Best Simon Tells Tales Podcasts (2024)

1
164. In Madrid with Simon Hunter; Madrid Newsrooms, Old Sherry Bars and Benidorm Sun Lounger Wars 48:15

30d ago48:15

48:15

Picture the scene... Lisa and Simon Hunter (Madrid based journalist) are in the centre of Madrid at the fabulous Ocean Drive Hotel with a balcony over- looking over the Opera square having a chat about politics, celebs, nightclubs, tapas and more before heading up to the rooftop pool for a Vermouth...On this episode we talk..the short trip that tur…

1
163. Barbara Buczek; From Poland to Kentucky, Saudi Cruising to Everest Base Camp and The Emotional Tug of Those White Cliffs of Dover 53:09

3M ago53:09

53:09

Barbara Buczek spent ten years in the management team at the Port of Dover but over two years ago moved continents to establish Saudi’s new cruise scene with Cruise Saudi. Born in Poland she felt that travelling at an early age to Kentucky to attend a US high school gave her the travel bug. On this episode we talk about the special relationship wit…

1
162. Ash Bhardwaj; Walking The Nile, Slipping Down the Himalayas & Exploring Why We Travel 1:14:33

3M ago1:14:33

1:14:33

Ash Bhardwaj travel-writer, film-maker & author of the new book Why We Travel is today’s wonderful guest – discussing… the rugby trip to New Zealand that changed his life, walking the Nile with his friend Levison Wood, getting dangerously lost Walking the Himalayas, the magical Sufi festival in the Sudanese desert, the pilgrimage with his father’s …

1
S01 EP06: Henry went to work on his motorbike and ended up 23:41

3M ago23:41

23:41

In this episode we meet Henry who was commuting to work on his motorbike when he was involved in a crash with an SUV that left him having to make a decision about whether or not to have his leg amputated. We also hear from Mr Paul Harwood who is a Consultant Trauma and Orthopaedic Surgeon at Leeds Major Trauma Centre and Limb Reconstruction Unit. Y…

1
161. Faisal Sheraiff; Saudi-Influencer on Saudi’s Changes, the Old Markets of Riyadh, Dream-Scapes in Alula 32:38

4M ago32:38

32:38

Faisal Sheraiff, influencer and entrepreneur, lives in Saudi Arabia with his fashion designer wife and two children. He was born in the US to a diplomat father and an anthropologist mother and has travelled to 50 countries. We discuss Saudi’s changes and international tourism, living in Jeddah by the sea, beach days, coffee shops, large family gath…

1
S01 EP05: Simon went for his usual bike ride but was hit head on by a car at 60 miles an hour 25:05

4M ago25:05

25:05

Episode 5 In this episode we meet Simon who was out on his usual Sunday bikeride with friends along quiet country roads when a car swerved and hit him head on at 60 miles an hour. With a broken back, neck, leg, wrist and more his injuries were severe. Despite his extensive injuries, as Simon says himself – it became apparent early on that the injur…

1
S01 EP04: Experienced climber Ako went on holiday and ended up falling 20metres off a cliff 17:39

4M ago17:39

17:39

In this episode we meet Ako, whose life was changed in an instant in 2017 when she went on holiday to Mallorca with her husband, their 2 year old son and some friends. Whilst there Ako went climbing – something she has done for over 10 years. Despite a lot of experience, something went wrong which resulted in her falling 20metres down the side of a…

1
160. Hassan Saeed; Maldivian Resorts, Island Culture and the Importance of Loving Your Community 45:49

4M ago45:49

45:49

We’re back for our new season and starting with an extra special episode recorded in the beautiful Maldivian resort of Dhigali where our presenter Lisa recently spent an idyllic week. Who better to give us a real look at life in the Maldives than resort manager Hassan Saeed who, having dropped out of school age 14 and one of 11 siblings, very quick…

1
S01 EP03: Lucie was just 19 years old when she was run over by a tractor 29:14

5M ago29:14

29:14

In this episode we meet Lucie whose life changed in an instant at the age of 19 when she was runover by a tractor whilst trying to help her mum. The unbreakable bond they share meant despite having extensive injuries, her priority was not to let her Mum see her suffer incase that was the last memory of her that her Mum would have. We also meet Sam …

1
S01 EP02: Grace was a competitive horse rider when she was crushed under 2 tonnes of hay bales 25:44

5M ago25:44

25:44

In this episode we meet Grace who was helping at her family farm when a tower of half tonne hay bales collapsed, pinning her to the ground. We also meet Emma who is the Lead Occupational Therapist for Leeds Major Trauma Centre. The episode looks at how the accident happened, the many injuries Grace suffered and how the major trauma team had to use …

1
159. NEW SEASON IMMINENT! 4:38

5M ago4:38

4:38

We are happy to announce the imminent arrival of our new season of episodes and as usual we have a few wonderful surprises for you – some on location episiodes from destinations as varied as Copenhagen to the Maldives – some new partners for sponsorship and also a very exciting annoucment as to what Lisa is up to with some travel plans that can als…

1
S01 EP01: Vikki was 36 weeks pregnant her Mum accidentally ran her over... 27:59

5M ago27:59

27:59

In this episode we meet Vikki, who at 36 weeks pregnant was accidentally run over by her Mum. We also meet Dave from Day One Trauma Support, as we talk about Vikki’s accident and the vital role Day One had on her recovery. The episode looks at the effect the accident had on Vikki’s entire family and how they were supported by the charity emotionall…

1
158. The Big Travel Podcast Christmas Special 2023! 20:56

7M ago20:56

20:56

Hello and welcome to The Big Travel Podcast Christmas Special 2023 special…featuring the Casual Birder Podcast’s Suzy Buttress on celebrating the winter solstice in Antartica, Countdown’s Rachel Riley and her husband’s post-Strictly wind down in the blue lagoon in Iceland, musician and writer Nitin Sawhney having a Hallmark picture perfect Christma…

1
157. Nitin Sawhney CBE; Racism in Kent, India on Horseback, Mandela at Home 1:03:28

9M ago1:03:28

1:03:28

Nitin Sawhney’s Kent childhood included regular attacks by racists, but he threw himself into music, joining school friend James Taylor’s band. Flying to India via Kabul aged 8 he found himself a child mascot riding horseback through the streets, he felt liberated by Liverpool at university, he studied accountancy but ending up creating a hit comed…

1
156. Motoring Journalist Ben Oliver; Belfast Troubles, Braving An Open Top Bentley To The Arctic Circle, Manoeuvring A Mini Up the Himalayas in Monsoon 48:49

1y ago48:49

48:49

Motoring journalist Ben Oliver was born amid the troubles in Belfast with the family moving to ‘slightly dull Reading’ when he was 6. On this episode we talk about his life-changing teen travels to Israel, Syria, Gaza & Kurdistan, the glory 90s and noughties days of magazine journalism, how LA porn sets are like a clinical operating room, driving a…

1
155. Warwick Davis; Cookies with Carrie Fisher in California, Varanasi with Karl Pilkington, The Seven Dwarfs of Auschwitz and The World’s Best Pencil Museum 34:39

1y ago34:39

34:39

Actor Warwick Davis' first trip abroad was to California at the age of 11 to star in Star Wars, a big jump from his day to day childhood in Surrey. On this episode we talk…Carrie Fisher feeding him cookies in the Redwood forest, sweltering in a rubber head-mask in the deserts of Tunisia, being a Goblin with David Bowie, causing mayhem in India on A…

1
154. Rachel Riley MBE; Holocaust Education, Ukrainian Refugees, Wildlife in the Galapagos & Maths for Travel 29:26

1y ago29:26

29:26

Rachel Riley, Maths expert, Gadget Show & Countdown host, MBE for services to Holocaust education grew up in Essex by way of Manchester. We talk about the astonishing story of her Jewish mother’s family escaping from what’s now Russia, the family member who was stabbed by a mounted Kossack and ended up a Gaucho in Argentina, taking in Ukrainian ref…

1
153. Robert Munns; West End Theatre with Madonna, Sailing The Pacific With MS and Life-Changing Conscious Decisions 1:13:00

1y ago1:13:00

1:13:00

Robert Munns, CEO of sailing charity Oceans of Hope UK, left the graft and glamour of West End theatre for a life on the seas. He’d not long had a shock diagnosis of Multiple Sclerosis when a chance encounter in a harbour changed the course of his future. Rob and Lisa talk West End theatre’s transformation, working with Madonna, happy days sailing …

1
152. Freya Ridings; Nana’s Piano, From a London Shed to LA’s Best Studios, Love Island & Much More 38:54

1+ y ago38:54

38:54

Freya Ridings’ beautiful, heartfelt music, gives you a wonderful sense of her warm and open personality and you’re going to LOVE Freya’s stories here on the podcast; Learning to play on her Nana’s piano, growing up in a musical, talented family (her Dad is the voice of Daddy Pig!), Lost Without You being played on Love Island, getting engaged in La…

1
My Favourite Interviews - John Motson 7:21

1+ y ago7:21

7:21

On the 23rd February, 2023 is was announced the football commentating legend John “Motty” Motson had died at the age of 77. He started working on Match Of The Day in 1971, and covered 10 World Cups, 10 European Championships and 29 FA Cup finals for BBC Sport before retiring from the organisation in 2018. I had the great pleasure of interviewing hi…

1
151. Suzy Buttress from The Casual Birder Podcast; Antarctic Endeavours, Mexican Whale-Watching & Emotional Eclipses 1:06:50

1+ y ago1:06:50

1:06:50

It was a passion for birding and indeed podcasting that lead Suzy Buttress to establish the wonderful Casual Birder podcast, for which she travels extensively, tracing birds and indeed other wildlife around the world. We discuss her recent expedition cruise to the Falklands, South Georgia and Antarctica, dealing with anxiety when having heard two p…

1
150. The Big Travel Podcast Christmas and New Year Special! 50:14

1+ y ago50:14

50:14

With… Franz Ferdinand’s Alex Kapranos in New Zealand, podcaster & author Iszi Lawrence in Australia, charity founder Kevin Chaplin in Cape Town, celebrity vet Marc Abraham building a sand Christmas tree in Thailand, author Hannah Bourne-Taylor rescuing a pangolin in the rainforest in Ghana, Hollywood actor Minnie Driver on beach Christmases in Cali…

1
149. Kevin Chaplin; Growing Up Under Apartheid, Inspiring Township Children and the Power of Travel to Expand Horizons 43:40

1+ y ago43:40

43:40

Kevin Chaplin left behind his banking career to establish South Africa’s Ubuntu Foundation and rescue the Amy Foundation, named after American student, Amy Biehl, from bankruptcy. Kevin and I talk about growing up under apartheid, the hardship of life in the townships, the challenges faced by Cape Town’s children and young adults, taking a team of …

1
My Favourite Interviews - Uri Geller 3:11

1+ y ago3:11

3:11

I’m a bit short of time this week so I’m just going to okay you the interview without all the preamble that usually comes with my weekly podcast. As you’re well aware I’m sure the World Cup has started and this week you can hear an interview I did with Uri Geller, the spoon bending physic who back in 2002 asked the whole nation to collectively try …

1
148. Iszi Lawrence; Travelling Nowhere with Shaun Keavney, Decolonising History & Flying Solo to Australia age 6 58:00

1+ y ago58:00

58:00

Author, historian, comedian, podcaster and co-presenter of the travel that doesn’t actually go anywhere – ‘Your Place Or Mine’ with the wonderful Shaun Keavney – Izsi Lawrence is on the Big Travel Podcast. Iszi and Lisa talk… Britain’s most fixable landmarks, The British Museum, Ju Jitsu fighting suffragettes, de-colonising history, dinosaurs, eart…

1
My Favourite Interviews - Jane Birkin 10:19

1+ y ago10:19

10:19

Hi everyone, and welcome to episode 7 of this new season of Tales From a very minor celebrity, a delve into my celebrity archive a look back at some of my very favourite interviews from my career in radio and TV…. This week you’ll hear an interview I did with a woman who has a handbag named after her and recorded one of the most iconic love songs o…

1
My Favourite Interviews - Jade Goody 10:58

1+ y ago10:58

10:58

Hi everyone….we’re up to episode 6 of season 2 of tales from a very minor celebrity, a look back at some of my favourite interviews during my 35 year plus media career. Now Jade Goody was born 5 June 1981 and died 22 March 2009. She came to public prominence in 2002 when she appeared on the third series of the Channel 4 reality show Big Brother. Sh…

1
147. Tony Michaelides; Legendary Rock Promoter on Bowie, Joy Division, U2 & Manchester’s Finest Exports 1:10:59

1+ y ago1:10:59

1:10:59

Tony Michaelides finds it uncomfortable to call himself legendary, as one would, but he is indeed legendary in the music business…promoting acts including U2, The Stone Roses, David Bowie, New Order, The Police, Depeche Mode, Simply Red, Bob Marley, Massive Attack, REM, Matchbox Twenty, The Pixies, Elvis Costello, Genesis, Johnny Cash, Whitney Hous…

1
My Favourite Interviews - Michael Barrymore 10:40

1+ y ago10:40

10:40

Hi everyone, and welcome to episode 5 of this new season of Tales From a very minor celebrity, a delve into my celebrity archive a look back at some of my very favourite interviews from my career in radio and TV…. Michael Ciaran Parker better known by his stage name Michael Barrymore was born in 1952. During the 1980s, 1990s and 2000s. he hosted sh…

1
My Favourite Interviews - Ford GT 40 9:42

1+ y ago9:42

9:42

Hi everyone, and welcome to episode 4 of this new season of Tales From A Very Minor Celebrity, a delve into my celebrity archive and a look back at some of my very favourite interviews from my career in radio and TV…. and as I always say I hope you will like listening to them as much as I did recording them. Now this week my guest is not so much fl…

1
My Favourite Interviews - Tandile Mandela 10:59

1+ y ago10:59

10:59

Hi everyone, and welcome to episode three of this new season of Tales From A Very Minor Celebrity, a delve into my audio archive and a look back at some of my very favourite interviews from my career in radio and TV…. I hope you will like them as much as I did recording them. This week you’ll hear an interview I did with a young lady called Tandile…

1
146. Sara Tasker; From Passport-Less to Wanderlust, Struggles of Special Assistance Travelling and The French House That Stole Her Heart 48:19

1+ y ago48:19

48:19

Instagram Expert, Creative Coach, Photographer and Author Sara Tasker spent lockdown obsessing about the perfect French house and if you follow her on @me_and_orla you know she’s an expert in making things look beautiful. We talk French bakeries, river beaches, Insta retreats, West Yorkshire, how she got into her work, the challenges she faces when…

Podcasts Worth a Listen

Simon Tells Tales Podcasts

Podcasts Worth a Listen

Quick Reference Guide