Podcast · 222 episodes

How To Fail With Elizabeth Day

by Elizabeth Day and Sony Music Entertainment · English

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

Society & Culture

Follow in VO

Latest episodes

Russell T Davies - On Dr Who, Grief and Gay Representation on TVRussell T Davies discusses his TV career (Doctor Who and gay-themed dramas), how he writes, and how grief and illness shaped him.30 Sep 2026 · 57 min

Sir Paul Smith - ‘People In Fashion Are Insecure’Sir Paul Smith discusses “How to Fail” through personal setbacks and creative principles: insecurity in fashion, believing your own hype, and how attention, home security, and humor keep him grounded.23 Sep 2026 · 52 min

Louise O’Neill - ‘Full Recovery Is Possible’Louise O’Neill discusses “full recovery is possible” after nearly 20 years cycling between anorexia and bulimia, and how failure shaped her adult freedom, relationships, body image, and dating.16 Sep 2026 · 59 min

All episodes

Nish Kumar - Failure Is Information. Comedians Call It Material.Nish Kumar discusses “failure as information” in comedy and politics—how immigrant-parent fear shaped his career, why rage can be productive, and how setbacks (a 2013 Edinburgh show, a 2019 charity…9 Sep 2026 · 57 min · 23 chapters

Remembering Gloria SteinemA re-release of an interview with feminist icon Gloria Steinem reflecting on quotes, fear and bravery, sexism in journalism and medicine, personal “failures” (regret, caregiving, wasted time), anger…3 Sep 2026 · 58 min · 30 chapters

David Sedaris - ‘My Father Said I Was A Bad Influence Because I Was Gay’David Sedaris discusses “failures” and what they taught him—especially how rejection, addiction, heartbreak, and embarrassment shaped his writing and life.2 Sep 2026 · 53 min · 19 chapters

Failure Throwback: Mo GawdatMo Gawdat discusses “failure throwback” themes from his life and his book Solve for Happy—why happiness is achievable for everyone, how unhappiness is driven by expectations and “modern day…26 Aug 2026 · 1 h 2 min · 24 chapters

Failure Throwback: Phoebe Waller BridgeRevisit How to Fail’s first episode (July 2018) with Phoebe Waller-Bridge, focusing on failure as a driver of creativity: drama-school rejections, humiliating auditions, writing after “no’s,” and how…19 Aug 2026 · 52 min · 25 chapters

Mel Giedroyc - I Lost My Biggest Fan When Mum DiedMel Giedroyc discusses “How to Fail” themes through career and grief: changing the tone of The Great British Bake Off to protect contestants’ wellbeing; her failures around university exams; coping…12 Aug 2026 · 59 min · 22 chapters

Prime Minister Andy Burnham - ‘I’m a better politician for having failed.’Andy Burnham (UK Prime Minister) discusses how failing—especially losing Labour leadership bids and earlier career setbacks—made him a better politician, and argues for “hope,” devolution, and…5 Aug 2026 · 49 min · 25 chapters

Nikita Gill - Everyone Wants to Be Heard But No One Wants to ListenNikita Gill discusses being heard vs listened to, how borders/partition and militarized childhood threats shaped her empathy and writing, and her “failures” in publishing, going viral, and dealing…29 Jul 2026 · 55 min · 22 chapters

Miquita Oliver - I Drank Half a Bottle of Wine Every MorningMakita Oliver discusses “How to Fail” failures tied to money, alcoholism, and trauma—specifically her 27-year-old bankruptcy, later morning drinking that escalated into a years-long hidden…22 Jul 2026 · 57 min · 21 chapters

Richard Bacon - ‘I Was Betrayed By My Best Friend’Richard Bacon discusses major failures and what they taught him: being publicly fired from Blue Peter after a cocaine scandal, a later failed US TV move due to visa problems, and ongoing struggle…15 Jul 2026 · 58 min · 28 chapters

Remembering Bonnie TylerA reissued How to Fail episode honoring Bonnie Tyler after her death, mixing career “failures” with resilience, plus intimate family stories about her mother, miscarriage, and long-term love.9 Jul 2026 · 49 min · 22 chapters

Charlie Mackesy – ‘Grief propelled me into work that saved me’Charlie Mackesy discusses grief as a driver of creative work, how he holds others’ stories, and why “failure” (including not selling art, not fitting in, and personal setbacks) can lead to purpose,…8 Jul 2026 · 54 min · 16 chapters

Anastacia – All My Songs Have Been Good TherapyAnastasia discusses “failing better” through personal setbacks and identity—using music as therapy, rejecting being packaged as a pinup, navigating industry rejection, coping with breast cancer, and…1 Jul 2026 · 54 min · 22 chapters

Mel Giedroyc and AJ Odudu on Body Confidence, Midlife Reinvention and Female FriendshipA roundtable on body confidence, midlife reinvention, menopause/perimenopause, and women supporting women—framing “failures” as learning and emphasizing acceptance, representation, and practical…29 Jun 2026 · 45 min · 21 chapters

Kristin Scott Thomas – ‘Having children allowed me to see where I’d gone wrong’Dame Kristin Scott Thomas discusses “having children” as a turning point in processing long-held grief and self-sabotage, and how she later reframed her “tragic childhood” into her…24 Jun 2026 · 53 min · 20 chapters

Patrick Radden Keefe - ‘Lying Is More Prevalent Than People Think’Patrick Radden Keefe discusses “London Falling,” a true-crime narrative about Zach Brettler, a North London teenager who died after falling from a luxury apartment balcony, and how identity…17 Jun 2026 · 56 min · 24 chapters

Natalie Imbruglia - ‘I love the wisdom of being in my 50s’Natalie Imbruglia discusses “How to Fail” through perimenopause/mental health, neurodivergence, divorce and dating in her 30s, IVF/fertility, and the pressure of following up Torn; she also reflects…10 Jun 2026 · 52 min · 27 chapters

Hannah Murray - ‘Everything Fell Apart’Hannah Murray discusses her memoir The Make-Believe and how her search for “magic” and happiness spiraled into an extreme wellness organization, a psychotic break, and a bipolar diagnosis—followed by…3 Jun 2026 · 1 h 2 min · 31 chapters

Emily Atack - ‘I’ve forgiven people for unforgivable things’Emily Atack discusses learning boundaries in therapy, emotional regulation in relationships, forgiveness, and how early sexual abuse and loneliness shaped her view of sex, love, and her body.27 May 2026 · 1 h 1 min · 17 chapters

Katherine Parkinson – ‘I’m Still Learning How to Be Me’Katherine Parkinson discusses “How to Fail” through three failures—being disorganized, failing to acknowledge trauma, and struggling at the oboe—linking them to confidence, class/shame, and…20 May 2026 · 49 min · 14 chapters

Emilia Clarke - ‘I’m A Bad Celebrity’Emilia Clarke discusses “failure” as self-discovery, focusing on imposter syndrome, two life-threatening brain aneurysms (2011 and a later rupture), recovery mistakes, and how fatigue and fear shaped…13 May 2026 · 55 min · 15 chapters