Our everyday lives are shaped by geological processes that vastly predate us, and our habits will in turn have consequences that will outlast us by generations. So could a greater awareness of this ‘timefulness’ give us the perspective we need for a more sustainable future? In this compelling podcast, Raj Persaud talks to Professor Marcia Bjornerud about the concept of timefulness, arguing that opening our minds to geology could benefit us all psychologically.

In 1969, psychiatrist Anthony Storr published an essay that established very firmly in the public imagination that Sir Winston Churchill suffered from recurrent attacks of severe depression, which he termed the ‘black dog’. But how much evidence is there to support this diagnosis? In this podcast, Dr Raj Persaud interviews Dr Anthony Daniels about his recent paper which calls into question this supposed diagnosis, and considers the extent to which Churchill’s low moods could be accounted for by circumstance and simple human nature.

In his essay “On Anger” (De Ira), the Roman Stoic thinker Seneca argues that anger is the most destructive passion, and offers a timeless guide to avoiding and managing this dangerous emotion. In this podcast, Raj Persaud talks to the editor and translator of Seneca’s work, James Romm, about the relevance of this philosophy, which has arguably never been more relevant than it is today.

Close to 100,000 children in the UK are thought to be taking prescribed antidepressant medication, but are these drugs really doing them any good? Do the possible harms and side-effects of antidepressants in children outweigh their potential benefits, and what does the current evidence tell us? In this podcast, psychiatrist and psychopharmacologist Dr David Healy discusses his findings with Dr Raj Persaud, arguing that greater scrutiny of the evidence and a greater degree of professional autonomy are required in this area.

It is thought that depression will be the single biggest cause of disability worldwide in the next 20 years; however, treatment for depression has not changed much in the last three decades. In his game-changing book, ‘The Inflamed Mind: A radical new approach to depression’, Professor Edward Bullmore reveals the breakthrough links found between depression and inflammation of the body and brain, representing a whole new way of looking at how mind, brain and body all work together. Here he discusses this fascinating book with Dr Raj Persaud and outlines a future revolution in the treatment of depression.

Is there a connection in Western society between rates of immigration and rates of crime? How much of our understanding in this area is based on fact, and how much are we influenced by the media? In this podcast, Raj Persaud talks to Professor Charis Kubrin about her wide-ranging research on immigration, crime, gated communities and rap music, and discusses her fascinating findings in these areas.

In a society where so many organisations measure performance and success numerically, have we become fixated on metrics and blind to the facts? In this podcast, Professor Jerry Muller talks to Dr Raj Persaud about how our zeal to instil the evaluation process with scientific rigor could potentially threaten our quality of life and our most important institutions.

In the early 1800s, physicians in asylums began to keep records of their patients, and pointed to heredity as the most important cause of ‘madness’. This led to doctors and state officials attempting to curb the reproduction of the insane amid high levels of anxiety in society. In this podcast, Theodore Porter talks to Raj Persaud about his book ‘Genetics in the Madhouse’, discussing the history of data collection and its important links with eugenics and studies of genetics.

In this podcast, Dr Raj Persaud talks to Charles Fernyhough about his 2016 book looking into the history and science behind hearing voices. He argues that we should avoid the pejorative term ‘hallucinations’ by using the more neutral term ‘voice hearing’, and puts forward the idea that inner speech is a highly varied phenomenon that can also serve a beneficial purpose.

Following his keynote address at the 2018 RCPsych International Congress, Professor Simon Lovestone talks to Raj Persaud about the use of ‘big data’ in psychiatric research. Focusing on dementia and Alzheimer’s, he reveals the ways in which pseudonymised real-world data has been used to develop our understanding of mental illness, and the opportunities that this provides for future research.