Dr Julia Shaw

Dr Julia Shaw is a psychological scientist at University College London, the author of multiple best-selling books — amongst them The Memory Illusion: Remembering, Forgetting and the Science of False Memory (Random House, 2017) and Evil: The Science Behind Humanity's Dark Side (Canongate, 2019) — and a BBC science communicator. She is best known for her work in the areas of false memory, bisexuality, and criminal psychology. 

Dr Shaw's most recent book — Bi: The Hidden Culture, History and Science of Bisexuality (Canongate, 2022) — is an eye-opening, rigorous, and personal exploration of sexuality. According to The Guardian “the book opens up conversations that might just lead to more visibility, understanding and empathy for all people, however they define themselves”. It was chosen as a Waterstones Book of the Year 2022. 

Dr Shaw is a regular keynote speaker on the topics of memory, evil, and making workplaces more diverse and inclusive. As part of her efforts to tackle harassment and discrimination, in 2017 she co-founded the A.I. startup Spot which helps organisations better deal with inappropriate workplace behaviour.