How I Found My Voice
How I Found My Voice is the podcast that explores how some of the world’s greatest artists and thinkers became such compelling – and unique – communicators. This Intelligence Squared podcast goes behind the celebrity persona to understand their journeys and inspirations – from writing a childhood diary to first performing on stage or finding the courage to speak up. Hosted by the BBC journalist Samira Ahmed, guests include Graham Norton, Margaret Atwood, Katherine Ryan, Michael Palin, Gloria Estefan, David Lammy and Bernardine Evaristo. The series producer is Farah Jassat.
Episodes
April 11, 2023 • 63 mins
Samira Ahmed is joined by Friends star David Schwimmer and comedy writer Nick Mohammed. David Schwimmer is one of the most recognisable faces on television. His iconic role as Ross Geller in all 236 episodes of Friends has made him TV royalty. And beyond the global cultural impact of Friends, Schwimmer is a seasoned stage actor and has gone on to direct the hit comedy Run Fatboy Run and gain critical acclaim as Robert Kardashian in...
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April 11, 2023 • 47 mins
Samira Ahmed speaks to award-winning comedian Russell Kane. They speak about his life and career, growing up in Essex, his break into comedy at the prestigious Edinburgh Fringe, and his relationship with class and identity as a comedian. The recording for this episode took place in April 2021.
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We’d love to hear your feedback and what you think we should talk about next, who we should have on and what our future debates should be....
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April 11, 2023 • 47 mins
Samira Ahmed speaks to best-selling author Kate Mosse. Together they discuss her life and career, the success of her historical fiction novels - including Labyrinth which won Best Read of the Year at the 2006 British Book Awards - and her contribution to the recognition of female writers. The recording for this episode took place in February 2021.
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We’d love to hear your feedback and what you think we should talk about next, who w...
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April 8, 2023 • 37 mins
Samira Ahmed speaks to model and actress Emily Ratajkowski. Together they discuss her rise to fame after appearing in the music video for the controversial song ‘Blurred Lines’, as well as the fraught relationship between feminism, capitalism, and exploitation.
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April 8, 2023 • 41 mins
Samira Ahmed speaks to Academy Award-nominated actor Jude Law. They speak about his life and career, skipping school to go to the cinema in London as a teenager, his foray into acting, and the wide range of characters he’s covered in his career, from Dr. John Watson to the Pope.
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We’d love to hear your feedback and what you think we should talk about next, who we should have on and what our future debates should be.
Send us an em...
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April 7, 2023 • 46 mins
Samira Ahmed speaks to journalist, satirist, and editor of the magazine Private Eye, Ian Hislop. They speak about his life and career, from an upbringing in Nigeria, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and Hong Kong before returning to Britain to attend boarding school where he began his satirical career. Ian Hislop became editor of the British satirical magazine Private Eye at just 25, in his 37 years as editor he has been reported as the most ...
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October 21, 2022 • 17 mins
Samira Ahmed is joined by Friends star David Schwimmer and comedy writer Nick Mohammed in a special preview of an episode coming out in the autumn as part of Season 4 of How I Found My Voice. David Schwimmer is one of the most recognisable faces on television. His iconic role as Ross Geller in all 236 episodes of Friends has made him TV royalty. Fans around the world still gleefully recount some of his most famous lines including ‘...
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April 9, 2021 • 47 mins
Samira Ahmed speaks to the journalist and former chief speechwriter to Prime Minister Tony Blair, Philip Collins. They speak about his life and career, from growing up in a household that strongly supported Margaret Thatcher to becoming a supporter of the Labour party and speechwriter for the then Prime Minister. He is a former political columnist for The Times and author of When They Go Low, We Go High: Speeches that Changed the W...
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March 31, 2021 • 51 mins
Samira Ahmed speaks to the novelist and author of An American Marriage, Tayari Jones. They speak about her life and career from growing up in Atlanta and taking a stand on ethical issues as a child to developing her voice as a writer, the role that children's author Judy Blume played in her life, and being selected for President Barack Obama's summer reading list and Oprah's Book Club.
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March 24, 2021 • 50 mins
Join Samira Ahmed as she speaks to the incredible Gloria Estefan - Grammy award-winning singer, international superstar, and survivor of both political and physical adversity. From fleeing Cuba as a young child to selling over 120 million records worldwide, Gloria's journey is truly awe-inspiring. Discover how she helped bring Latin-flavoured pop music to the world stage and hear her reflections on a career spanning four decades.
T...
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March 17, 2021 • 46 mins
Samira Ahmed speaks to the acclaimed author of The Handmaid’s Tale and The Testaments Margaret Atwood. They speak about her life and career, from her experiences as a young schoolgirl in Canada and her prolific writing career of novels and poetry to the impact of the Handmaid becoming a symbol of resistance against the disempowerment of women and her playful love for puppeteering. Margaret Atwood is the bestselling author of more t...
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For International Women's Day we bring to you a special bonus episode of our award-winning podcast, How I Found My Voice presented by the BBC journalist Samira Ahmed. This episode features clips from some of our favourite female interviewees including novelists Margaret Atwood, Bernardine Evaristo and Elif Shafak, actors Kate Winslet, Rose McGowan and Priyanka Chopra Jonas, singer Paloma Faith, Labour politician and Member of Parli...
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March 3, 2021 • 52 mins
Samira Ahmed speaks to the actor Priyanka Chopra. They speak about her life and career, from growing up in a military family and developing her love for performance to gaining fame through winning Miss World and her career in Bollywood and now Hollywood. If you enjoy this podcast, we would love to know what you think. Please rate and review us on Apple Podcasts. BUY TICKETS TO ATTEND OUR EXCLUSIVE LIVE RECORDING OF HOW I FOUND MY V...
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February 24, 2021 • 48 mins
Samira Ahmed speaks to the writer Anthony Horowitz, known for his bestselling novels including Sherlock Holmes, James Bond and the young adult Alex Rider series, as well as his screenwriting contributions to hit TV shows such as Foyle's War, Agatha Christie's Poirot and Midsomer Murders. They speak about his life and career, from being sent to boarding school and finding his voice as a writer to his championing of young people havi...
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February 17, 2021 • 55 mins
Samira Ahmed speaks to the Oscar-winning actor and Hollywood star Kate Winslet. She speaks about her life and career, from discovering her love of acting in childhood and becoming a Hollywood sensation in Titanic to never-before-told stories of her and Leonardo DiCaprio, as well as her reflections on how the film industry deals with recording intimate scenes and her latest movie Ammonite, which looks at the Victorian fossil hunter ...
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February 10, 2021 • 51 mins
Samira Ahmed speaks to the actor, comedian and writer Meera Syal. They speak about her life and career from growing up in a Punjabi household to pioneering comedy with Asian actors on the BBC through hit shows such as Goodness Gracious Me and The Kumars at No.42. If you enjoy this podcast, we would love to know what you think. Please rate and review us on Apple Podcasts. BUY TICKETS TO ATTEND OUR EXCLUSIVE LIVE RECORDING OF HOW I F...
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February 3, 2021 • 45 mins
Samira Ahmed speaks to the outspoken Labour politician and MP for Tottenham, David Lammy. He is currently the Shadow Lord Chancellor and Shadow Secretary of State for Justice. In this episode he reflects on his life and career, from winning a choral scholarship as a young boy and developing his interest in politics to becoming a barrister and one of Britain's most vocal politicians around issues of social justice. If you enjoy this...
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January 27, 2021 • 47 mins
Samira Ahmed speaks to the one of the biggest names in British music, the BRIT Award-winning singer, songwriter and actor, Paloma Faith. They discuss her life and career, from how she found her unique voice as a performer to where her strong sense of social justice comes from and how she has had to navigate racist and sexist elements within the music industry. If you enjoy this podcast, we would love to know what you think. Please ...
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January 20, 2021 • 41 mins
Samira Ahmed speaks to the chef Yotam Ottolenghi, who has arguably done more than any other food writer in recent times to change the way we cook and eat. In 2014 the American food magazine Bon Appétit wrote that he had ‘made the world love vegetables’ – although he himself is not a vegetarian. They speak about his life and career, from discovering his love of food in Jerusalem and that his grandmother was a Mossad spy to his profe...
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January 13, 2021 • 49 mins
Samira Ahmed speaks to the journalist and author Elizabeth Day, who she dubs the 'failure guru'. They speak about her life and career, from growing up in Northern Ireland during The Troubles to learning from failed dates and coming up with her chart-topping podcast, How To Fail, a celebration of things that haven't gone right. She has been a feature writer for publications including The Times, Vogue and Vanity Fair and her latest b...
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