How To Academy Podcast

The teenage emperor Heliogabalus was a polyamorous, sex positive, trans person who began life as a refugee; he was also a profiligate, irresponsible, bloodthirsty, fundementalist tyrant who built a gold statue of himself and murdered his own tutor. In this episode of the podcast we explore the decadence of the Roman empire through the lens of the life of an almost forgotten, remarkable young man and ask whether it is ever right to make heroes or villains from historical actors. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The literary heir to Oliver Sacks and Paul Kalanithi, a scientist and doctor with the eloquence and humanitarian sensibility of a philosopher-poet, Dr Siddhartha Mukherjee’s work answers the question of what it means to be alive. He joined Adam Rutherford live on stage in London to tell a story that is both panoramic and intimate, taking us on a journey from the first days of the Scientific Revolution into the present day and beyond: the story of cells. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Law Professor and MacArthur fellow Danielle Citron takes the conversation about technology and privacy out of the boardrooms and op-eds to reach readers where we are - in our bathrooms and bedrooms; with our families and our lovers; in all the parts of our lives we assume are untouchable - and shows us that privacy, as we think we know it, is largely already gone. In this episode of the podcast, she shows us the way to fight back and build a better protected future. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Support for the policy of arming Ukraine remains hugely popular. Zelensky is a hero to millions and has become an icon, while many of us in the UK wear the Ukrainian flag with pride. But dissenting voices from across the political spectrum question whether a Ukrainian victory is truly possible, or whether a compromise with Putin is the only way to end the multiple global crises, from surging inflation to the energy emergency, and to bring back the world from the brink of nuclear war. Are they right to seek an end to the conflict? Or is the very idea a betrayal of the ideals of liberal democracy – a weakening of resolve that will serve the interests of dictators and tyrants, signalling a retreat of Western power with serious consequences from the Baltics to Taiwan? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The pharaohs ruled Egypt for two and a half thousand years but none continue to excite the world's imagination like Tutankhamun. Joyce Tyldesley is a leading Egyptologist whose career was directly inspired by an early encounter with the legacy of that famous teenager. Now she joins the podcast to share his story and explore his enduring legacy. 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

George Saunders' first new collection of stories in ten years is a powerful reminder of why he is widely considered to be the greatest short story writer in the English language. In Liberation Day, we meet the disillusioned employees of a Hell themed underground theme park, the philanthropists of a dystopian near-future America, and brainwashed political protesters for hire. Mixing satirical fantasies with razor-sharp observations of human nature, Saunders' new stories walk a fine line between comedy and pathos, realism and playfulness. He joins us on the podcast for a journey inside his creative process and dazzling imagination. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

At the age of three Geena Davis announced to her parents she was going to be an actor. With a slew of iconic film and television roles now under her belt, as well as numerous awards including two Oscars, she has surpassed her childhood dreams in ways she never could have imagined. In this episode of the podcast, the actor and advocate offers a surprising and touching account of her journey to fight for herself and ultimately live a bolder, freer, more authentic life. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

'Fascinating ... Phobias and manias create a magical space between us and the world' Malcolm Gaskill, author of the No 1 bestseller, The Ruin of All Witches 'A new book from Summerscale is always a treat ... Her sub-title might echo Neil MacGregor, but this reads more like a book by Oliver Sacks, with dashes of Roald Dahl' Spectator Our phobias and manias are contradictory and multiple: deeply intimate, yet forged by the times we live in. Discover how our fixations have taken shape, from the Middle Ages to the present day, as bestselling author Kate Summerscale deftly traces the threads between the past and present, the psychological and social, the personal and the political. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Kate Mosse has dedicated her life to promoting women’s stories – through her award-winning fiction, plays and essays, the creation and leadership of the Women’s Prize for Fiction, and most recently, her phenomenally successful social media campaign, #WomanInHistory. In conversation with the writer Erica Wagner, she joins the podcast to share the stories of women whose incredible achievements helped build the world, and yet have been routinely omitted from the history books. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Amy Jeffs brings legends of the medieval world to life through art, music, and the written word. Her debut book Storyland retold Britain's myths of origin for modern audiences, captivating us with stories of heroes and adventure from the Middle Ages. The sequel, Wild, transports us into the wilderness, giving voice to marginalised and forgotten figures - women, outcasts, monsters - and reveals Amy's own journeys across the rugged landscapes of the British isles. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Junkie, DJ, punk, pill popper, petty criminal, binge drinker, screenwriter, TV repairman: Irvine Welsh has lived more lives than the average man of letters and survived to tell the tale. In his hallucinogenic fiction, God turns men into flies as punishment for wasting their lives, babies and ravers swap bodies, and tapeworms tell stories about the humans in whose guts they reside. The most important Scottish novelist of his generation joins How To Academy to take us inside his life and world, and offer a preview of The Long Knives, the second in his hugely acclaimed CRIME trilogy. This episode contains lots of swearing. If you would prefer a beeped version please visit our website. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In anticipation of our next in-person live event with Steven Pinker in conversation with Richard Dawkins, we wanted to share a previous appearance from 2019, in conversation with actor and broadcaster Stephen Fry. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A few weeks before Christmas, Clover Stroud’s sister Nell Gifford, founder of Gifford’s Circus, died of breast cancer, aged forty-six. Just days before, she had been given years to live. Nell’s sudden death split Clover's life apart. Clover charts her fearless passage through the first year after her sister's death. This is the story of what life feels like when death interrupts it, and about bearing the unbearable and describing an experience that seems beyond words. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Dr Gabor Maté will return in-person to How To Academy next month. In anticipation, we're sharing our podcast interview recorded on his last visit in 2019. Find out how you can join us at Gabor's next talk at howtoacademy.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

60s Britain produced not only the most biggest band in the history of music, but the most successful movie character of all time. In this episode of the podcast, cultural historian and novelist John Higgs investigates how and why the Beatles and James Bond defined our aspirations and fantasies, and the role they continue to play in shaping British identity. Why did the Beatles really split up? Is Daniel Craig's James Bond "superwoke"? And how did these twin icons of British culture change the way we think about ourselves? John answers all these questions and more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Backed by the latest scientific research and her own clinical work, Dr Ellen Vora offers a fresh, much needed look at mental health, offering actionable strategies for managing our moods. Dr Vora challenges the conventional view of anxiety as a mental disorder, suggesting instead that much of what we call anxiety begins in the body. Rather than our troubled thoughts creating physical symptoms, she argues that many types of anxiety are the result of states of imbalance in our bodies, whether blood sugar crashes, caffeine highs or sleep deprivation. Her clinical observation shows this type of anxiety is far more preventable than we may realise, responding almost immediately to straightforward adjustments to diet and lifestyle. And other forms of anxiety, when listened to and honoured instead of suppressed, can be seen as a course correction to help nudge us back to a more balanced life. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The creator of the wildly successful running app Zombies, Run! and a columnist for the prestigious videogame industry magazine EDGE, Adrian Hon makes games that make real world activities more rewarding and fun. He joins the podcast not to celebrate the gamification of real world activities, but warn us against the abuse of these techniques -- from corporations using games to exploit and control their workers to governments gamifying the rights of and privileges of their citizens. And not all gamification is imposed upon us by authorities. From terror attacks to far right conspiracy theories, elements of gamification have spread into political extremism with horrifying and tragic consequences. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

One of Britain's most acclaimed visual artists, Cornelia Parker's sculptures challenge our sense of what an artwork can be. Both an eminent theoretical physicist and a bestselling author, Carlo Rovelli has not only advanced humanity's understanding of its place in the cosmos but made the revelations of physics intelligible to the rest of us, in books such as The Fabric of Reality, The Order of Time, and his latest, Helgoland, This episode of the podcast brings the two together with science filmmaker David Malone for a journey into the hidden depths of reality. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In conversations about the role of Big Tech in the spread of misinformation and propaganda, YouTube rarely receives the same attention as Facebook, Twitter, and its parent company Google. But alongside the cat videos and video game streamers, counteless extremists have found a found on the platform - and their actions sometimes have real-world, life-and-death consequences. In this episode of the podcast, Bloomberg News journalist Mark Bergen tells the story of YouTube: how it upended traditional media, created stars of everyday people, and grew into a ruthless advertising conglomerate with little regard for its impact beyond the bottom line. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The lives and problems of psychotherapist Charlotte Fox Weber's clients vary, but all are united by a common question: what do I really want? In this episode of the podcast Charlottes brings us behind the closed doors of her practice. She reveals how she gently guides her clients towards a deeper understanding of themselves, she invites them - and us - to find a fuller way of living. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Relationships are complicated. Yet it's an unfortunate reality that while most of us have to learn complex geometry that we'll probably never use, we don't get a single formal lesson in how to relate to others. In conversation with David Malone, Melanie Joy reveals the common psychological dynamics that underlie all kinds of relationships. Understanding these dynamics can enable you to make all your relationships healthier and more resilient, and help you contribute to creating a better world. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Lying is probably as old as human language itself – an inevitable consequence of humanity’s greatest superpower. And comedian, Observer columnist and Peep Show star David Mitchell lies quite often (mostly about whether he is free to come to social events). But even he never expected to live in the post-truth age. In conversation with broadcaster and journalist Hannah MacInnes, he joins us to rail against the times with the characteristic wit, warmth, originality and insight we’ve come to expect. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

There is a voice of longing inside each woman. We strive to be good: good partners, daughters, mothers, employees, and friends. We hope all this striving will make us feel alive. Instead, it leaves us feeling weary, stuck, and overwhelmed. We look at our lives and wonder: Wasn’t it all supposed to be more beautiful than this? Glennon Doyle joined the How To Academy to show us that another way is possible. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The creator of the word ‘meme’ and of the hugely influential ‘selfish gene’ model of evolution, he is the epitome of the truly public intellectual – a scientist whose ideas have proven extraordinarily influential both within his own discipline and far, far beyond. In this week’s episode of the How To Academy Podcast, Richard shares his reflections on perhaps the most important and puzzling topic in all of human existence: the meaning of life. Credit for Richard Dawkins’ Portrait to Frederic Aranda @fredericaranda Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hannah MacInnes meets author, influencer and activist Layla Saad, whose Instagram challenge #MeAndWhiteSupremacy encouraged people to own up and share their racist behaviours. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Since he introduced us to his singular and inimitable brand of psychology, stagecraft and magic in 2000, Derren Brown has played Russian Roulette on live television, convinced middle-managers to commit armed robbery in the street, led the nation in a séance and exposed psychic and faith-healing charlatans. He joined How To Academy to teach a lesson none of us can afford to miss: what we can do to be a little happier and less anxious in a difficult world. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The New Yorker’s Patrick Radden Keefe is America’s most celebrated living reporter. He documented the hunt for the drug lord Chapo Guzman and the tragic personal history of the Harvard educated neurobiologist turned mass shooter Amy Bishop. He wrote a definitive, revelatory account of the Troubles in Say Nothing; investigated the strange convergence of espionage and hair metal in his blockbuster podcast Winds of Change; and most famously – exposed the role of the Sackler family in the US opioid crisis. He joined the podcast with more stories of secrets and lies. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Acclaimed science writer Philip Ball joins us to explore the rich diversity of thinking minds – from human to other mammals, insects, computers and plants. In conversation with filmmaker David Malone, he illuminates how many different ways there are to think and engage with the world. Science has begun to have something to say about the properties of mind. And the more we learn about the minds of other creatures, from octopuses to chimpanzees, to imagine the potential minds of computers and alien intelligences, the more we can begin to see our own. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

We live in an age when the pursuit of authenticity – from living our 'best life' to eating artisan food – matters more and more to us, but where the forces of inauthenticity seem to be taking over. Policy expert and author Alice Sherwood joins us to argue that, although our counterfeit culture is shaped by the most powerful forces of evolution, economics, and technology, we can still come together to reclaim reality. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Daniel Pink, the New York Times bestselling author of When and Drive and one of the world’s leading thinkers on business, creativity and human behaviour, says it’s time to forget everything we think we know about regrets. He believes that regret is our most misunderstood emotion – and can in fact be the pathway to our best life. It’s a subject he investigates in-depth in his new book The Power of Regret: and he joined Hubertus Kuelps, Pictet’s Head of Communications and Branding, to share his ideas. This episode of the How To Academy Podcast is part of the Found in Conversation series we co-produce each month with the team at Pictet. Find Found in Conversation on Apple or Spotify. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In 1953, a group of prisoners of war who had fought against the communist invasion of South Korea were released. They chose - apparently freely - to move to Mao's China. Among those refusing repatriation were twenty-one American GIs. Their decision sparked alarm in the West: why didn't they want to come home? What was going on? Soon, people were saying that the POWs' had been 'brainwashed'. Was this something new or a phenomenon that has been around for centuries? Today, brainwashing is almost taken for granted - built into our psychological and political language, rooted in the way we think about minds and societies. Historian of science Daniel Pick joins the podcast to reveal how we got to this point, and why. Find out more about the Hidden Persuaders research group at Birkbeck here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

For girls and young women these are shifting times: never before have they had so much freedom and choice; but never before have they had so many demands placed upon them - by themselves as well as others. Dr Tara Porter pulls together everything she has learnt to provide accessible explanations and suggestions for teenagers, young women, and their parents on topics including exams, friendship, families and love. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In June 1992 Chris Patten went to Hong Kong as the last British governor, to try to prepare it not for independence, but for handing back in 1997 to the Chinese, from whom most of its territory had been leased 99 years previously. He joined Channel 4 Europe Editor Matt Frei live on stage in London to tell the story of what happened as the handover approached, and share his assessment of recent events in the city. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Every week there are 150 avoidable deaths in England; tragedies that could have been prevented if we were better at learning from mistakes. As the former Secretary of State for Health and current Chair of the Health and Social Care Select Committee, Jeremy Hunt believes it is possible to reduce the number of preventable deaths in the NHS to zero – in the process saving money, reducing backlogs and improving working conditions. In this episode of the podcast, he shares insights from his new manifesto for the future of the health service, thinking through everything from technology to culture. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Bonnie Wright and Evanna Lynch rose to fame as Ginny Weasley and Luna Lovegood in the Harry Potter series, and now use their public platforms to help change the world for the better. As an ambassador for Greenpeace, Bonnie Wright has dedicated her life to advocating for climate justice – using her influence to draw attention to the most serious environmental issues of our time, from plastic pollution to fossil fuels. In conversation with Evanna, she joined us live on stage in London tell us about Go Gently, her new book of practical advice for reducing your environmental impact and helping to ensure a sustainable future for planet Earth. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Born in Puglia, Italy and now resident in London, Francesco Dimitri is a member of an extremely exclusive club -- authors who write and publish in a language that is not their mother tongue. His latest novel Never the Wind is a magical realist fable about family, belonging and coming of age set his native Puglia and will appeal hugely to fans of Susanna Clarke, Eleanor Ferrente and Neil Gaiman. In this episode of the podcast, he reflects on the differences between Italian and British literary culture, the power of reading, and the importance of finding magic and mystery in ordinary life. There is some swearing in this episode; if you would prefer a beeped version, you can find it on our website. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

For millennia, people have asked questions about the nature of matter. In the twentieth century, this curiosity led to an unprecedented outburst of scientific discovery that changed the course of history. In this episode of the podcast, accelerator physicist Suzie Sheehy introduces us to the people who, through a combination of genius, persistence and luck, staged these ground-breaking experiments. Pulling physics down from the theoretical and putting it in the hands of the people, this podcast celebrates human ingenuity, creativity and curiosity: a powerful reminder that progress relies on the desire to know. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

As a young historian at Cambridge and Oxford, he did not rest in the ivory tower but brought his erudition on the great stories and crises of the day, travelling widely and becoming one of our most celebrated broadcasters and influential public intellectuals. Later, he returned to his native Canada to become leader of the Liberal Party: a scholar whose commitment to democratic ideals earned him widespread admiration on the global stage. Now he joins the podcast to reflect upon a philosophical question touching upon each of our lives: how do we console one other and ourselves in an age of unbelief? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The winner of major genre awards including the Nebula, the Hugo, and the World Fantasy Award, Ken Liu is an author and futurist whose fictions both interrogate the social consequences of new technologies, and investigate the value of concepts we do not typically think of as technology but ought to, including law, language, and even storytelling itself. In this episode of the podcast he outlines his vision for speculative fiction's purpose and value, and previews the ideas in the Dandelion Dynasty, a fantasy series investigating the foundational myths of nationhood through a science fictional extrapolation of the engineering and social structures of East Asian antiquity. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Some of us inhabit a bittersweet state instinctively, others avoid it as much as we can; some of us arrive there when we reach a certain age, or after facing life’s trials and triumphs. But we will all experience the bittersweet at some point in our lives. What are the powers of a bittersweet, melancholic outlook? And why has our culture been so blind to its value? Following a trail of centuries-old artistic and wisdom traditions as well as contemporary psychology and management research, Susan Cain joins us to explore how bittersweetness is the key to leading a full and satisfying life. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Futurist Jane McGonigal creates games that predict and simulate hard to imagine futures. In this episode of the podcast, she teaches us to think like futurists and become more resilient to future shocks – both in our personal lives and when we are faced with unfolding global events. She shows us that 'unimaginable' events aren't unimaginable before they happen. It is possible to see them coming and feel ready for anything, even things that seem impossible today. By learning to think the unthinkable and imagine the unimaginable we can better plan for a future we'd like to see. And by seeing what's coming faster, we can become more optimistic agents of change. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

One hundred years since its publication confirmed James Joyce as one of the greatest writers in the English language and a fearless creative genius willing and able to reimagine the possibilities of literature for the modern age, Ulysses has become an undisputed canonical classic. In this episode of the podcast, Ireland’s greatest living novelist, Colm Toibin, and its foremost Joyce scholar, Terence Killeen, come together to celebrate this complex, controversial masterpiece, offering new and vital insights that will delight layman readers and seasoned Joyceans alike Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Alice Roberts trained as a physician, and now employs her scientific knowledge to uncover new evidence about the history of Britain, combining scientific and historical insights to determine who we are and where we came from. She joins us to shed fresh light on how we lived in the so-called Dark Ages by examining the stories of the dead. What did people think about mortality? How did they feel about loss? What did they believe came after death? Find out in this in-depth exploration of Buried, her new history of Britain in the first millenium. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Born in Hong Kong and raised in Malaysia, commissioned in the Black Watch when only a teenager, Rory Stewart’s career bears little resemblance to the typical 21st century career politician. After serving as a diplomat in Indonesia, the Balkans and Iraq, a foundation director in Afghanistan, and as Secretary of State for International Development, he left frontline politics altogether to work on a charitable project in Amman, Jordan. He joins to share his thoughts on Boris Johnson's government in this time of perpetual crisis, and explore the challenges facing politicians of all affiliations today. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In her New York Times bestselling biography of Princess Diana, The Diana Chronicles, former Vanity Fair and New Yorker editor Tina Brown wrote the definitive account of the extraordinary life and tragic death of the Princess of Wales. In this episode of the podcast, she joins Pandora Sykes to reveal how the royal family reinvented itself after the traumatic years when Diana's blazing celebrity ripped through the House of Windsor like a comet. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In 1966, John Barker, a dynamic psychiatrist working in an outdated British mental hospital, established the Premonitions Bureau to investigate psychic visions. He found a network of hundreds of correspondents, from clerks to ballet teachers – including two unnervingly gifted “percipients”. The New Yorker’s award-winning Sam Knight joins us with an enthralling true story of madness and wonder, science and the supernatural – a journal to the most powerful and unsettling reaches of the human mind. Sam joins How To Academy in-person on the 7 June in conversation with the author of The Big Short and Flashboys, Michael Lewis. Find out more and get your tickets at howtoacademy.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A creative pioneer whose genius has placed him alongside Chaplin, Keaton, and his fellow Pythons as one of the greatest British comedy talents of all-time, John Cleese’s name is synonymous with the very best popular culture our country has ever produced. From the subversive satire of Life of Brian and existential absurdity of The Meaning of Life to the precision-engineered farce and observational brilliance of Fawlty Towers and A Fish Called Wanda, his work is a testament to the power of the human imagination to change the way we see the world. Dr Iain McGilchrist is an intellectual icon whose singular vision has deeply affected Cleese and thousands more across the globe. Few if any works of neuroscience or philosophy have the power to evoke as much passion and infuse the lives of readers with as much meaning as The Master and His Emissary – an extraordinarily original and powerful investigation of the role of the mind and brain in shaping our experience that encompasses nothing less than the entire history of human culture and thought. We brought Cleese and McGilchrist together to explore the place of consciousness in our lives and culture, drawing both upon The Matter With Things, McGilchrist’s bravura new work of neuroscience and philosophy, and Cleese’s lifelong practice of creativity at the highest level. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Minnie Driver joined us live on stage in London to tell transport us from her unconventional childhood to subsequent fame, sharing poignant stories and laugh-out-loud anecdotes from her life and career. It is a tale of acclaim, loss, fortitude and fortune: in short, the story of being human. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Next month Michael Lewis will join us in-person in London for a live, on-stage event exploring his life and work from Liar's Poker through to the present day. In anticipation, this episode of the podcast revisits his last appearance on the How To Academy stage, in conversation with the Guardian's Owen Jones. Together they explore the corrosion of the federal government under the Trump administration - the subject of Michael's book The Fifth Risk. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices