Brave New World

For Episode Nine, Evgeny is joined by Michael Pollan, journalist, author, and one of the leading voices exploring the human mind. Drawing on his new book A World Appears , Pollan makes an impassioned case for consciousness as something precious, private, and increasingly under threat. Together, they explore how social media and AI are not just competing for our attention, but beginning to shape at...

For Episode Eight, Evgeny is joined by Carl Pei, founder and CEO of Nothing, the London-based consumer tech company trying to make devices feel fun.  Carl explains how Nothing evolved from earbuds to smartphones, why he believes design and “focus-first” features can counter distraction, and what it means to build products with a distinct, instantly recognisable identity. Evgeny and Carl also...

For this episode of Brave New World, Evgeny is joined by Dr Sabine Donnai, a physician specialising in precision medicine, preventive health and the founder of Viavi Healthcare. Together, they explore brain health beyond standard scans, discussing how gut function, inflammation, environmental exposure, and stress interact over time.  Drawing on Evgeny’s own test results, Sabine uses her trade...

For this episode of Brave New World, Evgeny is joined by psychologist, author, and researcher Dr Jim Fadiman, a central figure in the modern understanding of psychedelics, who also goes by the “father of microdosing”. Drawing on decades of research and thousands of user reports, the conversation traces the history of psychedelics - from early scientific study in the 1950s and 60s, through prohibit...

Did you ever think you’d live to see woolly mammoths return? For Episode Five of Brave New World, Evgeny is joined by Ben Lamm, CEO and co-founder of the most forward thinking de-extinction company on the planet, Colossal Biosciences. Since Ben co-founded the Austin based biotech start-up with legendary geneticist George Church in 2021, Colossal has consistently made headlines with their Jurassic...

For Episode Four, Evgeny is joined by human biologist, longevity science monolith and founder of The Ultimate Human, Gary Brecka. Together, they explore why so many people feel stuck at a “six out of ten,” what Gary believes to be the cause of fatigue, brain fog, poor sleep, soreness, low mood, and why poor exercise recovery is often driven by nutrient deficiencies. Gary shares his unconventional...

In Episode Three of Brave New World, Evgeny is joined by Will Ahmed, founder and CEO of WHOOP. Together, they explore recovery, sleep, and the idea that “you can’t manage what you don’t measure.” Ahmed explains how overtraining as a Harvard athlete led him to build his own wearable, identifying a major gap in health diagnostics at the time: measuring recovery, not just performance. He explains wha...

In this episode, Evgeny sits down with Professor Tim Spector and Dr Federica Amati - two of the leading scientific voices behind personalised nutrition company ZOE - to rethink everything we’ve been told about food. From the myth of “good” and “bad” fats to calorie-counting obsessions, Tim and Federica uncover why so much of our nutritional advice is outdated, over-simplified - and in some cases,...

Welcome to the first episode of Season 4 of Brave New World. This time, Evgeny is joined by Steven Bartlett to talk about mindset, ambition and the future. He shares how he manages “a million tabs” without burning out, why self-empathy boosts performance, and how a humiliating paddle match taught him a breakthrough lesson on failure. He opens up about growing up in poverty and shame, the influence...

In today’s episode, Evgeny Lebedev talks about the remarkable potential of ketamine with Dr John Krystal, Professor of neuroscience at the Yale School of Medicine.  Their discussion delves into the world of neurology, what ketamine actually does to our brain and the importance of glutamate receptors in treating depression. Ketamine may have gotten bad press after Friends actor Matthew Perry d...

In today’s episode, we are excited to be joined by Peter Attia: a longevity expert, physician, and bestselling author.   Peter’s podcast, The Drive, is one of the most popular in the world. Through it, he’s brought cutting edge science to the masses, sharing tips and tricks, some of which are still experimental, on how to boost your chances of ageing well.   Tune into Peter and Evgeny’s...

Evgeny Lebedev joins Dr. Aubrey de Grey, a visionary in biomedical gerontology and co-founder of the SENS Research Foundation. Known for his radical approach to ageing, Dr. de Grey discusses why some need to awaken from a "pro-ageing trance". What’s Aubrey’s biological age? In this episode: Why we don’t “have” to age Reversing cellular aging The ethical questions surrounding life ex...

On today’s show Evgeny Lebedev is in conversation with the Oscar-winning actor, Dame Helen Mirren. They discuss everything from the evolution of fashion to the contemporary media landscape. “It’s so sad that Kurt Cobain died when he did, because he never got to see GPS” Also in this episode: The evolution of technology and why Helen is grateful to have been around in a world without it How young p...

Evgeny Lebedev is joined by Jim Poole, chairman, president and chief executive of neuroscience company Solace Life Sciences. The company owns NuCalm, a technology designed to reduce stress and improve sleep without recourse to drugs. You may have even spotted the Duchess of Sussex wearing one of their stress relief patches. In this episode, Evgeny and Jim explore the evolution of the human brain,...

We’re joined by one of the most famous faces of alternative medicine on the planet, Deepak Chopra.  The world-renowned author, health and wellness expert has been at the intersection of science and spirituality for nearly 50 years. Deepak sits down with host Evgeny Lebedev to mark the release of his 95th book ‘Digital Dharma’. He explains why artificial intelligence is the key to unlocking bo...

Is there such a thing as perfect sleep? Leading expert in circadian neuroscience from Oxford University, Professor Russell Foster, joins host Evgeny Lebedev, to explain the science behind nighttime slumber and why it's crucial to living our best lives awake.  The pair discuss everything from sleep hygiene, our circadian rhythm and body clocks, the impact of technology before bed and whether i...

On this episode of Brave New World, we’re turning our attention to nootropics and neuroscience.  Nootropics are drugs and supplements which proponents say can boost alertness, increase focus, and improve memory.  Today, Evgeny Lebedev meets Nootopia founder Mark Effinger , AKA Mr Noots. Since launching in 2004, Nootopia has helped 300,000 people- including doctors, biohackers, and f...

In this episode of Brave New World, billionaire entrepreneur Christian Angermayer and Olympic athlete James Magnussen – who's been offered $1 million if he wins the competition's 100m freestyle swimming race – talk to Evgeny about taking part in the most radical sports event ever conceived; where doping is not just allowed but encouraged.    Christian talks about:  Dropping out of u...

In this episode of Brave New World, Evgeny talks to bestselling author and brain coach Jim Kwik. Kwik suffered a traumatic brain injury aged 5 and is now a world authority on brain optimisation. He shares his top tips on how to boost cognitive function. The two discuss: Why adding Omega 3s to your diet – and cutting out sugar – are vital to brain health. What to do with negative thoughts Why we ne...

In this episode of Brave New World, Evgeny talks to physician and longevity expert Mark Hyman. The two discuss the rise of functional medicine and what lifestyle changes we can make to enhance our healthspan. They cover:  The paradigm shift happening in medicine today  The underlying mechanisms that drive dysfunction and disease How nutrition and exercise impact the pathways of ageing&nb...

In this episode of Brave New World, Evgeny talks to author and podcaster Ryan Holiday about the modern media landscape, echo chambers and the value of Stoic leadership. The two discuss:  The common misunderstanding of stoicism as apathy Why we need stoicism now more than ever Why it's so hard to be stoic in the information age Why we ought to be more cautious about live news  What o...

In this episode of Brave New World, Evgeny talks to researcher and podcaster Rhonda Patrick. The two discuss anti-ageing, with Patrick sharing her unique insights. Together they cover:  How experiments on genetic pathways in worms got Patrick interested in the science of anti-ageing in humans The impact of nutrition on our wellbeing Which brands they trust most for supplements  How to ma...

In the first episode of our second season, Evgeny talks to professor Bill Irvine, an expert on stoicism whose books have democratised the ancient wisdom of Epictetus and Marcus Aurelius for a new generation which, he says, can benefit from it greatly. The two discuss: ·     The unexpected success of his books and the “stoic renaissance” in the 21st century. ·  &n...

Social psychologist Jonathan Haidt’s new book ‘The Anxious Generation’ argues we’re overprotecting our children in real life, and underprotecting them online. In this special episode he tells Evgeny why he believes smartphones and social media have led to rises in anxiety, depression and suicide among young people, and why we have to “put the technology genie back in the bottle”. They also discuss...

In the final episode of our first season, Evgeny talks to psychologist and researcher Bill Richards, whose book Sacred Knowledge: Psychedelics and Religious Experiences is considered a seminal work in the field and is now in its 10th edition . In this discussion, they talk about:   ·      Why science and spiritualism don’t have to be separate from each other ·&nb...