Theatre critic and author Arifa Akbar on the power of instinct and deadlines

Dame Mary Beard is one of Britain’s best known classicists. She’s Cambridge Emerita Professor and Fellow of Newnham College, Cambridge. She’s a trustee of the British Museum and classics editor of the TLS, where for 20 years she has been writing a blog, “A Don’s Life”. Her bestselling books include SPQR: A History of Ancient Rome, the Wolfson-prize-winning Pompeii: The Life of a Roman Town, Confronting the Classics and Women & Power. She has presented highly acclaimed TV series including Meet the Romans and BBC arts shows including Inside Culture and the landmark series Civilizations. She has been awarded an OBE and a DBE for services to classical scholarship. In this podcast, she shares what she has learnt about power.

Sir Ken Olisa is an entrepreneur, philanthropist and Lord-Lieutenant of Greater London. After a career in tech, with IBM and then Wang Labs, Ken is now Founder and Chairman of Restoration Partners, a boutique technology merchant bank. He has chaired and been on many boards, including Thomson Reuters, the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority and the charities Shaw Trust and Thames Reach. He has been awarded an OBE and a Knight Bachelor for services to business and philanthropy. In this podcast, he talks about the ups and downs of the entrepreneurial life and the thrill of helping others.

Nicola Williams is a judge, ombudsman and novelist. Called to the bar in 1985, she has been a part-time Crown Court Judge since 2009. She has been Commissioner at the Independent Police Complaints Commission, Complaints Commissioner for the Cayman Islands and the first ever Service Complaints Ombudsman for the UK Armed Forces. She has served on many boards, won a Cosmopolitan magazine Woman of Achievement Award and been listed as one of the 100 most influential Black people in the UK. She’s the author of a legal thriller, Without Prejudice, which was reissued in a series curated by Bernardine Evaristo in 2020. Her second novel, Until Proven Innocent, will be published in March 2023. In this podcast, Nicola talks about ambition and the joy of justice.

Sharath Jeevan is one of the world’s leading experts on motivation. After starting off in strategy consulting, Sharath started Ebay’s charity arm and then Teaching Leaders, an organisation that helps school leaders raise life chances for the most disadvantaged children. In 2022, he was awarded an OBE for starting and running STIR Education, which has helped hundreds of thousands of teachers fall back in love with teaching. As Executive Chairman of Intrinsic Labs, he now helps leaders build motivating cultures. He’s the author of Intrinsic and is currently writing a book on intrinsic leadership. In this podcast, he tells us how we can all reignite our inner drive.

One of Britain’s leading coaches and coach trainers, Colin Brett has been described as a "gentle bulldozer". He has worked as a Transactional Analyst and a counsellor as well as an executive coach, helping individuals, leaders and teams flourish, both at work and in their personal lives. He has four masters’ degrees, including one in Organisational Analysis, one in Coaching Psychology and one in Positive Psychology. He is the founder of a coaching training company, Coaching Development, and has also recently been ordained as an interfaith minister.”. In this podcast, he talks about the life-changing power of a “useful conversation” and our hunger for meaning.

Theresa Beattie started her career at Sadler’s Wells and has worked as a curator at Southbank Centre, Dance Umbrella, and the Royal Opera House. She was Director of Artist Development at The Place for a decade and has done several stints at Arts Council England, including one as Director of Dance. In 2006, she set up a consultancy providing organisational development and recruitment services. Clients have included One Dance UK, Dance City, Dance East and ZfinMalta National Dance Company. She also mentors Artistic Directors, CEOs and Executive Directors, is a Trustee of Hofesh Schechter Company and a Governor of Northern School of Contemporary Dance. Last year, she was awarded an OBE for services to dance. In this podcast, she talks about the importance of curiosity, mastery – and cheek. 

Joelle Taylor is an award-winning poet, playwright and author. A former UK slam champion, Joelle founded SLAMbassadors, the UK’s youth slam championships in 2001 and was its Artistic Director and National Coach until 2018. She’s host and and co-curator of Out-Spoken, the UK’s premier poetry and music club, currently resident at the Southbank Centre. Her poetry collections include The Woman Who Was Not There, Songs My Enemy Taught Me and C+nto & Othered Poems, which won the 2021 T S Eliot Prize. In this podcast, she talks about her journey from living in a squat to having her work on the GCSE curriculum - and the life-changing power of words.  

Steven Isserlis is an internationally renowned cellist and music educator. He appears regularly with the world’s leading orchestras, devises chamber music programmes and performs around the world as a soloist. He has won many awards for his work, including a CBE, and is one of only two living cellists featured in Gramophone's Hall of Fame. His Hyperion recording of the Bach Cello Suites met with universal critical acclaim and his book about the Cello Suites was published last year. He has also written two children’s books, Why Beethoven Threw the Stew and Why Handel Waggled His Wig and a commentary on Robert Schumann's Advice to Young Musicians. In this podcast, he talks about the dangers of over-confidence and the power of doing what you love.

Andria Zafirakou is an art and textiles teacher and member of the leadership team at Alperton Community School in Brent. In 2018 she was awarded the Global Teacher Prize, out of more than 37,000 entries. She used the million-dollar prize money to start a charity called Artists in Residence, which aims to improve arts education in schools. She’s a Culture Leader for the World Economic Forum and a member of their Global Future Leaders’ Council, has been named in the Evening Standard’s 1000 Londoners List and was awarded an MBE in 2019 for her outstanding contribution to education. She’s also a consultant in arts education, an international keynote speaker, a coach and author of a bestselling book, Those Who Can, Teach. In this podcast, she talks about the joys and challenges of public service and the transformative power of art.

Josh Babarinde is an award-winning social entrepreneur, Liberal Democrat councillor and parliamentary candidate for Eastbourne. A former youth justice worker, Josh founded Cracked It, a smartphone repair service staffed by young ex-offenders which has won multiple awards. At 26, he was awarded an OBE for services to criminal justice, social enterprise and the economy. He’s the first ever councillor of Black heritage in Eastbourne and is also currently Head of Entrepreneurship Delivery at the School for Social Entrepreneurs. In this podcast, he talks about why he still believes in politics and how to make change happen.