How To Academy Podcast

On 1 February, 1910, vivacious music-hall performer, Belle Elmore, suddenly vanished from her north London home, causing alarm among her circle of female friends– the entertainers of the Music Hall Ladies’ Guild– who demanded an immediate investigation. They could not have known what they would provoke: the unearthing of a gruesome secret, followed by a fevered manhunt for the prime suspect: Belle’s husband, medical fraudster, Dr Hawley Harvey Crippen and his mistress Ethel Le Neve. In this episode of the podcast, prizewinning social historian Hallie Rubenhold joins us for an epic examination of one of the most infamous murders of the twentieth century, and gives voice to the women who have never properly been heard. Shifting focus away from the sensationalised male perpetrator, Hallie centres the lives of the women involved: his murdered wife Belle Elmore, his first wife Charlotte, and his mistress Ethel Le Neve. Hallie also discusses the Crippen case as an early media spectacle, and how a historian’s perspective can help us question the myths, biases, and assumptions that shape the true-crime stories we tell. Join us live! How To Academy hosts world-renowned artists, thinkers, and leaders live on stage across the UK and USA. Find out who’s appearing near you at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠howtoacademy.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Become a Member: How To Plus members receive £15 off every live event ticket, free access to biweekly livestreams, and an exclusive members-only podcast. Find out more at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠howtoacademy.com/htasubscribe⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

One of the most remarkable and progressive physicians of the Victorian age, Dr Joseph Bell's incredible powers of deductive reasoning astonished his students -- including the young Arthur Conan Doyle. Oxford-trained medical historian Lindsey Fitzharris reveals what Sherlock Holmes owes to the work of a real life crime-solving surgeon, and how he came, like Conan Doyle, to finally resent his association with Baker Street's most famous resident. Join us for a journey into the smog-wreathed streets of Edinburgh for a tale of true crime, bloody medicine, literary genius, and the convergence of art and life. Join us live! How To Academy hosts world-renowned artists, thinkers, and leaders live on stage across the UK and USA. Find out who’s appearing near you at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠howtoacademy.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Become a Member: How To Plus members receive £15 off every live event ticket, free access to biweekly livestreams, and an exclusive members-only podcast. Find out more at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠howtoacademy.com/htasubscribe⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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, and anti-immigrant politics. They make the case for how we can resist, how communities are organizing across political divides, and why material improvements in people’s lives matter.  Join us to understand the alliances shaping the far-right Armageddon complex, and why we must choose solidarity and “hereness” over escape. Join us live! How To Academy hosts world-renowned artists, thinkers, and leaders live on stage across the UK and USA. Find out who’s appearing near you at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠howtoacademy.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Become a Member: How To Plus members receive £15 off every live event ticket, free access to biweekly livestreams, and an exclusive members-only podcast. Find out more at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠howtoacademy.com/htasubscribe⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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 most powerful tool to reset your system and rest deeply. Despite this, many of us hold countless misconceptions about what meditation is, how we do it, and why it is good for us. Jillian breaks down these common myths to reveal how this ancient practice can help you maintain your sense of self, provide clarity and move forward. Jillian also unpacks how meditation helps us recover more quickly from stress, improves sleep, and strengthens intuition. In a world that is not slowing down, and where many of our decisions are being outsourced, Jillian argues that cultivating your ability to rest, reset, and trust your own instinct has never mattered more. Join us live! How To Academy hosts world-renowned artists, thinkers, and leaders live on stage across the UK and USA. Find out who’s appearing near you at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠howtoacademy.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Become a Member: How To Plus members receive £15 off every live event ticket, free access to biweekly livestreams, and an exclusive members-only podcast. Find out more at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠howtoacademy.com/htasubscribe⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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 decay at the hands of elitism, intolerance and rising autocracy. One of the world’s most influential economists, Nobel laureate Daron Acemoglu sits down with Martin Wolf to chart the rise and fall of liberal democracy – from the key thinkers that shaped liberal philosophy, to the subsequent growing distance between educated elites and working-class communities, increasing cultural divisions, and weakening of shared prosperity. Daron and Martin also examine the impact of AI, what democracies can learn from countries such as Denmark and Switzerland, and how societies should respond to rising authoritarianism without abandoning liberal principles. One could say that liberalism is broken. So what comes next? Join us to hear bold, realistic, and hopeful new ideas from one of the preeminent thinkers of our age. Join us live! How To Academy hosts world-renowned artists, thinkers, and leaders live on stage across the UK and USA. Find out who’s appearing near you at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠howtoacademy.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Become a Member: How To Plus members receive £15 off every live event ticket, free access to biweekly livestreams, and an exclusive members-only podcast. Find out more at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠howtoacademy.com/htasubscribe⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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 the brain's reward systems and primes us to learn, and why questions, and who gets to ask them, are never neutral. In a world rushing towards answers, Lani Watson shows us how deeply questions matter, and how we might recover our most under-appreciated human capacity. Join us live! How To Academy hosts world-renowned artists, thinkers, and leaders live on stage across the UK and USA. Find out who’s appearing near you at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠howtoacademy.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Become a Member: How To Plus members receive £15 off every live event ticket, free access to biweekly livestreams, and an exclusive members-only podcast. Find out more at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠howtoacademy.com/htasubscribe⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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, the self we can’t quite catch.  David sits down with acclaimed actress, author, and musician Gina Gershon for a wide-ranging conversation that touches on poetry, acting, and the creative process. David and Gina will dive into into The X-Files, Californication, life on and off screen, and what a life spent creating teaches you about mortality, failure, and the stubborn desire to get it right. An unmissable conversation with one of America’s most restlessly creative minds.  Join us live! How To Academy hosts world-renowned artists, thinkers, and leaders live on stage across the UK and USA. Find out who’s appearing near you at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠howtoacademy.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Become a Member: How To Plus members receive £15 off every live event ticket, free access to biweekly livestreams, and an exclusive members-only podcast. Find out more at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠howtoacademy.com/htasubscribe⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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 Miriam Margolyes on Britain, Graham Farmelo on the life of Stephen Hawking, Reece Sheersmith on the supernatural, Amy Jeffs on King Arthur and much more. Join us live! How To Academy hosts world-renowned artists, thinkers, and leaders live on stage across the UK and USA. Find out who’s appearing near you at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠howtoacademy.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Become a Member: How To Plus members receive £15 off every live event ticket, free access to biweekly livestreams, and an exclusive members-only podcast. Find out more at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠howtoacademy.com/htasubscribe⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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 decline of the English upper middle class and the social observations that make the Cazalet Chronicles so beloved. Join us for a fascinating look at what it means to be trusted with a world somebody else made, and how to carry it into a decade that changed everything. Join us live! How To Academy hosts world-renowned artists, thinkers, and leaders live on stage across the UK and USA. Find out who’s appearing near you at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠howtoacademy.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Become a Member: How To Plus members receive £15 off every live event ticket, free access to biweekly livestreams, and an exclusive members-only podcast. Find out more at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠howtoacademy.com/htasubscribe⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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 demonstrates how self-compassion, imagination and appreciation can turn adversity into possibility, remove pressure and help us find that elusive balance between confidence and happiness, achievement and fulfilment. Join us for the only guide you need to shift your outlook, improve connection, and build confidence. Join us live! How To Academy hosts world-renowned artists, thinkers, and leaders live on stage across the UK and USA. Find out who’s appearing near you at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠howtoacademy.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Become a Member: How To Plus members receive £15 off every live event ticket, free access to biweekly livestreams, and an exclusive members-only podcast. Find out more at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠howtoacademy.com/htasubscribe⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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 for a (mostly) spoiler-free conversation unveiling his most ambitious work of fiction to date. A heady brew of literary fiction, military and espionage adventure stories, horror, post-colonial magical realism, and much else besides, The Rouse is a milestone in Mieville's career and a landmark in modern fantasy writing. We discuss how he has personally changed in the two decades of the novel's gestation, the social status of the octopus, the end of the British empire, and the nature of grief and loss. Also: Ghostbusters! Join us live! How To Academy hosts world-renowned artists, thinkers, and leaders live on stage across the UK and USA. Find out who’s appearing near you at ⁠howtoacademy.com⁠. Become a Member: How To Plus members receive £15 off every live event ticket, free access to biweekly livestreams, and an exclusive members-only podcast. Find out more at ⁠howtoacademy.com/htasubscribe⁠. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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 more magical sources. This is a story you have never heard before: of a warlord and Roman Emperor, raised by fairies to conquer much of the known world. Join us live! How To Academy hosts world-renowned artists, thinkers, and leaders live on stage across the UK and USA. Find out who’s appearing near you at ⁠⁠⁠⁠howtoacademy.com⁠⁠⁠⁠. Become a Member: How To Plus members receive £15 off every live event ticket, free access to biweekly livestreams, and an exclusive members-only podcast. Find out more at ⁠⁠⁠⁠howtoacademy.com/htasubscribe⁠⁠⁠⁠. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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 discusses her experience of growing up under Taliban rule, the US-led war, their withdrawl in 2021, and the world's decision to look away in the wake of the Taliban's return to power. Zahra reflects on exile, the women still reporting from inside Afghanistan, and why she believes women's rights are everyone's responsibility. Join us live! How To Academy hosts world-renowned artists, thinkers, and leaders live on stage across the UK and USA. Find out who’s appearing near you at ⁠⁠⁠howtoacademy.com⁠⁠⁠. Become a Member: How To Plus members receive £15 off every live event ticket, free access to biweekly livestreams, and an exclusive members-only podcast. Find out more at ⁠⁠⁠howtoacademy.com/htasubscribe⁠⁠⁠. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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 Desert toad. The experience promises extraordinary relief for those suffering from PTSD, depression and drug addiction - but can also be fatal... Join us for a story of cults, cartels, and corporations that is stranger than fiction and still unfolding today. Join us live! How To Academy hosts world-renowned artists, thinkers, and leaders live on stage across the UK and USA. Find out who’s appearing near you at ⁠howtoacademy.com⁠. Become a Member: How To Plus members receive £15 off every live event ticket, free access to biweekly livestreams, and an exclusive members-only podcast. Find out more at ⁠howtoacademy.com/htasubscribe⁠. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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 lived experience – sensations and emotions, actions and decisions – through our interactions with the world. Join us to explore how this evolving, interconnected tapestry is the source of our lives and selves, and perhaps even reality itself. Join us live! How To Academy hosts world-renowned artists, thinkers, and leaders live on stage across the UK and USA. Find out who’s appearing near you at ⁠⁠howtoacademy.com⁠⁠. Become a Member: How To Plus members receive £15 off every live event ticket, free access to biweekly livestreams, and an exclusive members-only podcast. Find out more at ⁠⁠howtoacademy.com/htasubscribe⁠⁠. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

“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 lost both his parents in the 7 October 2023 attacks. And yet these two lifelong peace activists have embarked on a searing journey to understand this holy, bloodstained land and explore each other’s personal and national histories. In this episode of the podcast, Maoz and Aziz will take us inside that journey, sending the message that the people have the power to make change, and peace is achievable. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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 influencers and online radicalisation. What can following her own doppelganger into this mirror world teach us about our increasingly polarised politics, and how can escape this collective vertigo and get back to fighting for what really matters? Naomi will be joining us again on Wed, 30 September, with writer and activist Astra Taylor, and in conversation with David Olusoga, for a new reckoning with our age. We find ourselves in the clutches of End Times Fascism, and Naomi will take us on a journey inside the far-right Armageddon complex – and show us how to break the doom loop before it’s too late. Tickets and details can be found here. Join us live! How To Academy hosts world-renowned artists, thinkers, and leaders live on stage across the UK and USA. Find out who’s appearing near you at ⁠howtoacademy.com⁠. Become a Member: How To Plus members receive £15 off every live event ticket, free access to biweekly livestreams, and an exclusive members-only podcast. Find out more at ⁠howtoacademy.com/htasubscribe⁠. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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 nationalism, democracy and the question of what remains within our control. In a world increasingly difficult to predict, how can we make sense of where we are heading? Join us live! How To Academy hosts world-renowned artists, thinkers, and leaders live on stage across the UK and USA. Find out who’s appearing near you at ⁠howtoacademy.com⁠. Become a Member: How To Plus members receive £15 off every live event ticket, free access to biweekly livestreams, and an exclusive members-only podcast. Find out more at ⁠howtoacademy.com/htasubscribe⁠. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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 queens who succeeded them and created England as we know it today. Join us live! How To Academy hosts world-renowned artists, thinkers, and leaders live on stage across the UK and USA. Find out who’s appearing near you at howtoacademy.com. Become a Member: How To Plus members receive £15 off every live event ticket, free access to biweekly livestreams, and an exclusive members-only podcast. Find out more at howtoacademy.com/htasubscribe. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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 will offer a uniquely intimate look at the incident through the words of those who lived it, examining the crushing weight of societal expectations, the elusive nature of truth, and the enduring power of family. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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 powerful reassessment of the ways prediction shapes our everyday lives, Oxford professor Carissa Véliz will explain how putting too much stock in others' predictions makes us vulnerable to charlatans, con artists, dubious technology, and self-deception. Carissa will outline how a free and robust society requires not more prediction, but better preparation. Join us to explore the hidden dangers of prediction in the age of AI, and what we must do to reclaim control of our lives. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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 and educator Cathy Haynes uncovers the patterns that once shaped the rhythm of our days, showing us how devoting an evening to tracing the stars might help us savour the fullness of the moment, how noticing the daily routines of swallows and blackbirds might bring us forms of companionship that lift us out of narrow human concerns. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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 blockbuster movie, and find out what he's working on next. In conversation with fellow comics legend and horror novelist, Joe Hill, Frank will share insights into his artistic process, offering lessons for aspiring writers and artists drawn from a lifetime at the summit of popular storytelling. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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 Cicero’s life and legacy – his phenomenal oratory, his political ambitions, his philosophical undertakings, and his ultimate demise. Together, they explore how his uneasy response to the rise of autocratic power continues to provoke admiration and debate today. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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 how– through the lives of local inhabitants–  conflicts are spiralling into regional crises, deepening the fault lines now fracturing Europe and the Middle East. Join us for an eye-opening account of a nation on the frontlines of history– the rise of an autocrat, the resurrection of an empire, and the human stories unfolding in its shadow. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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 celebrated and loved as one of the greatest works of culture for as long as there are humans alive to hear it. As Christopher Nolan’s new film guarantees a surge of new excitement to this timeless tale of monsters and men, of grief and homecoming, Daniel offers his personal reflections on the meaning of the poem both now and across the ages, and explore the challenges and particularities of translating the Greek of Homer the into modern English. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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 shape what we see, how we feel, and what we do—and how to replace them with beliefs that expand what’s possible. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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 set to the artistic process encompassing conception and technical craft, Roger illuminates the enduring power of cinematography and shares his creative vision from behind the lens. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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 humanity. In this groundbreaking exploration spanning the Empire's homes, theatres and circuses, its fields, markets, and roads, Emma challenges us to take away a more human image of the Roman Empire, in all its harrowing reality, and restores a deeply human understanding of the brutality that built the Empire and which underlay almost every aspect of Roman life. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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 about the war in Ukraine. Steve Bannon utilised tactics deployed by online video game communities to propel Donald Trump into the White House. In this episode of the podcast, industry insider George Osborn joins us to highlight what democracies must do to protect and harness the immense power of play before the essential battle for digital influence is lost for good. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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 illuminating conversation, Emmy will invite you to step back and discover what really matters. By considering each of the four key aspects of our experience: physical, social, personal and spiritual, Emmy will reveal that freedom starts when you decide to cease letting your life be a thoughtless accident. Harnessing over fifty years' experience in psychology and philosophy, Emmy will show us how to deal with dilemmas and difficulties of every kind, so that even when survival takes all you have, you can rekindle confidence in your own abilities and revitalise your capacity to relate to others. Join us to discover a more engaged way of living that is purposeful, deliberate and buoyant. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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 largest foreign portfolio investor in post-Soviet Russia; Jamison was the founder of the country’s first independent foreign law firm. In the Yeltsin years when Bill launched his investment fund, Jamison found himself defending himself and his clients from mafia attacks, dealing with corrupt police officers, and much more. When Putin came to power, the bandits disappeared, but over time the State became the new Mafia and eventually destroyed rule of law. The turning point for both men was when their offices were raided by the police and the registration documents for Hermitage confiscated, Bill and Jamison found themselves at the centre of the biggest tax theft in Russian history: and their lawyer Sergei Magnitsky was assassinated for uncovering the truth. In an attempt to get justice for Magnitsky they ended up going to war with the entire Russian Government, working with Alexei Navalny to expose corruption and lobbying governments across the globe to pass the Magnitsky Acts, sanctioning Russia’s most powerful people. Bill and Jamison join us to share the deeply moving and ultimately chilling story of their time in Russia and fighting Putin from abroad.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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 conflict that raged between the leading politicians of the twentieth century as they fought for the future of Europe – Charles de Gaulle, Harold Macmillan, Jean Monnet, Enoch Powell and Margaret Thatcher. Alongside these famous figures, he will uncover the lesser-known actors in Britain’s great post-war drama – the Eurosceptic student radicals, Cold Warriors, eccentric billionaires, and political strategists – who turned the tide of history. Join us for a riveting story of the clashing ideals that have pulled at Britain’s public imagination for more than seven decades, raising that most elemental of questions: who are we? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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 she has been waiting to tell. From transformative friendships and first love, to courage, fear, and her enduring commitment to education for girls around the world, Malala reveals an honest and deeply empowering portrait of her journey to finding her way. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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, until the implosion of the spy ring in May 1951, there was barely a secret, and barely a decision made that Stalin did not know about. Using recently declassified files, Antonia Senior will explore how The Five became tools in Stalin's imperial scheme, and responsible– directly and indirectly– for the deaths of thousands of men and women fighting against Soviet domination. Antonia will also uncover how The Five were shielded by the British establishment, exposed as much by their own incompetence as by forensic investigation. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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 town where reality itself has collapsed. Offering an oblique satire of life in contemporary Britain and the chaos of our post-truth age, the novel is as strange, demanding, and frightening as the times we live in. In this episode of the podcast, Harrison shares his thoughts on the purpose and value of imaginative fiction, the convergence of his real and authorial selves, and the freedom he has found in old age to write exactly what he wants without compromise. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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 themes which contribute to lifelong wellbeing. Mark’s guide to happiness will help shift our values from what we can get to what we can give; from seeking validation to finding connection; and from just surviving to actively thriving. Rather than focussing on an unrealistic end point of complete happiness, Mark will reveal that happiness is not just a personal quest, but a gift that can enrich our communities and our world. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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 enshrined as its core mission, it was meant, its leader Sam Altman told us, to act as a check against more purely market forces. But the mask quickly fell. She witnessed the company’s meteoric rise first-hand, and as the company came to abandon its founding principles, she sounded the alarm about the sinister impact the company and the wider industry is having on society. As Artificial Intelligence becomes a common enemy, creatives, protesters, labourers, and researchers across the world are fighting back; and Karen is at the heart of documenting this burgeoning global movement. An unmissable listen for anyone concerned with the seismic impacts of this new technology and the motives of the people who make it. This episode is presented in partnership with The Nerve. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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, Elodie will discuss the challenge of writing characters from the historical margins, the hidden Roman Britain her research uncovered, and the moral complexity at the heart of Boudicca's story. She will ask: what does it truly mean to be on the right side of history? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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 have to be. Whether it's for a long weekend, a day, or even an hour, Caroline will help you retreat whoever you are, and whatever your budget or schedule. In this practical guide, Caroline will offer realistic activities to bring the magic of retreating into your life, including how to create a retreat space, and how to retreat with friends and family as well as alone. Using the seasons as an optional guide, Caroline will take us through a range of activities to help you find and sustain a happier version of yourself. From decluttering, to coaching your own life, from finding your flow, to learning how to say no, Caroline will enable you to restore, repair and rejuvenate. Whether you are managing stress and overwhelm, in need of a life change, want to kickstart your creativity or find deep rest and sanctuary, join us for a guide to reconnecting with yourself in sustainable and meaningful ways. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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 imagines his interior life, moving freely across time, space and memory to replicate the experience of selfhood. In this episode of the podcast, she shares her insights into the mind of an extraordinary man and the art of life writing. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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, more than 80% of patients achieve exceptional improvements in memory, focus and other cognitive functions. In elderly patients with mild cognitive impairment, MRIs show a 3% increase in the volume of the hippocampus, the key brain region for learning and memory. Drawing on these clinical trials, Majid will provide essential strategies to optimize brain health through diet, sleep, and managing stress. Majid will also offer practical, scalable techniques to enhance memory, problem-solving, and focus. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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 illuminate the miracle that is birdlife, and reveal the threats which shadow these extraordinary creatures. With warmth and urgency, they call upon us to remember how birds have long intersected with the histories of our ancestors, and how we can fight for a future where these wild lives continue to interweave with our own. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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 overthinking. Through expert advice, and real-life examples from her clinic, Jessamy will reveal the reasons behind why we get stuck in overthinking patterns. Dr Jessamy will offer practical tips to increase your awareness of your overthinking habits, identify your doom spirals, and help you find healthier coping strategies that redirect your thoughts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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: what if world peace broke out? The Report from Iron Mountain became an bestseller, its scathing indictment of the military industrial complex taken seriously even by those who correctly identified the document as a work of satire. Not everyone was so astute. Long after the Report was revealed to be a spoof, conspiracists refused to accept its inauthenticity, and the document mutated into a cornerstone of the far-right ideology that threatens American democracy today. In this episode of the podcast, political journalist Phil Tinline dives into the bizarre and frightening legacy of a satire that might just have been too clever for its own good. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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 engineered to be addictive. While previous generations of women were relentlessly sold products and procedures, girls today have become the product. In this episode of the podcast, Freya India will explore how technological and cultural shifts over the past decade have shaped the inner lives of young women and girls—from anxieties about appearance and reputation to the dynamics of friendships and romantic relationships. She will expose the ruthless commercialization of girlhood—an exploitation corporations are all too eager to profit from. Freya will also share ways for girls to reclaim their privacy, protect their dignity, and, above all, rediscover what it means to be people rather than products. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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 emperors had no choice but to fight, to thrill, to dazzle. To rule as a Caesar was to stand as an actor upon the great stage of the world. It was a world both familiar and utterly alien to our own. In this episode of the podcast he shares a glimpse into the inner worlds of the first twelve Roman emperors with legendary writer and director Armando Iannucci. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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 self-sabotaging. Beneath those reactions lies our inner child, a younger part of us still trying to get its needs met the only way it knows how. While we can't change what happened, we can change how it lives within us and impacts our lives today. In this episode of the podcast, Cornell trained holistic psychologist Nicole LePera will guide us through how we can meet our inner child to begin repairing our oldest wounds, and to question the stories we've long believed about who we have to be. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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 but in his outrageous, nihilistic, bravura works where cutting-edge technologies, social pathologies, and human nature collide — from 1973's Crash to his final novel Kingdom Come, which depicts the rise of the far-right in the UK. The novelist Christopher Priest began a biography of Ballard before his passing in 2024; his wife Nina Allan completed the work, in the process turning a book about Ballard's life into a tribute to both Ballard and Christopher. In this episode of the podcast, she shares her insights into both authors' lives and works and explores what they have to say to us in 2026. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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, through his uncanny seduction of the imperial household, he contributed more than any other individual to the collapse of the greatest autocracy in the world. Now one of our foremost historians, Sir Antony Beevor, joins us to pierce the fog of fantasy and reveal an unparalleled portrait of one of history’s greatest masterminds. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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 to inspire in human minds—and calls on us to protect these threatened ecosystems. By rediscovering our own kinship with nature, working closely with First Nations communities, and developing new understandings of sustainable forestry, Suzanne shares how we can protect and nurture these crucial networks for generations to come. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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 enters our personal lives. “They are real to me” may be the growing sentiment, but what are the tensions and contradictions at the heart of AI companionship? James explores what it means to be human in a world increasingly dominated by these sorts of relationships—what do we gain, and what do we lose? Crucially, what can we do to fulfil other people's emotional needs so they don’t turn to AI? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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

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 the promise of a brighter future. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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 these very old ideas can still show us who we are in the modern world. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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 medicine. Join us for a joyful celebration of one of humanity’s oldest and most powerful forms of healing—and why we all need more of it. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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 to debunk. Instead of silencing, they shout louder. Instead of blue-pencilling, they employ fake users, bots, and outrageous smear campaigns to dominate the conversation. As we find ourselves in a time of democratic decay all over the world, with relentless attempts to undermine truth and facts and unprecedented technological tools to spread disinformation and incite violence, journalist and activist Ayala Panievsky joins us to argue that brave journalism is needed now more than ever. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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 book Metamorphosis, Oren tells their story. He joins us on this episode of the podcast to reveal more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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 Francis will explore the tangled history of psychiatry and our evolving understanding of the mind. From mood disorders and trauma to anxiety and addiction, he will examine the plethora of forces which shape these conditions. Join Gavin as he turns how we imagine mental health on its head, inviting us to see the mind not as fragile, but as resilient — a dynamic, adaptive system best approached not with rigid labels and protocols, but with curiosity, kindness, humility, and hope. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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 systems that dictate what is and is not good and valuable. Join us and find out how we can begin to reclaim nuance and personal choice from corporations, governments, and bureaucracies gameifying our world. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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, delight, and enthral millions of adults and children across the world, this conversation is an unmissable guide to the story of a company unafraid to buck trends, resist market forces, and subvert everyone's expectations in the pursuit of excellence.   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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 neurologist Dr Paul Goldsmith will reveal how many of our struggles are not personal failures. Our restlessness, our cravings, our competitive impulses—even our burnout—all follow an ancient logic. But we are not powerless. By decoding the neuroscience behind our everyday difficulties, Paul will offer a new way to work with, rather than against, our ancient wiring to build calmer, healthier, and more connected lives. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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 this episode of the podcast, award-winning journalist and writer Jennifer Breheny Wallace will provide a revolutionary framework for rebuilding the connections that make life meaningful. Through stories of individuals who have discovered the power of mattering, Jennifer will show us that the antidote to our modern crisis of disconnection isn't to turn inward, but to recognize how much we matter to each other. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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 extraordinary characters of classical heroines such as Medea, Pandora, and Medusa, to how classical myths continue to resonate with the human condition today, Natalie takes us on an epic journey of our own to reimagine the myths we thought we knew. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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 continually upgrades itself. Mastering it will allow us all to release the knots in our physical and emotional selves, leaving us free to experience new forms of creativity and connection. In this episode of the podcast, Wayne will draw on his research and practice with elite performers, athletes, cognitive neuroscientists, and anthropologists to show how we can all become more physically fluent. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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.  Much has happened in the intervening months. Bolsonaro is now behind bars; convicted for inciting the attempted coup, and the film's protagonist, televangelist Pastor Silas Malafaia has also been implicated, cited in a Federal report investigating the events. The film itself played a direct role in the legal proceedings leading to Bolsonaro's arrest. Now, Petra joins us again, in conversation with Hannah MacInnes, to reflect on these events, on the current state of Brazilian Democracy, and on the unique power of film to change the conversation and move the dial where politics often fails. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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 up your brain’s 'social diet', which influences your wellbeing, shapes your experience, and can even lengthen your life. Yet in an age of increasing social isolation, many of us are at risk of losing these vital connections. In this episode of the podcast, Ben Rein will offer a reappraisal of companionship, exploring how social bonds influence our physical and emotional health. He will also share practical, evidence-based strategies for building a more connected, fulfilling life, and for making our daily interactions feel energising rather than exhausting.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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 philosophy into a singular, intoxicating brew, Seven is a literary novel that stretches the boundaries of the form and cannot be adequately explained in a bilateral podcast interview with the author: nevertheless, we attempt to do so in this episode. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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 legislation, diplomacy, prosecution and compliance have been a complete flop. Investigative journalist Oliver Bullough takes us on a perspective-altering adventure through the flipside of the global economy. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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 meaningful ways to incorporate art into our daily and social lives. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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 more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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 promise us mindfulness, prosperity and wellness. We read countless self-help books to unlock the seven habits, twelve rules or one big secret to living a long and happy life, while time and talent remain some of our most squandered resources. Internationally bestselling author Rutger Bregman returns to How To Academy to show us that with the will to make the world a wildly better place – it is possible to be both idealistic and successful, and to change the world along the way. Looking to the great change-makers of history, he will uncover the qualities that made them so persuasive, influential and effective, and show how we, too, can lend our talents to the biggest challenges of our time, from climate change to gross inequality to the next pandemic. We can do more than be on the right side of history: we can make history itself. This is not a self-help talk. It won’t make your life easier – but it should make it more meaningful. The question is: what will you do with it? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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 strongly today. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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 minerals?’ and ‘Are we too polarised?’. The second piece of good news: the truth is way more hopeful than you might think. We’re at a critical moment for our planet, and getting the facts straight is step one. But even more crucial is feeling hopeful about what we can do next. The third piece of good news? We already have many of the solutions we need to create a more sustainable planet for future generations. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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 in unexpected ways. In this episode of the podcast, join author of the international bestseller and ‘modern life-bible’ Be More Pirate, Sam Conniff, and neuroscience consultant Katherine Templar-Lewis for a pioneering, evidence-based guide to  transforming uncertainty into growth and opportunity. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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 entanglements is essential for making sense of how societies function, collapse, and rebuild. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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 universe. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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, Rebecca illuminates the art of her craft and imagination with humour, warmth, and deeply personal contemplation. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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 Stephen Davis at the hands of guard, and a labour strike coordinated across the prisons (that is beginning again at the time of recording).  This deeply harrowing and impactful film reveals a secret world most of us dare never to think about: in the UK, it's available to stream now on Sky. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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 world, often at our own expense. Fawning expert and clinical psychologist Dr Ingrid Clayton shines a light on this under-represented but crucial piece of the trauma puzzle, bringing clarity and support. Drawing on twenty years of clinical psychology work, as well as a lifetime of insight as a recovering fawner herself, she shares tools to find meaningful, reciprocal connections – and finally be ourselves.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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-time resident in London, Karl Ove now turns his attention to the capital for the first time in The School of Night, transporting us back to 1980s Deptford and into the psyche of Kristian Hadeland, a deliciously loathsome young Norwegian willing to do anything for art and for fame. Joining us for an exclusive conversation with the author of Boy Parts, Eliza Clark, Karl Ove will take us on an unforgettable journey into the darkness of the human psyche and explore the Faustian pacts we make for artistic glory. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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 of his contemporaries? The cultural critic John Higgs returns to the podcast to unpick the meaning of the adjective "Lynchian" and make sense of a man whose work is nothing less than a cultural phenomenon. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In this episode of the podcast neuroscientist Nicholas Wright reveals how, whether we like it or not, the brain is wired for conflict – in the office or on the battlefield. Blending insights from cutting-edge research with stories from across history, Nicholas joins war correspondent David Patrikarakos to explore the past, present, and future of warfare and reveal the truth about why we fight, lose and win wars. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The son of Stephen and Tabitha King and brother of Owen King, Joe Hill was raised in a uniquely gifted literary family and has long established a reputation of his own as a first rate storyteller across prose fiction, comics, TV and film. Drawing on influences as diverse as The Secret History, The Hobbit, and his father's dark fantasy classic The Gunslinger, his new novel King Sorrow follows six friends as their Faustian pact with the deliciously cruel eponymous dragon unravels over many decades. Why is horror good for us? How do you write characters readers with fall in love with - and those they will love to hate? Who are the real monsters in American life? Joe Hill reveals the answers to all of these questions and more in this episode of the podcast. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

How do we understand the world and our place in it? Do our lives consist of a small number of dramatic turning points, or is there nothing but a series of gradual changes from infancy to old age? Are political elections genuinely transformational, or merely arbitrary points along a shifting cultural timeline? And in physics, how can the continuities of general relativity coexist with the discontinuities of quantum theory? In Waves and Stones, Graham Harman shows that this paradoxical interaction – the question of whether reality is made up of sudden jumps, or is laid out along a gentle gradient with no clear divisions between the various things in the world – permeates every area of human life. What’s more, this paradox is as old as human thought itself. In exploring how the continuous and discrete relate to each other, he takes us on a kaleidoscopic journey from the philosophers of ancient Greece, through the writings of the great Arab historian Ibn Khaldun, through architectural and evolutionary theory, the compatibility of religion with science, and the wave-particle duality of matter. To explore the relationship between the continuous and the discrete, Harman shows, is to consider the very fabric of reality. With this dazzling new book, he proposes a new way of thinking about this ancient problem, with profound implications for our understanding of ourselves and the bewilderingly complex world in which we live. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Julia Belluz and Kevin Hall reveal the insights you need to better understand what's on your dinner plate, how it got there, and why you eat it. Award-winning health journalist Julia Belluz and internationally renowned nutrition and metabolism scientist Dr Kevin Hall will unpack the science behind our diets, metabolism, and the food systems that shape them. Together, they will explore how our food environment is the key influence on our eating behaviours, challenge popular myths about diet, and reveal why rising rates of obesity and type 2 diabetes are not failures of willpower, but symptoms of a system working exactly as designed. In a world where misinformation thrives and our food system is stacked against us, Julia and Kevin will provide much-needed clarity to help us all make more informed choices about what we eat. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Though well-known across Europe by name, the real lives of women such as Joan of Arc and Jadwiga of Poland have been buried under banners of nationalistic agendas that have twisted their stories through the ages. Oxford historian Janina Ramirez joins Sir Tony Robinson to illuminate the truth of these incredible women, and disentangle their real stories from the myths imposed on them through time. From Lady Godiva's real name, Godgifu, and how her eroticised image has overshadowed her real survival as a landowning woman in tumultuous times, to Joan of Arc's journey to becoming a warrior in a war-torn and plague-ravaged land, to Catherine of Siena's vivid visions and Jadwiga's reign as monarch of Poland, Professor Ramirez sheds light on truths long enshrouded by myths. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Today, trauma permeates media, from music and television to films and books. While the increasing openness is welcome, Darren has observed that the webs of digital networks surrounding us and which commodify our most vulnerable experiences often harm us more than help us heal. How did we get here? What role does social media play in commodifying our experiences? And are the stories we’re telling ourselves liberating us or keeping us trapped? In conversation with Nicola Sturgeon, Darren explores the intersections of trauma, identity, social media, and society, revealing how we can fight back against the larger corporations that are turning our real and vulnerable stories into digital commodities, and truly advocate for marginalised voices. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In his four Time Travellers Guides to England, historian Ian Mortimer has taken us from the Medieval period all the way to the Regency, revelling not in the business of courts and princes but the minutae of daily life for ordinary men and women. In this podcast, he shares his insights into how the English people have changed over time - and how they have stayed the same. Touching upon liberty and leadership, xenophobia and violence, this whistlestop tour of a thousand years of English life is an unmissable treat for history lovers of all stripes. Who was the worst monarch? Why should you preserve your urine? And do the French really deserve all the credit for inventing champagne? Discover the answers to all of these questions and many more with one of our most beloved national historians. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Two decades ago, Jimmy Wales founded Wikipedia and transformed the world’s access to knowledge. Today, people view Wikipedia 11 billion times every month in the English language alone. Yet in an age of ‘alternative facts’, conspiracies and disinformation, the foundations of Wikipedia are increasingly under threat. The concept at the heart of it all extends to the whole of society: trust Like water and electricity, our society can’t function without it. Without it, we have no knowledge, and without knowledge, we can’t fight back. Derived from decades of observation, participation and discussion with leaders across the world, Jimmy and Nish share clear, actionable rules for building trust in business, leadership and life. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Jens Stoltenberg was Prime Minister of Norway from 2005-2013, and when he took office as Secretary General of NATO in 2014, the world was already changing. What followed was a decade marked by war, diplomatic crises, and decisions that helped shape our shared security. Now he joins Adam Boulton to go behind closed doors and offer a rare insight into how the world’s most powerful military alliance handles crises and to share why after all this time, NATO still matters. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Marie Kondo’s unique approach to organising our lives and our homes has transformed the relationship we have with the objects around us, helping us all to seek out the joy in our daily lives. In the eleven years since The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up made her famous across the globe, journalists, readers and fans have asked her one question more than any other: what role did Japanese philosophy and culture play in shaping her life and thought? Here, Marie shares her principles for living, and reveal how the traditions of her homeland can help all of us to spark joy. She shares personal insights into her upbringing, family and career, and explores how Japanese people often combine an ultramodern lifestyle with deep respect for ancient customs and traditions. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A pioneering voice in Arab cinema, Annemarie Jacir has written, directed, and produced over sixteen films, with premieres at Cannes, Berlin, Venice, Locarno, Rotterdam, and Toronto. In 2007, she made history by shooting the first feature film by a Palestinian female director. All four of her feature films have been chosen as Palestine’s Oscar submissions. Set in 1936 during the Arab Revolt in British-ruled Palestine, Palestine 36 chronicles the intertwined lives of farmers, revolutionaries, and business owners resisting colonial rule. It’s a stirring portrait of resilience, featuring a stellar cast including Hiam Abbass, Jeremy Irons, and Saleh Bakri. In this episode, Annemarie shares the ten-year journey behind the making of Palestine 36, the challenges of filming on location under threat, and the vital role Palestinian cinema plays in preserving histories too often left untold. Palestine 36 wil be released nationwide in Cinemas across the UK and Ireland on 31st October. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Philippa Gregory takes us behind the myths to reveal how Jane Boleyn became a scapegoat of Henry VIII’s tyranny and the historians who defended it. Drawing on the silences of the record and the resilience of women navigating a perilous court, Gregory explores how fiction can reveal the internal lives of historical characters who we think we know so well. In Boleyn Traitor, Jane emerges not as a schemer but as a survivor: navigating a world ruled by fear, spectacle and the whims of a king who bent the law to his will. What lessons does the Tudor court hold for our politics today? Gregory impresses on us the importance of opposing modern strong-men and resisting tyranny in our contemporary times. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Returning to the podcast following episodes around his prize-winning debut The Mountain Under the Sea and his acclaimed novella The Tusks of Extinction, Ray Nayler joins us to explore the rise in authoritarian systems of control and celebrate the power of human agency to drive meaningful social change. These are the themes of his new novel Where the Axe is Buried: a dystopian fable set in a near-future Russia where Artificial Intelligences, technocrats, and a Putinesque dictator come into an unforgettable conflict. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Dr Kerry Burnight reveals a transformative new approach to aging—one that goes beyond lifespan and healthspan to embrace joyspan: the ability to experience joy from within. Dr Burnight reveals how joy differs from happiness, the damaging effects of internalised ageism, and the surprising abilities—such as judgment, emotional regulation, and humour—that often improve with age. Dr Burnight also shares the four essential practices necessary to expanding our joyspan as we age. With her guidance and practical tips, this is a playbook on how small, intentional habits can transform the experience of aging into one of vitality, purpose, and, most importantly, joy. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

From our new technological era ushered in by AI, to the fall of democracies across the globe, the world today appears fraught with uncertainty, poised between repeating errors from the past and entering a new age of the unknown. What lies behind tribalistic claims of patriotism, and on what does democracy truly depend? How might technology shape the narrative to come, and what remains in our control? Bestselling author of Sapiens and Nexus, Yuval Noah Harari joins Ritula Shah to help us better comprehend the perils we face, and what remains within our power to change. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

How has loopholes around social media's censored word, 'kill', found its way into students' essays on Hamlet? What is the history of 'skibidi' and 'delulu' and how are these concepts shaping the way we think, write, and speak? Linguist and content creator Adam Aleksic turns a keen eye to explore how the internet has transformed our linguistic landscape, from the rise of 'YouTube accents' to the meaning of 'brain rot', from the ephemerality of memes to the enduring power of language to shape conceptions of belonging. How might these changes shape the languages of tomorrow? Adam reveals the breadth of today's internet lingo, and its deep roots in shaping identity and community, today and beyond. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

From the Thames to the Tigris, the Ure to the Euphrates, rivers have flowed through the history of humanity, shaping our civilisations and sustaining our species. Robert Macfarlane and Elif Shafak illuminate the life-giving force of rivers, the stories they have inspired, and explore the crucial question of how humans can coexist with the natural world on which our survival depends. From the Epic of Gilgamesh to the gods of old, from the ancient Euphrates to the Thames of today, from lost rivers buried deep beneath our feet to the revival of nature on our own doorsteps, Elif and Robert reveal the intricate tapestry woven from human and natural history, and the resilience of nature, memory, and storytelling. On the cusp of today's chaos, in a world balanced between hope and despair, Elif and Robert reveal how we can fight against apathy, insist upon hope, and protect the natural world around us for generations and stories to come. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices