What a thrill to have the brilliant British writer Ruth Whippman on the show to talk about her book, America The Anxious, and a wide array of other things.  We spoke about the nature of happiness and what the pursuit of it can do to us.  The social media culture, and even Brexit.  Ruth is witty and smart so take a listen and see for hear for yourself.

Ruth’s humorous essays and cultural criticism appear in The New York Times, Time Magazine, The Guardian, The Independent, The Huffington Post and The Pool amongst other places.

She is the author of America the Anxious, How Our Pursuit of Happiness is Creating a Nation of Nervous Wrecks (St Martin’s/ Macmillan, 2016) UK title: The Pursuit of Happiness, Why Are We Driving Ourselves Crazy and How Can We Stop (Hutchinson, Penguin.)  The book was a New York Post Best Book of 2016, A New York Times Editor’s Choice, a New York Times Paperback Row pick, one of Newsweek’s Nine Books to Change the Way You Think in 2016, a Sunday Times top summer read and a Daily Mail Must Read.  The Sunday Times described Ruth as a “whip-sharp British Bill Bryson.”

Ruth is a regular contributor to radio shows, television and podcasts, having made appearances on shows including NPR’s Brian Lehrer Show, To the Point, CBS news and Morning Edition amongst many others. She  is also a regular speaker (watch her TEDx talk here ) and has given talks at Google (part of the Authors at Google series) Princeton University and UC Berkeley as well as many other venues.

Before becoming a full time writer, Ruth was a producer and director at the BBC in London making documentaries and current affairs shows for BBC television including working on several BAFTA winning series.

She lives in California with her husband and three young sons.

Ruth regularly gives talks at various venues including conferences, colleges, book groups and community groups. If you would like to request Ruth to speak at your event, to your book group or anywhere else, or for interview requests, please fill out the contact form on the website.

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