logo
episode-header-image
Apr 2025
14m 10s

Decisions That Made Me: Chris May (Mayde...

Bbc Radio 4
About this episode

When a family member gets sick, it can mean major changes to our lives. For Chris May, it meant he needed a role that could be done entirely from home. He quit his job, and created his own enterprise doing management consulting. One of the contracts he had after that was to create a report on the standards of north London hospitals. Instead of just a report, Chris created an entire database, and his work snowballed from there. The health technology entrepreneur talks to Evan Davis about how he eventually created the database for the entire NHS.

Production team: Producers: Nick Holland and Simon Tulett Editor: Matt Willis Sound: John Scott Production co-ordinator: Katie Morrison

Up next
Jun 25
Digital Nomads
A laptop, reliable wifi and a visa, the formula that has allowed millions to work from almost anywhere in the world. It’s a lifestyle that promises freedom and flexibility: one month in Lisbon, the next in Bali. But after years of countries competing to attract digital nomads, wi ... Show More
33m 43s
Jun 18
When brands collaborate
Whether it’s McDonald’s and Cadbury or H&M and Karl Lagerfeld, brand collaborations are booming. From food to fashion, homeware to movies, why are partnerships having such a moment and what makes some 'collabs' succeed while others fail? Evan Davis and his guests explore the deal ... Show More
33m 59s
Jun 11
How the oil industry works
What does it take to drill oil out of the ground and then refine it into petrol, jet fuel or other petrochemical products? The world currently uses about a hundred million barrels of oil a day. However, the daily flow has been affected by the closure of the Strait of Hormuz. A fi ... Show More
37m 53s
Recommended Episodes
Jan 2025
Stephen Merchant: ‘Most famous people are f**cked up’
Actor, writer and director Stephen Merchant joins How To Fail this week and is reflective, fascinating and - yes - even funny. We talk about what he learned from Ricky Gervais when co-writing The Office, on feeling rattled turning 50 and how it’s hard to fail as a stand-up comedi ... Show More
48m 33s
Jul 2024
Greater Humanity with Layered Reality — Andrew McGuinness
<p>Immersive entertainment company Layered Reality&#39;s approach is, as the name suggests, layered: they combine components of immersive theater with new technologies to create productions that feel participatory, immersive, and alive. Today, their CEO Andrew McGuinness joins us ... Show More
31m 41s
May 2025
John Bishop - ‘I’ve always wanted someone to say: you’re good enough’
John Bishop has been a hugely successful stand-up comedian for 25 years. Yet that wasn’t his first dream, which was to play football. We discuss his failure to do so professionally, his challenges at school, the working-class upbringing that shaped him and how comedy saved his ma ... Show More
54m 44s
Jun 2025
Storm Tested: re:3D
Samantha Snabes never set out to build a typical company. As co-founder of re:3D and a member of the Air Force National Guard, she launched an open-source 3D printing company that prioritizes access over exclusivity. But when back-to-back hurricanes hit both her team in Houston a ... Show More
32m 24s
Dec 2025
The industries reshaping our global economy
“A bank and a steel company can walk into a bar and not have much to do with each other. But once one of the arena companies walks in, we’re all involved.” That’s McKinsey Global Institute director Chris Bradley. On the latest episode of The McKinsey Podcast, Chris spoke with glo ... Show More
19m 18s
Jun 2019
Stefan Sagmeister Takes a Yearlong Sabbatical Every Seven Years (and Thinks You Should, Too)
<p>Ten years ago, the Austrian-born, New York–based graphic designer Stefan Sagmeister—famous for his attention-grabbing exhibitions, posters, and books, as well as for his impeccable album covers for bands like The Rolling Stones, OK Go, and Aerosmith—walked onto the stage at th ... Show More
1h 3m
Feb 2023
How to Be 18 Again for Only $2 Million a Year
Bryan Johnson, Founder and CEO of Blueprint, discusses how he and a team of doctors came up with a plan to reboot his body to reverse ageing. Hosts: Carol Massar and Mike Regan. Producer: Paul Brennan. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. 
12m 57s
Feb 2025
Business Daily meets: Applied Nutrition's Tom Ryder
We speak to a boss whose business has bulked up on the global wellness trend.Tom Ryder got into fitness supplements as a side-hustle when he was a scaffolder for Liverpool City Council — now he runs Applied Nutrition, which is valued at more than £350million.He tells Sean Farring ... Show More
17m 27s
Oct 2019
The Founder of Groupon's New Thing!
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Andrew Mason is the founder and former CEO of Groupon… who had a VERY public firing. Today, I'm talking to Andrew about what he learned getting fired from the company he helped create, how he dusted himself off to start a new business, and more. ... Show More
40m 9s
Sep 2025
Chris Best of Substack on the Future of Media
<p>What if the future of media isn’t controlled by algorithms or legacy institutions—but by independent voices building directly with their audiences?</p><p>In this episode, Erik Torenberg is joined by Chris Best, cofounder and CEO of Substack, along with a16z general partners Ka ... Show More
46m 23s