Starling's World

How do we deal with the parts of ourselves that hold us back? How do we ensure that the failures of the past are helping us today, and not still causing us problems? This week, Starling meets Ruth Culver of http://calmheart.co.uk/, an integrative therapist who uses Internal Family Systems (IFS), hypnotherapy and other treatments to help people work through their problems. Starling's World is a podcast about making it in the creative industries. Every two weeks, rising star Starling...

How do you regain a sense of balance and work out what's actually best for you in a world where pressure comes from every side? How do you decide whether to take a risk or keep a safer path - in creativity or in life? This week, Starling meets Kate Taylor; life coach, Neuro Linguistic Programming specialist, and host of the Practical Magic Podcast. https://www.katetaylor.co/life-coaching Starling's World is a podcast about making it in the creative industries. Every two weeks, rising star...

How do you find meaning in creativity (or creativity in meaning)? How do you cope with times when your soul just isn't ready to perform? This week Starling meets Reverend Gail Love-Schock: a coach, interfaith minister and specialist in human behaviour. Gail helps creative people (or anyone who needs it) with the spiritual side of their work, whether that be accepting that you're in a rut creatively (and reassurance it will end) to helping establishing the meaning in our work. Starling's...

How does a kid from East London become one of the most recognised and celebrated photographers in the country? How do you go from going to a show to following the artist (Stormzy, in this case) on tour? How do you build a personal relationship with some of the biggest brands in the world? Photographer Mohammad Abdul, better known as Mabdulle, is doing all this at just 25. He's worked with fashion brands, musicians and car companies and his style has become one of the most recognised and...

Sian Clifford is one of the most recognised faces in television today, thanks to her role as Claire in the hit Phoebe Waller-Bridge comedy-drama Fleabag, a role which has earned her an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy. And if that wasn't keeping her busy enough, she's also the founder of digital wellness and meditation platform Still Space! Starling and Sian met up to discuss acting, struggling to get a big break, what to do when it all gets too quiet, or too...

What's it like to perform with your idols on the world's biggest stages? To be introduced by Ed Sheeran to thousands of adoring fans? To tour the world with Anne-Marie not just as the keyboard player, but as the person who put together the show? That's life for UK-based Musical Director Ashton Miranda, who spends his life touring with some of the biggest acts in the world (and posting about it on Instagram). Starling and Ashton discuss how he got where he is, what keeps him going, and how he...

How do you pick the next big cultural sensation? What's it like to work with rock-star performers when you know you're right? How do you fight your corner for a great idea that happens to be ahead of its time? And how do you confidently turn down the offer of a really, really good job that's not quite right for you? John Lloyd knows the answers to all these questions and many more (including plenty of general knowledge), as the creator of the TV series QI and host of BBC podcast The Museum...

What's it like to finally start to make it in music? To wake up and find you've been played on radio stations around the world, you're making major playlists, and being invited to meetings with some of the biggest names in music? That's the reality for Harry Lloyd, frontman of up-and-coming band Waiting For Smith. A revelation following a life changing accident caused Harry to re-evaluate his life and throw everything into doing what he loved and pursuing a career in music. A couple of years...

How do we stop comparing ourselves to others when their success surrounds us on social media and in the rest of the world? How do we stop worrying about our past and start looking to our goals today? How do we, well, chill out about what other people are doing? This week, Starling meets Lucy Sheridan, the one and only Comparison Coach. Lucy helps people all over the world go from comparing themselves against others and despair to living#comparisonfree in their life and business. As well as...

One room, two titans of music. Some great hats. This week, Starling meets Adam Anderson, songwriter and musician with the synth-pop/new wave band Hurts, who have enjoyed a stack of hit singles and best-selling albums worldwide. She's also joined by record producer/songwriter Tom Fuller, who has worked with some of the biggest names in music from his music studio, The Cabin. The trio discuss songwriting, creativity, writers block and whether you should chase a hit, or write good music and...

What is a great idea? Where does creativity come from? What is the point in a man who can't weave tapestries and write epic poems? This week, Starling meets John Mitchinson, one of the brains behind TV smash-hit panel show QI, and now head of Unbound, a crowd-funding publishing company. John is a lover of all things literature, from the written word to ancient spoken stories, as well as a purveyor of great general knowledge (though he insists it's all about asking the right questions, not...

What makes great stories and a great idea in television? What do you do when faced with an idea that has an element of the unknown, but might just work? David Glover is a documentary maker and former head of specialist factual at Channel 4, being responsible for documentaries and series including Gogglebox and The Man on the Bridge. He's also the founder of 72 Films with an impressive catalogue of documentaries to his name. He's made documentaries for everyone from the BBC to Netflix....

What goes into creating a great music video? How do you make the most of your time on set, and where do great ideas come from? This week, Starling meets Aaron and James, two director/producers with Cape Films, a London-based independent production company specialising in making great music videos. With several award nods and a host of major stars under their belts, the boys know a thing or two about how to make the most of your music video experience and how to make it in the industry. So...

Ever wondered how musicians find their style, or how a look is perfectly matched to the feeling of a song? Have you ever thought about how much effort goes into a piece of cover or album art, and where the incredible looks come from? Rachel Holland is a celebrity fashion stylist, specialising in working with musicians. She works with artists to create looks inspired by their music to ensure that from music videos to photo shoots, the message gets across. Starling's World is a podcast about...

This week, Starling interviews three of the UK's leading session musicians, to find out what life is like on the road touring with major artists, and playing the planet's biggest venues. David Kyle Payne (Bass and backing vocals), Luke Marc Hughes (drums) and Charles Macdonald (guitar) are living what many would consider to be a dream life, playing stages such as the O2 in London with some of the biggest names in music. But what is life really like day-to-day for a session musician? How do...

This week, Starling interviews six-time Grammy-nominated producer Damian Taylor, to find out what it takes to make it as a producer in the music industry. Damian is in incredible demand as a producer, having worked with artists such as Bjork and the Prodigy. What are his tips for taking the first steps as a professional, getting up the ladder, and scouting for big breaks? What is a producers actual job, and how do they make magic happen? Starling's World is a podcast about making it in the...