How To Academy Podcast

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Pioneering Biologist J Craig Venter - The Future of Life on Earth Jul 23, 2024

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A household name following both the mapping of the human genome and, in 2010, the creation of the first synthetic organism, J Craig Venter is a singular figure in 21st century science: a biologist whose legacy is secure and who, at 77, still continues to push boundaries.

He joined us in conversation with David Malone to share a story that is equal parts thrilling global adventure and a journey of momentous scientific discovery: his fifteen year, 65k mile quest to map the microbiome of the oceans. Traveling in the Sorcerer II, a 100ft sailboat turned research vessel, Venter and his team discovered millions of unknown genes, thousands of unseen protein families, and new lineages of bacteria that revealed the unimaginable complexity of life on earth.

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New York Times Bestseller Paolo Bacigalupi - Money and Power in the Fantasy Renaissance Jul 19, 2024

Show notes

Renowned as a pioneer of climate fiction, Paolo Bacigalupi's novels The Windup Girl and The Water Knife earned him a reputation as one of the essential speculative novelists of our time, with a prophetic gift akin to established genre masters like William Gibson and Magaret Atwood. His new novel Navola is part of a different tradition: a fantasy novel where historical realism takes precedent over the overtly imaginary, exploring the relationship between family, money, and power in a lightly disgused version of Renaissance Italy. His protagonist Davico di Regulai is the reluctant heir to a Medici-inspired banking empire and the coming-of-age story Bacigalupi tells transports us to another world where contemporary themes reasonate deeply within a thrilling, escapist narrative.

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Isabella Tree and Charlie Burrell - When the Wild Things Returned Jul 16, 2024

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After years of running a failing farm in West Sussex, Isabella Tree and her husband Charlie Burrell decided to hand back control to nature. Slowly but surely, plants shot up, creatures crept in, and the landscape began to heal.

The area now hums with life and is home to some of the rarest species in Britain, such as peregrine falcons, turtle doves and purple emperor butterflies. Free from human intervention and monocultures, the farm has become a safe haven for nature which self-corrects and self regulates.

In this episode of the podcast they share their rewilding journey, dispel myths about the antagonism between farming and wilding, and share their hopes for the future of the movement with Hannah MacInnes.

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Neuroscientist Kelly Clancy - How Games Change Reality Jul 12, 2024

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Kelly Clancy is both a neuroscientist and a physicist, and has held positions at MIT and DeepMind. She's also the author of Playing With Reality, a new intellectual history of games that explores the influence that games have played - if you'll forgive the pun - over many centuries on warfare, gambling, economics and much more. If you've ever wanted to know why chess is used as a stand-in for intelligence or what game theory really is, this episode of the podcast is for you.

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Bestselling Sociologist Sarah Thornton - Why Breasts Matter Jul 09, 2024

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After years of biopsies, best-selling author Sarah Thornton made the difficult decision to have a double mastectomy. But, after her reconstructive surgery, she was perplexed: What had she lost? And gained? Blending sociology, reportage, and personal narrative with refreshing optimism and wit, her new book Tits Up has one overriding ambition―to liberate breasts from centuries of patriarchal prejudice. She sat down with Aimee Morris to tell us more.

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Stephanie Harrison - How to Get Happiness Right in a World That’s Got it Wrong Jul 05, 2024

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In a society where stress and competition run rampant, how can we find a more fulfilling sense of happiness? Well-being expert and founder of The New Happy Stephanie Harrison joins us to not only address societal woes but also share what we can do about them. Drawing on her background in positive psychology, Stephanie sheds new light on prevailing concepts—from misconceptions of Maslow's hierarchy to the rat race of capitalism—and reveals how we can move away from rigid societal rhythms to find our own path towards happiness.

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Ruchir Sharma - How Capitalism Went Wrong Jul 02, 2024

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What went wrong with capitalism? Drawing on his decades of experience as a world-leading investor and FT columnist, leading financial analyst Ruchir Sharma offers an insider’s perspective, offering a critique of capitalism unlike any you have heard before: that capitalism itself has been corrupted from its original inception, and that less government regulation rather than more might be our most viable solution. In conversation with the FT's Gillian Tett, Sharma dives into how we can save our free markets.

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Olympic Gold medallist and entrepreneur Mark Tuitert – How Stoic Philosophy Can Change Your Life Jun 28, 2024

Show notes

For twenty years, Mark Tuitert has used the principles of Stoic philosophy to become a gold-medal winning Olympic champion athlete, successful entrepreneur, as well as to deal with the challenges in his professional and private life. Now he's here to to share what he learned.

In this episode of the podcast, the athlete lays out the practical lessons through which everyone, in any situation, can develop a Stoic mindset.

Applying principles from Marcus Aurelius, Seneca, and Epictetus to the twenty-first century, he shares how Stoicism can change your life and help you reach your full potential.

Stoicism is not about achieving success or happiness for their own sake. It is about doing what is important to you with a focused mindset, and developing a Stoic calm and mental balance when faced with setbacks. Mark will set you on the path to mastering a Stoic mindset, helping you to apply the insights of the Stoics anywhere, anytime.

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Yanis Varoufakis - The Rise of Technofeudalism Jun 25, 2024

Show notes

Welcome to technofeudalism. The owners of big tech have become the world’s feudal overlords—replacing capitalism with a new system that defies democracy and rewrite the rules of global power. But this is no dystopian story—as visionary economist Yanis Varoufakis argues, this is our world today. In conversation with Ash Sarkar, Varoufakis illuminates the dark underbelly of this new system—and reveals what we can do to thwart it.

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Bestselling Science Writer David Robson - The Laws of Social Connection Jun 21, 2024

Show notes

Social connection is essential to our wellbeing, not only fuelling creativity and enriching our sense of meaning in life, but also adding years to our life span. And yet, many of us struggle to form strong and meaningful bonds. Drawing on neuroscience and cutting-edge philosophy, science journalist David Robson joins us to reveal the science of meaningful connection. From the science of first impressions, to how to move away from “frenemies” towards more supportive connections, to how to be a proactive listener and interlocutor, David reveals practical insights to help our social lives flourish.

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