The Convex Conversation

The Convex Conversation

Inspirational life-stories with award-winning journalist Helen Fospero

Episodes

May 11, 2025 43 mins

Davina McCall’s consultant neurosurgeon Kevin O’Neill gives a fascinating insight into the five-hour surgery he carried out on the TV star, navigating his way between the brain’s two hemispheres to successfully remove a rare colloidal cyst Davina nick-named ‘Jeffrey’. 

Kevin recounts the journey into the centre of Davina’s brain and recalls the moment he came face to face with Jeffrey who, he laughs, was waving at him, smoking his...

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Former Deputy Prime Minister Lord Prescott’s son David gives a very personal insight into his father – a giant of the Labour movement – revealing family stories and anecdotes from his life at Westminster.

David was born two days after John became MP for Hull East, serving his constituents and the country for 40 years.  Former Prime Ministers Sir Tony Blair and Gordon Brown ...

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Crime reporter Martin Brunt has covered some of the biggest, shocking and most notorious crime stories in British history for Sky News over the last four decades. 

Still working in 24-hour breaking news, his book - No One Got Cracked Over the Head for No Reason – filled with previously undisclosed details and fascinating inside track is about to come out in paperback. 

Martin shares gripping dispatches about his relationship with...

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Inspired by the teachings of Mahatma Gandi, social reformer, author and Ted Talk speaker Robin Greenfield explains why and how he’s simplified his life - strand by strand - so others can simply live. 

38-year-old Robin was on his way to his first million in his 20s, drove a new car, ran a marketing business in the States and was immersed in consumerism. Now he undertakes ex...

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ENT surgeon Gabriel Weston’s new book is a deeply personal and provocative journey through the human body.

In this captivating, alternative exploration of our anatomy, Gabriel dissolves the boundaries which often divide surgeon and patient, pushing beyond the limit of what science can tell us about who we are. 

Gabriel has just sold the rights to her first book Direct Red, about life as a young female surgeon, to Netflix and Brad...

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Simon Hart reveals why he’s published his personal diary entries in his new book, Ungovernable – The Political Diaries of a Chief Whip, lifting the lid on what really went on at Westminster during one of the most turbulent times in British politics. 

Simon had a front-row seat at the heart of government - in the cabinet under Boris Johnson; as Chief Whip for Rishi Sunak and cast out to the side lines by Liz Truss for her 49-days a...

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Successful entrepreneur and co-founder of Intelligent Change Alex Ikonn shares how he turned his life around through the simple habit of gratitude. 

Alex’s teenage years were tough - he lost his father to cancer, suffered hardships at home with little money, mum worked round the clock to make ends meet – but by changing his mindset and practising daily gratitude, things started to improve. 

He co-founded Intelligent Change to cre...

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In part two of our special with music legend and CCO of Whizz Kid Entertainment, Malcolm Gerrie gives an insight into the new film he’s just finished shooting with blind tenor Andrea Bocelli. 

Malcolm and the team from Lionsgate have had incredible access to the star and his family at their home and venues all over the world. The much-anticipated film comes out in the autum...

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In part one of our two-part special, the story of how a teacher from Newcastle pushed the boundaries in music, creating the legendary eighties show The Tube.

Malcolm Gerrie booked ‘low priority act’ Madonna for her first UK performance, helped U2 break America at Red Rocks, breathed fresh life into Tina Turner’s career and exec produced live performances from Elton, REM, The Who, The Jam and many more. 

Malcolm exec'd the Bafta's...

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Hacked Off board director Emma Jones explores Prince Harry’s ‘monumental victory’ against News Group Newspapers and what it means for hundreds of other victims of press intrusion. 

Emma was at London’s High Court when Rupert Murdoch’s group settled with the Duke of Sussex at the eleventh hour, minutes before the trial was due to start. NGN issued an unequivocal apology for incidents of unlawful activity and serious intrusion as we...

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80 years since Auschwitz-Birkenau was liberated, 87-year-old Holocaust survivor John Hajdu MBE shared his story of survival with the Princess of Wales this week and got a big hug. 

So, we’re re-running our episode where John tells Helen about his harrowing life as a young boy in Budapest seeing Jews persecuted & killed and his parents forced to labour camps. Comforted by...

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Award-winning artist George Butler creates ink and watercolour drawings in situ in war zones, refugee camps and disaster areas all over the world and some of his work can be found in museum archives, including at the V&A.

His testimonies of ordinary people capture suffering, courage, moments of hope, and introduce us to real characters behind the headlines, whose situat...

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Jesse Dufton was the first blind person to lead a climb of The Old Man of Hoy – a daunting sea stack in the Orkney Islands, off the coast of Scotland. It earned him a Guinness world record and was the subject of Alastair Lee’s multi-award-winning documentary Climbing Blind. 

In newly-released Climbing Blind II, Jesse describes being “right at his limit” and “redlining for what felt like an eternity” as he leads a brutal and painfu...

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Pioneering jockey Khadijah Mellah, from Peckham, became the first UK jockey to compete in a horse race in Britain wearing a hijab. 

A minute later, she made history again by riding her mount, Haverland, to victory in the Magnolia Cup at Goodwood. A film was made of her remarkable story and an academy set up in her name to help other youngsters from under-represented urban areas pursue a career in racing.

24-year-old Khadijah expl...

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Investigative journalist Glen Campbell details his decades long search for fugitive Lord Lucan – the Eton-educated gambler who disappeared without trace after murdering his children’s nanny, Sandra Rivett, in 1974.

Glen forms an unlikely partnership with Sandra’s son, Neil Berriman, and their investigations all over the world are subject of a gripping new BBC three-part doc...

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Laura Harnett spent 20 years as a high-flying corporate executive, in the boardroom at Selfridges and working for brands like IKEA and Coca-Cola. Never did she imagine she’d be championing a humble cleaning sponge.

However, frustrated by supermarket aisles full of microplastic-filled cleaning tools, and a devastating diagnosis of breast cancer, she gave it all up to become an entrepreneur in her 40s and start Seep.

Seep is a B Corp...

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December 1, 2024 41 mins
Miles Spencer has mentored tech founders for more than 30 years, and has created hundreds of jobs while founding, financing, building, and exiting three digital media companies. But he’s also strayed a long way from his US home.   He led 1500 people across 14 miles of open sea in kayaks, raising more than a million dollars for charity; ran with the bulls in Pamplona, and trekked 1,100 miles through the deserts of Saudi Arabia, Jord...

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Michelle Feeney founded Floral Street Fragrances – an award-winning British brand with sustainability at its core – after a dynamic career leading top global beauty names, including Estee Lauder and Mac Cosmetics.

The inspiration to create clean, affordable fragrances which won’t impact the planet, came during what Michelle describes as her gap year, aged 51. Inspired by flowers and vibrant culture, Floral Street has collaborated w...

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Seasoned barrister & environmentalist James Cameron - one of the leading architects of COP – reflects on three decades of arguing for a fairer and more sustainable planet.

He co-hosts a new podcast series – Fossil vs Future – with his 30-year-old god-daughter Daisy Nicholls who works in sustainable finance. It’s a refreshing, authentic conversation exploring the climate crisis through different generational lenses.

Together the...

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November 10, 2024 49 mins

Helen takes an 11-degree chilly dip in Windermere in the Lake District with renowned Cold Water Swim Coach Gilly McArthur to experience the benefits of cold exposure and blue spaces.

Gilly is part of a world-class team working on an NHS research project with Oxford and Portsmouth Universities, investigating whether cold water & outdoor swimming can help alleviate anxiety and depression.

Gilly explains the compelling science b...

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