News & Upcoming Events
11th June 2023 – Claudia Hammond speaking at the Cheltenham Science Festival
Sunday 11th June 2023 3.15pm to 4.15pm- Pillar Room, Cheltenham Town Hall, Imperial Square, Cheltenham GL50 1QA
What constitutes kindness? It might not be what you think. Claudia, who is this year a guest curator at the festival, will conduct an eye-opening tour of kindness. Drawing on the latest research from psychology and neuroscience, including the largest global survey ever undertaken into attitudes towards kindness, she will give an insight into the benefits of kindness for our mental health and wellbeing and how we can build more of it into our lives. Chaired by Mark Lythgoe.
More information and tickets for the event here

21st May 2023 – Claudia Hammond speaking at the Bath Festival
Sunday 21st May 2023 11.00am to 12.00pm – The Guildhall, High St, Bath BA1 5AW
Claudia will talk about her latest book The Keys to Kindness with positive psychologist Miriam Akhtar (The Little Book of Happiness). She will argue the empathy is a skill that can be learnt and that being kind to others starts with being kind to ourselves.
More information and tickets for the event here

19th May 2023 – Claudia Hammond speaking at the Charleston Festival
Friday 19th May 2023 3pm – Charleston, West Firle, Lewes BN8 6LL
What does it mean to be kind?
Following their collaboration on ‘The Kindness Project’, the largest global survey of attitudes to kindness, bestselling author of ‘The Art of Rest’ and ‘The Keys to Kindness’ Claudia Hammond and psychologist Robin Banerjee come together for a fascinating conversation about what constitutes kindness and how we can all reap the benefits of being kind
More information and tickets for the event here

13th April 2023 – Claudia Hammond appearing at the Edinburgh Science Festival
Thursday 13th April 2023 6pm – National Museum of Scotland, Chambers St, Edinburgh EH1 1JF
Claudia will conduct an eye-opening tour of kindness: what it is, how we can build it into our lives and why we should practise it. Drawing on the latest research from psychology and neuroscience, she will present the enormous benefits that kindness has for our mental health and wellbeing. Chaired by Pennie Latin-Stuart, broadcaster and presenter of BBC radio series Brainwaves.
More information and tickets for the event here

16th December 2022 – Claudia Hammond appearing at Nine Lessons and Carols for Curious People in London
Friday 16th December 2022 7pm – King’s Place, 90 York Way, London N1 9AG
Claudia will be one of the guests at the annual festive ‘cavalcade of science, comedy, music and mayhem’ hosted by comedian and star of BBC Radio 4’s Infinite Monkey Cage, Robin Ince
More information and tickets for the event here

24th November 2022 – An Evening with Claudia Hammond at Chorleywood Bookshop
Thursday 24th November 2022 7pm – 8pm at Chorleywood Bookshop, 7 New Parade, Chorleywood, WD3 5NJ
A deep-dive into kindness, the science behind it and how we can better build it into our lives, from the author of The Art of Rest.
Book tickets for the event here

20th November 2022 – The Keys to Kindness at Folkestone Book Festival 2022
Sunday 20th November 2022 2pm – 3pm at the Folkestone Book Festival, Quarterhouse, Mill Bay, Folkestone, Kent, CT20 1BN
Using the latest research from psychology and neuroscience, and working in collaboration with the University of Sussex’s world-leading Kindness Institute, Claudia Hammond takes us on an eye-opening tour of kindness and suggests effective strategies to build more of it into our lives.
Book tickets for the event here

13th November 2022 – Why we all need to be a lot less hesitant about being kind by Claudia Hammond – Article for the Observer
While researching a book on kindness, Claudia found that being kind enhances the mood of not just the receiver – but the giver, too
Read the article here

13th October 2022 – Rationality in an Irrational Age – Claudia interviews Steven Pinker
Thursday 13th October 2022 11.am – 12pm at the Cheltenham Literature Festival, Baillie Gifford Stage, Town Hall, Cheltenham
We live in an era of breath-taking scientific discovery, but also fake news, conspiracy theories and post-truth rhetoric. Why do we act irrationally or succumb to bad arguments? Rejecting the cynical view that we’re saddled with biases, fallacies and illusions, world-renowned psychologist Steven Pinker (Rationality) examines how we can harness rational thinking to help us see the world more clearly. He will be in discussion with Claudia Hammond.
Book tickets for the event here

2nd September 2022 – The Dangers of Being Overconfident – Article for BBC Future
Some of us seem to have an over-inflated belief in our abilities. Why are we resistant to the idea we might not be good at something?
Read the article here

10th July 2022 – Claudia on the Psychology of Wordle
Sunday 10th July 2022 12.pm – 1pm at the ALSO FESTIVAL Park Farm, Compton Verney, Warwick CV35 9HJ
From Wordle, quordle, octordle, semantle to Lordle (the Lord of the Rings Version – no really) word games seem to have caught our imagination in 2022. So much so that award-winning author and presenter of BBC Radio 4’s ‘All in the Mind’ Claudia Hammond and neuroscientist and academic Prof Catherine Loveday will be setting up in the woods to explain how and why the brain enjoys these challenges so much and advise on how you can ace them. We hear there will be solving these word games LIVE.

9th July 2022 – Claudia on the Psychology of Rest, Money, Time Perceptions and Emotion
Saturday 9th July 3.pm – 4pm at the ALSO FESTIVAL Park Farm, Compton Verney, Warwick CV35 9HJ
Claudia Hammond is an award-winning broadcaster, author and psychology lecturer. In her work, she shares the ways that psychological and medical research can help us in our everyday lives, whether through her radio show ‘All in the Mind’, TV, podcasts, public events or books. She first started presenting about matters of the brain aged 14, she won our Transmission Prize for the Communication of Ideas in our very first year. So we thought it was time to ‘do’ Claudia’s Greatest Hits. We’ll be asking her what we need to know about the psychology of rest, money, time perception and emotions. Don’t miss it!

2nd March 2022 – Claudia presents The Anatomy of Kindness: Results at a special BBC event
The Anatomy of Kindness: Results.
Weds 2 March 7:00pm – 8:30pm, BBC Radio Theatre, Broadcasting House, Portland Place, London, W1A 1AA
The Anatomy of Kindness is BBC Radio 4’s latest scientific study. More than 60,000 people took part in The Kindness Test – examining public attitudes to this important topic, in a partnership between the BBC and the University of Sussex. This event will announce the results. Claudia will be joined by Professor Robin Bannerjee, medical ethicist Deborah Bowman plus three other guests to reveal the results and unpick what they mean in today’s uncertain world.

22nd February 2022 – Claudia chairs an event on Antimicrobial Resistance at the Wellcome Collection in London
Antimicrobial Resistance
Tues 22 Feb 7:00pm – 8:20pm, Reading Room, Wellcome Collection, 183 Euston Road, London.
Claudia and guests Professor Dame Sally Davies and Ross McFarlane will discuss one of the biggest public health challenges of our time: antimicrobial resistance. What can we do as disease-causing bacteria and viruses stop responding to treatment and drug-resistant infections increase?
The event will be recorded live with an audience and edited into a programme to be broadcast on the BBC World Service.

11th June 2021 – Claudia chairs an event on the Science of Courage at the Cheltenham Science Festival
Under Pressure: The Science Of Courage
Fri 11 Jun 5:00pm – 5:55pm, Pillar Room, Town Hall, Cheltenham
How would you react under extreme pressure? For some, courage comes naturally in stressful situations; for others, the ability to keep a cool head can seem almost impossible. Considering everything from public speaking to emergency situations, Claudia is joined by psychologists Rachel Manning and Patrick Tissington and mental health campaigner and adventurer Alex Staniforth to discuss the qualities of courage, heroism and bravery and to explore whether we can train ourselves to process fear more successfully when everyday life puts us under pressure.

27th May 2021 – Claudia joins a panel at the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge to discuss The Anatomies of Touch
Thursday 27 May at 17.30 – Anatomies of Touch
Claudia will be taking part in an online discussion of the Anatomies of Touch with a specially invited panel that also includes hand surgeon James Hopkinson-Woolley, and artist Jane Dixon. The event will be chaired by Suzanne Reynolds and Elenor Ling, co-curators of a new exhibition on touch The Human Touch, open 18 May-1 August. Tickets for the event here

9th May 2021 – Claudia discusses The Art of Rest at The Swindon Festival of Literature
What is rest? How do we rest best? Why is there ‘no rest for the wicked’? What is not rest? Why do we need rest? Is rest best? Do we really rest when we sleep? What’s the difference? Much of value has been written about sleep, but rest is different. Rest is how we unwind, calm our minds, and recharge our bodies. Claudia Hammond reveals how we get real rest and how it is directly linked to our sense of wellbeing. Counting down through the top ten most restful activities, Claudia explains precisely why rest matters; looks at the science that shows what really works; and offers a roadmap for a new, more restful and balanced life. This event will take place at 6pm on Sunday 9th May. More information here

23rd April 2021 – Claudia Hammond discusses ‘The art and neuroscience of rest’ as part of the British Neuroscience Association’s festival of neuroscience
In ‘The art and neuroscience of rest’ Claudia Hammond will examine why rest matters, why the brain needs rest as well as sleep and how we can find more rest in our lives. Register free here

12th April 2021 – Claudia Hammond’s book The Art of Rest is published in Germany
The Art of Rest is published in Germany by Dumont as Die Kunst des Ausruhens
This is the latest foreign translation of The Art of Rest – in all the book has been translated into 17 languages, with some lovely covers.

26th January 2021 – Claudia Hammond discussed her book Time Warped on BBC Radio 4 programme The Curious Cases of Rutherford and Fry
Drawing on her book Time Warped published in 2012, Claudia joined presenters Adam Rutherford and Hannah Fry to explain how emotion and memory are big factors in how time is perceived, stressing how time can stretch and squeeze depending on whether you are looking backwards or forwards, and revealing how lockdowns because of the Covid pandemic have warped time in different ways for different people.
Listen back to the programme here

3rd December 2020 – Claudia Hammond discusses her latest book The Art of Rest at The Royal Institution
Using results from The Rest Test – the largest global survey into rest ever undertaken – Claudia will explain why rest matters, examine the science behind the results to establish what really works and offers a roadmap for a new, more restful and balanced life.
This on-line event will take place between 7pm and 8.30pm
You can register for this event here

19th November 2020 – Claudia Hammond joins A Drink with the Idler
Claudia Hammond will join Idler editor Tom Hodgkinson and philosopher Mark Vernon for a chat about rest.
This event is free for Idler subscribers.
It is an online event. Find more here

14th November 2020 – Claudia Hammond talks about rest at the Stylist Live 2020 event
Claudia will be looking at the art of rest in a pandemic, speaking about how we can unwind and recharge our bodies for a more restful and balanced life.
This on-line event will start at 11.30am
Find more information and tickets here

13th November 2020 – Claudia Hammond co-curates part of the #KindFest 2020
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What do we know about kindness?
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How does kindness work?
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What is the relationship between health and kindness?
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How does kindness affect us and those around us?
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How can we build kinder communities?
Find more information and tickets here

1st November 2020 – The Art of Rest is unveiled as ”Nonfiction book of the month” by the leading bookshop chain, Waterstones.
Waterstones describe The Art of Rest as “sure to restore the equilibrium.Drawing on a ground-breaking global study of rest, as distinct from sleep, Hammond’s practical and inspiring book unravels the transformative benefits of quality downtime and the secrets of how to unwind.”
The Art of Rest is one of just four books chosen as a prestigious ‘book of the month’ – the other categories are fiction, thriller and children’s book – by the leading UK booksellers.
Find out more and buy a copy of the book here

12th October 2020 – Claudia Hammond discussed her life and work as part of the British Academy’s Leaders in SHAPE series
In this event. as part of the British Academy’s SHAPE series, Claudia Hammond joined Dorothy Bishop, Professor of Developmental Neuropsychology at Oxford University, to discuss her life, career and latest book The Art of Rest
SHAPE (Social sciences, humanities & the arts for people and the economy) is a new collective name for those subjects that help us understand ourselves, others and the human world around us.
You can watch a video recording of this online event here

28th to 30th August 2020 – Claudia Hammond appeared at the Also Festival, Park Farm, Compton Verney, Warwickshire
Claudia spoke about her latest book The Art of Rest and discussed the role of music in helping us to rest at two talks at this year’s Also Festival. The festival, in the Warwickshire countryside, was one of very few live events that took place during the summer of 2020 and it was featured in a special article in the Guardian

19th August 2020 – The Art of Rest shortlisted for the British Psychological Society’s Popular Science Book Award
The Art of Rest has been chosen by a panel drawn from the Research Board, Practice Board and the Education and Training Board of the prestigious British Psychological Society as one of the shortlisted books for its 2020 Popular Science Book Award.
This is the second time Claudia has been nominated for the award. She was the winner back in 2013 for her book Time Warped.
See the other books on the shortlist here

6th August 2020 – The Art of Rest included in Hay Festival #ImaginetheWorld reading list
The Art of Rest was included, along with books by Albert Camus, Michelle Obama, Atul Gawande, Naomi Klein and many other luminaries, in a publicly chosen list of books that could act as catalysts for change around the world.
The #imaginetheworld project is coordinated by the Hay Festival
Read more and see the full reading list here

21st May 2020 – Why time seems to be going faster while we are in lockdown – Article for BBC Future
To some, our days in lockdown seem to be slipping past faster than usual. But why?
Read Claudia’s article here

25th February 2020 – The Art of Rest – Talk at Action for Happiness, London
Claudia Hammond spoke to an audience in London on on how to find more rest in a frantic world. The event was filmed at an Action for Happiness event in London on 25 Feb 2020
You can watch the video here

29th January 2020 – Why you need more rest – a Feel Better Live More Podcast with Dr Rangan Chatterjee
Claudia joined Rangan Chatterjee to argue that being busy isn’t a badge of honour – and taking time out is definitely not lazy. She examines the science behind our struggles to relax and she shares some insights on our attitudes to downtime, the top 10 activities most likely to help us switch off, and what the benefits are for our health, well-being and productivity.
If you need a reminder of why rest is so important – and permission to do it, without feeling guilty – this is it. So put your feet up (or head out for a walk, if you find that more restful), and listen in.
Listen here

5th December 2019 – The Books that Made Me in BBC Science Focus Magazine

3rd December 2019 – What we get wrong about time – Article for BBC Future
Most of us tend to think of time as linear, absolute and constantly “running out” – but is that really true? And how can we change our perceptions to feel better about its passing?

11th July 2017 – Money and Happiness talk at Action for Happiness event in London
