Shows
The Great RomCon?People and Publications: How do in-person events build connection and community?While we once enjoyed community and literature in person, perhaps through a book club, now, with online platforms, people are finding more like-minded individuals online, as shown by the popularity of 'BookTok' on TikTok. However, can you form a real bond with someone on a shared passion online?To help us explore this, I went on the road to speak to Richard Kilgariff. Richard is a former television journalist, producer and television executive. He then moved into the world of books, running a series of initiatives (Books For Breakfast, bookomi., Author Insights) that discuss wide-ranging topics in...
2025-07-071h 11
BookomiGreg Hoffman - Creative Leadership Lessons From a Life at NikeGreg Hoffman turned up to Nike HQ in a borrowed van in 1992. Twenty seven years later, he left the building as a creative giant, having worked alongside the heroes of his youth at the highest level of sport.
During his time as Global CMO, he led iconic campaigns across football, basketball, tennis and athletics, always looking outside himself, always listening and always trying to do better for himself and his team.
His book Emotion By Design, distills that experience into an accessible manual for creative leaders.
In this episode he sits down with Bookomi founder Richard Kilgarriff...
2022-05-2716 min
BookomiHephzi Pemberton - Building Strength in DiversityHepzhi Pemberton has her work cut out: With a clear mission to prove that business (and society) does better when it embraces diversity, she's up against a self-harming system that starts at the top.
For instance, in March 2021 there were more FTSE 100 CEO’s called "Andy" or "Steve" than there were female CEO's and CEO's from ethnic minorities combined.
But it's not just race and gender bias that can get in the way of progress. Socio-economic barriers built up over decades still persist today. For free guidance and advice, Hephzi recommends connecting with The Social Mobility Net...
2022-02-0921 min
BookomiWill Greenwood and Ben Fennell - How to Learn, Lead and Grow Like a ChampionThis week Richard Kilgarriff shares OMI with two brilliant minds: England Rugby World Cup champion, Sky broadcaster and club coach Will Greenwood and his friend of 30 years Ben Fennell, whose stellar career in advertising taught him how to learn, lead and grow at an elite level.
Together, Will and Ben have produced a book for leaders who want to blend their own personal development with the growth of the people around them.
In WORLD CLASS HOW TO LEAD, LEARN AND GROW LIKE A CHAMPION They celebrate and demonstrate the power of diverse minds, abilities and attitudes...
2021-12-1442 min
BookomiAngus Fletcher - The Human Brain's Most Powerful Technology : LiteratureIn Wonderworks – Literary Invention and The Science of Stories – dual trained neuroscientist and doctor of literature Angus Fletcher explains how mankind's most enduring technology makes our past, present and future worth living.
From Aristotle Poetic’s to Mario Puzo’s Godfather, he explores why such inventions were needed, how they work on the human brain and helpfully, where you can find them to make your own life better and more meaningful.
Get a copy of Wonderworks from an indie bookseller with free UK shipping HERE
2021-11-2936 min
BookomiAbout BookomiAs the founder of Bookomi - the UK's leading independent connector of authors to audiences in clubs and companies - I've met some of the world's most wanted minds in new non-fiction.
Bookomi celebrates its tenth anniversary in 2022, and its longest running event series - Books for Breakfast at Soho House in London - was one of the first to introduce Yuval Harari and Sapiens.
Since then we've connected hundreds of other brilliant minds in great companies : From tech titans like Peter Thiel to multi-talented musicians like Tim Minchin, Bookomi has access to the deepest, widest, r...
2021-11-2902 min
BookomiSukhinder Singh Cassidy - Take Risks and Thrive (Even When You Fail)This week's Bookomi title is recommended by YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki, who says it will help you see risk in an "entirely new way."
In Choose Possibility, Sukhinder Singh Cassidy debunks the "myth of the single choice," (the belief that big decisions rule our future) in favour of making many incremental decisions which move our career (and our life) forward every day.
Get your copy of the book HERE
Join Bookomi HERE
2021-10-0230 min
BookomiNova Reid - Own Your Shame To Be A Better AllyThis week we’re sharing OMI with the award-winning anti-racism activist, educator, entrepreneur, TED speaker, media commentator and author Nova Reid.
It’s high time, she says, for white people to confront the “ugliness of anti-blackness” in Britain’s colonial history, to own their shame and move towards a future of “mutual transformation” and “collective healing”
Get your copy of THE GOOD ALLY from Primrose Hill Books HERE
2021-09-2436 min
BookomiAGC Studios Founder/CEO Stuart Ford picks The Powerful and The Damned : Private Diaries in Turbulent TimesBetween 2005 and 2019 Lionel Barber led the digital transformation of the most important business newspaper in the world – The Financial Times - taking it from the stands to the screen with over one million paying subscribers.
The Powerful and The Damned (buy your copy from Primrose Hill Books HERE) opens up the pages of his private diaries during that turbulent time, exposing off the record chats with the men and women who make and break economies around the world.
In this intimate conversation with Richard Kilgarriff, former FT Editor Lionel Barber talks candidly about his opinion of Dona...
2021-08-1445 min
BookomiElon Musk, Tesla and The Bet of The Century
Power Play was picked by Publicis UK CEO Annette King, get your copy today from our indie bookshop partner Primrose Hill Books.
Elon Musk's impossible dream - to make a desirable, sustainable, mass market electric car - has become a multibillion dollar reality in Tesla - the most valuable automative company in the world.
Today, with a market valuation of $630 billion, Tesla's shares are worth more than Toyota, Volkswagen, Daimler, and General Motors combined.
To many he embodies the “contemporary electric car zeitgeist” to some he is an underdog, to others an anti-hero or a co...
2021-07-2932 min
BookomiYouGov Chairman Roger Parry picks The Nine Types of LeaderWhat type of leader are you? Are you an Alpha or a Lover even? Top city journalist James Ashton has met hundreds of CEO's and has come up with nine, distinct, types that classify the species in an original, memorable and insightful way.
In this episode we hear about tycoon Richard Desmond's transition from cigars to bananas and why people don't necessarily want the leader of the country to be the same type as the leader of their company.
Get your copy of NINE TYPES OF LEADER HERE
Join Bookomi HERE
2021-07-1643 min
BookomiNeuroscientist Daniel Levitin picks Dreaming in a Nightmare : Inequality and What We Can Do About ItNeuroscientist, musician, educator and best-selling author (Your Brain on Music, The Organised Mind, The Changing Mind) Daniel Levitin picks a book by young British activist and entrepreneur Jeremiah Emmanuel. Daniel wants to know more about Jeremiah's story: growing up in Brixton, often homeless but always hopeful that life can get better, he ends up joining the UK youth parliament rubbing shoulders with the rich and famous and being awarded a British Empire Medal before he's 21. Can we find a way through the divisions tearing society apart. Recorded in front of a live audience at Shoreditch House in London.
You...
2021-06-251h 00
BookomiSimon Sinek picks The Power of Giving Away Power: How The Best Leaders Learn to Let GoRichard Kilgarriff shares OMI with President Barack Obama's Ambassador to the UK (2013-18).
Picked (and published) by Simon Sinek, this is a fascinating insight into the nexus of human relationships at the highest level of government and business, revealing a new way of managing power at a time when we seem more divided than together at home and abroad.
Join Bookomi HERE - https://bit.ly/MOSTWANTEDsignup
Get your copy of Matthew's book from Primrose Hill Books.
2021-06-1744 min
Intelligence SquaredFraming: A Guide to Thinking in the 21st CenturyAn industrialist looks at a rain forest and sees trees to cut down and sell, while an environmentalist sees the ‘lungs of the planet’. To one person, complying with a mandate to wear a face mask in public during a pandemic is an act of communal responsibility. To another, it’s a denial of personal freedom. Same data, but opposite conclusions.The reason for this, believe internationally acclaimed authors Kenneth Cukier and Viktor Mayer-Schönberger, is that we all look at the world through different ‘frames’. By recognising the frames that we are using, they say, w...
2021-06-0854 min
BookomiUnilever Plc CEO Alan Jope picks Digital Business Transformation : How Established Companies Sustain Competitive Advantage - From Now to NextAlan Jope, the man in charge of leading Unilever's 149,000 employees picks a book packed with Original Memorable Insights for anyone dealing with constant digital disruption at work.
Learn why the term "CEO" originally stood for "Chief Electricity Officer", how Netflix turned themselves upside down to deliver the future and what Disney boss Bob Iger did to get 100 million subscribers in the space in just over one year.
You can get a copy of Nigel Vaz's book here - http://bit.ly/DBTinBookomiShop
Sign up to Bookomi's free Most Wanted email here -
http://bit.ly/MOSTWANTEDsignup
2021-06-0849 min
BookomiPearson Plc CEO Andy Bird picks Framers: Human Advantage in an Age of Technology and Turmoil
FRAMERS takes the psychological concept of the “Framing Effect," whereby our decisions are influenced by the way information is presented to us – and applies it to a new mental model which will improve our lives as individuals, organisations and the world at large.
Picked by Pearson Plc CEO (and Richard's former boss) Andy Bird for Bookomi club members. JOIN TODAY.
2021-05-1437 min
BookomiAllbright Club Co-founder Debbie Wosskow picks Friends: Understanding The Power of Our Most Important RelationshipsRichard Kilgarriff shares OMI with Professor Robin Dunbar (famous for creating The "Dunbar Number" of 150 - the maximum number of relationships the human brain can maintain at any one time).
Professor Dunbar leads the social and evolutionary neuroscience research group at Oxford University and has dedicated his career to exploring and explaining the Human Social World, possibly, he says, “the most complex phenomenon in the observed universe."
His new book FRIENDS goes deeper into the digital age to describe the power and impact of the social circles that ripple out from our most intimate relationships with family and fri...
2021-05-0936 min
BookomiThe Impossible Office: The History of The British Prime MinisterYou might want the power that comes with the top job, but would you want to be Prime Minister today? A role which, since 1945, has always started OK and ended badly.
In this episode Richard Kilgarriff shares OMI with the world's leading authority on the people who have inhabited No.10 Downing Street for the last 300 years.
How does Boris Johnson compare to his predecessors in terms of intelligence and conviction? What can we learn about ourselves through the lens of the highest office in the land?
Get your copy of Sir Anthony Seldon's book here - http...
2021-04-3028 min
BookomiM&C Saatchi Performance Global CEO Christian Gladwell picks Tarzan Economics: Eight Principles for Pivoting Through DisruptionIn this short episode of the Bookomicast for Leaders Who Are Readers, Christian Gladwell, Global Chief Executive of M&C Saatchi Performance picks Tarzan Economics by Will Page.
To become a Bookomi member and get our free weekly email CLICK HERE Meanwhile, if you'd like to go deeper into Will's OMI, you can get your own copy of the book from the Bookomi section of our independent bookshop partner HERE.
2021-04-1856 min
Spirit of the HallEpisode 4 - Richard Kilgarriff & Stuart FordThis episode features Aularian contemporaries and friends Richard Kilgarriff and Stuart Ford. Richard is a former executive for Time Warner and founder of Bookomi, which brings insights from the world’s most brilliant minds via events, email and audio blog. Stuart is a Los Angeles based film producer and Chairman of AGC Studios, one of Hollywood’s leading independent film and TV production companies. He has worked with directors including Mel Gibson and Tom Ford and acting stars such as Julia Roberts, Sir Anthony Hopkins, Johnny Depp and Tom Hardy.
Hear how , upon arriving at the Hall in 1...
2021-04-1332 min
BookomiUK Scouts Association Chair Anne Limb picks Toxic: Rebuilding Respect and Tolerance in a Hostile WorkplaceKicking off Series 2 with a new format and a new Bookomi Club for Leaders Who Are Readers, Anne Limb (UK Scouts Association/UK Innovation) and James Devine (NHS Medway Trust) pick Clive Lewis's guide to detoxifying the poison of pressure and uncertainty at work. You can get a copy of Clive's book, with free P&P in the Bookomi section of Primrose Hill Books HERE . To hear the full conversation and find out more about the benefits of membership, visit THE BOOKOMI CLUB
2021-04-0828 min
BookomiPatrick Barwise - The War Against The BBCFor years the BBC has lost battles with right wing lobbyists, free market economists and competitors who frame the corporation as biased, bloated, elite and out of touch with the people who pay for it to exist.
In The War Against The BBC, London Business School Professor and "critical friend" of the corporation Patrick Barwise traces a line of anti-auntie gunpowder back to a surprisingly small but powerful and determined cabal of lobbyists and politicians linked to media and business interests in the UK and America.
2020-12-1052 min
BookomiGrace Campbell - Growing Up With Amazing DisgraceGrace Campbell takes you on a whirlwind tour of childhood, adolescence and young adulthood, growing up in a playground of political celebrity, idiot boys and brilliant girlfriends. This is a must-listen episode for all young women and parents of daughters navigating the passion and pitfalls of teenaged life. Get your copy of Grace's book HERE.
2020-11-1026 min
BookomiGuy Raz - How Successful Entrepreneurs Build Brilliant CompaniesGuy Raz has distilled hundreds of fascinating business stories into a single book HOW I BUILT THIS - The Unexpected Paths to Success from the World's Most Inspiring Entrepreneurs, named after his massively popular NPR podcast series in the US.
2020-11-0728 min
BookomiKathryn Jacob and Sue Unerman - The Key to Belonging at WorkRichard Kilgarriff meets two media industry luminaries: Sue Unerman, Chief Transformation Officer at MediaCom and Kathryn Jacob OBE, Chief Executive Officer of Pearl and Dean. Together with journalist Mark Edwards they’ve written Belonging – The Key to Transforming and Maintaining Diversity, Inclusion and Equality at Work.
2020-11-0644 min
BookomiGeorge Zarkadakis - Re-Inventing Democracy in the Age of Intelligent MachinesRichard Kilgarriff shares OMI with George Zarkadakis.
George works at the intersection of arts, science and technology to imagine new organisations and governments in the upcoming Fourth Industrial Age.
His new book CYBER REPUBLIC, RE-INVENTING DEMOCRACY IN THE AGE OF INTELLIGENT MACHINES is a playbook for anyone who has lost some faith in the current system, but who sees new technology as an opportunity to change the status quo.
2020-11-0529 min
BookomiThomas Erikson - How to Stop Being Exploited by PsychopathsThomas Erikson is the Swedish Behavioural expert whose book Surrounded By Idiots sold 2.5 million copies worldwide. In it he described four types of personality – Red, Yellow, Green and Blue - to explain why and how we see ourselves and other people.
In SURROUNDED BY PSYCHOPATHS he brings first hand experience to the science of spotting and dealing with the psychopaths in your life and work. The good news is you can tell who they are. The bad news is they cannot be beaten, only avoided.
2020-11-0129 min
BookomiTabitha Goldstaub - How to Talk to Robots: A Girl's Guide to a Future Dominated by AiRachel Schofield shares OMI with Tech entrepreneur Tabitha Goldstaub, whose new book HOW TO TALK TO ROBOTS: A GIRL'S GUIDE TO A FUTURE DOMINATED BY Ai aims to break down the so-called "Tech Bro" barriers, demystify Artificial Intelligence and make sure it works for the benefit of everyone.
2020-10-2836 min
BookomiDylan Jones - Sweet Dreams: The Story of The New RomanticsFrom the dismal dereliction of the Sex Pistols to peak-eighties gloss with Wham, coloured throughout by Margaret Thatcher’s politics of self-improvement, 1979-1985 was a moment in history that made UK culture what it is today.
Join Richard Kilgarriff as he shares OMI with Dylan Jones, top magazine editor (British GQ) and author of Sweet Dreams - The Story of The New Romantics.
Even if you don't want to remember the music, the keyboards and the make-up, you will no doubt appreciate the transition from tense, grim aggression to flamboyant, entrepreneurial excess at the beginning of 1980's Britain....
2020-10-2724 min
BookomiLeroy Logan - Closing Ranks: My Life as a CopRachel Schofield shares OMI with retired Superintendent Leroy Logan MBE, founder member of the Black Police Association: His 30 year career in the Metropolitan Police makes him perfectly placed to reflect on what has and hasn't changed in race relations over recent decades.
In CLOSING RANKS, MY LIFE AS A COP, we hear what made a gifted scientist become a police recruit, despite the huge reservations of his Jamaican father and the mistrust of the police within his North London community.
2020-10-2652 min
BookomiJohan Norberg - Open: The Story of Human ProgressRichard Kilgarriff shares OMI with Johan Norberg, the Swedish historian of ideas and a senior fellow at libertarian think tank The Cato Institute. Johan wants you to open your mind, your business and your borders to celebrate and build upon the progress we’ve made as human beings to date.
OPEN - THE STORY OF HUMAN PROGRESS describes how we are the nicest and the nastiest of species, each and every one of us a trader and a tribalist, globalist and nationalist; capable of both open, creative collaboration and closed, vicious attacks on outsiders when feeling threatened by war, rec...
2020-10-2135 min
BookomiNaomi Bagdonas - Why Humour is a Superpower at Work'Eye-opening, important and utterly enjoyable. Come for the humour, stay for the insights.' That's what Arianna Huffington says of HUMOUR SERIOUSLY, WHY HUMOUR IS A SUPERPOWER AT WORK AND IN LIFE, the new book by Stanford lecturer / stand-up comic Naomi Bagdonas and Stanford behavioural psychologist Jennifer Aaker. Together they investigate what it means to have a laugh without losing respect in the office (or on Zoom) and why we stop having fun (at our peril) as we get older.
2020-10-1931 min
BookomiMax Dickins - Using the Secrets of Improv to Succeed at WorkAbiola Ogunbiyi shares OMI with Max Dickins, the man behind Hoopla - the UK's first improvisation training school - Max teaches people how to use whatever they’ve got to get wherever they want in life and work.
Get of Copy of Max's book HERE
2020-10-1320 min
BookomiPo Bronson and Arvind Gupta - Decoding The WorldImagine trying to rebuild the world one business at a time. That's what PO BRONSON AND ARVIND GUPTA are attempting at IndieBio, the science accelerator that Arvind founded in 2014 and where Po is now Managing Director. In their book, DECODING THE WORLD, A ROADMAP FOR THE QUESTIONER, they tackle the big science stories of today and tomorrow by questioning every aspect of modern life and industry.
2020-10-1026 min
BookomiDavid Epstein - Why Generalists Triumph in a Specialised WorldRichard Kilgarriff shares OMI with The No.1 New York Times best-selling author who specialises in the science of sports and performance, but wants us all to explore the wider benefits of generalisation if we are to become the very best at whatever we do in life and work.
Get a copy of David's book RANGE HERE
2020-10-0841 min
BookomiGeorge Dyson - The Entangled Destinies of Nature, Humans and MachinesIn this episode Richard Kilgarriff meets George Dyson, the science historian who presents human evolution and technology in the context of the natural world.
In his latest book, ANALOGIA, The Entangled Destinies of Nature, Human Beings and Machines, George challenges the assumption that digital technology, made by human code, is naturally superior and separate to analogue design, and that the machines we imagine as our own today, may not be the machines that nature intends for tomorrow…
2020-10-0625 min
BookomiMike Berners-Lee - The Carbon Footprint of EverythingIn this episode we meet the carbon footprint connoisseur who wants us to hone our instincts for measuring the production of harmful greenhouse gases before, during and after everything we make, eat, live and love to do… from sending an email to flying round the world…it all adds up to tonnes of trouble for life on earth as we know it today.
Get a copy of Mike's book HERE
2020-10-0426 min
BookomiElspeth Kirkman - Explaining Behavioural InsightsIn this episode Rachel Schofield challenges you to consider how much of your behaviour is influenced by your unconscious self. On the surface you may think you are the embodiment of rational decision-making, but behavioural insights expert Elspeth Kirkman thinks otherwise.
Get a copy of Elspeth's book HERE
2020-10-0432 min
BookomiRichard Ovenden - A History of Knowledge Under AttackWe celebrate our 50th episode with Richard Ovenden, the director of the world famous Bodleian Library in Oxford. He reveals how knowledge has been attacked (and preserved) through the ages, telling us a great deal about culture, society and civilisation in every century, including our own.
Get your Copy of Burning The Books from Primrose Hill Books HERE
2020-10-0129 min
BookomiSarah Frier - The Inside Story of InstagramIn this episode, Richard Kilgarriff meets Bloomberg journalist Sarah Frier, whose job it is to explain how social media giants like Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat and Instagram have changed how society sees itself; looking at the future through their lens so we can understand where we are (and who we are) today…
Get your copy of Sarah's book NO FILTER - THE INSIDE STORY OF INSTAGRAM HERE
2020-09-2920 min
BookomiTim Wigmore - The Best: How Elite Athletes Are MadeRichard Kilgarriff meets the Telegraph, Economist and New York Times writer who looks deep into the business and science behind performance at the very top of professional sport.
Get your copy of Tim's book HERE
2020-09-2625 min
BookomiJames Suzman - Work: A History of How We Spend Our TimeIn this episode Richard Kilgarriff shares OMI with social anthropologist James Suzman, digging deep into the “evolutionary legacy” behind our need to work.
James Suzman has lived with the Bushmen of Botswana’s eastern Kalahari for more than 25 years. He is the author of Affluence Without Abundance and heads the Cambridge-based research and support organisation Anthropos.
Get a copy fo James Suzman's new book WORK: A HISTORY OF HOW WE SPEND OUR TIME HERE
2020-09-2342 min
BookomiLeonard Mlodinow - Stephen Hawking: A Memoir of Friendship and PhysicsRichard Kilgarriff meets the theoretical physicist, screenwriter and best-selling author who spent two decades collaborating with the world’s most popular scientist, Stephen Hawking - orbiting the genius and the tragedy of a man set high on a pedestal by his peers and the public, but physically diminished by a disease that left him “at the mercy of everyone around him…”
Get your copy of STEPHEN HAWKING, A MEMOIR OF FRIENDSHIP AND PHYSICS HERE
2020-09-2234 min
BookomiJames Hamblin - The New Science of Skin and The Beauty of Doing LessPhysician turned Atlantic staff writer James Hamblin went without a shower or a bath for five years - The experiment caused outrage and disgust in some people who see cleanliness as a social responsibility, but for many he offered a vision of liberation from dependency on hygiene products that, if over-used, may do more harm than good.
In his latest book, Clean: The New Science of Skin and the Beauty of Doing Less, James examines the tension at the heart of our current Covid-concerned society, “between our need to be close to other people and the need to prote...
2020-09-2130 min
BookomiChristie Watson - The Courage To CareRichard Kilgarriff shares OMI with the nurse who became an Costa award-winning, Sunday Times best-selling novelist, non-fiction writer and Professor of Medical and Health Humanities.
Her memoir is a whirlwind of pain, love, life and death from the frontline of nursing, up to and including the current pandemic.
Get Your copy of Christie's book COURAGE TO CARE HERE
And you can support the Fair Pay for Nursing Campaign HERE
2020-09-2028 min
BookomiCass Sunstein - Understanding What You DON'T Want to Know in (and out of) a PandemicIn this episode Richard Kilgarriff shares OMI with Cass Sunstein - the former White House advisor to Barak Obama and now Chair of the World Health Organization’s Technical Advisory Group on Behavioural Insights. He wants us to re-think the way we demand, consume and generate information and knowledge about ourselves and the world around us.
Get your copy of TOO MUCH INFORMATION from our independent bookshop partner Primrose Hill books HERE
2020-09-1631 min
BookomiSamantha Cristoforetti - Diary of an Apprentice Astronaut'Today I woke up on Earth. And I will fall asleep in space.'
This is the story of Samantha Cristoforetti's incredible journey, from aspiring student to record-breaking astronaut: How she excelled through thousands of applicants to share a tiny cabin with her crew on the international space station for 200 days.
Get a copy of The Diary of An Apprentice Astronaut HERE
2020-09-1223 min
BookomiMerlin Sheldrake - How Fungi Make Our World, Change Our Mind and Shape Our FutureHe may have a PHD in tropical ecology from Cambridge University, but Merlin Sheldrake’s talents as a musician, writer brewer of and eater of his own words, literally, bring the fungal universe to a wider audience of people who might never have recognised the life growing beneath their feet, floating through the air and living on their skin.
Get your copy of Entangled Life from our independent bookshop partner Primrose Hill Books HERE
2020-09-1021 min
BookomiNoreena Hertz - Coming Together in a World That's Pulling Us ApartIn this episode Richard Kilgarriff shares OMI with Noreena Hertz, the influential economist, strategist and best-selling author whose vision for the future cuts through the change and division tearing society apart today – it’s time, she says, for us to come together and fight the forces that divide us to rule…
Get Your Copy of The Lonely Century HERE
2020-09-0835 min
BookomiDavid Eagleman - The Inside Story of Your Ever Changing BrainRichard Kilgarriff shares OMI with world-famous neuroscientist David Eagleman, including an entirely new concept on why we dream.
In his latest book LIVEWIRED - THE INSIDE STORY OF YOUR EVER CHANGING BRAIN, he takes us on a fantastic voyage under the cortex and into the neural networks that shape who we are from the day we’re born to the end of life.
Why do babies pay attention to everything, only to lose interest in adult life and how can we recreate that curiosity? How has lockdown affected our sense of time and space? Why do different parts of...
2020-09-0636 min
BookomiSam Harris - Making Sense of Consciousness, Morality and The Future of HumanityWith a BA in philosophy and a PHD in cognitive neuroscience Sam Harris is the wildly popular podcaster, meditation app creator, entrepreneur, journalist and NY Times bestselling author who helps millions of people make sense of the world and their place within it.
In his latest book, MAKING SENSE ..CONVERSATIONS ON CONSCIOUSNESS, MORALITY AND THE FUTURE OF HUMANITY – he has transcribed and edited 12 of his most powerful podcast encounters with brilliant thinkers on matters that shape our past, present and future selves, asking the reader to question who, why and what they are in the current climate of of pol...
2020-09-0546 min
BookomiAlastair Campbell - Learning to Live Better and Survive Depression
Alastair Campbell - one of the most influential political strategists and communicators of his generation - has written love letter to the people and the places that have shaped who he is today…from his childhood growing up as the son of vet in Yorkshire, to the friends, family and colleagues who helped him to face his demons and make a difference to the way we look at mental health today.
Get a copy of Living Better, How I Learned to Survive Depression HERE
2020-09-0441 min
BookomiKevin Dutton - The Dangers of Binary Thinking in a Complex WorldAt a time when complex issues of politics, race, gender and pandemic are bombarding our brains on a daily basis, perhaps we can be forgiven for thinking in terms of black and white. But we do so at our peril.
Richard Kilgarriff shares OMI with the man who sees between the light and shade of living in a world packed with categories so numerous that they force us to paddle in the binary shallows of our brain, rather than diving into the open seas of opportunity.
Get a Copy of Kevin Dutton's book, Black and White T...
2020-08-3134 min
BookomiJames Ball - Who Owns The Internet?The multi-award winning investigative journalist James Ball shares OMI with Rachel Schofield on the way the Internet runs and rules our lives, seen from the perspective of its inventors, investors, custodians, and innovators.
You'll reconsider why and how you connect with the rest of the world once you've heard this Bookomi podcast.
Get a copy of James Ball's book The System, Who Owns The Internet and How it Owns Us HERE
2020-08-3138 min
BookomiKatie Mack - Contemplating The End of The UniverseWe know the universe had a beginning, but what happens at the end of the story? In this episode, Richard Kilgarriff shares OMI with Katie Mack - one of the most dynamic rising stars in astrophysics - considering five ways the universe could end, and the mind-blowing lessons each scenario reveals about the most important ideas in cosmology today.
Get your copy of Katie Mack's book, The End of Everything, (Astrophysically Speaking) HERE
2020-08-2726 min
BookomiJeremiah Emmanuel - Dreaming in a NightmareGrowing up in Brixton, South London, Jeremiah Emmanuel experienced homelessness, violence, racism and poverty. Despite this, he continued to dream of making a difference to his life and his community.
In 2011 he was elected to the UK Youth Parliament and later became a young mayor within London. At fifteen, he founded the BBC Radio 1 and 1Xtra Youth council, creating a youth consultancy enterprise, EMNL, which has worked with organisations including Rolls-Royce, Nike and the Queens Commonwealth Trust. In 2017, he was awarded a British Empire Medal.
Now 20, he is also a member of the Gates Foundation and a youth...
2020-08-2747 min
BookomiBryony Gordon - Surviving a Glorious Rock BottomIn this episode, the columnist and Sunday Times best-selling author Bryony Gordon shares her OMI with Richard Kilgarriff on her rise, fall and ongoing recovery from addiction to alcohol
In Glorious Rock Bottom, Bryony’s story will be familiar to anyone who has ever looked forward to a drink at the end of the day, but what happens when relaxation and fun turns to dependency - and if we do hit the lowest low, how do we get back up again?
"Alcohol is a depressant masquerading as a relaxant"
Get a copy of Bryony's book, Glo...
2020-08-2136 min
BookomiElif Shafak - Staying Sane in an Age of DivisionIn this episode we meet the world-renowned writer, Booker prize nominee, political scientist, campaigner, speaker, literary judge, and multiculturalist Elif Shafak, who wants us to rebuild our “polarised and troubled world” with humanity and respect for stories beyond our own mental and physical borders…
How do we stop fear and anxiety about the future turning into disillusion and bewilderment when, even without the pandemic, domestic politics and wealth inequality are building walls between us every day?
Get a copy of How to Stay Sane in an Age of Division HERE
2020-08-1830 min
BookomiDave Evans - Finding Happiness at WorkIn this episode we meet the man who left a successful career in silicon-valley at places like Apple and Electronic Arts to help us all design a better life…
Dave Evans is the co-founder of the Stanford Life Design Lab, along with his co-author Bill Burnett, he’s written a follow up to the massive 2017 hit Designing Your Life by adding one word to the orginal title… Designing your Work life reframes the meaning and the purpose we see in our day jobs to build a way forward in your current job or pastures new…
Get a copy of Dave's...
2020-08-1722 min
BookomiMatthew Crawford - Taking Back Control of The RoadIn this episode Richard Kilgarriff meets the philosopher/mechanic Matthew Crawford, who sees freedom and democracy - reflected in the twin headlights of travel and technology - threatened by automation and bureaucracy.
" What we are talking about is remaking the infrastructure, not just of moving about, but of everything that goes on in a city, and handing it over to a cartel of tech firms - It's quite possible they will make the trains run on time but at the cost of our political sovereignty over our collective life together."
Get deeper into Matthew Crawford's OMI with a co...
2020-08-1627 min
BookomiDr Amanda Brown: Inside The Biggest Women's Prison in EuropeDr Amanda Brown’s fifteen year prison career spans young offenders institutions, the notorious wormwood scrubs and now Her Majesty’s prison Bronzefield with 572 female inmates.
She has seen and heard violence, drugs, abuse and self-harm. And now she is sharing her personal stories in a memoir ‘The Prison Doctor: Women Inside’; Go deeper into the OMI with a copy of the book HERE
2020-08-1527 min
BookomiStuart Ritchie - Exposing Fraud, Hype and Bias in Science TodayAs the world desperately searches for a Covid-19 vaccine, Dr Stuart Ritchie claims the scientific machine is dangerous and broken.
Horror stories of negligence are no less troubling than the more widespread misinformation and self-delusion that results from the way scientific research is funded reviewed and published.
It is time, he says for some serious soul searching in the scientific community. Hosted by Rachel Schofield.
Go deeper into Dr Stuart's OMI, get his book HERE
2020-08-1433 min
BookomiSusie Pearl - Unlocking Your Full Creative PotentialIn this episode, Richard Kilgarriff meets Susie Pearl; PR guru and celebrity manager turned psychologist, writer and coach who wants us all to unleash the creative artist lurking inside our mind and body.
Having recently survived cancer, she writes from the heart and soul of someone who appreciates the value of creative expression.
Get a copy of Susie's book, The Art of Creativity, 7 Powerful Habits to Unlock Your Full Potential HERE.
2020-08-1422 min
BookomiRoman Krznaric - How to Think Long Term in a Short Term WorldMeet the philosopher whose ideas influence political, economic and cultural reformers around the world.
Today he's urging us all to embrace our clear and present connection to a future as deep, if not deeper, than the billions of years behind us.
Go deeper into Roman's OMI with his book HERE
2020-08-1230 min
BookomiRobert Chesnut - Intentional Integrity: How Smart Companies Can Lead an Ethical RevolutionIn a career spanning Ebay to Airbnb, where he’s been the Chief Ethics Officer and General Counsel, Robert Chesnut has witnessed drunkenness, fraud, harassment and racism – but he’s also seen the best that people can be – empathetic, honest, brave and kind to each other and their customers.
In his book, Intentional Integrity, How Smart Companies Can Lead an Ethical Revolution, he plots a course for leaders and employees who may not be perfect, but can at least mitigate for the minefield of ambiguity and offense caused by unclear boundaries as to the rights and wrongs of corporat...
2020-08-0832 min
BookomiLily Cole - Who Cares Wins: Reasons For Optimism in a Changing WorldFrom the age of 15, Lily Cole has travelled the world for the biggest fashion brands on the planet, Alexander McQueen, Louis Vitton, Jean Paul Gaultier , Chanel, but the further she walked down the catwalk, the more she became aware of the damage we’re doing to the environment -and very soon set about doing something about, making a stand on ethical brands, backing charities, projects and causes such as Water Aid and the Environmental Justice Foundation..
Go deeper into Lily's OMI, get her book - HERE
2020-08-0736 min
BookomiJack Rooke - Cheer The Fuck Up: How to Save Your Best FriendTwenty-six (nearly twenty-seven) year old comedian Jack Rooke shares OMI with Richard Kilgarriff on dealing with the death of his Dad and then the sudden loss of his best friend to suicide.
To get closer to Jack, his book CHEER THE FUCK UP is available HERE
2020-08-0132 min
BookomiFlynn Coleman - A Human Algorithm: How Artificial Intelligence is Redefining Who We Are.Flynn Coleman works with the UN and Governments to improve social justice around the world, across a diverse range of societies and cultures. Her book is a cautious statement of hope that technology will help to define us as a species.
Go deeper into Flynn Coleman's OMI with her book HERE
2020-07-2532 min
BookomiDr Pippa Grange - Fear Less: How to Win at Life Without Losing YourselfFear makes us anxious, or shameful, or turns us into perfectionists.
We aim for a status that’s never truly satisfying by pretending to be someone else. Sound familiar? Dr Pippa Grange deals with these problems at the highest level and shares her OMI with to Rachel Schofield about ways to tackle the demons that distract us from true success.
Go deeper in Pippa's OMI - get her book HERE
2020-07-2227 min
BookomiTom Young - The Making of a Leader: What Elite Sport Can Teach Us About Leadership and Performance.Tom Young is a performance psychologist who works with elite teams and individuals to get the most out of themselves and the people around them; how they communicate, how they handle pressure, maintain focus and respond to challenges.
Go deeper into Tom Young's OMI, get his book HERE
2020-07-1730 min
BookomiSanne Blauw - The Number Bias: How Numbers Lead us and Mislead usIn this episode we look at the misleading nature of numbers with Sanne Blauw, the numbers correspondent from the Dutch media organisation ‘The Correspondent’ (where historian Rutger Bregman works too)- a ground-breaking community of journalists and readers.
Go deeper into the subject with Sanne's book HERE
2020-07-1524 min
BookomiPhilip N. Howard - Lie Machines: How to Save Democracy from Troll Armies, Deceitful Robots, Junk News Operations, and Political OperativesAs governments consider more funding for virtual cyber armies over real boots on the ground, Richard Kilgarriff talks to one of the world's leading experts on the impact of digital media across the political spectrum. Why and how do troll armies invade our democracies and what can we do to defend ourselves against them?
Want to go deeper? Get a copy of Phil's book HERE
2020-07-1427 min
BookomiBrian Dumaine - Bezonomics: How Amazon is Changing our Lives and What the World’s Best Companies are Learning From itIn this episode we meet the man tracking the fortunes of the world’s richest man. Jeff Bezos has amassed a fortune of over $160 billion through Amazon, delivering faster and cheaper products across the planet since 1995; developing services like Alexa, cloud services and Prime video and Amazon Studios.
It's a relentless flywheel of Ai, data driven technology that has pleased millions of customers but angered many who think that Amazon doesn’t pay enough tax on its profits or wages to staff working in highly automated, allegedly dehumanising conditions.
Buy a copy of Brian's book HERE.
2020-07-1024 min
BookomiRachel Wilkerson Miller - The Art of Showing UpIn this episode Rachel Schofield talks to Vice Life's Deputy Editor about the nitty gritty of managing relationships in a hectic, ever-changing world - and the small things that make a big difference to how you feel about yourself and the people in your life.
You can buy a copy of Rachel's book, The Art of Showing Up HERE.
2020-07-0822 min
BookomiJonathon Porritt - Hope in Hell: A Decade to Confront the Climate EmergencyMeet the UK’s most prominent and influential climate-change campaigner who gives us ten years to save humankind from a risk far greater than Covid 19...
Jonathon Porritt was the director of Friends of the Earth and co-chair of the Green party in the eighties, co-founded the forum for the Future in the nineties and in the noughties he received a CBE for services to environmental protection and was chair of the UK Sustainable Development Commission, advising government ministers on climate change. Today he’s the Chancellor of Keele University, where he’s been in office since 2012..
Dive d...
2020-06-3033 min
BookomiOzan Varol - Think Like a Rocket Scientist Ozan Varol studied Astrophysics at Cornell University and then served on the 2003 Mars exploration project before launching a new career as a top law professor and a much sought after contributor and writer for the BBC, The Wall Street Journal, Washington Post and many more.
His new book, Think Like a Rocket Scientist, Simple Strategies You Can Use to Make Giant Leaps in Work and Life is Adam Grant’s no.1 pick for 2020, said to be a "must-read" by Susan Cain, "endlessly fascinating" by Dan Pink and is on Bookomi’s Most Wanted list for May/June 2020.
Get your copy
2020-06-1736 min
BookomiAndrew J Scott & Lynda Gratton - The New Long LifeThe future may be unknowable but one thing's for sure; we are all living longer. How do we make the most of this long life without getting too sick to enjoy it or running out money?
Lynda Gratton is Professor of Management Practice at the London Business School where she directs The Future of Work course - she’s also a fellow of the World Economic Forum. Andrew J Scott is Professor of Economics at The London Business School and has taught at Harvard, LSE and Oxford University and advises governments and corporates around the world.
You can ge...
2020-06-1222 min
BookomiSir Bob Geldof - Tales of Boomtown Glory
Richard Kilgarriff talks to Sir Bob Geldof about his remarkable career in music and philanthropy; looking at the world through a lens of lyrics and songs that capture significant moments of personal, cultural and political upheaval over forty-four years in and out of the spotlight.
You can get a copy of Tales of Boomtown Glory with a bookplate signed by Sir Bob from our independent bookshop partner HERE.
2020-06-0746 min
BookomiDR Julia Shaw - Making EvilIn this episode we meet the criminal scientist who wants us to re-think the concept of Evil, to speak of the unspeakable and accept that we are all capable of extreme cruelty and bad behaviour, even if it's all in our head.
Get your copy of the book HERE
2020-05-2624 min
BookomiRutger Bregman - Humankind: A Hopeful HistoryWith a bold re-interpretation of humanity, Rutger Bregman is changing our perception of the past in order to re-invent the future.
Videos of him taking on the elite of Davos and US talk shows, have been viewed over 24 million times and his recent article, uncovering the "real Lord of the Flies" sparked a bidding war in Hollywood.
Fans and admirers include Stephen Fry and Yuval Harari and his new book is being hailed as the "Sapiens of 2020."
Humankind: A Hopeful History, challenges the belief long held by society that human beings are selfish by...
2020-05-2027 min
BookomiDeb Gruenfeld - Acting With PowerThe rules of work and relationships may be changing, but we will always respond to power (or lack of it) in others and our self. Social psychologist and Stanford professor Deb Gruenfeld wants us to re-examine what power means to the individual and the group, to leaders and followers and to challenge un-helpful notions of authenticity that prevent us from playing the roles we have chosen to act.
Get your copy of Acting with Power HERE
2020-05-1726 min
BookomiDean Stott - Relentless in LockdownHow does elite military training prepare you for an unseen enemy like Covid-19? Dean Stott had a distinguished career in the army and Special Forces, serving alongside Prince Harry in Afghanistan for a while, before a horrific parachuting accident landed him in a new life with new challenges, such as evacuating an embassy and breaking a world record on a bike (not at the same time).
You can get a copy of Dean's book Relentless, From SBS to Work Record Breaker - HERE
2020-05-1325 min
BookomiPaolo Giordano - How Contagion WorksPaolo Giordano has a PHD in theoretical physics, but he’s also an award-winning novelist whose first book – The Solitude of Prime Numbers - sold over a million copies world-wide. A true polymath, he’s the creator of a new HBO TV series - We Are Who We Are - coming to our screens later this year. In February 2020 , worried that his fellow Italians weren’t taking the threat of Covid-19 seriously enough, Paolo wrote a series of articles for Italian newspapers which were read by over four million people and influenced the nation's attitude to the pandemic, arguably changing the cours...
2020-05-0321 min
BookomiMandeep Rai - Local Values in a Global PandemicAre we born with our personal values or do we learn them through experience, environment and culture? Dr Mandeep Rai travelled the world to find out why people change their mindset across borders, and how a global pandemic might create a new set of values for the world to follow.
Get your copy of The Values Compass HERE
2020-04-2123 min
BookomiJeff Rediger - Hope and Healing in a Global CrisisA new, incurable disease has changed the world, forcing us into physical and social isolation. Every nation is dealing with the crisis in its own way, but everywhere the human problem remains the same.
So how can we learn from the history of medicine, when all hope seems lost? Can our mental health make us more (or less) immune to Covid-19 and other life-threatening illness?
Richard Kilgarriff talks to psychiatrist Dr Jeff Rediger and looks at the past, present and future through the lens of his book Cured: The Remarkable Science and Stories of Spontaneous Healing and Recovery...
2020-04-1119 min
BookomiAdam Kucharski - The Rules of ContagionTop epidemiologist Adam Kucharski talks to Richard Kilgarriff in this special Big Thinking episode; How contagion and ideas spread (and stop) and how numbers, timescale and social factors influence outbreaks across the world. Get a copy of Adam's book, The Rules of Contagion HERE.
2020-04-0724 min
BookomiRahul Jandial's Most Wanted - Daniel LevitinRahul Jandial is a leading neurosurgeon/scientist and author of Life Lessons From a Brain Surgeon; The New Science and Stories of The Brain. In this episode he chooses Daniel Levitin's The Changing Mind: A Neuroscientist's Guide to Ageing Well as his Most Wanted new book and shares his OMI on making life or death decisions on a daily basis.
YOU CAN BUY BOTH BOOKS HERE:
Life Lessons From a Brain Surgeon; The New Science and Stories of The Brain.
The Changing Mind: A Neuroscientist's Guide to Ageing Well
2020-04-0523 min
BookomiFi Glover's Most Wanted - Kate MurphyWhat better way to kick off a new podcast series than with a lifelong friend who happens to be a top podcaster? In this episode, BBC broadcaster and co-host of the Fortunately podcast, Fi Glover picks New York Times writer Kate Murphy's "You're Not Listening - What You're Missing And Why it Matters" from Bookomi's Most Wanted list of new non-fiction in January 2020. This sparks a conversation about Fi's pioneering work on The Listening Project, the effect of technology on relationships, the boldness of youth and digestive biscuits.
If you'd like a copy of Kate Murphy's book, you c...
2020-04-0423 min