[A version of this article previously appeared in TheJournal.ie] In the 1930s, US President Calvin Coolidge made the following observation on the annual yuletide festivities: “Christmas is not a time nor a season,” he said, “but a state of mind.” This year, the COVID-19 pandemic has prompted a radical rethink of our […]
Hello! I hope your Saturday is going well. Here is a talk I gave in November, at the Psychological Society of Ireland’s annual conference. The transcript appears below. Enjoy! * * * * * * Transcript: Psychology, religion, and public policy Now, this particular topic is very wide-ranging. I wouldn’t […]
There is one. A Psychology of Christmas, that is. Here I am over at TheJournal.ie going on about it, as usual: In the 1930s, US President Calvin Coolidge made the following observation on the annual yuletide festivities: “Christmas is not a time nor a season,” he said, “but a state […]
So this is Christmas; and what have you done? Well, this is what I’ve done: a whole lot of media, surrounding my public lecture on ‘The Psychology of Christmas‘ just the other week. Turns out lots of people are interested in Christmas. Who knew? I’ve made a list (I’ve even […]
Yesterday the Irish government published the Executive Summary of the Final Report of the Commission of Investigation into Mother and Baby Homes. It begins with the following statement: The story of mother and baby homes in Ireland is complex and its nuances cannot easily be captured in a summary. Well […]
(From the archives) Welcome. Mwa-hah-hah-hah-hah-ha! Yes, it’s Halloween, a sort of Beta Christmas. And as is typical, local streets and shops are festooned with images of witches, pumpkins, ghosts, and — of course — skeletons. Because skeletons are scary, you see. In an age of austerity, it is good to […]
