Can We Be Happier? by Richard Layard review – a breathless tribute to the “science of happiness”

This hard sell from the former ‘happiness tsar’ may be a work of passion but it is slapdash, paternalistic and liable to cause some misery

How to be a good listener: my mission to learn the most important skill of all

The author Kate Murphy thinks our inability to listen properly to other people is leaving us all feeling isolated. In a world of smartphones and busy schedules, can we re-engage?

The age of the individual must end – our world depends on it

The costs of a culture focused on an illusory idea of personal autonomy are making us ill and heating our planet. But a new age may be dawning

Richard Layard: ‘It’s in politicians’ self-interest to make policies for happiness’

The economist on the science of happiness – and how it can help us rethink the world

The Self Delusion by Tom Oliver review – how we are connected and why that matters

Forget the idea that humans are independent individuals. We need to grasp that we are part of ecosystems

My week as a Hemsworth: can Chris and Elsa combat my mid-30s physical ennui?

Chris Hemsworth and Elsa Pataky have both released wellness manuals. Luke Ryan tries to follow along with one of the world’s fittest couples

You’re Not Listening by Kate Murphy review – a modern epidemic of self-absorbed talk

Restaurants are noisy, social media connections are shallow, giving a TED talk is living the dream. What happened to conversation?

The Great Pretender by Susannah Cahalan review – psychiatry’s dubious past

Brilliant detective work reveals that a famous study of psychiatric hospitals was mostly fiction, but what are the implications?

Good Husbandry by Kristin Kimball review – a new life on a community farm

Sustainability and a love of the land are at the heart of a couple’s approach to farming. But grit and perseverance are essential

The Way We Eat Now by Bee Wilson review – strategies for eating in a world of change

The 21st-century diet consists of ‘unhealthy food, eaten in a hurry’. How did we enter this ‘food hell’?