How To Academy is back at Wilderness Festival this August, where we will be hosting the journalist and author of Empireland Sathnam Sanghera on his new history of the British Empire aimed at younger readers: Stolen History. In anticipation we wanted to share our event from last year's Wilderness, this time with the scientist and author of groundbreaking books including The Selfish Gene and The God Delusion, Richard Dawkins. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Jul 11, 2023•1 hr
Viorica Marian joins us to explore how crucial multilingualism is to human flourishing. Her new book, The Power of Language, distils her research to share how language shapes our self-conception, our decisions, and the society we create. From the politics that underlie whether we categorise a language as a “language” or a “dialect”, to the ways language has shaped our identities or been employed to discriminate, to how maths and poetry too can be understood as languages, this episode illuminates...
Jul 07, 2023•52 min
What can we learn about the decline of the west from the fall of the Roman Empire? Was decline inevitable for Rome and is it inevitable for the US too? Historian Peter Heather is the co-author of Why Empires Fall, a new book exploring the parallels between the 5th century and the 21st. He joined Luke Naylor Perrott to explore what new lessons we can learn from ancient history. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Jul 04, 2023•54 min
Lorraine Candy is the go-to voice for a generation of women seeking information and guidance. Now the bestselling author of Mum, What’s Wrong With You? and co-host of chart-topping podcast Postcards from Midlife joins How To Academy for a witty, compelling, honest and reassuring guide to living a magnificent midlife. Drawing together advice from experts and her own personal experiences, Lorraine will help you feel less alone and embrace this liberating and transformational new stage of life. Lea...
Jun 30, 2023•1 hr 4 min
Scott Shapiro is a professor at Yale who teaches the philosophy of law. He is also a hacker, and the author of a new history of hacking, cybersecurity and cyberwar called Fancy Bear Goes Phishing. In it, he sets out to answer three questions: why is the internet so insecure? how do hackers exploit its vulnerabilities? And what can we do about it? If you've ever wondered whether hackers are all savants with black hoodies who can break into the pentagon from their basements, Scott is here to disab...
Jun 27, 2023•48 min
Since he was fired by Trump for refusing to bend the knee, the former FBI director James Comey has become one of the most insightful and authoritative defenders of American democracy and the institutions of American justice. James has just released a new novel inspired his experience prosecuting the mafia in new york: Central Park West. It's a wild ride, sizzling with crime, corruption, and conspiracy. He joined us in London at the Conduit for a conversation with the club's founder, Paul van Zyl...
Jun 23, 2023•1 hr 11 min
Our guest on this episode, Gretchen Rubin, writes bestselling books about the routes we can take to find happiness and fulfilment; in the process she's become part of the zeitgeist, even appearing as an answer on Jeopardy!. Her latest book is Life in Five Senses; a guide to using getting out of our heads so we can appreciate all that the world around us has to offer. She joined us in conversation with Hannah MacInnes. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Jun 20, 2023•1 hr 2 min
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 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 men...
Jun 16, 2023•1 hr 5 min
Our guest on this episode Richard Ford is one of the masters of American literary fiction. Frequently compared to Updike, Faulkner and Hemingway; he's the author of The Sportswriter, Let Me Be Frank With You, and the Pulitzer Prize winning Independence Day - all of which chart the life of his imperfect everyman Frank Bascombe. Ford's new novel Be Mine is the last of the Frank Bascombe books and finds his protagonist in his later years embarking on a trip to Mt Rushmore with his terminally ill so...
Jun 13, 2023•48 min
Have you ever been told you're too sensitive? What if we told you that being sensitive wasn't a weakness, but a superpower? Our guest on this episode Andre Sólo is a researcher, and editor-in-chief of the website Highly Sensitive Refuge. He is the co-author of a number of scientific papers on the subject and of a new book: Sensitive: The Power of a Thoughtful Mind in an Overwhelming World, which makes the case for the advantages of a sensitive soul and shares his insights for how to thrive as a ...
Jun 09, 2023•1 hr 5 min
Susie Alegre is a leading human rights barrister and a pioneer of digital human rights in the age of AI and big tech. In her book Freedom to Think, she explores the basis upon which we have a right to our own ideas and opinions - and how we can protect that right in an age of digital surveillance and ever more advanced forms of propaganda. She spoke to us about the history of thought control, connecting the dots between Socrates, Galileo, witch trials and the contemporary world. Learn more about...
Jun 06, 2023•30 min
Sarah Knight made her name as the author of the sensational anti-self help book The Life Changing Magic of Not Giving a F**K and has sold more than 3 million copies of that book and others in the series. Her latest is called Grow the F**K Up - how to be an adult and get treated like one. We hosted her in conversation with Hannah MacInnes. Expect bad language and good advice. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Jun 01, 2023•1 hr 1 min
As a member of the 1960s science fiction New Wave, M. John Harrison worked with authors like Michael Moorcock and JG Ballard to he helped turn generic entertainment into serious and even avante garde literature. His latest book, Wish I Was Here, subverts and breaks apart the conventions of life writing with the same restless unbridled spirit that powered his award-winning novels Climbers, Light, Nova Swing and most recently, The Sunken Land Begins to Rise Again. He sat down with us to explore th...
May 29, 2023•44 min
Alastair Campbell was Tony Blair's communications chief and is now one of the UK's most sought after political commentators; The Rest is Politics, his podcast with Rory Stewart, is essential listening for anyone who wants a fresh perspective on what's going on in Westminster. Alastair's new book is But What Can I Do?, a guide to how all of us can get involved in fixing politics. He joined us live on stage in conversation with Sky News political editor Beth Rigby to tell us more. Learn more about...
May 23, 2023•1 hr 25 min
Thomas Hertog was Stephen Hawking's PhD student and went on to become a leading cosmologist in his own right. He and Hawking developed a radical new theory concerning the origins of time itself: answering the biggest question imaginable - why does our universe have the laws of physics that it does? This would prove to be Hawking's final scientific theory and at Hawking's request Thomas wrote a book on the subject: On The Origin of Time. In this episode of the podcast, Thomas sits down with us to...
May 19, 2023•39 min
These days, trying to stay sane in a completely chaotic world makes life incredibly difficult, especially if you're struggling with your mental health. While searching for inner peace and equanimity amidst global chaos, Ruby realises that, ultimately, the most challenging gauntlet we all must face is ourselves. Joined by psychotherapist and author Julia Samuel, Ruby returns to How To Academy for an honest and raw journey into the depths of her psyche, and a stark exploration of what trauma can d...
May 16, 2023•1 hr 11 min
What makes a fulfilling life, and how can we live one? Life coach Fiona Buckland explores the overwhelming world we live in and the stressors and temptations that pull us away from understanding ourselves. She reveals how we can return to ourselves to create not just a life well-lived, but a life suffused with meaning. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
May 12, 2023•50 min
What if human intelligence is more of a liability than a gift? According to the animal cognition expert and author of If Nietzsche Were a Narwhal Justin Gregg, there's an evolutionary reason why human intelligence isn't more prevalent in the animal kingdom. Simply put, non-human animals don't need it to be successful. In conversation with comedian and science communicator Robin Ince, Justin highlights features seemingly unique to humans and compares them to our animal brethren. The picture he pa...
May 10, 2023•1 hr 4 min
Over the past 150 years, we have entered a new ‘age of eating’ where most of our calories come from an entirely novel set of substances: Ultra-Processed Foods. In this episode award-winning broadcaster, practicing NHS doctor and leading academic Dr Chris van Tulleken joins Robin Ince to reveal the disastrous effects of Ultra-Processed Food on our health - the subject of his new bestseller, Ultra Processed People. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
May 05, 2023•1 hr 21 min
Thriller writer Mick Herron is the heir to John Le Carre - the author of the wildly acclaimed Slough House espionage novels. The TV adaptation named after the first in the series, Slow Horses, is one of the best shows around - no mean feat in our golden age of TV drama. It stars Gary Oldman as Herron's Falstaffian protagonist Jackson Lamb. The latest Slough House novel, Bad Actors, has just come out in paperback. Mick sat down with Hannah MacInnes live on stage a couple of weeks back to tell us ...
May 02, 2023•1 hr 9 min
Why did the ideal medieval woman have a pot belly and small feet? Which days of the week was sex permitted? Why did the transgender sex workers of London steal men's clothes? Eleanor Janega has the answers. She teaches medieval and early modern history at the London School of Economics. She's also the creator of the blog Going Medieval and the author of The Once and Future Sex, a new book exploring the ideals of womanhood in the medieval period. She tells Luke Naylor Perrott more in a NSFW podca...
Apr 28, 2023•1 hr 7 min
Anthropologist Alexa Hagerty spent years working with forensic teams and victims’ families to investigate crimes against humanity in Latin America. In this harrowing and deeply personal conversation with Luke Naylor-Perrott, she explores what science can tell us about atrocities and resistance, grief and care, ritual and justice. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Apr 25, 2023•49 min
The New Yorker's Adam Gopnik is a master literary stylist, acclaimed as one of wisest and most insightful figures in American journalism. But was he already too advanced in years to master other skills - including those that require as much of the body as they do of the mind? He studied with a boxer, a dancer, a driving instructor, a fine artist and more in pursuit of the secrets of mastery. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Apr 21, 2023•1 hr 15 min
Microsoft Vice Chair and President Brad Smith hosts conversations with leaders in government, business, and culture that explore the world’s most critical challenges at the intersection of technology and society. In this episode, Strive Masiyiwa, a pioneer of Africa’s telecoms industry and influential global tech tycoon, discusses his work to ensure that all 1.3 billion+ Africans get access to digital infrastructure, close the digital skills gap, and invest in the continent’s young entrepreneurs...
Apr 18, 2023•37 min
Octogenerian neurologist Ricard Restak is living proof that a declining memory is not an inevitable fact of ageing. A professor at George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences, Dr Restak has dedicated his life to the science of brain health, and joins the podcast with evidence-based tools and techniques drawn from a lifetime of research and practice. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Apr 14, 2023•1 hr
Journalist Luke Turner spent his childhood idolising Spitfires and Lancaster Bombers. Now, as an adult, he explores the human lives behind the machines. Who goes to TankFest - and who plays the SS? Are we more obsessed with war machines than living human beings of flesh and blood? How did tank commanders grieve for their crews? What would it have been like to kill someone with a bayonet? Why did Quentin Crisp say Blitz era London like "a paved double bed"? Why was the war a time of queer liberat...
Apr 11, 2023•1 hr 5 min
Curtis Sittenfeld has made a name for herself as one of America’s most exciting writers and her novels Prep, American Wife and Rodham have been hailed as modern classics. Her latest novel, Romantic Comedy, follows a scriptwriter who has given up on romance with Sittenfeld's trademark warmth and intelligence. In this episode, she speaks to Esme Bright about the pitfalls and pleasures of romantic comedies, celebrity obsession in the US, why everyone wants to be the main character on TikTok, and wh...
Apr 07, 2023•44 min
Julian Baggini is a philosopher who disavows jargon in favour of a clear and accessible approach to the tenets of philosophical enquiry. He joins us with a a guide to the habits and practices of philosophical thought that can make a difference to our daily lives. Why is a good driver like a good thinker? Should we really 'question everything' as free thinkers? How can we live a good life for ourselves and those around us? Is winning an argument more important than being right? Find out from one ...
Apr 04, 2023•1 hr 8 min
Inflammation has traditionally been thought of as the body's response to injury and foreign microbes. But as the threats we face have evolved, what if it were now the root cause of modern disease? New science has revealed low-level, smouldering inflammation, simmering quietly and undetected, behind everything from heart disease and cancer to mysterious autoimmune conditions. A doctor at the forefront of this field, Shilpa Ravella joins How To Academy to explain what we know of this elusive pheno...
Mar 23, 2023•1 hr 7 min
Do you love your partner but want to rekindle that ‘in love’ feeling? Do you go on plenty of dates but can’t seem to click with the right person? Do you keep having the same conflicts with your partner? The bestselling author of Healing is the New High Vex King and his wife Kaushal have the answers. Drawing on their own relationship, they joined us in London to share practical guidance for learning to love authentically and unconditionally. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices....
Mar 21, 2023•1 hr 21 min
