The Etan Ilfeld Podcast

From founding billion-dollar companies to reshaping debates on technology and governance, Joe Lonsdale has spent his career at the frontier of progress. Recorded in June 2025 with Etan Ilfeld, this episode dives into the future of AI, national resilience, and what it takes to build and protect the civilization of tomorrow.

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...

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...

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 Ilfel...

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 Lov e is Dr Liat Yakir's...

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 mo...

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,...

Oliver Roeder is a journalist in New York City. Recently, he has been a senior writer at FiveThirtyEight and a Nieman Fellow at Harvard University. Roeder holds a PhD in economics with a focus on game theory, and his work has appeared in The New York Times, The Economist, Slate, Nautilus, Aeon and elsewhere. Beyond the cultural and personal stories, Roeder explores why games, seemingly trivial pas...

Julia Cameron is often referred to as the High Priestess of creativity and has authored more than forty books. Her best-selling title is called The Artist's Way: A Spiritual Path To Higher Creativity, and has sold over five million copies and has been translated into over forty languages. Julia is also a poet, songwriter, filmmaker, and playwright. She really can do it all. Join me for this inspir...

Ben Pridmore is a three-time World Memory Champion winning the title 2004, 2008 and 2009. From Derby in the United Kingdom , Pridmore achieved this by winning a 10-discipline competition, the World Memory Championship , which has taken place every year since 1991. He has also earned the prestigious title of Master of Memory . Ben has an IQ of 159 putting him in the genius range. He held the offici...

Liara Roux is a sex worker, political organizer, writer and artist. She also writes comics, stars in porn and has become a prominent emerging voice. Her recently published memoir, Whore of New York has received a glowing New York Times review and she has recently been interviewed by Vogue and VICE. She's brilliant, charismatic and a truly independent thinker.

Marianne Deborah Williamson is an American author, spiritual leader, politician, and activist. She has written 13  books, including four New York Times number-one bestsellers. She currently ranks 9th on the Watkins list of the 100 Most Spiritually Influential Living People. Marianne also founded several charities and launched a series of conferences called Sister Giant to encourage more women...

Russell Brand needs no introduction. Brand is a brilliant thinker, activist, actor, author, and comedian. His books have dealt with issues ranging from mentorship to addiction and mental health. In this interview, we discuss his book Revolution, which advocates for a non-violent social revolution based on principles of spirituality and the common good.

Welcome to the Etan Ilfeld Podcast , where we explore transformative ideas with visionary thinkers from around the globe. Today, I’m honored to host Dr. Tony Nader , a globally recognized Vedic scholar, Harvard-trained medical doctor, and the successor to Maharishi Mahesh Yogi as the leader of the Transcendental Meditation movement. Dr. Nader joins us to discuss his new book, Consciousness Is All...

Stanley Kubrick is one of the greatest filmmakers in the 20th century. In this podcast, film scholars Nathan Abrams and Robert Kolker discuss their latest book, Kubrick: An Odyssey published by Faber & Faber in 2024. Kolker and Abrams are interviewed by Etan Ilfeld, where they discuss what made Kubrick's career remarkable and deconstruct the myths surrounding him. The films discussed inclu...

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 lif...

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 muc...

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 t...

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. A...

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,...

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-b...

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. Jud...