The act of releasing your shame is -- in itself -- healing.

If we can figure out at the age of five which kids are going to be addicts and which ones aren't, that tells us something fundamental about drug addiction .... it is a symptom, not a cause, of personal and social maladjustment.

For all the chatter that Britain has moved beyond class, recent studies have found that it determines the life chances of British people more today than at any point since the Second World War... A child born into a rich family in Britain will almost certainly live and die rich, while a child born into a poor family will almost certainly live and die poor.

It was more comforting to believe that a white powder was the cause of black anger, and that getting rid of the white powder would render black Americans docile and on their knees once again.

The core of addiction doesn't lie in what you swallow or inject -- it's in the pain you feel in your head.

I'm so patriotic, I think every British kid should have a chance to grow up to be our head of state.

There is an emerging scientific consensus that global warming is making hurricanes more intense and more destructive. It turns out that Katrina fits into a pattern that scientists and greens have been trying to warn us about for a long time.

If you are depressed or anxious -- your pain makes sense. You're not crazy. You're not broken. There's scientific evidence for why people feel this way. There's a mix of causes -- biological, psychological and social. None are your fault and all can be dealt with, with love and support.

The scientific evidence is clear that exercise significantly reduces depression and anxiety.

You will get something wrong today, and tomorrow, and every day of your life. So will I, and everybody you know. You don't have a choice about being wrong sometimes: mistakes will be your life-long companion. But you do have a choice about whether to approach your error in terror so you suppress, ignore and repeat it -- or to make it your honest, open ally in trying to get to the truth.

If you are depressed and anxious, the main thing I want to tell you is: your pain makes sense. It has meaning. You aren't a machine with broken parts. You are a human being with unmet needs. Don't let anyone tell you you're crazy or broken. You deserve love and practical support. .

The more you think life is about money, and status, and how you look to other people, the more vulnerable you are to depression and anxiety. Just like junk food has taken over our diets, junk values have taken over our minds and made us sick.

With the right help, we can understand these problems and we can fix these problems together. But to do that, the very first step is we have to stop insulting these signals by saying they're a sign of weakness, or madness or purely biological, except for a tiny number of people.

If you are depressed and anxious, the main thing I want to tell you is: your pain makes sense. It has meaning. You aren't a machine with broken parts. You are a human being with unmet needs. Don't let anyone tell you you're crazy or broken. You deserve love and practical support.

Put down your phone. Talk to someone face to face. We are all kinder out here in the meat-world.

Something has gone badly wrong with our culture. We've created a culture where really large numbers of the people around us can't bear to be present in their daily lives. They need to medicate themselves to get through their day.

So the opposite of addiction is not sobriety. It is human connection.

The American head of state grew up with a mother on food stamps. The British head of state grew up with a mother on postage stamps. Is that a contrast that fills you with pride?

The climate-change deniers are rapidly ending up with as much intellectual credibility as creationists and Flat Earthers. They are nudging close to having the moral credibility of Holocaust deniers.

Addiction is an adaptation. It's not you -- it's the cage you live in.