Experiences that have reshaped lives. Bold questions, unexpected truths, lots of tea... Emma Barnett invites you into her world for deeply human conversations.
Experiences that have reshaped lives. Bold questions, unexpected truths, lots of tea... Emma Barnett invites you into her world for deeply human conversations.
After a cardiac arrest brought on by a hereditary heart condition and the stress of work, Patrick Charnley was clinically dead. He came back to life a changed man. Patrick suffered a brain injury that affects his sight and stamina. He is no longer able to work or live as he did before and he cannot remember nearly a year of his life before the heart attack. Despite these impairments, he prefers the life he now lives. He has left a stressful life as a lawyer and has now written a novel, This, My Second Life, inspired by his new perspective. In Ready to Talk with Emma Barnett, the award-winning interviewer speaks to people you will know and people you should know about the experiences that are shaping their lives. If you want to join the conversation you can email the team at readytotalk@bbc.co.uk, or you can send a WhatsApp message or voice note to 08000 556 101.
Journalist Archie Bland talks about his son, Max, who nearly died one night when he was just seven weeks old. Archie shares the extraordinary ordeal his family went through that night, as his home filled with police and paramedics, and the extreme circumstances of the following weeks. Max survived, but his life was forever changed. Archie now says Max is “more interesting than anyone he’s ever met”, and his son has radically altered Archie’s own understanding of disability, and of life itself. In Ready to Talk with Emma Barnett, the award-winning interviewer speaks to people you will know and people you should know about the experiences that are shaping their lives. If you want to join the conversation you can email the team at readytotalk@bbc.co.uk, or you can send a WhatsApp message or voice note to 08000 556 101.
Tulisa Contostavlos spent a decade fighting court battles, from an ex releasing a sex tape to being caught up in an elaborate tabloid sting. She shares what life has taught her.
Tulisa rose to fame in UK R&B and hip hop trio N-Dubz and became a judge on The X Factor aged just 23. She talks candidly about some of the desperate lows she has suffered since, how she has processed being targeted by the press, and how she is feeling today.
In Ready to Talk with Emma Barnett, the award-winning interviewer speaks to people you will know and people you should know about the experiences that are shaping their lives. If you want to join the conversation you can email the team at readytotalk@bbc.co.uk, or you can send a WhatsApp message or voice note to 08000 556 101.
Warning: This episode contains discussion of suicide. If you are suffering distress or despair and need support, including urgent support, a list of organisations that can help is available at bbc.co.uk/actionline.
Yoni Finlay was shot as a synagogue in Manchester was attacked on Yom Kippur, 2 October 2025.
The synagogue was Yoni's place of worship, but it had also been Emma's synagogue when she was a child. He talks to her about that day, and how it has affected him, his family, and his community. Yoni was hit by a police bullet which first passed through the attacker and went on to kill Adrian Daulby, one of two fatalities from the congregation that Yoni pays tribute to.
In Ready to Talk with Emma Barnett, the award-winning interviewer speaks to people you will know and people you should know about the experiences that are shaping their lives. If you want to join the conversation you can email the team at readytotalk@bbc.co.uk, or you can send a WhatsApp message or voice note to 08000 556 101.
Details of organisations offering information and support with racism and racist-hate crime, or if you've been the victim of a crime are available at bbc.co.uk/actionline.
When she was 15, Georgia Barrington discovered she has been born without a womb. Then her best friend, Daisy Hope, made her an extraordinary promise that she fulfilled over a decade later.
As a child Georgia always dreamt of being a mother, and even after her rare diagnosis she went on to become a midwife. She and Daisy share the story of a surrogacy that changed both their lives and created a unique bond between the pair.
In Ready to Talk with Emma Barnett, the award-winning interviewer speaks to people you will know and people you should know about the experiences that are shaping their lives. If you want to join the conversation you can email the team at readytotalk@bbc.co.uk, or you can send a WhatsApp message or voice note to 08000 556 101.
Katherine Ryan has learned not to care about not being liked as she’s risen from single mum on the poverty line to become one of the most successful comedians working in the UK.
In a conversation just two and a half weeks after Katherine gave birth to her fourth child, she discusses plastic surgery, working in Hooters, and how she developed her caustic onstage persona. But she also reveals how her personal life has not always matched that public persona.
In Ready to Talk with Emma Barnett, the award-winning interviewer speaks to people you will know and people you should know about the experiences that are shaping their lives.
Comedian Chris McCausland discusses how he got past perfectionism and blindness to dance on live TV in front of millions of viewers.
Chris explains how a rare condition meant he gradually lost his sight over 25 years, and how he performed his first stand-up comedy as a dare. He talks about appearing on Strictly Come Dancing against all his instincts, calling it the scariest thing he’s done in his life.
In Ready to Talk with Emma Barnett, the award-winning interviewer speaks to people you will know and people you should know about the experiences that are shaping their lives.
Emma Barnett talks to her friend, journalist and presenter Kate Thornton, about something she’s been experiencing but has never spoken about publicly before.
Sometimes a person comes into your life at exactly the right moment to help you through something major. Kate is one of those people for Emma. She’s been guiding her through perimenopause. In the UK, 13 million women are currently experiencing perimenopause or menopause, but information about what it is and what can help can be hard to find. This conversation aims to change that.
In Ready to Talk with Emma Barnett, the award-winning interviewer speaks to people you will know and people you should know about the experiences that are shaping their lives.
From presidents to popstars, award-winning broadcaster Emma Barnett has interviewed thousands of fascinating people live on radio and television. But now she’s ready to talk to her guests much more deeply, about the profound experiences that shaped their lives.
In this special preview episode, Emma reveals more about the bold, honest conversations coming up in the series.
Ready to Talk with Emma Barnett will publish weekly from 7 November. Subscribe on BBC Sounds and have your push notifications turned on so you never miss an episode.
Emma also wants to hear from you - our community of listeners. Join the conversation and share what’s on your mind by getting in touch via text or WhatsApp, on 08000 556 101.