Claudia Hammond

Claudia Hammond (born 23 May 1971) is a British author, occasional TV presenter, and frequent radio presenter with the BBC World Service and BBC Radio 4.

Claudia Hammond
Hammond in November 2015
Born
Claudia Anne Hammond

(1971-05-23) 23 May 1971
Biggleswade, England, UK
NationalityBritish
Alma materSussex University; Surrey University
OccupationJournalist and broadcaster
Parent(s)Nicholas Hammond
Websitehttp://www.claudiahammond.com/

Early life

She was born on 23 May 1971.[1]

Hammond grew up in Bedfordshire.[2] She was educated at Sussex University in applied psychology,[3] and Surrey University, where she gained an MSc in health psychology, carrying out research into doctor–patient communication in a breast cancer unit.[4]

Career

Author

Hammond is the author of three books, including Mind Over Money: the psychology of money and how to use it better, published in May 2016 by Canongate. The Telegraph newspaper described it as: "Part fascinating psychological exploration, part practical guide - exposing the myriad ways money messes with our heads and suggesting means by which we might get a handle on it".

Hammond's first book was on the science of emotions entitled Emotional Rollercoaster, published in 2005. Reviews were positive, with one[5] saying that although it contained 'rare errors' these mistakes are 'vastly outweighed by the wealth of fascinating observations', and that 'humour, sensitivity and warmth... emanate from every page'.

She published her second book, Time Warped: Unlocking the Mysteries of Time Perception, with Canongate Books in May 2012. The Financial Times calls it a fascinating and at times mind-boggling book that will change the way you think about time.[6]

In 2019, Hammond published The Art of Rest, with Canongate Books.[7] The book draws on research from "The Rest Test"- the largest global survey into rest, which was completed by 18,000 people across 135 different countries. [8]

Radio presenter

Hammond has said that she decided that she wanted to work in radio quite suddenly, although early. "I was at a children's book festival and, after I had queued up to get Roald Dahl's autograph, he asked me what I wanted to do when I grew up. I'm told I said "I want to work in radio". That was the first my parents knew about it. It was probably the first time I realised."[3] She presents programmes about psychology on BBC Radio 4, including All in the Mind. She also presents Health Check on BBC World Service Radio.[4] In 2020, she presented "Inside Health - the Virus" - a version of Inside Health in the wake of the coronavirus 2020 pandemic.

TV presenter

In addition to presenting Health Check on BBC World News every Friday, Hammond has appeared on several other TV programmes (such as The One Show and BBC Breakfast) commenting on psychological topics. In the past, as reporter, she presented science and medical features for Channel 5 News.[9]

Journalistic philosophy

Hammond has said she tries to "give people a better understanding of the role psychology plays. Helping people articulate and get across a seemingly technical piece of good research is central to my approach. I also like bringing different specialists together – it's amazing how often people who are hugely expert in one area of psychology know next to nothing about related work in a slightly different field."[3]

Despite her varied portfolio, Hammond gave 'be choosy' as a piece of careers advice in one interview:

"Popular programmes are fine – "I sometimes go on Richard & Judy to talk about psychological research – but if I think a show is going to dumb it down, I say no. And sometimes what they’re looking for is a qualified therapist, and that’s not me."[3]

Awards and nominations
Year Organisation Category Result
2017 The British Academy President's Medal Winner ("for her work in improving public understanding of psychology through broadcasting and writing for wider audiences"[10])
2014 Mind Media Awards Award for Radio Winner (for All in the Mind)
2013 British Psychological Society Popular Science Book Award Winner (for the book Time Warped)
2013 Aeon Magazine Transmission Award Winner (for the book Time Warped)
2012 British Neuroscience Association Public Understanding of Neuroscience Award Winner
2012 Society for Personality & Social Psychology Media Achievement Award Winner
2012 Association of British Science Writers Best radio programme Shortlisted (for Mind Myths)
2011 British Psychological Society Award for Public Engagement & Media Winner
2011 Mind Media Awards 'Making A Difference' Award Winner (For All in the Mind)
2010 The Population Institute's Global Media Awards Best Radio Programme Winner
2009 Mental Health Media Awards Best Factual Radio Programme Shortlisted
2009 PPA Magazine Columnist of the Year Highly Commended
2008 Premio Luchetta Award for International Humanitarian Journalism Shortlisted
2008 Medical Journalism Awards Shortlisted
2007 Association of British Science Writers Science Writing in a Non-science Context Shortlisted
2000 Mental Health Media Awards Runner-up
gollark: Mostly they just borrow ridiculous amounts of money.
gollark: In governments they'll just borrow more, yes.
gollark: There have been calls to scrap the TV license and just fund it through taxes. Which would be basically the same functionally.
gollark: No, I mean the "we do worse things so you can't criticise this somewhat bad thing" thing does not make sense. Unless you want to justify this "PBS" on its own merits, in which case do so, or actually don't as I don't really care.
gollark: That's a very stupid argument, but I'm not sure what to call it.

References
  1. "Claudia Anne HAMMOND - Personal Appointments (free information from Companies House)". beta.companieshouse.gov.uk.
  2. "Hammond, Claudia". thersa.org. Royal Society for the encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce. Archived from the original on 2 April 2012. Retrieved 15 March 2012.
  3. Florance, Ian (2009). "A Rollercoaster Ride" (PDF). The Psychologist. British Psychological Society. 22 (5). Archived from the original (PDF) on 13 April 2018. Retrieved 4 November 2011.
  4. "Find a Programme – Health Check". BBC World Service. 1 December 2008. Retrieved 3 December 2008.
  5. Evans, Dylan (5 March 2005). "Fasten Your Seatbelts". The Guardian. Retrieved 4 November 2011.
  6. Carl Wilkinson (5 May 2012). "Mind time". Financial Times. Retrieved 23 December 2012.
  7. Kellaway, Kate (25 November 2019). "The Art of Rest by Claudia Hammond review – too stimulating by far…". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 23 December 2019.
  8. Hammond, Claudia (27 September 2016). "How being alone may be the key to rest". Retrieved 23 December 2019.
  9. "Claudiahammond.com". Claudia Hammond. Retrieved 4 November 2011.
  10. "From Wikipedia to Roman coins: British Academy recognises excellence in the humanities and social sciences". The British Academy. Retrieved 5 October 2017.
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