Award-winning psychologist Dr. Lalitaa Suglani unpacks why the most capable people in the room are often the most anxious — and how to stop performing wellness and start feeling it. A conversation about burnout, workaholism, inner child work, and what real success actually looks like. Dr. Lalitaa is a renowned speaker, somatic practitioner, and the author of High Functioning Anxiety — a book that has helped thousands of high achievers move from survival mode to intentional living. Her holistic approach combines science-backed strategies with practical tools for personal growth to help people rebuild self-trust from the inside out.

In this episode we cover:

• Her own childhood as 1 of 5 kids and examples of success
• Following her intuition to psychology
• The Swan Analogy to help explain High Functioning Anxiety
• Shifting from anxiety-driven doing to grounded, intentional being.
• Her step-by-step clinic exercise: The Trigger Worksheet
• Every yes is a no to you - A reframe on people-pleasing.
• Why highly sensitive individuals unconsciously absorb other people's emotional states
• Why real-world interactions are the antidote to the highlight reel
• The connection between menstrual cycles, mood, and anxiety

Mentions:

• Kirtan - singing
• Omnom restaurant

Links:

https://www.instagram.com/dr.lalitaa/

Sex, Death, Comedy: Enter the nuanced world of Shannon Murphy

Shannon Murphy is the director of 2019 debut hit Babyteeth (94% on rotten tomatoes at last check). I was moved to tears many times by the film and have since gone on to watch other things she has directed including Killing Eve, her episode of which was nominated for 3 EMMYs, Dave which is literally one of my favourite TV series and Dying for Sex, for which she won the Outstanding Directorial Achievement at the 2026 Director’s Guild of America (DGA) Awards.

I know being a female director of the highest calibre is not easy - add onto that being a single mother, continents away from your family. I wanted to know how she finds her voice and stands her ground in her industry, how she practices patience between projects and creates such emotionally sensitive and nuanced work.

In this episode we cover:

• From Nairobi to Hong Kong: how a globally nomadic childhood shaped her creative voice

• The reality of being a female director: bias, breakthroughs, and finding your own path in film & TV

• Why the “female gaze” isn’t just important—it’s where the most exciting stories are right now

• What it really feels like to premiere at Venice—and survive an 8-minute standing ovation

• Why comedy is so hard: what works, what bombs, and how great directors fix it in real time

• Inside high-pressure film sets: chaos, creativity, and leading hundreds of people

• Creative intensity & recovery: the ebbs and flows of a creative life and how to balance it

Mentons:

Bertolt Brecht

Jim Henson’s Storyteller series by Anthony Mingela

Winnie (documentary film) by Pascal Lampshe

Santiana - old fishing folk song

Links:

https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2221724/

https://www.instagram.com/shannnnnny/

I’ve been obsessed with Eugene’s insightful and razor sharp cultural analysis reels on Instagram and Tiktok - along with literally millions of others who watch them.

Eugene Healey is a strategist whose insights help brands, individuals and organisations make sense of the soup that is culture, consumerism, taste, aesthetics and social media. He is also a gifted keynote speaker and original thinker - sharing ideas in his substack Considered Chaos. He was a lecturer at the Melbourne Business School and continues to use his content as a way to educate.

He asks questions like: How can you have authenticity in environments that are about performance? Something I think about A LOT in terms of how I can show up in spaces driven by algorithms. What is status anxiety? Are we living to be perceived? Are we on social media to consume fiction or reality? What is Netflexification? We explore all of this and more in this episode.

In this episode we cover:

• Growing up an Asian immigrant in New Zealand
• Is ‘hard work’ a virtue?
• Selling ideas: discovering brand strategy as a career
• Learning how to perform intelligence
• Putting ‘authenticity’ as a concept in the bin
• ‘Don’t lose yourself in self-analysis’
• How to make your career EXACTLY what you want it to be

Mentions:

Filterworld: How Algorithms Make Everything the Same by Kyle Chayka

The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde

Eugene Healey on vulnerability for The Guardian

Tony Wang

Matt Klein on The Slow Down

Links:

https://www.instagram.com/eugbrandstrat/

https://www.eugenehealey.com/

Only having big goals can set us up to fail.

In her new book, neuroscientist and ex- Google executive Anne-Laure Le Cunff explores the transformative nature of living a more experimental life; turning uncertainty into curiosity, and carving a path of self-discovery. The book is a current best-seller and her work has been featured in Rolling Stone, Forbes, Financial Times, WIRED, and more. She is also the founder of Ness Labs, where her weekly newsletter is read by more than 100,000 curious minds. Her research at King’s College London focuses on the psychology and neuroscience of lifelong learning, curiosity, and adaptability.

In this episode we cover:

• Learning to be curious in a French-Algerian household

• The desire to work and succeed in Big California Tech

• Putting work above health, and the consequences

• Going back to school to study neuroscience

• Growing her newsletter from a Tiny Experiment to 100,000 subscribers

• The process of writing a best-selling book

• Knowing when to stop with followers, fame and recognition

Mentons:

Michael Pollen - How to change your mind

James Clear - Atomic Habits

Links:

https://nesslabs.com/

https://tinyexperiments.org/
https://instagram.com/neuranne

Arizona Muse has graced more than 40 international Vogue covers and starred in campaigns for some of the world’s most iconic houses: Prada, Chanel, Estée Lauder, Louis Vuitton, Saint Laurent, Miu Miu, Chopard, Chloé… . She is one of the most recognisable faces in modern fashion. But the part of Arizona’s story that moves me most is her becoming a climate activist, educator and founder of DIRT — a charity dedicated to regenerating soil and restoring ecosystems.

Arizona now works as an impact consultant for brands trying to meaningfully reduce their environmental footprint and serves as an advisor and ambassador to the John Innes Centre for soil and crop research. She also co-founded Soilonic and co-curates Landed, a nature-based solutions investment conference in partnership with Founders Forum. Arizona is working on what I think is the most important resource we have: soil, and has beautiful routines and practices that help her and her family feel grounded.

In this episode we cover:

• Growing up in Arizona and becoming a model
• Juggling motherhood with global fame and chronic insecurity
• The power of learning new things for your mental health
• The dark side of the fashion industry
• Discovering regenerative farming
• Lessons learnt from her partner
• Re-defining her relationship with time

Mentions:

DIRT - www.dirt.charity

Soilonic - soilonic.com

Demeter - demeter.net

Founders Forum Group - ff.co

Links:
www.instagram.com/arizona_muse

Ben Branson is the founder of Seedlip, the world’s first distilled non-alcoholic spirit that pioneered a movement of non-alcoholic drinks. In under 4 years Seedlip shot to success - being stocked in over 8000 bars and in homes across 35 countries before being sold in a multi-million pound deal. But what did this rapid success mean for Ben? Ben who is open about his autism and adhd diagnosis. Ben who is launching his new venture - Sylva, spirits that explore the untapped flavour potential of trees. I had so much I wanted to unpack with Ben - from going to rehab many times, to coming up against the entire alcohol industry, to his love of ‘lifestyle businesses’ and creating a product that is designed to be sipped slowly.

In this episode we cover:

• Boarding school, autism and routine
• Pushing the limits to a near-death experience in India
• Starting a new, sober, life at 25
• Following your hobbies and curiosities
• Seedlip’s astronomical rise & acquisition by Diageo
• Why businesses need to slow down

Mentions:

The Art of Distillation by John French, 1651

Brutal Simplicity of Thought, M&C Saatchi, 2013

A Life on Our Planet, David Attenborough, 2020

Podcast episode with Ben’s wife: https://www.hidden20.org/podcast/episode-17-sam-branson

Links:

https://www.instagram.com/seedlip_ben/?hl=en

Katri Josling doesn’t have a job title, awards, or even an active social media account - she’s a housewife. But she’s also a constant learner - whether it’s completing a new boating license, a culinary chemistry course to create the most amazing meals, learning her fourth language, going skitouring in Svalbad or training her two giant Rhodesian Ridgebacks.

She was a consultant with a UCL degree in Political Science and an MA in European Politics. She was working and traveling the hours you can imagine - so when her husband’s career took off - she had to make a choice between her own career and spending what time was possible, together. I want to know about her decision to leave work, how she found purpose, what architecting a world for a partnership looks like and her view on it all now.

One of the things I’ve always held judgement around is the idea of being a “housewife.” But after years of chasing goals, building things, and burning out, I’ve started to see that choice differently — with empathy, understanding, and even admiration. I’ve started to ask myself: if I could build enough of a passive income, would I stop working?

In a culture where you are pushed to overachieve, where the only goal touted by the media seems to be to have a multi-billion dollar business - I want to share a story that makes those who have chosen NOT to do that also feel worthy, valuable and acknowledged.

In this episode we cover:

• Growing up in the USSR and moving between Estonia, Russia and Sweden
• The freedom of going to UCL for university
• Meeting her partner and how getting married was the most rebellious thing they could do
• Living in London, Nigeria, Geneva and (almost) Johannesburg
• The dinner party moment when they ask: what do you do?
• The battle with self and ego that she has overcome

Chloë is best known for her leadership in the creator economy as the founder and CEO of SHFT, a talent agency she grew into a multi-award-winning, 6-figure business while advocating for fairness, inclusivity, and integrity across the industry. In 2024 she was recognised on the Forbes 30 Under 30 list for her impact in influencer marketing and entrepreneurship.

Last year, Chloë chose to exit her company, take a break and channel her expertise into coaching. She now works as a Mindset and Business Coach, supporting entrepreneurs, leaders, and creatives to build clarity, confidence, and sustainable success.

I don’t think we hear enough empowering stories of successful founders stepping away from their businesses. The narrative seems to simply be that we should build and gain recognition and money - but what happens next? What happens when you outgrow that idea you had in your early 20s, or when you don’t feel challenged or fulfilled anymore? Leaving a successful business means going against the grain of our culture in so many ways - and then what do you do with that newfound space?

In this episode we cover:

• Growing up in Peckham & young entrepreneurship

• Dance & the creative importance of hobbies

• Carving a path in influencer agencies

• Black Lives Matter: her turning point

• Creating SHIFT , success stories & Forbes 30u30

• Waking up unhappy at 30

• Autism & ADHD diagnosis

• Why and how she left her business

• What she did while off social media

• Why coaching is her next move

Mentions:

Laban Dance School - https://www.trinitylaban.ac.uk/

Spirited Away, Studio Ghibli (2001)

Links:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/chloedownes/