Edward Slingerland is an internationally recognized expert in both early Chinese thought and the links between cognitive science and the humanities.

He is Professor of Asian Studies, Associate Member in the Departments of Philosophy and Psychology, and holds the Canada Research Chair in Chinese Thought and Embodied Cognition at the University of British Columbia. He is the author of Effortless Action (2003) and What Science Offers the Humanities (2008). His latest book is Trying Not to Try: The Ancient Art of Effortlessness and the Surprising Power of Spontaneity.

John Lanchester is the author of Whoops! Why Everyone Owes Everyone and No One Can Pay.

As a journalist and novelist, he was winner of the Whitbread First Novel Award for his debut The Debt to Pleasure.

John’s article on our love affair with the City,Cityphilia generated much response on its publication in January 2008, and indeed predicted a worldwide crash based on the misuse of financial derivatives.

First broadcast 15 April 2011