Everything's Psychology

A great way to catch up or a lazy way to squeeze out another episode? You decide!

Here are some of the best bits of the podcast that I've cherry-picked from all six episodes of season/series two. And enjoy my tenuous segues from one episode to the next.

Timestamps

02:05 The Psychology of James Bond
11:34 The Psychology of Childhood
22:42 The Psychology of Weight Loss
35:08 The Psychology of The Odyssey
45:22 The Psychology of Dogs
50:41 The Psychology of Harry Potter

A massive thank you from me to Calvin Dyson, Adrian Fernham, Sue Roffey, Charlie Lewis, Joanna Silver, Matt White, Sam Akbar, Daniel Mills, Hanne Grice, Will Brooker and Nila Matthews for coming on. 

Now, go and listen to the full episodes. 

If you have any ideas for new episodes that I can include in the nest season, please let me know either by leaving me a voicenote or email me on [email protected]

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In this episode, the boy who lived. Why does a story about a bespectacled wizard still have its hooks in millions of people decades on? And can Harry Potter teach us anything about belonging, prejudice, personality, fandom, and why we fall so hard for a world that just doesn't exist?

With me to discuss the psychology of Harry Potter are Will Brooker, Professor of Film and Cultural Studies at Kingston University and author of Batman Unmasked and Why Bowie Matters and Nila Matthews, psychologist and former guide at the Warner Brothers Harry Potter Studio Tour in London.

My guests:

Professor Will Brooker – https://www.willbrooker.com
Batman Unmasked – https://amzn.eu/d/0eGjvBO1
Why Bowie Matters – https://amzn.eu/d/09ItaMjt
Never Ending Watchmen – https://amzn.eu/d/01XoPpjL

BBC article on Will's time living as David Bowie: https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20160112-what-i-learned-when-i-lived-as-david-bowie

Nila Matthews – https://awakeningflow.com/
Nila's muggle life: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nilamatthews/

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This has been the most requested topic after I previously did the psychology of cats; it’s the psychology of dogs. We think we know them better than any creature on earth, but what is actually going on behind those adorable eyes? Do they love us as completely as we think, and how much of canine psychology involves the human at the other end of the lead?

With me to unpack the psychology of dogs are Professor Daniel Mills, Professor of Veterinary Behavioural Medicine at the University of Lincoln and co-author of Life Skills for Puppies and Being Your Cat; and Hanne Grice, Trainer and Clinical Animal Behaviourist and author of Playing With Your Dog.

Professor Daniel Mills
https://staff.lincoln.ac.uk/dmills
https://companionanimalconsulting.com/
Life Skills for Puppies – https://amzn.eu/d/0hM7uuB2
Being Your Cat – https://amzn.eu/d/0111gvvH

Hanne Grice
https://www.hannegrice.com/
Clothing range - https://shophannegrice.com/
Playing With Your Dog - https://amzn.eu/d/00skqksB

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Have you seen it yet? The film of the summer? Have you forked out for the most padded seats in the cinema to watch Christopher Nolan’s three-hour bum-numbing epic of Matt Damon struggling to get home in a world without satnav?

If you have, did you sit there thinking: 

• Why has a three thousand year old story got any relevance to today?
• Is there real psychology in here?
• Did the Greeks work something out about being human that we've ignored ever since?

Well, these are exactly the questions my guest asks in their new book: The Odyssey Mindset. So, with me in this episode to discuss the psychology of The Odyssey is Dr Sam Akbar, clinical psychologist, Oxford classicist and author of the wonderful new book The Odyssey Mindset.

– – –

The Odyssey Mindset (Amazon UK): https://amzn.eu/d/0hprLgcy
The Odyssey Mindset (Amazon US): https://a.co/d/07gDDhrD

Follow Dr Akbar on Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/drsam_akbar/

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Are you on a diet? Have you got a shelf full of books to help you shed the pounds and get that summer beach bod or are you considering a weight loss jab such as Ozempic or Mounjaro? When the world seems to focus on the need to have a fit and firm body, what is this doing to people’s self-esteem and body image?
 
With me on this episode are Dr Joanna Silver, a leading psychologist specialising in eating disorders, body image & mental health; and Matt White, author of The Snack Monkey: How to Stop Eating the Whole Packet.

– – –

Guests

You can find more about Dr Joanna Silver on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-joanna-silver/
Or at Orri, the eating disorder clinic: https://www.orri-uk.com/team/dr-joanna-silver/

You can buy your copy Matt's book, The Snack Monkey, on Amazon or visit https://therealsnackmonkey.com/

– – –

Other resources

Get a copy of the book 'Self-Help Without The Hype' by Robert Epstein as a paperback here or as an eBook on Amazon.

Share your email with me to have the chance of getting a physical copy of my new book, Behaviour First, when it comes out in October. Visit behaviourfirst.co.uk

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In a world of screens, social media, climate anxiety, and mental health awareness, what does the future of childhood and education look like?

With me to discuss the psychology of childhood are Sue Roffey, founder of Growing Great Schools Worldwide and one of the UK's foremost voices on student, school, and community wellbeing, and Charlie Lewis, Professor of Psychology at Lancaster University, whose research spans child development, autism, the influence of advertising on children, and the future of childhood.

– – –

Guests

More about Sue Roffey:
https://www.sueroffey.com/
https://www.growinggreatschoolsworldwide.com/

Sue's books on Amazon: https://www.amazon.co.uk/stores/Sue-Roffey/author/B001HPB3TY?ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1&qid=1782313230&sr=8-1&shoppingPortalEnabled=true

ASPIRE Culture Cards: http://www.atmybest.com/aspire

More about Charlie Lewis
https://www.lancaster.ac.uk/psychology/about-us/people/charlie-lewis

Charlie has co-written the book 'Developmental Psychology: A Sociocultural Approach‘ available from Sage Publishing in 2027.

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What kind of person is James Bond? What do audiences want from a Bond actor? What traits make someone convincing as the world's most famous spy? And how realistic is James Bond when compared to the psychological make-up of real-life spies?

With me to discuss the psychology of James Bond are Calvin Dyson, one of the world's leading Bond commentators and the creator of one of YouTube's most-watched 007 channels, and Professor Adrian Furnham, Professor of Psychology and co-author of The Psychology of Spies and Spying.

https://www.youtube.com/@calvindyson⁩ 

https://adrianfurnham.com/

https://amzn.eu/d/0aJcBKil

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In season two, I'll be chatting with some fascinating guests about topics such as the psychology of childhood, the psychology of Harry Potter, the psychology of weight loss, and, by popular demand after last season’s episode on cats, the psychology of dogs.

And this time, I need your help. If you have a question you’d like to ask a psychologist about any of the topics I’ve just mentioned, you can leave a voicenote which I’ll then play out on the episode. 

To leave a voicenote, just visit speakpipe.com/everythingspsychology

Send us Fan Mail

To leave a voicenote, just visit speakpipe.com/everythingspsychology

Every year, on the first Monday of May, something extraordinary happens. 450 of the world's most powerful, most beautiful, most photographed people climb a set of steps in Manhattan — and the internet collectively loses it’s mind.

The Met Gala is billed as an exclusive charity fundraiser where tickets cost seventy-five thousand dollars. And yet somehow, it reaches billions of people sat at home in their tracksuits, who have never been within a mile of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

So, what’s going on? What does fashion communicate? Why do we feel so entitled to judge a celebs outfit? Why does a look that ‘understood the assignment’ give us a little hit of dopamine, while one that ‘played it safe’ feels like a personal disappointment?

With me to discuss the psychology of the Met Gala and fashion is Professor Carolyn Mair, a cognitive psychologist and author of The Psychology of Fashion.

– – –

You can buy Carolyn's book, The Psychology of Fashion here >> https://www.routledge.com/The-Psychology-of-Fashion/Mair/p/book/9781032712529

And follow Carolyn on Instagram here >>  https://www.instagram.com/psychologyforfashion/

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The most popular episode of 2025 was about the psychology of cats 😻

Dr Claude Béata, animal behaviouralist and author of The Interpretation of Cats, emphasises cats dual role as both predator and prey and how this distinction can help us understand these most wonderful creatures. 

Go order a copy of Dr Béata's book, The Interpretation of Cats and Their Owners. It's a fascinating, enjoyable, and enlightening book for all cat lovers. 😻

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