Undercurrent Stories

What will the world of work look like in ten years? How will artificial intelligence, changing customer expectations and new technologies reshape our lives? And what can we do today to prepare for a future that nobody can predict with certainty? In this episode of Undercurrent Stories , Bob Wells speaks with Andy Milligan, co-author of Future Shift , about the forces transforming business, work an...

What happens when you find out the story you've been told about your own life isn't true? In this episode, Bob Wells talks to award-winning novelist and poet Nathalie Abi-Ezzi about her new historical novel, All the Lives She Lived . It opens in Birmingham in 1917, where a young woman named Doris grows up believing she is alone in the world. Then she learns her parents and six siblings a...

What if getting older isn’t really about having fewer things to look forward to, but about learning to appreciate what’s already here? In this episode, I sit down with Irish author, teacher, poet, and former musician Kevin McManus   to talk about his novel The Light of the Evening   and some of the bigger questions that come with getting older. How do we make sense of grief and loss? What happens...

Want to become a more confident and compelling public speaker? Most of us at some point in our lives have to make a speech. Perhaps a wedding speech, a family celebration or you might be regularly making presentations at work. Whether you’re facing your first presentation or you’ve been speaking for years, this episode is packed with practical ideas to help you communicate with greater impact.   P...

If you’re going to see Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey, or you’ve already seen it, there’s a much bigger story behind the film. In this conversation I talk to Dr. Joel Christensen, Professor of Classics at the City University of New York Graduate Center , and author of the book ' Why Odysseus? Survivor, Scoundrel, (Anti) Hero.'  We talk about the ancient Odysseus,  the brilliant strategi...

Professor Edzard Ernst discusses ' The Leopard Lily Project ' and tells the disturbing story of a largely forgotten Nazi scheme to use a poisonous South American plant to carry out mass sterilisation. After taking power in 1933, the Nazis introduced compulsory sterilisation for people they deemed “unworthy” of reproduction, particularly those with hereditary illnesses. Seeking a less inv...

In this episode, I'm joined by Dr. Max McKeown, author of Super Adaptability , to understand the difference between adapting just to survive a hard situation and adapting in a way that actually moves your life forward. Max explains the three-part "loop" at the heart of his book,  a simple, repeatable process for noticing when you're stuck, understanding why, and taking delibera...

“Only Girls Bleed:  The Human Cost of Post-Roe America" -  Dr. Elaine Lawless Overview Ethnographer and folklorist Dr. Elaine Lawless talks about her debut novel Only Girls Bleed , a gripping story inspired by real accounts of women navigating pregnancy, trauma, and the fractured abortion laws across the United States. Elaine explains why she turned to fiction after decades of academic work,...

What happens when an independent music promoter takes on one of the biggest companies in the live entertainment industry? Tommy Dorfman, CEO of Juice Entertainment ,  discusses his extraordinary journey through the US music and nightlife scene, from throwing house parties as a teenager to running major EDM, (Electronic Dance Music), events and working with some of the biggest names in entertainmen...

What can the Tree of Life tell us about where we came from and how life became so diverse? Professor Max Telford, author of the book ' The Tree of Life: Solving Science's Greatest Puzzle' takes us on a journey through four billion years of evolution, from the earliest life on Earth to humans, worms and the extraordinary coelacanth. Max explains how scientists reconstruct the Tree of...

We tend to think of genius as something you’re born with. A rare quality possessed by people with extraordinary memories, mathematical abilities, or problem-solving skills. But what if many of the abilities we associate with genius can actually be trained? In this episode, I'm joined by Nelson Dellis , a six-time USA Memory Champion, Guinness World Record holder, and author of Everyday Genius...

Prof. Jamie Woodward (University of Manchester) on how microplastics get from your washing machine to local rivers  and how his research on Manchester's waterways ended up shaping UK water policy. We cover the sewage scandal, water company spin, and what actually needs to change. In this episode: What actually counts as a "microplastic" (and why the name is misleading) How microplas...

Have you ever felt like there is a dormant, creative part of you just waiting to get out? Something you buried years, or even decades ago because life got in the way? Careers, family commitments, the daily grind, all very important but it’s so easy to push our real passions to the back burner while we go about our everyday life. Sometimes, though, life makes the big decisions for us. My guest toda...

Stuart Ward grew up on a council estate in Exeter, England, obsessed with pirate radio, chart positions, and — oddly — record labels. That obsession, plus a teenage belief that Sweden had cracked the code on a fairer society, eventually carried him across the North Sea, first as a chartered accountant, then as one of Swedish television and radio's most recognisable voices for decades. Stuart...

It's the early 1940s. The world's biggest movie stars could have sat the war out in comfort — instead, they walked off film sets, traded tuxedos and evening gowns for uniforms, and went to fight. This conversation features British Army veteran, Olympic discus thrower, and author Bill Tancred to explore the extraordinary true stories behind the actors who lived the wars they later portray...

What's really behind the stone walls of a sleepy English village?  In this live walking-tour episode, I'm joined by local historian Adrian Gombault, author of the book 'Belmesthorpe: Then and Now' for a stroll through the English village of Belmesthorpe. We uncover Viking place names, a vanished railway, a rare 18th-century dovecote, a forgotten riot, and a surprising Cold War-...

Trillions of invisible organisms produce every other breath you take — and almost no one talks about them. This week, that changes. Bob is joined once again by Vincent Doumeizel — UN food and ocean advisor, food innovation expert, and author of The Power of Plankton   — for a deep dive into the most overlooked organisms on the planet. Vincent explains how plankton produce half the world's oxy...

What happens when a parent leaves not just their family, but the entire world they once knew? In this episode, I talk with author and memoirist Lily Dunn about her powerful memoir Sins of My Father . When Lily was six years old, her father abandoned the family to join a spiritual movement that would shape the course of both his life and hers. We discuss the lasting effects of childhood abandonment...

What do you do when life suddenly changes direction? In this episode I'm joined by author and former production editor David Hermakowski. David talks about resilience, reinvention, and finding purpose after unexpected challenges. Following a major health scare and brain surgery, David faced questions about identity, recovery, and what comes next. We explore major life changes as a new beginni...

What happens when the life you've built no longer fits? In this episode we hear from author, journalist, and book coach Carolyn Flynn to discuss her memoir Boundless and the unexpected opportunities that can emerge during life's biggest transitions. As a single mother preparing to send her twins off to college while facing uncertainty in her journalism career, Carolyn found herself confr...

Animal welfare expert Laura Foster joins host Bob Wells to reveal the hidden realities behind dog rescue, rehoming and responsible pet ownership in the UK. If you've ever adopted a rescue dog, worried about your pet's behaviour, or wondered what really goes on inside animal welfare organisations like Dogs Trust and the RSPCA this episode is for you. Laura Foster is a senior animal welfar...

In this episode we meet pioneering wolf biologist and author Diane Boyd who talks  about her extraordinary four decades studying wolves in the remote wilderness of Montana near Glacier National Park. In the 1970s she was the only female biologist in the United States researching and radio-collaring wild wolves. With her two dogs for company she faced the rigours of the Montana winter in an isolate...

We’re back in Stamford with historian Bill Cunningham, uncovering the town’s hidden past. From Burghley House to the famous George Hotel. Expect wild stories of bull runs, political corruption, and unforgettable local characters in one of England’s most beautiful towns.  Question or comment? Send us a text message. www.undercurrentstories.com

Most of us like to think our decisions are grounded in facts. Whether it’s in medicine, business, or everyday life, we assume the “best” option rises to the top through clear evidence. But for most of history — and even today — that hasn’t really been the case. In this episode, I talk with science journalist Helen Pearson, author of Beyond Belief: How Evidence Shows What Really Works , about the s...

In this re-released episode of Undercurrent Stories , we revisit our powerful conversation with Rita Gigante — author, healer, psychic, and daughter of the infamous mafia boss Vincent “The Chin” Gigante. Rita shares her extraordinary journey growing up in the shadow of one of New York’s most feared crime families, the trauma and secrets she carried from childhood, and how those experiences led her...