Bipolar disorder is common and important. So it is vital that we get the diagnosis and management of this condition right.   To find out more about this condition, please do listen to this BMJ Best Practice podcast interview with Adrian Preda, Professor of Clinical Psychiatry at the University of California, Irvine.   For more on bipolar disorder, visit BMJ Best Practice.   Competing interests:  AP has been compensated as an expert consultant by GLG, Atheneum, Guidepoint, and as the Editor-in-Chief of Psychiatric News.