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.

Society & Culture
Science
Self-Improvement
1
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
2
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
3
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
4
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
5
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
6
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
7
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
8
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
9
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
10
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
11
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
12
Yuval Noah Harari – Making Sense of a World in ...
69 min
13
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
14
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
15
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
16
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
17
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
18
Catharine Edwards - The Life of Cicero and the ...
Renowned historian Catharine Edwards joins bestselling novelist Robert Harris to illuminate the extraordinary life and mind of Cicero, and the ultimate fall of the Roman Republic.
61 min
19
Suzy Hansen – Turkey in the Age of Erdoğan
Pulitzer finalist Suzy Hansen chronicles the age of authoritarianism in Turkey — through an intimate portrait of its people.
40 min
20
Daniel Mendelsohn – Translating Homer's Odyssey
Editor-at-Large of The New York Review of Books and an award-winning, bestselling classicist, Daniel Mendelsohn reflects on the resonance of the Odyssey after twenty-eight centuries.
66 min
21
Nir Eyal - The Science-Backed Way to Stop Limit...
Stanford’s Nir Eyal reveals a pragmatic, science-backed guide to dismantling the hidden beliefs that hold us back.
58 min
22
Sir Roger Deakins – Reflections of a Cinematogr...
Widely celebrated as the greatest cinematographer of all-time, Roger Deakins shot The Shawshank Redemption, Fargo,  Skyfall and 1917. He shares stories from a remarkable life in cinema.
71 min
23
Emma Southon - How Slavery Made the Roman Empire
Acclaimed historian Emma Southon uncovers the groundbreaking truth of the millions of forgotten enslaved people who built the Roman Empire.
54 min
24
George Osborn — Video Games, Politics, and the ...
Video games are the world's most popular form of entertainment—and authoritarian governments have been  quicker to take advantage of their reach than liberal democracies. George Osborn asks what we can do about it.
42 min
25
Therapist Emmy van Deurzen – The Philosopher’s ...
Pioneering therapist Emmy van Deurzen looks to existential philosophy to reframe the way we understand ourselves and our relationships.
61 min