How To Academy Podcast

Between a quarter and a fifth of young people in the UK now suffer from a mental disorder. One in four adults are prescribed psychiatric medication. These figures reveal an extraordinary expansion in the language and labelling of mental health — but they tell us little about the lived experience of those seeking help, or about what it truly means to heal. In this episode of the podcast, Dr Gavin Francis will explore the tangled history of psychiatry and our evolving understanding of the mind. From mood disorders and trauma to anxiety and addiction, he will examine the plethora of forces which shape these conditions. Join Gavin as he turns how we imagine mental health on its head, inviting us to see the mind not as fragile, but as resilient — a dynamic, adaptive system best approached not with rigid labels and protocols, but with curiosity, kindness, humility, and hope.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

C. Thi Nguyen considers games of all kinds to be an art form, no less beautiful than cinema, literature, or music: but the qualities that make games aesthetically valuable are very different to those we associate with other media. In this episode of the podcast, he reveals how games create meaning -- and what happens when we apply the logic of game design to real life, in the form of scoring systems that dictate what is and is not good and valuable. Join us and find out how we can begin to reclaim nuance and personal choice from corporations, governments, and bureaucracies gameifying our world.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Guardian journalist and lifelong Nintendo superfan Keza MacDonald is the author of a new history of that reveals how the company's unique culture transformed a Kyoto playing card manufacturer into one of the most loved organisations in the history of popular entertainment. Whether you know the names of every Pokemon or are simply fascinated by how a major corporation can consistently innovate, delight, and enthral millions of adults and children across the world, this conversation is an unmissable guide to the story of a company unafraid to buck trends, resist market forces, and subvert everyone's expectations in the pursuit of excellence.

 
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In a world transformed beyond recognition, the neural systems that once kept our ancestors alive now leave us overwhelmed, distracted, and dissatisfied. We battle loneliness, anxiety, and stress. We chase status, validation, and impossible standards—then blame ourselves when we fall short. Drawing on cutting-edge neuroscience and clinical cases, evolutionary neuroscientist and practising neurologist Dr Paul Goldsmith will reveal how many of our struggles are not personal failures. Our restlessness, our cravings, our competitive impulses—even our burnout—all follow an ancient logic. But we are not powerless. By decoding the neuroscience behind our everyday difficulties, Paul will offer a new way to work with, rather than against, our ancient wiring to build calmer, healthier, and more connected lives.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Feeling seen, needed, and valued isn't just a nice-to-have—it's essential for our wellbeing and society's future. When people feel they truly matter, everything changes—productivity soars, relationships deepen, and communities strengthen. As AI erases jobs that once gave people a sense of identity and purpose, and many feel isolated, burnout, and disconnected, we now face a crisis of mattering. In this episode of the podcast, award-winning journalist and writer Jennifer Breheny Wallace will provide a revolutionary framework for rebuilding the connections that make life meaningful. Through stories of individuals who have discovered the power of mattering, Jennifer will show us that the antidote to our modern crisis of disconnection isn't to turn inward, but to recognize how much we matter to each other.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices