Movers and Shakers: a podcast about life with Parkinson's

This week on Parky Profiles, we're speaking to Andy Cassy, friend of the podcast, fellow Parky ping-pong player, and the only Brit to take part in what has been described as 'a landmark first-in-human clinical trial' in the search for a Parkinson's cure. Andy underwent stem cell surgery in 2024 as part of said trial, organised by one of our other Parky Profile guests, Professor Roger Barker. We spoke to Andy then, and got back in touch recently to see how his view on his experience may have changed. While the dopamine-replacement surgery is not the 'holy grail', he says, it seems to have reduced our guest's symptoms somewhat. Andy shares with us why his surgery was so good - and perhaps what ground is yet to be covered. Movers & Shakers is brought to you in partnership with Cure Parkinson's. Presented by Rory Cellan-Jones, Gillian Lacey-Solymar, Mark Mardell, Paul Mayhew-Archer and Sir Nicholas Mostyn Produced by Lulu Goad and Ewan Cameron for Podot Music by Alex Stobbs Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week on Parky Profiles, we're speaking to Christopher Lambton, a former voice of the BBC. One of our most dedicated fans, Christopher has listened to every Movers & Shakers episode, and, having found our conversations of good use (his words), wanted to get involved himself. After bumping into Gillian somewhere in and amongst the Edinburgh Fringe throng, he proposed himself a Northern Correspondent, to share with us a miraculous story about the Scottish-based Professor, Stephen Wallace, who has succeeded in making Levodopa out of recycled plastic. Movers & Shakers is brought to you in partnership with Cure Parkinson's. Presented by Rory Cellan-Jones, Gillian Lacey-Solymar, Mark Mardell, Paul Mayhew-Archer and Sir Nicholas Mostyn Produced by Lulu Goad and Ewan Cameron for Podot Music by Alex Stobbs Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This month we’re interviewing a handful of fascinating people as part of our summer ‘Parky Profiles’ series. The Parky author, adventurer and cyclist, Lloyd Taylor joins us this week to talk about the journey to writing his best-selling book 'The Kindness of Strangers'. When Lloyd was diagnosed with Parkinson's, he had trouble sharing his news with others. But then, he was invited to join a cycle ride to raise awareness for the disease, having never really been a cyclist before, which resulted in him joining a 60-day relay across Canada and talking about being a Parky every day. He writes about this adventure and what he learnt from it in his book, and gives us a taste of it all in our conversation. Movers & Shakers is brought to you in partnership with Cure Parkinson's. Presented by Rory Cellan-Jones, Gillian Lacey-Solymar, Mark Mardell, Paul Mayhew-Archer and Sir Nicholas Mostyn Produced by Lulu Goad and Ewan Cameron for Podot Music by Alex Stobbs Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This month we’re interviewing a handful of fascinating people as part of our summer ‘Parky Profiles’ series. This week we're joined by renowned academic and researcher, Roger Barker. Roger is professor of clinical neuroscience at the University of Cambridge and a consultant neurologist at the Addenbrooke’s Hospital. Not only is our guest well known for his groundbreaking research into the use of foetal and stem cell transplants to treat Parkinson's, he is also one of the drivers and creators of the lauded World Parkinson's Congress, which we went along to in Phoenix, Arizona, earlier this year. We wanted to know how Roger came to study medicine, tackle neuroscience and become one of the UK's leading academics in the search for a Parkinson's cure. We also made sure to get his thoughts on the WPC, particularly after one controversial debate.. Movers & Shakers is brought to you in partnership with Cure Parkinson's. Presented by Rory Cellan-Jones, Gillian Lacey-Solymar, Mark Mardell, Paul Mayhew-Archer and Sir Nicholas Mostyn Produced and edited by Ewan Cameron for Podot Associate Producer: Lulu Goad Music by Alex Stobbs Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This month we’re interviewing a handful of fascinating people as part of our summer ‘Parky Profiles’ series. It’s hard to ignore the activities of The Michael J. Fox Foundation. Since its founding in 2000, it has raised over $3 billion in the hunt for a Parkinson's cure. It's the largest non-profit funder of research in to the disease. We’ve all heard of its founder and namesake, but who is the head honcho making the everyday decisions? We managed to pin down the incredibly busy Deborah Brooks, CEO and co-founder of the foundation. We chat to her about her journey from the world of finance to non-profit and what her dreams are for the MJFF. Movers & Shakers is brought to you in partnership with Cure Parkinson's. Presented by Rory Cellan-Jones, Gillian Lacey-Solymar, Mark Mardell, Paul Mayhew-Archer and Sir Nicholas Mostyn Produced and edited by Ewan Cameron for Podot Associate Producer: Lulu Goad Music by Alex Stobbs Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This year we're campaigning for the voice, and it would be remiss of us not to put a spotlight on the power of raising one's voice in song for people with Parkinson's! For our final episode of season 8 of Movers & Shakers, we spoke to soprano, vocal coach and creative health specialist, Nicola Wydenbach (who some may remember from our Big Sing event outside Parliament), and Dr Trish Vella-Burrows, a nurse and director of Music4Wellbeing, to learn more about the power of music for Parkies, and to practise our singing at the pub.. Movers & Shakers is brought to you in partnership with Cure Parkinson's . Presented by Rory Cellan-Jones, Gillian Lacey-Solymar, Mark Mardell, Paul Mayhew-Archer, Sir Nicholas Mostyn and Jeremy Paxman. Produced and edited by Nick Hilton for Podot. Associate Producer: Lulu Goad Music by Alex Stobbs Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

When is the right time to start taking Parkinson's drugs? Having put the question to the Movers & Shakers Facebook group, we had a range of responses from those who didn't take Levodopa (the widely prescribed and most effective medication for treating Parkinson's symptoms) at all, to those who swore by starting early. In this episode, we hear from some of those people, and receive myth-busting, expert advice from our guests, Stephanie Bancroft, a senior pharmacist and the chair of the PUK specialist pharmacy network, and Dr Lucia Batzu, a consultant specialising in Parkinson's and Dementia. Movers & Shakers is brought to you in partnership with Cure Parkinson's . Presented by Rory Cellan-Jones, Gillian Lacey-Solymar, Mark Mardell, Paul Mayhew-Archer, Sir Nicholas Mostyn and Jeremy Paxman. Produced and edited by Nick Hilton for Podot. Associate Producer: Lulu Goad Music by Alex Stobbs Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We spend most of out time talking about how Parkinson’s impacts us Parkies, but we don’t often speak about the experience of those family members, particularly the children, who live with it too. One of our guests for this week reached out to us with his reflections on caring for his dad, so we asked a couple of our very own Parkinson’s kids to come along to the pub too to tell us what it's like living with a PD parent. Movers & Shakers is brought to you in partnership with Cure Parkinson's . Presented by Rory Cellan-Jones, Gillian Lacey-Solymar, Mark Mardell, Paul Mayhew-Archer, Sir Nicholas Mostyn and Jeremy Paxman. Produced and edited by Nick Hilton for Podot. Associate Producer: Lulu Goad Music by Alex Stobbs Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Does Parkinson's cause pain? Can a non-Parkinson's pain be aggravated by the disease? Or is just our old age? Dr Susan Duty, Professor in Pharmacology and Neuroscience at King's College London, joins us this week to explain why it is we're all enduring so much discomfort. Movers & Shakers is brought to you in partnership with Cure Parkinson's . Presented by Rory Cellan-Jones, Gillian Lacey-Solymar, Mark Mardell, Paul Mayhew-Archer, Sir Nicholas Mostyn and Jeremy Paxman. Produced and edited by Nick Hilton for Podot. Associate Producer: Lulu Goad Music by Alex Stobbs Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We can't quite believe it either but this week's episode was recorded at the UCL Brain Bank headed by Consultant Neurologist Tom Warner (also notably, Gillian's neurologist!). Thanks to expert guidance from Consultant Neuropathologist Zane Jaunmuktane and Clinical Research Fellow Patrick Cullinane we now know a considerable amount more about how banks like this one can use brains and other donations to conduct crucial research into Parkinson's Disease. What does the donation process look like? Friend and Parkinson's advocate, Jo Goodburn also joined us at the Queen Square site and shared with us her experience with the Imperial College London Brain Bank. We're organising our donation papers as we speak. Movers & Shakers is brought to you in partnership with Cure Parkinson's . Presented by Rory Cellan-Jones, Gillian Lacey-Solymar, Mark Mardell, Paul Mayhew-Archer, Sir Nicholas Mostyn and Jeremy Paxman. Produced and edited by Nick Hilton for Podot. Associate Producer: Lulu Goad & Ewan Cameron Music by Alex Stobbs Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Movers & Shakers are back in the pub to talk walking football. We're big fans of activities that help slow down the progression of Parkinson's Disease, particularly walking football; it may even rival ping pong (but not according to Gillian!). We didn't have a kick about in situ but we had some experts in to tell us all about it - and Rory went to his local club to give us a taste of the real thing. With us are the facilitators of the Parkinson’s Pioneers Women’s Walking Football Community, Annie Booth and Gemma Darvill, as well as member of the Whittington Health NHS Trust-Arsenal walking football programme, Jeremy Munday. If our guests don't inspire you to get moving, we don't know what will! Movers & Shakers is brought to you in partnership with Cure Parkinson's . Presented by Rory Cellan-Jones, Gillian Lacey-Solymar, Mark Mardell, Paul Mayhew-Archer, Sir Nicholas Mostyn and Jeremy Paxman. Produced and edited by Nick Hilton for Podot. Associate Producer: Lulu Goad & Ewan Cameron Music by Alex Stobbs Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The BBC Radio 4 investigative programme 'Impulsive' shocked listeners across the world. Aired at the beginning of the year, 'Impulsive' revealed the devastating effects that the readily prescribed Parkinson's drugs, dopamine agonists, were having on their users, including causing hypersexuality and compulsive gambling, among other extremes. We've actually covered this topic before on Movers & Shakers, but the Radio 4 show brought the discussion back to light, so this week we're readdressing the risks associated with these drugs and what is being done to tackle them. The presenter of 'Impulsive', BBC Investigations correspondent Noel Titheradge, joined us, alongside one of the show's interviewees, and the co-founder of the Dopamine Agonist Action Group, Freddie Waite, to explain their journey to uncovering this 'shadow world'. Find out more about the Dopamine Agonist Action Group at www.impulsive.world Movers & Shakers is brought to you in partnership with Cure Parkinson's . Presented by Rory Cellan-Jones, Gillian Lacey-Solymar, Mark Mardell, Paul Mayhew-Archer, Sir Nicholas Mostyn and Jeremy Paxman. Produced and edited by Nick Hilton for Podot. Associate Producer: Lulu Goad & Ewan Cameron Music by Alex Stobbs Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Live from Phoenix, Arizona, for the World Parkinson's Congress 2026; it doesn't get much better than that if you ask us. We all took turns speaking to Parkinson's experts, whether that be on dancing, singing, or even finding a cure. There's almost no one we didn't try to speak to.. We even got to hear a fantastic comedy set from Paul, of which you will get a taste. Tune in to find out what we got up to and please do join us next time in Quebec! Movers & Shakers is brought to you in partnership with Cure Parkinson's . Presented by Rory Cellan-Jones, Gillian Lacey-Solymar, Mark Mardell, Paul Mayhew-Archer, Sir Nicholas Mostyn and Jeremy Paxman. Produced and edited by Nick Hilton for Podot. Associate Producer: Lulu Goad Music by Alex Stobbs Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We're at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show! This year's event has a special focus on Parkinson's with the newly named Parkinson's Resilience Rose and the beautifully designed Parkinson's UK show garden. Unsurprisingly, the weather chose to be less than impressive for the day of our visit, but that didn't stop us from enjoying the sites and exploring the PUK plot with the help of the Head Gardeners and charity team. We spoke to a great range of plant experts and show attendees to find out what they thought about this significant year for PD at Chelsea. Presented by Rory Cellan-Jones, Gillian Lacey-Solymar, Mark Mardell, Paul Mayhew-Archer, Sir Nicholas Mostyn and Jeremy Paxman. Produced and edited by Nick Hilton for Podot. Associate Producer: Lulu Goad Music by Alex Stobbs. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

To kick off our eighth season of Movers & Shakers, we're reporting to you from this year's Try-Athlon at the Twickenham Stoop. Organised by the Sports Parkinson's team, the annual event gathers together Parkies from far and wide to partake in a range of Parkinson's-friendly sports, from golf, to walking rugby, and even ballet (which one of our team members had a crack at!). We all put our trainers on, got moving, and recounted for this episode what we got up to. And a reminder that we've launched our campaign on the voice. Please send us your videos raising your Parky voice. Find out how to submit a clip on our website moversandshakerspodcast.com or check out previous submissions on our YouTube channel www.youtube.com/@TheParkyVoice . Movers & Shakers is brought to you in partnership with Cure Parkinson's . Presented by Rory Cellan-Jones, Gillian Lacey-Solymar, Mark Mardell, Paul Mayhew-Archer, Sir Nicholas Mostyn and Jeremy Paxman. Produced and edited by Nick Hilton for Podot. Associate Producer: Lulu Goad Music by Alex Stobbs. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This year for our special World Parkinson's Day episode, we're coming to you live from Sutton (Mark's local branch) where they've arranged a day of amazing events to raise awareness of PD, with a particular focus. The voice will be our big campaign for 2026 and we're encouraging everyone to speak out (or sing out, if the desire takes you). Go to moversandshakerspodcast.com for more details on how to get involved! Movers & Shakers is brought to you in partnership with Cure Parkinson's . Presented by Rory Cellan-Jones, Gillian Lacey-Solymar, Mark Mardell, Paul Mayhew-Archer, Sir Nicholas Mostyn and Jeremy Paxman. Produced and edited by Nick Hilton for Podot. Sound mixing by Ewan Cameron. Music by Alex Stobbs. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

For the final episode of this seventh season of Movers and Shakers, we're looking on the bright side of life. Can positivity actually improve your condition? Or does it mask the hardship of life with PD? And what on earth is 'toxic positivity'? To discuss all this – and put the gang on a spectrum from Tigger to Eeyore – we've gathered at the Notting Hill pub for "a laugh and a moan ". Movers & Shakers is brought to you in partnership with Cure Parkinson's . Presented by Rory Cellan-Jones, Gillian Lacey-Solymar, Mark Mardell, Paul Mayhew-Archer, Sir Nicholas Mostyn and Jeremy Paxman. Produced and edited by Nick Hilton for Podot. Sound mixing by Ewan Cameron. Music by Alex Stobbs. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Driving is something that people often take for granted – right up until they can't do it. With a Parkinson's diagnosis comes a lot of insecurity about being behind the wheel. When do you know if it's time to stop? How do you manage the DVLA's red tape? And what's the situation with those mythical blue badges? To run through these considerations, the Movers and Shakers are joined in the Notting Hill pub by an expert from Parkinson's UK. Movers & Shakers is brought to you in partnership with Cure Parkinson's . Presented by Rory Cellan-Jones, Gillian Lacey-Solymar, Mark Mardell, Paul Mayhew-Archer, Sir Nicholas Mostyn and Jeremy Paxman. Produced and edited by Nick Hilton for Podot. Sound mixing by Ewan Cameron. Music by Alex Stobbs. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We're sinking our teeth into another important issue this week, as we look at oral health and the role that it might play in Parkinson's. The Movers and Shakers are joined at the pub – where Paul is caught, live on microphone, snarfing a chocolate mousse – by experts from both dentistry and neurology to look at the chicken and (chocolate) egg question of whether PD affects oral health, or if bad oral hygiene could actually have impacts in the brain. It's not all about the blood/brain barrier though – this episode also features handy tips for keeping your teeth clean and preventing the negative side effects of gum disease. Movers & Shakers is brought to you in partnership with Cure Parkinson's . Presented by Rory Cellan-Jones, Gillian Lacey-Solymar, Mark Mardell, Paul Mayhew-Archer, Sir Nicholas Mostyn and Jeremy Paxman. Produced and edited by Nick Hilton for Podot. Sound mixing by Ewan Cameron. Music by Alex Stobbs. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week we're doing something a little bit different on Movers & Shakers. We're joined in the pub by Dr Jonathan Sackner-Bernstein, a distinguised American cardiologist with a controversial idea: that Parkinson's might be caused by too much, rather than too little, dopamine. Sackner-Bernstein's ideas call into question the underlying assumptions of the condition and have been refuted by many of his colleagues. But the debate is worth having – not least as the opposition is eloquently represented by Dr Kit Wu – because it shows just how much we still don't understand about PD, dopamine, and the human brain. Movers & Shakers is brought to you in partnership with Cure Parkinson's . Presented by Rory Cellan-Jones, Gillian Lacey-Solymar, Mark Mardell, Paul Mayhew-Archer, Sir Nicholas Mostyn and Jeremy Paxman. Produced and edited by Nick Hilton for Podot. Sound mixing by Ewan Cameron. Music by Alex Stobbs. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.