A Need To Read

The Law of Attraction debunked by David Grimes, an actual scientist.

David Robert Grimes is a Science communicator and author. His book The Irrational Ape has been discussed on this show many times. He joins me today to discuss the Law of Attraction, the pseudoscientific craze that has made millennials, Gen-Zers, and Gwyneth Paltrow believe they can bend the universe to suit their will.
 
More from David is on his website: https://www.davidrobertgrimes.com
 
I highly recommend reading his book if you have ever wondered what on the flat earth makes people believe in conspiracy theories. David's an excellent communicator. and a great voice for science and rationality. 
 
Support for the podcast
 
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I'm an independent podcaster, which is a fancy way of saying no one pays me a regular wage. And, to level with you, that is terrifying- all of the time. So, if you like what I do and want me to keep doing it please support the show in one of the following ways.
 
- Share the podcast with a friend, or review the podcast. 
 
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The Psychology of Online Behaviour with Dr Nicola Fox Hamilton

Dr. Nicola Fox Hamilton is a cyberpsychology researcher and lecturer at the Institute of Art, Design, and Technology, in Dublin. She has authored a new series called 'The Psychology of Online Behaviour' on audible, and regularly appears in the media to discuss her research. 
 
We discuss
- How Tinder changed online dating
- Social Media use
- Why social media gets the blame for the mental health crisis
- The psychology of Dick Pics
- How men can be more successful with online dating
- How men and women's experiences vary with online dating
- How to think rationally about screen time & technology use
- How school shooters aren't linked with gaming 
 
For more from Nicola head to her website: https://www.nicolafoxhamilton.com/ 
 
Get a Free audiobook with Audible and access to Nicola's Audible Original 'The Psychology of Online Behaviour'
 
Support
 
Get my new weekly newsletter
 
www.Buymeacoffee.com/aneedtoread
 
BetterHelp sponsors this podcast, so if you want to learn to understand your behavior or emotions with the help of a professional you can get 10% off your first month of therapy by heading to www.betterhelp.com/aneedtoread from there you’ll just need to run through a 5-minute questionnaire and you’ll be matched with a therapist within 48 hours.
 
This podcast is also sponsored by Athletic Greens so you can get an additional 5 free travel packs and a year's supply of Vitamin D3 with your Athletic Greens subscription at www.athleticgreens.com/aneedtoread
 
 
Get in touch: www.aneedtoread.co.uk/contact 
 

#177 How to save our planet, with Professor Mark Maslin

Mark Maslin is a Professor of Earth System Science at University College London, a thought-leader on global heating, and the author of popular books on climate change and human evolution, most recently How To Save Our Planet: The Facts.
 
Mark joined me to discuss:
- How much it will cost to limit further damage and save the planet,
- Why Jordan Peterson is wrong about environmentalists,
- Who will be dealing with the worst of the consequences of global heating,
- How capitalism can save the planet,
- What it means to be in The Anthropocene,
- How governments, individuals, and corporations can do their bit 
 
You can find Mark on Twitter: @profmarkmaslin
 
Support
 
Get my new weekly newsletter
 
This podcast is sponsored by BetterHelp, so if you want to learn to understand your behavior or emotions with the help of a professional you can get 10% off your first month of therapy by heading to www.betterhelp.com/aneedtoread from there you’ll just need to run through a 5-minute questionnaire and you’ll be matched with a therapist within 48 hours.
 
This podcast is also sponsored by Athletic Greens so you can get an additional 5 free travel packs and a year's supply of Vitamin D3 with your Athletic Greens subscription at www.athleticgreens.com/aneedtoread
 
Get a Free audiobook with Audible! 
 
Get in touch: www.aneedtoread.co.uk/contact 
 
Or to support my work by making a donation please head to https://www.buymeacoffee.com/aneedtoread

#176 What’s wrong with Self-Help, with Siobhan O’Hagan

Siobhan O'hagan is a Personal Trainer and Content Creator, she is also a good friend of mine. She's back on A Need To Read for the third time to discuss; Tony Robbins, self-help, effective altruism, whether or not the laptop lifestyle is sustainable, Angel numbers, the meaning of suffering, Whether books REALLY helped me as much as I thought, The recently UCL study on the chemical imbalance narrative around depression, the effectiveness of IAPT (Immediate Access to Psychological Therapies) in the UK, and the problems with the economics of happiness.
 
Books Discussed
The existentialist Cafe
The Antidote 
Manufacturing Happy Citizens 
 
Support
The best thing you can do is share the podcast with a friend, or sign up for my new weekly newsletter.
 
You can also see the archive posts with this link.
 
This podcast is sponsored by BetterHelp, so if you want to learn to understand your behavior or emotions with the help of a professional you can get 10% off your first month of therapy by heading to www.betterhelp.com/aneedtoread from there you’ll just need to run through a 5-minute questionnaire and you’ll be matched with a therapist within 48 hours.
 
This podcast is also sponsored by Athletic Greens so you can get an additional 5 free travel packs and a year's supply of Vitamin D3 with your Athletic Greens subscription at www.athleticgreens.com/aneedtoread 
 
Get a Free audiobook with Audible! 
 
Get in touch: www.aneedtoread.co.uk/contact 
 

Exponentially faster and cheaper tech with Azeem Azhar

Azeem Azhar is one of the world’s most trusted voices in technological innovation. He has worked within the tech industry since the early 90s with companies like the BBC, The Guardian, and The Economist. More recently, Azeem has become an active startup investor and has advised organizations like the World Economic Forum. He is a contributor to publications including the Financial Times, Wired, and the MIT Technology Review. He's been producing the Exponential view newsletter— which looks at intersections between technology and business— for the last 7 years and has attracted a high-profile readership.
Azeem’s new book, Exponential, looks at how technology has come to advance so rapidly, and the different ways we are struggling to keep up. 
 
In this podcast we discuss:
What are the characteristics of The Exponential Age
Why the Metaverse is a bit meh
Which technologies that have been getting exponentially cheaper
How clean energy is being held back
The ways big tech firms use your data
Cyber security and the threat of misinformation 
Russia’s cyber antics 
How advanced does tech have to be for us to be suspicious of living in a simulation? 
 
Azeem can be found on Twitter: @Azeem
Or at Exponential View: https://www.exponentialview.co/ 
Support
 
The best thing you can do is share the podcast with a friend, or sign up for my new weekly newsletter.
You can also see my older newsletters with this link.
 
This podcast is sponsored by BetterHelp, so if you want to learn to understand your behavior or emotions with the help of a professional you can get 10% off your first month of therapy by heading to www.betterhelp.com/aneedtoread from there you’ll just need to run through a 5-minute questionnaire and you’ll be matched with a therapist within 48 hours.
 
This podcast is also sponsored by Athletic Greens so you can get an additional 5 free travel packs and a year's supply of Vitamin D3 with your Athletic Greens subscription at www.athleticgreens.com/aneedtoread 
 
Get a Free audiobook with Audible! 
 
Get in touch: www.aneedtoread.co.uk/contact 

#174 The Suicide Issue with Professor Rory O’Connor

Professor Rory O’Connor is Professor of Health Psychology at the University of Glasgow in Scotland and Past President of the International Academy of Suicide Research. Rory leads the Suicidal Behaviour Research Laboratory) at the University of Glasgow, one of the leading suicide and self-harm research groups internationally. His book, When It Is Darkest, was the winner of the 2021 British Psychological Society Popular Science Book Award  
He can be found on twitter (@suicideresearch). 
 
Rory and I spoke about; his book- When It Is Darkest, How to talk about suicide, Why the mental health services are lacking in the UK, socio-economic influences on mental health, how ‘The Social Dilemma’ documentary was too simplistic in terms of suicide attempts and self-harm statistics, Socially prescribed perfectionism, Status, and mental health, Explaining the statistics around global suicides, Alcohol and suicide and how you can help the suicide issue. 
 
 
Support
 
The best thing you can do is share the podcast with a friend, or sign up for my new weekly newsletter.
You can also see my older newsletters with this link.
 
This podcast is sponsored by BetterHelp, so if you want to learn to understand your behavior or emotions with the help of a professional you can get 10% off your first month of therapy by heading to www.betterhelp.com/aneedtoread from there you’ll just need to run through a 5-minute questionnaire and you’ll be matched with a therapist within 48 hours.
 
This podcast is also sponsored by Athletic Greens so you can get an additional 5 free travel packs and a year's supply of Vitamin D3 with your Athletic Greens subscription at www.athleticgreens.com/aneedtoread 
 
Get a Free audiobook with Audible! 
 
Get in touch: www.aneedtoread.co.uk/contact 

#173 The truth about Modern Slavery with Emily Kenway

I chatted with Emily Kenway who's a writer, an activist, and the author of The Truth About Modern Slavery. In the past, Emily has advised the first Anti-Slavery Commissioner for the UK, and she now researches and writes about crucial forces shaping our lives and communities.
 
We discussed:
We look at the statement: “There are more people enslaved today than at any other point in history.”
What’s meant by “Modern Slavery”
The Rwanda flights 
What Human Trafficking really looks like
The UK’s hostile environment for migrants
How exploitative labour laws are being leveraged abroad by big businesses 
How Sex Work is being used as a scapegoat 
Exploitation in the UK (John Lewis)
 
 
Read Emily’s article on the 46 people found dead in Texas on OpenDemocracy.net 
Emily’s Website (+ Instagram & Twitter): https://www.emilykenway.com/about 
 
Support
 
The best thing you can do is share the podcast with a friend, or sign up for my new weekly newsletter. You can also see my older newsletters with this link.
 
This podcast is sponsored by BetterHelp, so if you want to learn to understand your behavior or emotions with the help of a professional you can get 10% off your first month of therapy by heading to www.betterhelp.com/aneedtoread from there you’ll just need to run through a 5-minute questionnaire and you’ll be matched with a therapist within 48 hours.
 
This podcast is also sponsored by Athletic Greens so you can get an additional 5 free travel packs and a year's supply of Vitamin D3 with your Athletic Greens subscription at www.athleticgreens.com/aneedtoread 
 
Get a Free audiobook with Audible! 
 
Get in touch: www.aneedtoread.co.uk/contact 
 
 

#172 God is Not Great

In this episode, I cover some of my favorite books on religion, my religious experiences, and explore the article I wrote the other day on the Roe Vs Wade overturning (+religions role in that decision).
 
Books discussed
God is Not Great & The Missionary Position by Christopher Hitchens
Waking Up, The Moral Landscape, The End of Faith & Letters to a Christian Nation By Sam Harris
Support
 
The best thing you can do is share the podcast with a friend, or sign up for my new weekly newsletter. You can also see my older newsletters with this link.
 
This podcast is sponsored by BetterHelp, so if you want to learn to understand your behavior or emotions with the help of a professional you can get 10% off your first month of therapy by heading to www.betterhelp.com/aneedtoread from there you’ll just need to run through a 5-minute questionnaire and you’ll be matched with a therapist within 48 hours.
 
This podcast is also sponsored by Athletic Greens so you can get an additional 5 free travel packs and a year's supply of Vitamin D3 with your Athletic Greens subscription at www.athleticgreens.com/aneedtoread 
 
Get a Free audiobook with Audible! 
 
Get in touch: www.aneedtoread.co.uk/contact 
 

How humans evolved by working together, with Professor Nichola Raihani

Nichola Raihani is a professor of Evolution and Behavior at University College London. She joined me to discuss her new book The Social Instinct. We also spoke about: cooperation from cell to society, what makes us different from the great apes, what we have in common with meerkats, peacocking and why reputation matters, paranoia as a normal function of life, the impact of community on mental health and the idea of self-interested altruism.
 
You can find Nichola on Twitter: @nicholaraihani
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

The art of self-deception

This episode is about the different ways we deceive ourselves, and why we do so. If you want to find out more you can read Elephant in the Brain by Kevin Simler and Robin Hanson.
 
Support
 
The best thing you can do is share the podcast with a friend, or sign up for my new weekly newsletter.
You can also see my older newsletters with this link.
 
This podcast is sponsored by BetterHelp, so if you want to learn to understand your behaviour or emotions with the help of a professional you can get 10% off your first month of therapy by heading to www.betterhelp.com/aneedtoread from there you’ll just need to run through a 5-minute questionnaire and you’ll be matched with a therapist within 48 hours.
 
This podcast is sponsored by Athletic Greens so you can get an additional 5 free travel packs and a year's supply of Vitamin D3 with your Athletic Greens subscription at www.athleticgreens.com/aneedtoread 
 
Get a Free audiobook with Audible! 
 
Get in touch: www.aneedtoread.co.uk/contact