How To Fail With Elizabeth Day

How to Fail
How to Fail
  • 4.7 (804)
  • Society & Culture
  • Weekly

Every success story you've ever been told is incomplete. How To Fail with Elizabeth Day is the part they leave out. Each week, Sunday Times #1 bestselling author Elizabeth Day sits down with someone extraordinary - and asks them about the moments that didn’t go according to plan and how these failures shaped them.  Kate Winslet on body image. Malala Yousafzai on rewriting her story. Pamela Anderson on refuting shame. Phoebe Waller-Bridge on creativity. Salman Rushdie on survival. Emilia Clarke on fame. What happens when the people you most admire stop performing and start telling the truth? Five hundred episodes in, we're still finding out. With sold-out nights at the London Palladium and Sydney Opera House, millions of listeners worldwide, and a British Podcast Award to its name, How To Fail is one of the UK's most successful podcasts. And yes, we're aware of the irony.  Pick an episode. Start anywhere. An Elizabeth Day and Sony Music Entertainment production. All guest booking is managed from an official Sony Music email address. Find more great podcasts from Sony Music Entertainment at sonymusic.com/podcasts and follow @sonypodcastsTo bring your brand to life in this podcast, email podcastadsales@sonymusic.com

HOW TO FAIL MORE

Ad Free + Extra Eps + Binge All of 'How To Date.'

$3.99/mo or $39.99/yr after trial

  1. 1d ago

    Sue Perkins - “My Late ADHD Diagnosis Changed My Life”

    You might know Sue Perkins from her long-running partnership with Mel Giedroyc, presenting The Great British Bake Off (The Great British Baking Show for our American friends), or from TV and radio shows including The Supersizers..., Just a Minute and her many travel documentaries. A comedian, broadcaster, writer and presenter, Perkins has been a fixture on British television for more than 25 years. In 2023, she was diagnosed with ADHD, inspiring her latest Audible Original, Attention Please!, an exploration of neurodivergence, dopamine and what it means to navigate life with a differently wired brain. In this episode of How To Fail, we discuss Sue's late ADHD diagnosis and how undiagnosed neurodivergence shaped her childhood and school years; the traumatic experience of having a pituitary tumour dismissed by a male doctor because she didn't have a husband or boyfriend, and the lasting impact that had. We also talk about grief, shame and friendship, as Sue reflects on drifting apart from her university friend, Shayla, before her tragic death, and what this loss taught Sue about showing up for the people we love. Questions this episode tackles: How do I manage my ADHD? How do I cope with the death of my friend? How do I discuss my fertility with doctors? IN THIS EPISODE  00:00 Introduction  03:04 Dopamine and Maestro 06:09 Sensitivity and the News 07:36 Childhood and Being Seen 10:09 Rejection Sensitivity 11:32 School Test Trauma 15:01 Undiagnosed ADHD at School 16:56 Diagnosis and Lockdown Spiral 19:42 Sponsor Letter to Future Self 21:10 Parenting Yourself After Loss 21:31 Health Scare and Fertility 21:56 Emailing the wrong person 22:04 Pituitary tumor diagnosis 23:51 Not advocating in care 25:36 Fertility grief and acceptance 27:16 Parenting yourself instead 32:26 Bake Off kindness ethos 35:37 Shayla and comedy beginnings 38:28 Drifting apart and loss 42:36 Shame, guilt and friendship lessons 46:14 Closing reflections and goodbye   💬 QUOTES TO REMEMBER:  My fertility has nothing to do with my partner, and it has nothing to do with my sexuality. I think it’s my role in this life to be a great aunt and to be a great godparent. If you feel something, it’s not enough to feel it, you must act on it… make the thought, the feeling, the need and the love real. 🔗 LINKS + MENTIONS:  Sue's 2027 tour tickets: https://www.sueperkinslive.co.uk/ Sue’s new audio book, Attention Please! available here: www.audible.co.uk Join the How To Fail community: www.howtofail.supportingcast.fm/#content  Elizabeth’s Substack: www.theelizabethday.substack.com  📚 WANT MORE?  Mel Giedroyc (2026) - http://swap.fm/l/HTFMelGiedroyc   💌 LOVE THIS EPISODE?  Subscribe on Spotify, Apple or wherever you get your podcasts  Leave a 5⭐ review – it helps more people discover these stories    👋 Follow How To Fail & Elizabeth:  Instagram: @elizabday  TikTok: @howtofailpod  Podcast Instagram: @howtofailpod  Website: www.elizabethday.org    Elizabeth and Sue answer listener questions in our subscriber series, Failing with Friends. Join our community of subscribers here: https://lnk.to/7i0moR   Have a failure you’re trying to work through for Elizabeth to discuss? Click here to get in touch: askhowtofail.com    Production & Post Production Coordinator: Eric Ryan    Engineer: Matias Torres  Assistant Producer: Shania Manderson  Senior Producer: Hannah Talbot  Executive Producer: Alex Lawless    How to Fail is an Elizabeth Day and Sony Music Entertainment Production.    Find more great podcasts from Sony Music Entertainment at sonymusic.com/podcasts  To bring your brand to life in this podcast, email podcastadsales@sonymusic.com  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

    Sue Perkins - “My Late ADHD Diagnosis Changed My Life”

  2. 1d ago ·  Bonus · Subscribers Only

    HELP! My Mother-in-Law Is Too Attached to Our Daughter – with Sue Perkins

    Comedian Sue Perkins joins Elizabeth to answer listener questions. This week, they discuss dilemmas including a listener struggling with a mother-in-law whose love for her granddaughter has gone a little too far; another seeking advice about an office thief; and, finally, a listener who feels that motherhood has left her feeling misunderstood and as though she has lost a little bit of herself. To hear Sue Perkins tackling your failures join our community of subscribers here: https://lnk.to/7i0moR   Do you have something to share of your own? Click here to get in touch: askhowtofail.com      Production & Post Production Coordinator: Eric Ryan    Sound Engineer: Matias Torres  Assistant Producer: Shania Manderson  Senior Producer: Hannah Talbot  Executive Producer: Alex Lawless  How to Fail is an Elizabeth Day and Sony Music Entertainment Production.    Find more great podcasts from Sony Music Entertainment at sonymusic.com/podcasts To bring your brand to life in this podcast, email podcastadsales@sonymusic.com

    HELP! My Mother-in-Law Is Too Attached to Our Daughter – with Sue Perkins

  3. Nov 4

    Greg Wise - ‘Therapy Saved My Life. And My Marriage.’

    You might know Greg Wise as swoonsome Willoughby in the 1995 Sense and Sensibility TV adaptation (where he met his future wife, Dame Emma Thompson, on set); or from his roles in Cranford, The Outcast, The Crown or The Buccaneers. But Wise’s career spans far beyond the world of film and TV. A passionate advocate for talking openly about grief, particularly among men, Greg is an ambassador for Marie Curie, Carers Trust and the Good Grief Trust, and a patron of End of Life Doula UK. His new book, Grief Talking, uses his own personal stories of loss to provide the reader with an emotional and practical map to exploring the most difficult human landscapes. In this conversation, we discuss the depths of trauma and grief, how you have to be able to take rejection as an actor, his and Emma’s experience of IVF, and the unconventional way they built their family. IN THIS EPISODE 00:00 Introduction 03:07 Why He Wrote Grief Talking 05:05 Masculinity And Mourning 06:20 Trauma Versus Grief 08:03 End Of Life Doula Work 14:12 Rejection In Acting 24:40 IVF And Secondary Infertility 28:26 IVF Strain on Couples 29:17 Failure Language in Fertility 30:20 Dehumanising Medical Labels 32:22 IVF as Grief and Absence 33:48 Rebuilding Family and Therapy 35:11 Unexpected Family with Tindy 40:22 Gaia Acting and Resilience 41:42 Strictly, Risk and Clare Tribute 💬 QUOTES TO REMEMBER: Men and women grieve in different ways: men are thinking grievers. Women (more generally speaking) are emotional grievers. Trauma needs to be looked at before the grief is handled. If you can’t take rejection, you shouldn’t be an actor. 🔗 LINKS + MENTIONS: Greg’s book, Grief Talking, is available to pre-order now and is out on 5th November: www.panmacmillan.com/authors/greg-wise/grief-talking/9781035058297 Join the How To Fail community: www.howtofail.supportingcast.fm/#content Elizabeth’s Substack: www.theelizabethday.substack.com 📚 WANT MORE? Mo Gawdat (2022) - swap.fm/l/xg1simb4t2cTTqO3ZBE9 💌 LOVE THIS EPISODE? Subscribe on Spotify, Apple or wherever you get your podcasts Leave a 5⭐ review – it helps more people discover these stories 👋 Follow How To Fail & Elizabeth: Instagram: @elizabday TikTok: @howtofailpod Podcast Instagram: @howtofailpod Website: www.elizabethday.org Elizabeth and Greg answer listener questions in our subscriber series, Failing with Friends. Join our community of subscribers here: https://lnk.to/7i0moR Have a failure you’re trying to work through for Elizabeth to discuss? Click here to get in touch: askhowtofail.com Production & Post Production Coordinator: Eric Ryan Engineer: Matias Torres Assistant Producer: Shania Manderson Senior Producer: Hannah Talbot Executive Producer: Alex Lawless How to Fail is an Elizabeth Day and Sony Music Entertainment Production. Find more great podcasts from Sony Music Entertainment at sonymusic.com/podcasts To bring your brand to life in this podcast, email podcastadsales@sonymusic.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

    Greg Wise - ‘Therapy Saved My Life. And My Marriage.’

  4. Nov 4 ·  Bonus · Subscribers Only

    HELP! My Kids Have Flown The Nest - with Greg Wise

    Actor Greg Wise, aka Willoughby himself(!), joins Elizabeth to answer listener questions. This week, they talk through dilemmas including a listener struggling with their identity after their children have left home. Another seeks advice on office politics and, finally, a listener who is worried their marriage has lost its spark. To hear Greg Wise tackling your failures join our community of subscribers here: https://lnk.to/7i0moR Do you have something to share of your own? Click here to get in touch: askhowtofail.com Production & Post Production Coordinator: Eric Ryan Sound Engineer: Matias Torres Assistant Producer: Shania Manderson Senior Producer: Hannah Talbot Executive Producer: Alex Lawless How to Fail is an Elizabeth Day and Sony Music Entertainment Production. Find more great podcasts from Sony Music Entertainment at sonymusic.com/podcasts To bring your brand to life in this podcast, email podcastadsales@sonymusic.com

    HELP! My Kids Have Flown The Nest - with Greg Wise

  5. Oct 28

    Hanif Kureishi - ‘I Write To Stay Alive’

    Hanif Kureishi is one of Britain’s most celebrated writers. His debut screenplay, My Beautiful Laundrette, was nominated for an Academy Award, and he went on to write novels including The Buddha of Suburbia and Intimacy, as well as screenplays for Venus and The Mother. But in 2022, Kureishi’s life changed irrevocably. A fall in his partner’s apartment left him paralysed and unable to use his hands. His extraordinary journey through the aftermath and rehabilitation became the subject of his 2024 memoir, Shattered. Now, in Are You With Me Now?, a collection of essays written with his son Carlo, he explores what it means to survive when the life you knew has fallen apart. In this episode, Hanif talks about the accident itself, subsequent years, his changing relationship with writing and his body… and why Elton John came to his wedding! IN THIS EPISODE 00:00 Introduction 03:53 Accident to Viral Blogs 06:49 Work, Disability, Identity 07:31 Conflict as Intimacy 12:27 Failures at School 19:32 Loss, Suicide, Wedding Twist 24:27 Quitting Directing 24:46 Writing The Buddha Of Suburbia 26:17 Comedy From Pain 27:02 Oscar Nominee Whirlwind 29:19 Why Directing Failed 31:56 Success And Jealousy 34:34 Body Failing Bomb 42:28 Love Dependence 💬 QUOTES TO REMEMBER: I was writing to keep myself alive as a person. I think boredom is really important. If someone becomes glamorous and successful, it f***s with your head. 🔗 LINKS + MENTIONS: Hanif’s book Are You With Me Now? is out on 5th November: www.penguin.co.uk/books/481825/are-you-with-me-now-by-kureishi-hanif-kureishi-with-carlo/9780241831595 Join the How To Fail community: www.howtofail.supportingcast.fm/#content Elizabeth’s Substack: www.theelizabethday.substack.com 📚 WANT MORE? Salman Rushdie - swap.fm/l/3qh3lMa8mCxLSv8AL7ys 💌 LOVE THIS EPISODE? Subscribe on Spotify, Apple or wherever you get your podcasts Leave a 5⭐ review – it helps more people discover these stories 👋 Follow How To Fail & Elizabeth: Instagram: @elizabday TikTok: @howtofailpod Podcast Instagram: @howtofailpod Website: www.elizabethday.org Elizabeth and Hanif answer listener questions in our subscriber series, Failing with Friends. Join our community of subscribers here: https://lnk.to/7i0moR Have a failure you’re trying to work through for Elizabeth to discuss? Click here to get in touch: askhowtofail.com Production & Post Production Coordinator: Eric Ryan Engineer: Matias Torres Assistant Producer: Shania Manderson Senior Producer: Hannah Talbot Executive Producer: Alex Lawless How to Fail is an Elizabeth Day and Sony Music Entertainment Production. Find more great podcasts from Sony Music Entertainment at sonymusic.com/podcasts To bring your brand to life in this podcast, email podcastadsales@sonymusic.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

    Hanif Kureishi - ‘I Write To Stay Alive’

  6. Oct 28 ·  Bonus · Subscribers Only

    HELP! Should I Have Kids? - with Hanif Kureishi

    Legendary writer Hanif Kureishi joins Elizabeth to answer listener questions. This week, they talk through dilemmas including: a listener who can’t decide whether to start a family; another struggling to juggle friendships with enough solo time. Finally, a listener who feels they are failing to discipline their children. To hear Hanif Kureishi tackling your failures join our community of subscribers here: https://lnk.to/7i0moR Do you have something to share of your own? Click here to get in touch: askhowtofail.com Production & Post Production Coordinator: Eric Ryan Sound Engineer: Matias Torres Assistant Producer: Shania Manderson Senior Producer: Hannah Talbot Executive Producer: Alex Lawless How to Fail is an Elizabeth Day and Sony Music Entertainment Production. Find more great podcasts from Sony Music Entertainment at sonymusic.com/podcasts To bring your brand to life in this podcast, email podcastadsales@sonymusic.com

    HELP! Should I Have Kids? - with Hanif Kureishi

  7. Oct 21

    Bill Bailey - ‘Rejection Made Me A Better Performer’

    Bill Bailey is a comedian, musician, writer, actor, director and presenter, known for his brilliant live tours and panel appearances on shows including Never Mind the Buzzcocks and QI. In this episode, Bill discusses being rejected from drama school, an Edinburgh Fringe show which flopped and the death of his best friend Sean Lock. Plus: the moment he decided to cut off his legendary hair (after it got stuck in some train doors). Now, Bill is back on the road with his new UK arena tour, Bill Bailey: Vaudevillian, culminating in a two-month residency at London’s Theatre Royal Haymarket. IN THIS EPISODE 00:00 Introduction 03:05 Live Shows vs Screens 06:30 Love Letters and Marriage 10:24 Drama School Rejection 15:30 Music Teacher and Confidence 19:49 Haircut and Next Failure 22:51 Comeback Rocker Concept 23:20 Bill Best Backstory 24:28 Props Songs and Craft 25:16 Great Reviews No Crowd 25:46 One Person Audience Night 28:06 Friendship and Grief 34:22 Leaving Academia Behind 41:51 Animals Curiosity and Wallace 💬 QUOTES TO REMEMBER: Being on stage in front of an audience - there's nothing quite like it. There isn't really anything that replicates that experience. You have to cherish every moment. Cherish those friendships that you have. Cultivate them. Cultivate relationships with everyone that you feel a bond with, because you never know when they're not gonna be around. 🔗 LINKS + MENTIONS: Get tickets for Bill’s tour, Vaudevillean, here: www.billbailey.co.uk/live Join the How To Fail community: www.howtofail.supportingcast.fm/#content Elizabeth’s Substack: www.theelizabethday.substack.com 📚 WANT MORE? Stephen Merchant - swap.fm/l/Lta5mlFbVnPHyFb8R1n2 Miranda Hart - swap.fm/l/oTScN30b80GflJtO4rgu 💌 LOVE THIS EPISODE? Subscribe on Spotify, Apple or wherever you get your podcasts Leave a 5⭐ review – it helps more people discover these stories 👋 Follow How To Fail & Elizabeth: Instagram: @elizabday TikTok: @howtofailpod Podcast Instagram: @howtofailpod Website: www.elizabethday.org Elizabeth and Bill answer listener questions in our subscriber series, Failing with Friends. Join our community of subscribers here: https://lnk.to/7i0moR Have a failure you’re trying to work through for Elizabeth to discuss? Click here to get in touch: askhowtofail.com Production & Post Production Coordinator: Eric Ryan Engineer: Matias Torres Assistant Producer: Shania Manderson Senior Producer: Hannah Talbot Executive Producer: Alex Lawless How to Fail is an Elizabeth Day and Sony Music Entertainment Production. Find more great podcasts from Sony Music Entertainment at sonymusic.com/podcasts To bring your brand to life in this podcast, email podcastadsales@sonymusic.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

    Bill Bailey - ‘Rejection Made Me A Better Performer’

  8. Oct 21 ·  Bonus · Subscribers Only

    HELP! Is It Too Late to Leave My Job? – with Bill Bailey

    Comedian Bill Bailey joins Elizabeth to answer listener questions. This week, they talk through dilemmas including: what to do if you’re in a well-paid job but not happy, when to stop trying to fit in and how to handle drifting apart from a childhood friend. To hear Bill Bailey tackling your failures join our community of subscribers here: https://lnk.to/7i0moR Do you have something to share of your own? Click here to get in touch: askhowtofail.com Production & Post Production Coordinator: Eric Ryan Sound Engineer: Matias Torres Assistant Producer: Shania Manderson Senior Producer: Hannah Talbot Executive Producer: Alex Lawless How to Fail is an Elizabeth Day and Sony Music Entertainment Production. Find more great podcasts from Sony Music Entertainment at sonymusic.com/podcasts To bring your brand to life in this podcast, email podcastadsales@sonymusic.com

    HELP! Is It Too Late to Leave My Job? – with Bill Bailey
See All (548)

Trailers

Shows with Subscription Benefits

HOW TO FAIL MORE

Ad Free + Extra Eps + Binge All of 'How To Date.'

$3.99/mo or $39.99/yr after trial

View Subscription FAQs

Hosts & Guests

4.7
out of 5
804 Ratings

About

Every success story you've ever been told is incomplete. How To Fail with Elizabeth Day is the part they leave out. Each week, Sunday Times #1 bestselling author Elizabeth Day sits down with someone extraordinary - and asks them about the moments that didn’t go according to plan and how these failures shaped them.  Kate Winslet on body image. Malala Yousafzai on rewriting her story. Pamela Anderson on refuting shame. Phoebe Waller-Bridge on creativity. Salman Rushdie on survival. Emilia Clarke on fame. What happens when the people you most admire stop performing and start telling the truth? Five hundred episodes in, we're still finding out. With sold-out nights at the London Palladium and Sydney Opera House, millions of listeners worldwide, and a British Podcast Award to its name, How To Fail is one of the UK's most successful podcasts. And yes, we're aware of the irony.  Pick an episode. Start anywhere. An Elizabeth Day and Sony Music Entertainment production. All guest booking is managed from an official Sony Music email address. Find more great podcasts from Sony Music Entertainment at sonymusic.com/podcasts and follow @sonypodcastsTo bring your brand to life in this podcast, email podcastadsales@sonymusic.com

Information

  • Channel
    How to Fail
  • Creator
    Elizabeth Day and Sony Music Entertainment
  • Years Active
    2018 - 2026
  • Episodes
    548
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © Elizabeth Day and Sony Music Entertainment
  • Show Website
    How To Fail With Elizabeth Day
  • Provider
    Pod Sub LLC

More From How to Fail

You Might Also Like