Miranda Sawyer is a journalist, broadcaster and best-selling author. Starting in the 80s at iconic magazine Smash Hits, she was synonymous with ‘Madchester’ and the rave scene in the 90s, and has since built a portfolio career covering print, radio, television and publishing. She has been the Observer’s audio critic for 13 years, and has interviewed artists from the Happy Mondays to Madonna. In this in-depth interview, she describes the joy of writing a well-crafted hatchet job, shares her definitive guide for overcoming a midlife crisis – and vents her frustration that the long overdue rise of women radio presenters is still limited to former ‘ladettes’.