Master your emotional intelligence with The School of Life podcast. We apply classic philosophy, modern psychology, and culture to the everyday issues that matter most: work, love, anxiety, and the search for meaning.
In each episode, we explore the deepest questions of the human condition through calm, insightful audio essays designed to help you understand yourself and the world around you. Whether you are navigating a difficult relationship, seeking career fulfillment, or simply looking for a moment of calm in a chaotic world, our content offers the wisdom and perspective you need to live a more resilient life.
Join millions of listeners on a journey toward self-knowledge. Learn how to manage your emotions, develop better relationships, and find peace of mind with the clearer, kinder thinking of The School of Life.
Key Topics:
Self-Knowledge & Psychology: Understand your past to heal your future.
Philosophy for Life: Practical wisdom from the great thinkers applied to modern problems.
Relationships & Love: Navigating dating, marriage, and heartbreak.
Work & Career: Finding purpose and overcoming burnout.
Calm & Anxiety: Strategies for resilience and peace.
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If you were setting out to make a country rich, what kind of mindsets and ideas would be most likely to achieve your goals? We invent a country, Richland, and try to imagine the psychology of its inhabitants.
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You can read more here: https://goo.gl/StpBHa
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Watch more films on CAPITALISM in our playlist:
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CREDITS
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The Psychology of Insecure Attachment
Monday, October 19, 2026 • Duration 06:32
Why do we sabotage love? This film explores anxious attachment and the roots of relationship insecurity. Learn to break the cycle of fear and build secure connections. #AttachmentTheory #Relationships #Anxiety #Love #Psychology #Insecurity
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You can read more on this and other subjects in our articles, here: https://www.theschooloflife.com/article/the-psychology-of-anxious-attachment/
“We might expect that the most natural response to being told by a kind, patient and attractive person that they loved us would – after a small intake of breath – be to believe them. But little in our emotional makeup is ever quite as simple as it could be.
In order to trust that someone who tells us of their love is sincere – isn’t slyly mocking us, about to change their mind, in touch with someone else, or harbouring intentions to betray us or die – a lot needs to have gone right early on. For a significant number of us, a declaration of love – while…”
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Watch more films on RELATIONSHIPS in our playlist:
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CREDITS
Produced in collaboration with:
Léon Moh-Cah
https://leonmohcah.com/
Title animation produced in collaboration with
Graeme Probert
www.gpmotion.co.uk
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Is It OK to Keep Secrets From Your Partner?
Monday, October 19, 2026 • Duration 05:21
We’re taught that love requires honesty, and that secrets are anathema to healthy relationships. But there may be very noble reasons for concealing things from our partner - and instances where it is far kinder to lie than reveal hurtful truths.Uploaded 31-03-21Enjoying our Youtube videos? Get full access to all our audio content, videos, and thousands of thought-provoking articles, conversation cards and more with The School of Life Subscription: https://t.ly/ltnQMBe more mindful, present and inspired. Get the best of The School of Life delivered straight to your inbox: https://t.ly/bDo9YFURTHER READINGYou can read more on this and other subjects here: https://bit.ly/3m6Sd36MORE SCHOOL OF LIFEWatch more films on SELF in our playlist: http://bit.ly/TSOLselfSOCIAL MEDIAFeel free to follow us at the links below:Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theschooloflifelondon/ X: https://twitter.com/TheSchoolOfLife Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theschooloflifelondon/ CREDITSProduced in collaboration with:Iris Abolshttps://irisabols.co.uk/ Title animation produced in collaboration withVale Productionshttps://www.valeproductions.co.uk/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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Why Inner Reflection Matters
Monday, October 19, 2026 • Duration 07:42
Most of our mistakes come down to one crucial error: our failure to understand ourselves well enough. That’s why we need to learn the art of introspection.
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The School of Life runs a global online psychotherapy service that assists clients from over 40 countries. To find out more and book a session today, please visit our website: https://t.ly/xP3EL
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“One of the hardest things to describe or to be properly aware of is what it feels like to be inside our own minds: the second-by-second flow of images, words, feelings and sounds inside our heads that philosophers call our ‘consciousness’…”
You can read more on this and other topics here: https://goo.gl/UqYE5h
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Watch more films on SELF in our playlist:
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CREDITS
Produced in collaboration with:
Tom Kemp
http://www.tomkkemp.biz/ #TheSchoolOfLife
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The Secret Power of Gratitude
Monday, October 19, 2026 • Duration 06:33
Life constantly requires that we say thank you to people - for presents, favours and helpful actions. But expressing thanks is a far from straightforward business. To be properly skilled at it, we need to learn the art of getting specific.Uploaded 17-03-21Enjoying our Youtube videos? Get full access to all our audio content, videos, and thousands of thought-provoking articles, conversation cards and more with The School of Life Subscription: https://t.ly/vB20CBe more mindful, present and inspired. Get the best of The School of Life delivered straight to your inbox: https://t.ly/4wUdMFURTHER READINGYou can read more on this and other subjects here: https://bit.ly/30OGxYP“Life continually requires that we write down a few words of thanks: for holidays, meals, presents or people’s place in our hearts. However, too often, our messages end up flat or somewhat unconvincing; we say that the dinner was ‘wonderful’, the present ‘brilliant’ and the holiday ‘the best ever’, all of which may be true while failing to get at what truly touched or moved us…”MORE SCHOOL OF LIFEWatch more films on ART in our playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLwxNMb28Xmpcp7jXVszdNruKUtHZ2zuZbSOCIAL MEDIAFeel free to follow us at the links below:Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theschooloflifelondon/ X: https://twitter.com/TheSchoolOfLife Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theschooloflifelondon/ CREDITSProduced in collaboration with:Ana Pérez López https://www.anaperezlopez.com/ Title animation produced in collaboration withVale Productionshttps://www.valeproductions.co.uk/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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The Psychology of Men's Loneliness
Monday, October 19, 2026 • Duration 06:05
Why are male friendships so hard? This film explores the psychology of masculinity and the barriers to intimacy between men. Can we redefine what it means to be a friend? #MaleFriendship #Masculinity #Psychology #Intimacy #Loneliness #Connection
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FURTHER READING
You can read more on this and other subjects in our articles, here: https://www.theschooloflife.com/article/the-challenges-of-male-friendships/?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=description&utm_campaign=The%20Psychology%20of%20Male%20Loneliness
"There are, of course, exceptions: buddies who know all about intimacy and cosiness, camaraderie and connection. But let’s state the darker and more general truth plainly: friendship is difficult for men. For every man who can claim a decent male friend, there must be at least eight who – in the honesty of their deep minds – know they have none that truly merit the term..."
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Watch more films on SELF in our playlist:
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CREDITS
Produced in collaboration with:
Natalia Biegaj
https://www.nb-animation.com/
Title animation produced in collaboration with
Graeme Probert
www.gpmotion.co.uk
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The Fear of Ending a Relationship
Monday, October 19, 2026 • Duration 11:32
Some of us live in such dread of ending a relationship, we'd rather sacrifice our chances of long-term happiness rather than endure a tricky few hours. But the discomfort of endings can be overcome once we understand that ending a relationship doesn't have to mean ruining things for a partner, it can actually mean saving their lives.Uploaded 12-02-20Enjoying our Youtube videos? Get full access to all our audio content, videos, and thousands of thought-provoking articles, conversation cards and more with The School of Life Subscription: https://t.ly/1eNyTBe more mindful, present and inspired. Get the best of The School of Life delivered straight to your inbox: https://t.ly/ig9C7FURTHER READINGYou can read more on this and other subjects here: https://bit.ly/31NTB0d“Let us imagine that we know what we want – to leave a relationship – but that we are suffering from a problem which inhibits us from acting on our wishes: we can’t bear to cause another person pain, especially another person towards whom we feel a sense of loyalty, who has been kind to us, who looks up to us for their safety and their future, who has expectations of us and with whom we might have been planning a trip to another continent in a few months. Perhaps we have come near to telling them on a dozen occasions, but always pulled back at the last moment. We tell ourselves that we’ll get around to it ‘after the holidays’, ‘once their birthday party is over’, ‘next year’, ‘in the morning’, and yet the deadlines roll by and we are still here…”MORE SCHOOL OF LIFEWatch more films on RELATIONSHIPS in our playlist: http://bit.ly/TSOLrelationshipsSOCIAL MEDIAFeel free to follow us at the links below:Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theschooloflifelondon/ X: https://twitter.com/TheSchoolOfLife Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theschooloflifelondon/ CREDITSProduced in collaboration with: Natalia Biegajhttps://www.nb-animation.com/ Title animation produced in collaboration withVale Productionshttps://www.valeproductions.co.uk/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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In Conversation: Alain de Botton on Excellent Company with Jamie Laing
Monday, October 19, 2026 • Duration 01:05:45
Alain de Botton sits down with Jaime Laing on the @GreatCompanyPodcast. Together they dive into such subjects as: What is love? How do we navigate heartbreak? Why is our childhood so critical in shaping the rest of our life? And what does it all mean, anyway? Along the way, Alain walks Jamie through some of the reasons why we experience the ‘ick’, the typical emotional burdens parents project onto their children, and why breakdowns often lead to breakthroughs. They also explore ways of understanding our own relationships – and how our attachment styles and past experiences can shape the way we love.
Great Company is an original podcast from JamPot Productions uploaded with their permission to The School of Life.
If you enjoyed this podcast you can find more on the Great Company podcast, links below:
YouTube |  @greatcompanypodcast
Instagram |  @greatcompanypodcast
TikTok |  @greatcompanypodcast
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Enjoying our Youtube videos? Get full access to all our audio content, videos, and thousands of thought-provoking articles, conversation cards and more with The School of Life Subscription: https://www.theschooloflife.com/the-school-of-life-youtube/
Learn, heal and grow. Get the best of The School of Life delivered straight to your inbox: https://www.theschooloflife.com/signup/
FURTHER READING
You can read more on this and other subjects in our articles, here: https://www.theschooloflife.com/articles/
Timestamps
00:00 What is the meaning of life?
00:45 Finding the extraordinary with the ordinary
3:30 An exercise that can help with anxiety
07:00 How difficult self-awareness is
08:50 What Jamie was like as a child
10:20 Why funny people often come from sad childhoods
12:50 Looking for familiarity not happiness in relationships
18:00 Examining Jamie’s relationship through attachment styles
21:45 Acknowledging a relationship is between two broken people
23:00 Why asking ‘How are you mad?’ on a date can help
25:00 Best way to diffuse an argument with a partner
26:30 The worst heartbreak comes from the nice ones
29:20 How to become the best version of yourself
31:20 Our past can explain how we act in our current relationships
36:45 What has led me to do what I do
39:20 Life is about deepening time not just lengthening it
40:40 Ways to help when feeling mentally unwell
48:30 Breakdowns can actually be breakthroughs
50:15 Why read my new book ‘A Therapeutic Journey’
52:00 Final eight questions
#THESCHOOLOFLIFE #GREATCOMPANYPODCAST #ALAINDEBOTTON
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THE CREDITS:
Exec Producer: Jemima Rathbone
Assistant Producer: Gurlina Heer
Editor: Steve Melia
Video: Jake Ji
Marketing: Eleanore Bamber
Social Media: Laura Coughlan
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The Genuine Power of Community
Monday, October 19, 2026 • Duration 05:25
There’s a lot of pressure on us to make our individual lives interesting. But sometimes, the best experiences aren’t those connected up with our personal triumphs; they’re moments of joy at belonging with others.
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When We Fall Mentally Ill...
Sunday, October 18, 2026 • Duration 05:43
Mental crises can seem to come out of the blue, but their roots probably reach back years, even decades. Recovery begins only when we begin to listen to what our pain is trying to tell us.Uploaded 24-02-21Enjoying our Youtube videos? Get full access to all our audio content, videos, and thousands of thought-provoking articles, conversation cards and more with The School of Life Subscription: https://t.ly/9QZGGBe more mindful, present and inspired. Get the best of The School of Life delivered straight to your inbox: https://t.ly/ifDMXThe School of Life runs a global online psychotherapy service that assists clients from over 40 countries. To find out more and book a session today, please visit our website: https://t.ly/xP3ELFURTHER READINGYou can read more on this and other subjects here: https://bit.ly/3bw2nW4“For a long time, we may cope well enough. We make it to work every morning, we give pleasant summaries of our lives to friends, we smile over dinner. We aren’t totally balanced, but there’s little way of knowing how difficult things might be for other people, and what we have a right to expect in terms of contentment and peace of mind. We probably tell ourselves to stop being self-indulgent and redouble our efforts to feel worthy through achievement. We are probably world experts in not feeling sorry for ourselves…”MORE SCHOOL OF LIFEWatch more films on SELF in our playlist: http://bit.ly/TSOLselfSOCIAL MEDIAFeel free to follow us at the links below:Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theschooloflifelondon/ X: https://twitter.com/TheSchoolOfLife Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theschooloflifelondon/ CREDITSProduced in collaboration with:Dal Parkhttps://dalpark.net/ Title animation produced in collaboration withVale Productionshttps://www.valeproductions.co.uk/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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