Ideas I explored in these books influenced a subsequent one, Trust: Self-Interest and the Common Good, which in turn helped build the framework for Turned Out Nice: How the British Isles Will Change as the World Heats Up. I previously wrote about a historical episode of British social change in Dope Girls: The Birth of the British Drug Underground.
I've written on these themes and many others for a wide range of publications, and spoken about them in talks and broadcasts.
In the past few years I have become increasingly preoccupied with one particular theme, or group of themes: diversity, divisions surrounding it, and how to live together better. These questions have run through my work in varying forms and with varying degrees of emphasis since I first started writing. They are in the foreground of my most recent books, Four Words for Friend: The Rewards of Using More Than One Language In A Divided World, and The Stories Old Towns Tell: A Journey Through Cities At The Heart of Europe. The Polish side of my heritage is in the background.
I live in Brighton, on the coast south of London. I have a PhD from the University of Brighton, based largely on my books, and a BSc in neurobiology from the University of Sussex.