I’ve a long article in Aeon magazine this week, looking at Improving Access for Psychological Therapy (IAPT), which is the first ever provision of talking therapy on a mass scale by a government. Before IAPT, the NHS spent just 3% … Continue reading
At the moment I’m researching the cultural practices of ecstasy in the 20th century, which has given me the excuse to read some fine books on the history of pop music. The latest is Matthew Collin’s Altered State: The Story … Continue reading
Last year, I was asked to chair a panel on music and emotions at the Society for the Social History of Medicine’s annual conference. I knew next to nothing about the topic, but enjoyed hearing the talks. Since then, I’ve … Continue reading
Here’s an interview with Lord Richard Layard, one of the contemporary thinkers I most admire for his ability to turn ideas into policies. Perhaps his greatest success was persuading the Brown government to pass Improving Access for Psychological Therapies (IAPT), … Continue reading
It’s been five years since the launch of the government’s flagship mental health programme, Improving Access for Psychological Therapies (IAPT). IAPT is the biggest expansion of mental health services anywhere in the world, ever. It has already trained 4,000 new … Continue reading
‘How do you…fill your days?’ My editor was looking at me with a hint of concern, in a cafe on Portland Street. She was worried I was losing my edge. It had been almost a year since my first book … Continue reading
This week, I traveled to Durham to visit my godmother, who has just been made principal of one of the colleges of Durham University. She invited me to high table at one of their formal black-tie dinners, and then asked … Continue reading
From Carlo Ginzberg’s The Night Battles: Witchcraft & Agrarian Cults in the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries: The accused, a certain Thiess, an old man in his eighties, freely confessed to his judges that he was a werewolf (wahrwolff). But his … Continue reading
I’ve just been at a three-day seminar at the Institute for Government, funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council, to help academics learn how to influence public policy. The seminar brought together 15 academics in disciplines ranging from literary … Continue reading
Last night was the first session in the new Philosophy For Life course at Queen Mary, University of London. It was a full-house, with the Lock-Keeper’s Cottage proving a great venue, and just about fitting everyone in. The audience was … Continue reading