Heston Blumenthal is one of the world’s most innovative chefs, known for transforming the way we think about food, flavour and the dining experience. From his self-taught beginnings to building one of the most celebrated restaurants in the world, his career has been defined by curiosity, experimentation and a refusal to follow convention. But beyond the kitchen, Blumenthal has also been navigating deeply personal mental health challenges that almost led him to death at one point.

In 2023, his wife Melanie Ceysson had him sectioned under the Mental Health Act following a severe manic episode and bipolar diagnosis.

On this episode of Ways to Change the World, Krishnan Guru-Murthy speaks to Heston Blumenthal about his approach to mindful and sustainable eating, living with ADHD and bipolar disorder, and why he is determined to challenge stigma.

My guest this week is Eric Schlosser, the investigative journalist and author whose work has fundamentally changed how we think about what we eat. Fast Food Nation was a landmark book that exposed the abuse of animals and the exploitation of workers at the heart of America's food industry.

Now, 25 years after it was first published, Schlosser says he is astonished that not only has the industry failed to improve, in many ways it has gotten worse. And yet, despite this, he still believes change is possible.

Warning: moderate strong language

Ece Temelkaran is an award-winning journalist and novelist who has spent years warning that the collapse of democracy rarely announces itself with a bang. Instead, it happens gradually - institution is weaken, truth is eroded and what once felt unthinkable becomes normal.

Ece knows this first hand. After being fired from her newspaper in Turkey amid mounting political pressure, she watched her country slide towards what she says is authoritarianism, a story she believes is no longer uniquely Turkish but part of a wider global pattern. In her writing, she argues that the real danger isn't just strong men or populist leaders, but how easily societies adapt to them. Her latest book, Nation of Strangers, explores belonging and exile. But beneath it lies the same urgent question that has defined much of her work. How do democracies fail? And can they still be saved?

On this episode of Ways to Change the World, Krishnan Guru-Murthy speaks to Ece about democratic backsliding, the moral crisis she believes sits at the heart of modern politics, the experience of exile, and why rebuilding democracy may require not just political change, but a deeper transformation in how we see ourselves and each other.

This interview was recorded on 13 February 2026.