How To Academy Podcast

Erudite and comic, ironic and profound, philosopher Slavoj Žižek has travelled into territory where few of us dare to tread – and aged 75 he shows no signs of becoming less provocative. In this electric conversation with Yanis Varoufakis the pair explore whether progress is a good thing, where the new technologies of our age are taking us and why Slavoj is known as ‘the most dangerous philosopher in the West’. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Both infinitely larger than ourselves and one of humanity's greatest commonalities, the night sky has shaped millennia of human history. Cosmologist Roberto Trotta joins us to reveal what the mysteries of the stars can illuminate about the mysteries of humankind, from our earliest origin myths to our methods of timekeeping which formed around the visibility of stars around the globe. From Babylon to the North Pole, from the beginning of time to the Neanderthals, from our own backyards to imaginations of Venus, this is a voyage across space and time. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Orhan Pamuk has traveled far and wide, around the world, across the page, and in the landscapes of his mind. Now he joins Erica Wagner to illuminate his craft. From his travels around the world to his reflections on fellow writers, from journal entries scrawled across the span of over a decade to the beginnings of his creative process, Orhan joins us to explore not only his artistic method, but also how daily happenings and larger currents have shaped his oeuvre. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Can scientists now preserve human minds beyond death - and if so, should they? Australian neuroscientist and science communicator Ariel Zeleznikow-Johnston joins us to explain the cutting-edge of his field. The dream of immortality has existed for as long as the human imagination and until now remained just that: a dream. But neuroscientist and science communicator Ariel Zeleznikow-Johnston believes that neuroscientists can, and should, use cutting-edge tools to help cheat death by preserving us until such time that we can be brought back to life. He joins us on the podcast to make a provocative case both for this nascent technology and for a future that will be worth living in, where our descedants will not scorn us but welcome us with open arms. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

‘Could you write what you write if you weren’t so tiny, Joan?’ -Eve Babitz, in a letter to Joan Didion, 1972 One was the New York name on literary lips. The other, a Los Angeleno fireball with a ferocious wit and writerly ambitions. But what started off a relationship of nurture and collaboration quickly became one of the sourest relationships in literature. This is the golden age of Hollywood, where artists and movie stars mix with writers and rock-n-rollers in drug-fuelled parties on Franklin Avenue. Drawing on never-before-seen correspondence between Joan and Eve – letters so intimate you don’t read them so much as breathe them – Vanity Fair’s Lili Anolik reveals to Daisy Buchanan the untold true story of these two truly iconic writers. This is a tale of Los Angeles vs New York, hedonism vs constraint, and a rivalry that burned blisteringly hot in pursuit of success. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

George Villiers, Duke of Buckingham: never had King James I's court seen a man of such exquisite beauty. Capturing the heart of the King, becoming his lover and right-hand man, Villiers thus found himself at the heart of court politics too. But along with his angelic face he also had a brilliant mind. Renowned historian and biographer Lucy Hughes-Hallett reveals the life of this astonishingly beautiful and clever young lord, and illuminates the tender relationship he shared with the prudent King which history has mischaracterised as a coward. From Villiers's spectacular rise, to his ultimate fall, Hughes-Hallett reveals this enigmatic life in full colour. To get an exclusive NordVPN deal, head to https://nordvpn.com/howtoacademy to get an extra 4 months on the 2-year plan. There’s no risk with Nord’s 30-day money-back guarantee. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Few historical figures in the British political landscape have been as monumental as Winston Churchill. By the time of his death at the age of 90 in 1965, many thought him to be the greatest man in the world. But what was his life really like? And what might he make of the world today? Churchill's definitive biographer Andrew Roberts joins Matthew D'Ancona to illuminate Churchill in his full complexity, from his childhood to his closest relationships, to even his financial troubles. He also shares what Churchill might make of the greatest political crises we face today, from Ukraine to Gaza. To get an exclusive NordVPN deal, head to https://nordvpn.com/howtoacademy to get an extra 4 months on the 2-year plan. There’s no risk with Nord’s 30-day money-back guarantee. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The seven deadly sins are the vices of humankind that define immorality, the roots of all evil in the world. But do these sins really represent moral failings, or are they important and useful human functions that aid us? In this episode of the podcast, neurologist Dr Guy Leschziner shares the evolutionary benefits of gluttony, greed, sloth, pride, envy, lust and anger. From continuing the existence of the human race to protecting against famine, he reveals a new perspective that engenders compassion and removes judgement from our interactions with each other. Explaining why pathologising behaviour stops individuals getting the support they need, this conversation also dives into hubris syndrome, how stress during pregnancy affects brain development, and many more relevations from the cutting edge of modern neuroscience. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In the Kabul offices of Moby Group, Afghanistan's largest media company, hundreds of men and women continue to bring programmes and news to the country even after the return of the Taliban. From talk shows to breaking news to educational programmes for young girls, the television empire that began as a small radio station continues to brave the country's shifting political landscape. Now Moby's CEO Saad Mohseni joins Rory Stewart to reveal the dedication and complexity of maintaining a free press, and traces his own journey in the wider history of Afghanistan in peace and in war. Exploring a nation in turmoil, a country poised between despair and hope, Saad reveals a moving portrait of the Afghan people and illuminates how resilience remains. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

We are expected to operate with industrial-era efficiency at work. But creativity and high-quality ideas can't be generated on the assembly line. So how can we curate the best mental ecosystem for learning, creativity, and problem-solving? From adapting the pace of our work to optimising moments of discovery and illumination, Dr Mithu Storoni explores the gears of our brain and what we can do to make the most of our brain power. To get an exclusive NordVPN deal, head to https://nordvpn.com/howtoacademy to get an extra 4 months on the 2-year plan. There’s no risk with Nord’s 30-day money-back guarantee. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

We live in a world where uncertainty is inevitable. How should we deal with what we don’t know? And what role do chance, luck and coincidence play in our lives? Cambridge statistician and beloved broadcaster David Spiegelhalter has spent his career dissecting data in order to understand risks and assess the chances of what might happen in the future. In this episode of the podcast, recorded live in London with live examples with the audience, he guides us through the principles of probability, showing how it can help us think more analytically about everything from medical advice to pandemics and climate change forecasts, and explores how we can update our beliefs about the future in the face of constantly changing experience. Tune in to find why we can be so confident that two properly shuffled packs of cards have never been in the exact same order, what it means to be mathematically lucky, and how a classroom of people will result in a shared birthday in this essential guide to navigating uncertainty while also having the humility to admit what we do not know. To get an exclusive NordVPN deal, head to https://nordvpn.com/howtoacademy to get an extra 4 months on the 2-year plan. There’s no risk with Nord’s 30-day money-back guarantee. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

How do you balance kindness and competence in the workplace? How can you get the success you deserve, earn credit for your accomplishments, and navigate complex office politics without antagonising your colleagues? Over decades of research, behavioural scientist Alison Fragale encountered these recurring questions from high-powered and early-career women alike, determining that many women’s workplace issues boil down to the perception of others. Now she joins us to share her insights, offering actionable strategies that can help women elevate their esteem, all while remaining authentic to themselves. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

“With just 26 letters, you can create any conceivable universe.” - Alan Moore With the rise of new technology, from artificial intelligence to virtual reality, what power remains in our more ancient forms of storytelling? Modern-day alchemist Alan Moore who transmuted comic books into literary gold joins Robin Ince to explore the enduring power of prose and the unique magic that written stories bring. To celebrate the release of Alan's new book The Great When which marks the beginning of his Long London series, Alan and Robin delve into the wonder of words, the power of art, and the enduring magic of prose fiction. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Long gone are the days when pigeons relayed our messages; now we have a flood of information at all times, from social media to artificial intelligence, all weaving narratives that shape our lives. But the rise of these new modes of information technology has the power to spread misinformation, challenge independent thought, and even threaten democracy. Bestselling author of Sapiens, Yuval Noah Harari joins Robin Ince to explore how humanity can navigate these new networks, and asks, in this constant deluge of information and misinformation, where can we find real knowledge and truth? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Best-known for her journey trekking across the Australian desert, Robyn Davidson joins us to reveal a new expedition, this time into the past. From the lush tropics of Malabar to the loneliness of London, Robyn shares an illuminating portrait of her childhood, the loss of her mother, her journey as a writer, and the strange and wondrous persistence of memory. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Aged 27, Rebecca F. Kuang is already a New York Times and Sunday Times bestselling, multiple-prize winning author of five novels, a graduate of both Oxford and Cambridge, and currently finding time to squeeze in finishing a doctorate at Yale while writing three more novels she has already sold. Now Rebecca reveals her own literary journey, and how her global sensation Yellowface strikes a deeply personal chord. From the art of crafting villains to loving one's characters, from waiting for hours at empty signings to rising to the heights of literary stardom, from newfound freedom to the insecurities that plague even the best of us, Rebecca Kuang reveals her extraordinary life to date. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Since the dawn of humanity monsters have loomed large in our collective imagination. But why do frightening beasts hold such a powerful grip on us? Natalie Lawrence has always loved monsters. Her passion that took her all the way to Cambridge, where she completed a phD in the history of early modern monsters that informs her new book, Enchanted Creatures. Now she joins us on the podcast to delight your adult brain and inner child alike. When does an animal become a monster? Why should anyone still care about monsters in the modern world, when so many of our favourite myths are fully debunked and true enchantment is hard to come by? Are robots and dinosaurs monsters, or something different? Discover the answer to all these questions and more in this journey through thousands of years of natural – and unnatural – history… Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In the last five centuries, humankind has brought change to every inch of the Earth, in a story of environment and empire, of genocide and ecocide, of the expansion of human freedom and its costs. Asking whether humanity can now summon the collective wisdom to save itself, Professor Sunil Amrith joins the podcast to share a history of environmentalism from the perspective of social justice. Arguing for an empathetic approach to climate usage, Professor Amrith shares why environmentalism is ill-suited to headlines, and reveals the human stories that can compel us to take action. Tune in to understand why it will be the artists, not the technocrats, who determine what happens next. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Harvard Professor and Ukrainian-born historian Serhii Plokhy joins the podcast to reveal the resilience and courage of the Ukrainian workers held hostage inside Chernobyl under Russian occupation. As hours stretched into weeks of hostility with no help from the outside world, the crew members' critical decisions alone prevented another nuclear catastrophe reminiscent of the disaster three decades earlier. In a wider warning to the world, Serhii Plokhy uncovers just how unprepared we are to deal with acts of nuclear terrorism. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Soon after announcing his first campaign for presidency, Donald J. Trump declared that life “had not been easy for me”, delivering a campaign narrative around his business acumen based on his journey from talented upstart to a multi-billionaire. This narrative was a lie. Drawing on access to twenty years’ worth of Trump’s confidential tax information, business records and interviews with Trump insiders, reporters Russ Buettner and Susanne Craig won a Pulitzer Prize for the investigations into Trump’s finances – and the deceptions at the core of his claims of business success. In this episode, Buettner and Craig share insights from the school playground to the set of The Apprentice as well as never-before-seen financial records and intelligence on the relationship with his father Fred Trump, all belying the public image that took Trump all the way to the White House, and demonstrated that a lie will become truth if it is told often enough. Can a man who has squandered fortune on money-losing businesses continue to be saved by blind luck in the future?And can Trumpism survive beyond Trump? Tune in to find out. To get an exclusive NordVPN deal, head to https://nordvpn.com/howtoacademy to get an extra 4 months on the 2-year plan. There’s no risk with Nord’s 30-day money-back guarantee. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Traumatic experiences leave their imprint on the body as well as the mind, but they need not define us. Fusing insights from thirty years at the cutting-edge of neuroscience, and with the weight of decades of experience as an active therapist, Dr van der Kolk reveals the power of our relationships – whether the intimacy of the home or in our wider communities – to both hurt and heal. In this episode, recorded live in London, Dr van der Kolk explores trauma, abuse and suicidality to reveal new approaches to recovery that move away from talking and drug therapies to heal mind, brain and body. Tune in for a deep dive into some of the most staggering new research in the field. -- To get an exclusive NordVPN deal, head to https://nordvpn.com/howtoacademy to get an extra 4 months on the 2-year plan. There’s no risk with Nord’s 30-day money-back guarantee. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Since the dawn of humanity, our sense of ourselves has been shaped by things that seem human - or nearly human - but are not. From sacrificial animals to household pets, ancient gods to future technologies like robots and AI, human ethics was, is and will continue to be profoundly influenced by its relationship with intelligences other than our own. What moral responsibility do we have toward the prey that we hunt and the machines that clean our homes? Why did medieval Europeans put pigs and cats on trial, and what can the Delphic Oracle tell us about ChatGPT? Anthropologist Webb Keane takes us beyond the boundaries of the human world in this episode to answer these questions and more. To get an exclusive NordVPN deal, head to https://nordvpn.com/howtoacademy to get an extra 4 months on the 2-year plan. There’s no risk with Nord’s 30-day money-back guarantee. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Ambitious yet anxious? Harvard-trained clinical psychologist Dr Mary E. Anderson joined us with an actionable guide to maintaining your edge all while reducing stress and finding happiness along your journey. From understanding thoughts and behaviours that might be causing obstacles for you, such as negative forecasting and perfectionism, to building sustainable habits that can help you thrive, Dr Anderson reveals that success doesn't have to come at the expense of your wellbeing. To get an exclusive NordVPN deal, head to https://nordvpn.com/howtoacademy to get an extra 4 months on the 2-year plan. There’s no risk with Nord’s 30-day money-back guarantee. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In our turbulent times, how do we grapple with our past? Are we capable of grappling with Britain's imperial history without whitewashing? David Olusoga and Alan Lester believe that the truth matters; it matters far too greatly to be hijacked by apologists and racists. They joined us in conversation to reveal the truth about the British Empire and fight back against those who smear the integrity of professional historians; together, they reveal a new way forward in understanding the history of the nation that is honest, open, and not warped by contemporary politics. To get an exclusive NordVPN deal, head to https://nordvpn.com/howtoacademy to get an extra 4 months on the 2-year plan. There’s no risk with Nord’s 30-day money-back guarantee. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Psychotherapist and Sunday Times bestselling author Anna Mathur joins the podcast to debunk traditional strategies to manage common worries and introduce her new approach to overcoming the ten fundamental, uncomfortable truths in life: acceptance. Drawing upon her experience as a therapist as well as her own personal journey of grief, and training as a therapist alongside her mother, she dives into topics that many of us are afraid to face. In the episode Anna proposes that joy and heartbreak will always coexist, and that we are not built to thrive alone. Tune in to learn how to accept rather than avoid the worries with a stranglehold on your life, and discover who you are without worry and doubt. To get an exclusive NordVPN deal, head to https://nordvpn.com/howtoacademy to get an extra 4 months on the 2-year plan. There’s no risk with Nord’s 30-day money-back guarantee. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Longtime listeners will remember the artist and folklorist Amy Jeffs from her episode exploring the medieval wilderness; her latest book Saints returns to the medieval world to explore the lives and legends of European saints -- from men raised by wolves to women communing with flocks of birds. She joined us in conversation with the author and critic Sam Leith, whose new book The Haunted Wood is a history of and reflection upon children's literature from Aesop to the modern day. Their dialogue is a must-listen for anyone of any age willing to be enchanted by the power of storytelling. To get an exclusive NordVPN deal, head to https://nordvpn.com/howtoacademy to get an extra 4 months on the 2-year plan. There’s no risk with Nord’s 30-day money-back guarantee. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Oliver Burkeman’s global bestseller Four Thousand Weeks was a reflection upon our brief time on earth that changed lives and inspired thousands. Now armed with a meadow of playful metaphors to illustrate his philosophy, he joins the podcast to offer us a crash course in how to make the most of our lives without giving into the cult of self-help. Sharing his cynicism of society’s overemphasis on hyperproductivity, which has held us hostage to a ‘daily productivity deficit’, Oliver shows that ‘done not perfect’ is always better. Tune in to discover why letting things happen rather than making them happen could increase your productivity, and why realising that things are worse than you imagined can be the liberating force your life needs. To get an exclusive NordVPN deal, head to https://nordvpn.com/howtoacademy to get an extra 4 months on the 2-year plan. There’s no risk with Nord’s 30-day money-back guarantee. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Barrack and Michele Obama loved Rumaan Alam's apocalyptic third novel, Leave the World Behind, so much they helped turn it into a wildly successful Netflix movie. That novel anticipated and captured the feel of life in the COVID pandemic with uncanny accuracy, and Rumaan's new book is no less attuned to the way we live now. Entitlement is the story of Brooke, a young, ambitious Black New Yorker who finds herself in the employ of ageing billionaire-philanthropist Asher Jaffee - with unpredictable and profound consequences. Does money inevitably corrupt everyone who comes within its orbit? Is philanthropy just self-interested PR by the super-rich or a genuine force for good? How far would you go to fix your life, climb the ladder, and ascend to the upper echelons of the establishment? Rumaan joined us on the podcast to dissect all of these questions - without offering any easy answers. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Nate Silver's remarkable career has seen him conquer many seemingly unrelated worlds: professional poker, sports journalism, and the political forecasting that made him a star of US politics. He joined us on stage in London to reveal the ideas that glue these together - an idea that helps to explain how power, business, and politics really work. There is a new paradigm of power with global importance. This power belongs to a new class of professional risk-takers – including VCs, gamblers, tech moguls like Elon Musk and Sam Altman, and crypto-kings like Sam Bankman-Fried. This class, which Silver calls “The River”, drives progress: but these individuals can also cause chaos and deepen disparity. And despite plenty of bad press, the risk-takers are winning against their counterparts in government, academia and the media… As a professional risk taker and member of 'The River' himself, Nate Silver joined award-winning presenter Jeremy Vine to uncover how this new class is changing the landscape of politics, power, and technology as we know it. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Many of us wrestle with daunting life-choice questions from time to time: what should I be aiming for? Am I being ambitious enough? Has an excess of ambition led me astray? Stefan Stern has dedicated a lifetime to answering these questions. The FT's former management columnist, a think-tank director, and now a professor at Cass Business School, Stefan joins the podcast to investigate how ambition and success work together through the unlikely icon of Shakespeare's Lady Macbeth. Whether your looking for a change of direction or emphasis on how to move forward, this meditation on the complex nature of ambition is for you. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Yevgeny Prigozhin emerged as one of the most dangerous warlords in the world and as one of Vladimir Putin’s chief rivals in Russia’s tumultuous political climate, exiled after leading Wagner’s attempted coup and killed in a mysterious plane crash. But what is the truth about this enigmatic figure, and the chaos unleashed across Russia by his turn against Putin? And, in the aftermath of his death, what is next for Russia in the new stage of late Putinism that Prigozhin’s life forged? Drawing on years of research, in this episode Professor Mark Galeotti traces the rise of Russia’s most prominent non-state actor and examines the political climate that propelled a convicted gangster with no government office to the formidable role he came to occupy. This is the essential story of Russia’s recent history. Tune in for insights into the country’s future from one of the foremost Russia experts of our time. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

From ancient thrones to Hollywood stars, gems have not only adorned humanity but also shaped its history. How did emeralds and rubies etch our origin stories? How did garnets embody the flickering soul or jade the tenets of living a good life? Senior Jewellery Curator at the V&A Museum Helen Molesworth reveals how gems came to embody our most cherished ideals, our most vicious battles for power, and our evolving understanding of ourselves. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Traditional stories of the evolution of life on our planet tell us that we and all other creatures on Earth were shaped by evolution. But how do minds that are shaped by evolution go on to transform nature in their own right? In the final volume of the landmark trilogy that began with Other Minds and continued with Metazoa, philosopher of science Peter Godfrey-Smith explores the role that animal minds - and, especially, human minds - have had on our world. If you've ever wondered why it was primates and not dolphins who developed language and culture, whether or not medical testing on animals can be ethically justified, and which aspects of Gaia theory hold up today, this episode is for you. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Have you ever wondered how we got here? From hunting mammoths, to flying to the moon? Historian Yuval Noah Harari introduced millions of readers to the story of the human species with his global bestseller Sapiens. His new book Unstoppable Us is the first in a new four-book series telling that story to younger readers. Over the summer he joined children's author and essayist Katherine Rundell on stage to tell us more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Created in collaboration with Fern Press and Tortoise Media, the Fern Academy Prize was created to discover and nurture unpublished writers who shine a light on the universal human experience and speak to the times we live in. Gabriela Denise Frank won the 2024 prize with A Self She Can Continue Living With: a tragicomic depiction of the middle manager's lot in corporate America and the soul-crushing absurdities of the white collar world. In this episode of the podcast, Gabriela reads the essay in full and offers further reflections on art, life, and writing. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A healthy gut functions like a successful company, with different roles and employees. So how do we keep these employees happy? In this episode of the podcast, microbiome scientist and dietician Dr Emily Leeming joins us to reveal the groundbreaking new evidence between food and mood, and actionable steps for a healthier, more energising lifestyle. She reveals the impact of sedentary lifestyles on our gut, the microbiome benefits of a ten second kiss, and a disco inspired mnemonic for keeping your fibre intake on track. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

How did the Mughal empire – which then generated just under half the world’s wealth – come to be replaced by the first global corporate power – the East India Company? And how does the legacy of British imperialism continue to shape life and culture in Britain today? Bringing together Empireland and Empireworld author and Times columnist Sathnam Sanghera and bestselling award-winning historian William Dalrymple, this episode of the How To Academy Podcast will tell a story that is barely taught in schools or mentioned in museums but is critically important to who we are as a nation in the 21st century. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

We're told repeatedly that if we’re going to achieve anything, we’d better do it while we’re young. But society is wrong. With armfuls of examples from from Olympic athletes, sitcom stars and titans of architecture who rewrote the rule book for midlife, writer Henry Oliver shares the lessons for seizing upon the truest versions of ourselves later in life and asks, what part of your goal can you achieve today? Tune in to discover a range of blueprints for self-reinvention, tips for rebuilding your confidence, and the power of the word 'perhaps'. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

For the first time in history, autocracies are working together to stay in power. Nowadays, autocracies are run not by one bad actor, but by sophisticated networks relying on kleptocratic financial structures, security services—military, paramilitary, police—and technological experts who provide surveillance, propaganda, and disinformation. The democratic world is in denial about how it has unwittingly helped to consolidate this new reality. What we stand to lose is our ability to dictate our own economic future and possibly our democratic systems. Joining legendary foreign correspondent Luke Harding, historian and journalist Anne Applebaum shares how rogue states survive under sanctions, what anonymous companies mean for democracy, and what is at stake in November for America and the world beyond. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Lhakpa Sherpa broke a record: she was the first Nepali woman to climb and descend Everest. Then she broke another: summiting for the tenth time, she had now summited the tallest peak in the world more times than any other woman. But the gruelling ascent mirrored her own journey through life: from braving her way and disguising herself as a man to become a sherpa, to finding the courage to leave a violent marriage to give her daughters a better life, Lhakpa has shown that there is no summit she cannot overcome. In conversation with filmmaker Lucy Walker whose film Mountain Queen follows Lhakpa’s record-breaking tenth summit and illuminates her extraordinary life, Lhakpa shares her inspiring story and her lifelong dream of empowering women. Image credit: Netflix Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Stanford neuroscientist Patrick House joins us with an introduction to the best of our current paradigms for making sense of consciousness. In conversation with Robin Ince, he weaves brain science, analogy, and philosophy into a tapestry that illuminates how the brain works and what scientists currently believe enable consciousness to reveal the strangeness of the relationship between our inner selves and our environment. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A household name following both the mapping of the human genome and, in 2010, the creation of the first synthetic organism, J Craig Venter is a singular figure in 21st century science: a biologist whose legacy is secure and who, at 77, still continues to push boundaries. He joined us in conversation with David Malone to share a story that is equal parts thrilling global adventure and a journey of momentous scientific discovery: his fifteen year, 65k mile quest to map the microbiome of the oceans. Traveling in the Sorcerer II, a 100ft sailboat turned research vessel, Venter and his team discovered millions of unknown genes, thousands of unseen protein families, and new lineages of bacteria that revealed the unimaginable complexity of life on earth. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Renowned as a pioneer of climate fiction, Paolo Bacigalupi's novels The Windup Girl and The Water Knife earned him a reputation as one of the essential speculative novelists of our time, with a prophetic gift akin to established genre masters like William Gibson and Magaret Atwood. His new novel Navola is part of a different tradition: a fantasy novel where historical realism takes precedent over the overtly imaginary, exploring the relationship between family, money, and power in a lightly disgused version of Renaissance Italy. His protagonist Davico di Regulai is the reluctant heir to a Medici-inspired banking empire and the coming-of-age story Bacigalupi tells transports us to another world where contemporary themes reasonate deeply within a thrilling, escapist narrative. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

After years of running a failing farm in West Sussex, Isabella Tree and her husband Charlie Burrell decided to hand back control to nature. Slowly but surely, plants shot up, creatures crept in, and the landscape began to heal. The area now hums with life and is home to some of the rarest species in Britain, such as peregrine falcons, turtle doves and purple emperor butterflies. Free from human intervention and monocultures, the farm has become a safe haven for nature which self-corrects and self regulates. In this episode of the podcast they share their rewilding journey, dispel myths about the antagonism between farming and wilding, and share their hopes for the future of the movement with Hannah MacInnes. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Kelly Clancy is both a neuroscientist and a physicist, and has held positions at MIT and DeepMind. She's also the author of Playing With Reality, a new intellectual history of games that explores the influence that games have played - if you'll forgive the pun - over many centuries on warfare, gambling, economics and much more. If you've ever wanted to know why chess is used as a stand-in for intelligence or what game theory really is, this episode of the podcast is for you. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

After years of biopsies, best-selling author Sarah Thornton made the difficult decision to have a double mastectomy. But, after her reconstructive surgery, she was perplexed: What had she lost? And gained? Blending sociology, reportage, and personal narrative with refreshing optimism and wit, her new book Tits Up has one overriding ambition―to liberate breasts from centuries of patriarchal prejudice. She sat down with Aimee Morris to tell us more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In a society where stress and competition run rampant, how can we find a more fulfilling sense of happiness? Well-being expert and founder of The New Happy Stephanie Harrison joins us to not only address societal woes but also share what we can do about them. Drawing on her background in positive psychology, Stephanie sheds new light on prevailing concepts—from misconceptions of Maslow's hierarchy to the rat race of capitalism—and reveals how we can move away from rigid societal rhythms to find our own path towards happiness. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

What went wrong with capitalism? Drawing on his decades of experience as a world-leading investor and FT columnist, leading financial analyst Ruchir Sharma offers an insider’s perspective, offering a critique of capitalism unlike any you have heard before: that capitalism itself has been corrupted from its original inception, and that less government regulation rather than more might be our most viable solution. In conversation with the FT's Gillian Tett, Sharma dives into how we can save our free markets. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

For twenty years, Mark Tuitert has used the principles of Stoic philosophy to become a gold-medal winning Olympic champion athlete, successful entrepreneur, as well as to deal with the challenges in his professional and private life. Now he's here to to share what he learned. In this episode of the podcast, the athlete lays out the practical lessons through which everyone, in any situation, can develop a Stoic mindset. Applying principles from Marcus Aurelius, Seneca, and Epictetus to the twenty-first century, he shares how Stoicism can change your life and help you reach your full potential. Stoicism is not about achieving success or happiness for their own sake. It is about doing what is important to you with a focused mindset, and developing a Stoic calm and mental balance when faced with setbacks. Mark will set you on the path to mastering a Stoic mindset, helping you to apply the insights of the Stoics anywhere, anytime. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Welcome to technofeudalism. The owners of big tech have become the world’s feudal overlords—replacing capitalism with a new system that defies democracy and rewrite the rules of global power. But this is no dystopian story—as visionary economist Yanis Varoufakis argues, this is our world today. In conversation with Ash Sarkar, Varoufakis illuminates the dark underbelly of this new system—and reveals what we can do to thwart it. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices