

One to One
BBC Radio 4
Series of interviews in which broadcasters follow their personal passions by talking to the people whose stories interest them most
Episodes
Mentioned books

Jul 30, 2019 • 14min
Growing Up with a Gay Dad
David Gregory-Kumar is a BBC journalist, and a gay dad. For this edition of One to One, he speaks to Sophie Mei Lan about her experience of growing up with a gay dad and step-dad.Sophie Mei Lan is a journalist, blogger and vlogger in her early 30s. She grew up, from the age of 3, partly with her gay dad and step-dad. She talks to David about the severe bullying she faced in high school, and how she learned to cope. But she also recalls the lighter, if rather excruciating, moment when she was mistaken for her dad's child-bride. Now that Sophie herself is a mum she sees a world that is more tolerant, and David agrees, but shares his feelings about living in Birmingham, a city where there have been protests against the teaching of LGBT equality in primary schools.Producer: Karen Gregor

Jul 23, 2019 • 16min
Being a Gay Dad
David Gregory-Kumar talks about parenting with fellow gay dad, Chris Hurlston.David is a BBC journalist, and he's also a gay dad. Across three editions of One to One he is exploring different aspects of gay parenting. Today he meets Chris Hurlston whose children were carried by surrogate mothers, one from India and the other from Nepal. David and Chris discuss their different experiences of surrogacy, the challenges of raising a daughter, and the protests against teaching LGBT equality in the city where they both live.Producer: Karen Gregor

Jul 16, 2019 • 15min
A Surrogate's Story
David Gregory-Kumar is a BBC journalist, and he's also a gay dad. Across three editions of One to One, he's exploring different aspects of gay parenting. Today he speaks to DaJon, the surrogate who carried his, and his husband Suraj's, baby girl. Producer: Karen Gregor

Jul 9, 2019 • 13min
Emma Freud meets Rukmini Callimachi
Broadcaster, journalist and producer Emma Freud had a dream to work in hard news. She talks to Rukmini Callimachi from the New York Times and presenter of the podcast 'Caliphrate' about her investigations into Islamic State. She asks Rukmini how fear doesn't stop her; why she seeks to understand those who join IS; and whether there is anything that would make her stop.
Producer: Sara Coneky

Jul 2, 2019 • 14min
Emma Freud talks to Christina Lamb
Broadcaster, columnist and producer Emma Freud always wanted to be a news journalist but never had the confidence or courage to pursue it. She talks to Chief Foreign Correspondent for The Sunday Times Christina Lamb about the realities of the job, to discover if she could ever have achieved her dream.
Producer: Sara Conkey

Jun 25, 2019 • 14min
Emma Freud talks to Emily Maitlis
Broadcaster, columnist and producer Emma Freud dreamed of being a news journalist. She felt she never had the courage to pursue it, but still wonders if she had what it takes. Emma talks to Newsnight's Emily Maitlis about the adrenaline of the job; whether she ever has self-doubt - and what really drives her.
Producer: Sara Conkey

Apr 16, 2019 • 14min
Life in prison: Alan Rusbridger talks to Dr Sohom Das
Former Guardian editor Alan Rusbridger meets Dr Sohom Das, a consultant forensic psychiatrist. His job is to assess, treat and rehabilitate mentally ill offenders. Dr Sohom discusses the effect that a life behind bars has upon the mind, tells Alan about the times when he has made a difference, and talks about the challenges of treating mentally ill offenders inside jail.Producer: Camellia Sinclair

Apr 9, 2019 • 14min
Life in prison: Alan Rusbridger talks to CJ Burge
In her early twenties, CJ Burge was sentenced to nine and a half years in prison for importing drugs into Japan. She went on to spend six years in jail, first in Japan and then in the UK. Today, with a first class Law degree earned through study in prison, she is a different person.CJ talks to Alan Rusbridger about life in prison in two different countries and reveals the effect that imprisonment had on her mental state. She tells him about being grateful for incarceration and about how she used opportunities in jail to change her life beyond the prison walls.Producer: Camellia Sinclair

Apr 2, 2019 • 14min
Life in prison: Alan Rusbridger talks to Jonathan Aitken
In 1999, Jonathan Aitken was sentenced to 18 months for perjury and perverting the course of justice. He went on to spend seven months behind bars, in three different prisons. At the time, Alan Rusbridger was his adversary. Then editor of The Guardian newspaper, Alan had reported Jonathan to the police for perjury after a high profile libel trial. Twenty years on, Alan sits down with Jonathan, now a chaplain at Pentonville Prison, to find out what he learned from life behind bars, how the experience of incarceration changed the way he thought, and how it continues to shape his life today.Producer: Camellia Sinclair

Mar 26, 2019 • 14min
Mourning – traditions in Hinduism
Euella Jackson meets Dr Girdari Bhan who is actively involved in the Interfaith Network for the UK and past President of the World Hindu Council UK, to hear about the structured approach to death and mourning practised in Hinduism. Having a Jamaican heritage, and a traditional way of mourning called Nine Nights, Euella is keen to find out what we can learn from other cultures and faiths to help us through the grieving process. Producer Sarah Bunt


