Dr Christopher Palmer advocates a metabolic approach to mental health, focussing on the the things we put in our body as the key to how they function. Sharing insights into the generational legacy of sweeteners on mental health, alongside some of the dietary approaches that can shift our metabolic wellbeing, this conversation with Mindhealth360 founder and editor Kirkland Newman pairs cutting-edge science with practical advice and strategies to help people reclaim their mental health. Learn...

A household name in the climate movement, Costa Rican diplomat Christiana Figueres was Executive Secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change from 2010-2016 and led the negotiation of the Paris Accords. Ten years on from the Accords, Christiana continues her fight for our planet and our shared future. In this episode she joins former CEO of Unilever (2009-2019) Paul Polman, himself a major figure for the climate movement, to present a bold and utterly necessary...

What if, by exploding our illusion of control, we can make better decisions and live happy, fulfilling lives? Offering an entirely new perspective, myth-shattering social scientist Brian Klaas explores how our world really works, driven by strange interactions and random events. Unpicking our neat and tidy storybook version of events to reveal a reality far wilder and more fascinating than we have dared to consider, Professor Brian Klaas shows us in this episode the bewildering truth that but...

We get used to dirty air, people grow to accept authoritarianism, take foolish risks, and we are more liable to believe misinformation than ever before. Too much of a good thing might be bad news after all. Rituals and habituation cause acclimatization and indifference. So how do we keep life interesting? Exciting events, relationships, stimulating jobs and breathtaking works of art lose their sparkle after time. People stop noticing what is wonderful and they also stop noticing what is...

Philosophy Tom Chatfield loves technology and the humanities with equal passion, and has spent a lifetime thinking about our relationship to the devices we shape and that in turn shape us. Neither a luddite nor a utopian, he seeks to tell a new and more nuaunced story about the role of technology in our evolution and in our present. Should we be frightened of the rise of AI and the extermination of desirable jobs? Are Silicon Valley stories like the Singularity legitimate possibilities for...

The author of the New York Times bestseller Such a Fun Age returns with a tale of campus politics, desire, and bad behaviour. How much of yourself are you willing to trade to get what you want? Unfolding in a University of Arkansas dormitory, Kiley Reid's new novel Come and Get It is a smart, stylish and scathing investigation of our money-obssessed society. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Neurologist and professor Richard Restak has dedicated his life to the science of brain health. Now he returns to How To Academy to share more ways to strengthen our memory and prevent the onset of Alzheimer's. From memory tricks to new friendships, learn how to protect your memory, while making life more vivid along the way. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Kelly Link is the author of ludicrously acclaimed genre-defying short story collections including Magic For Beginners and the Pulitzer nominated Get in Trouble. Now, after almost three decades at the top of her game, she's written a novel: The Book of Love. It's very funny, smart, and already certain to be one of the books of the year for both literary and genre critics. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Multitasking is a myth. Flow states don’t equate to enlightenment. An emotionally engaged boss is best for business. In this podcast, Harvard psychologist, global bestselling author and former New York Times writer debunks the myths we’ve been told about the workplace, with practical examples of how to train your mind to focus. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Ray Nayler's novel The Mountain in the Sea announced him a major new voice in speculative fiction, able to seamlessly fuse the novel of ideas and the novel of adventure. In his new novella The Tusks of Extinction, Ray continues his exploration of the science of the mind and animal communication and extends his passionate plea for deeper respect for the natural world with the story of  Dr. Damira Khismatullina, an expert in elephant behaviour given the task of raising a new breed of mammoths...

Family doctor Dr Gemma Newman has come to understand that body, mind and soul are not separate, and that only through a ‘whole body’ treatment plan can we truly heal. From gratitude to love, from mindfulness to healthy eating, Dr Newman joins us to share free healing practices that we can adopt into our daily lives. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

One small plant has played an outsized role in shaping the world we live in today. Engineered by the British Empire with profound consequences for India, China, and the world at large, the opium trade was a critical part of colonial history. But its influence extends far beyond the 18th and 19th centuries. In this episode of the podcast, novelist Amitav Ghosh traces the links between the trade and the origins of the world's biggest corporations and most powerful American families, and...

The pop star James Blunt has written a memoir about his life as one of the biggest acts of the noughties: a memoir that is filthy, funny, and quite possibly a fantasy. It's called Loosely Based on a Made Up Story. He joined us for an In Conversation event with BBC 6 Music's Matt Everitt last year: a conversation that quickly became very, very, not safe for work... Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Ruby Wax joins us to share an honest and stirring portrait of the depths of her psyche. Recounting her mental health journey including through a monastery, a mental institution, and therapy, she shares her candid understanding of depression and her meaningful search for inner peace. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Carlo Rovelli is no ordinary scientist. With a genius for revealing the mysteries the universe to those of us without his gifts, he is the heir to Hawking, Sagan, and Feynman; and alone among the leaders of theoretical physics, he draws as much upon art, philosophy, and myth as equations and experiments to illuminate the splendour and strangeness of reality. Now he joins one of the UK’s preeminent theatre practitioners, the wildly innovative actor, director, and founder of Complicite, Simon...

Both a renowned psychotherapist and the 'best living essayist writing in English' (John Gray), Adam Phillips joins us to reflect upon what we must give up in order to feel more alive. To give up or not to give up? The question can feel inescapable but the answer is never simple. Giving up our supposed vices is one thing; giving up on life itself is quite another. One form of self-sacrifice feels positive, something to admire and aspire to, while the other is profoundly unsettling, if not...

We're living in a time of unprecedented access to high-reward, high-dopamine stimuli: drugs, food, news, gambling, shopping, gaming, texting, sexting, Facebooking, Instagramming, YouTubing, tweeting... We've all become vulnerable to compulsive overconsumption. Dr Anna Lembke is here to help. Professor of Psychiatry at Stanford University School of Medicine, chief of the Stanford Addiction Medicine Dual Diagnosis Clinic, and an internationally renowned expert in addiction medicine treatment...

Do human beings have free will? For Stanford neurobiologist Robert Sapolsky, science clearly demonstrates that free will is a powerful and dangerous illusion. Without free will, it makes no more sense to punish people for antisocial behaviour than it does to scold a car for breaking down. But for philosopher and cognitive scientist Daniel Dennett, free will is not only compatible with our current scientific knowledge but justified by it. Free will underwrites our moral and artistic...

We’re in the middle of a global anxiety epidemic. But when it comes to fighting anxiety, you have more control than you think: the power is at the end of your fork. Psychiatrist and chef Dr Uma Naidoo joins us with a guide for taking back control, helping us to understand how food can be an indispensable tool in improving mental health. This podcast is presented in partnership with MindHealth360. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Every year we host a big thinker at the music festival Wilderness and our guest in 2023 was Sathnam Sanghera, the Times journalist whose two books on the history of the British Empire - Empireland and Stolen History - have transformed the way we think about our past and present. Sathnam returns to How To Academy on 25th January to tell us about Empireworld - his new book about the lasting impact of the Empire on other nations. A few tickets are still available on our website. Learn more about...

Each month our sister podcast Found in Conversation explores global affairs and innovation with world-leading thinkers. In this episode, Oxford data scientist and TED star Hannah Richie and investor Rosa Sangiorgio reveal how we can overcome the climate crisis and become the first sustainable generation in history. If you enjoy the episode, you can subscribe to Found In Conversation on Apple or Spotify. Hannah explores the themes of this episode in more depth in her new book Not the End of...

Mariana Mazzucato’s ideas have changed how governments see their role in the economy - but where do we go from here? Regular listeners will have heard the economist Mariana Mazzucato on this podcast before -- with George the Poet on modern-day moonshot programmes to can transform the economy, and with journalist Kamal Ahmed with a searing critique of the consulting industry. She recently returned to How To Academy to celebrate the tenth anniversary of the groundbreaking book that launched her...

Dan Ariely is a superstar TED talker and a world-leading social psychologist, specialising in the study of irrational behaviour and bad decisions. His new book Misbelief is a guide to why some people adopt conspiratorial beliefs and how the rest of us can help rather than make things worse - and offer advice to help us reduce our own susceptibility to such beliefs. He joined the podcast to share his insights. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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 hook for the mess it’s made of everything. They came together to tell the story of our rulers -- from the emperors who ruled Britannia under the Roman occupation to the kings and queens who succeeded them and created England as we know it today. Mary's new book Emperor of Rome and David's new book Unruly are both...

Those of us who suffer from anxiety either exhaust ourselves trying to cure it or resign ourselves to a lifetime of fear and worry. What if, instead of fighting our anxiety, we could turn it into a strength? Harvard's David Rosmarin has developed strategies to harness the power of anxiety to learn about ourselves, deepen our relationships with others, and achieve our deepest goals and dreams. His constructive, compassionate, and evidence-based approach will not rid you of your anxiety....