Crisis What Crisis with Andy Coulson

Over 20 years in frontline politics, Sir Jeremy Hunt held three of the great offices of state – Health Secretary, Foreign Secretary, and Chancellor of the Exchequer. He survived some of the most bruising political battles of his generation, and grieved, throughout, the loss of his father, his mother, and his brother.

In this bonus episode of Crisis What Crisis, I sit down with Jeremy to discuss his Crisis Compass. The four points of navigation he turns to on his darker days – a person, a habit, a comfort and a piece of advice.

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In October 2022, the British economy was in freefall. Liz Truss's mini-budget had sent the pound into a nosedive, mortgage rates were climbing at a terrifying speed, and the IMF had issued a public warning to the government to reverse course. It was, by any measure, a national crisis.

Into that emergency stepped Sir Jeremy Hunt who, over a single weekend, dismantled almost the entirety of the economic programme he'd inherited.

But that was just the latest chapter in a political career defined again and again by an extraordinary capacity to absorb difficulty and get on...

What is the single most important concept in crisis management? Andy Coulson believes it's control — a lesson he first learned sitting on a plastic mattress in a Glasgow police cell, with nothing to focus on but his own breathing.

In this special compilation episode, he revisits four past guests who each arrived at the same conclusion through very different routes.

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I know what it is to have the right legal support around you when facing crisis. Kingsley Napley are the kind of lawyers I wish more people knew about – ther...

Sir Richard Harpin wanted to be an entrepreneur since before he knew the word. He sold conkers in the playground, bred and sold rabbits in his garden, ran a tuck shop from his school locker, and by 15 was bunking off chemistry to cash cheques with the bank manager.

In this special episode of Crisis What Crisis – recorded in front of a live audience at the Walbrook Club in the City of London – Andy sits down with the founder of HomeServe, the company Richard built over 30 years and sold in 2023 for £4.1 billion. Richard was knighted in the 2024 New Year...

Dame Anya Hindmarch started her global fashion business on a gap year trip to Italy aged just 18. Four decades on, she is the founder of one of Britain's most recognisable brands – worn by the Princess of Wales and a new holder of a royal warrant from Queen Camilla.

In this bonus episode of Crisis What Crisis, I sit down with Anya to discuss her Crisis Compass. The four points of navigation that she turns on her darker days – a person, a habit, a comfort and a piece of advice.

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I kn...

Dame Anya Hindmarch started her global fashion business on a gap year trip to Italy aged just 18. Four decades on, she is the founder of one of Britain's most recognisable brands – worn by the Princess of Wales and a new holder of a royal warrant from Queen Camilla. Anya joins Andy for a candid conversation about courage, control and how treating fear and excitement as the same emotion has proved to be her superpower.

This is a masterclass in resilience from a founder who has dealt with the ‘daily stomach punches’ of being an entrepreneur

POWERE...

Esther Ghey's 16-year-old daughter Brianna was murdered in a park near their home in Warrington in February 2023. What followed — the campaigning, the memoir, the forgiveness, the compassion — has made her one of the most consequential reform voices in contemporary British life.

In this bonus episode of Crisis What Crisis, I sit down with Esther to discuss her Crisis Compass. The four points of navigation that she turns on her darker days – a person, a habit, a comfort and a piece of advice.

Esther is the founder of the Brianna Ghey Legacy Project and Peace in Mind U...

In February 2023, Esther Ghey's 16-year-old daughter Brianna was murdered in a park near their home in Warrington, in a premeditated attack by two 15-year-olds. Today, Esther is a bereaved mother, but she is also one of the most significant voices for social reform in contemporary British life.

She founded the Brianna Ghey Legacy Project, co-launched the Phone-Free Education campaign with Kate Winslet, and has helped force a national reckoning on children, smartphones and social media. She was named the Independent's Most Influential Woman of 2024 and a GQ Hero.

Her bestselling memoir Under a Pink Sky...

Kate Bowler is one of the most thought-provoking voices on pain and suffering you'll ever encounter. Living her dream life – married to her high school sweetheart, a baby boy, and her dream job – she was diagnosed with stage four cancer just as everything fell into place.

In this bonus episode of Crisis What Crisis, I sit down with Kate to discuss her Crisis Compass. The four points of navigation that she turns to in order to help survive a crisis – a person, a habit, a comfort and a piece of advice. We'd love to know yours, let us kno...

At 35, Kate Bowler had the life she'd always wanted: she was a Duke University professor, married to her high school sweetheart, with a one-year-old son. Then she was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer.

Today, Kate is a five time New York Times bestselling author, host of the Everything Happens podcast and one of the most inspiring and unique voices on the subject of suffering, the myth of the prosperity gospel and the reality of the human condition.

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Charles Tyrwhitt founder, Nick Wheeler, started the business with just £99, a Morris Minor (with a hole rusted through the floor), and zero understanding of how you make a shirt. Today, it’s a £400m global empire – but his story is one not short of tragedy.

In this bonus episode of Crisis What Crisis, I sit down with Nick to discuss his Crisis Compass. The four points of navigation that he turns to in order to help survive a crisis – a person, a habit, a comfort and a piece of advice. We’d love to know yours, let us know in...

Nick Wheeler founded Charles Tyrwhitt with just £99 and a Morris Minor with a hole rusted through the floor (and zero understanding of how you make a shirt!). Today, it’s a £400m global empire – but his story is one not short of tragedy, with the loss of his mother aged just five years old, bankruptcy, and a catalogue of mistakes which meant he nearly lost everything.

In this episode of Crisis What Crisis, I sit down with the man who revolutionised British menswear. Nick Wheeler shares the raw, unfiltered reality of building a world-class brand.

If you...

In this special tribute episode, we revisit my conversation with the legendary Dame Jenni Murray. Recorded in February 2021 in the early days of the podcast, Jenni joined me to discuss her remarkable 33-year tenure at BBC Radio 4’s Woman’s Hour, her harrowing battle with breast cancer, and the lifelong, deeply personal crisis of obesity that she detailed in her book, Fat Cow, Fat Chance.

Jenni was a pioneer who proved that no topic was too difficult to discuss. In this incredibly frank and moving conversation, we explore the roots of resilience, the complexity of forgiveness, and why...

Ryan Holiday – bestselling author of The Daily Stoic, Ego is the Enemy, and The Obstacle is the Way – joins me on Crisis What Crisis to explore why intelligence doesn't protect you from stupidity, why modern life's frictionlessness is making us weaker, and what ancient Stoic philosophy can teach us about navigating today's world.

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I know what it is to have the right legal support around you when facing crisis. Kingsley Napley are the kind of lawyers I wish more people knew about – there to help you make the right decisions, protect what m...

Why do genius-level intellects fall for conspiracy theories? How does someone who taught himself rocket science from Soviet manuals end up believing nonsense on social media?

Ryan Holiday – bestselling author of The Daily Stoic, Ego is the Enemy, and The Obstacle is the Way – joins me on Crisis What Crisis to explore why intelligence doesn't protect you from stupidity, why modern life's frictionlessness is making us weaker, and what ancient Stoic philosophy can teach us about navigating today's world.

In this conversation, we discuss Elon Musk's descent into conspiracy theories, why judging young men from read...

After building MTV and rising to the very top of the global media industry, Tom Freston experienced dramatic setbacks that forced him to rebuild - not for the first time.

In this Crisis Compass segment, the co-founder of MTV and former CEO of Viacom reveals the personal habits, relationships and mindset that helped him navigate the highs and lows of an extraordinary life.

Tom shares the quiet routines and pieces of advice that keep him grounded today.

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I know what it is to have the right legal...

From building a multimillion-dollar clothing business in India only to be wiped out by a global trade embargo, to redefining pop culture for a generation at MTV and Nickelodeon, Tom Freston’s career is a masterclass for any aspiring entrepreneur.

In this episode, Tom joins me to discuss the resilience required to reach the top and the sheer guts needed to start over when it's all taken away. He shares his "decidedly non-traditional" path to the C-suite and why humility, earnestness, and curiosity are the ultimate defining traits for success.

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...

Following the loss of his daughter Sushila to anorexia, broadcaster Sir Trevor Phillips reveals the daily habits, personal anchors, and life advice that keep him grounded.

In this "Crisis Compass" segment, we move away from the headlines to look at the personal resilience required to survive a 22-year battle with mental illness.

THE COMPASS QUESTIONS:

In this episode, Andy Coulson asks Trevor to reveal:

After a 22-year battle with anorexia, Sir Trevor Phillips' daughter Sushila died aged 36 in April 2021. Now he's calling for a radical shift in how we talk about mental illness – and he's not holding back.

The broadcaster, writer, and equality campaigner joins Crisis What Crisis? to explain why banning social media for under-16s is "preposterous," why celebrity "mental health struggles" make him furious, and what the "seventh circle of hell" really looks like in an eating disorder ward.

Trevor also talks to us about his remarkable upbringing and career across media, business and politics - al...

In 2021, the UK energy market collapsed. More than 30 of the big energy suppliers went under. But, the business Greg Jackson founded, Octopus Energy, didn't just survive, it grew.

In this bonus Crisis Compass episode of Crisis What Crisis?, Greg shares with us the four anchors he relies on when pressure mounts and uncertainty takes over.

In this segment, Andy asks Greg for:

1) A person who shaped his perspective

2) A piece of advice he returns to

3) A source of comfort

4) A daily habit he refuses to give up<...

Greg Jackson, founder and CEO of energy giant Octopus Energy, is perhaps one of Britain’s most innovative CEOs.

In 2021, the British energy market collapsed. Wholesale gas prices surged six-fold, thirty suppliers went under in months, while millions of families faced impossible bills.

Rather than sticking his head in the sand, Greg went public, putting his own credibility on the line to explain why prices were rising. He cut his own salary to minimum wage, provided £150 million in bill relief packages, and became the face of the energy crisis when everyone told him not to.

Johnnie Boden, founder of Boden, reveals how he survives crisis as a business leader.

In this Crisis Compass bonus episode of Crisis What Crisis?, Johnnie shares the person, piece of advice, the daily habit and comfort that he uses to navigate life under pressure.

This is the second part of a longer conversation with Johnnie – if you enjoyed this be sure to check out the full episode on our podcast homepage.

Whether you’re an entrepreneur, CEO or leader, this episode offers a snapshot personal insight into the mindset of one of Britain's most...

For three decades, Johnnie Boden has turned cheerful prints, quality fabrics, and unmistakable English charm into one of Britain's most distinctive retail brands – worn by royals, loved internationally, with nearly 2 million active customers and the second-biggest British clothing business in America. But as Johnnie so candidly reveals, his success has been far from linear…

In this business special of Crisis What Crisis? we delve deep into the challenges of starting and running a multinational fashion label offering lessons that apply to almost every founder, entrepreneur and leader.

LESSONS YOU'LL LEARN:

For over a decade at BBC Newsnight, Sam McAlister secured the interviews others couldn't – Bill Clinton, Elon Musk, Stormy Daniels. But it was six months of negotiation that led to the conversation that changed everything: Prince Andrew discussing his ties to Jeffrey Epstein in 2019.

Today, Sam teaches negotiation at LSE and is one of Britain's most compelling voices on persuasion, power, and resilience.

This is Sam McAlister's Crisis Compass

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For over a decade at BBC Newsnight, Sam McAlister secured the interviews others couldn't – Bill Clinton, Elon Musk, Stormy Daniels. But it was 13 months of negotiation that led to the conversation that changed everything: Prince Andrew discussing his ties to Jeffrey Epstein in 2019. The interview became a global news event, resulted in Andrew stepping back from royal duties, and is still making headlines six years later.

In July 2021, Sam threw the dice, she gave up her BBC pension and security as a single mother in the middle of a pandemic to write a book. That gamble paid of...

This is a relaunch of a previous episode, but the lessons contained within it are as important today as they were when we sat down to speak over two years ago.

Rory Stewart has spent his life running toward gunfire. At thirty, he was governing millions of Iraqis under siege, rockets landing in his compound while insurgents climbed the walls. Years earlier, he'd walked six thousand miles across Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iran and India – surviving on strangers' floors, dodging bullets, and at one point sitting down in the snow ready to freeze to death until his dog Babur ba...

Bitterness is the poison you drink expecting someone else to die. It's the corrosive emotion born from crisis that fills your throat with bile and consumes your every waking thought with questions like "why me?".

In this special compilation episode, I've pulled together five extraordinary conversations with people who have every right to be bitter about what they've faced, but who have found their own methods of beating it back: Anthony Scaramucci, fired from the White House in 11 days while missing his son's birth and facing divorce; Amanda Knox, who served four years in an Italian prison...

Professor James Brown is an author, podcaster and ADHD expert. Burnout, and a Christmas day spent contemplating his own death led him to get a private ADHD diagnosis. The result helped him reframe his entire life.

This is James Brown's Crisis Compass

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Professor James Brown is an author, podcaster and ADHD expert. Burnout, and a Christmas day spent contemplating his own death led him to get a private ADHD diagnosis. The result helped him reframe his entire life.

Expect an honest look at the realities of ADHD, bipolar, cyclothymia, binge-eating disorder, and chronic anhedonia – the inability to feel joy. James teaches us how to co-exist with your neurodivergence, while his productivity shows us how it can be deployed to your advantage.

LESSONS YOU'LL LEARN:

ADHD is a reason, never an excuse: understanding your condition gives yo...

Richard Walker OBE could’ve stepped straight into the top job at Iceland Foods, but chose to prove himself first—building a property empire in Poland. But when his mother was diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer's Richard decided it was time to be closer to the family unit and join the business, starting at the very bottom stacking shelves in London stores.

Since then, he's transformed Iceland into one of Britain's most pioneering retailers, removing palm oil from all own-brand products, launching radical campaigns on plastic and food poverty, and proposing that low-risk offenders serve their sentences working in I...

In this second episode in our AI mini-series I met with Professor Gary Marcus live at the RAID conference in Brussels. Gary has been writing code since he was 10, built a Latin translation program at 16, and became a professor of psychology and neuroscience at NYU.

He's founded AI startups, testified before the US Senate, authored multiple books including his latest: Taming Silicon Valley: How to Protect Our Jobs, Safety, and Society in the Age of AI, meanwhile his Substack has over 80,000 subscribers who rely on him to cut through the hype.

When he warned that...

You’d think as the son of the founder Richard Walker OBE could have walked straight into the top job at Iceland Foods - the supermarket empire his parents built from a tiny shop in North Shropshire. Instead, he spent years building his own property empire in Poland, determined to prove himself on his own terms.

But when his mother was diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer's Richard decided it was time to be closer to the family unit and join the business, starting at the very bottom stacking shelves in London stores - the best year of his li...

Gratitude is a mindset. It’s a tool that when deployed in crisis can be essential for reframing your narrative and your understanding. How we find gratitude in crisis, however, is not always obvious, nor is it easy.

In this special episode I’ve looked back into our archive to find five extraordinary and unique situations where gratitude has been the difference between despair and resilience.

Today’s episode features important learnings from Strictly dancer Amy Dowden; celebrity chef Jon Watts; the late tech-founder and philanthropist Stephanie Shirley; self-help powerhouse Paul Mckenna; and Falklands veteran Simon...

Alex Goldie grew up walking on eggshells in a violent, alcohol-fueled household where he became the family peacemaker - literally throwing pillows into rooms to break up fights. Today, with 2.5 million followers and a bestselling book, Alex is a force in the digital and mental health space.

This is Alex's Crisis Compass.

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Alex Goldie grew up walking on eggshells in a violent, alcohol-fueled household where he became the family peacemaker - literally throwing pillows into rooms to break up fights. By his twenties, that traumatised child had become an anxious, procrastinating young man stuck in patterns he desperately wanted to break. Then COVID hit, he lost his job with British Airways, and from his lowest point, Alex turned to TikTok, making videos about mental health that weren't meant to go viral - but did. His honesty and raw emotion struck a nerve with millions who recognised their own struggles in his...

In spring 2017, Robert Paylor seemed to be living a charmed life – starting for America’s top rugby programme, competing for a national championship for UC Berkeley, and on track for achieving a degree in business with an internship with Intel lined up for the summer. Few could have imagined that an illegal tackle during that year’s final would shatter his spine – and leave him instantly paralysed from the neck down.

Doctors told him he’d never walk again. That he’d be lucky to feed himself. That his athletic future – and his life as he knew it – was over...

Robert Paylor was living the dream - a star rugby player at UC Berkeley competing for a national championship with his future mapped out perfectly. Then an illegal tackle shattered his spine and left him paralysed from the neck down.

Doctors told him he'd never so much as lift a piece of pizza to his mouth – let alone walk or play sport – that’s if he even survived the surgery. But Robert has a uniquely unbreakable mindset, and defied every medical prediction.

Today he walks with support, is married to the love of his life, and ha...

In this episode recorded in 2024 and republished to mark World Suicide Prevention Day 2025, Andy is joined by three remarkable men, Andy Airey, Mike Palmer and Tim Owen – better known as Three Dads Walking. All would rather have never met but through a common and tragic bond – the loss of their daughters, Sophie, Beth and Emily, to suicide – they did.

Brought together by a shared grief, these three dads connected and decided to shine a light on the shocking number of young people who take their own lives in the UK.

A 300-mile walk between their homes...

Resilience is not just about being able to bounce-back. It’s about bouncing-forward stronger and wiser than before. It’s about realising that your pre-crisis life is now gone, but your new life – if you will it – can contain within it opportunities you may never have dreamed possible.

From our archive I’ve brought together some fundamental lessons on resilience, distilled insights from best-selling author Kit De Waal, world-renowned broadcaster Piers Morgan, business legend and founder of AO.com John Roberts, British cyclist Mark Beaumont, train accident survivor Sarah De Lagarde and geopolitical communications strategist Mark Turnbull.

Each...

From complete self-destruction to resurrection. Natasha Silver Bell proves that our lowest moments can become the foundation for our greatest purpose – and that recovery isn't selfish, it's essential.

Here is Natasha's Crisis Compass.

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Host: Andy Coulson

CWC team: Jane Sankey, Hana Walker-Brown, Mabel Pickering and Rex Fisher

With special thanks to Ioana Barbu and the brilliant people at Global

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