Farrah Storr is the award-winning editor-in-chief of the UK's Cosmopolitan magazine. She took over the brand in 2015 where she was tasked with reimagining it for the millennial woman. The October issue of Cosmo magazine has model and body-positivity advocate Tess Holliday on the cover. It was celebrated across the internet by many who lauded the magazine for championing body positivity and embracing larger bodies but it was also battled out on Good Morning Britain (by Piers Morgan) arguing that it glorifies obesity. Over her 17-year career as a journalist Farrah has done everything from undercover investigations in the world of cut-price cosmetic surgery to reporting from inside some of the world’s most luxurious fashion houses. She was also the founding editor-in-chief of Women’s Health magazine – the most successful women’s magazine launch of the decade.
In 2017 Farrah was cited as one of only 36 BAME leaders in The Guardian UK’s 1000 Most Powerful list.
Her first book is out now called The Discomfort Zone all about the power of discomfort, published by Piatkus, which we discuss a lot in this episode.
Quotes from the episode:
"Being vulnerable is what you have to do as a writer, that is your job.. sometimes that means putting yourself up for scrutiny from other people, but that's what makes the best writers."
"You can have it all....ish. It's naive to think you can have everything."
"True heroes are never that popular."
"Most of success is the climb; the grind to actually get to success. The grind should be the enjoyable bit."
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#223 Marie Forleo: Figuring Stuff Out & Dealing With Trolls
#222 Jess Phillips MP: Truth To Power
#221 Susan Wokoma: Life On and Off Stage
#220 JP Watson: The Art of Crowdfunding A Book
#219 Emma Barnett: The Politics of Periods
#218 Lotte Jeffs: The Art of Soft Power In A Harsh World
#217 Alain de Botton: Life As A Process
#216 Rhik Samadder: Life Writing & Truth Telling
#215 Chelsea Kwakye: On Taking Up Space
#214 Sofie Hagen: Comedy + Boundaries
#213 Leah Hazard: Burnout In The NHS
#212 Lauren Mahon: The Story Of Girl Vs Cancer
#211 Otegha Uwagba & Polly MacKenzie on Self-Employment, Managing Your Money & Mental Health (Recorded LIVE with NatWest)
#210 Liz Ward: Do You Want To PIVOT?
#209 Jehane Noujaim: On Her Netflix Exposé of the Cambridge Analytica Scandal
#208 From The Archives! Lucy Sheridan: On Social Media Comparison
#207 From The Archives! Will Young: On Setting Boundaries
#206 Elizabeth Gilbert: The Weather Forecast In Our Minds
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