The Etan Ilfeld Podcast

William_Hartston is a polymath and author. From winning the British Chess Championship to writing opera reviews, his curiosity knows no bounds. In this interview, Etan Ilfeld and him discuss the history of comedy and what makes us laugh white reviewing his latest book, Knock Knock! In Pursuit of a Grand Unified Theory of Humour. Here's a recent review of Hartston's book.

Rhonda Byrne has inspired millions of people through her book and film, The Secret. Since then, she's continued to publish numerous bestselling titles. In this interview she discusses how she learnt to use gratitude to overcome depression, increase her self-awareness and improve her health, and her ongoing spiritual journey.

Jim Al-Khalili is a professor of physics at the University of Surrey. He is a fellow of the Royal Society and also one of the world's best-known science communicators: He has presented numerous documentaries and hosts the acclaimed radio show, The Life Scientific, and his latest book, The World According to Physics, was published by Princeton University Press. Topics range from the meaning of life to the chances of meeting extraterrestrials, the future of quantum computing, and artificial intelligence, which Jim assures us will change the world more than the internet has! We also discuss why Stephen Hawkings was wrong about the end of scientific progress, and better understand the nature of reality, the dangers of politicizing science, the meaning of science, and why enlightenment is better than ignorance.

Fabien Riggall is a maverick, an activist, and a creative rebel. He is the inventor and creative director of Future shorts, Future Cinema and Secret Cinema. He is also the co-founder of March for Europe and has campaigned for freedom of cultural expression and for the rights of migrants. In this interview, Etan Ilfeld and Fabien Riggall discuss the future of immersive experiences, cinema, and much more. 

Derek Frost is the author of Living and Loving in the Age of AIDS. He is also a distinguished designer and entrepreneur who alongside his husband Jeremy Norman, founded Heaven, the first gay nightclub in London.  Their lives were high-octane, full of adventure, fun and fearless creativity. However, in 1991, Derek’s partner Jeremy was diagnosed as HIV positive. While the onset of AIDS strengthened stigma and fear globally, they confronted their personal crisis with courage, humor, and an indomitable resolve to survive. Jeremy’s battle lasted six long years--until conventional medicine finally developed ATR treatments which made HIV manageable and allowed Jeremy to start living a normal life again--and indeed he’s still alive today. Turning to spiritual reflection, yoga, nature - and always to love - Derek describes a transformation of the spirit and how compassion and empathy rose from the flames of sickness and death. Out of this transformation also came Aids Ark, the charity they founded, which helped to save, amongst the world's most marginalized people, more than 1,000 HIV-positive lives. Derek speaks for a generation who lived through a global health crisis that many in society refused even to acknowledge. His book, Living and Loving in the Age of AIDS is a story of joy and triumph; about facing universal challenges; about the great rewards that come from giving back.

Anthony Misquitta is a world-class expert on copyright, intellectual property, and contract law. He is the general counsel at the Victoria and Albert Museum and, as a consultant solicitor at Keystone Law, independently represents clients in a range of sectors including software, media, music, luxury brands, fashion, and culture. Join Anthony and Etan Ilfeld in this fascinating discussion of the nature and nuance of copyright and how it applies to art, culture, and innovation.

Jonah Paquette is interviewed by Etan Ilfeld. Jonah is a clinical psychologist, speaker, and author. His book Awestruck teaches us how to be more alive through the power of experiencing awe. Did you know that our ancestors used to experience awe on a daily basis but we only do about twice a week? Modern civilization is awe-deprived. Jonah gives tips on how to bring awe back into our daily lives. Also, we learn that we can experience negative awe through catastrophes but that they can also change our perspective and enhance our compassion and gratitude. On average, for half of our waking hours, our mind wanders and doesn’t take in all of the present. That’s a shame because real life is right here, right now. Whether it’s through nature, music, psychedelics, intense connection, that awe-inspired feeling that has been described as oceanic by Freud or as a peak experience by Maslow is vital to thriving in life. Awe makes us more present and grateful and breaks the cycle of negative rumination.

This episode with Mark Davis is one-half of a longer interview and covers the fascinating history of hypnosis and how to use self-hypnosis to empower yourself. The other interview is in another podcast episode and explains CBT, how to relax, optimize sleep and overcome phobias. Mark Davis is a therapist, trainer, meditation teacher – and the Director of The UK College of Hypnosis and Hypnotherapy, He trained in cognitive-behavioral hypnotherapy in 2006 and has been a full-time therapist since 2007 – with a practice in Central London. Before becoming a therapist, he traveled extensively and explored various spiritual practices. 

This interview is one-half of a longer interview and explains CBT, how to relax, optimize sleep and overcome phobias. The other interview is in another podcast episode and covers the history of hypnosis and how to use self-hypnosis to empower yourself. Mark Davis is a therapist, trainer, meditation teacher – and the Director of The UK College of Hypnosis and Hypnotherapy, He trained in cognitive-behavioral hypnotherapy in 2006 and has been a full-time therapist since 2007 – with a practice in Central London. I know that he knows his stuff because he treated me and helped me overcome my blood and needle phobia in only 5 sessions. Mark is extremely wise and curious. Before becoming a therapist, he traveled extensively and explored various spiritual practices. Whenever I’m hanging out with Mark, I feel like I’m soaking up wisdom.

Judy Piatkus is an entrepreneur, publisher and business coach specializing in conscious leadership. She founded Piatkus when she was in her 20s while she was raising a family and grew the company to become an international brand. Piatkus published influential self-help titles such as Full Catastrophe Living by Jon Kabatz Zin, Many Lives Many Masters by Brian Weiss, and many more amazing books. Judy sold Piatkus to Hatchette in 2007, just before the global financial crash that she had shrewdly foreseen. She is now a keynote speaker, an angel investor, and a coach and mentor to start-ups. In 2011 she founded Conscious Café, a network that brings people together for deep conversations and connections. To learn more, I highly recommend her book Ahead of Her Time.

Neelakantha Bhanu Prakash has one of the fastest minds you've ever met. He took gold in the 2020 Mental Calculations World Championship and can calculate things like the cubed root of a 5 digit number within seconds. He's also the founder of 'Exploring Infinities', a math education startup that aims to eradicate math phobia. According to Bhanu, anybody can strengthen their math muscles, and there are lots of benefits to be gained. Join us for this inspiring interview.

Ben Aldridge's book How to Be Comfortable with Being Uncomfortable is appropriately subtitled: 43 Weird & Wonderful Ways to Build a Strong Resilient Mindset. The book is already an international bestseller and has rave reviews.  It offers challenges and advice on how to push yourself out of your comfort zone and into the unknown. Demonstrating that constantly learning new things, really does cultivate a stronger, healthier, more resilient mindset. And let's face it, these days, resilience is more important than ever. Join us for this fascinating discussion.

In this podcast, Keren Landsman and I discuss a wide range of topics from overcoming the Corona pandemic, to the history of pandemics and the future of humanity.  In addition to being a physician and epidemiologist, Keren is also the author of the award-winning urban fantasy book, Heart of the Circle. Keren works for the Israeli Health Ministry as an epidemiologist and volunteers at Mida’at, an NGO that promotes public health. Links mentioned in the podcast: Mida'at - http://midaat.org.il/midaat/midaat_english/ Great books about pandemics: Diana Rowland / My Life as A White Trash Zombie  http://www.dianarowland.com/zombies.html Seanan McGuire (under the pen name Mira Grant) / Feed https://www.amazon.com/Feed-Newsflesh-Book-Mira-Grant/dp/0316081051 Daryl Gregory / The Devil's Alphabet https://www.amazon.com/Devils-Alphabet-Novel-Daryl-Gregory/dp/0345501179  John snow and the broad street water pump (Epidemiology and history) https://youtu.be/TLpzHHbFrHY

Terence Stamp passed away on August 17, 2025.Recorded a decade earlier, this episode is both a time capsule and a tribute to a legendary actor, artist, and seeker.On July 26, 2015 in London, Etan Ilfeld sat down with Stamp for an intimate and wide-ranging conversation. Best known for films such as Billy Budd, The Collector, Superman II, and The Limey, he spoke candidly about his life on and off the screen—his collaborations with icons like Marlon Brando and Laurence Olivier, his reflections on figures from Winston Churchill to the Queen Mother, and his years of spiritual exploration in India and beyond.He also shared insights on health, discipline, voice, and the daily practices that shaped his outlook—wisdom later distilled into his memoir The Ocean Fell into the Drop, published by Watkins.This conversation is shared in memory of an extraordinary artist and human being.

This interview took place on March 13, 2024. David Lynch is a writer and director of groundbreaking films like Eraserhead, The Elephant Man, Blue Velvet and Mulholland Drive. In this interview, he discusses the power of Transcendental Meditation (TM), which he's done every day for over 50 years. He also shares his outlook on life and synchronicity. His creative endeavours include building and designing furniture, recording a solo album, and much more. This interview also references his autobiography Room to Dream published in 2017.

Stephen Wolfram is one of a kind, he's a mathematician, computer scientist, and theoretical physicist. He's also the founder and CEO of Wolfram Research, which includes Mathematica and Wolfram alpha. He's written numerous books, including A New Kind of Science, which delved into the mystery of cellular automata, and most recently, What is ChatGPT Doing and Why Does it Work? Etan Ilfeld and Stephen Wolfram discuss a wide range of topics from the future of artificial intelligence to open source versus proprietary software, to the evolution of culture and the future of education.

Many have studied it, written about it and even died for it and yet, it appears, we are mostly blind to the essence of love. Dr Liat Yakir takes us on a fascinating journey through the evolution of love in history and in modern times, showing the importance of hormones, neurons and genes that dictate who we’ll fall in love with and who we’ll reject. A Brief History of Love is Dr Liat Yakir's first book.

Masayuki "Mochy" Mochizuki is a two-time Backgammon World Champion and is widely regarded as the greatest living backgammon player. In this interview with Etan Ilfeld, Mochy shares his insights on the influence of Artificial Intelligence in both games and life, and explains why he believes backgammon is a powerful tool for learning, personal growth, and developing strategic thinking.

Uri Levine is the founder of Waze and Moovit, and one of the world's most successful entrepreneurs. In this interview with Etan Ilfeld, he gives you the ultimate guide to starting and running a business. He is also the author of Fall in Love with the Problem Not the Solution, which is published by Watkins. As the cofounder of Waze – the world's leading commuting and navigation app with more than 700 million users to date, and which Google acquired in 2013 for $1.15 billion – Levine is committed to spreading entrepreneurial thinking so that other founders, managers, and employees in the tech space can build their own highly valued companies. Levine offers an inside look at the creation and sale of Waze and his second unicorn, Moovit, revealing the formula that drove those companies to compete with industry veterans and giants alike. He offers tips on: Raising funding Firing and hiring Understanding your users Making up-scale decisions Going global Deciding when to sell Fall in Love with the Problem, Not the Solution offers mentorship in a book from one of the world's most successful entrepreneurs, and empowers you to build a successful business by identifying your consumers' biggest problems and disrupting the inefficient markets that currently serve them.

Tony Buzan believed that anyone can improve their memory, creativity, reading speed and spiritual intelligence. He developed mind mapping as a learning tool, co-founded the memory world championship, the mind sports olympiad, and the mind, body and spirit festival. He also managed to write over eighty books and was the editor of the International Journal of Mensa! His last book, Mind Mapping 2.0, was also a bestseller and has already been translated into 19 languages. Tony past away in 2019, at the age of 76 but not before leaving a very positive impact on the world. The interview you’re about to hear was recorded in 2016.