Iain Anderson, 17/10/12

Director, Cicero

In a climate of heightened regulation and the government's deleveraging of balance sheets, there could be an opportunity to reshape how the world of finance works. Could social finance fill that gap?

David S. Taylor, 17/10/12

Writer and communication consultant

We don't believe Westminster politics is broken beyond repair. We are pro-politics and pro-people. We believe we can help mend the gap between parliament and the country. And we believe the National Conversation is the way to do it.

Rachel Carrell, 17/10/12

CEO, Dr Thom and Women of the Future shortlister

I can't email my GP. I can't see my personal health records online. I can't order a postal STI test from my local NHS. I can't Skype my obstetrician to get my test results. It's as if Britain's retail revolution passed our healthcare system by completely.

Sri Sritharan, 17/10/12

Citius, Altius, Fortius. And such

If the London 2012 Olympic Games have taught us anything it is that football doesn't quite matter anymore.

Rajal Pitroda, 17/10/12

Student, London Business School and founder of Gametastic, Women of the Future shortlister 2012

Designing a new generation of toys, games and media is not about creating an army of girls who grow up to be physicists and programmers, although this could be a welcome by-product. The goal, instead, could be to build a critical mass of girls who believe that they can do anything they want.

Charlie Phillips, 17/10/12

Market place director at Sheffield Doc/Fest

It doesn't matter whether you like Girls or not - the bigger story is that new people are taking over your screens. Dunham is an exciting high point in the slow emergence of Mumblecore, the mid-2000s low-budget movie phenomenon that fascinated indie film lovers but barely made it to UK screens.

Laura Price, 17/10/12

Yorkshire lass kicking breast cancer in the ass

Reactions to my breast cancer diagnosis were varied. An older, male, former colleague simply sent a one-line email that said, "Better get the box sets in then." (He has been similarly helpful and supportive ever since.)

Emma Wigley, 17/10/12

Multimedia Press Officer, Christian Aid

Beleaguered families in Metro Manila for instance are forced to reside on flood plains simply because they cannot afford to live anywhere else. For them, life is all about coping with and adjusting to the turmoil and chaos the rainy season brings, and hoping they will survive it.

Joanna Eede, 17/10/12

Editorial Consultant, Survival International

For Clare Morpurgo, who set up the educational charity Farms for City Children in 1976 with her husband Michael, the acclaimed children's author, the memories that have informed her life's work stem from the village of Iddesleigh in West Devon.

Ilco van der Linde, 17/10/12

Founder/Creative Director MasterPeace

Generally I have no problems with targeted ads. I am often as surprised as a little child thinking: how can they know that I am interested in that particular artist or something else. But every time it asks me to start playing War Commander I am shocked to see that 6,600,000 - almost seven million people...my God! - are dedicated to a war game. What does this tell us?

Poppy Mardall, 17/10/12

Founder and Director of Poppy's, The Modern Funeral Company

It is interesting to find out that we don't have to hold a funeral at all. There is no legal requirement. Something has to be done with the body, but the funeral ceremony, celebration of life, memorial or thanksgiving - we hold these ceremonies because we want to, not because we have to.

Glen Matten, 17/10/12

Nutritionist, writer and full-on foodie

With memories of the Olympic summer fading fast, and the spectre of the cold and flu season looming, can anything be done to avoid the long winter months being punctuated by predictably periodic bouts of sneezes, sniffles and days off work cradling a Lemsip? Rather than lurching from one virus to the next, is it possible to bullet-proof your health this winter

Gary Kemp, 16/10/12

Songwriter, guitarist, actor, husband, father and cyclist

Of course, they'll suffer the ageist jokes, but Doom and Gloom is the best Rolling Stones single for years, if not ever. From its opening chords, thrashed out with all the presumptuous swagger and chutzpah of a new kid on the block, to its screaming impassioned vocal, it's everything that I'd fantasized it could be. No triple-tracked horn section or keyboard filler, and quite obviously no hours spent doodling in a mansion full of hangers-on to achieve this balls-out product. It revels in its own scruffy musicality, its low-rent recording.

Alex MacDonald, 16/10/12

Freelance journalist and filmmaker

Could the difference possibly be that Talha Ahsan is a Muslim? Surely not.

Jago Russell, 16/10/12

Chief Executive, Fair Trials International

The bigger issue, by far, in these US/UK cases is the question of why people are being sent to the US to face trial rather than being prosecuted in British courts.

Dr Aseem Malhotra, 16/10/12

London-based cardiologist and writer

It horrifies me to see people gorging on products marketed as "low fat" that are loaded with
carbohydrates and sugar which is more likely to lead to increased weight. There is mounting scientific evidence that not only is sugar toxic to the body but it also drives appetite by interfering with hormones produced by the brain that give us a sense of fullness.

Elizabeth Plank, 15/10/12

Student, London School of Economics

If you thought Amanda Todd's suicide was the biggest tragedy you'd be reading about this week, think again.

Emma Pollard, 16/10/12

Entertainment Presenter and Personal Trainer in one!

He was saved in this week's dance off against Johnny Ball by Craig, Darcey and Bruno and now lives to see another week on the Strictly dance floor. In this exclusive interview I catch up with the man we saw rocking Sixties florals and Jedward high quiffs to the max. He's one of the most lovable TV presenters around... it's Richard Arnold!

Gareth Edmundson, 16/10/12

Political writer and columnist

Barack, for goodness sake, man up. At the next debate you have 90 minutes to prove to the American People that you want to be president, beat the other guy and possibly save the world from gaffe induced destruction. No pressure then.

Caroline Davey, 16/10/12

Director of Policy at Gingerbread, the national charity for single parents

The simple fact is that the system isn't working. With 1.16 million children growing up in workless single parent households, and over 300,000 working single parent families living below the poverty line, what's needed is a total gear shift.