Science and Technology Podcasts
Series 6, Episode 30
1 hr
Sam Knight – The Premonitions Bureau
Join legendary journalist Sam Knight for the true story of a strange experiment – a journey into the oddest corners of 60s Britain and the outer edges of science and reason.
Series 6, Episode 29
1hr 10 mins
John Cleese Meets Iain McGilchrist – On Consciousness, Culture, and Creativity
John Cleese meets preeminent neuroscientist Iain McGilchrist to explore the science of human consciousness and creativity.
Series 6, Episode 26
51 mins
Robin Ince Meets Neal Stephenson – Termination Shock
‘Sometimes when you’re reading Neal Stephenson, he doesn’t just seem like one of the best novelists writing in English right now; he seems like the only one.’ – TIME magazine
Series 6, Episode 25
46 mins
The Metaverse – Hype or Hyperreality?
Take a trip into the Metaverse in the latest episode of Found in Conversation, the monthly ideas show we co-produce with Pictet.
Series 6, Episode 23
1hr 5 mins
Robin Ince Meets Richard Dawkins
“My eyes are constantly wide open to the extraordinary fact of existence… That’s never far from my thoughts, that sense of amazement.” – Richard Dawkins
Series 6, Episode 12
32 mins
Paul Craddock – The Surprising History of Organ Transplants
We think of transplant surgery as one of the medical wonders of the modern world. But the true history of transplants is more ancient, and far stranger, than we could ever imagine.
Series 6, Episode 11
1hr 2 mins
Suzanne Simard – Finding the Mother Tree
World-leading scientist of plant communication and intelligence Suzanne Simard reveals how she discovered the secrets of the forest.
Series 6, Episode 7
46 mins
Adam Rutherford – The Troubling History of Eugenics
Eugenics remains one of the most destructive ideas of the 20th century. Today, politicians and scientists alike threaten to build on the legacy of this dangerous ideology.
Season 6, Episode 2
58 mins
Marcus du Sautoy Meets Steven Pinker – Why Rationality Matters
In the twenty-first century, humanity is reaching new heights of scientific understanding – and at the same time appears to be losing its mind. How can a species that discovered vaccines for Covid-19 in less than a year produce so much fake news, quack cures and conspiracy theorising?
Season 5, Episode 25
1 hour
Paul Bloom – The Surprising Secret of Happiness
‘Paul Bloom can always be counted on to take your confident assumptions about humanity and turn them upside down’ (SUSAN CAIN, author of Quiet).
Series 5, Episode 24
1 hour
Philip Pullman Meets Iain McGilchrist – The Matter With Things
The award-winning novelist and acclaimed neuroscientist join us with a profound new story of what the world is and who we are.
Season 5, Episode 16
1 hour 16 min
Stephen Fry Meets Steven Pinker – The Case for Reason, Science, Humanism, and Progress
In anticipation of Steven Pinker’s return to How To Academy later this month, this episode of the podcast revisits his conversation with Stephen Fry on stage in London in 2018.
Season 5, Episode 15
57 minutes
James Nestor – the Art and Science of Breathing
Sunday Times bestselling author James Nestor joins us with a guide that will forever change the way you think about health and wellbeing.
Season 5, Episode 14
Bonus Episode: With Reason – Learning from our Ancestors, with Alice Roberts
In this special bonus episode by our friends at New Humanist magazine and the Rationalist Association, Professor Alice Roberts takes us through important archaeological discoveries to help us better understand life today.
Season 5, Episode 8
58 mins
Sarah Gilbert and Catherine Green – The Inside Story of the Oxford AstraZeneca Vaccine
Robin Ince meets two of the leading scientists behind the Oxford AstraZeneca vaccine, marking this historic moment for science and humanity.
Season 5, Episode 4
1 hour
Daniel Kahneman – Why We Make Bad Judgments
Why are humans so bad at making good judgements? Join ground-breaking psychologist Daniel Kahneman, strategist Olivier Sibony, and Nudge co-author Cass Sunstein for a guide to a little-known but profoundly important phenomenon: noise.
Series 4, Episode 19
51 mins
Ginny Smith – The Neuroscience of Everyday Life
How do we learn? Why we do sleep, or fall in love? Can we trust our memories? In this week’s podcast Ginny Smith explores the latest science of the mind and brain to answer the big questions about human behaviour.
Series 4, Episode 17
1 hr
Michio Kaku – The Quest for a Theory of Everything
Michio Kaku takes Robin Ince on the mind-bending ride through the twists and turns of an epic scientific journey: the quest to find a Theory of Everything.
Season 4, Episode 16
51 mins
Anna Ploszajski – Finding Meaning Through Making
Sitting at the intersection of art, science, and history, this week’s podcast reveals fresh perspectives and fascinating insights into our material world.
Series 4, Episode 11
30m
Rowan Hooper – How to Spend a Trillion Dollars
If you had a trillion dollars and a year to spend it for the good of the world and the advancement of science, what would you do?
Series 4, Episode 9
1 hr
Tim Harford Meets Adam Grant – The Power of Knowing What You Don’t Know
If knowledge is power, knowing what we don’t know is wisdom. One of the world’s most influential business professors, psychologist Adam Grant is here to teach us how to think again.
Series 4, Episode 8
1 hour
Ethan Kross – How to Harness the Voice Inside Your Head
Turn your ‘inner critic’ into a supportive coach with award-winning psychologist Ethan Kross, one of the world’s leading experts on controlling the conscious mind.
Season 4, Episode 6
45 mins
Toby Ord – Existential Risk and the Future of Humanity
We live during the most important era of human history. In the twentieth century, we developed the means to destroy ourselves – without developing the moral framework to ensure we won’t.
Series 4, Episode 4
55 mins
Iain McGilchrist – The Divided Brain and the Search for Meaning
A tour de force of neuroscience and philosophy, Iain McGilchrist’s The Master and His Emissary speaks to everyone searching for happiness, meaning and understanding in the modern world.
Series 3, Episode 21
1 hour
Richard Dawkins – The Meaning of Life
Richard Dawkins has done more than any other scientist to promote and celebrate the origins of life on Earth.
Series 3, Episode 19
1 hour
Len Mlodinow and Robin Ince – The Life of Stephen Hawking
Not since Einstein has a scientific figure held such a place in popular consciousness. Leonard Mlodinow tells Robin Ince the story of his friend and collaborator, Stephen Hawking.
Series 3, Episode 15
1 hour
Brian Cox Meets Rebecca Wragg Sykes – The Lost World of Neanderthals
In conversation with particle physicist Brian Cox, archaeologist Rebecca Wragg Sykes reveals the Neanderthals as curious, clever connoisseurs of their world, technologically inventive and ecologically adaptable.
Series 3, Episode 11
36 mins
Sid Meier – The Rise of Civilization
As the inventor of an entirely new genre of entertainment, legendary video-game designer Sid Meier is a true creative pioneer, and godfather to a multi-billion dollar industry.
Series 3, Episode 8
68 mins
Anthony David – Mental Health After COVID
From anxiety to PTSD, the consequences of the pandemic for global mental health are profound. Neuropsychiatrist Anthony David explores what we know so far – and what we can do about it.
Season 3, Episode 7
57 mins
Maria Konnikova – The Biggest Bluff
When bestselling author Maria Konnikova set out to investigate the science of decision-making, she never expected to become a world-class poker player under the wing of a legend of the game.
Series 3, Episode 4
1 hour 13 mins
Owen O’Kane – How To Manage Anxiety and Stress
Owen O’Kane was the NHS Clinical Lead for Mental Health. He joined Matthew Stadlen to explore evidence-based techniques for developing a healthier perspective.
Series 3, Episode 2
39 mins
Rahul Jandial – How to Rewire Your Brain
It’s time to turn the tide against mental decline. Learn how to make your mind fitter, healthier and stronger using the insights of cutting-edge neuroscience in this week’s podcast.
Series 2, Episode 16
33 mins
John Browne – How to Engineer the Future
Fans of Steven Pinker and Yuval Noah Harari ought not to miss this eloquent blueprint for building a brighter future from engineer, John Browne.
Series 2, Episode 14
30 mins
Brian Greene – How to Find Meaning in an Evolving Universe
The bestselling author of The Elegant Universe joins the How To Academy Podcast to explore humankind’s search for purpose in the vastness of the cosmos.
Series 2, Episode 12
38 mins
Anil Seth – How to Make Sense of Consciousness
How do our brains produce the magic show of conscious experience?
Bonus Episode
41 mins
BONUS EPISODE – Global GoalsCast
The How To Academy Podcast presents an episode of one of our favourite shows: the Global GoalsCast.
Series 2, Episode 10
30 mins
William Gibson – How to Create the Future
He coined the word ‘Cyberspace’ and envisioned the Internet and Virtual Reality before they ever existed. Now William Gibson turns his prophetic eye to the 21st century.
Series 2, Episode 4
40 mins
BJ Fogg – How to Hack Your Habits
Never make a New Year’s Resolution again after hearing this podcast from the world’s most renowned expert in forming new habits –Stanford behavioural scientist, BJ Fogg.
Series 2, Episode 3
38 mins
Eric Schmidt – How to Make a Trillion Dollars
In this week’s episode, Google’s former CEO Eric Schmidt, VP Jonathan Rosenberg and Director of Executive Communications Alan Eagle present a blueprint for farsighted leadership.
Season 2, Episode 1
58 mins
Reflections From an Astrophysicist
Neil deGrasse Tyson joins the How To Academy Podcast to ask: what is our place in the universe?
Series 1, Episode 17
75 mins
Roger McNamee – How to Stop Facebook From Destroying Democracy
Roger NcNamee was Mark Zuckerberg’s mentor in the first days of Facebook. He explains why he’s now devoted to stopping the behemoth he helped to create.
Series 1, Episode 14
25 mins
When the Body Says No: The Costs of Hidden Stress
Learn how to prevent and heal illnesses related to hidden stress with the help of acclaimed physician Dr. Gabor Maté.
Series 1, Episode 11
54 mins
Melinda Gates – How To Empower Women
In this week’s podcast, Melinda Gates makes a timely and necessary call to action for women’s empowerment.
Series 1, Episode 9
28 mins
Marcus du Sautoy – A.I. and the Secret of Creativity
The nation’s most loved science communicator, Oxford mathematician Marcus Du Sautoy, explores the potential of artificial intelligence to think creatively.
Series 1, Episode 7
37 minutes
Michael Pollan – How to Change Your Mind
Could psychedelic drugs change our worldview? In Episode 7 of the How To Academy Podcast, Michael Pollan tells Matthew Stadlen about his journey to the frontiers of the human mind.
Series 1, Episode 3
77 Mins
The Gendered Brain Debate
Two giants of cognitive science – Gina Rippon and Simon Baron-Cohen – debate one of the most contested ideas in the history of science: do men and women have essentially different brains?
