John Lloyd was producer for TV’s Spitting Image, The Hitch Hikers Guide to the Galaxy and all four series of Blackadder. He is the creator of the News Quiz on Radio 4 and BBC2’s iconoclastic comedy series Not the Nine O Clock News. He is the ho
The self-styled entertainer philosopher Alan Watts wrote his first book on Zen in 1936 when only nineteen and grew to become a world expert on Eastern philosophy. A prolific author, public speaker and radio presenter he wrote over twenty books,
Search Google for the ‘most intelligent’ people who ever lived and the names most commonly thrown up are Galileo, Da Vinci, Einstein, Isaac Newton and Stephen Hawkin. All men, all western, all united by their contributions to science. Why is ou
Lucy Cooke’s Bitch tells a wildly different story of reproduction, gender and sexual habits in the animal kingdom to those passed down to us by Darwin, Dawkins and other highly influential male scientists. Bitch challenges outdated preconceptio
Is mind contained within us, or us within it? When it comes to what science calls ‘the hard problem’, we still have no understanding about the nature of consciousness. That it could be a field, rather than isolated within us, might explain what
Alan Turin’s ‘automatic machine’ remains the blueprint for nearly all of our modern computer systems. In an early paper however Turin wrote: ‘of course another type of machine is possible. This is the Oracle Machine and I will not speak of that
In S2E1 we met Rogan Taylor, author of The Death and Resurrection Show a book which traces a path from popular entertainment to the darkened yurts of our nomadic ancestors. After writing this book Rogan went on to pioneer the world’s first post
Are our listening habits changing? What effects can sounds like drones and sine tones have on us physically and emotionally? Can we imagine a future in which we might receive audio prescriptions for wellbeing? Why does music played badly make u
Our ancestors invested great importance in the power of dreams. Across traditional, indigenous and pre-industrialised cultures – including the Ancient Greeks and Egyptians – they were an integral part of the healing process and a tool for divin
If our capitalist economic model of perpetual growth was presented as a myth it would read something like the Sorcerer’s Apprentice. As for our economic unit of measure, in a speech in 1968 Robert Kennedy described GDP as ‘measuring everything
As the lights dim and performers take to the stage, is it mere escapism for us or is there something deeply profound about our need to be entertained? Why do we get so fanatical and idolatrous about musicians and film stars, wanting them to be
While Series Two edges a little closer to completion here’s a short appetiser serving up some words of wisdom from The Eden Project’s founder, who we’ll meet properly in a future episode.
Comedian and ‘anarchist chef’ George Egg was planned for inclusion in Series One but we just couldn’t work out where to put him. So instead he gets a mini episode all of his own exploring his own concept of snack-hacking, sharing ways of being
While western medicine excels at repairs and crisis management it remains, for many, too mechanical and reductive in its approach to important issues such as mental health, diet and lifestyle. With health practitioner Peter Deadman and Dr La
In 2019 artist Daisy Campbell led 69 seekers on a pilgrimage from the Cerne Giant to CERN in Switzerland and back. Their intention? To ‘immanentise the eschaton.’ David was there to see them off, dressed in a gold robe for a ritual to awaken t
We delve into the nature of rituals, why they’re important and how to create our own meaningful ones. With chief druid of Anglesey Kristoffer Hughes we’ll learn about the power of death rituals and the pagan eightfold wheel of the year; we’ll e
Recorded live at the agro-ecology festival Groundswell, this episode explores different ways that we could be radicalising global agriculture and reversing biodiversity loss through regenerative farming, hemp, mob grazing, the no-till movement
What makes people fall for conspiracy theories like QAnon? Is it possible to ‘change’ our minds? Might the idea of reality tunnels be the single most important thing to teach the next generation? Counter-culture philosopher Robert Anton Wilson
If myths are the means by which we make sense of ourselves and the world around us, how did we become so fixated on stories and systems built around greed, selfishness and competition? How did we come to perceive nature as an unintelligent
Adventures in Nutopia is a documentary-style series exploring new stories, movements, myths and ideas to help steer us into a more inclusive, networked and ecological future. In Nutopia all are welcome. We’re just as excited to share the ide