The Convex Conversation

Grange Hill star Linda Magistris founded The Good Grief Trust after she lost her partner – BAFTA-winning director Graham Theakston - to a rare cancer and found little support to help her cope with his early death.   Linda has grown it into the UK’s leading bereavement network, bringing more than 900 specialist charities & services together under one umbrella for individuals and health care pro...

Operation Ringtail culminated in convictions following the smashing of a drugs ring who smuggled more than £1.5 billion worth of cocaine into the UK, hidden in boxes of frozen chicken.  Leading the investigation was this week’s guest, Detective Chief Superintendent Carl Galvin - Head of the Yorkshire and Humber Regional Organised Crime Unit. Carl talks about his 25 years as a covert operative, the...

Dr Chloe Buiting, known as The Jungle Doctor, is an Australian wildlife vet & conservationist whose love for nature & animals started as a teenager on the remote Lord Howe Island, described by Lord Attenborough as “so extraordinary it’s almost unbelievable.” Chloe’s work includes fitting prosthetics on elephants in Chiang Mai who have lost limbs through treading on landmines; dehorning rhi...

2024 is an exciting year for women’s sport, not least with the Olympics in Paris on the horizon - the first Games in history to offer gender parity. Sue Anstiss MBE has been involved in women’s sport for more than three decades - dedicating much of her working life to fighting for equality and driving change.  We explore the impact of teams like the Lionesses, some fascinating history, the challen...

As our climate emergency deepens, the CEO of Triodos Bank UK – one of the world’s most sustainable banks – explains how the current global banking system needs strong mandatory regulations to become a catalyst for a more sustainable future and fairer economy.  Dr Bevis Watts is the first, and perhaps only, environmentalist to lead a UK bank and has spoken at key conferences like Blue Earth Summit...

When Vogue Philippines asked Artu Nepomuceno to trek to the remote mountain village of Buscalan to photograph 106-year-old tattoo artist Apo Whang-Od, he said yes immediately! Apo Whang-Od is the last 'mambabatok' of her generation, keeping the thousand-year-old practice of 'batok' alive by training and inspiring her grandnieces in the ancient art of inking. Artu's intimate portraits of Apo Whang-...

Scientist, painter and former Army helicopter pilot Hannah Shergold on her "fascinating yet peculiar" journey to becoming an artist. Hannah is one of the UK's most successful self-represented artists, best known for her extraordinary wildlife pieces which have raised more than £300,000 for conservation charities like Tusk and the Invictus Games Team UK. She shares stories from her missions to aust...

It’s shocking to learn that two million plastic bags are used every minute and a truckload of plastic is dumped into our ocean every 60 seconds. Gomi - Japanese for trash - is the name of a young design studio in Brighton who are making stunning bespoke Bluetooth speakers and portable phone chargers with second-use Lime bike batteries and so-called ‘non-recyclable’ waste ordinarily destined for la...

Against the backdrop of an ancient temperate rainforest at Cabilla on Bodmin Moor, a high-flying couple - both deeply affected by mental illness – have dramatically changed their lives and turned to the restorative powers of nature to help them and others heal.    Merlin Hanbury-Tenison served as a British Army Major and completed three tours of Afghanistan, but had a breakdown triggered by Post T...

Frustrated by abandoned fishing nets - known as ‘ghost gear’ - dumped on their local Cornish beaches and coastline, marine biologists & keen surfers Harry Dennis and Gavin Parker searched for a sustainable solution.    They discovered the very properties which make discarded fishing gear such a threat to the ocean & marine life - it’s abundance, strength, durability and flexibility - make...

Recently back from a scientific study to the South Pole, health tech entrepreneur Dr Jack Kreindler talks about his life in emergency and high-altitude medicine and how we can put more life into our years.   Jack says he thinks of health as a gift and asset born of luck, inheritance, and a wise investment strategy with its purpose to not merely extend our days but to help us live our fullest lives...

Jude Tebbutt was on holiday in Kenya with her husband David in 2011 when she was snatched in the dead of night by Somali pirates wielding AK47s.    Unbeknown to Jude at the time, the gunmen murdered her husband that night and held her for ransom in squalor, with barely any food, in filthy conditions for six and a half months.    Jude explains how she developed techniques to help her survive, stay...

Expert mountain guide Dawa Geljen Sherpa grew up in a big family in Lukla in Nepal – known as The Gateway to Everest.   As a young boy he worked hard tending his parents’ livestock with no access to school until he ran away from home aged ten in search of an education, funded by work he did on Everest as a kitchen porter.   After travelling the world guiding expeditions on some of the world’s most...

Oli France is back home in Wigan after completing the first of seven extraordinary expeditions – to travel under his own steam from the lowest to the highest point of every continent - an extreme challenge which has been five years in the planning.   He’s just cycled the equivalent of London to Moscow through Africa – facing furnace-like temperatures in Djibouti; hostilities & traffic chaos in...

If you watched the King’s Coronation Concert, the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee music extravaganza, or were one of the millions tuned in to Prince Harry’s wedding, you’ll have heard some of choir director Mark De-Lisser’s arrangements.   Mark puts bespoke choirs together for major events, liaising with artists like Lionel Ritchie, Alicia Keys, Katie Perry and Andrea Bocelli. But he tells Helen it took...

Olly Williams and Suzi Winstanley – known simply as Olly and Suzi – have travelled the world together tracking, painting, sketching and photographing endangered species in the wild.   Their unique method of creating their art has led to powerful interactions and encounters with bears and buffalo, sharks and seals, hyenas and wild cats, and more.   They’ve trekked through jungles, deserts, the pole...

Acclaimed Finnish conductor Dalia Stasevska opened this year’s prestigious First Night of the Proms at London’s Royal Albert Hall and went straight to Glyndebourne for a run of Benjamin Britten’s iconic A Midsummer Night’s Dream.   But in-between her high-profile musical appearances, Dalia – who was born in Ukraine - has been driving trucks into the war-torn city of Lviv, delivering generators, sl...

Find out how Theresa Patricios, Head of Investments at Convex, and Cam Parker from Swiss Re overcame extreme mental and physical challenges to complete the World’s Toughest Row in record time.      The Pacific Discovery 2023 four-strong team rowed 2,800 miles in just 34 days, 8 hours and 22 mins – the fastest mixed team ever – and have become the first reinsurance team to complete the race.   Ther...

Journalist John McCarthy was held hostage in Lebanon for more than five years. Now, three decades on, he’s helping others in similar situations through his role as Patron of Hostage International.   The charity was originally founded by John’s former cellmate and great friend Sir Terry Waite who himself was held for more almost five years, much of it alone.   John reflects on the fanfare he came h...

YouTube star Geoff Marshall reveals how and why he started making great quality, informative, interesting, fun transport films which have attracted more than 82 million views on his channel and are appreciated by his 314,000 plus subscribers.   Geoff travelled to all 2,563 trains in the UK followed by Ireland's 198 and held the Guinness World Record twice for visiting every London Underground stat...

Dr Who celebrates 60 years in November with special new episodes featuring former Time Lord David Tennant and Catherine Tate, and the release of an audio book voiced by impressionist Jon Culshaw in which the third and fourth Doctors meet and work together.   A life-long Dr Who fan, Jon came up with the idea for The Box of Terrors, written by Lizzie Hopley, based on Jon Pertwee and Tom Baker's time...

On this week’s podcast we hear from Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, King Charles, Money Saving Expert Martin Lewis and former PM Boris Johnson, thanks to the incredible talent and wit of impressionist Jon Culshaw.   Jon, who is busy rehearsing two shows for this year’s Edinburgh Fringe – LENA and Imposter Syndrome – stops off for a chat and some laughs on his way to record the latest episode of BBC Ra...

Scott Mitchell talks about his life loving Dame Barbara Windsor - one of Britain’s national treasures - and their heart-breaking battle with dementia.    Scott is an Ambassador for Alzheimers' Research UK and is involved in campaigning, fundraising, and taking part in trials to help find a cure for a disease which affects more than a million people in Britain.    Scott says he feels blessed to hav...

Acclaimed British painter and Academician David Remfry confesses he thought he’d never be asked to coordinate the Royal Academy's world-famous Summer Exhibition. When the call came, the 80-year-old artist says he was over the moon and said yes immediately.     Helen catches up with David at his London studio surrounded by his stunning work to find out what’s involved; hear about his colourful life...

Twenty-five years ago, a young hat-maker secured a grant from The Prince’s Trust to help fund her own atelier.   So as milliner Jess Collett joined millions watching the King’s Coronation, she felt grateful for the help she’d received but also knew all eyes were on the stunning head pieces she’d designed for the Princess of Wales and Princess Charlotte in collaboration with Alexander McQueen. Jess...