author of The Wisdom of Psychopaths, is a Research Fellow at the University of Cambridge. He has a Ph.D in psychology, and is a leading expert on the science of social influence.

(Paramaribo, 1946) is regarded as one of the best criminal lawyers in the Netherlands, often delivering fierce criticism on Dutch society. I want to make people realise that they're living in a narrow-minded country,' he once said in an interview with Intermediair. Spong established himself in 1976 as a criminal lawyer in The Hague, and later in Amsterdam. As early as 1978 he drew the attention of the media with the epoch-making case against three members of the Rote Armee Fraktion (Red Army Faction) who were imprisoned in the Netherlands. He denounced the media after the death of Pim Fortuyn and tried to get Geert Wilders in the witness box. Spong likes to keep people on the alert with crisp remarks. Thus he said that he'd much wanted to bring charges against queen Beatrix for meeting Robert Mugabe. Spong is opposed to a middle-class mentality, which he claims is the product of social pressure and oppression. 'I can't accept that. Because a middle-class mentality eventually paves the way to social aggression.'

(Netherlands, 1956) is a psychiatrist, writer and poet. He is a grandson of the Surinamese anti-colonialist, nationalist and resistance fighter Anton de Kom. He has published the poetry volumes Tropen (Tropics, 1991), De kilte in Brasilia (The Chill in Brasilia, 1995), Zebrahoeven (Zebra Hooves, 2001), Chocoladetranen (Chocolate Tears, 2014) and De lieve geur van zijn of haar (The Sweet Smell of Him or Her, 2008). For years De Kom worked as a psychiatrist at the Pieter Baan Centrum. In 2012 he published Het misdadige brein (The Criminal Brain), in which he employs fictitious conversations with historical criminals to show how reports of suspects are drawn up. He won the VSB Poetry Award for  Ritmisch zonder string (Rhythmically without String, 2013).