Speaker

Adam Phillips

Adam Phillips is a psychoanalytic psychotherapist and essayist. He has been the general editor of the Penguin Modern Classics translations of Sigmund Freud.

Adam Phillips is a psychoanalytic psychotherapist and essayist. He has been the general editor of the Penguin Modern Classics translations of Sigmund Freud.

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Illustration of two human profiles facing each other, highlighting the brains with neural activity represented as glowing areas, symbolizing cognitive differences.

The Physical and Psychological Differences Between Men and Women

The biology and psychology of sex difference

Abstract illustration of a skeletal figure with exaggerated facial features and a pale green hue against a dark blue background, conveying a surreal and unsettling expression.

Richard Bentall,Robert Rowland Smith,Joanna Kavenna,Patricia Casey

Madness and Wisdom

Might madness be a strange form of wisdom?

A surreal architectural design featuring intricate staircases and levels in a neutral-toned, three-dimensional space, creating a dizzying effect.

Susana Martinez-Conde

The Secret Conjurer

How does the brain play tricks on us?

A graphic illustration depicting two silhouettes with open heads, revealing a blue brain on one side and a pink brain on the other, symbolizing different perspectives or thoughts.

Mark Salter,Helena Cronin,Gina Rippon,Simon Baron-Cohen

How Men and Women Think

Are mental differences between the sexes real?

An illustration of a man's head with mechanical and automotive elements emerging, symbolizing thought processes and creativity in engineering or innovation.

David Malone,Angie Hobbs,Mark Rowlands,Margaret Heffernan

Forgetting to Be Me

Is true memory a fantasy?

Steve Fuller,Richard Bentall,Yasmin Alibhai-Brown,Joanna Kavenna

Who We Have Been and Who We Are

Is memory a recollection or a construction?

A silhouette of a person gazing up at a starry night sky, surrounded by the dark outlines of trees.

Benjamin Dalton

Narrating the Brain

Benjamin Dalton | Neuroscience's story of the self

A busy railway station filled with commuters in motion, featuring escalators, signage, and diverse groups of people engaged in various activities.

Richard Bentall

Why Society Drives You Mad

Environmental psychology & mental illness

A person obscures their face with their hands, surrounded by vibrant blue and yellow foliage, conveying a sense of anxiety or introspection.

Polly Toynbee,Richard Bentall,Dinesh Bhugra,Simon Baron-Cohen

Mind, Myth and Madness

Are biological accounts of mental illness useful?

Close-up of two eyes peeking through a torn pink background, one green and one blue, highlighting their vivid colors and intricate details.

Juliette Burton

Seeing Through Psychosis

Juliette Burton | Illuminated by mental illness

A pair of black shoes standing on gravel with two white arrows painted on the ground pointing in opposite directions.

Jason McKenzie Alexander

How to Make the Right Decision

Fixing your biases with cognitive science

A silhouette of a person facing left, set against a bright blue circular background.

Raymond Tallis,Barry C. Smith,Markus Gabriel,Susanna Martinez-Conde

Minds, Matter and Mechanisms

Are humans more than machines?

A monochromatic image of a mannequin's head surrounded by an explosion of water droplets, creating a dynamic and abstract effect.

Mechanisms of the Mind

Margaret Boden | Rethinking memory through AI

A complex 3D maze with intricate pathways and sharp turns, rendered in gray, creating a visually engaging maze structure.

Hilary Lawson,Iain McGilchrist,Colin Blakemore,Bryan Appleyard

Mazes of the Mind

The philosophy of neuroscience

A surrealist painting depicting a figure with a human form and wooden drawers, evoking themes of memory and identity, typical of Salvador Dalí's distinctive style.

Barry C. Smith,Richard Bentall,David Malone,Shahidha Bari

Hidden Desires and Secret Thoughts

Are We In Control of Our Selves?

A sculptural representation of a brain featuring intricate carvings of trees, flowers, and animals, emphasizing the connection between nature and cognition.

Psychiatry and the Meaning of Pain

A silhouetted figure appears to be falling through a beam of light emanating from a circular opening above, surrounded by darkness.

Richard Bentall,Mark Salter,Lucy Johnstone,Ann John

A Mad World

Is modern life bad for your mental health?

A person stands in the ocean at dusk, arms outstretched, with a reflective object instead of a face, creating a surreal, artistic effect.

Against Psychiatric Diagnoses

We need another understanding of mental health | Lucy Johnstone

Abstract artwork featuring vibrant colors of blue, orange, and red, with intricate, organic patterns resembling neural connections or cosmic elements.

The Vital Statistics

Should gender differences be accepted?

A close-up of cupcakes with chocolate frosting, topped with blue and pink circular decorations that read

David Malone,Hilary Rose,Julie Bindel,Rosalind Arden

The Science of Sex

On the real differences between gender and sex

A colorful abstract painting of a serene figure with light-colored skin and flowing hair, set against a vibrant background of blues, pinks, and swirling patterns.

Richard Bentall

Beyond Psychotherapy

When drugs won’t do

A figure with a bowl for a head sits shirtless at a table, manipulating mechanical parts and wires scattered on a newspaper.

Sue Bailey,Hermione Lee,Steven Rose,Jo Marchant

Memory and Forgetting

Forgetfulness and the self

A vibrant, kaleidoscopic pattern featuring green and pink hues, with abstract representations of trees and foliage arranged symmetrically.

The Science of Psychedelics

David Nutt | Can drugs transform mental health?

An abstract illustration of a man's head, with various thought bubbles depicting money, relationships, and other concepts, symbolizing complex human thoughts and emotions.

Havi Carel,David Healy,Sean Curran,Dinesh Bhugra

Positive Thinking and the Name Game

Should we not name illnesses?

A futuristic, ethereal landscape featuring glowing, pinkish orbs suspended from delicate strands, exuding a mystical ambiance.

Steve Fuller,Isabel Hilton,Richard Bentall,Simon Wessely

Mind, Madness, and Power

Is psychiatry dangerous?

A figure emerges from swirling mist, with a glowing center and a radiating light at the head, symbolizing enlightenment and spiritual awakening.

Where Is My Mind?

It's not all in the brain

A detailed illustration of neurons with branching axons and dendrites, showcasing synaptic connections and the transmission of electrical signals in a neural network.

Colin Blakemore

Neuro-Everything?

A blurred silhouette of a person with a hand pressed against a sheer curtain, creating a sense of intimacy and mystery.

Anders Sandberg

Love Is the Drug

Can we have a pill that sparks love?

A stylized silhouette of a human head filled with blue gears, symbolizing thought, intellect, and the mechanics of the mind.

Metaphors of the Mind

Ophelia Deroy uncovers the origins of experience.

Two glass pill bottles tipped over, spilling yellow and red capsules along with yellow tablets on a surface. Soft light enhances the scene.

Richard Bentall,Ritula Shah,John Cutting,Bob Johnson

Drugged Up

Fads and Fallacies in Psychiatry

A person in a lab coat holding multiple packs of colorful medication and pills, demonstrating an assortment of pharmaceuticals.

Richard Bentall

Treating Psychosis

The limits of anti-psychotics

A vintage black-and-white photograph of a smiling woman with curly hair, standing by the water, placed on handwritten letters.

Memory and the Self

Do memories make us who we are?

A human brain displayed against a blue background, showcasing its intricate folds and contours.

Dark Matter of The Mind

Why human nature is not pre-determined

A stylized, abstract sculpture of a humanoid face composed of fragmented geometric shapes, suggesting a theme of transformation or mental fragmentation.

Richard Bentall,Ritula Shah,David Healy,Dinesh Bhugra

Madness, Incorporated

Are psychiatric diagnoses real?

A hand holding four stacked pastel-colored tablets, with a blurred background suggesting a bright indoor setting.

Sex, Lies and Pharmacology

David Healy | Psychiatric drugs destroy sex lives

Old, yellowed sheet music featuring handwritten annotations, displaying various musical notes and symbols across the pages.

Neuroscience and the Mystery of Music

Raymond Tallis explains why our love for music remains beyond science's grasp

A surreal black and white image depicting a distressed man with multiple hands grasping his face, conveying a sense of chaos and inner turmoil.

Madness: What's in a word?

The language behind it

A businessman in a suit holds two masks, one depicting a frowning face and the other a smiling face, symbolizing contrasting emotions.

Are We All Bipolar Now?

The boundaries of mental health

A panel discussion featuring three individuals, one holding a ukulele, seated in front of a projector display. Audience partially visible in the foreground.

Rana Mitter,Molly Meacher,Richard Bentall,Mark Salter

Taking Over the Asylum

A transparent human head filled with colorful pills and capsules, with a spoonful of medication positioned near the mouth, symbolizing health or substance use.

A Checklist for Sanity

The limits to our understanding of mental illness

A conceptual image of a brain split in half, one side wearing a black tie and the other adorned with a red bow, symbolizing the balance between work and emotion.

Caspar Melville,Helena Cronin,Tim Spector

Sexuality After Genetics

A focus on an orange medication tablet marked with the number 127, surrounded by scattered orange pills on a white surface.

Nicholas Humphrey

Nature's Hidden Persuaders

The evolution of the placebo effect

Test tubes displaying a gradient of pink, from bright magenta to a lighter pink, alongside a yellow solution, arranged in a rack.

Anders Sandberg

Manufacturing Love

How to make romance last

A person swings high above a cityscape, overlooking buildings and streets, creating a dramatic perspective against a cloudy sky.

How to Be Brave

In an age of anxiety, revisit the most resilient virtue.

Colorful mural featuring stylized hands in various colors positioned upwards against a geometric background of blues and oranges.

Creating Change

The future of arts provision in mental healthcare.

A colorful abstract painting featuring a stylized woman's face, with bold geometric shapes and vibrant hues of blue, orange, and yellow.

Peter York,Theodore Dalrymple,Simon Wessely,Vanessa King

Better left unsaid

Our unexpressed emotions

A person's hand holding a compass, showcasing the directional markings of north, south, east, and west against a dark background.

Sex, brain and gender

The binaries holding progress back

A figure wearing a retro TV for a head displays a red star, set against a vibrant red background with raised fists in the foreground, suggesting themes of resistance or revolution.

Psychoanalysis and revolution

The intersection of personal and social liberation

A glowing digital brain with circuit patterns, resting on a network of electronic circuitry, symbolizing artificial intelligence and technology integration.

Anders Sandberg,Massimo Pigliucci,Shini Somara,Nadine Dijkstra,Roman Yampolskiy

Consciousness in the clouds

Can we upload our minds to the cloud?

A stylized outline of a human head composed of tangled electrical wires, symbolizing complex thoughts or mental processes.

Kenneth Cukier,Mark Salter,Peter Sjöstedt-H,Joanna Bryson

Models, metaphors and minds

Is the brain really a computer?