The Being Human Podcast with Richard Atherton

Loved this episode? The Compassion Exchange is the community I helped build for Being Human listeners who want to put what they hear into practice. Monthly group coaching with me, other guest coaches and speakers, and a growing resource library. There's a 20% lifetime listener discount waiting for you: https://www.thecompassionexchange.com/being-human ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________   What if what’s really wearing you out isn’t your to-do list, but the hidden burden of everything your mind is juggling at once? In this episode of Being Human, Richard Atherton talks with Dr. Liane Davey, an organisational psychologist, New York Times bestselling author, and co-founder of 3COze Inc. Liane has spent more than thirty years studying what helps teams succeed and what causes them to quietly fall apart. Her new book, Thoughtload: Manage the Madness and Free Your Team to Do Great Work, began with a moment on stage when someone in the audience challenged the idea that workload was the main problem. Liane paused during her talk and said for the first time, "It's not the workload that's killing us — it's the thought load." That line caught the room and launched the idea. Thoughtload is the hidden cost that affects how you perform and show up at work. It comes from growing mental demands, an emotionally unsettled world that follows you into the office, and the idea that you shouldn’t take time to recharge.   We talk:  Why "priorities" had no plural The invisible tax on your focus Emotions vs. feelings at work Energy as a renewable resource The 15-minute overwhelm fix Links: Liane Davey Thoughtload (book + resources) Liane on LinkedIn

▶️ Connect with Richard on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/richardatherton-firsthuman/   What if the movement meant to free women has actually made them less happy, and people have struggled to discuss it? In this episode of Being Human, Richard Atherton talks with Carrie Gress, a philosopher, co-founder of The Theology of Home, and author of eleven books, including The End of Woman: How Smashing the Patriarchy Has Destroyed Us. Carrie, who has a PhD in philosophy, originally planned to write a short chapter on first-wave feminism. Instead, she spent four years discovering how its roots are closely linked to socialism, the occult, and a view of womanhood shaped more by envy than by freedom. ​She links Mary Wollstonecraft's call for equality to the consciousness-raising methods used in Mao's China, revealing a history that is new to many people. Her argument is not against women. Instead, she argues for restoring what feminism has quietly removed: the unique strengths women bring to families, workplaces, and culture when they embrace their own identity. We discuss: The hidden origins of feminism Why women are less happy now Motherhood as feature, not flaw The false binary no one questions What men really love about women   Links:  Carrie Gress / The Theology of Home The End of Woman (Book) Carrie’s Substack

▶️ Connect with Richard on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/richardatherton-firsthuman/   Have you ever thought that the hardest things you’ve faced might actually be preparing you for the life you’re meant to live? In this episode of Being Human, Richard Atherton talks with Ali Mahlodji, CEO of futureOne, keynote speaker, five-time author, and guest lecturer at the University of Cambridge. As a toddler, Ali found himself in a refugee camp in Austria. At 13 he started stuttering and didn’t stop until he was 22. He left school early, worked more than 40 jobs ranging from floor cleaner to carpenter, and taught himself software engineering using library books. After 70 application letters to OG Silicon Valley giant, Sun Microsystems, Ali lands himself his first tech role.  What made the difference for him was something his mother did every day, no matter how tough things got: she told him she loved him just as he was. Not for his grades or achievements, but simply for being himself. Now, through futureOne’s Heroes programme, he helps people in 40 countries break free from old patterns. In this conversation, he shares why, with AI on the rise, doing this inner work is more important than ever.   We discuss: Escaping Iran aged 2 Dealing with his father's mental breakdown Getting his break in Tech Building a start-up and exiting Recovering from burnout and building futureOne Links:  Ali's Website futureOne

▶️ Connect with Richard on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/richardatherton-firsthuman/   What if drinking the same milkshake could make you gain or lose weight, just based on what you believe about it? The same idea could also affect your stress, how you age, and your relationships.   In this episode of Being Human, Richard Atherton talks with David Robson, a science writer and author of The Expectation Effect: How Your Mindset Can Transform Your Life and The Laws of Connection. David used his mind training approach to go from an average student to getting in to Cambridge University to study mathematics. He is now a respected science journalist in the UK, writing for the BBC, The Guardian, and New Scientist. His work explores how our beliefs not only shape our actions but also affect our cortisol levels and our health. ​ For example, just having a positive view of ageing can add 7.5 years to your life. David also challenges the idea that willpower runs out as the day goes on, showing that what we believe about self-control is more important than the time of day. He explains why self-compassion is the key to lasting performance, backed by scientific evidence.   We discuss: The art of being a "Beautiful Mess" How to rapidly build rapport It's not just about listening to them Why they might like you more than you think How to eat decadently and lose weight Links:  David’s Website    

▶️ Connect with Richard on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/richardatherton-firsthuman/   What if the most important leadership skill has nothing to do with leading others and everything to do with the person you're choosing to become?   In this episode of Being Human, Richard Atherton is joined by Andrew Bryant, worldwide self-leadership thought leader, keynote speaker, and author of five books, including Potential-ize: How Leaders Unlock Human Potential in the Age of AI.    Andrew trained as a physiotherapist in London in the early eighties, working with athletes, football players, and even a ballet company, learning how the body performs under pressure. But what he was really learning was that performance lives or dies in the narrative, our internal dialogue, that we tell ourselves in the moments that matter. That insight carried him from sports clinics to boardrooms across 40 countries, and ultimately into a framework for self-leadership that treats intentionality, identity, and personal agency as the foundation on which everything else is built. When a cancer scare during lockdown brought him face-to-face with his own mortality, the philosophy he'd spent decades teaching became the philosophy that carried him through.   We discuss: Self-leadership as daily practice Identity shifts that transform everything The IGNITE framework explained AI efficiency vs human effectiveness The Pygmalion Effect at work  Links:  Andrew’s Website Potential-ize - The Book

▶️ Connect with Richard on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/richardatherton-firsthuman/ What to make of a man who designed Sweden's mining infrastructure, mapped the human brain, and then spent the last 30 years of his life in daily conversation with the dead? Could Emanuel Swedenborg be the greatest 18th century thinker you've never heard of?   In this episode of Being Human, Richard Atherton is joined by Curtis Childs, producer and director of Off the Left Eye, a YouTube channel approaching 2,000 videos on the life and teachings of Swedenborg.   After spending 30 years as one of Sweden's greatest scientists, inventors and anatomists, at 53 he started having what we would now call near-death experiences, except he appeared to be able to slip in and out of these states with ease. He documented these across 30 volumes, work that would go on to influence Carl Jung, and quite possibly the 12-step programme.   Curtis came to Swedenborg not as a scholar but as someone in crisis, searching for a model of consciousness that made sense of the chaos inside his own mind. This conversation explores what that model offers people navigating mental health challenges and interior growth, and those seeking potential answers to what lies beyond.   We discuss: How Swedenborg eased Curtis’ depression How the Enlightenment and Christianity can threaten spiritual growth The real meaning of Heaven and Hell Sorting things out in the After Life The Self as Selector   Links: Off the Left Eye Curtis' Website

▶️ Connect with Richard on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/richardatherton-firsthuman/   Richard is joined by Rupert Brown, a fractional Chief Transformation Officer.    In January 2005, Rupert was driving down a motorway when he heard on the radio that Procter & Gamble had just bought his company, Gillette, for $57 billion. Nobody had thought to tell the employees first, and so started Rupert’s quest to figure out how to do change well.   Rupert has since penned Lost in Transformation: Discover the Leadership Blind Spots Derailing Change, detailing his time at Gillette and elsewhere. He has over 30 years of HR experience across some of the world's most complex organisations.    Rupert’s experiences taught him something most change stalls because leaders can't see their own blind spots: the arbitrary deadlines that crush emotional processing, the flattery that makes us say yes without thinking, the inner voice we never make time to hear. We dive into the wisdom gained from Rupert’s interviews with over 30 executives as well as his own formidable track record.   We discuss: Five blind spots derailing change Kairos vs Kronos timing Why empathy disappears at work Three levels of resistance explained Leading with integrity under pressure   Links: Rupert’s Website

▶️ Connect with Richard on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/richardatherton-firsthuman/   Most of us know that modern tech is hijacking our nervous system at some level, and, if you’re anything like me, even after trying to get a lot of ‘tech hygiene’ right, you’re still feeling some of the effects.   On this episode of Being Human, Richard Atherton is joined by Justin Hai, an award-winning British entrepreneur and author of the international bestseller, Stress Nation: Escape the Technology Trap and Eliminate Stress. Justin started his work in health in the biotech skincare industry. His company, Alastin, which specialises in regenerative skincare with peptides and growth hormones, was sold to Galderma in 2022 for over a billion dollars. But in the process of his research, Justin stumbled upon something he called "the master hormone": cortisol.   Justin discovered that increased levels of cortisol suppress melatonin, leading to sleep deprivation, which stops the body from producing the necessary hormones – and once this cycle keeps going, things start falling apart. Weight gain, brain fog, poor libido, mood swings, and exhaustion. Not as individual issues to deal with, but all manifestations of an underlying problem are being exacerbated each year due to technology.   We discuss: Why cortisol is the master hormone and how it controls everything How the modern world removed your body's natural off switch Why 95% of the supplements you're taking are destroyed in your stomach Men go through menopause too — and most have no idea Simple daily habits that bring cortisol down and sleep quality up   Links: Stress Nation - The Book

▶️ Connect with Richard on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/richardatherton-firsthuman/   What if your healing journey that took you years could have taken months and the tool to get there is growing in the Colombian jungle?   In this episode of Being Human, Richard Atherton is joined by Sam Believ, marine engineer and founder of Lawayra, an ayahuasca healing retreat in the Colombian countryside. Born in the Soviet Union and raised in post-independence Latvia, Sam grew up in a household shaped by intergenerational trauma: alcoholic, abusive father, an emotionally unavailable mother, and a culture where emotions were a sign of weakness. He channelled everything into his engineering career, built the life he was supposed to want, and found himself empty.   After quitting his job and travelling South America, Sam discovered ayahuasca in Colombia. Initially it was out of curiosity, he then rediscovered it in a crisis. When the lockdowns forced him to stop for the first time in his life, everything he had suppressed caught up with him. A ceremony gave him both his healing and his purpose. He never left.   Today Sam has guided close to 3,000 people through ceremonies at LaWayra, where the mission is simple: connect, heal, grow.   We discuss: Surviving Soviet childhood trauma and escaping intergenerational pain Why achieving the "right" life left him completely empty What actually happens inside an ayahuasca ceremony Therapy vs ayahuasca  Addressing abuse by shamans   Links: LaWayra Retreats Sam's Website

▶️ Connect with Richard on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/richardatherton-firsthuman/   What if your body could tell you exactly where you're out of balance—before it shows up as illness or burnout?   In this episode, Richard sits down with Daniel Zavrel, co-founder of ConsciouzScan, to explore a cutting-edge, powerful technology that claims to map your body and mind through your energy field.   From his early career in consulting at Accenture, to his shift into spirituality and human performance, Daniel shares how this technology is being used with elite athletes, executives and individuals seeking deeper awareness.   Daniel performs a full body scan on Richard to reveal how this technology works.   Together, they explore: How one super simple 5-minute yoga technique transformed one CEO’s health How stress actually shows up in the body The link between focus, emotion and energy Why high performers often miss the real source of their exhaustion And what it means to “listen” to your body at a deeper level Whether you’re sceptical or curious, this conversation will challenge how you think about health, performance and consciousness.   ---   Receive15% discount on the ConsciouzScan online Body & Mind Scan session (1 hour).   Book your session and claim your discount here: https://checkout.consciouz.com/checkout/bodymindscan Enter discount code: BEINGHUMAN   Want to learn more about the ConsciouzScan method in general first? Then visit: https://checkout.consciouz.com/consciouz-body-mind-scan?revision=1   Interested in becoming a ConsciouzScan Coach? Sign up for the free Masterclass on April 8, 2026 about the coach training program: https://checkout.consciouz.com/masterclass-consciouz-coach