A Need To Read

Merlin Sheldrake is a biologist, writer, and speaker with a background in plant sciences, microbiology, ecology, and the history and philosophy of science. He received a Ph.D. in tropical ecology from Cambridge University for his work on underground fungal networks in tropical forests in Panama.   His book Entangled life was a Sunday Times Bestseller.   www.buymeacoffee.com/aneedtoread   A-need-to-read is the code for an additional 10% off your first purchase with Urban Farm It, who do homegrown mushroom kits: https://urban-farm-it.com/

In this episode, I chat about some fiction books that you might like to read this year.    Books discussed   When We Cease To Understand The World by Benjamin Labtut Kim Jiyoung Born 1982 by Cho Nam Joo A Brave New World by Aldous Huxley Someone To Love You In All Your Damaged Glory by Raphael Bob-Waksburg First Person Singular by Hariku Murakami If Cats Disappeared From The World by Genki Kawamura The Virgin Suicides & Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides  A Little Life by Hanya Yangihara Siddartha & Steppenwolf by Hermann Hesse 100 Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez   All of the links will take you to Bookshop.org, a website where when you buy books, you support small bookstores, and I also get 10% of the sale. Which is quite nice, init.    Support for the podcast   If you want to help me produce podcasts directly, which would be VERY KIND, head to www.buymeacoffee.com/aneedtoread    You will have heard me bang on about how transformational therapy can be, that's why I am proud that Betterhelp sponsors A Need To Read. Meaning you get 10% off your first month if you wanted to chat with a therapist, just head to www.betterhelp.com/aneedtoread   If you have any feedback, requests, or well-wishes, send me an email at hello@aneedtoread.co.uk

Dan Osman is a Health and Wellbeing Educator, who has worked in the health and fitness industry for 17 years.    We discuss; problems with social media, People’s relationships with diets, exercise, and themselves, Self-awareness, How to use values to guide you, confusing avoidance with enlightenment, body-image issues across genders,  society’s contribution to body image issues, self-objectification, and have a general moan about empty mental health advocacy. Support for the podcast   I'm an independent podcaster, which is a fancy way of saying no one pays me a regular wage. And, to level with you, that is terrifying- all of the time. So, if you like what I do and want me to keep doing it please support the show in one of the following ways.   - Share the podcast with a friend, or review the podcast.    - Make a one-off donation with BuyMeACoffee   - The show is sponsored by BetterHelp, so you can get matched with a therapist within 48 hours and get 10% off your first month by heading to www.betterhelp.com/aneedtoread    - You can also give me feedback/comments/validation by emailing me: hello (at) aneedtoread.co.uk  

Support for the podcast   I'm an independent podcaster, which is a fancy way of saying no one pays me a regular wage. And, to level with you, that is terrifying- all of the time. So, if you like what I do and want me to keep doing it please support the show in one of the following ways.   - Share the podcast with a friend, or review the podcast.    - Make a one-off donation with BuyMeACoffee   - The show is sponsored by BetterHelp, so you can get matched with a therapist within 48 hours and get 10% off your first month by heading to www.betterhelp.com/aneedtoread    - You can also give me feedback/comments/validation by emailing me: hello (at) aneedtoread.co.uk  

Dr. Alan Flanagan, PhD, holds an MSc and PhD in nutrition from the University of Surrey, and is a former practicing Lawyer (Barrister) from Dublin, Ireland. In this podcast we discuss; nutrition, the protein problem for plant-based diets, what we’re seeing in British politics, philosophy, and Alan’s favourite books.    

Bill McGuire is a Professor Emeritus of Geophysical and Climate Hazards at University College London, and a writer, who is regularly published in The Guardian, The Times, and The Observer. He is the author of many books, notably the newest, Hothouse Earth - an inhabitants guide, which is a look towards the future of our planet.      In this podcast we discuss: The impact of rising sea levels on the earth's crust, volcanos, coastal cities, and marine life Humanity’s downward spiral due to the climate crisis   Capitalism and climate change And at the end, I chat about how I'm trying not to be sad all the time about what the future is looking likely to hold.    Support for the podcast   I'm an independent podcaster, which is a fancy way of saying no one pays me a regular wage. And, to level with you, that is terrifying- all of the time. So, if you like what I do and want me to keep doing it please support the show in one of the following ways.   - Share the podcast with a friend, or review the podcast.    - Make a one-off donation with BuyMeACoffee   I work with a couple of great companies who have discounts arranged for A Need To Read listeners, they're listed below. The discounts (BH) + freebies (AG) will already be applied when you click the link.    - Go to Therapy and get 10% off your first month with BetterHelp, who sponsor the show   - Get your nutrition covered with the all-in-one AG1 shake from Athletic Greens, who also sponsor the show.    - You can also give me feedback/comments/validation by emailing me: hello (at) aneedtoread.co.uk  

Professor Anil Seth is a Computational and Cognitive neuroscientist at the University of Sussex. His book Being You was a Sunday Times Bestseller.    Take part in Anil's research   In this podcast we discuss: Anil’s latest project ‘The Dream Machine’ What dreams are for? How your brain creates experience  How we see colour Why we all see things differently  What happens to your brain on Psychadelics What happens to your brains when you learn something new The illusion of Self Free Will    Support for the podcast   I'm an independent podcaster, which is a fancy way of saying no one pays me a regular wage. And, to level with you, that is terrifying- all of the time. So, if you like what I do and want me to keep doing it please support the show in one of the following ways.   - Share the podcast with a friend, or review the podcast.    - Make a one-off donation with BuyMeACoffee   I work with a couple of great companies who have discounts arranged for A Need To Read listeners, they're listed below. The discounts (BH) + freebies (AG) will already be applied when you click the link.    - Go to Therapy and get 10% off your first month with BetterHelp, who sponsor the show   - Get your nutrition covered with the all-in-one AG1 shake from Athletic Greens, who also sponsor the show.    - You can also give me feedback/comments/validation by emailing me: hello (at) aneedtoread.co.uk  

Kieran Setiya is a Professor of Philosophy at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He was born in Hull, UK. He is known for his work in ethics, epistemology, and the philosophy of mind.    We discuss:  Utilitarianism and the problems with focusing on happiness The Good Enough life Dealing with injustice Effective altruism Dealing with powerlessness and the limits of individualism Meaning in an absurd world  Assessing hope How to face your midlife crisis  Dealing with regret  Meditation and presence  Kieran’s favourite philosopher His website is: http://www.ksetiya.net/    Support for the podcast   I'm an independent podcaster, which is a fancy way of saying no one pays me a regular wage. And, to level with you, that is terrifying- all of the time. So, if you like what I do and want me to keep doing it please support the show in one of the following ways.   - Share the podcast with a friend, or review the podcast.    - Make a one-off donation with BuyMeACoffee   I work with a couple of great companies who have discounts arranged for A Need To Read listeners, they're listed below. The discounts (BH) + freebies (AG) will already be applied when you click the link.    - Go to Therapy and get 10% off your first month with BetterHelp, who sponsor the show   - Get your nutrition covered with the all-in-one AG1 shake from Athletic Greens, who also sponsor the show.    - You can also give me feedback/comments/validation by emailing me: hello (at) aneedtoread.co.uk  

Dr. Mike Banna is a GP in the South of England, a GP educator, and a Director of the British Society for Lifestyle Medicine. He also writes a weekly newsletter for Gymshark called The Doctors Note.   This podcast discusses mental health services in the UK, Instagram wellness advice, behaviour change journeys, shamelessly being bad at things, and a few of his favourite books.    Dr. Mike is on Instagram and Twitter as @DrMikethe2nd   Support for the podcast   I'm an independent podcaster, which is a fancy way of saying no one pays me a regular wage. And, to level with you, that is terrifying- all of the time. So, if you like what I do and want me to keep doing it please support the show in one of the following ways.   - Share the podcast with a friend, or review the podcast.    - Make a one-off donation with BuyMeACoffee   I work with a couple of great companies who have discounts arranged for A Need To Read listeners, they're listed below. The discounts (BH) + freebies (AG) will already be applied when you click the link.    - Go to Therapy and get 10% off your first month with BetterHelp, who sponsor the show   - Get your nutrition covered with the all-in-one AG1 shake from Athletic Greens, who also sponsor the show.    - You can also give me feedback/comments/validation by emailing me: hello (at) aneedtoread.co.uk      

George Monbiot is one of Britain's finest writers on Climate. He has a weekly column where he writes on political and environmental issues with The Guardian and is the author of multiple books.  His book feral has inspired a rewinding movement in the UK, and his latest book Regenesis looks at the future of farming.    In this podcast we discuss The complexity of soil  How common farming practices are destroying the structure of soil   What working on a pig farm is like  How much DEFRA suck  Where there is hope in eco-farming The impact of animal agriculture  The future of protein How farmers control farming policies   Find more from George on his website: https://www.monbiot.com/about/   Support for the podcast   I'm an independent podcaster, which is a fancy way of saying no one pays me a regular wage. And, to level with you, that is terrifying- all of the time. So, if you like what I do and want me to keep doing it please support the show in one of the following ways.   - Share the podcast with a friend, or review the podcast.    - Make a one-off donation with BuyMeACoffee   I work with a couple of great companies who have discounts arranged for A Need To Read listeners, they're listed below. The discounts (BH) + freebies (AG) will already be applied when you click the link.    - Go to Therapy and get 10% off your first month with BetterHelp, who sponsor the show   - Get your nutrition covered with the all-in-one AG1 shake from Athletic Greens, who also sponsor the show.    - You can also give me feedback/comments/validation by emailing me: hello (at) aneedtoread.co.uk  

David Robert Grimes is a Science communicator and author. His book The Irrational Ape has been discussed on this show many times. He joins me today to discuss the Law of Attraction, the pseudoscientific craze that has made millennials, Gen-Zers, and Gwyneth Paltrow believe they can bend the universe to suit their will.   More from David is on his website: https://www.davidrobertgrimes.com   I highly recommend reading his book if you have ever wondered what on the flat earth makes people believe in conspiracy theories. David's an excellent communicator. and a great voice for science and rationality.    Support for the podcast   Hey!   I'm an independent podcaster, which is a fancy way of saying no one pays me a regular wage. And, to level with you, that is terrifying- all of the time. So, if you like what I do and want me to keep doing it please support the show in one of the following ways.   - Share the podcast with a friend, or review the podcast.    - Make a one-off donation with BuyMeACoffee   I work with a couple of great companies who have discounts arranged for A Need To Read listeners, they're listed below. The discounts (BH) + freebies (AG) will already be applied when you click the link.    - Go to Therapy and get 10% off your first month with BetterHelp, who sponsor the show   - Get your nutrition covered with the all-in-one AG1 shake from Athletic Greens, who also sponsor the show.    - You can also give me feedback/comments/validation by emailing me: hello (at) aneedtoread.co.uk

Dr. Nicola Fox Hamilton is a cyberpsychology researcher and lecturer at the Institute of Art, Design, and Technology, in Dublin. She has authored a new series called 'The Psychology of Online Behaviour' on audible, and regularly appears in the media to discuss her research.    We discuss - How Tinder changed online dating - Social Media use - Why social media gets the blame for the mental health crisis - The psychology of Dick Pics - How men can be more successful with online dating - How men and women's experiences vary with online dating - How to think rationally about screen time & technology use - How school shooters aren't linked with gaming    For more from Nicola head to her website: https://www.nicolafoxhamilton.com/    Get a Free audiobook with Audible and access to Nicola's Audible Original 'The Psychology of Online Behaviour'   Support   Get my new weekly newsletter   www.Buymeacoffee.com/aneedtoread   BetterHelp sponsors this podcast, so if you want to learn to understand your behavior or emotions with the help of a professional you can get 10% off your first month of therapy by heading to www.betterhelp.com/aneedtoread from there you’ll just need to run through a 5-minute questionnaire and you’ll be matched with a therapist within 48 hours.   This podcast is also sponsored by Athletic Greens so you can get an additional 5 free travel packs and a year's supply of Vitamin D3 with your Athletic Greens subscription at www.athleticgreens.com/aneedtoread     Get in touch: www.aneedtoread.co.uk/contact   

Mark Maslin is a Professor of Earth System Science at University College London, a thought-leader on global heating, and the author of popular books on climate change and human evolution, most recently How To Save Our Planet: The Facts.   Mark joined me to discuss: - How much it will cost to limit further damage and save the planet, - Why Jordan Peterson is wrong about environmentalists, - Who will be dealing with the worst of the consequences of global heating, - How capitalism can save the planet, - What it means to be in The Anthropocene, - How governments, individuals, and corporations can do their bit    You can find Mark on Twitter: @profmarkmaslin   Support   Get my new weekly newsletter   This podcast is sponsored by BetterHelp, so if you want to learn to understand your behavior or emotions with the help of a professional you can get 10% off your first month of therapy by heading to www.betterhelp.com/aneedtoread from there you’ll just need to run through a 5-minute questionnaire and you’ll be matched with a therapist within 48 hours.   This podcast is also sponsored by Athletic Greens so you can get an additional 5 free travel packs and a year's supply of Vitamin D3 with your Athletic Greens subscription at www.athleticgreens.com/aneedtoread   Get a Free audiobook with Audible!    Get in touch: www.aneedtoread.co.uk/contact    Or to support my work by making a donation please head to https://www.buymeacoffee.com/aneedtoread

Siobhan O'hagan is a Personal Trainer and Content Creator, she is also a good friend of mine. She's back on A Need To Read for the third time to discuss; Tony Robbins, self-help, effective altruism, whether or not the laptop lifestyle is sustainable, Angel numbers, the meaning of suffering, Whether books REALLY helped me as much as I thought, The recently UCL study on the chemical imbalance narrative around depression, the effectiveness of IAPT (Immediate Access to Psychological Therapies) in the UK, and the problems with the economics of happiness.   Books Discussed The existentialist Cafe The Antidote  Manufacturing Happy Citizens    Support The best thing you can do is share the podcast with a friend, or sign up for my new weekly newsletter.   You can also see the archive posts with this link.   This podcast is sponsored by BetterHelp, so if you want to learn to understand your behavior or emotions with the help of a professional you can get 10% off your first month of therapy by heading to www.betterhelp.com/aneedtoread from there you’ll just need to run through a 5-minute questionnaire and you’ll be matched with a therapist within 48 hours.   This podcast is also sponsored by Athletic Greens so you can get an additional 5 free travel packs and a year's supply of Vitamin D3 with your Athletic Greens subscription at www.athleticgreens.com/aneedtoread    Get a Free audiobook with Audible!    Get in touch: www.aneedtoread.co.uk/contact   

Azeem Azhar is one of the world’s most trusted voices in technological innovation. He has worked within the tech industry since the early 90s with companies like the BBC, The Guardian, and The Economist. More recently, Azeem has become an active startup investor and has advised organizations like the World Economic Forum. He is a contributor to publications including the Financial Times, Wired, and the MIT Technology Review. He's been producing the Exponential view newsletter— which looks at intersections between technology and business— for the last 7 years and has attracted a high-profile readership. Azeem’s new book, Exponential, looks at how technology has come to advance so rapidly, and the different ways we are struggling to keep up.    In this podcast we discuss: What are the characteristics of The Exponential Age Why the Metaverse is a bit meh Which technologies that have been getting exponentially cheaper How clean energy is being held back The ways big tech firms use your data Cyber security and the threat of misinformation  Russia’s cyber antics  How advanced does tech have to be for us to be suspicious of living in a simulation?    Azeem can be found on Twitter: @Azeem Or at Exponential View: https://www.exponentialview.co/  Support   The best thing you can do is share the podcast with a friend, or sign up for my new weekly newsletter. You can also see my older newsletters with this link.   This podcast is sponsored by BetterHelp, so if you want to learn to understand your behavior or emotions with the help of a professional you can get 10% off your first month of therapy by heading to www.betterhelp.com/aneedtoread from there you’ll just need to run through a 5-minute questionnaire and you’ll be matched with a therapist within 48 hours.   This podcast is also sponsored by Athletic Greens so you can get an additional 5 free travel packs and a year's supply of Vitamin D3 with your Athletic Greens subscription at www.athleticgreens.com/aneedtoread    Get a Free audiobook with Audible!    Get in touch: www.aneedtoread.co.uk/contact 

Professor Rory O’Connor is Professor of Health Psychology at the University of Glasgow in Scotland and Past President of the International Academy of Suicide Research. Rory leads the Suicidal Behaviour Research Laboratory) at the University of Glasgow, one of the leading suicide and self-harm research groups internationally. His book, When It Is Darkest, was the winner of the 2021 British Psychological Society Popular Science Book Award   He can be found on twitter (@suicideresearch).    Rory and I spoke about; his book- When It Is Darkest, How to talk about suicide, Why the mental health services are lacking in the UK, socio-economic influences on mental health, how ‘The Social Dilemma’ documentary was too simplistic in terms of suicide attempts and self-harm statistics, Socially prescribed perfectionism, Status, and mental health, Explaining the statistics around global suicides, Alcohol and suicide and how you can help the suicide issue.      Support   The best thing you can do is share the podcast with a friend, or sign up for my new weekly newsletter. You can also see my older newsletters with this link.   This podcast is sponsored by BetterHelp, so if you want to learn to understand your behavior or emotions with the help of a professional you can get 10% off your first month of therapy by heading to www.betterhelp.com/aneedtoread from there you’ll just need to run through a 5-minute questionnaire and you’ll be matched with a therapist within 48 hours.   This podcast is also sponsored by Athletic Greens so you can get an additional 5 free travel packs and a year's supply of Vitamin D3 with your Athletic Greens subscription at www.athleticgreens.com/aneedtoread    Get a Free audiobook with Audible!    Get in touch: www.aneedtoread.co.uk/contact 

I chatted with Emily Kenway who's a writer, an activist, and the author of The Truth About Modern Slavery. In the past, Emily has advised the first Anti-Slavery Commissioner for the UK, and she now researches and writes about crucial forces shaping our lives and communities.   We discussed: We look at the statement: “There are more people enslaved today than at any other point in history.” What’s meant by “Modern Slavery” The Rwanda flights  What Human Trafficking really looks like The UK’s hostile environment for migrants How exploitative labour laws are being leveraged abroad by big businesses  How Sex Work is being used as a scapegoat  Exploitation in the UK (John Lewis)     Read Emily’s article on the 46 people found dead in Texas on OpenDemocracy.net  Emily’s Website (+ Instagram & Twitter): https://www.emilykenway.com/about    Support   The best thing you can do is share the podcast with a friend, or sign up for my new weekly newsletter. You can also see my older newsletters with this link.   This podcast is sponsored by BetterHelp, so if you want to learn to understand your behavior or emotions with the help of a professional you can get 10% off your first month of therapy by heading to www.betterhelp.com/aneedtoread from there you’ll just need to run through a 5-minute questionnaire and you’ll be matched with a therapist within 48 hours.   This podcast is also sponsored by Athletic Greens so you can get an additional 5 free travel packs and a year's supply of Vitamin D3 with your Athletic Greens subscription at www.athleticgreens.com/aneedtoread    Get a Free audiobook with Audible!    Get in touch: www.aneedtoread.co.uk/contact     

In this episode, I cover some of my favorite books on religion, my religious experiences, and explore the article I wrote the other day on the Roe Vs Wade overturning (+religions role in that decision).   Books discussed God is Not Great & The Missionary Position by Christopher Hitchens Waking Up, The Moral Landscape, The End of Faith & Letters to a Christian Nation By Sam Harris Support   The best thing you can do is share the podcast with a friend, or sign up for my new weekly newsletter. You can also see my older newsletters with this link.   This podcast is sponsored by BetterHelp, so if you want to learn to understand your behavior or emotions with the help of a professional you can get 10% off your first month of therapy by heading to www.betterhelp.com/aneedtoread from there you’ll just need to run through a 5-minute questionnaire and you’ll be matched with a therapist within 48 hours.   This podcast is also sponsored by Athletic Greens so you can get an additional 5 free travel packs and a year's supply of Vitamin D3 with your Athletic Greens subscription at www.athleticgreens.com/aneedtoread    Get a Free audiobook with Audible!    Get in touch: www.aneedtoread.co.uk/contact   

Nichola Raihani is a professor of Evolution and Behavior at University College London. She joined me to discuss her new book The Social Instinct. We also spoke about: cooperation from cell to society, what makes us different from the great apes, what we have in common with meerkats, peacocking and why reputation matters, paranoia as a normal function of life, the impact of community on mental health and the idea of self-interested altruism.   You can find Nichola on Twitter: @nicholaraihani              

This episode is about the different ways we deceive ourselves, and why we do so. If you want to find out more you can read Elephant in the Brain by Kevin Simler and Robin Hanson.   Support   The best thing you can do is share the podcast with a friend, or sign up for my new weekly newsletter. You can also see my older newsletters with this link.   This podcast is sponsored by BetterHelp, so if you want to learn to understand your behaviour or emotions with the help of a professional you can get 10% off your first month of therapy by heading to www.betterhelp.com/aneedtoread from there you’ll just need to run through a 5-minute questionnaire and you’ll be matched with a therapist within 48 hours.   This podcast is sponsored by Athletic Greens so you can get an additional 5 free travel packs and a year's supply of Vitamin D3 with your Athletic Greens subscription at www.athleticgreens.com/aneedtoread    Get a Free audiobook with Audible!    Get in touch: www.aneedtoread.co.uk/contact