Better Known

Ivan Wise
  • 4.7 (47)
  • SOCIETY & CULTURE
  • UPDATED WEEKLY

Each week, a guest makes a series of recommendations of things which they think should be better known. Our recommendations include interesting people, places, objects, stories, experiences and ideas which our guest feels haven't had the exposure that they deserve.

  1. 5 DAYS AGO

    Sandy Pentland

    Sandy Pentland discusses with Ivan six things which should be better known. Alex Pentland is a Stanford HAI Fellow and MIT Toshiba Professor. Named one of the “100 People to Watch This Century” by Newsweek and “one of the seven most powerful data scientists in the world” by Forbes, he is a member of the US National Academy of Engineering, an advisor to Abu Dhabi Investment Authority Lab, and an advisor to the UN Secretary General’s office. His work has helped manage privacy and security for the world’s digital networks by establishing authentication standards, protect personal privacy by contributing to the pioneering EU privacy law, and provide healthcare support for hundreds of millions of people worldwide through both for-profit and not-for-profit companies. His new book is Shared Wisdom, which is available at https://mitpress.mit.edu/9780262050999/shared-wisdom/. Casual conversation is typically what leads to wisdom and culture Polarization comes from influencers and other loud voices AI-aided search can really help weaken echo chambers Given a conversation platform that is safe space and given participants with shared interests people naturally generate good decisions Hierarchical organizations are inflexible and poor performing by design Uniform rules are bad for the majority of people This podcast is powered by ZenCast.fm

    30 min

  2. 30 NOV

    Jaime Davila

    Jaime Davila discusses with Ivan six things which should be better known. Jaime Dávila earned an engineering degree in the United States. Choosing a career in the creative industries, he worked primarily in broadcasting and eventually led operations at Mexico’s largest media company. He became intrigued by the creation of the first mechanised sawmill by Cornelis Corneliszoon in 1593. This invention, whose significance has been overlooked, inspired his new book. Find out more at https://thebestpodcastguest.co.uk/jaime-davila/. Mankind’s first industrial machine was Dutch. The Dutch invented participatory capitalism. The Dutch were early pioneers of liberal governance in a world of monarchies. The Dutch laid the foundations of industrialization. New Amsterdam’s influence on American identity is underappreciated. The world we inhabit was not inevitable. This podcast is powered by ZenCast.fm

    29 min

  3. 23 NOV

    400th episode

    To celebrate the 400th episode of Better Known, previous guest Richard Elwes discusses with Ivan Wise six aspects of the Better Known podcast which Ivan thinks should be better known. Many thanks to Caroline Crampton and Laurence Bergreen for adding their choices of things which should be better known. This podcast is powered by ZenCast.fm

    30 min

  4. 16 NOV

    Christopher Hill

    Christopher Hill discusses with Ivan six things which should be better known. Christopher Hill was working in finance in London when, in 2002, he took a trip to South Africa which changed his life. He left his job, moved to Canada, and worked on the business plan for what became Hands Up Holidays. He spent the next two years traveling the world, building relationships with communities, formed a team of like-minded people, and launched the business in 2006. You can find out more at https://handsupholidays.com/. This podcast is powered by ZenCast.fm

    28 min

  5. 9 NOV

    Eleanor Doughty

    Eleanor Doughty discusses with Ivan six things which should be better known. Eleanor Doughty began her career in journalism at the Daily Telegraph, before going freelance to focus on writing. She has written the 'Great Estates' column in the Telegraph since 2017, and specialises in writing about the British moneyed and titles classes. Her first book Heirs and Graces, a history of the modern British aristocracy was published in September by Hutchinson Heinemann. Her writing appears in Country Life, The Times and Sunday Times, the Telegraph, the Spectator, the Financial Times, The Field and many other publications. When she is not writing, she can be found either on or near a horse, or out with her cocker spaniel. The slow lane of the motorway https://moto-way.com/2019/09/a-beginners-guide-to-motorway-lanes-and-how-to-use-them/ The British aristocracy https://uk.bookshop.org/a/447/9781529153040 Venison https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2013/sep/28/venison-deer-meat-health-heart-benefits The schedule send function on Gmail https://support.google.com/mail/answer/9214606?hl=en-GB&co=GENIE.Platform%3DDesktop Thank you letters and handwritten correspondence https://www.forbes.com/sites/jillgriffin/2018/08/07/the-value-of-a-well-written-thank-you-note/ Early 20th century/mid-century diaries and journals https://www.nybooks.com/articles/2002/11/21/out-of-the-mists/ This podcast is powered by ZenCast.fm

    27 min

  6. 2 NOV

    Sasha Butler

    Sasha Butler discusses with Ivan six things which should be better known. Sasha Butler is a Birmingham based writer. Her first novel, The Marriage Contract (Salt, 2025), was shortlisted for the Cheshire Novel Prize 2022 and the Bath Novel Award 2022, under the former title As Soft as Dreams. In addition to novels, she occasionally writes short stories. Her short story ‘Map of an Affair’ features in Floodgate Press’ anthology, Night Time Economy (September 2024). The Marriage Contract is available at https://www.saltpublishing.com/products/the-marriage-contract-9781784633608 The decline of the skirret https://www.rhs.org.uk/plants/82232/sium-sisarum/details The Great Comet of 1577 https://hgss.copernicus.org/articles/12/111/2021/ Levina Teerlinc https://artherstory.net/levina-teerlinc/ Handshakes have not always been used as a greeting gesture https://academic.oup.com/past/article/267/1/48/7716082 The fleet that set out with the Golden Hinde (formerly called The Pelican), the Elizabethan ship that circumnavigated the earth https://www.goldenhinde.co.uk/discover/the-circumnavigation-1577-1580 Baddesley Clinton https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/visit/warwickshire/baddesley-clinton This podcast is powered by ZenCast.fm

    30 min

  7. 26 OCT

    Doug Lemov

    Doug Lemov discusses with Ivan six things which should be better known. Doug Lemov is a former teacher and school principal whose books describe the techniques of high-performing teachers. His best-known book, Teach Like a Champion (now in its 3.0 version) has been translated into more than a dozen languages. The Teach Like a Champion Guide to the Science of Reading, out in July and co-written with Colleen Driggs and Erica Woolway, looks at how cognitive science can be better applied to the teaching of reading. Doug holds a BA in English from Hamilton College, an MA in English Literature from Indiana University and an MBA from the Harvard Business School. Read Doug’s latest on his blog (teachlikeachampion.org/blog) or follow him on X (@Doug_Lemov). The difference between ingredients and cake. This is a reference to what the British education researcher Daisy Christodoulou says about understanding the difference between knowledge (or facts) and critical thinking. How cognitive scientists define learning. As “a change in long term memory.” And further: If nothing has changed in long-term memory, nothing has been learned.” This is profoundly important because we forget (ie fail to learn) almost everything we come to understand in our lives unless we take specific actions to prevent this. How fun and how important it is to teach vocabulary (the right way). https://vimeo.com/387487549 Lord of the Flies. Well I LOVE Lord of the Flies… but really it’s here as a proxy to speak to the importance of reading great books. And hard books. Which basically young people don’t do any more in school. How powerful it is to read aloud with young people…and how to do it well The benefits of very short writing exercises “American teachers assign a lot of writing but they don’t teach it well” write Judith Hochman and Natalie Wexler. This is one reason why. This podcast is powered by ZenCast.fm

    30 min

  8. 19 OCT

    Sudhir Hazareesingh

    Sudhir Hazareesingh discusses with Ivan six things which should be better known. Professor Sudhir Hazareesingh was born in Mauritius. He is a Fellow of the British Academy a Fellow and Tutor in Politics at Balliol College, His books include The Legend of Napoleon (Granta, 2004), In the Shadow of the General (OUP, 2012) and How the French Think (Allen Lane, 2015). He won the Prix du Mémorial d’Ajaccio and the Prix de la Fondation Napoléon for the first of these, a Prix d’Histoire du Sénat for the second, and the Grand Prix du Livre d’Idées for the third. In 2020, he became a Grand Commander of the Order of the Star and Key of the Indian Ocean (G.C.S.K.), the highest honour of the Republic of Mauritius. His biography, Black Spartacus: The Epic Life of Toussaint Louverture (Allen Lane, 2020) won the 2021 Wolfson History Prize, with the judges describing it as an ‘erudite and elegant biography of a courageous leader which tells a gripping story with a message that resonates strongly in our own time’. His latest book is Daring to Be Free, described in the New Statesman as “An absorbing and revelatory history of black resistance to the transatlantic trade … a marvel of historical analysis and research.” It is available now. The resistance of the enslaved https://www.newstatesman.com/culture/books/book-of-the-day/2025/10/the-liberating-power-of-vodou The American academic and film-maker Henry Louis Gates jr https://www.theguardian.com/books/2024/mar/10/henry-louis-gates-jr-black-box-writing-race-arrested-beers-with-obama The Victor Hugo museum in Paris https://www.maisonsvictorhugo.paris.fr/en Swimming in the river Seine in Paris in August https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c4gk7nk35l2o The Sandhamn Murders https://www.forbes.com/sites/paultassi/2025/02/08/netflixs-best-new-crime-show-is-here-and-no-critics-have-seen-it-the-are-murders/ The Mauritian painter Vaco Baissac https://mauritiusarts.com/artist/vaco-baissac/ This podcast is powered by ZenCast.fm

    28 min
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4.7
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About

Each week, a guest makes a series of recommendations of things which they think should be better known. Our recommendations include interesting people, places, objects, stories, experiences and ideas which our guest feels haven't had the exposure that they deserve.

Information

  • Creator
    Ivan Wise
  • Years Active
    2017 - 2025
  • Episodes
    407
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2017
  • Show Website
    Better Known

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