Ed Caesar is an award-winning author and journalist living in South Manchester.

Having began his career at the Independent, Ed has since written for the Sunday Times, GQ, New York Times Magazine, Esquire, and The New Yorker, scooping multiple awards along the way, including ‘Journalist of the Year’ at the Foreign Press Association Awards for his hard-hitting war coverage in the Central African Republic. 

His subjects have included North Korean hacking armies, Russian Oligarchs, global banking scandals, Cristiano Ronaldo, the Dark Web, the diamond industry, and interviews with the likes of Steven Spielberg, Kevin Costner (Kev called Ed “weird”), and a very high Snoop Dogg.

In 2015 he published his first book, ‘Two Hours: The Quest to Run the Impossible Marathon’, followed in 2020 by ‘The Moth and the Mountain’, an extraordinary tale of how a man with no flying or mountaineering experience flew himself to Everest and attempted to become the first to conquer the highest peak in the world. So far ‘The Moth’ has picked up a Sunday Times Biography Award, a Telegraph Sports Book Award, and a Costa Book Award nomination.

Ed continues to contribute to the New Yorker while deliberating on subject matter for a third book. He’s also bought some decks…

As co-founder of the now globally renowned Manchester International Festival (MIF), Christine Cort has played an instrumental role in the cultural renaissance of Manchester over the past 15 years or so.

Starting out in the late 80s as 'chief envelope stuffer' at London's famous Riverside Studios (working alongside the likes of Brian Eno, Kenneth Branagh and Vanessa Redgrave), Blackburn-born Christine spent a not entirely happy year at the Design Museum (having met Sir Terence Conran at a cocktail party), before joining Time Out in 1992 where - alongside visionary founder Tony Elliott - she helped to take the title across the globe, launching in dozens of cities including New York, Dubai and Istanbul.

In 2005, Christine & family left London to return to her native Lancashire, before a call from friend and collaborator Alex Poots just weeks later persuaded her to help him create the world's first festival of entirely new work - Manchester International Festival was born.

Here we discuss Christine's childhood in Blackburn; her memories of Manchester in the 70s & 80s; her time at university; first jobs; moving to London; Time Out; Manchester International Festival (of course), her recent decision to leave, and what's coming next...

Produced and presented by David Blake (all the people)