David Harewood is an actor, director, author and activist. He was born in Birmingham, trained at RADA, and made a name for himself on the stage, with big roles that included Othello and Martin Luther King.Most recently, he played the right-wing commentator William Buckley Jr. in Best Of Enemies. A fantastic production that is currently screening in cinemas, thanks to National Theatre Live.His diverse screen work includes film, documentaries, and the hit thriller Homeland, which saw David relocate to America for a decade.David often shines a light on issues and subjects that he cares about, through his roles and documentary subjects. And he spoke about racism and a psychotic breakdown with great honesty in his 2021 memoir Maybe I Don’t Belong Here. All of which is covered in this wide-ranging and candid conversation.Related links:David's websiteDavid Harewood: Psychosis and Me (BBC)Get On Up: The Triumph Of Black America (BBC)1000 Years A Slave (Channel 5) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Dame Joan Bakewell is a broadcaster, journalist, author and Labour Party peer. Her broadcasting career spans six decades and she was given a Lifetime Achievement Award by the Royal Television Society in 2016, and a BAFTA fellowship in 2019.At the age of 90, she is still presenting TV programmes (most recently Landscape Artist Of The Year), sitting in the House Of Lords and is the President of Birkbeck College, London.Joan has written for various national newspapers including The Guardian and The Independent, and has also published many books. Her latest - The Ticking Of Two Clocks - is about her recent experience of downsizing her home.She has been very open about her recent cancer diagnosis, and talks to Jon about how that has affected her outlook on life. Whilst reflecting on her incredible career and achievements, she also looks to the future, and discusses politics, peers and what pleasures are still to come.Related links:Joan's websiteHouse Of Lords website Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hannah is a Professor of Mathematics at University College London. She is an expert in algorithms, who studies the patterns in human behaviour – particularly in an urban setting. Hannah is also a brilliant communicator, who shares her passion for maths - in books, podcasts, radio, television, and public talks. Her hit shows include The Curious Cases of Rutherford and Fry, on Radio 4. While recent TV series, for the BBC and Bloomberg, have looked at technology and its implications for the future. Hannah’s 2018 book, Hello World, explored the vast array of algorithms on which we increasingly rely.  As technology evolves at a rapid rate, she believes that we should stop seeing machines as objective masters and start treating them as we would any other source of power. Because, in the age of the algorithm, humans have never been more important. Related links: Hannah's website The Future with Hannah Fry (Bloomberg) The Secret Genius of Modern Life (BBC) Try ChatGPT Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The comedian and writer Phil Wang was born in Stoke-on-Trent and spent his childhood in Malaysian Borneo, before moving to Bath at the age of 16. Phil successfully combined engineering with comedy at Cambridge University. He won the Chortle Student Comedy Award in his second year, a Comedy Central Award the following year, and became President of Footlights in his final year.By this point, Phil knew that he wanted to pursue a comedy career. And he’s enjoyed great success ever since, with solo shows and his sketch trio Daphne.Phil often talks about race in his comedy. It’s a subject he finds interesting and which he explored in greater depth, in his funny and thoughtful book, Sidesplitter: How To Be From Two Worlds At Once.In this conversation, Phil chats about his hometown of Kota Kinabalu, moving to England, covering race and cultural differences in his comedy, cancel culture and his new show Wang In There, Baby!Relevant links:Phil's book: SidesplitterPhil's YouTube channelPhilly Philly Wang Wang on NetflixWangsplaining on Radio 4Phil's sketch trio Daphne on Radio 4 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

When not playing Lady Danbury, in the huge Netflix series Bridgerton, Adjoa is a renowned stage actor. Celebrated for her performances with the Royal Shakespeare Company, The National Theatre, and The Globe. Where, in 2019, she played Richard II, in the UK's first all-women-of-colour production.Adjoa has now turned her attention to Shakespeare’s Richard III. She directs and takes the lead role, inviting the audience to think about what happens to a person - and their sense of self - when bad intentions are ascribed to them, based solely on their appearance.She passionately believes in the power of storytelling. For Adjoa, theatre and drama can be transformational - helping to shape our perspectives and, she hopes, make us feel empathy...even for someone with a reputation like Shakespeare's Richard III.Related links:Richard II (recorded at The Globe Theatre in 2019)Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton StoryIsland Queen: A novel about Dorothy Kirwan Thomas  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.