In a world saturated with information, we have more choices than ever – but how freely do we make them?
In their new book Free Your Mind – Tthe new World of manipulation and how to avoid it, journalist Laura Dodsworth and behavioural scientist Patrick Fagan argue that there is a war on our minds as the media, advertisers, politicians and big tech vie to influence our decisions.
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They investigate the psychological techniques – from fear to flattery – that are used every day to manipulate us, and offer advice on how to recognise and resist them.
We sat down for a fascinating conversation that ranged from the excesses of Covid lockdowns to the joy of rediscovering your masculinity by getting naked in a forest. Listeners are encouraged to enjoy this episode in the spirit of the book – sceptically…
Should universities have a say before speakers are excluded from the UK? The Government has cancelled the Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) of a controversial left-wing US political commentator, in a move that prevents him from appearing at one of the UK’s oldest debating societies and raises renewed questions about broad and discretionary powers used to […]
Andy Burnham has one prescription, and he means to fill it, whatever the patient walks in with. The man with the broken arm, the woman with chest pains, the child with a fever: each leaves the surgery with the same pad of repeat scripts, which call for higher taxes on the rich, more generous benefits […]
What have Rachel Reeeves, Yvette Cooper and Ed Miliband got in common? Yes, they are experienced politicians, with a combined total of 66 unbroken years in the House of Commons. Yes, they occupy some of the key posts in Keir Starmer’s Government and will probably still be Cabinet members after a change of leadership. I […]
