Julian Baggini (jbaggini@gmail.com) is the author, co-author, or editor of over twenty books including The Ego Trick (2012), The Virtues of the Table (2014), How the World Thinks (2019), The Godless Gospel (2021), and, most recently, How to Think like a Philosopher (2024) (all Granta). He was the founding editor of The Philosophers’ Magazine and has written for numerous newspapers and magazines, as well as for think tanks such as The Institute for Public Policy Research, Demos, and Counterpoint. He has served as Academic Director of The Royal Institute of Philosophy, is an Hon. Research Fellow at the University of Leeds and has been a member of the Food Ethics Council since 2016.
Piers Benn (piersbenn@sky.com) lectures in Philosophical Ethics at Fordham University London Centre and the Margaret Beaufort Institute, Cambridge. He is a Visiting Research Associate at Trinity College Dublin. He has held lectureships in philosophy or medical ethics & law at the universities of St Andrews, Leeds, and Imperial College London. His latest book is Intellectual Freedom and the Culture Wars (Palgrave Macmillan, 2021).
Chelsea Birkby (www.chelseabirkby.com) is an award-winning stand-up comedian. Her smart and silly jokes regularly appear in the funniest-of-the-fringe lists. Watch her on BBC iPlayer, listen to her on Radio 4, 5 Live or Times Radio and, best of all, see her live at comedy clubs across the UK.
Dave Chawner (info@davechawner.co.uk) is a best-selling author, award-winning comedian and creator of Comedy For Coping – a stand up comedy course specifically aimed at people with mental health to help their well-being. He has appeared on BBC, ITV, and Channel 5, and on BBC Radio 1, Radio 2, and Radio 4.
Julian Dodd (j.dodd@leeds.ac.uk) is Professor of Philosophy and Head of the School of Philosophy, Religion and History of Science at the University of Leeds. He has worked extensively in the philosophy of art and, especially, the philosophy of music, publishing two monographs in the latter area: Works of Music: An Essay in Ontology (Oxford, 2007), and Being True to Works of Music (Oxford, 2020). He is also interested in, and has published on, various topics in philosophical logic, the philosophy of language, metaphysics, and the philosophy of Wittgenstein.
Alex Farrow (alexander.farrow@googlemail.com) is host of the award-winning Jericho Comedy in Oxford and Stand-up Philosophy London. Alex's philosophy-themed comedy shows regularly sell out at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and he has appeared on BBC Radio 4 Extra. His writing has featured on Mock the Week, The Times best jokes of the Fringe, and Have I Got News for You.
Graeme A. Forbes (g.a.forbes@kent.ac.uk) spent ten years as an academic philosopher and is now a freelance philosophical consultant. He has two books on philosophy of time in press: Philosophy of Time: The Basics (2024) and The Growing Block View (forthcoming, Bloomsbury). His work for a popular audience has appeared in The Conversation, Psyche, and on BBC Radio 4. He is an Honorary Senior Lecturer at the University of Kent and a Senior Research Associate at the University of Johannesburg.
Simon Kirchin (s.kirchin@leeds.ac.uk) is Professor of Applied Ethics at the IDEA Centre at the University of Leeds and Director of the British Philosophical Association. He is the author of Thick Evaluation (OUP, 2017) and Metaethics (Palgrave, 2012), and has edited/co-edited several volumes. He is currently writing about normativity, leadership ethics (especially in universities), and philosophy of comedy. He hosts two podcasts: Philosophy Takes on the News and Philosophy Gets Schooled.
Emily McTernan (e.mcternan@ucl.ac.uk) is an Associate Professor in Political Philosophy, Department of Political Science/School of Public Policy, University College London. She is the author of On Taking Offence (OUP, 2023) and co-host of the podcast UCL Uncovering Politics. She is currently writing about the ethics and politics of social interaction, including comedy, microaggressions, sexual advances, the social emotions, and the duties of friendship.
Lucy O'Brien (l.obrien@ucl.ac.uk) is the Richard Wollheim Professor of Philosophy at University College London. Her research interests lie in the philosophy of mind and action, with a particular focus on self-consciousness and self-knowledge. She is writing a book on interpersonal self-consciousness. She has published papers in a range of journals and collections. She is author of Self-Knowing Agents (OUP, 2007) and co-editor, with Matthew Soteriou, of Mental Actions (OUP, 2009). She is co-editor, with A. W. Moore, of the journal MIND, is Chair of The Royal Institute of Philosophy, and is due to serve as President of The Aristotelian Society in 2025–2026.
Rebecca Roache (rebecca.roache@rhul.ac.uk) is Senior Lecturer in Philosophy at Royal Holloway, University of London. Her book, For F*ck's Sake: Why Swearing is Shocking, Rude, and Fun was published by Oxford University Press in 2023. Her work has appeared in The New York Times, BBC, The Guardian, The Times, Harper's Magazine, MIT Technology Review, Aeon, Slate, and countless podcasts. She has a podcast called The Academic Imperfectionist where she uses philosophy to tackle issues such as procrastination, impostor syndrome, and lack of assertiveness.
Rosie Wilby (rosiewilby@virginmedia.com) is an award-winning comedian, writer, and podcaster who has appeared on BBC Radio 4 programmes including Woman's Hour, Saturday Live, Unsafe Space, and Four Thought. Her first book Is Monogamy Dead? (Accent Press, 2017) was longlisted for the Polari First Book Prize, shortlisted for the Diva Literary Awards and followed a trilogy of shows investigating the psychology of love. Her second book The Breakup Monologues (Bloomsbury, 2021) is based on her acclaimed podcast (a double British Podcast Award nominee). Rosie regularly contributes to The Independent, Stylist, and Perspective and has hosted programmes for Virgin Radio, BBC, and Resonance FM.
