Best Annie Chambers Podcasts (2024)

1
Minnie Driver on ageing, expectation and creased Brad Pitt! - THE SHIFT REVISITED 41:12

4d ago41:12

41:12

My guest this week is one of the most enduring movie actresses of our (by which I mean my!) generation. Minnie Driver made her first film, Circle of Friends in 1995, and went on to follow that with a lead role in Stanley Tucci’s gorgeous ode to Italian food, Big Night, an Oscar nominated turn in Goodwill Hunting. And my personal favourite Grosse Po…

1
Mariella Frostrup on refusing to be "scrap-heaped" at 50 - THE SHIFT REVISITED 44:45

11d ago44:45

44:45

A couple of weeks ago, journalist and broadcaster Mariella Frostrup stepped down from her presenting role at Times Radio so she could concentrate full-time on the women's health advocacy that has become her life's work. Seemed like a good time to look back at our episode from two and a half years ago when she discussed why she was on a mission to m…

1
Marian Keyes on HRT, Botox and learning to be shameless - THE SHIFT REVISITED 43:24

18d ago43:24

43:24

This week, Marian Keyes celebrates the publication of her 16th novel, My Favourite Mistake. So it seemed like as good a time as any to revisit the second ever episode of The Shift podcast. Yes, the goddess Marian Keyes was one of the first people to say, "Sure, why not?" when I told her I was starting a podcast that celebrated women in midlife and …

1
Cathy Newman: "turning 50 feels like a superpower" 49:32

25d ago49:32

49:32

My guest this week is the first female main presenter of Channel 4 news, Cathy Newman. Cathy joined Channel 4 News as political correspondent in 2006 after more than a decade working in newspapers, including The Independent, Financial Times and Washington Post. She is an award-winning investigative journalist whose scoops include the sexual harassm…

1
Helen Garner on marriage, divorce and why she couldn't give a monkey's about the erotic gaze 46:47

1M ago46:47

46:47

My guest today is the writer Helen Garner. I’m pretty sure that right now you are either going, wow I LOVE her, or looking a bit vague. Because despite being one of Australia’s greatest living writers she is surprisingly little known here. But not for much longer because, at the age of 81, she is finally about to see almost all her books in print i…

1
Leslie Jamison on divorce, ambition & discovering the parts of ourselves we don't yet know 46:59

1M ago46:59

46:59

My guest today is the American author and essayist, Leslie Jamison. Leslie has the kind of CV that makes other writers weep with envy: the memoir of her alcoholism, The Recovering was an NYT bestseller as was her essay collection The Empathy Exams. That’s the tip of the iceberg, but we only have so much time! Often compared to such legends as Joan …

1
Lyn Slater (aka Accidental Icon) on writing a new narrative for ageing 51:16

2M ago51:16

51:16

My guest today is a woman who knows all about reinvention. For 45 years, Lyn Slater was a professor of social work with a side-passion for fashion. Feeling burnt out, she started a blog aimed at women like her who wanted to talk about clothes and the way they shape our identity. And, just like that, the phenomenon that was Accidental Icon was born.…

1
Karyn McCluskey on menopause, paying it forward & being the only woman in the room 54:57

2M ago54:57

54:57

Regular listeners have probably noticed that I’m trying a few different things with this series. I wanted to hear more women’s voices, with more varied experiences and today’s guest is one of those! I first met Karyn McCluskey 12 years ago when I was editor of Red magazine and we gave her a woman of the year award for her role in reducing gang viol…

1
Annie Macmanus on rebuilding her identity at 45 56:02

2M ago56:02

56:02

Last time Annie Macmanus came on The Shift she was about to make a MASSIVE change. Then, in her early 40s, one of the country’s biggest female DJs was on the brink of walking away. The prescribed way of doing things - climbing, climbing, climbing, until you were Johnny Big Balls, as she put it, was not for her. She, like so many women at this life …

1
Lucinda Chambers: the former Vogue fashion director gives us a midlife style masterclass 46:20

2M ago46:20

46:20

My guest today is a woman whose style I have admired for a very long time. To quote the fashion journalist Jess Cartner-Morley, fashion director, stylist and curator Lucinda Chambers has the kind of style you just can’t buy. And, like many other women, I’ve certainly tried. Lucinda has worked in the fashion industry for more than three decades. For…

1
Bryony Gordon on burnout, binge eating and perimenopause 46:26

2M ago46:26

46:26

Today I’m delighted to welcome back one of The Shift’s very first guests, journalist and mental health campaigner Bryony Gordon. Bryony has been a columnist on the Telegraph for over 20 years and for ten of those she has been writing candidly about her own experiences of addiction and mental illness. She is the best selling author of Mad Girl and T…

1
Jennifer Clement on women, art, creativity & why we love Frida Kahlo 41:00

3M ago41:00

41:00

My guest today has lived, well, a life like no other. The writer Jennifer Clement grew up in 1960s Mexico, at the tail end of the Mexican Golden Age, next door to the former home and extended family of seminal artist Frida Kahlo. As a teenager she moved to New York, where she inhabited the artistic downtown world of Jean-Michel Basquiat, Keith Hari…

1
DJ paulette: how perimeno knocked her sideways at 39 (39!) 45:30

3M ago45:30

45:30

My guest today is a true trailblazer. If you’ve ever been a clubber, DJ Paulette will need zero introduction. If you haven’t, well, all you really need to know is she has been breaking barriers since day one. One of the Hacienda’s first female DJs, she became a stalwart of the Manchester music scene in the 90s, before being catapulted to stardom pl…

1
Delia Ephron on getting a second chance at love in your 70s - THE SHIFT REVISITED 44:56

3M ago44:56

44:56

For the last of our January archive episodes, we're revisiting an emotional and uplifting chat with screenwriter Delia Ephron. Next week, we're back with a brand new season of The Shift with Sam Baker. --- My final guest of the season is the acclaimed screenwriter and bestselling author, Delia Ephron. Unfailingly wise, warm and witty, Delia is perh…

1
Julia Cameron believes creativity is the answer, whatever the question - THE SHIFT REVISITED 36:46

3M ago36:46

36:46

Been meaning to get going on those Morning Pages since forever? Well, as part of our January motivation series, this week we're revisiting my fascinating conversation with the woman who brought us The Artist's Way. --- My guest today is the author of the cult bestseller The Artist’s Way, Julia Cameron. Part book, part tool-kit, part spiritual guide…

1
Dr Sharon Blackie wants you to embrace your inner hag - THE SHIFT REVISITED 45:53

4M ago45:53

45:53

Yes, it's still January! And this week we're revisiting an episode with psychologist, folklorist, mythologist and all-round one-woman campaigner for us to embrace our inner crone! --- How do I want to age? What does the rest of my life look like? Those are questions I know many of you have given A LOT of thought. Well, my guest today has some answe…

1
Raynor Winn on the power of hope & becoming a public person at 60 - THE SHIFT REVISITED 48:37

4M ago48:37

48:37

It's January (Again! So soon!) so, rather than give up everything, this month we're revisiting a host of episodes that are all about a little inspiration. First up the one and only Raynor Winn... --- One hundred episodes... how did that happen?! The little podcast that started on a whim and a prayer (and no, that's not a typo!) is still here and so…

1
Lindsey Hilsum on menopause in a warzone and why going grey is NOT brave - THE SHIFT REVISITED 39:26

4M ago39:26

39:26

This week we're revisiting one of my favourite episodes from one of the first series. It was back in the day when it was still taboo to talk about menopause, so getting a so-called hardened war reporter to do just that was, well a bit of a coup. Here's Lindsey Hilsum admitting to hiding behind a tank! --- You know when people say you’re “brave” bec…

1
Battlefield 2040–A conversation at the Army War College. 1:25:00

4M ago1:25:00

1:25:00

Episode 9: We speak with six students at the Army's War College. A handful of colonels, lieutenant colonels, and one civilian. We talk about the future of warfare, what war will look like in 2040, and how the United States Army is preparing for that future. We get a chance to hear from a group of War College students while they're in the midst of f…

1
Nina Stibbe on menopause, middle age and midlife sex scenes - THE SHIFT REVISITED 32:07

4M ago32:07

32:07

Last week, Nina Stibbe joined me on The Shift bookclub (if you're not a member, I've taken the "lock" off for a week or so, so you can check it out on Youtube) to talk about her new memoir, Went to London, Took The Dog - what happens when a 60-year-old menopausal woman does a runner. So now seemed like a good time to revisit the episode of The Shif…

1
Miriam Margolyes on the power of living a life with no secrets 47:55

5M ago47:55

47:55

It’s the final episode of the season and all my podcasting dreams have come true. Because my guest this week - by popular demand and a whole ton of begging - is the one, the only, the legend that is Miriam Margolyes. Miriam started her career in theatre and radio, voiced some of the best known ads of the late 20th century (hello Cadburys Caramel bu…

1
Bee Wilson on how cooking helped her heal after divorce 50:29

5M ago50:29

50:29

My guest today is a food writer’s food writer. Beloved by such luminaries as Nigella Lawson, Diana Henry and Yotam Ottolenghi, Bee Wilson may be a bestselling food writer and newspaper columnist (she has published seven books and currently writes the popular Table Talk column for the Wall Street Journal), but she is also a home cook with her own fa…

1
Mike Vickers–Green Beret, CIA Legend, Cold Warrior's Warrior, DoD Intel Czar, and (Future?) Director of CIA. 1:38:50

5M ago1:38:50

1:38:50

Episode 8 -- Dr. Michael Vickers is a former Green Beret, CIA operations officer, and national security policymaker with a remarkable 40+ year career. Mike talks about his early career, including being part of the Grenada invasion force as a CIA trainee, taking down the Soviets in Afghanistan, and provides great analysis and assessment of operation…

1
Patricia Cornwell on how writing helped her take back control of her life 43:14

5M ago43:14

43:14

My guest this week is the crime writing legend, Patricia Cornwell. Patricia wrote her first novel about forensic pathologist kay scarpetta in 1990. Called Postmortem, it was such a hit it became the first book ever to win all four major crime awards on both sides of the Atlantic in the same year. (It also scared the bejesus out of me.) But Kay Scar…

1
Digital God–Superintelligence, OpenAI, Sam Altman, and what if it's already here? 33:53

5M ago33:53

33:53

Episode 7, Imagine waking up today to discover an entity among us that's 10 times smarter than any human. What would change immediately? Everything. In this episode of the UnderSimplified Podcast, we delve into Artificial General Intelligence (AGI). How close are we to achieving this groundbreaking technology? If you think you know, or think you un…

1
Paavali Jumppanen speaks with Annie McLoughlin about George Crumb on 3CR 12:09

5M ago12:09

12:09

Paavali Jumppanen speaks with 3CR Community Radio about the amazing performances at the end of year ANAM chamber music festival, The Innovative Spirit of George Crumb.By Australian National Academy of Music

1
Lindsey Kelk on grief, gynae hell and why she's had enough of ageism in romcoms 54:38

5M ago54:38

54:38

Anyone else feel in serious need a romcom right now? I know I do. And my guest today has your back. Lindsey Kelk’s unashamedly feel good fiction has won her a legion of fans from the queen Marian Keyes and Jane Fallon to Emily Henry and Mhairi McFarlane. Born in Doncaster and now living in LA by way of New York, Lindsey has written 19 novels and so…

1
Dr Gladys McGarey: a 102-year-old shares their life lessons 42:54

6M ago42:54

42:54

A few months ago I read an article that took my breath away. The author was 102 years old and in it she wrote candidly about losing her partner in life and work after 46 years. Not because he passed away, but because he handed her divorce papers! That would have floored most of us, but despite being sideswiped, Dr Gladys McGarey, picked herself up,…

1
Dave Marlowe—Case Officer, Leader, Boat Builder, and Deputy Director of CIA for Operations 1:28:46

6M ago1:28:46

1:28:46

Episode six is with former CIA Deputy Director of Operations (DDO) Dave Marlowe. At the time of this recording, Dave had just given up the DDO reins and was preparing to retire after 32 years at CIA. During his career, which began in the Army during the Cold War, Dave served in some of CIA's most important roles including as the CIA Assistant Direc…

1
India Knight answers your midlife beauty questions 48:58

6M ago48:58

48:58

Today’s guest is the Sunday Times’ Style’s beauty columnist India Knight. Every week thousands of women turn to her column for beauty advice - not beauty junkies, not trend followers, just regular women like you and me who want to know what works, why it works and what’s worth spending their hard earned cash on. Now India has turned that column int…

1
Tracy-Ann Oberman on the strong women who've shaped her 42:03

6M ago42:03

42:03

Today’s guest, Tracy-Ann Oberman has made a career out of defying expectations. After training as an actor she went straight to the RSC before deciding to study standup so she could switch between comedy and drama. She has starred in Dr Who, Friday Night Dinner, It’s a sin, amongst many others But It was when she got the role of Chrissie Watts (Dir…

1
The Shift LIVE: Trinny Woodall on how she learnt to fear less in her 50s 47:56

6M ago47:56

47:56

My guest for this very special live episode of The Shift is the entrepreneur, CEO, fashion and beauty expert, presenter and author Trinny Woodall. Trinny, as you know, bounded onto our screens in 2001, with her friend Susannah Constantine, when they created What Not To Wear, a groundbreaking TV makeover show that showed women all over - first the c…

1
Dr Louise Newson: I was "told off" for prescribing HRT 1:01:43

6M ago1:01:43

1:01:43

Today we’re celebrating Menopause Awareness month (now there’s a phrase I couldn’t have imagined saying four years ago when I was writing The Shift book and everyone was telling me no-one was interested in menopause or women over 40…) And I’m delighted that my guest is a leading light in the British menopause movement. Dr Louise Newson is a GP and …

1
Agony Aunt Philippa Perry is back! 51:55

7M ago51:55

51:55

I’m delighted to welcome back one of my most popular guests ever, Philippa Perry. Philippa is an artist, psychotherapist, agony aunt and TV presenter, but she has become best known for her smash hit book, The Book You Wish Your Parents Had Read which sold over 2million copies and spent 41 weeks in the bestseller lists. Thanks to that book, and her …

1
Grace Dent on balancing a Gen X body image with eating for a living 57:37

7M ago57:37

57:37

Today’s guest and I have lived parallel-ish lives. Growing up “ordinary” her in the north, me in the south, Grace Dent and I both spent our childhood eating baked beans, angel delight and funny coloured school custard, we both “thought we were IT” apparently and we both got our first break on the weekly real life magazine, Chat and somehow wangled …

1
Stacey Duguid on coming back from midlife collapse 1:03:25

7M ago1:03:25

1:03:25

Before I got to know today’s guest, Stacey Duguid, I thought she was a bit scary TBH. Fierce in all the ways. And then I got to know her - when I was editor of Red and she worked on Elle - and discovered she wasn’t. At all. Because Stacey, like so many of us, is just exceptionally good at putting on a front. And that front served her well, until it…

1
Sara Pascoe: what happens when a weirdo grows up! 1:03:23

7M ago1:03:23

1:03:23

This week’s guest is the comedian, writer, and all-round screen hogger, Sara Pascoe. Host of The Great British Sewing Bee, presenter of Last Woman on Earth and ubiquitous panel-show presence. She has written and starred in her own sitcom Out Of Her Mind (before TV realised women could write sitcoms too!) And she’s also the author of two brainy non-…

1
Natasha Walter on being a middle-aged activist 55:12

8M ago55:12

55:12

My guest today is the journalist and human rights activist, Natasha Walter. She is the author of two generation-defining books about feminism - The New Feminism, published in the late 90s and Living Dolls, published just over ten years later, a shocking polemic in which she questioned her own previous beliefs that equality was on the way to being a…

1
Maggie Smith on her midlife reappearing act 51:23

8M ago51:23

51:23

Like most of the rest of the world, I first discovered today’s guest Maggie Smith (no, not the legendary British actress, the American poet) when her poem, Good Bones went viral on social media thrusting her into the news on both sides of the Atlantic, featured on primetime TV and was read at an event by Meryl Streep. It’s the kind of exposure peop…

1
Helen Rebanks is flying the flag for invisible women 46:51

8M ago46:51

46:51

My guest today is the farmer, business woman, cook, conservationist, mother and now writer, Helen Rebanks. She has been cooking and baking, professionally and domestically, for more than 30 years, and with her husband, has turned the farm that has been in their family for generations into a global beacon for regenerative farming. (No, I didn’t know…

1
Dawn Butler is living proof that well-behaved women seldom make history 43:40

8M ago43:40

43:40

My guest today has made history – more than once. Dawn Butler, MP for Brent Central was only the third Black woman elected to parliament, when she became an MP in 2005, aged 37. She was the first Black female whip and then the first Black woman to stand at the dispatch box four years later. You might know her, though, as the person who was ejected …

1
Miki Berenyi on freeing yourself from the anxiety of youth 1:04:33

9M ago1:04:33

1:04:33

Today’s guest is the singer-songwriter Miki Berenyi. If you were a teenager in the late 80s or early 90s with even vaguely alternative taste you can’t have missed Miki and her band, Lush. Miki’s distinctive look and bright red hair was an icon for anyone who didn’t quite fit in. When the band split, Miki went on to build a new career as a - wait fo…

1
Leila Slimani: It's time women started telling each other the truth 52:05

9M ago52:05

52:05

My guest today is the prize winning author, Leila Slimani. Leila was the first Moroccan woman to win France’s prestigious Prix Goncourt for her spine-tingling novel Lullaby. She has since written three more novels, including Watch Us Dance, the second in a Moroccan trilogy loosely based on her own family history, and two works of non fiction includ…

1
Andi Osho: I'm 50, get used to it! 53:16

9M ago53:16

53:16

Welcome to season 12 of The Shift! Season 12! How did that happen?! My guest today is the actor hyphen screenwriter hyphen comedian hyphen novelist - all the hyphens! - Andi Osho. You might recognise her from Line of Duty or Blue Lights or Michaela Coel’s I May Destroy You or Death in Paradise or Shazam! or Good Omens or Sex Education or or or! And…

1
Annie Macmanus: why middle aged women are a force to be reckoned with - THE SHIFT REVISITED 40:58

9M ago40:58

40:58

Back in season 4, I spoke to Annie Macmanus just as she was about to make the big leap from mega-DJ to... something entirely new. It's fascinating to see how much of what we talked about has since come to pass. My guest this week is a business woman, broadcaster, curator, tastemaker and DJ. She headlines festivals, hosts one of BBC Radio 1’s flagsh…

1
Emma Freud on mothering millennials and refusing to lie about her age - THE SHIFT REVISITED 47:36

10M ago47:36

47:36

Back at the very beginning, when The Shift was still a hair-brained idea, I sat in Emma Freud's kitchen chatting about being old birds. It ended up being the final episode of the first series. Here it is again. Where to start with this week’s guest? Now 58, Emma Freud is a broadcaster, presenter, columnist and fund-raiser, for want of a better way …

1
Alison Bechdel on her search for inner and outer strength - THE SHIFT REVISITED 38:15

10M ago38:15

38:15

This week we're revisiting cartoonist and creator of the Bechdel test, Alison Bechdel. This episode first ran back in season 4. My guest this week is the cartoonist Alison Bechdel. Probably best known for the Bechdel test - a tongue in cheek method she came up with in the 80s for assessing gender bias in movies. She became a household name when Fun…

1
Mastering SaaS Marketing - Shane Murphy-Reuter @Webflow 1:02:44

10M ago1:02:44

1:02:44

In this week's episode of Masters of SaaS, we talk with Shane Murphy-Reuter, the CMO at Webflow, the leading platform empowering designers to build professional websites visually. Join Todd as he delves into Shane's journey and explores the key insights he has gained as a CMO of one of the most popular SaaS companies at the moment. In this episode …

1
Barbara Blake Hannah on feeling new at 80 - THE SHIFT REVISITED 46:43

10M ago46:43

46:43

This week we're revisiting the legendary Jamaican journalist Barbara Blake Hannah. I spoke to Barbara at the start of last year and she blew me away. What. A. Woman. My guest today is the Jamaican author, journalist, film maker and (no exaggeration) living legend Barbara Blake Hannah. Already an experienced journalist when she arrived in London in …

1
Jasper Jeffers—Leader, Disruptor, Soldier, and Special Operations Commander 1:27:57

10M ago1:27:57

1:27:57

Episode five is with General Jasper Jeffers. General Jeffers has served in the Army for 27 years, and he served more than half that time in Special Operations, both as an Army Ranger and multiple times as a Special Operations Commander. He spent the better part of his 27 years deployed to combat zones and austere environments. His final combat tour…

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