Showing results by author "Darian Leader" in All Categories

'It was just sex.' It's a familiar claim. But is it really possible? The old idea that sexuality is a smouldering, animalistic force within us, desperate for release yet restrained by social forces, has little to support it. And the pain, heartache, and regret that can accompany the highs of sexual excitement show us that much more is at stake. So, what are we really thinking about when we think about sex? And what are we really doing when we do it? As acclaimed psychoanalyst Darian Leader argues, with his trademark clarity, energy and wit, there is no such thing as 'just sex'.

One in four adults sleeps badly. Sleeping pill prescriptions have increased dramatically over the last three decades, and our bookshelves and browser histories are littered with experts promising to 'fix' our insomnia. But is this so-called sleep crisis anything new? Our relationship to sleep has always been irregular and changeable, shaped by social conventions, commercial imperatives and personal psychologies. Look beneath the headlines and it seems that there is no such thing as a perfect night's sleep. Here Darian Leader reveals the history and pathology of sleeplessness.

Why do zombies walk with their arms outstretched? How can newborn babies grip an adult finger tightly enough to dangle unsupported from it? And why is everyone constantly texting, tapping and scrolling? For anyone curious about how human beings work, the answers are hidden in plain sight: in our hands. From early tools to machinery, from fists to knives to guns, from papyrus to QWERTY to a swipeable screen, the history of civilisation is a history of what humans do with their hands.