Congratulations to Family Action Network (FAN) on their 40^th anniversary season!

We are pleased to collaborate with FAN as they welcome Paul Bloom, Ph.D., author of the new book, Psych: The Story of the Human Mind. Bloom will be interviewed by Jennifer Senior. This virtual event is free and open to the public. Registration is required. Click HERE to reserve your spot!

This event will be recorded and available later on the FAN website and YouTube channel.

AFTER-HOURS EVENT: Attendees who purchase a copy of Psych from The Book Stall are invited to attend an AFTER-HOURS event hosted by Prof. Bloom that will start immediately after the webinar. The link to register for the AFTER-HOURS program will appear in red font at the top of an email from The Book Stall. Look for it right after your receipt arrives!

About the Book: How does the brain—a three-pound wrinkly mass—give rise to intelligence and conscious experience? Was Freud right that we are all plagued by forbidden sexual desires? What is the function of emotions such as disgust, gratitude, and shame? Renowned psychologist Paul Bloom, Ph.D. answers these questions and many more in his riveting new book Psych: The Story of the Human Mind.

Psych is an expert and passionate guide to the most intimate aspects of our nature, serving up the equivalent of a serious university course while being funny, engaging, and full of memorable anecdotes. But Psych is much more than a comprehensive overview of the field of psychology. Bloom reveals what psychology can tell us about the most pressing moral and political issues of our time—including belief in conspiracy theories, the role of genes in explaining human differences, and the nature of prejudice and hatred. Bloom also shows how psychology can give us practical insights into important issues—from the treatment of mental illnesses such as depression and anxiety to the best way to lead happy and fulfilling lives.

About the Author: Paul Bloom, Ph.D. is a distinguished scientist and award-winning author with an international reputation. He is the Brooks and Suzanne Ragen Professor Emeritus of Psychology at Yale University and a psychology professor at the University of Toronto. His work seeks to uncover how children and adults understand themselves, others, and the world at large, with a special focus on pleasure, morality, religion, fiction, and art. His research is heavily interdisciplinary, incorporating concepts from cognitive, social, and developmental psychology as well as evolutionary theory, behavioral economics, and philosophy. Prior to Psych, Bloom authored six other books which all get to the roots of different human phenomena such as empathy, morality, and pleasure, written to appeal to laymen and professionals alike: The Sweet Spot, Against Empathy, Just Babies, How Pleasure Works, How Children Learn the Meanings of Words, and Descartes’ Baby.

About the Interviewer: Jennifer Senior is a staff writer at The Atlantic and winner of the 2022 Pulitzer for Feature Writing. Prior to joining the Atlantic, she spent five years at The New York Times—first as one of its three daily book critics, then as a columnist for the Opinion page. Before that, she spent eighteen years as a staff writer for New York Magazine, writing profiles and cover stories about politics, social science, and mental health. Her book, All Joy and No Fun: The Paradox of Modern Parenthood, spent eight weeks on The New York Times Best Seller list and was named one of Slate's Top 10 Books of 2014. In addition to the Pulitzer, Senior has won a variety of journalism prizes, including a National Magazine award, a GLAAD award, two Front Page Awards from the Newswomen’s Club of New York, and the Erikson Prize in Mental Health Media.