About Time! An Interview with Helen Bagnall / by Robert Smith

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About Time Magazine have put up an interview with Helen Bagnall, co-founder of Salon London and The Also Festival.

Salon is an ongoing series of events in London that focus on permutations of the theme “science, art and psychology,” and I’ve been fortunate enough to speak at a couple of their gigs, and attend a few more.

Also, in my opinion, is the best ideas festival in the UK. It’s sometimes called “TED talks in a field,” but frankly, I think that’s an undersell. If you like hearing from interesting people, and fancy a quirky, bucolic setting, there is nothing finer than Also.

And at the core of these events is Helen, who (even in this interview) is far too modest about her talents. She’s a born curator, and that’s a skill I really appreciate. One thing I talk about in Rage is that creativity comes from juxtaposition of ideas, and Helen’s events prove she’s a real master at that.

Her breadth of knowledge and insight (plus the fact that she must read 100 books a year) is one of the reasons I’m so glad she’s spoken kindly about Rage. You can read her comments here.

And I’m very lucky to be doing a talk and a couple of panels at Also this year, 5th-7th of July (see the events page and the Also site for details). I really hope I’ll see some of you there.