The latest Life, Interrupted podcast with Simon Thomas features Dan Walker from BBC Breakfast and Football Focus.
In the podcast he shares some stories from his new book, Remarkable People which covers an awkward interview moment, an inspirational letter from Des Lynam, dealing with social media and his memories of Gary Speed.
Dan says he was originally going to be a PE teacher and a history teacher but was rejected because it was thought he was too immature. He tells the story behind why that decision was made.
Growing up, Dan was obsessed with sport, he says: “I’d written a letter to Des Lynam when I was 11 asking him how I could get his job?…My letter essentially said, “Des I love you, I love your job, I love your moustache, what do I do? How do I become you?” And he wrote back and said do your GCSEs, do your A Levels, don’t do a media degree was his advice at the time.” This set him on the right path to success.
Speaking about the impact social media can have, Dan thinks we have a problem at the moment. Relating to his own experiences of friends at school and university, he says they can disagree on different topics but still remained friends.
“We’re not all the same, we have different thoughts, we have different hopes, we have different dreams, we have different ways of looking at certain things,” he says, “And obviously there are some opinions that are so vile that they need to be challenged and I totally understand that – I’m not saying that. But what I am saying is we’ve got to be careful about this sort of groupthink and the idea that anybody who doesn’t feel the same way about this topic that I do, I have to stop them from speaking or thinking or being influential – that’s part of who we are and how the world ticks, that we aren’t right about everything.”
Dan says that that’s why whenever he talks to students about social media use when he goes to universities, he recommends making sure on social media at least 25% of the people you follow are people you fundamentally disagree with, otherwise it becomes an echo chamber and you are convinced in your head that everybody thinks the same as you and the world is not like that.
Footballer Gary Speed was a friend of Dan’s, they worked together and then became friends. Dan tells the story of the day he received the call when Gary has passed away. He was hesitant about including him in the book out of respect for the family, but Gary’s sons were keen to speak about their dad for the first time. Dan goes into detail about his friendship with Gary and the responsibility he felt by including him in the book.
Life, Interrupted featuring Dan Walker is available now on Global Player or wherever you get your podcasts.
