How To Fail With Elizabeth Day

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 manag

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Most frequent guests

Mo Gawdat 7 episodes
Alain de Botton 3 episodes
Salman Rushdie 3 episodes
Phoebe Waller Bridge 3 episodes
Gillian Anderson 2 episodes
Mae Martin 2 episodes
Jane Goodall 2 episodes
Stanley Tucci 2 episodes
Dan Levy 2 episodes
Shania Twain 2 episodes

Every guest on How To Fail With Elizabeth Day

324 guests, ranked by how many people never want them back.

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Geena Davis
S15, Ep11 How To Fail: Geena Davis, the Oscar-winning actress on fame, feminism and being diagnosed with ADD in her 40s · Nov 2022

0 votes
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Patrick Radden Keefe
Patrick Radden Keefe - ‘Lying Is More Prevalent Than People Think’ · Jun 2026

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Richard Gadd
Richard Gadd - On Shame, Sexuality and Success · Apr 2026

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Bernie Sanders
S16, Ep11 How To Fail: Bernie Sanders on defeat, defiance and the struggles that shaped him (plus: the power of mittens) · Mar 2023

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Gloria Steinem
S8, BONUS EPISODE! How to Fail: Gloria Steinem · Aug 2020

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Yuval Noah Harari
Yuval Noah Harari - ‘AI doesn't have to end badly for humankind’ · Sep 2024

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Alain de Botton
ON HEARTBREAK... With Alain de Botton and Jay Shetty · 3 episodes

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Malcolm Gladwell
S7, Ep2 How to Fail: Malcolm Gladwell · Jan 2020

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Rangan Chatterjee
S13, Ep7 How To Fail: Dr Rangan Chatterjee · Feb 2022

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Matthew Syed
S8, Ep3 How to Fail: Matthew Syed · Jun 2020

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Rory Stewart
S18, Ep3 Rory Stewart on why politics is broken - and what to do about it · Sep 2023

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Mo Gawdat
Failure Throwback: Mo Gawdat · 7 episodes

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Jake Humphrey

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Andrew Scott
S7, Ep1 How to Fail: Andrew Scott · Jan 2020

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Jon Bon Jovi
Jon Bon Jovi - Fame is a liar and a thief · Oct 2025

0 votes
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Gillian Anderson
ON AMBITION… With Gillian Anderson and Munroe Bergdorf · 2 episodes

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Henry Winkler
Henry Winkler - The Fonz, Getting Fired and Listening To Your Gut · May 2024

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Mae Martin
ON ADDICTION... With Mae Martin and Marian Keyes · 2 episodes

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Jennette McCurdy
Jennette McCurdy on Reclaiming Her Voice · Feb 2026

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Michelle Yeoh
Michelle Yeoh - On typecasting, fertility and THAT Oscars speech · Nov 2025

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David Baddiel
S2, Ep8 How to Fail: David Baddiel · Nov 2018

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Simu Liu
S14, Ep1 How To Fail: Simu Liu · May 2022

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James Acaster
S9, Ep8 How to Fail: James Acaster · Oct 2020

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Jane Goodall
Jane Goodall on Optimism, Hope and Conservation · 2 episodes

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Stanley Tucci
ON STARTING OVER AFTER GRIEF… With Stanley Tucci and Geri Halliwell-Horner · 2 episodes

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Kate Winslet
Kate Winslet - ‘I remember thinking: I do not want to be famous’ · Sep 2024

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Elliot Page
S17, Ep10 Elliot Page on the transcendence of showing up as himself · Jul 2023

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Dan Levy
ON EMBARRASSING MOMENTS… With Dan Levy and Phoebe Waller-Bridge · 2 episodes

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Brené Brown
S13, Ep1 How To Fail: Brené Brown · Jan 2022

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David Sedaris
David Sedaris - ‘My Father Said I Was A Bad Influence Because I Was Gay’ · Sep 2026

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Jon Ronson
Jon Ronson on truth-telling and the culture wars · Mar 2024

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Candice Carty-Williams
S13, BONUS EPISODE! How To Fail: Candice Carty-Williams · Mar 2022

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Lisa Taddeo
S6, Ep4 How to Fail: Lisa Taddeo · Oct 2019

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Marina Abramović
S18, Ep6 Marina Abramovic: one of the greatest living artists on performance, passion and power · Oct 2023

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Jonathan Van Ness
Jonathan Van Ness - 'I was one wrong thing away from losing everything' · Apr 2025

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Jesse Tyler Ferguson
Jesse Tyler Ferguson - ‘I was caught stealing gay porn' · Jul 2024

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Malala Yousafzai
Malala Yousafzai - I Am Not Who You Think I Am · Nov 2025

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Sharon Horgan
Sharon Horgan - ‘My marriage failed but it had such a positive impact on my life’ · Jan 2025

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Mark Ronson
Mark Ronson - The Stories Behind ‘Uptown Funk,’ Amy Winehouse & ‘I’m Just Ken’ · Sep 2025

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Monica Lewinsky
Monica Lewinsky - ‘I would have liked a more normal life’ · Jun 2025

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Recent episodes

400 episodes from the feed, newest first.

Remembering Gloria Steinem
Sep 2026
David Sedaris - ‘My Father Said I Was A Bad Influence Because I Was Gay’
with David Sedaris

Sep 2026
Failure Throwback: Mo Gawdat
with Mo Gawdat

Aug 2026
Failure Throwback: Phoebe Waller Bridge
with Phoebe Waller Bridge

Aug 2026
Mel Giedroyc - I Lost My Biggest Fan When Mum Died
with Mel Giedroyc

Aug 2026
Prime Minister Andy Burnham - ‘I’m a better politician for having failed.’
with Andy Burnham

Aug 2026
Nikita Gill - Everyone Wants to Be Heard But No One Wants to Listen
with Nikita Gill

Jul 2026
Miquita Oliver - I Drank Half a Bottle of Wine Every Morning
with Miquita Oliver

Jul 2026
Richard Bacon - ‘I Was Betrayed By My Best Friend’
with Richard Bacon

Jul 2026
Remembering Bonnie Tyler
Jul 2026
Charlie Mackesy – ‘Grief propelled me into work that saved me’
with Charlie Mackesy

Jul 2026
Anastacia – All My Songs Have Been Good Therapy
Jul 2026
Mel Giedroyc and AJ Odudu on Body Confidence, Midlife Reinvention and Female Friendship
with Mel Giedroyc

Jun 2026
Kristin Scott Thomas – ‘Having children allowed me to see where I’d gone wrong’
with Kristin Scott Thomas

Jun 2026
Patrick Radden Keefe - ‘Lying Is More Prevalent Than People Think’
with Patrick Radden Keefe

Jun 2026
Natalie Imbruglia - ‘I love the wisdom of being in my 50s’
with Natalie Imbruglia

Jun 2026
Hannah Murray - ‘Everything Fell Apart’
with Hannah Murray

Jun 2026
Emily Atack - ‘I’ve forgiven people for unforgivable things’
with Emily Atack

May 2026
Katherine Parkinson – ‘I’m Still Learning How to Be Me’
with Katherine Parkinson

May 2026
Emilia Clarke - ‘I’m A Bad Celebrity’
with Emilia Clarke

May 2026
Aline Brosh McKenna - The Rom Com Queen Who Wrote The Devil Wears Prada
with Aline Brosh McKenna

May 2026
Richard Gadd - On Shame, Sexuality and Success
with Richard Gadd

Apr 2026
Rita Wilson - ‘I’m 69. I’m At My Most Unfiltered.’
with Rita Wilson

Apr 2026
Emma Grede - ‘Ambition Is Something I Am Entitled to’
with Emma Grede

Apr 2026
Sophie Habboo - I Wish I Had More Boundaries
with Sophie Habboo

Apr 2026