All The Small Things

Tessa Khan is an international climate change and human rights lawyer, campaigner and strategist.She is the founder and director of Uplift, a new organisation helping to move the UK towards a fossil fuel-free future. They strategically resource, connect, and elevate ideas and voices to set in motion a just transition away from fossil fuel production that is in proportion with the scale of the climate crisis. Before this role, she co-founded and is co-director of the Climate Litigation Network, a project of the Urgenda Foundation, which supports groundbreaking strategic climate litigation around the world. She has spent more than fifteen years supporting grassroots, regional and international movements for justice and has served as an expert advisor to UN human rights bodies and national governments, while working in Thailand, Egypt, India, the US, the Netherlands and Australia. Tessa is a trustee of Global Greengrants Fund UK and a member of the Steering Committee of the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty Initiative. Her writing has been published in international media outlets and academic publications, and she has been invited to speak at the United Nations and events convened by The Economist, Wall Street Journal and TEDx. In 2019, Tessa was named by TIME magazine as one of fifteen women leading the fight against climate change. She is also an awardee of the Climate Breakthrough Project.If you’re UK based, you should know that the government has spent 4 BILLION propping up the oil and gas industry since we signed the Pairs Agreement in 2016. At the end of October 2021, The 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference, also known as COP2 6will be taking place in Glasgow, Scotland. Boris Johnson has referred to this as the turning point for humanity, yet our government is spending billions propping up the oil and gas industry, which is directly causing the overheating and destruction of our planet.Actions and links for this episodeLearn more about the work of Uplift.The Government are set to approve the climate-wrecking Cambo oil field later this year. If we want a liveable climate, we can’t allow any new oil and gas extraction. To learn more and take action please head to: stopcambo.org.uk/take-actionWrite to your local MP to ask that they take action at COP26 and speak up against fossil fuelsCheck out the PaidToPollute campaignCheck out podcast guest Daze Aghaji's campaign to sue the government for failing to tackle climate change: crowdjustice.com/case/carbon-budgets/Find me: @venetialamannaFind the show: @atstpodcastThis episode was co-produced by Venetia La Manna and Holly Falconer and edited by Nada Smiljanic. The music was composed by William Haxworth and the artwork was designed by Alex Sedano. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

[CW: sexual assault] Gina Martin is a campaigner, speaker and writer, best known for founding and running the national campaign to make upskirting illegal and changing English and Welsh law by creating the Voyeurism Act. Three other countries have since followed suit. In 2020, alongside Black plus size model Nyome Nicholas Williams and photographer Alex Cameron, Gina helped change Instagram’s Nudity policy, which previously censored larger Black women’s bodies. Gina’s first book Be The Change, is a practical guide for activists starting out. She’s also an ambassador UN Women UK and advocates for regular people creating change in their communities, with a specific focus on young people, as you’ll hear in this episode.We also talk about Gina’s campaigning, touching on the less glamorous side that doesn’t make into mainstream media, the lessons she’s learned and the depths of what she’s been through.Buy Gina's book hereWatch her TEDx Talk hereFind Gina: @GinaMartinFind me: @venetialamannaFind the show: @atstpodcastThis episode was co-produced by Venetia La Manna and Holly Falconer and edited by Nada Smiljanic. The music was composed by William Haxworth and the artwork was designed by Alex Sedano. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hassan Akkad is a photographer, filmmaker and activist. He came to the UK in 2015 after fleeing Damascus after he was tortured by Assad's regime. He documented his journey in the BAFTA award winning documentary “Exodus: Our Journey to Europe and later caught public attention again when he applied to be a cleaner at his local hospital at the start of the COVID 19 pandemic. During his time on the COVID ward, Hassan shared images of his fellow cleaners, porters and cooks on his social media which went viral. Then, when Hassan found out that porters and cleaners working for the NHS would not be protected through the government's NHS bereavement scheme, he was outraged and his campaign to include those people in the scheme directly led to the second notorious government U-turn of 2020. Hassan’s memoir “Hope Not Fear: Finding My Way from Refugee to Filmmaker to NHS Hospital Cleaner and Activist” was released in September 2021. It’s a searingly honest and heartbreaking account of his journey and his unparalleled compassion, kindness and advocacy. Hassan shows us that standing together and uniting in kindness and love is the single most important message of our time. Order Hassan’s book hereFind Hassan on Instagram: @HassanAkkad and twitter @Hassan_AkkadFind me: @venetialamannaFind the show: @atstpodcastSupport Choose Love / Help Refugees: helprefugees.org/ This episode was co-produced by Venetia La Manna and Holly Falconer. It was edited by Nada Smiljanic. The music was composed by William Haxworth and the artwork was designed by Alex Sedano. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Welcome to series 3!Aja Barber is a writer, stylist and consultant whose work deals with the intersections of sustainability and the fashion landscape, building heavily on ideas behind privilege, wealth inequality, racism, feminism and colonialism.Her brand new debut book “Consumed: The need for collective change; colonialism, climate change & consumerism”, is a blazing polemic against both the exploitation and injustice of the fashion industry and the cynical manipulation of consumer culture as a whole. It’s divided into one learning section and one unlearning section, so by the end, you’ll understand why fashion is exploitative, how it’s causing a humanitarian crisis and contributing to climate breakdown and you’ll feel equipped to be a better consumer and, fundamentally, a more active citizen. Order Aja's book hereFind Aja: @ajabarberFind me: @venetialamannaFind the show: @atstpodcastThis episode was produced by Venetia La Manna and edited by Nada Smiljanic. The music was composed by William Haxworth and the artwork was designed by Alex Sedano. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Rachel Ama (she/her) is a cookery author and YouTuber with over half a million subscribers. A new Mum, Rachel has spent the last year in London, writing her most accessible and delicious book yet “One Pot, Three Ways: Save Time With Vibrant, Versatile, Vegan Recipes.” The recipes revolve around one main centrepiece dish that makes flavour-packed vegetables the worthy hero of every meal. With over 80 brand new recipes inspired by her Caribbean and African roots, Rachel offers three creative and flavoursome ways to serve and use each one-pot recipe. It is an absolute delight, just like Rach.In this episode, we discuss her birth story, relationship with her mum, parenting style, thoughts on the vegan community, her ambition to make plant based food and cooking accessible for everyone and much more.I use strong language more than a few times in this episode (I think it was due to the excitement of being reunited with my pal), so please bear that in mind if you're listening with people who might take offence.Find Rachel: @RachelAma_ Pre-order her book: https://bit.ly/3wVGlViFind me: @venetialamannaFind the show: @ATSTpodcast Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jazmin Sawyers (she/her) is a professional long jumper, former bobsledder and singer-songwriter from Stoke. A personal philosophy to say "yes" to as much as possible has taken her to the final of the Rio Olympic Games, Will.I.Am's team on The Voice UK and hosting the red carpet at BBC's Sports Personality of the Year. She is the current British long jump champion and is taking part in the Olympics in Japan this month.Find Jaz on Instagram: @JazminSawyersFind me @VenetiaLaManna and follow the show @ATSTpodcast.This podcast was edited and produced by Venetia La Manna and co-produced by Holly Falconer. The artwork was designed by Alex Sedano and the music was composed by William Haxworth. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Tom Rasmussen (they/them) is a Lancaster born, London based writer and singer. When out of drag, they are contributing editor at Dazed Beauty, LOVE Magazine and Refinery29, and a regular contributor to the Independent and i-D. Their work has also been featured in Vice, Broadly, Tank and the Gay Times. In 2018 they were named an LGBT trailblazer by The Dots and one of the voices of now for i-D. Tom also forms half of the radical queer punk band ACM. Their first book, Diary of a Drag Queen, was longlisted for the Polari First Book Prize 2020.This month sees the release of their second book: “First Comes Love: On Marriage and Other Ways of Being Together”. It’s a witty and incisive exploration of what marriage means along the whole spectrum of sexuality and class. They look at why people get married - for security, romance, or celebration, and why others see taking part in this deeply binary, normative system problematic in itself, examining what the future looks like for this historic and universal institution.Follow Tom: @tomglitterBuy their book: https://bit.ly/3xuAIhXFind me @VenetiaLaManna and follow the show @ATSTpodcast.This podcast was edited and produced by Venetia La Manna and co-produced by Holly Falconer. The artwork was designed by Alex Sedano and the music was composed by William Haxworth. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ashley ‘Dotty’ Charles is a broadcaster and writer from south London. After joining the BBC in 2014 she became the first solo female to host the BBC Radio 1Xtra Breakfast Show in 2016, leading the breakfast show to its highest-ever audience and interviewing everyone from Oprah Winfrey to Will Smith. She has presented TV programmes including BBC One’s music show, ’Sounds Like Friday Night’, and BBC Three’s ’Story of Grime’ documentary series. Dotty is currently the Lead Cultural Curator at Apple Music and the host of Apple Music 1 show The Dotty Show, as well as a Commissioning Editor at GRAZIA. Last year, The Times lauded her as ‘the powerful new voice of her generation.’Her debut book “Outraged: Why Everyone is Shouting and No One is Talking” is an essential read for anyone who uses the internet and engages with outrage culture (that’s most of us). Dotty takes a candid and hilarious exploration into the state of cancel culture in our online world, and how we can channel our collective outrage back into the fights that matter.Buy Dotty’s book: https://bit.ly/36c7999Follow Dotty on Instagram: @thedottyshow/Find me @VenetiaLaManna and follow the show @ATSTpodcast.This podcast was edited and produced by Venetia La Manna. The artwork was designed by Alex Sedano and the music was composed by William Haxworth. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Otegha Uwagba is the author of the Sunday Times Bestselling Little Black Book: A Toolkit for Working Women published in 2017 and Whites: On Race and Other Falsehoods in 2020. She is also a speaker, brand consultant and founder of Women Who, a London-based multi-media platform aimed at creative women that operated from 2016 - 2020. She also hosts the culture and ideas podcast In Good Company. Her forthcoming book We Need To Talk About Money - part memoir, part cultural commentary - is published by 4th Estate on 8 July. I gained so much from this book and it will no doubt be a catalyst for an conversation about money, transparency, racism and class.Pre-order Otegha’s new book: https://bit.ly/3yfHaJZFind Otegha on Twitter: @OteghaUwagbaListen to her podcast and subscribe to her newsletter.Find me @VenetiaLaManna and follow the show @ATSTpodcast.This podcast was edited and produced by Venetia La Manna. The artwork was designed by Alex Sedano and the music was composed by William Haxworth. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Cathy Reay (she/her) is a writer, editor and disability consultant. She covers disability rights and representation, with a particular interest in the beauty and film industries. She is also a single mother of two and speaks about her life and her experiences on her instagram @ThatSingleMum. There is so much in this conversation. We hear about Cathy's childhood, her advice for her teenage self, we discuss her experience of motherhood, both online and offline. We also talk about what a better future for disabled people would like from a political standpoint, in the media and crucially, in our every-day lives. Cathy speaks brilliantly about how important it is to challenge our perceptions of what we think accessibility means and how we need to reduce the stigma around asking someone about their access needs. We also talk about the life-changing power of a good skincare routine.Find Cathy on Instagram @ThatSingleMumFind me @VenetiaLaManna and follow the show @ATSTpodcast.This podcast was edited and produced by Venetia La Manna and co-produced by Holly Falconer. The artwork was designed by Alex Sedano and the music was composed by William Haxworth. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Paris Lees (she/her) is a writer, presenter and the first openly trans person to be a contributing editor for Vogue. Last month, she released her debut book ‘What It Feels Like For A Girl’, an unmissable coming of age memoir, following the story of Byron Lees, growing up on a council estate in a dead-end town in the East Midlands. It’s written in an evocative vernacular style with an utterly immersive depiction of early 2000s culture.The book is not always an easy read as Paris’ adolescence was highly dramatic, with periods of bullying, a troubled home life, rebellion, sexual abuse and crime. Paris has written an addictively-readable debut, cementing herself as one of the UK’s most exciting young writers. In this episode, we talk about Paris book writing process, how well the memoir would lend itself to television, the traumatic process of “looking back”, sexual abuse, her time in a youth offenders’ institution, self-care and more.Episode content warning: sexual and physical abuse.Find Paris Buy her incredible book Find me @VenetiaLaManna and find the show @ATSTpodcastThis podcast was edited and produced by Venetia La Manna, with artwork designed by Alex Sedano and Music composed by William Haxworth. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Michael James Wong (he/him) is the founder of Just Breathe and a leading voice in the global movement for modern mindfulness. He is an author, speaker, community leader and meditation teacher who is dedicated to expanding the conversation around the mind and mental health. Michael is internationally recognised for his work in the wellness community as both as an advocate and entrepreneur. He writes books about hope and is the voice behind the Just Breathe meditation app.In his inspiring and beautiful new book 'SENBAZURU, Small Steps For Hope Healing and HappinessMichael shares a personal collection of short stories and teachings, accompanied by traditional hand-painted proverbs and prayers. Together these bring to life gentle wisdoms and universal truths to guide a meaningful way of living. Shared throughout the book in twelve straightforward steps is also the powerful practice of orizuru, the art of folding paper cranes, a journey that will encourage you to slow down and create a hopeful perspective for the future.Find MichaelBuy his bookDownload the Just Breathe meditation appFind me @VenetiaLaManna and find the show @ATSTpodcastThis podcast was edited and produced by Venetia La Manna, with artwork designed by Alex Sedano and Music composed by William Haxworth. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Candice Brathwaite is an author, journalist, TV presenter, and the founder of Make Motherhood Diverse – an online initiative that aims to ensure more people see themselves reflected online. Candice’s new book, Sista Sister, is a compilation of essays about all the things she wishes she'd been told when she was a young Black girl growing up in London. From family and money to Black hair and fashion, as well as relationships between people of different races and colourism. Sista Sister is the follow up to Candice’s debut book, I Am Not Your Baby Mother, which was published in May 2020 and quickly became a Sunday Times Best-seller. It’s an urgent and eye-opening book about Black British motherhood, the first of its kind in the UK.In this interview, Candice explains why Black British women will always be at the forefront of her storytelling. She tells us about the boundaries she has in place to ensure optimum self-protection and fearless creative output, the highs and lows of social media and how she doesn’t promote the idea of becoming an influencer. We also discuss friendship and trauma bonding, performative activism, cultural appropriation in wellness, colourism, her career aspirations and much more.Pre-order Sista SisterBuy I Am Not Your Baby MotherFind Candice on InstagramCandice's TV recommendationAll The Small Things is co-produced and edited by Venetia La Manna and produced by Holly Falconer, with music composed by William Haxworth and artwork designed by Alex Sedano. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Charlie Craggs (she/her) is an award-winning author, activist and speaker, hailed by Vogue as “the voice of a community”. Charlie is the founder of Nail Transphobia, a conversation-focused national campaign that tackles transphobia through education, empowerment and nail art. She is the author of To My Trans Sisters, an inspirational collection of letters written by successful trans women, sharing the lessons they learnt on their journeys to womanhood, celebrating their achievements and empowering the next generation to become who they truly are. This year, Charlie will be presenting a documentary about trans youth for the BBC. She is also the face of The Body Shop's global Self Love campaign.Follow Charlie: @Charlie_CraggsBuy her book: To My Trans SistersFind me: @VenetiaLaMannaFind the show: @ATSTPodcastCW: suicide.Thank you to REN Clean Skincare for sponsoring this episode. Here are two of my favourite products that I mentioned, the Ready Steady Glow Daily AHA Tonic and the Clean Screen Mattifying Mineral SPF 30All The Small Things is co-produced and edited by Venetia La Manna and produced by Holly Falconer, with music composed by William Haxworth and artwork designed by Alex Sedano. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

CW: brief mention of suicide.Poorna Bell (she/her) is an award-winning journalist, digital editorial expert, three-time author, mental health ambassador and badass power-lifter. This month sees the release of her fantastic new book: “Stronger: Changing Everything I Knew About Women's Strength”. Part memoir, part manifesto, this book starts a conversation about women’s strength and fitness, tapping into the reservoir of mental strength we each have, in a way that has absolutely nothing to do with weight loss. Poorna shares her own story, as well as drawing on research and telling the stories of other women who’ve forged their own path. This book is intersectional, refreshing and a necessary interrogation of the health and fitness industry, as well as the government’s role when it comes to mental health. I absolutely LOVED it.In this episode, we discuss diet culture, mental health, the government's co-opting of the mental health movement during the pandemic, the menopause, representation and more.Find Poorna on Twitter @PoornaBellFind Poorna on Instagram: @PoornaBellPre-order her book: StrongerFollow her community: @SeeMyStrongPoorna’s book recommendation: Luster by Raven LeilaniThank you to REN Clean Skincare for sponsoring this episode. Here are two of my favourite products that I mentioned, the Ready Steady Glow Daily AHA Tonic and the Clean Screen Mattifying Mineral SPF 30This episode is also kindly sponsored by Papier. Head to and use code 'VENETIA15' for 15% off your first order.All The Small Things is co-produced and edited by Venetia La Manna and produced by Holly Falconer, with music composed by William Haxworth and artwork designed by Alex Sedano. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.