Virtues of Vulnerability with Ed Balls

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Archive on 4: Virtues of Vulnerability with Ed Balls

BBC Radio 4 - Archive on 4, Virtues of Vulnerability with Ed Balls

Ed Balls and guests reflect on the impact of showing one’s vulnerable side.

4 Extra Debut. Ed talks to a variety of public figures, reflecting on the impact of showing vulnerability in the public eye. From 2020.

For Ed Balls, the decision to talk publicly about his stammer was pivotal. 

As a politician, displaying vulnerability was almost unthinkable. Ed's decision turned out to be a good one, but opening up in this way had risks, and things might have been different.
 
In this personal programme, Ed talks to people from sport, politics, business and media, hearing how they dealt with life’s challenges, displaying their vulnerability, often in full public view.
 
Ed speaks to Michael Palin, Facebook's Nicola Mendelsohn, one of the most powerful women in tech; politician Paula Sherriff, Paralympian and Strictly Come Dancing star Will Bayley, journalist Nick Robinson, and writer and activist Scarlett Curtis.
 
Through archive and original interviews, Ed revisits past moments of vulnerability, including his own, speaking to those involved to shed fresh light on the pitfalls and benefits of displaying one’s vulnerable side.
 
Producer: Jack Soper

A TBI Media production for BBC Radio 4, first broadcast in January 2020.

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