Jane Daniels aimed simply to complete her first ever Dakar race – an extreme endurance event.  But she won the 2024 Women’s Class, racing across 7,891km of towering sand dunes, vast oases, and dramatic rock formations in Saudi Arabia, sponsored by Italian motorcycle company Fantic.   Jane, from Wigan, shares the thrills and challenges of her high-octane...

Explorer Oli France on his 64-day, 3,588-mile 'human powered' journey, cycling alone for 39 days from Death Valley in California to Denali, eventually reaching the summit of one of the world’s most challenging mountains. Oli spent ten years dreaming of and five years planning ‘The Ultimate Seven’ project – expeditions which will culminate in, hopefully, him becoming the first person to travel from...

Dr Jack Wolfson practised as a traditional hospital cardiologist in the States for more than 16 years, following in his eminent father’s footsteps. An epiphany moment with his now wife, Dr Heather Wolfson, led him on a different journey - to investigate the cause of heart disease and illness, rather than ‘put a Band-Aid’ over the symptoms. Based in Scottsdale, AZ, Dr Jack runs Natural Heart Doctor...

In this week’s Convex Conversation we explore behavioural science and its role in helping tackle some of the greatest challenges in society. Behavioural scientist Elspeth Kirkman – Chief Programmes Officer at innovation charity Nesta – reveals how issues like the nation’s health, domestic decarbonisation and the disparity in early childhood are being viewed through different lenses to bring about...

To mark the 80th anniversary of D-Day, Helen joins the Paddle Group, Royal Marines Association, on the Thames in a folding two-man boat, known as a Klepper, made famous by the Cockleshell heroes.  As she paddles with former Royal Marines corporal Chris Maynard and some of the team preparing to cross the Channel to Normandy, she discovers how these expeditions help personnel from all the forces wit...

Travel writer Catherine Fairweather talks about her new podcast series, Voices from the Frontline, exploring lives shaped by war. In the first episode she interviews her husband, revered photo-journalist Sir Don McCullin, and recalls how she first heard about Don from foreign correspondent Jon Swain when she was 11, living in Laos during the Indochina Wars. Catherine’s father was a diplomat and he...

Prince William is building 24 sustainable homes on his Duchy of Cornwall land at Nansledan to provide temporary accommodation and support for some of the many people sleeping rough in the county, in partnership with homelessness charity St Petrocs.  Jon Sparkes OBE is a trustee of St Petrocs; ran Crisis; Scope; is currently CEO of UNICEK UK and is about to move to Mencap, where he’ll be pushing fo...

Deep in the sub-basement of the Natural History Museum in London, surrounded by a vast collection of dinosaur bones, world-leading palaeontologist Prof Paul Barrett gives an insight into how prehistoric times can inform current issues like climate change.  In this golden age for prehistoric reptiles, where on average one new dinosaur is discovered every week, innovative digital tests and detailed...

An insider’s view from former cabinet minister Rory Stewart OBE on the upcoming UK election and the difficulties a new Government will face taking over a country that he believes is bust, with public services we can't afford.  Rory is already selling out venues like the O2 in the autumn with his The Rest is Politics podcast co-host Alastair Campbell when they'll be debating the issues before the n...

Major General Alastair Bruce OBE is known for his engaging live TV commentary, here and in America, on royal weddings, jubilees, and the King's Coronation, giving viewers an accurate insight into ceremonial life and history. Alastair - a direct descendant of the revered warrior king Robert the Bruce - is the current Governor of Edinburgh Castle, a role which dates back to 1107.  He reveals his lov...

Former Chief of the Defence Staff General Sir Nick Carter gives his assessment on the current conflicts in the Middle East and Ukraine, as well as reflects on his 45 years serving in the military.  Sir Nick says the world looks a lot more like it did in the 1910s and 1930s and explains the geopolitics behind why he believes conflict is now possible at a scale and intensity he hoped we’d never see...

As NASA prepares to land people on the Moon for the first time since 1972, aerospace physiologist Dr Tess Morris-Paterson talks about her work selecting astronauts for missions like Artemis and what it takes to become an astronaut.  Tess explains the lunar orbit of the Moon's South Pole, discusses plans for astronauts to live and work under the Moon's surface, and how these missions will pave the...

Bonita Norris became the youngest British woman to summit Everest in 2010, aged just 22. What was even more remarkable about her feat, was that she only started mountaineering at university. Inspired and driven by the thought of seeing the curvature of the Earth from the world’s highest peak, Bonita explains how she conquered tough mental, physical and practical challenges to achieve her dream. Sh...

Eminent scientist Russell Foster, Professor of Circadian Neuroscience at Oxford University, shares some of his extraordinary life’s work, taking us on a fascinating journey through the science of our body clocks. As work and recreation time has become increasingly blurred, we’ve neglected our 24-hour biological clock which guides us towards the best time to sleep, eat and think. Using his own stud...

Historian Alice Loxton is on a mission to bring history to a wider, younger audience using the power of her 2 million followers on socials.   The 28-year-old presenter and author travels up and down the UK, filming intriguing bite-sized historical facts and little-known stories from various periods in authentic settings.   Alice has packed a lot in – working with The National Trust, Downing Street...

When a 26-year-old American astrophysics major arrived in the Old City of Kabul in Afghanistan to volunteer, she had no idea the work would become a major part of her life, helping tens of thousands of people survive and thrive in unstable, war-torn countries.  Shoshana Stewart, President of Turquoise Mountain, explains how the international NGO started with a chance conversation between the then...

Investigative journalist Clare Rewcastle Brown reveals the remarkable story behind her exposing the 1MDB fraud in which billions of dollars were embezzled from Malaysia’s sovereign wealth fund.  From her kitchen table in London, Clare worked doggedly with the FBI and US Department of Justice on her one-woman investigation which toppled a government, implicated top politicians, leading institutions...

Six years ago, the British Army tasked Lieutenant Colonel Tim Purbrick OBE with forming a unit to defend and preserve some of the world’s greatest cultural treasures, at risk of theft or destruction in conflict. The former tank commander explains how the lessons learned by the real-life ‘Monuments Men’ in World War 2 - documented by Sir Leonard Woolley and whose story formed the basis of George Cl...

Hello! Magazine’s former Editor in Chief Rosie Nixon talks openly about how she unexpectedly found herself on the brink of burnout after 16 years at Britain’s favourite celebrity magazine.   Despite incredible career success, Rosie was running on empty and didn’t feel the same joy from the adrenalin-fuelled, glamorous publishing world she had once thrived in.   She spent hours walking in the Surre...