Dr Dean Burnett - 6.00pm - In conversation with Nigel Barden

Doctor Dean Burnett, neuroscientist, lecturer, author, blogger, podcaster, pundit, science communicator, comedian and numerous other things, depending on who’s asking and what they need.

Previously employed as a psychiatry tutor and lecturer at the Cardiff University Centre for Medical Education, Dean is currently an honorary research fellow at Cardiff Psychology School, and previously a Visiting Industry Fellow at Birmingham City University.

However, Dean is currently a full-time author, previously best known for his satirical science column ‘Brain Flapping‘ at the Guardian, which ran from 2012 to 2018. This led to his internationally acclaimed bestselling debut book ‘The Idiot Brain‘, which has resulted in several further books and even more interesting brain stuff.

At present he is a regular columnist for the BBC’s ‘Science Focus’ magazine, as well as a frequent contributor for all manner of media platforms who need something brain-related explained, which tends to happen a lot more these days whenever Elon Musk makes an announcement about his Neuralink ‘exploits’.

He will also sometimes appear in the news when his notorious cat Pickle does something ludicrous.

Books

Dean Burnett’s first book, The Idiot Brain, has (since debuting in February 2016) been sold to over 20 countries, sold hundred of thousands of copies, and been a bestseller in nations like Canada and Mexico.

His second book, The Happy Brain, was published in May 2018 and is building up a similarly large readership.

This was followed by his first book for teens, Why Your Parents Are Driving You Up the Wall and What To Do About It, for Penguin-Random House, followed by his explanation of the science of mental health, Psycho-Logical.

His fifth book, Emotional Ignorance, easily his most personal, chronicles his exploration of the fascinating science of emotions, following the loss of his father to COVID during the pandemic and his having to deal with the subsequent grief in a locked down world.

After that, and on the back of the immense success of the original, his sixth book is a second ‘Why Your Parents…’, with Why Your Parents Are Hung-Up on Your Phone and What To Do About It,. It’s the first book of it’s kind, all about how phones and modern tech affect young people, written FOR young people, rather than other paranoid parents.

He also wrote a thesis, which has thus far been read by about 6 people. Two of them were the markers who didn’t like it that much, and one was his gran who didn’t really follow what was being said.