She was born at two pounds, three ounces — three months early, fighting for her life before she'd even begun it. Then came the cerebral palsy diagnosis, the surgeries, the bullying, the anorexia. And through all of it, nobody knew whether Sophia would ever live independently, hold down a job, or simply be okay.

In this episode, Jonathan is joined by Nicky Banger — former professional footballer and CEO of the Knights Foundation — who has dedicated his life to supporting families with children who have additional needs. But today, Nicky isn't here to talk about his work. He's here to talk about his daughter.

Sophia's story is one of extraordinary, quiet courage. Multiple major operations. Cyberbullying. An eating disorder. A system that repeatedly told her family she wasn't worth the fight. And yet, at 21, she's studying law — and one of the world's biggest law firms has come looking for her.

Nicky reflects on what it meant to parent through fear without showing it, why resilience can't be taught but can be modelled, and how Sophia is becoming the role model she never had.

Learn more about the work Nicky leads at the Knights Foundation: https://www.theknightsfoundation.org/

If you've ever watched someone you love face odds that felt impossible — and seen them win — this one's for you.

What does it mean to truly live — and what does it cost when the person who showed you how is suddenly gone?

Hendrika Willemse was 23 years old. After working late with her brother Andre a phone call changed everything. A heart attack. A stroke. No goodbye. And a company to figure out alone.

Andre was 18 years older than Hendrika — part big brother, part business partner, part father figure in a home where her biological father was never present. He was the reason she went into tech when almost no other young women were doing it. He was the one who showed her what it looked like to combine deep technical knowledge with genuine commercial instinct, to work hard and play hard, and to squeeze everything out of life.

He was 41 when he died.

In this episode, Hendrika — three-time world karate champion, keynote speaker, and partner at Storyo — shares how Andre's way of living became the lens through which she sees the world. His legacy isn't a lesson she was taught. It's a standard she holds herself to every single day.

Learn more about Hendrika at https://www.hendrika-willemse.com/

If you've ever lost someone before you had the chance to say thank you, this one's for you.

Before Sam Leyden played his first gig, before the tens of thousands of streams, before the song that stopped someone in their tracks at 3am — there was Betsy.

A woman who raised three daughters largely on her own after losing her husband young. A woman who worked every job imaginable without ever making a fuss about it. A woman so well-known and so deeply loved in Liverpool that, as the family saying goes, if her picture appeared next to the Pope's in the newspaper, everyone would ask: who's that man standing next to Betsy Devlin?

In this episode, singer-songwriter Sam Leyden takes Jon inside the life of his grandmother — the storyteller at the Sunday roast table, the woman in the comments of every single post, and the quiet force behind some of his most personal music. From the backstreets of Liverpool to open mic nights with four people in the room, Betsy was always there.

Sam reflects on how her selflessness, resilience, and unspoken grit shaped not just who he is, but how he writes — and why kindness, not status, turns out to be the thing people remember.

Follow Sam on Instagram at @sam_leyden or find his music on Spotify.

If you've ever had someone in your corner who never once made it about themselves, this one's for you.