Wiser than Yesterday hosts open-ended discussions, breakdowns, and summaries of the world's most thought-provoking and inspiring books.
Our hosts, Nicolas Vereecke and Sam Harris digest non-fiction books from all centuries and genres. They discuss the biggest philosophical insights and practical lessons for health, wealth, wisdom, and happiness.
This podcast is here to help listeners become smarter. To learn about new ideas and to gain more perspectives on the books and ideas they are familiar with.
Each season we tackle a new field and read the best books on a given topic such as racism, startups, stoicism, or personal finance. We cast a wide net to summarise all sides of opinions in an area to come to a wider understanding of the topic at large as well as help listeners navigate the different opinions and ideas they haven't heard of.
We dive into topics such as philosophy, business, equality, psychology, politics, economics, and who knows what else. Our goal is to simply explore the best ideas and learn new things. You're most welcome to join us for the ride.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy (https://acast.com/privacy) for more information.
The Language Puzzle: How we talked our way out of the Stone Age - Steven Mithen
The relationship between language, thought and culture is of concern to anyone with an interest in what it means to be human.
The Language Puzzle by Steven Mithen explains how the invention of words at 1.6 million years ago began the evolution of human language from the ape-like calls of our earliest ancestors to our capabilities of today, with over 6000 languages in the world and each of us knowing over 50,000 words.
Out of interest in correctness, Sam investigates cultural ideas across other books from Richard Wrangham, Christopher Boem and Yuval Noah Harari to create this tour de force episode on what the hell was going on.
Drawing on the latest discoveries in archaeology, linguistics, psychology, and genetics, this episode reconstructs the steps by which language evolved; how it transformed the nature of thought and culture, and how we talked our way out of the Stone Age into the world of farming and swiftly into today's Digital Age.
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About Wiser Pod
Nico and Sam set out to read the world's best books, from philosophy to sci-fi, economics to who knows what.
Sam Webster Harris
👋 LinkedIn - Sam Harris (https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/how-to-change-the-world-the-history-of-innovation/id1815282649)
🧠 Psychology Pod - Growth Mindset Psychology (https://www.growthmindsetpodcast.com/)
🚀 New Pod - How to Change the World (https://www.changetheworldpod.com/)
Nicolas Vereecke
👋 LinkedIn - Nico Vereecke (https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicolasvereecke/)
🤖 AI world domination - Evil Plan Inc (https://evilplaninc.com/)
- - -
How to Change the World: The History and Future of Innovation (https://www.changetheworldpod.com/)
Available on all podcast players:
SPOTIFY - https://open.spotify.com/show/1Fj3eFjEoAEKF5lWQxPJyT (https://open.spotify.com/show/1Fj3eFjEoAEKF5lWQxPJyT)
APPLE - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/how-to-change-the-world-the-history-of-innovation/id1815282649 (https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/how-to-change-the-world-the-history-of-innovation/id1815282649)
YOUTUBE - https://www.youtube.com/@HowToChangeTheWorldPodcast (https://www.youtube.com/@HowToChangeTheWorldPodcast)
Can't find it on your player?
RSS feed - https://feeds.acast.com/public/shows/682b3b86696b5d1232d698a8 (https://feeds.acast.com/public/shows/682b3b86696b5d1232d698a8)
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CHAPTERS
00:00 Little Miracles and Airplanes
02:26 Wiser pod Introduction
03:32 Framing the Four-Part Journey
05:49 The Compression Problem
09:30 Act 1 – Cognitive Basis of Language
09:30 Biological History of Languages
14:27 The Interconnected Brain
18:03 Complex Words and Abstract Ideas
21:50 Ad Break
22:13 Words, Planning, and Teamwork
23:10 Act 2 – Gossip, Myths & Religion
23:10 Gossip and the Glue of Society
26:48 Myths and Shared Delusions
31:42 Early Religions, Animism and Cave Art
34:39 Act 3 – Self-Domestication
34:45 Shame, Blushing, and Human Civility
38:10 Invitation to Continue on How to Change the World
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy (https://acast.com/privacy) for more information.
17 Feb 2026
Bruce Lee: Artist of life - The 6 habits of power and wisdom from a legend
Bruce Lee was an intense man with such sheer concentration of energy that no one who encountered him, on screen or in person, could help but be drawn to him and his enthusiasm for life and knowledge.
Bruce Lee: Artist of Life explores the development and fruition of Bruce Lee's thoughts about gung fu (kung fu), philosophy, psychology, poetry, jeet kune do, acting, and self-knowledge.
Imagine being so annoyingly good at punching people that your dad has to ship you to another continent. That, more or less, is where our story with Bruce Lee begins.
Bruce Lee wasn’t born a legend. He built one, habit by habit.
This episode breaks down six simple, brutal habits that turned a skinny Hong Kong troublemaker into the most recognisable martial artist on earth. It’s surprisingly copy‑and‑pasteable into a normal life:
Turn failure into a feedback loop instead of an identity crisis.
Build a simple notebook ritual that actually shapes your decisions.
Design one “Bruce Lee hour” a day to practice your craft like it matters.
Hit play, and steal Bruce’s operating system, not just his quotes.
- - -
About Wiser Pod
Nico and Sam set out to read the world's best books, from philosophy to sci-fi, economics to who knows what.
Sam Webster Harris
LinkedIn - Sam Harris (https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/how-to-change-the-world-the-history-of-innovation/id1815282649)
History of Innovation Pod - How to Change the World (https://www.changetheworldpod.com/)
Nicolas Vereecke
LinkedIn - Nico Vereecke (https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicolasvereecke/)
AI world domination - Evil Plan Inc (https://evilplaninc.com/)
- - -
How to Change the World (https://www.changetheworldpod.com/)
SPOTIFY - https://open.spotify.com/show/1Fj3eFjEoAEKF5lWQxPJyT (https://open.spotify.com/show/1Fj3eFjEoAEKF5lWQxPJyT)
APPLE - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/how-to-change-the-world-the-history-of-innovation/id1815282649 (https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/how-to-change-the-world-the-history-of-innovation/id1815282649)
YOUTUBE - https://www.youtube.com/@HowToChangeTheWorldPodcast (https://www.youtube.com/@HowToChangeTheWorldPodcast)
Can't find it on your player?
RSS feed - https://feeds.acast.com/public/shows/682b3b86696b5d1232d698a8 (https://feeds.acast.com/public/shows/682b3b86696b5d1232d698a8)
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Chapters
00:00 Bruce Lee’s First Boxing Match
01:55 Determined to Succeed in Acting
02:23 Bruce Lee’s Habits of Success
02:57 #1 – Embrace Failure on the Path to Success
04:49 #2 – Carry a Notebook Everywhere
05:48 #3 – Repeat Goals to Yourself
08:41 #4 – Practice Your Craft Constantly
10:12 #5 – Constantly Read a Variety of Subjects
11:45 #6 – Research and Adapt
15:01 Bruce Lee’s Influence After 50 Years
15:22 Send Off
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy (https://acast.com/privacy) for more information.
8 Sept 2025
Catching Fire: How Cooking Made Us Human - Richard Wrangham
In this stunningly original book, Richard Wrangham argues that it was cooking that caused the extraordinary transformation of our ancestors from apelike beings to Homo erectus. At the heart of Catching Fire lies an explosive new idea: the habit of eating cooked rather than raw food permitted the digestive tract to shrink and the human brain to grow, helped structure human society, and created the male-female division of labour. As our ancestors adapted to using fire, humans emerged as "the cooking apes".
Covering everything from food-labelling and overweight pets to raw-food faddists, Catching Fire offers a startlingly original argument about how we came to be the social, intelligent, and sexual species we are today.
- - -
About Wiser Pod
Nico and Sam set out to read the world's best books, from philosophy to sci-fi, economics to who knows what.
Sam Webster Harris
👋 LinkedIn - Sam Harris (https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/how-to-change-the-world-the-history-of-innovation/id1815282649)
🧠 Psychology Pod - Growth Mindset Psychology (https://www.growthmindsetpodcast.com/)
🚀 New Pod - How to Change the World (https://www.changetheworldpod.com/)
Nicolas Vereecke
👋 LinkedIn - Nico Vereecke (https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicolasvereecke/)
🤖 AI world domination - Evil Plan Inc (https://evilplaninc.com/)
- - -
How to Change the World: The History and Future of Innovation (https://www.changetheworldpod.com/)
Available on all podcast players:
SPOTIFY - https://open.spotify.com/show/1Fj3eFjEoAEKF5lWQxPJyT (https://open.spotify.com/show/1Fj3eFjEoAEKF5lWQxPJyT)
APPLE - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/how-to-change-the-world-the-history-of-innovation/id1815282649 (https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/how-to-change-the-world-the-history-of-innovation/id1815282649)
YOUTUBE - https://www.youtube.com/@HowToChangeTheWorldPodcast (https://www.youtube.com/@HowToChangeTheWorldPodcast)
Can't find it on your player?
RSS feed - https://feeds.acast.com/public/shows/682b3b86696b5d1232d698a8 (https://feeds.acast.com/public/shows/682b3b86696b5d1232d698a8)
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Chapters
00:00 The Role of Fire in Civilization
02:20 Introduction: Who is in control
03:55 Fire's Impact on Predators and Prey
05:59 First Fire - 500 million years ago
09:24 Humans and fire - ~2 million years ago
11:36 The Discovery of Fire
13:07 When did we discover Fire
13:48 Stadium of Grandmothers
14:51 Fire's Influence on Human Biology
17:22 Fire and Human Digestion
19:43 Light and Campfires
21:52 Mealtimes
23:00 Fire's Role in Human Birth and Survival
24:51 Why Only Humans Mastered Fire
27:22 Fire, Social Structures & Gender Roles
32:42 Role Change in the Information Age
34:45 Fire's Role in Human Expansion - 70,000 years ago
35:11 Second half of the episode on the new show
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy (https://acast.com/privacy) for more information.
Reach and audience
Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.
YouTube views
119
Score snapshot 15 Sept 2025
Apple Podcasts (US)
3.7 / 5
13 ratings
Spotify
4.0 / 5
21 ratings
Podcast Authority Score: 61 / 100
A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.
Quality
60
Social presence
0
YouTube
66
Engagement
92
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