Ready to Talk with Emma Barnett

Chris Davids of electronic duo Maribou State discusses suffering from a rare brain condition, how it affected his passion for making music and the surgery and experimental procedure that led to his recovery.

Chris was experiencing extreme headaches while working on the group’s third album, Hallucinating Love, during lockdown. Eventually he was diagnosed with a Chiari malformation, meaning the lower part of his brain was pushing down into his spinal canal. He talks to Emma about a complex period which has now ended with a creative renewal.

In Ready to Talk with Emma Barnett, the award-winning interviewer speaks to people you will know and people you should know about the experiences that are shaping their lives. If you want to join the conversation you can email the team at [email protected], or you can send a WhatsApp message or voice note to 08000 556 101.

Writer Laura Dockrill discusses the extreme delusions and psychotic breakdown that she suffered after her son's birth. She shares how she got beyond them and how she is today.

Just weeks after becoming a mother, Laura found herself is a desperate state. It took an intervention from her best friend, the singer Adele, to have her admitted to a psychiatric ward. With the support of her husband she is now thriving, and has published a memoir, What Have I Done?, about her illness.

In Ready to Talk with Emma Barnett, the award-winning interviewer speaks to people you will know and people you should know about the experiences that are shaping their lives. If you want to join the conversation you can email the team at [email protected], or you can send a WhatsApp message or voice note to 08000 556 101.

If you are suffering distress or despair and need support, including urgent support, a list of organisations that can help is available at bbc.co.uk/actionline.

On the morning of New Year's Day 2011, actor Jason Watkins' two-year-old daughter Maude died. He and his wife had taken her to hospital the previous day, but only after an inquest did they come to the realisation that she had been suffering from undiagnosed sepsis. The couple have since campaigned for a better understanding of the condition among healthcare professionals.
Watkins has since become known for his roles in sitcoms W1A and Trollied, and won a BAFTA in the title role of drama The Lost Honour of Christopher Jefferies in 2015. He discusses the depth of his grief, how he threw himself into his career after Maude's death, and how his family have survived as a unit.
In Ready to Talk with Emma Barnett, the award-winning interviewer speaks to people you will know and people you should know about the experiences that are shaping their lives. If you want to join the conversation you can email the team at [email protected], or you can send a WhatsApp message or voice note to 08000 556 101.

Dr Koshka Duff was arrested and detained in 2013 after offering a legal advice card to someone being stopped and searched.
Dr Duff was then subject to a strip search by Metropolitan police officers, an experience she describes as "terrifying".
On CCTV footage, officers were heard laughing about her hair, clothes and talking about her underwear and her smell. The Metropolitan Police have since apologised and paid the academic compensation for their "sexist, derogatory and unacceptable language".
She talks to Emma about why she decided to take action against the police and how the experience has shaped her view and work around police abolition.
In Ready to Talk with Emma Barnett, the award-winning interviewer speaks to people you will know and people you should know about the experiences that are shaping their lives. If you want to join the conversation you can email the team at [email protected], or you can send a WhatsApp message or voice note to 08000 556 101.

After BBC local news anchor Polly Evans found herself unable to speak while doing a live broadcast, she disappeared from screens overnight.

Polly had been having trouble with her voice for months following a virus and believed the stresses of a high-pressure workplace and a busy home life were to blame. But unknown to her she had a serious neurological disorder. She explains how coming to terms with it has changed her life and her identity.

In Ready to Talk with Emma Barnett, the award-winning interviewer speaks to people you will know and people you should know about the experiences that are shaping their lives. If you want to join the conversation you can email the team at [email protected], or you can send a WhatsApp message or voice note to 08000 556 101.