Wonderful! And I love Maggie O’Farrell so am honoured to be sharing shelf and head space. 🙏

Thanks John!

Thanks Tom - this was a lovely conversation and we could have talked for hours!

If you missed it and want to catch up, you can listen to the 9pm repeat or follow this link:

www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m...

Face-inating discussion with @fayboundalberti.bsky.social @michaelpollan.bsky.social #MaryCostello www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/... Thanks!

Love that - thanks for sharing!

Thanks for listening and for commenting! Funnily enough the chapter on mirrors starts with Narcissus staring into a pool of water… hope you enjoy the book 😊

There were indeed - as I say in the book. But decent mirrors were rare beyond the rich pre 17th century and it was the 19th before we saw their mass production. Glad you enjoyed the programme.

Why can’t film’s leading women age like Sean Penn? The star of One Battle After Another is capitalising on his lived-in look, but Hollywood actresses are held to a different standard

There is no male equivalent of resting bitch face - resting asshole face is not a thing. Why? Misogyny innit.

It was great to speak to Melissa Denes for her brilliant article on moveable faces in film.

observer.co.uk/culture/film...

Thanks to my lovely friends and colleagues and students who came to the launch of The Face last week. And to my Interface collaborators near and far who were unable to make it: a glass was raised 🙏

The best books of 2026 so far Plus, the books to look forward to, from a study of Weimar Germany to the best of new British fiction

Thrilled that The Face is included in The Telegraph’s “Best Books of 2026 (so far)”!

www.telegraph.co.uk/books/non-fi...

‘There is no shame in being vain’: the relentless rise of impossible male beauty standards Men’s faces are under scrutiny as never before, with more opting for cosmetic procedures than ever. What is behind this sudden and significant shift?

Men's faces are in the news - from Pete Hesgeth's chiseled jaw that conceals flimsier credentials to Trump's last-gasp hair and the is-he-or-isn't-he transformation of Jim Carrey.

This is white male neoliberalism at its finest, as I wrote in my latest faces piece for @theguardian.com

Well that was rather wonderful and what a great book.

Congratulations David!

@kingschostm.bsky.social

Yes I get it. Or maybe Google glasses with a Teams style name tag at the bottom of the screen… eek

The ‘guinea pigs’ who had face transplant surgery – podcast Face transplant patient Robert Chelsea and writer Fay Bound Alberti talk through the promise – and darker side – of this pioneering surgery

“Who is feeding our children while we are making history?”

That was Robert Chelsea’s question when asked about being the first African American face transplant recipient.

Robert and I talked to Annie Kelly @todayinfocus.bsky.social

www.theguardian.com/p/x4dd6m?CMP...

#BlackHistoryMonth

Oh but that is another issue - because we judge terribly those who do.

I have had a scar on my cheek since I was 4 funnily enough - but because of my prosopagnosia can never remember what side.

Also when people are distinctive they are far more recognisable. I never mix Adrien Brody up with other actors. In the Face book I talk about this complex relationship between the familiar and the distinctive.

Yes absolutely!

Face blindness isn't well known and nor is its history. People with face blindness do *know* people - just not in the ways we are expected to!

To find out more see the Telegraph magazine - out this Saturday.

Photos Felicity McCabe

www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2026/02/22/living-with-face-blindness/

Thank you so much Lindsey! X

Hooray hooray publication day! Huge thanks to the team at Allen Lane 🐧

🔔 Coming up in our seminar:

New Book Party!
Smart: A history of intelligence by David Brydan (with comments by Professor @fayboundalberti.bsky.social and Professor Federico Turkheimer)

🗓️ Tues 3 March, 18.00-19.30
📍 8th floor, Strand building

Register in Eventbrite ➡️ tinyurl.com/smart-brydan

Thank you!

Ask the experts: How can we connect in an era of loneliness? Why do so many of us feel lonely in a world more connected than ever? Put your questions about loneliness and its impact to our panel of experts – and discover innovative ideas and practical solutions...

Our colleague @fayboundalberti.bsky.social will be talking about #loneliness @britishacademy.bsky.social on Thu 19 Mar 2026, 18:30 - 19:45 www.thebritishacademy.ac.uk/events/the-a...

What’s in a face? Our long obsession with self-portrait From Renaissance paintings to AI and face transplants, our relationship with the face has always changed at a dramatic rate, says Fay Bound-Alberti in her new book

www.thetimes.com/culture/book...

The Face — from Narcissus’ glimpse in the river to the cosmetic surgery industry An elegant and engaging history examines how we have portrayed, judged and reconstructed ourselves

www.ft.com/content/14a9...