Episodes

  • Alan Moore - Twenty Six Letters, Infinite Worlds

    Alan Moore - Twenty Six Letters, Infinite Worlds
    Nov 12 2024
    “With just 26 letters, you can create any conceivable universe.” - Alan Moore With the rise of new technology, from artificial intelligence to virtual reality, what power remains in our more ancient forms of storytelling? Modern-day alchemist Alan Moore who transmuted comic books into literary gold joins Robin Ince to explore the enduring power of prose and the unique magic that written stories bring. To celebrate the release of Alan's new book The Great When which marks the beginning of his Long London series, Alan and Robin delve into the wonder of words, the power of art, and the enduring magic of prose fiction. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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    1 hr and 7 mins
  • Robyn Davidson - Journeys of a Lifetime

    Robyn Davidson - Journeys of a Lifetime
    Nov 9 2024
    Best-known for her journey trekking across the Australian desert, Robyn Davidson joins us to reveal a new expedition, this time into the past. From the lush tropics of Malabar to the loneliness of London, Robyn shares an illuminating portrait of her childhood, the loss of her mother, her journey as a writer, and the strange and wondrous persistence of memory. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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    26 mins
  • Yuval Noah Harari - Humanity in the Age of AI

    Yuval Noah Harari - Humanity in the Age of AI
    Nov 6 2024
    Long gone are the days when pigeons relayed our messages; now we have a flood of information at all times, from social media to artificial intelligence, all weaving narratives that shape our lives. But the rise of these new modes of information technology has the power to spread misinformation, challenge independent thought, and even threaten democracy. Bestselling author of Sapiens, Yuval Noah Harari joins Robin Ince to explore how humanity can navigate these new networks, and asks, in this constant deluge of information and misinformation, where can we find real knowledge and truth? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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    1 hr and 36 mins
  • Rebecca Kuang - Yellowface

    Rebecca Kuang - Yellowface
    Nov 1 2024
    Aged 27, Rebecca F. Kuang is already a New York Times and Sunday Times bestselling, multiple-prize winning author of five novels, a graduate of both Oxford and Cambridge, and currently finding time to squeeze in finishing a doctorate at Yale while writing three more novels she has already sold. Now Rebecca reveals her own literary journey, and how her global sensation Yellowface strikes a deeply personal chord. From the art of crafting villains to loving one's characters, from waiting for hours at empty signings to rising to the heights of literary stardom, from newfound freedom to the insecurities that plague even the best of us, Rebecca Kuang reveals her extraordinary life to date. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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    1 hr and 18 mins
  • Historian of Science Natalie Lawrence - Why Monsters Matter

    Historian of Science Natalie Lawrence - Why Monsters Matter
    Nov 1 2024
    Since the dawn of humanity monsters have loomed large in our collective imagination. But why do frightening beasts hold such a powerful grip on us? Natalie Lawrence has always loved monsters. Her passion that took her all the way to Cambridge, where she completed a phD in the history of early modern monsters that informs her new book, Enchanted Creatures. Now she joins us on the podcast to delight your adult brain and inner child alike. When does an animal become a monster? Why should anyone still care about monsters in the modern world, when so many of our favourite myths are fully debunked and true enchantment is hard to come by? Are robots and dinosaurs monsters, or something different? Discover the answer to all these questions and more in this journey through thousands of years of natural – and unnatural – history… Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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    36 mins
  • Yale Historian Sunil Amrith - How Humanity Reshaped the Planet

    Yale Historian Sunil Amrith - How Humanity Reshaped the Planet
    Oct 29 2024
    In the last five centuries, humankind has brought change to every inch of the Earth, in a story of environment and empire, of genocide and ecocide, of the expansion of human freedom and its costs. Asking whether humanity can now summon the collective wisdom to save itself, Professor Sunil Amrith joins the podcast to share a history of environmentalism from the perspective of social justice. Arguing for an empathetic approach to climate usage, Professor Amrith shares why environmentalism is ill-suited to headlines, and reveals the human stories that can compel us to take action. Tune in to understand why it will be the artists, not the technocrats, who determine what happens next. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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    1 hr and 8 mins
  • Harvard Historian Serhii Plokhy - Chernobyl Under Russian Occupation

    Harvard Historian Serhii Plokhy - Chernobyl Under Russian Occupation
    Oct 21 2024
    Harvard Professor and Ukrainian-born historian Serhii Plokhy joins the podcast to reveal the resilience and courage of the Ukrainian workers held hostage inside Chernobyl under Russian occupation. As hours stretched into weeks of hostility with no help from the outside world, the crew members' critical decisions alone prevented another nuclear catastrophe reminiscent of the disaster three decades earlier. In a wider warning to the world, Serhii Plokhy uncovers just how unprepared we are to deal with acts of nuclear terrorism. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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    1 hr and 6 mins
  • Pulitzer Prize winners Russ Buettner and Susanne Craig - How Donald Trump Squandered His Fortune

    Pulitzer Prize winners Russ Buettner and Susanne Craig - How Donald Trump Squandered His Fortune
    Oct 15 2024
    Soon after announcing his first campaign for presidency, Donald J. Trump declared that life “had not been easy for me”, delivering a campaign narrative around his business acumen based on his journey from talented upstart to a multi-billionaire. This narrative was a lie. Drawing on access to twenty years’ worth of Trump’s confidential tax information, business records and interviews with Trump insiders, reporters Russ Buettner and Susanne Craig won a Pulitzer Prize for the investigations into Trump’s finances – and the deceptions at the core of his claims of business success. In this episode, Buettner and Craig share insights from the school playground to the set of The Apprentice as well as never-before-seen financial records and intelligence on the relationship with his father Fred Trump, all belying the public image that took Trump all the way to the White House, and demonstrated that a lie will become truth if it is told often enough. Can a man who has squandered fortune on money-losing businesses continue to be saved by blind luck in the future?And can Trumpism survive beyond Trump? Tune in to find out. To get an exclusive NordVPN deal, head to https://nordvpn.com/howtoacademy to get an extra 4 months on the 2-year plan. There’s no risk with Nord’s 30-day money-back guarantee. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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    1 hr and 8 mins