Philip Ball returns to the How To Academy Podcast to share the extraordinary revelations of contemporary science and make us think again about what we think we know about how life works. Illuminating what we now know about structures as small as RNA and forces as vast as evolution, to show how both the minuscule and the massive have shaped the world we know. Probing ever-pertinent questions around individual agency, purpose, and whether we can deduce meaning from the cosmos itself, Philip invites us to ponder the wonder of life.

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Gary Stevenson was the youngest trader in the whole city, and became the most profitable one too at his bank after betting against the economy. But what happens when you bet on millions becoming poorer and poorer - and, as the economy starts slipping off a precipice, your own sanity starts slipping with it? Gary Stevenson joins Sam Knight to explore the underbelly of Canary Wharf, revealing a world fuelled by an insatiable zeal for money, and illuminating that there just might be a way out.

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We think we know what it was like to rule – and be ruled – in the Ancient Roman world.

We think we know that Roman values and ideas formed the cornerstone of Western civilisation.

We are wrong.

In this special episode of the How To Academy podcast Cambridge’s Mary Beard and Oxford’s Josephine Quinn transport us back to the ancient world and reveal thrilling new histories of the Roman Empire and the origins of the West.

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Over twenty-five years, neuroscientist Charan Ranganath has studied the flawed, incomplete and purposefully inaccurate nature of memory to find that our brains haven’t evolved to keep a comprehensive record of events, but to extract the information needed to guide our futures. In this episode he shines new light on the influence of memory on how we learn, heal and make decisions. By examining the role that attention, intention, imagination and emotion play in the storing of memories, Prof Ranganath provides a vital user’s guide to remembering what we hold most dear.

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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.

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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 call-to-action for our present and future.

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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 for a few incidental changes, our lives – and our societies – would be radically different.

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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 terrible. 

With examples of her research, Professor Tali Sharot shares tips for how to keep life sparkling and vital, from the workplace to world news.

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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 our future or only folktales for a digital age? What can the Amish teach us about when to embrace new gadgets? You'll discover the answer to these questions and more on this episode of the podcast.

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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.

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