Ways to Change the World with Krishnan Guru-Murthy

Tom Daley is an Olympic Gold Medallist, sports personality, campaigner and knitter. We recently saw him at the opening ceremony of the Commonwealth Games as a flag bearer, bearing the Progress Pride flag with LGBTQ+ athletes across the commonwealth. Krishnan talks to Tom about why he is fighting for LGBTQ+ inclusion in sports, his views on trans athlete participation and what it’s been like for hi...

Michael Pollan is one of TIME magazine’s top 50 most influential people in the US, he is a reporter, writer and psychonaut.   His books The Omnivore’s Dilemma and The Botany of Desire questions the way the world thinks about food and he is now doing the same for psychedelics and psychoactive plants. His book How To Change Your Mind and a new Netflix series by the same name explore his belief that...

Steve Thompson is a former England rugby player and he played in every England match during the 2003  Rugby World Cup.  But today, age 43, Steve remembers nothing about that final. And in 2020 he was diagnosed with early-onset dementia - and probable chronic traumatic encephalopathy.  In today’s episode Krishnan talks to him about his diagnosis, the impact it’s had on his mental health and his mem...

General Charles Q Brown Jr. is the chief of staff of the US Air Force.  Krishnan talks to him about how the war in Ukraine has changed the way he thinks about defending the US, why he joined the US Air Force and whether he thinks anything has changed in America since the death of George Floyd. Producer: Freya Pickford Sources: Pacific Air Forces/ Mentorship Moment

Asma Khan is a world-renowned restaurateur and cookbook author who runs London restaurant Darjeeling Express with its kitchen entirely staffed by women.    After two years at her current location in Covent Garden, she has moved on, but she’s struggling to find another place for her restaurant. She blames discrimination in what she called the ‘all white, Mayfair, men only club’ of the hospitality i...

Lesia Vasylenko is a Ukrainian politician and human rights lawyer. Since the war in Ukraine began, we’ve spoken to her many times on Channel 4 News, but she joins Krishnan to talk about what it was like to have to send her children to another country when the war in Ukraine began. She also discusses her first impression of President Zelenskyy and how she believes this war might end. Produced by :...

Leila Mottley has only just turned 20 and she is already a New York Times Bestseller and the youngest person to make Oprah Winfrey’s book club. Her first book, which she started writing one month before her 17th birthday, has received rave reviews from critics. She joins Krishnan to talk about all the themes her novel, Nightcrawling, takes in; racism, sexism, poverty, injustice, police abuse of po...

Justin Welby has been the Archbishop of Canterbury since 2013. Before he began training for ministry in 1989, Archbishop Justin worked in the oil industry for 11 years. His new book, The Power of Reconciliation encourages peacebuilding at all levels, turning the abstract idea of reconciliation into something that can be done throughout life. Krishnan joined the Archbishop at Lambeth Palace to talk...

Our guest this week is Lethal Bizzle. He’s a rapper and entrepreneur with Ghanaian heritage, who originally hails from Walthamstow.  He’s one of the founding fathers of Grime who got into a very public spat with David Cameron when he was prime minister about whether the music genre glorified violence. He talks to Krishnan about how he started out in music, crypto and his new album, ‘Lethal B Vs Le...

Geoff Norcott is a writer, activist and comedian. As a rare right-winger, Geoff is a unique voice in British comedy operating outside the usual comedic commentary on social issues and politics.  Geoff talks to Krishnan about how politics doesn’t have to be all about ‘punching up’, why he’s had enough of ‘the culture war’ and his thoughts on the importance of having class diversity in the media.  P...

Denzel Curry is an American rapper and artist. He is brutally honest in his music about very personal topics such as his own mental health and his approach to policing and racism in America. Krishnan talks to Denzel about how he’s overcome trauma, his attitudes towards police brutality and why he thinks the music industry needs to become more collaborative.  Warning: This episode contains very str...

Sarah Brown is the Chair of Theirworld. Their mission is to end the global education crisis. She’s also the Executive Chair for the Global Business Coalition for Education.  She joins Krishnan to talk about Theirworld’s work and how they are helping Ukrainian children. She also speaks about her experience of losing her daughter, Jennifer, and her time at Downing Street.  Producer: Freya Pickford

Bill Browder was one of the biggest foreign investors in Russia until 2005 when he was kicked out of the country. He is now known for being one of Vladimir Putin’s fiercest critics.   He joins Krishnan to talk about his new book called Freezing Order - in which he details his mission to pursue justice for his lawyer and friend Sergei Magnitsky who died in a Russian jail.    Produced by: Nina Hodgs...

Vanessa Nakate is a Ugandan climate activist who has quickly become a prominent and formidable voice in the climate change movement. She recently published her book ‘A Bigger Picture: My Fight to Bring a New African Voice to the Climate Crisis’.  Krishnan spoke to her about why she became a climate activist, racism and online abuse she has experienced. Produced by : Freya Pickford

Chinese dissident Ai Weiwei is a world-famous artist and activist.  Krishnan speaks to him about China’s relationship with the West, his father’s exile and whether democracy really exists.  His new exhibition, The Liberty of Doubt, is currently on display at Kettle’s Yard gallery in Cambridge.  Produced by: Freya Pickford

Francis Fukuyama is a political scientist and professor at Stanford University. Francis is known for his book, 'The End of History and the Last Man', but he recently published a new book 'Liberalism and its Discontents’.  He joins Krishnan to talk about the war in Ukraine, liberalism and whether democracy is under threat in today’s world.  Producer: Freya Pickford

Angela Davis grew up in segregated Alabama and became a world renowned political thinker, activist, author and academic.   Her involvement with a politically distorted murder trial sent her into hiding, becoming one of the FBI’s most wanted. She spent 18 months in jail before she was acquitted of all charges.   She returned to teaching, writing a series of seminal books on social justice and equal...

Our guest this week is Conservative MP and Chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee, Tom Tugendhat.  Tom talks to Krishnan about Russia's invasion of Ukraine, his plans to run for Prime Minister and his time serving in the military during the Iraq war and war in Afghanistan.  Produced by : Freya Pickford

Isabel Allende has been called “the world’s most widely read Spanish-language author”, known for titles such as 'The House of the Spirits' and 'City of the Beasts'. Her books often put women at the centre, paying homage to some incredible female characters. Her new book, ‘Violeta’ is written as a letter from a grandmother to her grandson. Violeta, the narrator, was inspired by Isabel’s own recentl...