Elizabeth Day had an urgent need to say something about the way we’re living – about the power, politics, class, sexism, and discrimination that plague the world around us.

She explores all of that, plus perimenopause and female rage, through the entertaining lens of her latest novel One Of Us.

In this live Book Club chat with Fearne, Elizabeth talks about how she realised that – and wanted to write about – women so often being the victims, survivors, and scapegoats of male power and privilege. They also explore whether getting revenge is ever really as sweet as you hope it’ll be...

Elizabeth is famously obsessed with reality TV, so how did The Real Housewives franchise inspire parts of One Of Us, and what does she make of politicians rehabilitating their careers on reality TV and gossip podcasts? Plus, how writing about motherhood in this book allowed Elizabeth to process her own feelings about not having children.

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For ten years of her life, Fearne was gripped by a deep feeling of shame; she chats through how she’s now learning to let it go. Shame breeds in silence, so we’re talking about it loudly in this episode...

-Shame researcher Brené Brown talks through how to cope with feeling ashamed through self-compassion

-Comedian Dawn French explains that we all need to embrace being a bit of a twat sometimes because we learn more from mistakes than success

-Artist Charlie Mackesy’s got some thoughts about how shame is stopping us being vulnerable and connecting with others properly

-Mental health activist Ben West opens up about the shame he felt after his brother’s suicide

-Singer Lulu reflects on how ashamed she was of her difficult childhood

-Broadcaster Jamie Laing talks for the first time about his eating disorder and the shame he’s held inside for so long

Listen to the full episodes here:

Brené Brown

Dawn French

Charlie Mackesy

Ben West

Lulu

Jamie Laing

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Nervous and embarrassed? Don’t let it show! Comedian Jack Whitehall has died on stage plenty of times, but never gives people the satisfaction of knowing it’s got to him.

In this chat with Fearne, Jack explains how to power through the awkward moments and give off an air of confidence, no matter how you’re feeling inside. He also reflects on some of the awful feedback he’s received and how to stay resilient in the face of criticism.

Jack comes from an acting family, and started working at a young age; he talks about still wanting validation from his parents, and why and how he settled into his ‘posh’ persona after trying out a few other characters...

Fearne admits she sometimes forgets to have a sense of humour in stressful situations, while Jack uses jokes a bit too much to hide from serious topics; can they find a middle ground?

You can watch Jack in Malice on Amazon Prime now.

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Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.