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Curious Cases

Memory Swap

Curious Cases

BBC

Technology, Science

4.84.1K Ratings

🗓️ 27 June 2025

⏱️ 31 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Could you ever trade memories with someone else? Fancy downloading the experience of landing on the moon, winning an Oscar or performing at Glastonbury? Listener Adam wants to know, and Hannah Fry and Dara Ó Briain are on the case.

With expert insights from Professor Chris French and Professor Amy Milton, they dive into the mind’s tendency to blur the lines between reality and imagination - often embellishing, distorting, or downright making stuff up.

Discover how memory conformity makes us “see” things like spoons being bent by paranormal forces, how scientists can implant artificial memories in mice, and hear Al Hopwood’s hilariously vivid tales of things that definitely never happened. Chris even spills the secrets of how to deliberately plant false memories in others (don’t try this at home!).

From rewiring trauma to curing phobias, the potential of memory manipulation is both exciting and unnervingly sci-fi. Prepare to question everything you think you remember.

Contributors:

Amy Milton - Professor of Behavioural Neuroscience at the University of Cambridge Chris French - Professor of Anomalistic Psychology at Goldsmiths University Al Hopwood - Artist, writer and curator

Producer: Ilan Goodman Executive Producer: Alexandra Feachem A BBC Studios Audio Production

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0

Hello, podcast fan.

0:03.0

Consider this your invite to the UK's biggest podcasting party.

0:06.7

We're heading to Sheffield from the 4th to the 6th of July

0:09.0

for the BBC Sounds Fringe at the Crossed Wires Festival.

0:12.8

We'll be joined by some of the biggest names in podcasting,

0:15.3

including Sarah Cox, Charlie Hedges, Russell Kane,

0:18.4

and some bloke called Greg James doing his radio four show

0:21.9

called Rewinder. You can watch live shows of your favourite podcasts and the best part is free.

0:28.1

To book your free tickets, go to crossedwires. Live, forward slash fringe.

0:34.4

BBC Sounds, music, radio, podcasts.

0:41.0

You're about to listen to a brand new episode of Curious Cases.

0:44.0

Shows are going to be released weekly, wherever you get your podcast.

0:48.7

But if you're in the UK, you can listen to the latest episodes first on BBC Sounds.

0:53.0

I'm Hannah Fry.

0:54.2

And I'm Dara O'Brien.

0:55.8

And this is Curious Cases.

0:58.0

The show will we take your quirkiest questions?

0:59.5

Your crudious conundrums.

1:00.4

And then we solve them.

1:01.8

With the power of science.

1:02.9

I mean, do we always solve them?

1:04.9

I mean, the hit rate's pretty low.

...

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