How To Academy

From the dive bars of the Lower East Side to the beaches of Bali, the Connecticut Christmas Tree farm where she was raised to the Mumbai ashram where she sought solace after a difficult divorce, Elizabeth Gilbert is a world traveller whose unending search for answers to life’s biggest questions have made her the voice of a generation. Aged 34, she left her home, husband and career to travel alone across the world; her chronicle of that journey became EAT, PRAY, LOVE, an international bestseller so popular TIME magazine declared her one of the 100 most influential people in the world. Since then she has produced one critically acclaimed bestseller after another. From COMMITTED, her memoir about making her peace with the institution of marriage, to BIG MAGIC, a book encapsulating her the joyful spirit she brings to her creative work, her works resonate profoundly with all of us who wish to confront heartbreak, tragedy and desperation with openness, imagination and wisdom. In celebration of the release of her new novel CITY OF GIRLS, she joined the How To Academy to explore her life to date. In this conversation with journalist Hannah MacInnes, she considered her thoughts on genius and creativity, sex and adventure, wonder and fear, leaving no stone unturned in her remarkable story.

In Episode Five of the How To Academy Podcast, Matthew Stadlen meets Preet Bharara, the former US district attorney who successfully prosecuted some of the most high-profile crimes in America. Along the way he gained notoriety as the ‘Sheriff of Wall Street’, was banned from Russia by Vladimir Putin and earned the distinction of being one of the first federal employees fired by Trump. In this wide-ranging conversation Preet takes us into the gritty, tactically complex, often sensational world of America’s criminal justice system – and gives us his inside take on the Mueller Report and President Trump.

Once a generation an environmentalist dares to speak truth to power with such force that they cannot be silenced. In Episode 4 of the How To Academy Podcast, Matthew Stadlen meets David Wallace-Wells, whose terrifying vision of unfolding climate catastrophe may just be the wake-up call we need to save the future. Climate change is worse, much worse, than you think. The slowness of climate change is a fairy tale, perhaps as pernicious as the one that says it isn't happening at all, and if your anxiety about it is dominated by fears of sea-level rise, you are barely scratching the surface of what terrors are possible, even within the lifetime of a teenager today. In this podcast, David presents a sober, scientific but utterly terrifying vision of the unfolding 21st century. What will it be like to live on a pummelled planet? What will it do to our politics, our economy, our culture and sense of history? And what action can we all take, today, to minimise the damage?

In this week's podcast, two giants of cognitive science - neuroscientist Gina Rippon and psychologist Simon Baron-Cohen - go head-to-head to debate one of the most contested and controversial ideas in the history of science: do men and women have essentially different brains? Setting this debate has potentially far-reaching consequences for the future of medicine and mental health treatment, the workplace and society as a whole. But do studies claiming to show differences between the brains of men and women actually uncover an inconvenient truth? Or are they merely attempts to justify the sexist status quo? It’s time to accept that brains should not be ‘sexed’, says Gina Rippon. It’s misleading to attribute any differences in behaviour, abilities, achievements, or personality to the possession of either a female brain or a male brain. And she argues that new techniques can prove it. After centuries of ingrained neurosexism, neuroscience’s cutting-edge breakthroughs should at last liberate us from outdated misunderstandings of what our brains can and cannot do. Psychologist Simon Baron-Cohen takes a different perspective. Whilst he agrees that individuals’ brains should not and cannot be ‘sexed’, he reminds us that group studies of males and females do reveal differences on average: Men on average are better at analysing systems and women on average are better at empathising with people. And he marshals evidence from studies of prenatal hormones and genetics that these traits have both biological and cultural roots.

In this podcast, the bestselling author of Nudge, Professor Cass Sunstein, presents a ground-breaking guide for anyone who wishes to fuel – or block – transformative social change. Sometimes all it takes to change society is for one person to decide they will no longer remain silent. A child announces that the emperor has no clothes. A woman tweets, #MeToo. Suddenly, a taboo collapses for the better – or for the worse. Once white nationalism was kept out of the mainstream media and politics; now it is in the White House. Social movements can begin when rage is released – or quietly, with millions of people nudged into making different decisions until, without noticing, we live with a new status quo. Bringing together behavioural economics, psychology, politics and law, Cass Sunstein and LBC Presenter Matthew Stadlen explore Cass’s career new science of social movements. What can we as individuals do to harness the power of social movements to make change happen? What kinds of interventions make a difference, and what kind lead to bans and mandates? How can we overcome social division, cause transformative cascades, and employ political parties as a force for good?

In this episode of the How To Academy podcast, Matthew Stadlen meets Simon Sinek – perhaps the 21st century’s most acclaimed thinker in the field of business leadership. Simon Sinek’s Start With Why concept changed the face of modern business. Over 35 million people have watched his TED talk on how great leaders inspire everyone to take action, and millions more have read his books Find Your Why and Leaders Eat Last. In 2016, his insightful analysis of millennials at work was seen by more than 200 million people in the first month alone. He joined How To Academy to present his latest insights to LBC presenter Matthew Stadlen.

The legendary writer of the Big Short, Moneyball and the Undoing Project, Michael Lewis joins the writer and journalist Owen Jones to discuss the surreal world of the Trump administration.

Francis Fukuyama sits down with Matthew D' Ancona to discuss the consequences of when states and institutions everywhere are corralled by interest groups. The trend of Identity politics is now entrenched on both sides of the political spectrum and is beginning to reshape our liberal democracy.

Sir Max Hastings has spent years piecing together what happened in Vietnam, trying to understand by interviewing people on both sides how the war began and how it changed everything.

The Guardian’s former Editor-in-Chief Alan Rusbridger in conversation with Baroness Beeban Kidron on the past, present and future of the press, and the forces menacing its freedom.

The Nobel prize winning economist Joseph Stiglitz joins the Guardian's Jonathan Freedland to discuss politics, economics and everything in-between.

A hilarious recording of the Live Event with the cricket commentator David ‘Bumble’ and the impressionist and comedian Rory Bremner on Cricket. David will relive some of the most exciting and remarkable periods in his life. Drawing on his new book, Around the World in 80 Pints, David will entertain us with stories from famous Ashes matches and Roses clashes, sharing the commentary box with Ian Botham and Shane Warne, and much else besides. This promises to be an evening which will be sure to appeal to anyone who shares Bumble’s unquenchable love for cricket – and life!

Tal Ben-Shahar who taught the most popular course ever at Harvard University on “Positive Psychology,” discusses how we can all lead happier lives and become better leaders.

Former US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright joins BBC Newsnight's Emily Maitlis to discuss fascism, populism and the current political state of the world.

The former Director of MI5 Jonathan Evans joins Christopher Andrew to discuss Spies, and the secret history of intelligence and security operations yet written.