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Desperately Seeking Wisdom

Desperately Seeking Wisdom

By: Red Bicycle & Creators Inc
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About this listen

 This is a podcast where well-known people talk about what they’ve learned from life - particularly the tough times. Guests have come from the worlds of entertainment, politics, business and journalism, including: Richard Curtis, George Alagiah, Amber Rudd, the Rev. Richard Coles, Lyse Doucet and David Baddiel. It’s a chance to hear their wisdom - and to think about how it might apply to your life…

After the Brexit vote, Craig Oliver's high-powered job and privileged position at the heart of the British government came to an abrupt end.

In the aftermath of that bruising battle, he despaired at how divided society had become, but also came to realise something fundamental was missing from his own life. Outwardly he was still achieving; but he realised he'd never felt comfortable in his own skin.

Life had always felt more of a grind than a gift – he'd always believed that if he only worked harder, he'd find fulfilment. Now he realised that wasn't the case. Like many others, he asked himself why he'd always had a constant feeling of unease and discontent?

He wondered what wise people had to say about how we can live better. Craig decided to try a different path to the one he'd travelled before, reading and listening to many people. Some had little to offer, but he found many revelatory.

Throughout this podcast series, Craig talks to some extraordinary people about the wisdom they've been able to take from the ups and downs of life - including traumas and triumphs - and finds out what they believe will help others gain peace of mind and heart.Red Bicycle Hygiene & Healthy Living Politics & Government Social Sciences
Episodes
  • New plans for Desperately Seeking Wisdom

    New plans for Desperately Seeking Wisdom
    Feb 16 2025
    Find out how you can get more from Desperately Seeking Wisdom in this short promo.
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    1 min
  • Jonathan Scott Lee

    Jonathan Scott Lee
    Sep 2 2024
    This is a special edition of Desperately Seeking Wisdom.

    Just after we completed the third season a few months ago, Craig began began talking to Jonathan Scott Lee. In 2023, Jonathan's daughter, Caitlyn, took her own life at the exclusive Wickham Abbey School. Her tragic death was covered widely in the media and forced him to confront some hard questions about why Caitlyn did what she did.


    As a regular listener to the series, Jonathan wondered if others might like to hear about what he went through and learned; in this episode, you'll hear Jonathan is brave, thoughtful, and challenging in explaining how his neurodiversity affected him coming to terms with what happened to him and his family.

    If you've been affected by discussions of suicide, you can find help at the Samaritans website: www.samaritans.org
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    37 mins
  • Tanni Grey-Thompson - Part 2

    Tanni Grey-Thompson - Part 2
    Apr 4 2024
    Baroness Tanni-Grey Thompson is one of Britain’s most successful athletes, having won 16 Paralympic medals, including 11 golds.

    In part two of our conversation, we talk about what Tanni has learnt from moving from being a elite athlete to working in the House of Lords...as well as the wisdom her father gave her, when he told her to think of herself as a 'Venn Diagram'.

    This is the last episode of our current season. All of our episodes, from every season, are available now and we have a fantastic variety of guests for you to explore if you haven’t heard them already including George Alagiah, Richard Curtis, Amber Rudd, The Reverend Richard Coles and Ruth Davidson.

    This epsiode was produced by Red Bicycle.
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    26 mins
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