The Goldster Conversations Podcast

We may think of ‘globalism’ as a recent development, but its origins date back centuries,  when courageous seafarers pioneered routes across the oceans with the objectives of exploration, trade and profits. Improvements in ship design, compasses and mapping, enabled navigation across unprecedented distances. The embarkation points were the vibrant ports of the West – Venice, Amsterdam, Lisbon – an...

George Mehok is an exciting mix between thriller author, software designer and angel investor for new companies working on the edge of our technological revolution. His debut novel, Going Dark, skillfully keeps us on the edge of our seats. He weaves today’s most challenging issues with threads back to 1791 and a secret military unit tasked with delivering a secret message to Thomas Jefferson that...

TJ Halbertsma is the living equivalent of Superman – one moment Clark Kent; in a suit and tie, commuting to work in an office, in his own words, “just an ordinary guy”. Next, spinning through an imaginary revolving door and you find the same person achieving extraordinary feats. From climbing some of the most notoriously dangerous mountains such as the Eiger and Denali, to crossing the English Cha...

The term ‘rat-race’ was coined long before we had smartphones and social media. It has even more meaning today when we’re at risk of becoming rats in a worldwide laboratory, monitored and manipulated by technology giants and artificial intelligence.  Therefore, it is even more important to take control of our own minds father than let other do it for you. Michael Hutchinson shows the way through y...

Craig Brown’ latest book A Voyage Around the Queen not only became an immediate best-seller, but also gathered praise for being a unique, deep and thought-provoking portrayal of the late Queen Elizabeth and the monarchy. Craig is best known as a humourist for Private Eye and the Mail whose tools of the trade are usually sharp lines and throwaway wisecracks. Craig has written eighteen books includi...

With great panache, Kim Lengling explains hope, kindness, fear and that slate of emotions that weave their way through all our lives.  Her podcast is called Let Fear Bounce. Among her many books are Nuggets of Hope: Cultivate Kindness and Paw Prints on the Couch: How Pets Enrich Lives. Her office manager is called Dexter, a loyal hound who barks at squirrels and birds and remind the boss when to t...

Dr Orit Gal is an entrepreneur, advisor, and senior lecturer in Strategy & Complexity at Regent’s University London. She specialises in analysing trends and identifying potential for systemic change within complex environments. Her extensive experience includes collaborations with tech startups, non-government organisation, innovative policy think-tanks, and corporate market research. Her curr...

Mihir Bose face and voice became known to millions after he won the job as the BBC’s first non-white sports editor building on his earlier reputation as a sports correspondent on The Telegraph and Sunday Times. Among his latest books is Thank You Mr Crombie – a tribute to the Home Office official who allowed him to settle in Britain and pursue his career and dream. Mihir compellingly tells how Bri...

Angela van Breemen is a soprano soloist, a poet, a wildlife activist and she has just published her first novel. For those Goldster creative writers, how does that feel?  Past Life’s Revenge is a crime thriller with a twist of surrealism. Since childhood, David Harris has suffered from debilitating nightmares. He has sought the advice of psychiatrists and other health professionals without obtaini...

No, the world is not broken. Gloom can be conquered. As for those headline stories about the young going astray, homelessness, prison overcrowding, come and meet Goldster’s light that shines through fog. The charity work of the magnificent and bubbly Eva Hamilton stretches from Mother Teresa’s Home for the Dying in Calcutta when she was in her twenties to founding Key4Life which helps thousands se...

On 12 November, Lucinda Hawksley will be joined on the Goldster Magazine Show by Laura Payne, host of the highly-acclaimed The Dreamboat Podcast. Laura, a psychotherapist with a passion for uncovering the mysteries of our minds, has become one of the leading voices in dream research. The Dreamboat Podcast explores the fascinating world of dreams, delving deep into the science, psychology, and pers...

Austin Williams is an architect, author and podcaster who imagines our society and cities far into the future. For many years he has worked closely with Baroness Claire Fox at the Academy of Ideas, organising regular weekend-long events of debate, argument and fun. He is frequently a contradictory voice on a range of issues from climate change, sustainability and development.  As one critic noted,...

“A terrific overview of Japan’s long and rich history that covers an astonishing amount of ground. A gem of a book that is as engaging as it is readable.” Peter Frankopan This week on the Goldster Magazine Show, Lucinda Hawksley will be joined by author Lesley Downer who will take us on a captivating journey into the heart of one of Asia’s most enigmatic countries, via her latest book, The Shortes...

Peter Abrahams is fascinated in the human body.  As a young man he worked with the Peace Corp in the jungles of Sarawak, went on to train as a doctor, planned to become a surgeon but got side-tracked into writing a ground-breaking book, praised by his medical peers: Clinical Anatomy of Practical Procedures. He has taught and researched around the world, a pioneer in explaining how our body is piec...

How do we place a value on happiness?  Can we measure our sense of well-being and fulfilment through science? Richard Layard is founder and former director of the Centre for Economic Performance at the London School of Economics. He has been editor of the annual World Happiness Report which examines the state of happiness at various stages of life. Richard’s latest co-authored book is Wellbeing: S...

Psychotherapist Jennifer Cox believes that women are never allowed to truly express their anger, and this is making them ill.  After a lifetime of being told to repress it, to hide away and fear it, anger has begun to manifest in female bodies in myriad ways that cannot be controlled. Do you agree? Jennifer has drawn her conclusions from talking to women from all walks of life and ages in her work...

Until last year, Professor Alf Collins was NHS England’s Clinical Director for personalised care. His mission in health and well-being is to build around an individual’s needs bringing in shared decision-making, care planning, self-management support, social prescribing and that Goldster concept of ‘rethinking medicine.”  Alf worked for a decade with the Health Foundation, helping lead applied res...

Iain McGilchrist is a leading psychiatrist with a vast body of work and connections around the world. In his latest book The Matter with Things: Our Brains, Our Delusions, and the Unmaking of the World, Iain asks blunt questions that rattle around in many of our minds. Who are we? What is the world? How can we understand consciousness, matter, space and time? Is the cosmos without purpose or value...

“ My son’s death will never make sense to me. But it has taught me that it’s possible to find meaning, collectively and individually, in the loss of what we love.” Liz Jensen On 3 September, Lucinda Hawksley was joined by Liz Jensen, the best-selling author of eight novels including The Ninth Life of Louis Drax, which was adapted by Hollywood into a box-office feature film starring Jamie Dornan. B...

We rely on our doctors as a first port of call if we feel sick or down and, very often, the last port of call toward life’s end for ourselves or our loved ones. But what is really going through our doctors’ minds? How do they cope with the stress and trauma in their everyday working lives?    Betsy Gall is a widow who was once living the American dream. Married to an oncologist with three healthy...

Sarah Stacey is one of the most knowledgeable and connected journalists in the field of health and well-being. Back in the 1990s, she detected a paradigm shift in healthcare toward lifestyle, nutrition and generally healthier living that prevented sickness rather than tackle it once it took grip. First at the Telegraph, as long-time health editor of the Mail-on-Sunday and at the Express , Sarah re...

Tim Eggebraaten is a retired police chief whose advice to all around is to identify the rhythm unique to each of us and use the gifts we have for the good of people around us. It’s a tactic that wins every time, he says – looking for our beat.  The course of our lives can be made better with the thinking: “I am. I can. I will.”  Tim sees himself as a messenger of optimism.  With a bundle of heartw...

Are you living intentionally, with purpose and passion? Are you embracing the flame that ignites within you, or are you evading it? Will your future self be proud of your story, or do you yearn for something more? John R. Miles is the creator of Passion Struck: Twelve Powerful Principles to Unlock Your Purpose and Ignite Your Most Intentional Life, delving into the heart of what it means to live a...

Health and well-being specialist, Professor Robert L Kilpatrick, has spent a career working on the science around preventative healthcare and well-being.  He is a founding partner at Technology Vision Group LLC which advises clients on strategic development issues. His two current projects are a book The Future of Human Care: Health Innovation and Social Impact and a six-part documentary film and...

As Britain's best-known headmaster, Sir Anthony Seldon famously introduced happiness, or well-being, lessons at his school, Wellington College. In 2011, he co-founded Action for Happiness, a body to raise awareness of the discovery of happiness and reduction of depression, whose influence is growing rapidly in Britain and across the world.  He is the author of Beyond Happiness: How to find lasting...