How To Academy Podcast
How To Academy is London's home of big thinking. From Nobel laureates to Pulitzer Prize winners, we invite the world’s most influential voices to share new ideas for changing ourselves, our communities, and the world. Our biweekly podcast is your chance to hear in-depth from the most exciting thinkers in global culture.
1
Roisin Kiberd – Beauty and Normality in the Age...
Writer Roisin Kiberd dissects the business of attaining perfection – or even normality– in our age of mass consumption, and the price we pay for it.
27 min
2
Neuroscientist Adrian Owen – How to Maximise Yo...
Neuroscientist Dr Adrian Owen explores executive functions – the set of processes in our brains that make us who we are – how they work, what happens when they falter, and how we can maintain them.
53 min
3
Historian Hallie Rubenhold - The Silenced Women...
No murderer should ever be the keeper of their victim's story, and yet, this is precisely the role that Hawley Harvey Crippen has played. Social historian Hallie Rubenhold rewrites the narrative.
23 min
4
Historian Lindsey Fitzharris: Dr Joe Bell, the ...
The award-winning, bestselling medical historian Lindsey Fitzharris joins us to reveal the surprising origins of literature's greatest detective.
29 min
5
Naomi Klein and Astra Taylor Meet David Olusoga...
In a blistering reckoning with our age, Naomi Klein and Astra Taylor join David Olusoga for a journey inside the far-right Armageddon complex – and show us how to break the doom loop before it’s too late.
61 min
6
Vedic Meditation Teacher Jillian Lavender — How...
Founder of London Meditation Centre, Jillian Lavender reveals the astounding benefits of meditation – and why they are more important than ever in our ever-increasingly hectic lives.
34 min
7
Daron Acemoglu Meets Martin Wolf– What Happened...
Why is liberal democracy losing public confidence—and what would it take to renew it? Nobel Prize-winning economist Daron Acemoglu joins Financial Times chief economics commentator Martin Wolf to discuss.
69 min
8
Philosopher Lani Watson – The Power of Asking Q...
Asking questions is one of the most distinctively human things we do – and one of the most overlooked. Philosopher Lani Watson makes the case for reclaiming the power of questions.
52 min
9
David Duchovny Meets Gina Gershon: About Time
Actor, novelist, filmmaker, and singer-songwriter David Duchovny joins Gina Gershon for a conversation about time, loss, and what words can and cannot hold.
83 min
10
Bonus Episode: New Frontiers with Miriam Margoy...
Join authors including Reece Sheersmith, Miriam Margolyes, and Damien Lewis in a new audio author showcase from legendary publishing house John Murray.
55 min
11
Natasha Polisczuk Meets Louisa Young – The Gold...
Elizabeth Jane Howard's much-loved Cazalet Chronicles grew into a worldwide phenomenon. 13 years later, bestselling novelist and Elizabeth's niece, Louisa Young, offers a new instalment – The Golden Hours
31 min
12
Bestselling Mindset Coach Ben Crowe – How to Ch...
Ben Crowe is the leading mindset coach you don’t know, but the world’s top leaders do. He joins us with advice to change your perspective and transform your life.
55 min
13
Bestselling Novelist China Mieville – On Grief,...
One of the world's leading practitioners of imaginative fiction, China Mieville reveals his magnum opus The Rouse: a globe-trotting supernatural thriller twenty years in-the-making.
49 min
14
Bestselling Mythologist Amy Jeffs – The Life of...
Why does the legend of King Arthur still enthral us in 2026? Amy Jeffs reveals the matter of Britain as you've never heard it before.
30 min
15
Time Woman of the Year Zahra Joya — The Vanishi...
Time Woman of the Year, Zahra Joya, discusses growing up under the Taliban, and reporting on a country where women have been ordered into silence.
45 min
16
Kimon de Greef — A Trip into the Psychedelic Un...
Investigative journalist Kimon de Greef reveals the wild world of 'toad medicine' and the guru-like physician who became the face of a global psychedelic movement.
37 min
17
Jo Marchant – The Science and Mystery of the Pr...
Science journalist Jo Marchant reveals the dynamic, creative process of the present moment – one in which we all play a part.
56 min
18
Aziz Abu Sarah and Maoz Inon – The Future is Peace
Two activists: one Palestinian, one Israeli. Aziz Abu Sarah and Maoz Inon uncover how we can achieve peace, both in the Holy Land, and throughout the world.
57 min
19
Naomi Klein - The Mirror World of Conspiracists...
Winner of the inaugural Women's Prize for Non-Fiction, Naomi Klein takes us down the rabbit hole of far-right conspiracy theories – and asks what we can do find our way out.
57 min
20
Yuval Noah Harari – Making Sense of a World in ...
69 min
21
Mary Beard and David Mitchell – On Rulers and P...
Cambridge classicist Mary Beard and beloved comedian David Mitchell share the histories of Roman and English rulers like you’ve never heard them before.
70 min
22
Oscar-nominated Filmmaker Maite Alberdi – A Chi...
Oscar-nominated filmmaker Maite Alberdi discusses her latest documentary A Child of My Own – a deeply human and daring story of motherhood, grief, identity, and the immense pressures placed on women.
26 min
23
Carissa Véliz– AI, Prediction, and the Fight fo...
Oxford Philosopher and award-winning author Carissa Véliz explores the history, hidden dangers, and human cost of prediction in the age of AI.
54 min
24
Cathy Haynes – How To Live By Nature's Rhythms
Curator and educator Cathy Haynes reveals the forgotten art of understanding how nature marks time, and calls upon us to notice the daily wonders of the natural world.
49 min
25
Joe Hill Meets Frank Miller – A Life in Comics
The creator of The Dark Knight Returns and 300 Frank Miller joins Joe Hill for a deep dive into his life and art, revealing the inspiration behind his iconic comics and his secrets of storytelling.
46 min