Few people have had more access to Jensen Huang, Nvidia’s charismatic founder, than Stephen Witt. In his book The Thinking Machine: Jensen Huang, Nvidia, and the World’s Most Coveted Microchip, Witt traces the company’s three-decade journey under the leadership of a man he describes as sometimes “neurotic”, a founder who, despite being at the top of his game, constantly fears going out of business. 

And yet, his team remains fiercely loyal. He rarely fires those who face his ire. So how does he lead a company in an industry where every few years the technology is upended and replaced by something entirely new? And how does he stay grounded while working relentless hours? Stephen spoke to hundreds of people to find the answers, many of which he shares in his book and in this podcast.

Image source: https://stephenwitt.info/

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Charlie English is the author of "The CIA Book Club: The Best Kept Secret of the Cold War". In this episode he talks about a little-known chapter in Cold War history where the CIA smuggled banned books into the Eastern Bloc in an effort to challenge communist ideology. Charlie shares how the CIA ran this literary operation for over three decades, why even detective novels had political weight in Soviet-ruled countries and what it meant to grow up under state censorship so tight you needed permission to buy a sheet of paper. 

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Ludwig Siegele, senior editor AI Initiatives at The Economist talks about how Chinese AI companies like DeepSeek and Alibaba are disrupting the status quo. They are building high-performing models at lower costs and releasing some of them as open source. How did they manage to pull this off and what does this mean for the global AI race? Ludwig joined The Economist as a US technology correspondent in 1998 and has covered the Silicon Valley since the Internet, as we know it, was born. He joins us again for a second time in two years.

Image source: https://www.stiftung-mercator.de/en/fellows/ludwig-siegele/

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In this episode, legendary cricketer and former England captain, Mike Brearley talks about his rich childhood memories, early influences, the art of leadership and the life of a cricketer. With wisdom, humor and trademark humility, Mike reflects on Test cricket's timeless charm, the spirit of the game, his experience as a psychoanalyst and life lessons from his latest book "Turning Over the Pebbles: A Life in Cricket and in the Mind".

Image source: Sports Gazette

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Volcanologist, author and filmmaker Clive Oppenheimer's career has taken him to the edge. From dodging lava bombs at Stromboli to facing AK-47s in the Danakil Depression, Clive shares gripping stories from his fieldwork and the unexpected human side of volcanoes. We explore his acclaimed book, "Mountains of Fire: The Secret Lives of Volcanoes" and discover how volcanic eruptions can alter climate, tell us a lot about our planet's past. In his typical self-deprecating humour Clive instills an infectious sense of wonder, something he credits to his mother.

Get "Mountains of Fire" on Amazon: https://tinyurl.com/CliveOppenheimer

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Investigative journalist Charles Piller unravels one of the biggest scientific scandals in recent history. Drawing from his book "Doctored: Fraud, Arrogance, and Tragedy in the Quest to Cure Alzheimer's", Charles reveals how falsified data propped up a dominant theory in Alzheimer’s research, diverting billions in funding and delaying real progress. With over 30 million people affected worldwide, Charles talks about the human toll of the disease, the scientific misconduct that shook the field and the faint but growing signs of hope.

Image source: https://www.science.org/content/author/charles-piller

Get "Doctored: Fraud, Arrogance, and Tragedy in the Quest to Cure Alzheimer's" on Amazon: https://tinyurl.com/CharlesPiller

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John Dykes has worn many hats: from features writer to one of the world’s most sought-after sports presenters. In this podcast, he shares insights and anecdotes from his three-decade career, helping individuals and organisations to master storytelling, craft compelling pitches, create high-performance teams and manage crises in his new innings as a solopreneur. Reflecting on iconic moments, from covering cricket, football, tennis, Formula 1, MotoGP and golf to interviewing legends like Thierry Henry and Serena Williams, John emphasises the power of preparation over “winging it”. He also explores the value of embracing discomfort for long-term growth, a mindset he embodies at 60, while busting many myths about aging.

Picture credit: https://www.johndykes.co/

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In this episode, Simon Parkin unravels an extraordinary tale of courage and sacrifice during World War II. His latest book, The Forbidden Garden of Leningrad: A True Story of Science and Sacrifice in a City Under Siege, chronicles the heroic botanists who risked, and in some cases, gave their lives to safeguard a priceless seed collection during the longest blockade in recorded history. They chose starvation over consuming the very seeds that could prevent future famines. Simon shares the story of visionary scientist Nikolai Vavilov and his dedicated team, who preserved the world’s first seed bank under unimaginable conditions.

Image source: https://www.simonparkin.com/about

Get "The Forbidden Garden of Leningrad" on Amazon: https://tinyurl.com/SimonParkin

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