Join Andrew Copson in conversation with Professor Chris French, Head of the Anomalistic Psychology Research Unit in the Psychology Department at Goldsmiths, University of London.

Chris is a Fellow of the British Psychological Society and of the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry. He has published over 200 articles and chapters covering a wide range of topics, and his main current area of research is the psychology of paranormal beliefs and anomalous experiences. He frequently appears on radio and television casting a sceptical eye over paranormal claims. He is a patron of Humanists UK.

In this series, Humanists UK Chief Executive Andrew Copson hosts unscripted, one-on-one discussions over the course of 60 minutes with philosophers, scientists, campaigners, entertainers, and historians.

Ghostly encounters, alien abduction, reincarnation, talking to the dead, UFO sightings, inexplicable coincidences, out-of-body and near-death experiences. Are these legitimate phenomena? If not, then how should we go about understanding them? With a sceptical eye, Professor Chris French investigates paranormal claims to discover what lurks behind this 'weird $#!%'.

Chris maintains that our belief in such phenomena is neither ridiculous nor trivial; if anything, such claims can tell us a great deal about the human mind if we pay them the attention they are due.

In his latest book, The Science of Weird Shit: Why Our Minds Conjure the Paranormal, published March 2024, Chris provides authoritative evidence-based explanations for a wide range of superficially mysterious phenomena, and then goes further to draw out lessons with wider applications to many other aspects of modern society where critical thinking is urgently needed.

Chris is a long-time supporter of Humanists UK, and we hope you'll join us for what promises to be a fascinating and thought-provoking evening.