Free Your Mind

The Instant Sunday Times Bestseller

Learn how to recognise and resist the daily attempts to control and manipulate your mind.

There is a war on for your mind. You may not notice, but you are surrounded by manipulators: advertisers, politicians, big tech, even the humble waiter who asks, ‘Still or sparkling?’

Free Your Mind is your field manual to surviving the information battlefield. In this indispensable book, Laura Dodsworth and Patrick Fagan draw on interviews with mind-control experts ranging from monks to magicians, infiltrate cults and forums to uncover their most deceptive techniques and expose the hidden tactics used to influence you, from social media to subliminal messages.

Learn how to recognise the nudges, dispel efforts to brainwash you and always question those who say the choice is yours. If you don’t control your mind, someone else will.

Reviews

‘Snappily written […] made me more aware of the nudges and persuasions that were part of my everyday life’ Mail on Sunday

‘An important new book […] Laura Dodsworth and Patrick Fagan have some great ideas for how to recognise Nudge Unit tactics and how to fight back’ Telegraph

‘An informative and engaging read’ Forbes

‘A gripping […] account of how the mind can both be manipulated and resist manipulation in the context of a range of contemporary phenomena’ Literary Review

‘An essential and entertaining read [..] a treasure trove of a book’ Critical Therapy Antidote

‘A sceptic’s charter. A thorough and entertaining guide for how to keep other people’s ulterior agendas out of your head.’ Lionel Shriver

‘Free Your Mind is an instant classic, full of wisdom about what it means to try and hang onto our humanity amidst the clamour of modern life. If you like the quirkily brilliant work of Malcolm Gladwell, you’ll love this book. I’m buying it for all my friends.’ Allison Pearson

‘We must all learn to spot the difference between useful and harmful persuasion. This book is a perfect place to start.’ Rory Sutherland

‘Free speech and free minds are inextricably linked and this book will help you achieve both.’ Toby Young, General Secretary of the Free Speech Union

‘During the pandemic, governments worldwide deployed sophisticated behavioral and psychological techniques. Now that Pandora’s Box has been opened, powerful entities will undoubtedly continue to use these tools to manipulate unwary populations. The best way to be immune to these techniques is to understand when they are being deployed; if you recognize it, you can do something about it. Dodsworth and Fagan provide a compendium of manipulation in the modern world. Their book is a primer on how to survive in an age of ubiquitous propaganda – and it’s great fun to read.’ Professor Jay Bhattacharya

About the author

Laura Dodsworth is an author, journalist, photographer and commentator. She is the author of the Sunday Times bestseller A State of Fear: how the UK government weaponised fear during the Covid-19 pandemic, as well as a trilogy of books about the body.

Patrick Fagan is a behavioural scientist with 12 years’ experience of mind manipulation. Previously lead psychologist at Cambridge Analytica, he is now a part-time lecturer and runs several data consultancies. He is the author of Hooked: Why cute sells and other marketing magic we can't resist.