Professor Lord Layard directs the Well-Being Programme at the London School of Economics. He is a labour economist who has made major contributions on unemployment, inflation, inequality and post-Communist reform. He also now advises the government on mental health policy. Layard currently works on how to produce a happier society and is the author of the influential book Happiness, which brings together findings from psychology, neuroscience, economics, sociology and philosophy. With Geoff Mulgan and Anthony Seldon, he launched “Action for Happiness” earlier this year.
Theodore Dalrymple is a retired doctor who wrote a column in The Spectator for 14 years. He is contributing editor to the City Journal of New York, and writes regularly for many foreign publications. He is the author of Life at the Bottom, Junk Medicine, Spoilt Rotten and other books. He is about to publish an essay on the social meaning of litter.
Judith Rich Harris is an independent scholar. She is the author of The Nurture Assumption (a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in General Nonfiction) and No Two Alike. Harris has also written college textbooks and articles for professional journals; her groundbreaking 1995 article in the Psychological Review won an award from the American Psychological Association. Harris has two grown daughters and four grandchildren; she lives with her husband in New Jersey, USA.
Neel Burton is a psychiatrist, philosopher and writer who lives and teaches in Oxford, England. He is the author of several books, including The Meaning of Madness and The Art of Failure:The Anti Self-Help Guide.
David E. Cooper is Professor Emeritus of Philosophy at Durham University, and has been a Visiting Professor in several countries. His many books include Existentialism: A Reconstruction, World Philosophies: An Historical Introduction, A Philosophy of Gardens and the forthcoming Convergence with Nature: A Daoist Perspective. In recent years, he has written widely on issues concerning natural environments, agriculture, food and our treatment of animals. He also devotes time to working for the charity, Project Sri Lanka, of which he is a Trustee.
Stephen Bayley was once described as 'the second most intelligent man in Britain'. This is controversial and very possibly untrue, but he is indisputably one of the world's best known commentators on modern culture. Tom Wolfe said of him 'I don't know anybody with more interesting observations about style, taste and contemporary design'. As well as being an architecture and design correspondent, he is a consultant and author.
Paul Outhwaite is author of One Consciousness – An Analysis Of Bill Hicks’ Comedy, the definitive study of Hicks’ craft and the cultural influences on his stand-up. As well as writing books on cinema, Badlands –Terrence Malick and Invasion of the Body Snatchers – Don Siegel, Outhwaite has worked in fiction with cult sci-fi satire Automatic Living and punk novel The Preachers on Manic Street. His most recent work is a proposed drama series, A Cure For All Ills.
Scott Barry Kaufman is a cognitive scientist and personality psychologist interested in the development of talent, intelligence, creativity, imagination, and personality. He is Adjunct Assistant Professor of Psychology at New York University and Senior Pedagogical Advisor of The Future Project. He also writes a blog for Psychology Today called “Beautiful Minds” and is a contributing writer for The Huffington Post. He is Associate Editor of The International Journal of Creativity and Problem Solving and the Sex, Art, and Pop Culture Editor of The Evolutionary Review.
Aengus Dewar is a classically trained painter. He lives and works in Italy.
Ben Irvine is a recovered philosopher, writer, publisher and campaigner. He is editor of both the Journal of Modern Wisdom and Cycle Lifestyle magazine and is currently running the London Cycle Map Campaign, lobbying for a Tube-style map and network for cycling in the capital. His wider interest is in using philosophical insights to counteract tragedies of the commons in modern life, and promulgating wiser ways of living than those promoted by mainstream media – while encouraging more intellectuals to do likewise.
Daniel James Paterson is a social-entrepreneur and founder of ManufacturingChange.org, an NGO that enables online volunteers to solve problems in developing countries for organisations that use manufacturing to create social change. He is passionate about the conflux of social-enterprise, a post-capitalism resource-based economy and internet social-media technologies. He holds a master’s degree in mechanical engineering and his professional background comprises Lean manufacturing, business process improvement and general manufacturing management.
Rebecca Watts is a Project Associate at St John’s College Library, Cambridge, as well as a freelance editor and occasional poet.