How To Academy Podcast
How To Academy is London's home of big thinking. From Nobel laureates to Pulitzer Prize winners, we invite the world’s most influential voices to share new ideas for changing ourselves, our communities, and the world. Our biweekly podcast is your chance to hear in-depth from the most exciting thinkers in global culture.
Episodes
Naomi Klein and Astra Taylor Meet David Olusoga - End Times Fascism
Author and journalist Naomi Klein and writer and activist Astra Taylor join Historian David Olusoga to explore how apocalyptic visions of the future are working to justify the present-day costs of AI – from energy and water-hungry data centres to job displacement and mass surveillance. Naomi and Astra also trace the links between religious end-times movements, ethno-nationalism, climate anxiety, a
Vedic Meditation Teacher Jillian Lavender — How to Find Clarity
Sometimes life can feel like a lot. Even on a good day you will experience stress and fatigue. The nature of modern living guarantees it. However, the problem is not that we think too much, but that our nervous systems are too wound up to rest.
In this episode of the podcast, leading vedic meditation expert and founder of London Meditation Centre, Jillian Lavender, discusses how meditation is the
Daron Acemoglu Meets Martin Wolf– What Happened to Liberal Democracy?
Why is liberal democracy losing public confidence—and what would it take to renew it? Nobel Prize-winning economist Daron Acemoglu joins Financial Times chief economics commentator Martin Wolf to discuss.
Liberalism offered a glittering promise of shared prosperity, equality, democratic values and the free pursuit of knowledge. Once a tantalising beacon of hope, today it has begun to erode and de
Philosopher Lani Watson – The Power of Asking Questions in a World That Wants Answers
From an early age we learn to stop asking questions, judged and rewarded for the answers we give, not the questions we ask. In this episode, Lani Watson traces the hidden life of the question – from school, to therapy, to dating. Drawing on research across psychology, philosophy and neuroscience, Lani explains why we start questioning long before we can speak, how the act of asking fires up
David Duchovny Meets Gina Gershon: About Time
David Duchovny has spent three decades refusing to stay in one lane. Two-time Golden Globe winner, four-time Emmy nominee, New York Times bestselling novelist, musician with three studio albums, filmmaker whose directorial debut premiered at Tribeca: the range is, by any measure, unusual. What connects it all is a preoccupation with the things that resist easy articulation. Grief, fathers, time, t
Bonus Episode: New Frontiers with Miriam Margoyles, Reece Sheersmith, Damien Lewis and more...
This week we have a guest appearance from our friends at John Murray, who have curated a curated a collection of some of the best historians, memoirists, academics, critics and national treasures publishing on their 2026 non-fiction list to introduce and share clips from their current and upcoming books. You’ll find some recognisable names and be introduced to some new voices.
Listen to Miri
Natasha Polisczuk Meets Louisa Young – The Golden Hours
In this episode, Louisa Young joins journalist and editor Natasha Poliszczuk to discuss the making of The Golden Hours, the sixth Cazalet novel. Louisa explains what it takes to inherit half a million words and fifty-five characters, why some of them had unfinished business she felt compelled to go back for, and how to write the sixties as they actually arrived. She will also discuss the rapid dec
Bestselling Mindset Coach Ben Crowe – How to Change Your Life
Having worked with top athletes and sportspeople, leading tech and finance corporations, and the World Health Organisation, Ben Crowe is one of the world's most in-demand mindset coaches. In this episode of the podcast, he reveals simple-yet-profound perspective shifts that will change the way you see the world and yourself. Showing how these perspective shifts are relevant to everyone, Ben demons
Bestselling Novelist China Mieville – On Grief, Ghosts, and Empire
The central figure of the New Weird, an unofficial movement fusing science fiction, fantasy, and horror with a literary sensibility, China Mieville is equally known for his award-winning, internationally bestselling novels, which include Perdido Street Station, The City and the City and The Last Days of New Paris, and his work as activist, historian, and scholar of the Marxist Left.
He joins us f
Bestselling Mythologist Amy Jeffs – The Life of King Arthur
A scholar, author, artist, and musician, Amy Jeffs is a polymath of British mythology, bringing the greatest stories of the Middle Ages to life in extraordinary books including Storyland, Wild, and Old Songs. She returns to the podcast to share a new life of King Arthur -- drawn not from Mallory's Morte d'Arthur, as most modern adaptations of his story are, but from older, darker, stranger, and mo
Time Woman of the Year Zahra Joya — The Vanishing Girl of Kabul
Zahra Joya grew up under the first Taliban regime, when girls were banned from school. For years she dressed as a boy to access the basic rights denied to her. She became a journalist in Kabul, and founded a news organisation reporting on the lives of Afghan women. In 2021, when the Taliban took over power once again, she was forced to flee the country.
In this episode of the podcast, Zahra discu
Kimon de Greef — A Trip into the Psychedelic Underworld
When Kimon de Greef began an investigation into the smuggling of white sage, a Californian herb popular in the wellness movement, he could not have foreseen that the story would lead him into the dark heart of the psychedelic renaissance and one of its most prominent advocates, Dr. Octavio Rettig: a Mexican physician dedicated to spreading the practice of smoking the secretions of the Sonoran Dese
Jo Marchant – The Science and Mystery of the Present Moment
What if the present moment – the ‘now’– isn’t just a tick of the clock? We feel that the present is everything; all we can know, yet physics finds no universal 'now'. So where does that leave us – and what is the 'now' we experience?
Science journalist Jo Marchant draws on state-of-the-art discoveries in neuroscience, psychology, cosmology and quantum physics, to show how we each carve out our l
Aziz Abu Sarah and Maoz Inon – The Future is Peace
“People have lost hope that peace is possible. Talking about peace seems too vulnerable, too naïve, too dangerous. We have resigned ourselves to this unending war as the only way forward. But we have tried this. We have tried war. The only war that is won is one that leads to peace.”
On paper, Maoz Inon and Aziz Abu Sarah should not be friends. Aziz's brother was killed by Israeli forces. Maoz lo
Naomi Klein - The Mirror World of Conspiracists and the Far-Right (Summer Repeat)
As conspiracy theories, political polarisation and the blurred boundaries between truth and misinformation continue to shape our public life, Naomi Klein's prize-winning book Doppleganger (2023) feels more relevant than ever before. In this fascinating episode of the podcast, Naomi joins journalist Moya Lothian-McLean to explore the strange world of far-right conspiracy theories, wellness inf
Yuval Noah Harari – Making Sense of a World in Crisis (Summer Repeat)
In an age of uncertainty, renowned historian Yuval Noah Harari joins Ritula Shah to make sense of a world in crisis and help us better understand the perils we face.
In this episode of the podcast, bestselling author of Sapiens and Nexus Yuval Noah Harari joins Ritula Shah to explore the forces shaping our uncertain future: from the rise of AI and the changing nature of information, to nationalis
Mary Beard and David Mitchell – On Rulers and Power (Summer Repeat)
Cambridge Professor Mary Beard has done more than anyone to bring the world of ancient Rome to life again. Comedian David Mitchell once studied history and won’t let it off the hook for the mess it’s made of everything. In this special episode of the podcast, they join forces to tell the epic story of our rulers – from the emperors who ruled Britannia under the Roman occupation to the kings and qu
Oscar-nominated Filmmaker Maite Alberdi – A Child of My Own
After experiencing multiple miscarriages and the societal shame that comes with it, recently married Alejandra fakes a pregnancy. What starts as an elaborate lie turns into a complex charade that threatens to upend her life and relationship, and ultimately unleashes a media scandal that shakes the entire country.
In this episode of the podcast, Oscar nominated documentary filmmaker Maite Alberdi
Carissa Véliz– AI, Prediction, and the Fight for the Future
Today's computer scientists play the same role as the oracles of the ancient world and the astrologers of the Middle Ages. Modern predictions not only advise on war, crop output, and marriages, algorithms and statisticians now determine whether we can get a loan, a job, an apartment, or an organ transplant. And when we cede ground to these predictions, we lose control of our own lives.
In this po
Cathy Haynes – How To Live By Nature's Rhythms
Today, in our clock-bound, screen-immersed world, most of us rely on machines to mark the hours. Past generations, however, would tell time by shadows shrinking, the midday glow over a mountaintop, the crowing of the rooster in the darkness. They noticed the flowers that close at noon, sensed how the quality of light changes at dusk, and marked time at night by the motion of the stars.
Artist an
Joe Hill Meets Frank Miller – A Life in Comics
Frank Miller transformed the way comics are told and reshaped popular culture in America and the world. In this episode of the podcast, we’ll hear about his struggles as a fresh faced seventeen year-old kid in seedy 1970s New York and his transformation of Batman from a childish has-been into the gritty, noirish hero we love. We’ll head to Hollywood, hear about how the Sin City comics became a blo
Catharine Edwards - The Life of Cicero and the Fall of the Roman Republic
Rising from provincial obscurity to the highest elected office in Rome, Cicero became the greatest orator of his age. Yet Cicero was far more than a master of rhetoric. His long and turbulent life unfolded alongside the collapse of the Roman Republic.
Catharine Edwards, one of the world’s foremost experts on Roman history, joins bestselling novelist Robert Harris to trace the many facets of Cicer
Suzy Hansen – Turkey in the Age of Erdoğan
In the midst of a world in upheaval, Erdoğan has remade Turkey in his own image. Once a shining portal that straddled East and West, Istanbul's streets now teem with nationalistic fervour, political repression and rampant corruption. In the old Ottoman neighbourhood of Karagumruk, journalist Suzy Hansen goes looking for the truth about modern Turkey. In this episode of the podcast, Suzy will show
Daniel Mendelsohn – Translating Homer's Odyssey
America’s most celebrated living classicist, Daniel Mendelsohn’s new translation of Homer’s Odyssey has been universally acclaimed as the greatest and most authentic ever to appear in English; capturing both the music and archaic grandeur of Homer while bringing to vivid life the gripping adventure, profound human insight, and powerful themes that ensure this epic poem will continue to be celebrat
Nir Eyal - The Science-Backed Way to Stop Limiting Yourself
Beliefs change how we see the world, how we experience suffering, and change what we are able to achieve. The defining characteristics of people who achieve their goals are persistence and the belief that they are capable of reaching what they set out to do.
Drawing on neuroscience, psychology, and unforgettable case studies, behavioural expert Nir Eyal reveals how the hidden assumptions we carry
Sir Roger Deakins – Reflections of a Cinematographer
Over the course of a fifty-year career, Sir Roger Deakins has proven to be the greatest artist and visionary that the craft of cinematography has ever known. In conversation with James Ellis Deakins and George MacKay, Roger shares the stories behind crafting some of the most iconic and beloved films of all time, from 1917 to No Country For Old Men.
From the uniting nature of the film s
Emma Southon - How Slavery Made the Roman Empire
We associate the Romans with majesty and greatness: we marvel at their straight roads and innovative underfloor heating, at the dominance of their army and navy, at the grandeur of their palaces and temples. But the Romans were also enslavers. Acclaimed historian Emma Southon reveals why we have long perpetuated such a limited view of Roman history, one that has effectively erased slaves and their
George Osborn — Video Games, Politics, and the Battle for Influence
Video games are far more than an entertainment product: they connect people across the globe, creating digital communities capable of shaping reality. And bad actors across the world are keenly aware of their power. Saudi Arabia is spending tens of billions of dollars acquiring video games businesses to wash its reputation. Russia has funded video game development to help spread disinformation abo
Therapist Emmy van Deurzen – The Philosopher’s Guide to Everyday Existence
How can we find our own direction and purpose in a world of endless possibilities? When life feels too much, is it possible to free ourselves from the concerns that weigh us down?
Psychotherapist and psychologist Emmy van Deurzen looks to philosophy to offer a guide to the everyday challenges of living, providing a lifeline for rebuilding trust in the world through existentialism. In this illumin
Bill Browder and Jamison Firestone: Chaos and Murder in Putin's Russia
Neither Bill Browder, a hedge fund manager, nor Jamison Firestone, a corporate lawyer ever intended to become activists fighting the Russian government. Both were building businesses in Moscow, great believers in Russia, and had front-row seats as Russia’s nascent disorderly democracy gave way to Putin’s initially stable but ultimately corrupt dictatorship. Bill’s Hermitage Capital was the l
Tom McTague – Britain in Europe: The Hidden History of a Revolution
How did a country go from joining the Common Market in 1973, only to leave the European Union in an explosive referendum a little over forty years later? Acclaimed political writer Tom McTague chronicles the battle of ideas, events, and personalities that led to the decision which shocked the nation. Drawing on unpublished sources and exclusive interviews, Tom will unearth the roots of ideological
Malala Yousafzai - Finding My Way
Thrust onto the public stage at just fifteen years old after the Taliban’s brutal attack on her life, Malala quickly became an international icon — but away from the cameras and crowds, she was a young woman struggling to find her place in a world that was telling her the role she had to play.
She joins Pandora Sykes to share her extraordinary story: not the one you think you know, but the one sh
Antonia Senior – The Cambridge Five and the Making of The Soviet Empire
Why did five gilded, charming men, blessed with brains, beauty, and opportunity, choose to betray their country? During their time at Cambridge University in the 1930s, Donald Maclean, Guy Burgess, Kim Philby, John Cairncross and Keeper of the Queen's Pictures Anthony Blunt undertook a clandestine regime to supply British and US intelligence material to the Soviets. Thanks to his Cambridge spies,
M. John Harrison - The End of Everything
One of the leaders of British science fiction's 1960s New Wave, M. John Harrison has spent the subsequent five decades inventing new and exhilarating literary worlds that push against the boundaries of genre and expectations of the novel form. Now he returns to the post-apocalyptic milieu with The End of Everything: the story of an artist and her nephew eking out a life in a fictional Kent seaside
Mark Williamson – How To Live a Happier Life
What does it mean to be happy? Whilst it’s not always possible to change our circumstances, Action for Happiness founder Mark Williamson believes that we all have the potential to take action to feel better. Blending scientific insights with years of real-world experience, Mark will offer much-needed practical ways to make life happier beyond typical self-help advice, covering a wide range of them
Carol Cadwalladr Meets Karen Hao - Sam Altman, ChatGPT, and the Global Resistance
Karen Hao joins The Nerve's Carole Cadwalladr for an eye-watering insider account of Sam Altman’s Open AI and the burgeoning resistance against it.
When it comes to Artificial Intelligence, what do we really have to be afraid of?
When long-time AI expert and award-winning journalist Karen Hao began covering OpenAI in 2019, she thought they were the good guys. Founded as a nonprofit with safety e
Novelist Elodie Harper – Boudicca's Daughter
Boudicca had two daughters, but history records their existence and nothing more. Sunday Times bestselling author Elodie Harper joins us to discuss her latest novel, Boudicca's Daughters, which reimagines Boudicca and her daughters from the colonised side of history, and explores the inner lives of two young women caught inside a revolution they did not choose. In this episode of the podcast, Elod
Caroline Sylge – How To Retreat
Caroline Sylge reminds us to press pause on the daily overwhelm of modern life by bringing the magic and solace of retreating into your every day.
What comes into your mind when you hear the word 'retreat'? Meditation at a mountain monastery, or a trip to far-flung places? While ‘retreats’ can be misconceived as expensive, time-consuming or inaccessible, Caroline Sylge shows us that they don’t ha
Novelist Erica Wagner - Washington Roebling and the Art of Life Writing
Erica Wagner may be the first ever author to write both a landmark biography and a historial novel about the same person. The engineer Washington Roebling took up residence in her head when she was sixteen years old and crossed the Brooklyn Bridge for the first time; her 2017 book Chief Engineer was a cradle-to-the-grave biography giving us the facts of his life, and her new novel Wash boldly imag
Neurologist Majid Fotuhi – How To Age-Proof Your Brain
Neurologist Majid Fotuhi is leading the charge in revolutionising how we understand human intelligence, brain health and age-related cognitive decline. By uncovering the true wonder of how the brain works and its infinite potential for growth and change, Majid will reveal how targeted lifestyle changes can prevent, treat, and even reverse cognitive decline. Following Majid’s 12-week programme, mor
Robert Macfarlane and Jackie Morris - On Birds, Wonder, and Loss
A great thinning of the skies is underway. Dusk and dawn are growing quiet as birdlife faces a rapid decline across the world. It does not have to be this way — but we will not save what we do not love.
From how sparrowhawks' eyes change colour throughout the bird's life, to how cuckoo birds use surprising stealth as mothers, the creators of The Lost Words Robert Macfarlane and Jackie Morris illu
Jessamy Hibberd – How to Free Your Mind From Overthinking
Thinking about your life is a normal part of being human. Often, it is helpful to analyse a situation or revisit a problem in your mind, but if you find yourself constantly dwelling on your thoughts – with no sign of resolution – then it becomes a problem.
In this episode of the podcast, acclaimed clinical psychologist Dr Jessamy Hibberd will show you how to break free from the cycle of overthin
Phil Tinline - Iron Mountain and the Birth of American Conspiracy Culture
How did a 1960s spoof of Cold War technocracy become a bible for far-right militias in the present? Political journalist Phil Tinline traces the strange journey of the Report from Iron Mountain.
In the mid 1960s, a group of New York satirists conceived of an ingenious hoax; a report purportedly written by government technocrats, planning for an unprecedented economic and political catastrophe: wh
Tom Holland Meets Armando Iannucci — What The Lives of the Caesars Can Teach Us About Politics
Tom Holland is a storyteller whose range and erudition seem to be as unbounded as history himself. Already a wildly acclaimed bestselling author, his chart-topping podcast The Rest is History, the third most downloaded podcast globally, made superstars of Tom and his co-host Dominic Sandbrook. Now he shares with us his passion: Ancient Rome.
The ancient Roman empire was the supreme arena, where e
Freya India - The Commodification of Girls and How to Fight Back
Coming of age has always been a time of angst and inner turmoil, especially for girls. But today, those worries exist in a world of AR filters, TikTok “plastic surgeons,” dating apps, hookup culture, online porn, profit-driven therapy apps, and even fully customizable AI girlfriends. All of it is personalized by algorithms designed to prey on their deepest insecurities and delivered on platforms e
Holistic Psychologist Nicole LePera – Reparenting the Inner Child
We all carry the imprint of our earliest years. Childhood is brief, yet its impact is lifelong. Some parts of us were met with love while other parts were met with silence, criticism, or disapproval. Many of us still protect the parts of ourselves that once felt unsafe. As adults, we often fall into patterns that feel irrational or out of character – shutting down, lashing out, people-pleasing, or
Nina Allan - The Many Worlds of JG Ballard
Born into an upper-middle class family and raised in colonial Shanghai, JG Ballard's worldview was profoundly shaped by his internment by the occupying Japanese army in the Second World War — an experience that formed the basis of Empire of the Sun, the novel that brought him international fame. For his countless devoted fans his genius lies not only in this singular semi-autobiographical novel bu
Antony Beevor – Rasputin and the Downfall of the Romanovs
When Russia's Dowager Empress was pregnant with the future Tsar, she dreamed that a peasant would one day kill her son. The idea terrified her, and for the rest of her days she 'lived under the pressure of the prophecy'. Grigori Rasputin had no official position. A barely literate moujhik from Siberia, he had no forces at his command. He was a devoted monarchist, not a revolutionary. And yet, thro
Ecologist Suzanne Simard - Lessons of the Forest
Dr Suzanne Simard transformed our understanding of forests, her groundbreaking research for the Mother Tree Project revealing how the forest is a living symphony of finely honed cycles of birth, growth, death and rebirth that hold the key to protecting the natural world. In conversation with Robin Ince, Suzanne reveals this intricate interconnectedness and the luminous wonder that forests continue
James Muldoon - Love Rewired in the Age of AI
From friendship, to romance, to even therapy, AI companions are on the rise, and AI companion apps alone have now been downloaded more than 220 million times worldwide. Oxford Internet Institute researcher James Muldoon takes us on a captivating and uncanny journey to the frontier of human-computer interaction, exploring what happens to our relationships with each other as artificial intelligence
Neuroscientist Mark Solms - Was Freud Right?
Pioneering neuropsychologist Mark Solms reveals how science is proving Freud correct and explores what this might mean for our mental healthcare systems and our lives.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Zakia Sewell Meets Jeremy Deller - The Quest for a Hidden Britain
Writer and broadcaster Zakia Sewell is on a mission to uncover an alternative spirit of Britain – found in otherworldly folk songs, ancient legends, Celtic seasonal rites and mystic stone circles that punctuate our landscape. She joined us for a conversation with the artist Jeremy Deller to bring a hopeful story of Britain out from the shadows, giving us a deeper sense of who we are, and heralding
Peter Jones - The Secret History of the Seven Deadly Sins
In 2026 the Seven Deadly Sins have become a bit of harmless fun, more associated with ice creams and videogame villains than the immortal soul. But in the medieval world, the Sins were a guide to the human mind, offering insight into the deepest questions of life, meaning, and happiness. Medievalist Peter Jones has uncovered their origins and significance and joins us on the podcast to show how th
Neuroscientist Daniel Levitin — How to Harness the Power of Music
Daniel Levitin returns to How To Academy to explore how music can transform our health and wellbeing—repairing our bodies, calming our minds, and healing our deepest psychological wounds. By uncovering the cutting-edge neuroscience behind how rhythm and melody strengthen memory, reduce pain, and provide emotional equilibrium, Daniel will offer a compelling new vision for the future of music as med
Ayala Panievsky–Fighting Censorship in the Age of Populism
Heavy-handed censorship is unnecessary when one can manipulate people to censor themselves…
From the birth of 'the strategic bias', to weaponizing liberal norms against liberal democracy, the populist right has found a way to exercise an effective and socially acceptable type of silencing and manipulation. Instead of banning stories, they spread flows of disinformation, which take hours and days
Oren Harman - The Human History of Metamorphosis
As a boy, Oren Harman set up his own bedroom "laboratory" to uncover the caterpillar's transformation into a butterfly. But these marvellous creatures are far from alone in radically transforming: it is thought that 75% of animal life undergoes a form of metamorphosis. The story of how and why is one that has puzzled some of the most remarkable minds in history, from Aristotle onwards; in his new
Dr Gavin Francis – Making Sense of Mental Health
Between a quarter and a fifth of young people in the UK now suffer from a mental disorder. One in four adults are prescribed psychiatric medication. These figures reveal an extraordinary expansion in the language and labelling of mental health — but they tell us little about the lived experience of those seeking help, or about what it truly means to heal. In this episode of the podcast, Dr Gavin F
C. Thi Nguyen - How to Stop Playing Someone Else's Game
C. Thi Nguyen considers games of all kinds to be an art form, no less beautiful than cinema, literature, or music: but the qualities that make games aesthetically valuable are very different to those we associate with other media. In this episode of the podcast, he reveals how games create meaning -- and what happens when we apply the logic of game design to real life, in the form of scoring syste
Keza MacDonald - How Nintendo Changed the World
Guardian journalist and lifelong Nintendo superfan Keza MacDonald is the author of a new history of that reveals how the company's unique culture transformed a Kyoto playing card manufacturer into one of the most loved organisations in the history of popular entertainment. Whether you know the names of every Pokemon or are simply fascinated by how a major corporation can consistently innovate, del
Neuroscientist Paul Goldsmith – How to Thrive in a World We Weren’t Made For
In a world transformed beyond recognition, the neural systems that once kept our ancestors alive now leave us overwhelmed, distracted, and dissatisfied. We battle loneliness, anxiety, and stress. We chase status, validation, and impossible standards—then blame ourselves when we fall short. Drawing on cutting-edge neuroscience and clinical cases, evolutionary neuroscientist and practising neurologi
Jennifer Breheny Wallace – Mattering: The Secret to a Life of Deep Connection
Feeling seen, needed, and valued isn't just a nice-to-have—it's essential for our wellbeing and society's future. When people feel they truly matter, everything changes—productivity soars, relationships deepen, and communities strengthen. As AI erases jobs that once gave people a sense of identity and purpose, and many feel isolated, burnout, and disconnected, we now face a crisis of mattering. In
Natalie Haynes and Robin Ince - The Myth of Medea, Reimagined
Priestess, witch, daughter of a brutal king: Medea is the greatest tragic heroine of the classical world. But, as Sunday Times bestselling writer Natalie Haynes reveals, Medea can be so much more than that too. Joining her longtime friend Robin Ince, she reveals her own journey that led her towards classical mythology, and invites modern-day dwellers to revisit the mythical past anew. From the ex
Wayne McGregor – How to Unlock Your Physical Intelligence
How much do you know about your body? How much does your body know about you? The most acclaimed choreographer of our age, Sir Wayne McGregor’s trailblazing innovations have radically defined dance in the modern era. And over the past three decades, he has discovered that our intelligence lies not only in our brains, but in our bodies too. Physical intelligence is instinctive, pre-verbal, and cont
Filmmaker Petra Costa - Democracy on a Knife-edge
When we spoke to Petra Costa last, her film Apocalypse in The Tropics had just been released on Netflix. The film, which leaves us in the aftermath of January 8th 2023 and the storming of the Brazilian Congress by hundreds of protestors demonstrating against the re-election of Lula De Silva and defeat of Jair Bolsanaro, explores the relationship between evangelical Christianity and the Far Right.
Stanford's Ben Rein – The Neuroscience of Social Connection
It’s not just what you feed your brain that matters—it’s who. From your morning coffee order, to weaving through commuters on the train, sitting through work meetings, riding in a packed lift, heading to the pub with colleagues, or relaxing on the sofa with family, every day is filled with social interactions that nurture and support your brain's health. Whether mundane or extraordinary, they make
Award-winning Novelist Joanna Kavenna - How to Play a Game Without Rules
A riotious comic novel of ideas, Seven tells the story of an unnamed philosopher plunged into the strange world of Theodoros Apostalakis: dentist, poet, pursuer of lost things, and obsessive player of 'Seven', a revered board game whose champions struggle to hold onto what is most valuable in human life in the face of Artificial Intelligence. Blending academic satire, travel writing, farce, and ph
Investigative Journalist Oliver Bullough - How the Money Launderers Won
Whether you’re a fraudster, a cartel boss, a corrupt politician, a kleptocrat or a terrorist mastermind, your options to move and hide your money are more secure and more impenetrable than they have ever been. There has never been a better time to be a criminal. Meanwhile, innocent people are wrongly being frozen out of banking services across the world. Something needs to change. All efforts at l
Psychobiologist Daisy Fancourt – How the Arts Can Transform Your Health
How does art affect our brains and bodies, down to our very DNA? Psychobiologist Daisy Fancourt reveals the extraordinary effect of art on our health, and what we can do to make the most of art’s life-changing power. From how music synchronises our movement to how storytelling enhances our emotional intelligence, Daisy illuminates this under-appreciated pillar of health, and shares practical and m
Tim Minshall - Your Life is Manufactured
Where do the things we buy actually come from? And how did they become the products on our store shelves, the food in our pantries, and the familiar items in our homes? Cambridge Professor and expert in manufacturing and innovation Tim Minshall guides us down the intricate journeys within the world of manufacturing, revealing how everyday items find their way across the world to reach us.
Learn
Rutger Bregman Meets George Monbiot - How to Change the World
Global sensation Rutger Bregman joins George Monbiot to show how small groups of committed individuals changed the course of history – and how you can, too.
The average full-time worker will spend 80,000 hours at their job: are you making the most of them? Do you truly believe in what you do, day in day out?Every day we’re bombarded with methods, mantras, life hacks and coaching sessions that pro
Amy Jeffs – Stories of Love and Death From Traditional Ballads
In this episode of the podcast, Amy Jeffs reveals the spellbinding world behind Old Songs, her exploration of traditional British ballads and the stories that have carried human fears, desires, and wonder across centuries. From the historical role of ballads in everyday life, to their modern afterlives in literature, music, and live performance, Amy shows us why these old songs still resonate so s
Data Scientist Hannah Ritchie – How to Solve Climate Change in 50 Questions and Answers
With so many conflicting headlines out there, it’s tough to sort fact from fiction when it comes to climate change and the solutions we need for a cleaner future. The first piece of good news is that data scientist Hannah Ritchie is here with answers, and the steps we need to take now. Using simple, clear data, she joins us to tackle questions such as, ‘Is it too late?’, ‘Won’t we run out of miner
Sam Conniff and Katherine Templar-Lewis –The Uncertainty Toolkit
It’s the ‘Do you have five minutes?’ message from your boss. The ‘We need to chat’ from a loved one. Those spiralling thoughts at 3 a.m. and the buzz of yet another breaking news alert. The potential coming waves of AI, climate change and unstable governments. For most of us, uncertainty is paralyzing, but isn’t going anywhere. The world – and our lives – will continue to change, at great pace and
Mark Galeotti - How Crime Organises the World
Far from being distant and peripheral, organised crime shapes our everyday lives, from the materials used to construct our homes to the illicit funds that quietly circulate through financial institutions. Global security expert Mark Galeotti reveals the dark heart of the underworld, how states and criminal networks are far more interconnected than most people realise, and how understanding these e
Paul Davies - The New Quantum Revolution
100 years on from Schrödinger’s equation, we’re on the cusp of the second Quantum revolution. Everything is about to change again – but how? Theoretical physicist, cosmologist, and astrobiologist Paul Davies investigates quantum theory's extraordinary predictive power and the debates that continue to surround the field, diving into the very nature of quantum reality and the beginnings of the univ
RF Kuang - To Hell with Love
Bestselling novelist Rebecca F. Kuang returns to How To Academy in conversation with Hannah MacInnes to dive into her new novel, Katabasis, inviting us on a journey to the underworld and back. From the literal and metaphorical meanings of descending to hell, to the question of eternity, to the imaginative expanse of Rebecca's literary vision in an age where freedom of expression is under threat, R
Andrew Jarecki and Charlotte Kaufman — The Human Cost of Alabama's Prison System
When Andrew Jarecki and Charlotte Kaufman went into an Alabama state prison to film a revival meeting, they discover that the prisoners wanted to talk to them off-camera and share their stories; after Andrew and Charlotte left, the incarcerated men were able to use contraband mobile phones to reveal the hidden realities of prison life. Their stories included the horrifying death of prisoner Stephe
Ingrid Clayton – Why the Need to Please Makes Us Lose Ourselves
Do you avoid conflict? Do you tend to take the blame? Do you take care of others at the expense of yourself? Do you live in a state of hypervigilance? Fawning can appear in a plethora of different ways, it can be visible or invisible; it can manifest in our relationships to sex or money, or in the tendency to 'people-please'. But one thing remains constant: it is about finding safety in an unsafe
Karl Ove Knausgaard – The School of Night
Widely heralded as the most provocative Norwegian writer since Ibsen and simply ‘one of the finest writers alive’ by the New York Times, Karl Ove Knausgaard’s five-part autobiographical novel sequence My Struggle sent him into the stratosphere of literary fame, inspiring a wave of imitators that continues to this day and cementing his place as an outspoken giant of contemporary literature.
A long
John Higgs - Unravelling the Spell of David Lynch
A boy scout from smalltown America known for his sincere, folksy charm. A chain-smoking maverick dedicated to the pursuit of the Art Life. A womaniser with a female skewing fanbase. A Hollywood outsider who was also a mainstream celebrity. Who was the real David Lynch, and why did his bizarre, avant garde art films - from Eraserhead to Inland Empire - gain him recognition and love far beyond any o
Recommended
Esme's Country Life
Miles From Ordinary Podcast
Off The Telly
Murder of a Famous Bastard
Learn UK English By Podcast
My IELTS Classroom Podcast
The History Hour
The Healing Childhood Trauma Podcast
Frank Off The Radio: The Frank Skinner Podcast
Newscast
Learning English from the News
True Crime Investigators UK
