Support for WPR comes from St. Luke's Burthing Center, providing expectant mom's low intervention options, with labor tubs, remote telemetry, and nitrous oxide.

More information is at slh Duluth.com slash baby.

Hi, I'm Anne Strain Champs, and this is to the best of our knowledge from PRI.

I have a guilty secret, or maybe a guilty pleasure, self-help books.

I know they're kind of silly, sometimes kind of a scam, but I am a total sucker for anything that promises to turn me into a happier, richer, kinder, more creative,

and spiritually evolved version of myself. I've read them all, seven habits, four agreements,

six pillars. I've leaned in, walked the road less traveled, and learned the secret. And these

books were all huge bestsellers, so clearly I'm not the only one who wants to be better.

My problem is I'm really good at reading self-help books, not so good at following their advice,

because old habits are hard to break.

And this is where Charles Duhigg comes in.

He's a New York Times staff reporter and author of The Power of Habit.

It's a look at the science behind unconscious behavior. And Steve Paulson talked with him.

Charles, you begin your book with a fascinating story about a guy named Eugene Pauli, who lost his memory when he came down with a case of viral encephalitis.

But he actually retained some unique

behaviors. Can you tell me about him? Yeah, this is actually one of the first moments that we

learn exactly how habits work inside our brain and from a neurological perspective. Eugene Poliore,

as he was known in the medical literature, EP, is this very unique individual.

He had viral encephalitis, and the part of the brain that it ate away from Mr. Polly was the part that stores memory.

So he essentially woke up from this fever without the ability to form any new memories whatsoever.

He didn't know where he lived. He didn't know anything. He did not have the capacity to form any new memories whatsoever. He didn't know where he lived.

He didn't know anything.

...