Movers and Shakers review: a necessary education on Parkinson’s

Few diseases have been as misrepresented or misaccused as Parkinson’s, a progressive illness of the nervous system. It is a strongly stigmatised condition, one which until recent years many were reluctant to disclose even to family or friends.

There is emotion to this podcast of course, but it also retains an objectivity essential to its appeal

A new podcast is aiming to change that. Movers and Shakers brings together six friends with the condition to get right to the heart of the matter. If you recognise a few of the voices, don’t be alarmed. Amongst the half-a-dozen is the legendary broadcaster Jeremy Paxman and former BBC technology correspondent Rory Cellan-Jones. With former judge Nick Mostyn, journalists Gillian Lacey-Solymar and Mark Mardell and TV writer Paul Mayhew-Archer completing the group, the series calls upon a wide and diverse range of Parkinson’s experience.

If, like me, you have little awareness of the realities of the condition, this is what stands out. It affects no one person the same and that goes for this group of friends. The format of the programme therefore works perfectly, as the six try to understand their disease over a few drinks in a boisterous Notting Hill pub. Every episode is also not just an information session for listeners but usually for our co-hosts too, themselves often figuring new things out about how Parkinson’s affects or may affect them.

In a world where it can sometimes feel as if podcasts are becoming about self-indulgent and purposeless promotion, Movers and Shakers restores the altruism

There is emotion to this podcast of course, but it also retains an objectivity essential to its appeal. Throw in a bunch of ex-hacks and a former lawyer and insightful inquisition is what you are going to get. As an illness, Parkinson’s seems to constantly stand on the precipice of new opportunity and development, and there is an optimism which underlines Movers and Shakers. There is also a pride which comes in the sextet’s ability to find a new lease of life in an otherwise regressive condition. For Lacey-Solymar, the longest and perhaps worst affected of the six, the illness has given her a new sense of creativity. And for the now retired High Court judge Mostyn, the show has provided new purpose after a sad end to a curtailed legal career.

Being diagnosed with a condition like Parkinson’s is an inevitably scary and isolating event, but it shouldn’t be. In a world where it can sometimes feel as if podcasts are becoming about self-indulgent and purposeless promotion, Movers and Shakers restores the altruism. Naturally, they won’t answer all the questions (despite the advancements, plenty remain unanswered even by those most qualified to have a go). But the ambition to try makes the podcast a very noble endeavour, and long may it continue.