Curious Hour: Inside the Mind of a Serial Killer

Dr Philippe Chassy leads a talk on the psychology of serial killers at 21Soho on Thursday 26 November, part of the Curious Hour series. It's a cognitive psychologist taking a subject usually left to true crime podcasts and breaking it down from the inside, and if you're into the darker side of human behaviour, it's exactly the kind of thing that's better heard in a room than read in a book.

Curious Hour is an expert-led talk and Q&A series that brings big ideas into a casual bar setting, with no jargon and no lecture-hall atmosphere. Each session runs for around an hour, led by a specialist and closed with an interactive Q&A. The series rotates through different angles, from altered states and clinical research to law and policy and lived experience, so this is one night in a wider run.

Dr Chassy is a published researcher in criminal behaviour and the psychology of serial killers. His work on how emotion, memory and personality produce extreme behaviour has challenged existing forensic models, and he spends the session separating myth from reality through true crime storytelling and real case studies. It's a chance to hear the actual research behind the headlines rather than the sensationalised version.

The venue, 21Soho, is tucked away on Soho Square and works as a live entertainment venue, café, bar and podcast studio rolled into one. The session is best suited to adults aged 18 or older. It starts at 18:30 on Thursday 26 November, with tickets from £25.00. If you can't make that one, the series also runs on Friday 15 January and Saturday 30 January 2027.