Avsnitt
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Poet, author and performer Mike Garry joins Shay O'Brien for a powerful conversation about creativity, identity, courage and how his career blossomed from his early love of words and language. Known for acclaimed works including Mancunian Meander and God Is A Manc, Mike has become a distinctive voice in contemporary poetry.
His poems celebrate real life; his home-town Manchester, family, love & loss, working-class culture and community. Before becoming a full-time writer and performer, Mike worked as a librarian, where he began reading his own poems to the young people that attended his homework centre. What followed was a leap of faith: leaving the security of a stable career to pursue a creative life built around poetry, performance and storytelling.
Since then, Mike has performed around the world, toured with John Cooper Clarke, collaborated with musicians and composers including Philip Glass, Joe Duddell and the Cassia String Quartet, and shared stages with artists such as New Order, Iggy Pop and Patti Smith, including a celebrated performance at Carnegie Hall. He also works extensively in schools and prisons and other community settings, bringing poetry to people who might never otherwise encounter it.
In this conversation, Mike reflects on growing up in Manchester, finding confidence through language, the influence of his Irish Catholic upbringing, and why authenticity has always mattered more to him than success. He speaks honestly about taking risks, believing in yourself, and choosing happiness over security.
In this episode:
• Why words became Mike's superpower
• The leap from librarian to full-time poet and performer
• The stories and communities that shaped his work
• What Manchester taught him about creativity and belonging
• Why authenticity matters more than recognition
• How following your passion can become a career
A thoughtful and inspiring reminder that sometimes the biggest risk is not taking one at all.
Show Notes:
St Anthony: An Ode to Anthony H Wilson - Mike Garry and Joe Duddell
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3cYNI8s_vo4
Mike Garry’s Merchandise
https://www.mikegarry.co.uk/shop/
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Allan Heinberg — showrunner and executive producer of Netflix's The Sandman, screenwriter of the blockbuster Wonder Woman, and the creative voice behind some of television's most beloved series including Sex and the City, Gilmore Girls, The O.C., Grey's Anatomy, and Scandal as well as co-creator and writer of Young Avengers and its sequel Avengers for Marvel Comics — sits down with Shay for a deeply personal conversation about a life shaped by storytelling, reinvention, and hard-won self-knowledge.
Few writers have successfully shaped stories across television, film, and comics quite like Allan. But behind an extraordinary career is a human story full of vulnerability, courage, and unexpected turns — from performing on stage in early childhood, to navigating the complex personal challenges that come with a life lived honestly.
This is a conversation about creativity, identity, and what it really means to know yourself.
In this episode:
• A childhood and early life defined by performance and storytelling
• Allan’s journey from Broadway actor to building a career in film and television.
• How becoming an expert in what you love can create unexpected opportunities.
• Writing the Young Avenger comic series and how the introduction of the first gay characters came about.
• The realities of pursuing a creative career and supporting yourself along the way
• How discipline, focus and consistency shaped his success
• What it means to sustain creativity through personal challenge
• The role mentors, friendships and collaboration played in Allan’s journey
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Saknas det avsnitt?
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Julie Gardner MBE, the legendary television producer behind Doctor Who, Torchwood, and co-founder of Bad Wolf Productions, shares how she went from growing up in a working-class village in South Wales to becoming one of the most influential producers in British television.
This is a conversation about ambition, resilience, self-belief, and what it really takes to create a life beyond the limits of where you started.
In this episode:
Julie’s childhood growing up in South WalesHow books and television became her window into a bigger worldOvercoming shyness and learning to ask for opportunitiesMissing out on Cambridge and finding the determination to keep goingWhy setbacks can become defining momentsThe reality behind the glamour of the television industryHow Doctor Who helped transform television production in WalesWorking with people who inspire youWhat it is like receiving an MBEWhy asking for help and backing yourself mattersThe notion of “being in the room”The importance of storytelling, curiosity, and long-term visionJulie is a great conversationalist and her story highlights that building a life that inspires you requires resilience, self-belief, and the courage to ask for opportunities, amongst many more golden nuggets from her vast experience of working in television.
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March Russell, a breathwork teacher, shares how he went from struggling with anxiety, low self-worth, and feeling disconnected, to building a life centred around helping others feel grounded and at ease.
This is a practical and honest conversation about stress, the nervous system, and why so many of us feel constantly “on edge” in modern life and which breathwork tools we can use to support us.
In this episode:
March’s journey towards breathworkWhy we feel overwhelmed, even when life looks “fine”How your nervous system shapes how you experience the worldThe role of breathwork in reducing stress and anxietySimple ways to feel calmer, more present, and more in controlWhy slowing down might be the most powerful thing you can doA reminder that sometimes the smallest tools can create the biggest shifts.
🎧 Stay until the end for a 10‑minute closing practice with March to interrupt stress loops and reset your mind — leaving you clearer, lighter, and more relaxed.
Coming soon: Moonfables — a sleep podcast by March, creating quiet audio stories and practices that help the body feel safe as you drift into deep, restful sleep
Learn more
HŌM → studiohom.co
March Russell → marchrussell.com
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Michelin-star chef Jan Ostle shares the real story behind his success, from growing up feeling “not good enough” and struggling with dyslexia, to finding purpose in the kitchen, overcoming a growing reliance on drugs and alcohol and rebuilding his life from the ground up.
This is an honest conversation about pressure, identity, and what it actually takes to create something meaningful, not just professionally, but personally.
In this episode:
• Jan’s childhood and how that shaped him
• Turning self-doubt into drive
• The hidden cost of high performance
• Addiction, recovery, and starting again
• Redefining success on your own terms
This isn’t just a story about food or business, it’s about learning to accept who you are, doing the work to change, and redefining what a “best life” actually means.
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What does it look like to truly love what you do?
Best Life is a podcast about real people, that are living proof that it's possible. Each episode, join host Shay OBrien, as we sit down with someone who has found their thing — whether they chased it since childhood or it found them when they least expected it — and we talk about the journey, the passion, and what it actually feels like to wake up every day doing what you love.
Equal parts inspiring and honest, Best Life is the show for anyone who believes the best chapter might still be ahead.
Launching 1st May. Stay tuned by following the show in your podcast app.
