We Built This City: Greater Manchester cover art

We Built This City: Greater Manchester

We Built This City: Greater Manchester

Written by: Roland Dransfield
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Incredible conversations with the Mancunians - born, bred and adopted - who put the heart into Modern Manchester. We Built This City focuses on how these extraordinary Mancunians have built something that impacts lives and the purposeful relationships that have helped steer them, the values that have driven them to do it, and the legacies they plan to leave behind. Celebrate human grit, determination, loyalty, and diversity across culture, arts, politics, sport, music and business. Lisa Morton interviews Mancunian icons like Andy Burnham, John Thomson, Gary Neville, Sacha Lord, Stacey Copeland, Clint Boon, Sir Richard Leese, Diane Modahl MBE, Ged King, Chris Brindley MBE, Carl Austin-Behan OBE, Karina Jadhav, Joanne Roney OBE and Sir Howard Bernstein.Roland Dransfield 2020 Careers Economics Leadership Management & Leadership Personal Success Philosophy Social Sciences
Episodes
  • Manc 102: Emma Neville - The Manc Making Menopause Matter
    May 28 2026

    How do you create a community that helps women across Greater Manchester feel seen, heard and valued?

    Emma Neville is a menopause coach and trained counsellor, whose work is centred around listening to and supporting women.

    Hear about the lessons she’s learnt from spending years giving her time to supporting people across Manchester from inside some of the city's most important charities, and from raising two girls in a family that's always on the move.

    After struggling with early menopause, Emma is on a mission to get this generation of Manc women to be the ones to make menopause matter. You’ll learn why Emma is calling this chapter of her life 'untamed' and why saying ‘no’ can be a full sentence.

    From creating her community and holding This Is Me parties, Emma has come to understand the power of bringing a room full of Manchester women together. She tells Lisa why bottling that energy could be Manchester’s next biggest export.

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    Your host, Lisa Morton, started PR company Roland Dransfield in 1996, one month after the fateful IRA bomb that tore apart the city centre. From that point, the business and its team members have been involved in helping to support the creation of Modern Manchester – across regeneration, business, charity, leisure and hospitality, sport and culture.

    To celebrate the 30 years that Roland Dransfield has spent creating these bonds, Lisa is gathering together some of her Greater Mancunian ‘family’ and will be exploring how they have created their own purposeful relationships with the best place in the world.

    Connect with Emma, and This Is Me

    On Instagram

    On LinkedIn

    Via her newsletter & Community

    Connect with Lisa and Roland Dransfield:

    Via our website

    On Instagram

    On X

    Show More Show Less
    50 mins
  • Manc 101: Lisa Morton - The Heart of 100 Mancs
    May 21 2026

    ‘It takes a village, it takes a city’

    How do you create your big Manchester Family?

    Fresh from the Big Manc Chippy tea event, which celebrated reaching 100 Mancs on the podcast, Lisa Morton is turning the tables in this episode. For the first time, she’s the one answering questions on values, relationships, purpose, legacy and of course, the all-important chippy order.

    Lisa is joined by her daughter, Nina, and together they reflect on the belief systems and values that have been crucial in Lisa’s life, both personally and professionally, and how those same values have helped Nina build her own relationships across Greater Manchester.

    You’ll hear about what inspired Lisa to set up Roland Dransfield 30 years ago, the moments that have made her proud to be a manc, and those that have knocked her down. This episode is about the people who helped her back up, and the community she now calls her ‘Manchester family’.

    After sitting down with 100 born, bred or adopted Mancunians, find out how Lisa’s view of the city region and its people has changed and what she believes it takes to build something special here.

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    Your host, Lisa Morton, started PR company Roland Dransfield in 1996, one month after the fateful IRA bomb that tore apart the city centre. From that point, the business and its team members have been involved in helping to support the creation of Modern Manchester – across regeneration, business, charity, leisure and hospitality, sport and culture.

    To celebrate the 30 years that Roland Dransfield has spent creating these bonds, Lisa is gathering together some of her Greater Mancunian ‘family’ and will be exploring how they have created their own purposeful relationships with the best place in the world.

    Connect with Lisa and Roland Dransfield:

    Via our website

    On Instagram

    On X FKA Twitter

    Show More Show Less
    54 mins
  • Making a Team Thrive and Go Live: Han Thompson - Drawn Here Not Born Here
    Mar 19 2026

    “The city has been my ally; I've never been frightened to make any career changes”

    Han Thompson is the Production Executive for BBC’s Morning Live. Her rural roots in the Cotswolds haven't stopped her from finding her place here in Manchester, something she attributes to “typical Manc chattiness and openness”, which she experienced right from the start of her time in the city region.

    Morning Live is a voice for the north for 90 minutes every day.

    Han and the team are working to make routes into the TV industry open to more people across the region. You’ll hear how you make culture in the workplace more than a box tick, build a strong team and continue to nurture them.

    You’ll hear about the mentality that has helped Han to keep moving forward when facing tough times, and the strong Manc relationships that have supported and brought her so much comfort, especially when she was in a place of grief. Those connections have made Han confident that Manchester is the place for her.

    As well as the people she’s met in the 14 years Han’s been in Manchester, she also talks about the relationships she’s had with the city. For her, Manchester has been her ally, and the city has always had Han’s back.

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    Your host, Lisa Morton, started PR company Roland Dransfield in 1996, one month after the fateful IRA bomb that tore apart the city centre. From that point, the business and its team members have been involved in helping to support the creation of Modern Manchester – across regeneration, business, charity, leisure and hospitality, sport and culture.

    To celebrate the 29 years that Roland Dransfield has spent creating these bonds, Lisa is gathering together some of her Greater Mancunian ‘family’ and will be exploring how they have created their own purposeful relationships with the best place in the world.

    Connect with Lisa and Roland Dransfield:

    Via our website

    On Instagram

    On X FKA Twitter


    Connect with Han

    Via LinkedIn

    Show More Show Less
    51 mins
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