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

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 GoadMusic by Alex Stobbs.

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 GoadMusic by Alex Stobbs.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

One of the strangest symptoms of Parkinson's is the sudden appearance of unexplained figures – whether that's a cat or a small child, a barking dog or a fully clad Venetian – in your environment. There hallucinations can be benign, but they can also be unsettling, and this week we're trying to find out what's causing them. Are they related to night terrors? Can they always be rationalised? And are there any potential treatment pathways for people struggling with hallucinatory visions? As ever, we're aided in our quest of understanding by a top expert.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.

This week we're returning to one of the most contentious subjects in Parkinson's world: what causes the condition? Research has increasingly focused on the role of pesticides – particularly one called Paraquat – which are routinely used in agriculture yet are severely toxic to humans. Could investigations into the role of Paraquat prove a connection to PD? And, if so, does that mean that we could, eventually, arrest the spread of the illness? To discuss this subject, the Movers and Shakers are joined in the pub by a filmmaker, Sarah Teale, who has been working with international experts on a new film that tries to unravel this link.Movers & Shakers is brought to you by 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.