# LESSONS ON CONTROL: How to manage a crisis Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/crisis-what-crisis-with-andy-coulson-293543/lessons-on-control-how-to-manage-a-crisis Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/crisis-what-crisis-with-andy-coulson-293543/lessons-on-control-how-to-manage-a-crisis.md Podcast: [Crisis What Crisis with Andy Coulson](https://stenobird.com/podcast/crisis-what-crisis-with-andy-coulson-293543) Published: 2026-06-09T08:15:00+00:00 Episode link: http://www.crisiswhatcrisis.com Audio file: https://episodes.captivate.fm/episode/5e751d0e-e463-4be1-a72d-442409a5fa1e.mp3?aw_0_1st.showid=d55f2648-7b9e-4e35-9ce1-0a0938cc6579&aw_0_1st.episodeid=5e751d0e-e463-4be1-a72d-442409a5fa1e Processing state: not_requested JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/crisis-what-crisis-with-andy-coulson-293543/episodes/lessons-on-control-how-to-manage-a-crisis Duration seconds: 1061 ## Resource What is the single most important concept in crisis management? Andy Coulson believes it's control — a lesson he first learned sitting on a plastic mattress in a Glasgow police cell, with nothing to focus on but his own breathing. In this special compilation episode, he revisits four past guests who each arrived at the same conclusion through very different routes. POWERED BY KINGSLEY NAPLEY I know what it is to have the right legal support around you when facing crisis. Kingsley Napley are the kind of lawyers I wish more people knew about – there to help you make the right decisions, protect what matters, and build real resilience when the pressure is on. This episode is powered by Kingsley Napley. Visit www.kingsleynapley.co.uk for more details. FEATURING Ryan Holiday — bestselling author of The Obstacle is the Way and The Daily Stoic , on why Stoicism is history's greatest crisis management framework, and the remarkable story of Admiral James Stockdale tapping Epictetus through a prison wall in Vietnam. Alix Popham — former Welsh international rugby player, diagnosed with early-onset dementia and probable CTE, on how the athlete's instinct for discipline becomes a survival strategy when the stakes are as high as they get. Natasha Silver Bell — international model turned recovery coach, on the moment she stopped blaming her external circumstances and took control of her internal state. Cally Beaton — comedian, writer, and former Viacom CBS executive, on surrender, mayhem, and why she refuses to call herself a stoic — despite sounding exactly like one. Control the controllables. It sounds simple. It isn't. But as every guest in this episode shows, it is learnable — and it might just be the most important lesson crisis has to offer. FULL EPISODES: Ryan Holiday: https:/… ## Actions - request_transcript: `POST https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/crisis-what-crisis-with-andy-coulson-293543/episodes/lessons-on-control-how-to-manage-a-crisis/transcription-requests` — Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode. - read_markdown: `GET https://stenobird.com/podcast/crisis-what-crisis-with-andy-coulson-293543/lessons-on-control-how-to-manage-a-crisis.md` — Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource. A page view does not enqueue transcription. Agents should invoke `request_transcript` explicitly when they need this episode processed. ## Transcript Full transcripts are not published on public pages unless there is a clear rights basis.