Podcast
How To Academy Podcast
Hosted by How To Academy · EN
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.
38episodes
Episodes
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James Muldoon - Love Rewired in the Age of AI
Apr 2101:05:01Tap to summarizeFrom 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 Internet Institute researcher James Muldoon takes us on a captivating and uncanny journey to the frontier of human-computer interaction, exploring what happens to our relationships with each other as artificial intelligence enters our personal lives. “They are real to me” may be the growing sentiment, but what are the tensions and contradictions at the heart of AI companionship? James explores what it means to be human in a world increasingly dominated by these sorts of relationships—what do we gain, and what do we lose? Crucially, what can we do to fulfil other people's emotional needs so they don’t turn to AI? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Neuroscientist Mark Solms - Was Freud Right?
Apr 1701:02:19Tap to summarizePioneering 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 about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Zakia Sewell Meets Jeremy Deller - The Quest for a Hidden Britain
Apr 700:51:52Tap to summarizeWriter 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 mystic stone circles that punctuate our landscape. She joined us for a conversation with the artist Jeremy Deller to bring a hopeful story of Britain out from the shadows, giving us a deeper sense of who we are, and heralding the promise of a brighter future. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Peter Jones - The Secret History of the Seven Deadly Sins
Apr 200:54:42Tap to summarizeIn 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 Sins were a guide to the human mind, offering insight into the deepest questions of life, meaning, and happiness. Medievalist Peter Jones has uncovered their origins and significance and joins us on the podcast to show how these very old ideas can still show us who we are in the modern world. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Neuroscientist Daniel Levitin — How to Harness the Power of Music
Mar 3101:06:33Tap to summarizeDaniel 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 psychological wounds. By uncovering the cutting-edge neuroscience behind how rhythm and melody strengthen memory, reduce pain, and provide emotional equilibrium, Daniel will offer a compelling new vision for the future of music as medicine. Join us for a joyful celebration of one of humanity’s oldest and most powerful forms of healing—and why we all need more of it. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Ayala Panievsky–Fighting Censorship in the Age of Populism
Mar 2701:09:19Tap to summarizeHeavy-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 democracy, the populist right has found a way to exercise an effective and socially acceptable type of silencing and manipulation. Instead of banning stories, they spread flows of disinformation, which take hours and days to debunk. Instead of silencing, they shout louder. Instead of blue-pencilling, they employ fake users, bots, and outrageous smear campaigns to dominate the conversation. As we find ourselves in a time of democratic decay all over the world, with relentless attempts to undermine truth and facts and unprecedented technological tools to spread disinformation and incite violence, journalist and activist Ayala Panievsky joins us to argue that brave journalism is needed now more than ever. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Oren Harman - The Human History of Metamorphosis
Mar 2400:54:02Tap to summarizeAs 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 radically transforming: it is thought that 75% of animal life undergoes a form of metamorphosis. The story of how and why is one that has puzzled some of the most remarkable minds in history, from Aristotle onwards; in his new book Metamorphosis, Oren tells their story. He joins us on this episode of the podcast to reveal more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Sir Tony Robinson Meets Peter Frankopan - How a Changing Climate Shaped Civilisation
Mar 14, 2023Tap to summarizePeter Frankopan’s ground-breaking history, The Silk Roads, brought a dazzling new perspective to the story of humankind; its sequel, The New Silk Roads, mapped China’s emerging global empire. He joined us to share the story of how the climate has shaped the rise and fall of civilisations across time with actor and presenter Sir Tony Robinson. Discover how harvests built empires, drought fanned the flames of war and storms and floods buried civilisations... Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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