Acclaimed author of Empireland and The Boy with the Topknot Sathnam Sanghera takes us on a journey to a fictional cornershop where a story of three generations unfolds. Love, loyalty and betrayal merge within immigrant histories; from breaking Asian stereotypes to discussing the amazing women who inspired his new novel, Sathnam Sanghera tells all in this moving conversation. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Dec 16, 2022•56 min
In 2010, Chelsea Manning, working as an intelligence analyst in the United States Army in Iraq, disclosed classified military documents that she had smuggled out via the memory card of her digital camera. The army sentenced her to thirty-five years in prison. The day after her conviction, Manning declared her gender identity as a woman and began to transition. In 2017, President Barack Obama commuted her sentence and she was released. From her struggles as an adolescent, to her decision to send ...
Dec 13, 2022•1 hr 21 min
When Meik Wiking introduced the world to the Danish art of Hygge in 2016 he gave us a revolutionary new way of nurturing happiness at home. Now the internationally bestselling author of The Little Book of Hygge and The Art of Making Memories joins us to share fresh insights into making our homes into a sanctuary – somewhere to be ourselves, to unwind and create special memories. No matter how much space you have or what your budget is, Meik shows how you can use colour, light and space to create...
Dec 09, 2022•1 hr 13 min
Marie Kondo became a global superstar when she introduced the world to the life-changing magic of tidying up. Now Marie joins us to share the art of kurashi – or “way of life.” She elevates her focus from the physical act of tidying to include a more holistic and personal approach to transforming our homes into spaces of calm. As a mother of three young children, Marie not only reveals a personal glimpse of her own way of living and an enhanced approach to the pursuit of joy, but also how we can...
Dec 06, 2022•38 min
As Tolkien knew, Britain in the ‘Dark Ages’ was an untidy mosaic of kingdoms – an age of saints and gods and miracles, of giants and battles and the ruin of cities. Leading historian Thomas Williams explores those lands and peoples who fell by the wayside: the lost realms of early medieval Britain. From the Scottish Highlands to the Cornish coastline, from the Welsh borders to the Thames Estuary, he will uncover the forgotten life and untimely demise of realms that hover in the twilight between ...
Dec 02, 2022•1 hr 3 min
From Westminster to Beijing, politicians and economists believe growth is the path to progress and prosperity. But are they blindly leading us towards catastrophe? Join us as we debate one of the most important ideas in the history of the modern world – one that a growing number of advocates believe is no longer fit for purpose. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Nov 29, 2022•1 hr 17 min
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 ...
Nov 23, 2022•40 min
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 po...
Nov 18, 2022•1 hr 12 min
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 choi...
Nov 15, 2022•40 min
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 ri...
Nov 11, 2022•1 hr 29 min
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
Nov 09, 2022•39 min
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
Nov 01, 2022•1 hr 13 min
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 c...
Oct 28, 2022•38 min
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 cho...
Oct 25, 2022•1 hr 2 min
'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 Mid...
Oct 23, 2022•31 min
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...
Oct 20, 2022•1 hr 4 min
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....
Oct 14, 2022•29 min•Season 8Ep. 9
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, an...
Oct 11, 2022•1 hr 1 min•Season 8Ep. 8
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
Oct 04, 2022•1 hr 21 min
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 ch...
Sep 30, 2022•1 hr 1 min
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
Sep 27, 2022•29 min
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 wa...
Sep 23, 2022•43 min
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 bloo...
Sep 21, 2022•1 hr 5 min
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 ga...
Sep 16, 2022•45 min
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 filmm...
Sep 13, 2022•1 hr 11 min
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...
Sep 09, 2022•1 hr 3 min
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
Sep 07, 2022•57 min
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. L...
Sep 02, 2022•1 hr 6 min
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....
Aug 30, 2022•1 hr 3 min
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
Aug 26, 2022•1 hr 4 min
