The Etan Ilfeld Podcast
by Etan Ilfeld
Etan Ilfeld interviews leading authors, thinkers, and visionaries. Ilfeld is a London-based entrepreneur and the owner and managing director of Watkins Books and the Mind Sports Olympiad. He is the inventor of Diving Chess and the author of Beyond Contemporary Art and co-author of Duchamp versus Einstein.
Episodes
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Joe Lonsdale on Building the Future
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…
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Terence Stamp on Acting, Voice, and the Search for Meaning
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...
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David Lynch on Transcendental Meditation
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.…
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Stephen Wolfram on ChatGPT, Artificial Intelligence and the future of technology
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...
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Liat Yakir on the Biology of Love
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...
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Masayuki "Mochy" Mochizuki: Backgammon and Life
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...
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Uri Levine on Unicorn Startups and Founding Waze
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…
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Tony Buzan on Mind Mapping
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...
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Oliver Roeder on Chess, Scrabble, Poker, Go, Artificial Intelligence and the future of games
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…
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Julia Cameron on Creativity
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…
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Ben Pridmore on Memory
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...
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Liara Roux on Sex Work
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…
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Marianne Williamson on Spirituality
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...
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Russell Brand on Democracy and Spirituality
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...
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Dr Tony Nader on Consciousness and Transcendence
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...
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Stanley Kubrick and Film: Interview with Robert Kolker and Nathan Abrams
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...
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William Hartston on Comedy and Laughter
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…
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Rhonda Byrne on the Secret, Gratitude and Spiritual Growth
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…
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Jim Al-Khalili on Physics and the Universe
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...
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Fabien Riggall on Immersive Theatre and Secret Cinema
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...
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Anthony Misquitta on Copyright and Artistic Expression
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,...
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Jonah Paquette on Feeling Awestruck
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?...
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Mark Davis on Hypnosis and Self-Hypnosis
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...
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Mark Davis on CBT, Relaxation and Better Sleep
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…
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Judy Piatkus on Publishing Books
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...
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Derek Frost on overcoming the AIDS epidemic
Derek Frost is the author of Living and Loving in the Age of AIDS. He is also a distinguished designer and entrepreneur who alongside his husband Jeremy Norman, founded Heaven, the first gay nightclub in London. Their lives were high-octane, full of adventure, fun and fearless creativity.…
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Neelakantha Bhanu on Mental Calculations
Neelakantha Bhanu Prakash has one of the fastest minds you've ever met. He took gold in the 2020 Mental Calculations World Championship and can calculate things like the cubed root of a 5 digit number within seconds. He's also the founder of 'Exploring Infinities', a math education startup that...
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Ben Aldridge: Learning New Things and How to Be Comfortable with Being Uncomfortable
Ben Aldridge's book How to Be Comfortable with Being Uncomfortable is appropriately subtitled: 43 Weird & Wonderful Ways to Build a Strong Resilient Mindset. The book is already an international bestseller and has rave reviews. It offers challenges and advice on how to push yourself out of your...
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Keren Landsman on Coronavirus and Pandemics
In this podcast, Keren Landsman and I discuss a wide range of topics from overcoming the Corona pandemic, to the history of pandemics and the future of humanity. In addition to being a physician and epidemiologist, Keren is also the author of the award-winning urban fantasy book, Heart of the...
About this show
Etan Ilfeld interviews leading authors, thinkers, and visionaries. Ilfeld is a London-based entrepreneur and the owner and managing director of Watkins Books and the Mind Sports Olympiad. He is the inventor of Diving Chess and the author of Beyond Contemporary Art and co-author of Duchamp versus Einstein.
Hosted by
Etan Ilfeld
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