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.
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Nov 13, 2026 · 1:18:48
Isabel Allende has spent nearly fifty years writing novels that refuse to stay quiet. From The House of the Spirits to A Long Petal of the Sea, her fiction moves between the…
Nov 10, 2026 · 1:00:23
In the early days of Ancient Greece, queer love was celebrated. The most famous warrior in antiquity loved another man, the poet whose lyrics were memorised by philosophers and…
Nov 6, 2026 · 35:25
Mentored by the late great Douglas Adams, the film and TV producer Arvind Ethan David has made an extraordinary career playing in the universes of other writers. His debut prose…
Nov 3, 2026 · 31:21
What does it actually mean to be beautiful? And where did our ideas of beauty and normality come from? In this episode of the podcast, writer Roisin Kiberd traces the…
Oct 30, 2026 · 58:28
What are executive functions and why are they so important? In this episode of the podcast, world-renowned neuroscientist Dr Adrian Owen unpacks how executive functions drive…
Oct 27, 2026 · 27:35
On 1 February, 1910, vivacious music-hall performer, Belle Elmore, suddenly vanished from her north London home, causing alarm among her circle of female friends– the…
Oct 23, 2026 · 33:39
One of the most remarkable and progressive physicians of the Victorian age, Dr Joseph Bell's incredible powers of deductive reasoning astonished his students -- including the…
Oct 20, 2026 · 1:06:36
Author and journalist Naomi Klein and writer and activist Astra Taylor join Historian David Olusoga to explore how apocalyptic visions of the future are working to justify the…
Oct 16, 2026 · 37:56
Sometimes life can feel like a lot. Even on a good day you will experience stress and fatigue. The nature of modern living guarantees it. However, the problem is not that we…
Oct 13, 2026 · 1:15:02
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…
Oct 9, 2026 · 57:23
From an early age we learn to stop asking questions, judged and rewarded for the answers we give, not the questions we ask. In this episode, Lani Watson traces the hidden life of…
Oct 6, 2026 · 1:29:07
David Duchovny has spent three decades refusing to stay in one lane. Two-time Golden Globe winner, four-time Emmy nominee, New York Times bestselling novelist, musician with…
Oct 6, 2026 · 1:00:40
This week we have a guest appearance from our friends at John Murray, who have curated a curated a collection of some of the best historians, memoirists, academics, critics and…
Sep 25, 2026 · 35:23
In this episode, Louisa Young joins journalist and editor Natasha Poliszczuk to discuss the making of The Golden Hours, the sixth Cazalet novel. Louisa explains what it takes to…
Sep 22, 2026 · 1:01:01
Having worked with top athletes and sportspeople, leading tech and finance corporations, and the World Health Organisation, Ben Crowe is one of the world's most in-demand mindset…
Sep 19, 2026 · 54:01
The central figure of the New Weird, an unofficial movement fusing science fiction, fantasy, and horror with a literary sensibility, China Mieville is equally known for his…
Sep 16, 2026 · 35:03
A scholar, author, artist, and musician, Amy Jeffs is a polymath of British mythology, bringing the greatest stories of the Middle Ages to life in extraordinary books including…
Sep 14, 2026 · 49:36
Zahra Joya grew up under the first Taliban regime, when girls were banned from school. For years she dressed as a boy to access the basic rights denied to her. She became a…
Sep 8, 2026 · 41:31
When Kimon de Greef began an investigation into the smuggling of white sage, a Californian herb popular in the wellness movement, he could not have foreseen that the story would…
Sep 7, 2026 · 1:01:58
What if the present moment – the ‘now’– isn’t just a tick of the clock? We feel that the present is everything; all we can know, yet physics finds no universal 'now'. So where…
Sep 1, 2026 · 1:02:17
“People have lost hope that peace is possible. Talking about peace seems too vulnerable, too naïve, too dangerous. We have resigned ourselves to this unending war as the only way…
Aug 28, 2026 · 1:02:52
As conspiracy theories, political polarisation and the blurred boundaries between truth and misinformation continue to shape our public life, Naomi Klein's prize-winning book…
Aug 25, 2026 · 1:15:11
In an age of uncertainty, renowned historian Yuval Noah Harari joins Ritula Shah to make sense of a world in crisis and help us better understand the perils we face. In this…
Aug 21, 2026 · 1:15:59
Cambridge Professor Mary Beard has done more than anyone to bring the world of ancient Rome to life again. Comedian David Mitchell once studied history and won’t let it off the…
Aug 18, 2026 · 30:38
After experiencing multiple miscarriages and the societal shame that comes with it, recently married Alejandra fakes a pregnancy. What starts as an elaborate lie turns into a…
Aug 14, 2026 · 59:30
Today's computer scientists play the same role as the oracles of the ancient world and the astrologers of the Middle Ages. Modern predictions not only advise on war, crop output,…
Aug 11, 2026 · 53:26
Today, in our clock-bound, screen-immersed world, most of us rely on machines to mark the hours. Past generations, however, would tell time by shadows shrinking, the midday glow…
Aug 7, 2026 · 52:14
Frank Miller transformed the way comics are told and reshaped popular culture in America and the world. In this episode of the podcast, we’ll hear about his struggles as a fresh…
Aug 4, 2026 · 1:06:17
Rising from provincial obscurity to the highest elected office in Rome, Cicero became the greatest orator of his age. Yet Cicero was far more than a master of rhetoric. His long…
Jul 31, 2026 · 44:52
In the midst of a world in upheaval, Erdoğan has remade Turkey in his own image. Once a shining portal that straddled East and West, Istanbul's streets now teem with…
Jul 28, 2026 · 1:12:09
America’s most celebrated living classicist, Daniel Mendelsohn’s new translation of Homer’s Odyssey has been universally acclaimed as the greatest and most authentic ever to…
Jul 24, 2026 · 1:03:31
Beliefs change how we see the world, how we experience suffering, and change what we are able to achieve. The defining characteristics of people who achieve their goals are…
Jul 21, 2026 · 1:17:00
Over the course of a fifty-year career, Sir Roger Deakins has proven to be the greatest artist and visionary that the craft of cinematography has ever known. In conversation with…
Jul 17, 2026 · 1:00:00
We associate the Romans with majesty and greatness: we marvel at their straight roads and innovative underfloor heating, at the dominance of their army and navy, at the grandeur…
Jul 14, 2026 · 47:04
Video games are far more than an entertainment product: they connect people across the globe, creating digital communities capable of shaping reality. And bad actors across the…
Jul 9, 2026 · 1:06:23
How can we find our own direction and purpose in a world of endless possibilities? When life feels too much, is it possible to free ourselves from the concerns that weigh us…
Jul 7, 2026 · 1:15:26
Neither Bill Browder, a hedge fund manager, nor Jamison Firestone, a corporate lawyer ever intended to become activists fighting the Russian government. Both were building…
Jun 30, 2026 · 57:08
How did a country go from joining the Common Market in 1973, only to leave the European Union in an explosive referendum a little over forty years later? Acclaimed political…
Jun 26, 2026 · 1:19:33
Thrust onto the public stage at just fifteen years old after the Taliban’s brutal attack on her life, Malala quickly became an international icon — but away from the cameras and…
Jun 23, 2026 · 55:53
Why did five gilded, charming men, blessed with brains, beauty, and opportunity, choose to betray their country? During their time at Cambridge University in the 1930s, Donald…
Jun 23, 2026 · 44:44
One of the leaders of British science fiction's 1960s New Wave, M. John Harrison has spent the subsequent five decades inventing new and exhilarating literary worlds that push…
Jun 16, 2026 · 1:01:43
What does it mean to be happy? Whilst it’s not always possible to change our circumstances, Action for Happiness founder Mark Williamson believes that we all have the potential…
Jun 13, 2026 · 1:15:42
Karen Hao joins The Nerve's Carole Cadwalladr for an eye-watering insider account of Sam Altman’s Open AI and the burgeoning resistance against it. When it comes to Artificial…
Jun 9, 2026 · 37:24
Boudicca had two daughters, but history records their existence and nothing more. Sunday Times bestselling author Elodie Harper joins us to discuss her latest novel, Boudicca's…
Jun 5, 2026 · 1:02:12
Caroline Sylge reminds us to press pause on the daily overwhelm of modern life by bringing the magic and solace of retreating into your every day. What comes into your mind when…
Jun 2, 2026 · 30:19
Erica Wagner may be the first ever author to write both a landmark biography and a historial novel about the same person. The engineer Washington Roebling took up residence in…
May 29, 2026 · 1:08:24
Neurologist Majid Fotuhi is leading the charge in revolutionising how we understand human intelligence, brain health and age-related cognitive decline. By uncovering the true…
May 26, 2026 · 1:18:05
A great thinning of the skies is underway. Dusk and dawn are growing quiet as birdlife faces a rapid decline across the world. It does not have to be this way — but we will not…
May 19, 2026 · 1:03:10
Thinking about your life is a normal part of being human. Often, it is helpful to analyse a situation or revisit a problem in your mind, but if you find yourself constantly…
May 15, 2026 · 40:28
How did a 1960s spoof of Cold War technocracy become a bible for far-right militias in the present? Political journalist Phil Tinline traces the strange journey of the Report…
May 15, 2026 · 1:21:37
Tom Holland is a storyteller whose range and erudition seem to be as unbounded as history himself. Already a wildly acclaimed bestselling author, his chart-topping podcast The…
May 12, 2026 · 1:02:42
Coming of age has always been a time of angst and inner turmoil, especially for girls. But today, those worries exist in a world of AR filters, TikTok “plastic surgeons,” dating…
May 5, 2026 · 1:13:36
We all carry the imprint of our earliest years. Childhood is brief, yet its impact is lifelong. Some parts of us were met with love while other parts were met with silence,…
May 1, 2026 · 50:00
Born into an upper-middle class family and raised in colonial Shanghai, JG Ballard's worldview was profoundly shaped by his internment by the occupying Japanese army in the…
Apr 28, 2026 · 1:04:46
When Russia's Dowager Empress was pregnant with the future Tsar, she dreamed that a peasant would one day kill her son. The idea terrified her, and for the rest of her days she…
Apr 24, 2026 · 1:22:06
Dr Suzanne Simard transformed our understanding of forests, her groundbreaking research for the Mother Tree Project revealing how the forest is a living symphony of finely honed…
Apr 21, 2026 · 1:05:01
From friendship, to romance, to even therapy, AI companions are on the rise, and AI companion apps alone have now been downloaded more than 220 million times worldwide. Oxford…
Apr 17, 2026 · 1:02:19
Pioneering neuropsychologist Mark Solms reveals how science is proving Freud correct and explores what this might mean for our mental healthcare systems and our lives. Learn more…
Apr 7, 2026 · 51:52
Writer and broadcaster Zakia Sewell is on a mission to uncover an alternative spirit of Britain – found in otherworldly folk songs, ancient legends, Celtic seasonal rites and…
Apr 2, 2026 · 54:42
In 2026 the Seven Deadly Sins have become a bit of harmless fun, more associated with ice creams and videogame villains than the immortal soul. But in the medieval world, the…
Mar 31, 2026 · 1:06:33
Daniel Levitin returns to How To Academy to explore how music can transform our health and wellbeing—repairing our bodies, calming our minds, and healing our deepest…
Mar 27, 2026 · 1:09:19
Heavy-handed censorship is unnecessary when one can manipulate people to censor themselves… From the birth of 'the strategic bias', to weaponizing liberal norms against liberal…
Mar 24, 2026 · 54:02
As a boy, Oren Harman set up his own bedroom "laboratory" to uncover the caterpillar's transformation into a butterfly. But these marvellous creatures are far from alone in…
Mar 19, 2026 · 1:10:14
Between a quarter and a fifth of young people in the UK now suffer from a mental disorder. One in four adults are prescribed psychiatric medication. These figures reveal an…
Mar 13, 2026 · 50:56
C. Thi Nguyen considers games of all kinds to be an art form, no less beautiful than cinema, literature, or music: but the qualities that make games aesthetically valuable are…
Mar 6, 2026 · 41:55
Guardian journalist and lifelong Nintendo superfan Keza MacDonald is the author of a new history of that reveals how the company's unique culture transformed a Kyoto playing card…
Mar 3, 2026 · 56:49
In a world transformed beyond recognition, the neural systems that once kept our ancestors alive now leave us overwhelmed, distracted, and dissatisfied. We battle loneliness,…
Feb 27, 2026 · 1:00:29
Feeling seen, needed, and valued isn't just a nice-to-have—it's essential for our wellbeing and society's future. When people feel they truly matter, everything…
Feb 24, 2026 · 1:04:55
Priestess, witch, daughter of a brutal king: Medea is the greatest tragic heroine of the classical world. But, as Sunday Times bestselling writer Natalie Haynes reveals, Medea…
Feb 21, 2026 · 1:14:38
How much do you know about your body? How much does your body know about you? The most acclaimed choreographer of our age, Sir Wayne McGregor’s trailblazing innovations have…
Feb 17, 2026 · 37:10
When we spoke to Petra Costa last, her film Apocalypse in The Tropics had just been released on Netflix. The film, which leaves us in the aftermath of January 8th 2023 and the…
Feb 13, 2026 · 1:03:41
It’s not just what you feed your brain that matters—it’s who. From your morning coffee order, to weaving through commuters on the train, sitting through work meetings, riding in…
Feb 10, 2026 · 33:15
A riotious comic novel of ideas, Seven tells the story of an unnamed philosopher plunged into the strange world of Theodoros Apostalakis: dentist, poet, pursuer of lost things,…
Feb 6, 2026 · 1:16:40
Whether you’re a fraudster, a cartel boss, a corrupt politician, a kleptocrat or a terrorist mastermind, your options to move and hide your money are more secure and more…
Feb 3, 2026 · 59:40
How does art affect our brains and bodies, down to our very DNA? Psychobiologist Daisy Fancourt reveals the extraordinary effect of art on our health, and what we can do to make…
Jan 30, 2026 · 36:02
Where do the things we buy actually come from? And how did they become the products on our store shelves, the food in our pantries, and the familiar items in our homes? Cambridge…
Jan 27, 2026 · 1:16:43
Global sensation Rutger Bregman joins George Monbiot to show how small groups of committed individuals changed the course of history – and how you can, too. The average full-time…
Jan 23, 2026 · 57:22
In this episode of the podcast, Amy Jeffs reveals the spellbinding world behind Old Songs, her exploration of traditional British ballads and the stories that have carried human…
Jan 20, 2026 · 1:10:04
With so many conflicting headlines out there, it’s tough to sort fact from fiction when it comes to climate change and the solutions we need for a cleaner future. The first piece…
Jan 16, 2026 · 1:02:28
It’s the ‘Do you have five minutes?’ message from your boss. The ‘We need to chat’ from a loved one. Those spiralling thoughts at 3 a.m. and the buzz of yet another breaking news…
Jan 13, 2026 · 1:05:10
Far from being distant and peripheral, organised crime shapes our everyday lives, from the materials used to construct our homes to the illicit funds that quietly circulate…
Jan 9, 2026 · 1:04:14
100 years on from Schrödinger’s equation, we’re on the cusp of the second Quantum revolution. Everything is about to change again – but how? Theoretical physicist, cosmologist,…
Dec 19, 2025 · 1:13:19
Bestselling novelist Rebecca F. Kuang returns to How To Academy in conversation with Hannah MacInnes to dive into her new novel, Katabasis, inviting us on a journey to the…
Dec 16, 2025 · 38:13
When Andrew Jarecki and Charlotte Kaufman went into an Alabama state prison to film a revival meeting, they discover that the prisoners wanted to talk to them off-camera and…
Dec 10, 2025 · 1:01:58
Do you avoid conflict? Do you tend to take the blame? Do you take care of others at the expense of yourself? Do you live in a state of hypervigilance? Fawning can appear in a…
Dec 5, 2025 · 1:17:28
Widely heralded as the most provocative Norwegian writer since Ibsen and simply ‘one of the finest writers alive’ by the New York Times, Karl Ove Knausgaard’s five-part…
Dec 2, 2025 · 56:01
A boy scout from smalltown America known for his sincere, folksy charm. A chain-smoking maverick dedicated to the pursuit of the Art Life. A womaniser with a female skewing…
Nov 25, 2025 · 56:48
In this episode of the podcast neuroscientist Nicholas Wright reveals how, whether we like it or not, the brain is wired for conflict – in the office or on the battlefield.…
Nov 21, 2025 · 57:37
The son of Stephen and Tabitha King and brother of Owen King, Joe Hill was raised in a uniquely gifted literary family and has long established a reputation of his own as a first…
Nov 18, 2025 · 1:30:24
How do we understand the world and our place in it? Do our lives consist of a small number of dramatic turning points, or is there nothing but a series of gradual changes from…
Nov 14, 2025 · 1:06:12
Julia Belluz and Kevin Hall reveal the insights you need to better understand what's on your dinner plate, how it got there, and why you eat it. Award-winning health journalist…
Nov 11, 2025 · 1:17:08
Though well-known across Europe by name, the real lives of women such as Joan of Arc and Jadwiga of Poland have been buried under banners of nationalistic agendas that have…
Nov 7, 2025 · 1:11:41
Today, trauma permeates media, from music and television to films and books. While the increasing openness is welcome, Darren has observed that the webs of digital networks…
Nov 4, 2025 · 42:58
In his four Time Travellers Guides to England, historian Ian Mortimer has taken us from the Medieval period all the way to the Regency, revelling not in the business of courts…
Oct 31, 2025 · 1:24:39
Two decades ago, Jimmy Wales founded Wikipedia and transformed the world’s access to knowledge. Today, people view Wikipedia 11 billion times every month in the English language…
Oct 28, 2025 · 1:22:13
Jens Stoltenberg was Prime Minister of Norway from 2005-2013, and when he took office as Secretary General of NATO in 2014, the world was already changing. What followed was a…
Oct 24, 2025 · 40:28
Marie Kondo’s unique approach to organising our lives and our homes has transformed the relationship we have with the objects around us, helping us all to seek out the joy in our…
Oct 21, 2025 · 31:19
A pioneering voice in Arab cinema, Annemarie Jacir has written, directed, and produced over sixteen films, with premieres at Cannes, Berlin, Venice, Locarno, Rotterdam, and…
Oct 16, 2025 · 32:55
Philippa Gregory takes us behind the myths to reveal how Jane Boleyn became a scapegoat of Henry VIII’s tyranny and the historians who defended it. Drawing on the silences of the…
Oct 14, 2025 · 47:27
Returning to the podcast following episodes around his prize-winning debut The Mountain Under the Sea and his acclaimed novella The Tusks of Extinction, Ray Nayler joins us to…
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