How To Academy Podcast

Wayne McGregor, an award-winning choreographer who blends dance with science and tech, explores physical intelligence. He discusses how screens dull our senses, kinesthetic empathy, simple habit shifts to rewire movement, proprioception and touch, using movement to regulate emotion, and how tech can map individual movement signatures.

Petra Costa, Brazilian filmmaker behind The Edge of Democracy and Apocalypse in the Tropics, reflects on January 8th’s assault on Congress and how her film helped expose coup plotting. She explores evangelical ties to the far right, the role of footage in legal investigations, and the power of documentaries to shift public debate and global attention.

Ben Rein, Stanford neuroscientist and author of Why Brains Need Friends, studies how social interaction shapes brain health. He explores the biology behind brief chats, in-person vs virtual connection, the limits of social media, and practical ways to craft a nourishing daily social diet. Short interactions, kindness, and even dogs can boost wellbeing.

Joanna Kavenna, award-winning novelist of Seven, blends philosophy, satire and travel writing. She talks about inventing the mysterious board game Seven and how rules shape meaning. Conversations roam AI as an opponent, games as intimate mind-reading, comedy and absurdity in fiction, and the tension between human ambiguity and algorithmic metrics.

A deep dive into how money laundering has become more secure and impenetrable than ever. Tales of cash heists, trade‑based schemes and growing demand for high‑denomination notes. Why banks, compliance systems and new tech like stablecoins often help criminals more than stop them. Practical reform ideas such as abolishing big notes and better-targeted enforcement are discussed.

Daisy Fancourt, psychobiologist at UCL and author of The Art Cure, studies how arts shape brain, body and population health. She explores music’s rhythmical power, storytelling’s role in empathy, biological mechanisms from dopamine to gene expression, and why participatory and live arts often beat passive consumption. Practical tips for squeezing art into daily life and tackling access barriers are also discussed.

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 Professor and expert in manufacturing and innovation Tim Minshall guides us down the intricate journeys within the world of manufacturing, revealing how everyday items find their way across the world to reach us. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Rutger Bregman, Dutch author and historian behind Humankind and the School for Moral Ambition, explores how small committed groups change history. He discusses wasted talent in lucrative industries, how movements scale, the role of elites and grassroots action, effective giving, and tech’s role in future change. Short, provocative, and focused on how to turn ambition into lasting social impact.

Amy Jeffs, historian, folklorist and illustrator who reimagines traditional British ballads, guides listeners through centuries-old tales. She explores how ballads lived in daily life, their supernatural and murder themes, and the challenge of turning fluid oral songs into fixed prose. She also traces motifs like witchcraft, agency, transformation, and why these stories still resonate today.

Data scientist Hannah Ritchie, from the University of Oxford, brings clarity to the often murky topic of climate change. She tackles pressing questions like 'Is it too late?' and highlights the rapid advancements in technologies like electric vehicles and solar energy. With effective data, she emphasizes the hopefulness of our situation and the necessity for collaboration across sectors. Ritchie also warns against misinterpretations of climate data, stressing the importance of context. Lastly, she provides strategies for individuals to make impactful changes while encouraging a focus on the bigger picture.